Chapter 1 "Hiss... it hurts..."

Guo Dong untied the wrappings on his wrist.

Shield-bearers lived by their shields, but "refined steel" shields only existed in the hands of truly elite soldiers. Mass equipping such shields was impossible. As auxiliary soldiers, Guo Dong and his comrades naturally didn't have that luxury.

Arrows rained down. While most could be blocked, the repeated impacts took their toll.

Therefore, soldiers would wrap the arm holding the shield with layers of leather or cloth to thicken it.

Even so, during the retreat after the siege, an arrow pierced through a gap in Guo Dong's shield and pierced his flesh.

Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep. On this battlefield, it barely counted as an injury.

However, taking off the shield and unwrapping the leather and cloth from his arm, layer by layer, brought a pain that was almost unbearable, like peeling off his own skin.

Finally, seeing Guo Dong's distress, the military doctor took out scissors and cut open the innermost two layers, then poured some strong liquor onto the wound.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

Guo Dong felt a searing pain, as if his tailbone was about to stand on end.

After re-bandaging the wound, the military doctor hurried off to the next injured soldier. This team wasn't responsible for the seriously wounded, who were concentrated in one area. They were there to treat the minor injuries of the soldiers.

Si Niang had personally trained them in emergency wound care. Actually, there were military doctors in this era, and their skills weren't bad, but they were often limited by medical resources, making it difficult to treat most injuries.

Some people liked using folk remedies, but these carried the risk of infection if not handled properly. For example, a barbarian remedy might work in the dry desert, but it might not be suitable in Jìndōng.

After treating his wound, Guo Dong looked up at Xǔ Ān, who had washed his face and entered the tent.

"I heard that Lord Bó almost got assassinated in the formation today?"

An assassin from Chǔ, disguised among returning barbarian slaves, approached the formation and aimed an arrow at the Píngyě Lord.

Xǔ Ān smiled and said, "Lord Bó has Sword Saint protecting him. What can these assassins do?"

Hearing this, Guo Dong nodded. "That's right. Besides, Lord Bó himself is extremely strong. How could he fall into the hands of such petty thieves?"

"Today, we've filled in most of Chǔ's moats and protective canals. Tomorrow will probably be the real siege."

Hearing this, Guo Dong was extremely frustrated.

"It's a pity we only have one large shield. Alas, I really want to charge forward with a blade and repay Lord Bó's great kindness."

Through his interactions with the Yan people during this time, Xǔ Ān had gained a deeper understanding of them.

Although the Yan had been victorious in almost all their battles over the past few years, they were actually quite similar to the Jìn people. They weren't superhuman. They were also lazy and liked to take small advantages. In fact, when Guo Dong first arrived, he felt that this expedition against Chǔ was meaningless, just because His Majesty the Emperor had lost a son.

But after spending time with them, Xǔ Ān discovered that the Yan people had a pride in their bones. This pride wasn't usually apparent, but it often emerged when they faced real hardship.

Indeed, after his father died, Guo Dong had taken Píngyě Lord as his spiritual pillar.

But how to say it, this desire for revenge, shown by a young man who had been war-weary just a few months ago, was truly shocking.

Although people often said that the仇 [chóu, hatred] for killing one's father was irreconcilable, that mostly appeared in operas. In normal circumstances, the average person's reaction to such a situation was often颓废 [tuí fèi, depressed] and畏惧 [wèi jù, fearful].

Just like... Xǔ Ān himself.

Xǔ Ān had seen many people like himself in Yǐngdū. He had originally thought he was living numbly, but when he looked at the refugees who had fled from Jìndōng to Yǐngdū across the Wàngjiāng River, their eyes were truly 혼혼噩噩 [húnhún è'è, muddled].

Xǔ Ān wasn't a thinker, but he would also think.

His stepfather had traveled north and south with merchant caravans when he was young. He had said, "Why are the Yan people called Yan barbarians? It's because they're really barbaric, barbaric in their bones!"

Xǔ Ān didn't know what "barbaric in the bones" meant at first. Could it be tearing open the flesh, smashing a hole in the bone, and pouring it in?

Now, he understood.

Not just Guo Dong, but also the others in the civilian labor camp and the auxiliary soldier camp.

In these two camps, Yan and Jìn people were roughly half and half.

Before, there was actually no difference between them.

But after today's bloody siege battle,

The auxiliary soldiers and laborers from Jìn were very沉重 [chénzhòng, heavy], sitting there with an obvious惆怅 [chóuchàng, melancholy] and压抑 [yāyì, repressed] feeling;

While the laborers and auxiliary soldiers from Yan were mostly like Guo Dong. They were all on the battlefield for the first time, seeing blood and arrows flying, and corpses lying everywhere, but they were like piles of dry firewood ignited by sparks, shouting about giving the Chǔ slaves a good beating tomorrow.

Xǔ Ān didn't understand what "folk customs" were, but he could clearly see a red line dividing the Yan and Jìn people, who seemed indistinguishable in appearance, into two halves.

Guo Dong didn't know what his partner was thinking.

After treating his wound, he only felt hungry.

He said,

"Why haven't they started serving the evening meal yet?"

"Chirp chirp chirp!!!"

A whistle sounded.

The school officers from Xuěhǎi Pass who managed the auxiliary soldiers liked to use whistles to convey information. This was an order to assemble the auxiliary soldiers.

Guo Dong and Xǔ Ān didn't dare delay and immediately grabbed their shields and ran out to line up.

The formation was noticeably thinner than in the morning.

They had returned, but many others, overcome by fatigue, were lying under the city walls, probably missing tonight's dinner.

"March out of the camp, tonight's dinner will be eaten in another camp."

Although everyone was tired and hungry, no one dared to complain. The school officers from Xuěhǎi Pass had long taught them what obedience was with sticks.

And after being on the battlefield, everyone had a deeper understanding of the word "military order."

But Guo Dong couldn't help but mutter,

"I really want another slice of watermelon with dinner."

Xǔ Ān smiled.

Actually,

There was something he didn't say.

The flesh of the watermelon was red, and you had to risk your life to eat it.

………

"Is Lord Bó alright today?"

Gǒu Mòlí and the blind man walked through the camp and asked.

The blind man shook his head and said, "It's nothing, but the Chǔ people have some tricks."

Quickly identifying a target, disguising himself, hiding among the returning heavy armored soldiers, then sneaking into the Yan army's formation with the servant soldiers, and finally condensing all his energy into one arrow.

Such an assassin, with his grasp of the situation, analysis and application, rapid and careful planning, and decisive strike, could be considered excellent even if he didn't succeed.

Of course, even if the Sword Saint wasn't by Zhèng Bóyé's side today, it wouldn't be too difficult to dodge an arrow from such a long distance.

You should know that it was because the Sword Saint was on the commander's chariot that Zhèng Bóyé didn't bother letting his guards onto the chariot, only having them guard the perimeter. Furthermore, Zhèng Bóyé's own reaction speed and the powers of the magic pill would have been enough to deal with this arrow.

The most fundamental reason was,

That even though the assassin had gone so far, facing a target whose chariot was so far back, he must have been very desperate.

Gǒu Mòlí nodded and said, "This is probably because our siege today put great pressure on the Chǔ defenders. Even though we didn't actually scale the city walls, the gesture alone made the Chǔ people uneasy.

Such an assassin must have been extremely valuable in the Chǔ camp, yet he was sent out on the first day to carry out such a mission that was destined for death."

Whether the assassin succeeded or not, he was doomed to die once that arrow was fired.

The blind man nodded.

The Chǔ people must have been under great pressure because, in their eyes, the Yan people weren't good at sieges. But the large siege weapons that were pushed forward today were even better than their own in terms of performance.

Especially the Yan people's catapults, which exceeded their own in both number and performance.

In terms of tactics, as soon as the Chǔ people launched a catapult, the Yan people would immediately calculate the location of the Chǔ catapult in the city based on the falling stones and launch a counterattack.

This meant that the Yan army not only had master craftsmen who were good at building siege equipment, but also excellent generals who were good at siege warfare.

At this time,

Gǒu Mòlí and the blind man passed a place where barbarian slaves were gathered. They were huddled together, and in the distance, some soldiers were throwing food to them over a fence.

Really, throwing.

These barbarians, like chickens and ducks kept in a fence, began to scramble for the food after it was thrown in.

The blind man said, "Although their food standards aren't high, it shouldn't be this bad."

Barbarian slave soldiers weren't worth much, but they shouldn't be lacking food.

If they were to die, they should die under the walls of Dōngshānbǎo and the future Zhènnánguān, not starve to death here.

It wasn't pity,

But a feeling of losing money.

And in this military camp that was specifically used to hold barbarian slaves, on one side were all the adult males, and on the other side were the women and children, separated from each other.

This was a very strange arrangement.

Gǒu Mòlí said, "I ordered it to be like this. They can't be fed too much, and they can't be treated too well. If they're treated like pigs and dogs, they'll feel more at ease."

"Heh heh."

"Do you think I'm being too cruel to my own people?"

The blind man shook his head and said, "You don't have many of your own people left."

Except for the tribe that Sāng Hǔ brought back, no, to be precise, even in the tribe that Sāng Hǔ brought back, only a very few were truly loyal to the barbarian king.

And now, the barbarian tribes active on the snowy plains, including these slave soldiers, were, to some extent, betrayers of the barbarian king's cause.

"I'm doing this for their own good. You don't understand how strong our barbarians' survival tolerance is. As long as they have something to eat, they can huddle in a corner for most of the day without moving, and even if you step on his face with the sole of your boot, he'll still just look at you and smile stupidly.

Most of them

Don't have dignity, and aren't used to having dignity.

It's not appropriate to treat them like people. Instead, using the method of raising livestock can instill some wolfishness in them."

"Do as you see fit."

The blind man didn't bother arguing with the barbarian king on this matter.

The barbarian king said, "Actually, I also know what you did to the soldiers and civilians in Xuěhǎi Pass, and I understand it. Your methods really make me admire you.

You know, there aren't many people who can make me admire them in this kind of matter."

The barbarian king was undoubtedly skilled and confident in bewitching people, so he could give the blind man a higher evaluation.

The blind man said, "I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants."

"That sounds really interesting. Like Lord Bó, you can always say things that are thought-provoking."

"Mm."

At this moment, a group of auxiliary soldiers came outside the camp.

Guo Dong and Xǔ Ān were among them.

The cooks began to set up their stoves and cook, and the fragrant rice, steamed buns, and腊肉 [làmròu, cured meat] immediately filled the air.

Guo Dong was surprised to find that tonight's food was even better than it had been in the past few days.

Because these steamed buns were actually filled!

He had heard some auxiliary soldiers from Xuěhǎi Pass say that their steamed buns were filled.

Guo Dong was surprised. Shouldn't filled steamed buns be called dumplings?

In any case, they were really delicious.

The shredded radish filling had added meat, so it wasn't dry at all and was very tasty.

The auxiliary soldiers were on the battlefield for the first time today, so they deserved to be rewarded with food. Each person received two pieces of腊肉 [làmròu, cured meat], and the rice and steamed buns were also double the usual amount. If they couldn't finish it, they could take it with them. The salty sauce that went with the rice used to be half a spoonful per person, but tonight it was unlimited.

It was unrealistic to provide them with psychological counseling, but fortunately, a delicious meal could solve most of their worries.

Furthermore, bringing them here to eat dinner was specifically to show the barbarian slaves separated by a fence.

Xǔ Ān reached out and nudged Guo Dong, who was gobbling down a steamed bun, signaling him to look to the other side.

Wow!

Guo Dong didn't know until he looked, and he was shocked. The fence next to him was densely packed with faces.

These barbarians were mostly disheveled and dirty, and now they were all with their mouths open and tongues out, as if they were inhaling the fragrance, filled with a deep desire.

However, Guo Dong had eaten Píngyě Lord's watermelon!

Although others didn't think it was anything, Guo Dong felt that his life was already extraordinary from that moment on.

So, he immediately suppressed the agitation in his heart and said to Xǔ Ān and the several comrades around him,

"Haha, when I was at home, my dad was a manager in the mountain camp, and our family's life was much better in those years. Every time we had dinner, I liked to hold my bowl and squat by the doorstep, letting the kids in the alley see the oil in my bowl.

Today, it's even better, so many people are watching us eat, this meal is even more fragrant! Everyone, let's eat harder and make some noise!"

"Hahahaha………"

"Haha………"

The auxiliary soldiers laughed and ate even more joyfully.

Since ancient times, people aren't worried about scarcity but unequal distribution, but this feeling of "I have it and you don't" is also very attractive.

Gǒu Mòlí reached out and grabbed the hair of an adult barbarian male whose head was almost sticking out of the railing and pulled him back.

The barbarian male immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

After landing, he instinctively wanted to pounce on Gǒu Mòlí.

These barbarians were held together, and through each time they threw food, they fought over it, and they had already divided into "prison bosses." The prison bosses could enjoy the most food, and his subordinates could also eat more, while the other barbarians in the same area could only pray for some scraps or simply go hungry.

The blind man then remembered that the person throwing the food earlier was throwing it every so often, clearly according to a specific area division.

Like raising fish in a pond, the nets were divided, and the feeding could be done evenly.

The person Gǒu Mòlí grabbed was a "prison boss" barbarian. He was fierce.

The gang of subordinates around him, after standing behind him to抢夺 [qiǎngduó, snatch] food all these days, also vaguely had a sense of taking him as their leader. Seeing their boss being dragged down, they instinctively wanted to press forward.

However,

Those barbarians who Sāng Hǔ left behind and who hadn't died in the Chōngyāng Mountain fortress immediately stepped forward with their blades, and the guards following behind the blind man also raised their crossbows.

The prison boss was scared.

The prison boss's subordinates were also scared.

They couldn't help but be scared.

These barbarians had long had their courage broken by the Yan people.

Gǒu Mòlí put his foot on the prison boss barbarian's head, turned around, and said to the blind man, "To use Lord Bó's words, it's choosing a general from among the short people."

The blind man understood the barbarian king's method of selecting people, nodded, and said, "You did well."

Gǒu Mòlí smiled and said, "There's no other way. Wolfishness can only be cultivated in this way, just like the wolfishness on you Yan people. You have it, but the Jìn people don't. It's because we barbarians are too weak, and the barbarians are too strong.

The Yan people imprinted wolfishness into their bones by fighting with the barbarians for hundreds of years. What about us barbarians? Actually, we have more slavishness."

After saying that,

Gǒu Mòlí immediately switched to the barbarian language and shouted to the surrounding barbarian slaves:

"Do you want to eat the same things as them? I'll give you this opportunity."

"Clap clap!"

Gǒu Mòlí clapped his hands,

Outside,

A group of barbarian guards pushed over carts of rattan armor.

The rattan armor was mostly damaged and basically covered in blood.

This was the loot from the Cāngshān fortress.

"I want to select a group of people to charge the Chǔ people's city walls with me tomorrow. Those who survive tomorrow will be able to eat the same food as those people in the future."

Gǒu Mòlí pointed to the rattan armor on the cart,

He said:

"I'm not asking you to die. You'll wear this armor tomorrow, and you'll be issued blades and spears."

Finally,

Gǒu Mòlí also pointed to the fence on the other side where the women and children were being held,

"I know that many of your women and children are being held there. Those who survive tomorrow, I'll return your women and children to you.

If your women and children aren't here, or if you don't have women and children at all.

It's okay,

See,

Those are other people's women and children,

Tomorrow,

Those who survive following me to charge the city walls,

Can choose other people's women and children as you please!

Let other people's women warm your beds, let other people's children call you dad, hahahahaha!!!!!!!"

After the barbarian king finished speaking,

The eyes of the surrounding male barbarians immediately began to turn red, and many clenched their fists.

The blind man, standing behind Gǒu Mòlí, silently spat out two words:

"Beast."

For the blind man, learning the barbarian language wasn't difficult.

Gǒu Mòlí smiled and nodded,

As if answering and talking to himself,

He said:

"Haven't I always called myself... Gou Zi (Dog) ?

That's because,

From a long time ago, I already regarded myself,

As,

A beast."

————

The electricity at home suddenly broke, and it hasn't been fixed yet, which affected my coding. There will only be one chapter today. I'll write a big chapter tomorrow to make up for it. Don't panic.