My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 87 Cutting a Knife (First Order)

One of Xiang Chang's guards handed a kitchen knife to the surrendered soldier.

"I am the doctor of the Han army, Qi Zuocheng! You bastard Xiang Chang, you shall not die well! What you have done, the Han will definitely repay you tenfold or a hundredfold! Brothers, don't be fooled by this bastard. The Chu State is about to be destroyed by the Han. The grasshopper in autumn can only jump for a few days. Don't take the wrong path at the last moment."

The captive Langzhong Qi Zuocheng, the highest-ranking officer with his hands tied, instantly understood Xiang Chang's vicious intentions, and cursed with shock and anger.

Faced with his verbal abuse, Hei Shi's face turned black. He stepped forward and smashed the hilt of his sword into his mouth, causing his teeth to break and blood to splatter. The verbal abuse stopped abruptly, and was replaced by a series of vague howls.

"Now you can have some peace and quiet!" Xiang Chang gave Hei Shi a look of approval, then turned to the surrendered soldier and said, "You can start now! It's very simple, isn't it? Now you are a soldier of the Great Chu. This bastard is an enemy who bullies us. Let's chop him off and we will be brothers. What are you waiting for?"

Faced with Xiang Chang's patient persuasion, the surrendered soldier looked hesitant, shook his head and slowly retreated.

"Well, what a pity!" Xiang Chang spat out these words with a look of regret. Just as the surrendered soldier took a step back, there was a "bang" sound of a bow, and a sharp arrow shot out and hit the surrendered soldier's forehead!
The surrendered soldier opened his eyes wide, his face showing expressions of fear, confusion, resentment, and so on, and then his body collapsed to the ground!

Then the guards quickly dragged the body away and threw it under the reviewing platform.

"Next!" Xiang Chang turned his head and looked at the next surrendered soldier.

The surrendered soldier walked slowly towards Zuo Cheng with a kitchen knife in his hand. Halfway through, his face suddenly twisted, and he roared, then rushed towards Xiang Chang, saying sternly: "I will fight you to the death! I would rather die than delay..."

"Bang!" Another bowstring exploded, and an arrow hit the soldier's forehead.

A perfectly normal person suddenly had a trembling arrow stuck in his forehead, and then his eyes rolled back and his head spun around out of control. The scene seemed quite funny, but no one could laugh.

"Well, well done!" Looking at the body of the surrendered soldier lying on the ground, Doctor Zuo Cheng's eyes turned bloodshot, his face was filled with grief and anger, and he roared incoherently.

"Don't be impatient, let's see how many good people you mentioned are there." Xiang Chang stepped forward and patted his cheek and whispered. The cold and emotionless voice made the doctor feel cold in his heart.

"Since you have joined my Great Chu Army, you are my Great Chu soldiers and must be bound by my Great Chu Military Law. The first article of the Great Chu Military Law is that anyone who shrinks back when encountering an enemy will be beheaded! The fourth article is that anyone who disobeys the orders of his superiors will be beheaded! The eighth article is that anyone who attacks his comrades will be beheaded!" Xiang Chang stood in front of the reviewing platform. The smile on his face disappeared at some point, replaced by a cold and ruthless expression like ice. "Next!"

He had a sharp eye and chose this group of surrendered soldiers because they were obviously from Hanzhong and they were probably from the same hometown or clan as the officers or generals in the Han camp. They looked very close to each other. After such small groups were recruited and surrendered into the army, they were the most troublesome elements.

"Damn it, how dare you kill someone!"

"Brothers, don't be scared, get up and fight them!"

"Yes, everyone, get up and kill them. Don't be a coward. Even if you die, you must drag a few people with you."

"You bastards of the Great Chu State, a good man like my grandfather would never join you even if he dies!"

……

Below the stage, dozens of the more than a thousand surrendered soldiers who had just shouted that they would join the Great Chu Army as brothers jumped up one after another. Their voices were as loud as boiling porridge in a pot, and they kept shouting, cursing and inciting.

As for the remaining group of surrendered soldiers on the stage, they all rushed towards Xiang Chang like a swarm of bees. This small group of people obviously identified with the Han Dynasty and would rather die than surrender. The young and terrifying general in front of them turned out to be the eldest son of the famous King of Chu. In their eyes, he was naturally a rare commodity, so they wanted to capture him and fight for a chance of survival.

However, the sound of "bang" and "bang" continued to ring out, and arrows were shot out one after another with great accuracy, turning all the surrendered soldiers who were rushing towards Xiang Chang into hedgehogs, and they fell to the ground one by one without power. At the same time, under the general's stand, the surrendered soldiers who were rioting were also nailed into the heads one by one.

As these troublesome surrendered soldiers fell down one after another like wheat being cut down, the surging wave on the training ground lost its follow-up thrust and came to an abrupt halt.

"Who else?" Xiang Chang's face became gloomy, and he let out a deafening roar towards the playground, word by word!

Looking at the open eyes and twisted angry faces of the surrendered soldiers who fell dead beside them, and listening to the roar in their ears, the remaining surrendered soldiers felt as if they were poured with basins of cold water. Their whole bodies were cold and they squatted stiffly in the place, not daring to move. No one dared to show his head, for fear that they would be shot by flying arrows if they made the slightest movement.

These surrendered soldiers were just ordinary farmers in the village before they were dragged to the battlefield. When they belonged to the Qin Empire, they farmed and paid taxes! The Qin Empire collapsed, and another big fist, Liu Bang, rode on their heads, and they still farmed and paid taxes.

He is illiterate and has never left the village for more than ten miles unless he is dragged to fight on the battlefield. How can he have any thoughts about his country? He who has the bigger fist will be the boss!
If the one with the bigger fist bullies them so badly that they can't survive at all, then they should just stand up and fight against him!
Anyway, it’s death!
Therefore, expecting them to feel a sense of belonging and loyalty to the Han Dynasty like those vested interest officers, as well as those troublemakers from the same hometown and clan as the officers and generals, is just wishful thinking!
Xiang Chang had a cold face and pointed at the stage again. Then more than a dozen surrendered soldiers were brought up.

Walking up to the first surrendered soldier, Xiang Chang spoke in a cold voice that made people tremble all over: "Now it's your turn, tell me your choice!"

The surrendered soldier held the kitchen knife, looked at the dozens of officers with their hands tied and cursing loudly, and then looked at the fierce soldiers of the Chu State with sharp blades drawn and arrows flashing around him. After a struggle in his eyes, he let out a howl, rushed to the doctor's horse, raised the kitchen knife high, and chopped him hard.

As Langzhong Qi Zuocheng screamed in anger and hatred, most of the blade of the kitchen knife was embedded in his shoulder.

A kitchen knife is a kitchen knife after all. It is difficult to kill someone unless it hits vital parts such as the carotid artery in the neck!

The soldier pulled hard, blood splattered out and sprayed all over his face. He stood there in a daze.

"Good brother! Good brother!" Xiang Chang rushed over, took off the kitchen knife and threw it to the guard. Before the surrendered soldier could react, he raised his hand high and shouted to the surrendered soldiers below, "This brother did it! This brother is great! - What's your name? Um, Kong Bo? The eldest brother of the Kong family? What a good name! - Brother Kong Bo did it. He cut the doctor half to death with one knife. From now on, he will be a real soldier of the Great Chu! Quick, help brother Kong Bo over there, prepare rice and fish soup, and let the brother eat well!"

Immediately, several soldiers rushed forward, and their ferocious faces instantly became warm and gentle, as if Kong Bo was a half-brother who had been separated for many years and reunited. They surrounded him affectionately and ate and drank to his heart's content.

"Next, tell me your choice!"

After the first one, there was the second one. The special officers were eliminated, the troublemakers were cleared out, and the remaining ordinary soldiers who were almost forced to go to the battlefield, had no sense of the country, and did not get any practical benefits from following the Han army, faced with this extremely brutal choice of life and death, it is natural to imagine what choice they made.

When the fourth blow of the kitchen knife came down fiercely, the doctor rider had already lost his breath. Xiang Chang did not call for a stop, and waited until all the dozen soldiers had finished chopping the doctor rider's upper body was chopped beyond recognition, and then Xiang Chang waved his hand and asked the soldiers to drag the body away.

"Is there anyone who will take the initiative to come up and chop? Time is running out. Ten thousand years is too long. We must seize every moment. The sooner we finish chopping, the sooner we can eat rice and salted fish soup. Look at how deliciously those brothers are eating. I want to have a bowl too." Xiang Chang walked to the edge of the platform and squatted down. He changed from looking down to looking at the soldiers on the platform level, and shouted into a loud speaker.

Zhou Yin, who was watching from behind with fascination, was already astounded by Xiang Chang's incredible move of forcing the surrendered soldiers to kill their superiors to show their determination to be true soldiers of the Great Chu. However, he was still not satisfied, and put pressure on himself, setting higher demands on himself - he actually tried to manipulate these surrendered soldiers, changing them from passively accepting under his urging to demanding progress and taking the initiative to come up and kill!

All the surrendered soldiers followed Xiang Chang's instructions and looked over. On the west side of the drill ground, everyone was holding a large plate and munching on the food like pigs. The sound of their swallowing could be heard from such a distance. They immediately stood up and rushed to the podium, raised their hands high, and actively asked to be the first to chop!
Seeing this scene, seeing these soldiers who were originally as obedient as sheep and dared not resist being killed and beaten, now with fierce faces, vying to kill their own officers, all the captured generals and officers of the Han army turned pale, their eyes were desperate, and the curses and curses in their mouths lost their spirit and became weak and mumbling. Especially seeing the miserable state of Doctor Zuo Cheng just now, some of those who were not mentally strong enough had their crotches wet and smelly.

Today was destined to be their death, and it was clear that it would not be a good death.

Xiang Chang waved his hand and all the arrows were fired, killing all the surrendered soldiers who were still squatting there and hesitating!

This scene startled all the soldiers who were fighting for the goods, and they felt a strong sense of fear and relief, so their desire to kill these former superiors became even stronger!

"Okay! I feel everyone's desire! In order to let everyone eat as soon as possible and join the warm family of the Great Chu Army as brothers, let's not kill them one by one."

As Xiang Chang spoke generously and powerfully, the guards behind him dumped bags of daggers, short swords, and broken spears under the reviewing platform. There were more than a thousand of them. They signaled all the surrendered soldiers to pick up one each.

After all the surrendered soldiers had been picked up, and each man was standing under the reviewing platform with a weapon in his hand and a confused look on his face, all the captured generals and officers in the Han army camp were untied and pushed under the platform.

"Everyone, go ahead and chop them. As long as you get a piece of the corpse of these officers, even if you truly become a soldier of the Great Chu, you can go to the side and eat happily."

Upon hearing Xiang Chang's words, all the surrendered soldiers were stunned - their hands were clearly tied just now, so how come they were allowed to be chopped alive now?

Those captured generals and officers were in complete despair, shaking uncontrollably. The cruelty of this dog thief Xiang Chang refreshed their cognition again and again. He wanted the soldiers under their former command to turn around and cut these officers and generals into pieces with their swords!
"Damn it, brothers, we can't just sit there and wait for death!"

"Yes, go ahead, don't be a coward!"

"It's all one death. Killing one will cover the loss. Killing two will make a profit!"

……

To the surprise of Zhou Yin and others who were watching on the reviewing platform, while the surrendered soldiers were still hesitating, the generals and officers took the initiative to attack, cursing loudly and rushing towards the surrendered soldiers beside them, snatching the weapons, and then hacking and killing like crazy.

The surrendered soldiers were caught off guard, and many of them had their weapons taken away from them, and were hacked to pieces, with blood all over their bodies. Fortunately, these weapons were not lethal.

These surrendered soldiers were completely enraged. Someone shouted and all the surrendered soldiers suddenly rushed forward like a huge wave hitting a small boat, instantly swallowing up all the generals and officers.

Seeing this group of people completely turned into wild beasts in an instant, and for the sake of their own lives, they raised their knives towards the commanders of their former army. Not satisfied with hacking them to death, they also cut their bodies into pieces and fought desperately for their bodies. This horrifying scene made all the Chu army generals on the reviewing stand fall silent!
"If a general cannot love his soldiers like his own sons, but instead treats them like cattle and horses, and beats, scolds and whips them like slaves, then it is only natural that one day he will be attacked by his soldiers and be torn into pieces. I think that if the famous general Wu Qi were to encounter such an extreme situation, all his soldiers would rather die with him than kill him to save his life."

Originally, Hei Shi, Tian Jian and everyone else, including Zhou Yin, looked at the tall figure standing at the front of the podium with his hands behind his back like a nail, their eyes full of awe. But now, hearing his cold words, they suddenly felt a chill in their hearts!

"We will love our soldiers like our own sons, and we will clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, and we will never treat our soldiers as slaves again." Kuroshi, Tian Jian and others were originally from the lower classes, and they made the promise without hesitation. As for the noble generals of the rear army, such as Qu Fu, Han Hu, Ning Xi, and Wei Le, they were also shocked by the bloody scene and immediately followed suit.

Xiang Chang himself felt nauseous at the ugly scene on the training ground, which broke human morality and went beyond the scope of human nature, and chose to raise the butcher knife against his former superior for his own survival like a beast.

However, thinking of his father who was a hero in his previous life, who was not only forced to death by the Han army but also dismembered and left without a burial place, he forced himself to stand still and watch every detail of this scene.

Right now is a chaotic world with moral order and social order in chaos. If you are not hard-hearted and ruthless enough, then the ones who will be hacked to pieces will be your father and yourself!
"Captain." After watching quietly for a while, Xiang Chang suddenly spoke when he saw more and more surrendered soldiers holding up pieces of limbs and flesh, and running excitedly to the west side of the drill ground to exchange for sumptuous food and drink from the soldiers of the Great Chu Army, and happily joining the Great Chu Army.

His voice was not loud, and even seemed inaudible in the noisy training ground. However, to Zhou Yin, who had been paying close attention to him, it was like thunder. He immediately took two steps forward and spoke with a respectful tone: "You say!"

Xiang Chang turned around and looked at him in surprise, then smiled: "Captain, do you think these surrendered soldiers will defect if they are incorporated into the military camp and fight against the Han army again?"

Zhou Yin shook his head, forcefully and firmly!
Are you kidding me? In order to survive, they hacked their former superiors to pieces like mad dogs. Even if they surrendered to the Han army again, the Han army would not only accept them, but how could they let them go? After all, the military law of the Chu State was harsh, so the military law of the Han State was just a joke?
"I don't think they will turn against us again. After handing in this letter of surrender, they will definitely be soldiers of the Great Chu." Xiang Chang also nodded in agreement, and turned to the generals including Hei Shi behind him and said in a deep voice: "You all see it clearly, right? Do you know what to do?"

All the generals were cheered up and stepped forward and bowed in response.

"As for the remaining surrendered soldiers, you must handle them in the same way. It must be completed within two days! After all, the Han army is watching closely and will not give us too much time."

Xiang Chang put his father's reputation on the line and lavishly conferred titles on important generals under Liu Bang, causing division among the Han camp and buying the exhausted remnants of the Chu army a precious period of rest and recuperation!

According to his understanding of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, these two smartest brains in the world will definitely come up with a solution in the shortest possible time to solve the problem he has set! Therefore, he has been keeping a tight rein on his heart and dare not relax at all.

The exhausted remnants of the Chu army have received effective rest and will soon recover their best combat effectiveness, but the next biggest problem facing the Chu army is manpower!

The Chu army also suffered heavy losses in the battle to relieve Gaixia City. Even with the addition of Zhou Yin's army and Ying Bu's army, there are only about 100,000 soldiers left. The difference between the Chu army and the Han army is that the territory of the Chu army is now almost entirely in the hands of the Han army. If a soldier is lost, there is no one left, and they cannot be replenished like the Han army!

Therefore, Xiang Chang was forced into a desperate situation and had to turn his attention to these surrendered soldiers.

The surrendered soldiers from the rear army of the Han army sent by Ying Bu, the captives who won the great victory in the surprise attack on Kong Xi's army that night, the battle in which his father showed his prowess in defeating several Han armies, and a lot of surrendered soldiers, the three combined, totaled nearly 40,000.

Excluding military officers, the old, weak and sick, and troublemakers, Xiang Chang estimated that he would be able to get about 27,000 to 28,000 available!

If this group of surrendered soldiers are truly of one mind with the Great Chu and are added to the army, it will undoubtedly greatly enhance the overall strength of the Chu army.

Yes, Xiang Chang's idea was very clear at the beginning. Among these surrendered prisoners, he did not want officers, troublemakers, those who formed groups, or the old and weak. He only wanted the lowest-level strong soldiers who were docile and obedient, preferably those who had no brains and could only follow military orders and charge forward!
"But for the sake of safety, even the surrendered soldiers who have passed this bloody test, when they are added to the army, only one person will be added to each squad, and they cannot be allowed to form a group. At the same time, the order will be conveyed to every squad leader, and these surrendered soldiers will be treated equally in terms of weapons, armor, and food. They must be shown concern and care, and must be made to feel the warm friendship of the brothers in the army like spring! Those who fail to do so will be punished by military law!"

Xiang Chang knew very well that the reason why the surrendered soldiers who were incorporated into the army turned against them was that the management was too rough and brutal. There was a widespread situation of bullying, despising and even hostility towards the surrendered soldiers in the army. In addition, the officers and vested interests among the surrendered soldiers instigated and planned, so it was natural for them to turn against them.

Xiang Chang would never allow this!

All the generals immediately bowed and responded solemnly!

Now, no general in the rear army dared to neglect Xiang Chang's military orders.

(End of this chapter)