People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 554 Desperate Situation
Zhou Yu no longer cared how much the people hated him. He was about to go to the battlefield anyway. Even if the people wanted to eat him alive, that would be after he died.

Zhou Yu knew clearly what his fate would be if he lost the battle.

The Yellow Turbans would not kill all their enemies, but would only settle accounts based on their crimes. Based on what I had done in the past few months, according to the Yellow Turbans' judgment system, there was no doubt that I would be killed.

Either win the battle and continue to fight for the cause, or lose and die under the sword of the Yellow Turbans. There is no other way.

Zhou Yu had obviously realized this. After taking a deep breath, he ignored the hateful gazes of the people and continued riding forward.

The Wu and Shu troops in front spontaneously made way for a small path, and Zhou Yu passed through the army.

Different from the emotions of the common people, the Wu-Shu coalition forces looked at Zhou Yu calmly and silently. For the Wu-Shu soldiers, they did not have much love or hate for Zhou Yu, only awe of the soldiers for their commander.

Being a soldier and fighting in a war is a very helpless thing. Many people don’t even know why they are fighting. Most of them just follow orders mechanically. They have to do whatever their superiors tell them to do. They have no right to autonomy at all.

The same is true today. They still don't know why they are going to fight the Yellow Turbans to the death. The only thing they know is that they cannot disobey orders, otherwise they will be killed.

Even on the battlefield, all their actions will still be supervised by the supervision team.

So they don't have to think about who they are fighting with or why they are fighting. There is a knife against their waist, and the only thing they can do is to rush forward.

However, the soldiers could go to the battlefield to fight because of the majesty of military law, but they were ultimately helpless. In the absence of sufficient subjective willingness to fight, it was a big question whether these forcibly conscripted soldiers could have much combat effectiveness, let alone morale.

Zhou Yu clearly felt the low morale in the city, which made him feel very powerless.

If you want to boost morale, you have to arouse the soldiers' subjective willingness to fight, but it is impossible for me to do what the Yellow Turbans did.

The Yellow Turbans were able to turn their soldiers into warriors of faith, but I don’t have that ability.

The only way to get these conscripted soldiers to fight bravely is to spend money.

When he arrived at the city gate, Zhou Yu turned around and faced the army. Under the gaze of the army, he slowly waved his hand.

Suddenly, teams of soldiers on the top of the city wall carried out boxes of things, and then began to dump them down. Everyone saw the gold, silver and copper coins falling down to the city like flowing water. The whole city of Changsha was stunned by such a scene.

"This governor guarantees that after this battle, all soldiers still alive will be rewarded, and will be awarded titles based on their military exploits!"

Zhou Yu's low voice spread as the soldiers sang it one by one. The army, which had been lifeless just now, seemed to be activated as if a switch was touched. The army formation began to shake, and the soldiers also became agitated.

It has to be said that for many soldiers, such a promise is a great incentive.

Money is secondary. What really makes them covetous is the title, which means that they can be rewarded with land and slaves in the future. This family property is enough to make most of them jealous.

Slowly, the morale that had been very low just now seemed to warm up a little.

The method of drawing cakes in the sky will never go out of date. For most people of that era, all they want in life is a few acres of fertile land to cultivate and pass on to their family. Whoever can satisfy their wishes will motivate them to work hard.

However, this was not the end, as they saw Zhou Yu raise his hand again.

"This is the case for the living. If you die in battle, all rewards can be given to your family. The money will be doubled, and the rank will be increased by one level!"

Zhou Yu still felt it was not enough, so he drew a bigger pie on the original basis, trying to dispel the soldiers' final concerns.

This was indeed useful, and many soldiers blushed. They all had families, and with this guarantee, they were no longer afraid of dying in vain. Of course, most soldiers were alone, and even if they had families, they were mostly separated, but the rewards and titles were still enough temptation for them.

Only Lu Su in the distance was looking at everything in front of him with a complicated expression. His eyes were full of sympathy when he looked at the soldiers. Of course, this sympathy was only for a moment.

He understood that in order to make this final stand, Zhou Yu needed to coax these soldiers into fighting to the death.

It can only be said that Wu and Shu's method of fooling the people is indeed quite useful. If these soldiers knew that the land they are trying so hard to obtain can be distributed in Xuanxia without them having to do anything, their faith would probably be shattered immediately.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting heated, Zhou Yu drew his sword and pointed it into the sky: "Everyone, open the city gates and follow me to charge in!"

The army responded immediately with a roar that shook the earth.

The city gate that had been cleared long ago slowly opened. Zhou Yu was the first to rush out on horseback, and the army in the city also filed out. Changsha City, which had been silent for several months, suddenly became restless and chaotic.

Hundreds of thousands of Wu and Shu main forces quickly left the city, then slowly deployed their battle formations and prepared to attack.

The entire process of deploying Wu and Shu's troops was neither fast nor slow. Naturally, the Yellow Turbans in the distance could not have failed to notice it. The camp also responded quickly. From afar, one could see dust flying inside, so the commotion must have been considerable.

After several months, the two armies finally met face to face outside the city wall. Although the war had not officially started yet, a solemn atmosphere had swept the battlefield. Everyone's nerves were as taut as a bowstring, waiting for that moment of release.

At this moment, as long as Zhou Yu gave an order, the Wu and Shu armies would surge forward like a tide and engulf everything in front of them.

But such a simple attack order put Zhou Yu under heavy pressure at this moment, and he even felt a little scared in his heart.

What if... I lose...

The last face of the gentry, the last hope of Wu and Shu, the last glory of the old era, everything will be decided by this order of his.

Even a man as confident and proud as Zhou Yu could not help but hesitate and shrink back at this moment.

"Gongjin, it's time to attack." Lu Su rode his horse to Zhou Yu's side, and a reminder with a sigh finally woke Zhou Yu up.

Zhou Yu came back to his senses, clenched the sword in his hand, and looked towards the Yellow Turban position in the distance.

The countless soldiers behind him all focused their eyes on him.

After a long time, the soldiers finally saw Zhou Yu slowly raising his sword and pointing it at the Yellow Turban camp in the distance.

"attack!"

Just like puncturing a water bag, countless extremely tense emotions poured out in the direction where Zhou Yu's sword was pointing.

The Wu and Shu armies responded by shouting "Kill" at the top of their lungs, and then marched forward towards the Yellow Turban position.

The Wu and Shu armies, which had been extremely depressed in the past few months, actually showed considerable momentum at the last moment.

No one knows whether they are here to prolong the life of the old era or to witness its demise.

(End of this chapter)