Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 270: One Million Prisoners

Several consecutive military orders were issued, but there was no movement in the command tent. Faintly, the sound of the iron floating guards' warhorses could be heard outside, cold and bloodthirsty.

Xin Zhuo looked at Lunar Serenity Well again, but there was still no change.

He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to rest.

On the second day at noon, news came—

Yu Chi Shuo had already occupied the supply depot of the Western Region Allied Forces in Jiwei Town. The amount of weapons, armor, food, and supplies was unimaginable. According to the quartermaster's statistics, it was enough to sustain a force of 500,000 soldiers for three months.

500,000 soldiers for three months?

The Western Qin Army itself had over 100,000 troops, plus 800,000 Western Region prisoners and over 200,000 remaining soldiers from the plague in Qinghu Bay. It totaled over 1.1 million.

This was not something that over a million troops could sustain for a month and a half.

In the afternoon, more news came. Bai Xuanji and the Five Bear Paw Sisters had arrived in Guiwei Prefecture. The news of the Western Region Army's defeat had already reached there, and the prefecture and its six counties surrendered without resistance.

Following that, rebellion broke out in the eight counties of Qiu Ling Prefecture and the seventy-two Western Region tribes. Many people were turning towards Western Qin.

The situation was favorable on all sides, except for the lack of news about the defeated Western Region soldiers and prisoners.

Xin Zhuo continued to wait patiently, and this wait lasted until the third night.

Jiang Shisan rushed in, reporting in a hurry, "Commander-in-Chief, we encountered resistance in seventeen locations. It took us two days and one night to suppress them all. Most of the Western Region Allied Forces have been struck by the plague and are unable to escape. We have captured a total of 1.02 million prisoners. Only the Great General of the Ghost Fang Kingdom, Si Lu Qi, the Prince of the Ghost Fang Kingdom, Jing Lv Ji, the Princess of the Gu Mo Kingdom, Si Si An, and the Prince of the An Xi Kingdom, An Lu Fei Ying, led two thousand guards to escape towards the Ma Yuan Zhe and Yu Chi families a thousand miles away!"

"The Zhe and Yu Chi families..."

Xin Zhuo had some understanding of these Hundred Year border military towns. Apart from the Zhe and Yu Chi families, there were also the Lin, Gu Su, and Sha families!

These military families had numerous descendants, many Martial Dao experts, and extremely fierce hidden private armies. They were the most powerful families in Western Qin, even surpassing the influence of the Jiang family. The likes of Lin Haotian, Yu Chi Jun, and Zhe Tengkun in the Western Qin Army were also descendants of these families.

A few months ago, the Western Qin Army suffered a disastrous defeat, losing the Three Thousand Li Horse Origin and the West River Nine Water Corridor. These families definitely played a role in this, either by not exerting themselves or by being negligent!

It was rumored that they had already surrendered to the Western Region Army!

Xin Zhuo's eyes flickered for a moment, and he smiled without mentioning it, only asking, "Where are the prisoners?"

Jiang Shisan replied, "They are all gathered from Baisha Beach to Qinghu Bay."

...

At dawn.

The Prince of Western Qin's command tent set off, accompanied by 800 Iron Floating Guards and 7,000 Western Qin Iron Cavalry, heading straight for Baisha Beach.

They arrived around noon.

Even before they got close, they could already see the continuous rows of broken and dilapidated tents and the countless defeated Western Region soldiers being herded together like pigs and dogs.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."

Jiang Gu'en, Lin Haotian, Tuoba Kedi, Jiang Yuxi, and Jiang Man'er, along with a large group of generals, had already come forward amidst the swirling dust.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

The expressions of the crowd were more nervous, passionate, and admiring than before. In that battle of a million troops, there were too many battle situations, too many dangers, and countless repeated attacks. No one remembered the details anymore, but no one could ignore the Commander-in-Chief's charge in the central army and the terrifying Qilin phantom.

They even believed that the Commander-in-Chief alone accounted for at least half of the credit in this battle.

Xin Zhuo nodded slightly and smiled, saying, "Generals, you have worked hard!"

"The Grand Commander has also worked hard!"

The veteran Jiang Gu'en solemnly saluted, saying, "This victory is all thanks to the Grand Commander!"

Xin Zhuo shook his head and said, "I am not a deity. What credit can one person have? General, you are too kind. I am blushing."

Everyone laughed, and Lord Yuchi said, "We have carefully counted and captured 1,023,893 prisoners, but..."

After considering for a moment, he sighed and said, "However, there is an epidemic spreading. With so many people gathered together, there may be trouble. The soldiers of the Western Qin are using diapers to cover their noses!"

"It won't happen. The epidemic only lasts for five days. It should be dispersing soon!" Xin Zhuo galloped towards the vast prisoner camp.

The generals behind him were stunned, and a chill rose in their hearts. They were aware of the "epidemic" and had heard about Zhang Guangpu and the nineteen military colonels. The Grand Commander... not only created the epidemic but also accurately predicted when it would dissipate?

What kind of calculation is this? The old marshal Jiang Wen, who was once a dragon among men, couldn't match his son's strategy.

He's only seventeen years old!

The people exchanged glances and quickly caught up with the Grand Commander's pace.

They had arrived at the prisoner camp, and what they saw was a scene of despair, fear, unease, and weakness caused by the "epidemic." Over a million prisoners from the Western Regions, who were once fierce and full of killing intent, had become dejected and resembled a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, their eyes filled with numbness.

Many of the Western Region soldiers were seriously injured, supported by their comrades. Both the supporters and the injured appeared somewhat dull.

There was also a group of female generals and soldiers, their armor tattered, exposing their white chests without any concealment. It seemed that they no longer cared about honor and dignity, even in the face of death.

Further away, countless surrendered soldiers sat in disarray, in complete silence.

Xin Zhuo had once wondered why there were so many more prisoners than escorts, and yet they willingly allowed themselves to be slaughtered without resistance. Even if they used their teeth, they might have been able to defeat the enemy.

In fact, it was quite ridiculous that the Western Qin army of eight or nine hundred thousand had captured over a million prisoners.

But now he understood.

These people had lost their confidence and hope. Everyone was enveloped in pessimism and filled with the fear and terror of a great defeat. They had already lost in a direct confrontation, so what could resistance achieve?

Or perhaps, they hoped someone would take the lead, but the person they hoped would lead also hoped for someone else to take the lead...

This self-contradiction, self-denial, and post-war syndrome were enough to completely destroy their confidence.

Continuing forward, they occasionally saw groups of Western Region soldiers surrounding certain individuals. Although they looked dejected, some still had a glimmer of fighting spirit.

Xin Zhuo carefully observed these people, his gaze transitioning from calm to complex, and finally turning ice-cold.

Ahead was the command tent of the detention camp. Xin Zhuo dismounted and walked in, sitting cross-legged on the command platform.

After a moment, dozens of Western Qin generals entered one after another, saluting and sitting in two rows.

Lord Yuchi cupped his fist and said, "How should we handle these prisoners? We seek the Grand Commander's decision!"

The other generals echoed, as this was to be expected. After all, capturing all the Western Region army as prisoners was the Grand Commander's order. But at this moment, the generals couldn't understand the Grand Commander's true intentions!

What use is there for so many surrendered soldiers if we can't afford to support them?

Xin Zhuo swept his gaze over the faces of the group, and smiled lightly, saying, "If I were to incorporate these surrendered soldiers, what do you all think?"

The generals exchanged glances, and Jiang Gu'en stood up first, refusing, "This cannot be done. They are not of our clan, and their hearts will be different. With so many surrendered soldiers, once they have armor and weapons, they will inevitably develop rebellious thoughts. They will be difficult to control!"

Lord Yuchi also stood up and said, "If the Grand Commander wants to expand the army and restore the previous Western Qin army's organization, we can recruit from the three states, the eighteen prefectures, and even the Three Thousand Li Horse Yuan and the West River Nine Water Corridor that we have recaptured! These surrendered soldiers cannot be used!"

(End of this chapter)