Chapter 129 "Qu Clan's Young Master" Orders Surrender

Upon "Qu Clan's Young Master's" order to surrender, the Left Route Army rejoiced, immediately removing their armor. A large group of heads who had long since "rebelled" even rushed out, eager to curry favor with Zheng Boye.

Zhang Huang's unit agreed to surrender but didn't remove their armor, requesting to maintain their organizational structure. They also asked if the young master could reside in their camp.

Of course, Zhang Huang himself knew the Yan people wouldn't agree to this request, so it was as good as not mentioning it. However, this unit of five thousand men maintained a relative independence, setting up their own camp and commanding themselves.

The Great Chu's Fire Phoenix banner was taken down, replaced with a Black Dragon flag as a token gesture. The most common banner in the army was still the Qu clan's flag.

As for Lin Rong, a general with a sense of national loyalty, as Qu Peiluo had anticipated, he didn't choose to surrender but led his troops south.

His refraining from launching an attack was the best restraint he could offer.

But alas,

He led the Azure Luan Army,

And the Azure Luan Army was Qu Clan's private army.

The soldiers' families all lived on Qu Clan's territory. Since the Qu Clan's young master had ordered a surrender, how could they dare disobey?

This wasn't something a commander's personal ability or charisma could decide. After all, at any time, those willing to abandon their wives and children to follow you were always a minority within a minority.

So, it wasn't that Lin Rong didn't want to attack, but that he knew he simply couldn't.

As they retreated south, Zheng Boye didn't order a pursuit. Although the Yan army's casualties from the night raid weren't significant, they were all exhausted. And asking Zhang Huang's unit and Han Xu of the Left Route Army to prepare their troops to attack Lin Rong's unit...

Such an obvious dog-eat-dog scenario where they were made to kill each other could easily backfire.

However, after Lin Rong's unit retreated south, deserters constantly emerged from their ranks, running directly to Zheng Boye's side to find the young master.

So, while that force retreated south, it was estimated that it would be difficult for them to form any kind of meaningful combat power again.

Next, things became simple, especially after Zheng Boye confirmed his strategy of heading north. An even more "hodgepodge" army than before began to move north.

The Left Route Army and Zhang Huang's unit were the vanguard, with the Yan army bringing up the rear.

After several days of marching, the Left Route Army captured Chi County, while Zhang Huang's unit captured the docks opposite Chi County, which controlled the nearby waters. They also seized some Chu navy ships, not many in number, but of great significance.

It wasn't that these two units were particularly capable fighters, but because they approached as "Chu soldiers," the defenders didn't expect enemies, so they were breached with little effort.

In Chi County, Zheng Boye ordered the entire army to rest.

At the same time,

He hinted to Han Xu, letting his soldiers have some fun.

What it meant to let the soldiers have some fun was very clear.

Originally, these "pseudo-devils" (traitors) on the Left Route Army's side, led by Han Xu, appeared very well-behaved and diligent because the Yan people were watching over them.

They were clearly putting in more effort than Zhang Huang's unit, doing their best to serve the Yan people and gain recognition from their Yan "fathers."

They originally dared not indulge or act rashly;

But now,

The Yan "fathers" were letting them loose to have fun. Obeying orders to "have fun" was naturally something they were more than willing to do.

Because it was too difficult to restrain the tribes under their command, especially with the labels of "defeated army" and "surrendered army." Even if morale wasn't completely shattered, it was undoubtedly very low.

After each general conveyed the message, the original Left Route Army soldiers began to loot in groups of three or five, breaking into houses in Chi County to rob, and extorting the households under the county in various ways.

Zhang Huang's unit continued to adhere to their own camp, not responding.

Two days later, the Yan army set off again, continuing north, entering the territory of the next county.

With the previous experience, the Left Route Army, after swiftly capturing the county town with insufficient defense, immediately began to burn, kill, and loot, even more excessively than in Chi County a few days earlier.

In Chi County, they only plundered some family wealth. This time, they were sucking the marrow from the bones, stealing livestock and poultry to eat, taking away anything valuable and easy to carry, and wantonly defiling women.

Then,

Two days later,

The Yan army set off again, continuing north.

This time, it was very clear that the marching speed had increased, especially for the Left Route Army, whose will to advance was even higher. Moreover, Zhang Huang's unit was clearly suppressing some kind of emotion.

This time,

They encountered a Chu army, but it was a local force, not many in number, a joint force of about two thousand men composed of two local minor nobles.

The imperial army had already conscripted auxiliary soldiers and laborers during its passage, so these two local minor nobles really couldn't gather any more strength.

The Yan army didn't move. The Left Route Army attacked its left flank, and Zhang Huang's unit attacked its right flank, defeating this motley Chu army in one battle.

Immediately afterward,

The Yan army moved in and began to set up camp.

The various leaders of the Left Route Army began to ravage the area with their subordinates. This time, Zhang Huang's unit no longer remained obedient, opening their camp and allowing their soldiers to join the looting.

The previous two times, Zhang Huang had forcibly suppressed his subordinates with his personal prestige.

But as fellow Chu surrendered soldiers, watching those lowly fellows from the Left Route Army enjoying the good life, burning, killing, and looting to their hearts' content, how could Zhang Huang's soldiers not be envious?

They were living the good life,

Why should they be saints?

They had all surrendered to the Yan people, so why pretend to be noble?

It could be said that once the Azure Luan Army surrendered, what was first destroyed was actually the army's beliefs and pride. Whether it was an individual or a group, once these two things were destroyed, the floodgates of depravity were actually opened.

If Zhang Huang didn't let go and allow his subordinates to loot and release their repressed emotions, his soldiers might mutiny, kill him, and then fully surrender to the Yan people.

After the Qu Clan's young master surrendered, he, as a Qu Clan retainer, was actually greatly affected in terms of legitimacy.

Even the lower-level soldiers understood a truth: the Yan people only cared whether the dogs under their command were obedient, and didn't care what color the dog's head was.

There was a saying that soldiers were like bandits, but in reality, even mountain bandits who took to the hills also paid attention to a "farming" model. If they really turned the surrounding villages into a no-man's-land, how would they calculate their future harvests?

But when soldiers ran amok, they really wouldn't pay so much attention, so they were particularly ruthless.

Compared to the ruthlessness of the Chu soldiers towards their own Chu people,

The Yan people appeared very "indifferent."

One reason was that the ban on alcohol was very strict in the Yan army. Once alcohol was banned, the soldiers' indulgence had a limit;

Furthermore, this Yan army, led by Zheng Boye, had penetrated deep behind enemy lines, burned Jing City's granaries, besieged the Great Chu's regent, and then defeated the Azure Luan Army and captured the Qu Clan's young master alive. Everyone knew that this operation in Chu was already overflowing with merit.

Having been satisfied, they naturally wouldn't be so hungry anymore.

Most importantly, although the Yan people didn't engage in looting, but stayed firmly in their military camp, most of the wealth that the Chu soldiers looted every day would be sent to the Yan army's camp.

Zheng Boye had never cared much about wealth, and directly distributed it to the soldiers.

Without having to dirty their own hands, the benefits would still fall into their pockets, and the Yan army was happy to be idle;

Of course, if you were to say there were regrets, there certainly were;

But the Yan army soldiers still had some restraint in their hearts. They couldn't be the same as those Chu bastards, losing face, and embarrassing their own Boye.

………

Outside the military camp, a group of Chu soldiers could be seen tying up several local women and walking past. Behind them, they were also pulling a cow and two pigs.

The women were already tired of crying, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.

Xu An watched this scene through the fence, feeling a bit down.

He thought of the scene when the Azure Luan Army entered Jade Plate City, and his entire family was captured to be laborers. His mother was separated from them, and in the end, he couldn't find out where his mother went...

To be precise,

Where his mother's remains were.

Now, the Chu people were doing the same thing in front of him, except the victims had become their own Chu people.

In contrast to Xu An's rich emotions,

Guo Dong leaned against the fence, constantly stroking his sword hilt, looking fascinated.

Ever since Zheng Boye borrowed his sword that day, whenever he had free time, he would have this expression, this appearance.

However, after noticing Xu An looking at him, Guo Dong still raised his head, coughed twice, and somewhat embarrassed, found a topic to talk about:

"These Chu people are really interesting. They can actually be so ruthless to their own people."

Xu An nodded and said, "The Chu people don't think they are Chu people, just like us Jin people, who actually don't think we are Jin people."

"Why?" Guo Dong scratched his head.

"Hehe."

Xu An smiled and said, "The Chu people think they belong to which noble family, and we Jin people, were previously divided into three families, who belonged to who."

"We Yan people are not like that." Guo Dong said, "We Yan people have always thought we are Yan people."

Xu An remained noncommittal.

"You don't believe it?" Guo Dong asked.

"I believe it." Xu An replied.

Yan people have always been Yan people, which was actually not accurate, because the Yan Kingdom also had aristocratic families in the past, but ultimately, the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion had only stood for a century, and the Great Yan had truly eliminated the threat from the desert for less than sixty years.

The Yan people still had the spiritual imprint of marching with their emperor to the desert to fight the barbarians engraved in their bones.

Most importantly…

This was what Xu An, as a "Jin person," saw.

Perhaps it was because the Yan Kingdom had repeatedly won victories against foreign enemies in recent years, stimulating the pride in the bones of these Yan people, and the identity of Yan people had suddenly become noble.

It was difficult to get a person to recognize a lowly identity, but if they were to recognize a "noble" identity, they would definitely flock to it.

Xu An liked to watch, liked to think, and liked to observe. In Guo Dong's words, Xu An liked to be in a daze when he wasn't fighting.

"I heard from the general above that we should encounter the Chu army if we go further north," Xu An said.

Ordinary soldiers actually didn't have a clear idea of their location, but Xu An did. He would pay attention to the conversations between the centurion and the generals, and at the same time, he would look for opportunities to inquire with the local Chu people.

He would ask how far it was from Zhennan Pass and Shanggu Commandery.

Although these messages were incomplete, inaccurate, and unsystematic, they could at least give Xu An a general understanding in his mind.

The Chu people now had two lines of defense, one was Zhennan Pass;

The other was the large army led by the Pillar State, Dugu Nian, deployed along the Wei River line on the opposite bank of Jing City.

As for his own side, they were actually in the empty zone in the rear of the Chu people.

Of course, it wasn't a strictly defined empty zone, because the Azure Luan Army came to encircle them, but they had defeated them.

"Hey, after the war is over, I plan to bring my mother, my brother, and that girl Ashui over here." Guo Dong said.

Xu An was a little surprised and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to retire and return to your hometown?"

"Rewards." Guo Dong said, "The rewards are generous. They are very generous now, and there will be new rewards after the war is over. Hehe, I used to think about going back because I couldn't bear to leave my family, and besides, my mother and my brother weren't suitable for traveling long distances.

But as long as there is enough silver, and we travel by carriage and eat and drink well on the road, what problems could there be?

If there is enough silver, there will be no problems. If I give enough betrothal gifts, Ashui's family will be willing to let her come with me."

"Next time, I'll let you take two more heads, and you'll get promoted. Your Ashui's family will also come along, and your father-in-law won't dare to put on airs with you."

"Don't, don't, don't, as brothers, don't say such nonsense." Guo Dong immediately shook his head seriously and said, "If I'm short of silver, I'll borrow it from you. Anyway, you, Xu An, are eating enough for yourself, and your whole family isn't hungry. I won't be polite with you. But the matter of your future is yours, and I can't delay your future.

You have a better brain than me, and you learn everything faster than me. You have a great future, my dad told me, saying you're smarter than me."

Xu An shook his head and said, "I am a Jin person."

"Then General Jin is still a barbarian!"

Guo Dong shouted.

"Presumptuous, bold!"

At this moment,

Two knights outside the fence directly scolded.

Guo Dong was stunned because he saw that behind the two knights, there was also a general on horseback. The general was wearing black armor, without a helmet, revealing a very obvious barbarian-like face.

The fence was opened,

Two knights first rode over, seemingly wanting to punish them further, but were directly scolded by Jin Shuke behind them, "Get out of the way."

The two knights immediately stepped aside.

Jin Shuke slowly rode over on his horse,

Guo Dong and Xu An immediately saluted:

"Greetings, General Jin!"

"Greetings, General Jin!"

Jin Shuke smiled and waved his whip twice, scolding his own guards in front:

"What's wrong with barbarians? I am a barbarian. There's nothing shameful about being called a barbarian. Why are you in such a hurry? Even Boye doesn't pay so much attention to rank and status. Do I need you two to help me show off my power?

What, do you want everyone to know that I have more airs than Boye?"

After Jin Shuke reprimanded the two guards,

He lowered his head,

First looked at Guo Dong,

And said:

"What are you talking about?"

Guo Dong hurriedly raised his head and said, "Reporting to the general... I... I..."

Guo Dong was still a little nervous. Firstly, he had dug a pit for himself, and secondly, although the Yan identity had an advantage in the army, it depended on who he was comparing himself to.

Who didn't know that the general in front of him, who was from a barbarian background, was Boye's confidant and beloved general?

In the Xuehai Pass army, the person Boye trusted the most was General Liang.

General Liang's abilities were also admired by everyone;

The second most trusted person was this General Jin, whose resume and military exploits had never disappointed Boye. During the Battle of Dongshan Fort, he was the one who finally broke out, reversing the situation and saving Boye.

Xu An chimed in, "Reporting to the general, my brother said that I have a good brain and will have a great future. I told him that I am a Jin person, not a Yan person. My brother, in order to encourage me, said that General Jin, you are also of barbarian origin, not a Yan person, but you can still reach the position of general and become Boye's right-hand man. He said that under our Boye's rule, there is education for all, and as long as you are willing to serve and are loyal to Boye, you will definitely be able to make a name for yourself."

Jin Shuke looked at Xu An, not speaking.

Xu An slowly lowered his head.

After a long while,

Jin Shuke laughed.

He thought of the time when he was guarding the city gate.

Back then, his Xia language wasn't very fluent, and he often made mistakes with idioms, often causing laughter;

But,

He was still very good at speaking.

He had gradually risen through the ranks by gaining Boye's appreciation through military merit,

But if it hadn't been for that Sword Saint's recommendation,

He wouldn't have had the opportunity to make contributions at all.

"What's your name?"

"Reporting to the general, my name is Xu An."

"Can you read?" Jin Shuke asked.

Xu An nodded and said, "I can read. I attended private school for a few years when I was young."

"What about riding a horse?"

"I can!"

"Alright, tell your squad leader, and say that I said, go to my tent tomorrow and be a guard."

"Thank you, General, for your promotion!"

Xu An solemnly knelt down and kowtowed three times. This was a solemn etiquette.

At this moment, the gazes that had gathered around slowly increased.

Jin Shuke raised his head, scanned the surroundings, and shouted loudly:

"Under Boye's command, it doesn't matter where you're from. As long as you are willing to sell your life, as long as you have the ability, Boye doesn't care about your background, and the rewards and punishments are clear!

I,

Jin Shuke,

A barbarian,

Can sit in this position, which is the best proof!

I can be where I am today,

And you, too, will be able to do the same in the future. Being able to fight alongside Boye, being able to rely on someone in life and death, is a blessing that we soldiers have cultivated for three lifetimes!"

After speaking,

Jin Shuke rode away, as he had military intelligence to report.

After Jin Shuke and his guards left,

Many comrades came up to congratulate Xu An.

After dealing with them,

Xu An breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he was dreaming.

He turned his head,

Looking at Guo Dong, who was still leaning against the fence, he was still stroking the hilt of that sword, enraptured.

Xu An said:

"You only shouted that after you saw General Jin coming."

Guo Dong woke up from his trance, paused, then looked at Xu An, smiling softly,

And said:

"Yeah."

————

There will be another chapter around 1 a.m., don't panic!