Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 28 No One Understands
People's sorrows and joys are not the same, which is different from the Han army's high spirits.

The surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers and civilians were worried and silent, not knowing how the Han army leader would treat them.

"Are you Guan Hai, the leader of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou?" Liu Bei asked as the bearded man was tied up with ropes and taken to the military tent.

"That's right, I'm Guan Hai. If you want to kill me, just do it. Why ask any more questions?" Guan Hai also knew that the situation was irreversible.

Since they were captured alive by the Han army, there was no thought of how long they could live. The imperial court always beheaded the bandit leaders as a public display.

Not to mention Guan Hai’s reaction.

Liu Bei saw that the other party's ribs were probably stabbed by a spear or sharp weapon. Although he had used medicine, he seemed to have lost a lot of blood and his face was pale, but he still forced out a few words.

He had made up his mind.

Guan Hai waited for a while but did not see the soldiers push him out of the tent and kill him. His eyes were filled with doubt and he did not know what the Han army commander was going to do.

But even if he knew what he wanted to do, he couldn't do anything.

When the two armies clashed, the 130,000 men were defeated, especially when they met the Han army wearing heavy iron armor, who managed to withstand their counterattacks.

He could also accurately find the flaws in his own formation in the chaos, and after entering the formation like a hammer, wherever his heavy hammer hit, the soldiers there would be frightened and their formation would collapse and they would involuntarily move backwards.

Seeing their arrogance, Guan Hai went to meet them in person, but he never expected to be knocked unconscious by the group of iron men with long hammers.

If he hadn't been wearing a helmet and a fu hat, his head would have been smashed by the hammer.

After I woke up, my jaw was swollen and painful for several days, and I don't know if some thief had stabbed me in the ribs through the armor.

Even after Nai Gong fainted, he did not let him go and gave him another hard blow.

Guan Hai cursed inwardly, "Since the uprising began, you have fought against the Han army dozens of times, but you have never seen such a fierce and powerful Han army. They have suffered heavy casualties but still fought to the death and refused to retreat."

He was as ferocious as a wolf and a tiger, regardless of his disadvantage. He was violent and murderous, looking at his opponent as if he were a living person.

Guan Hai thought about it for a long time, and suddenly he slapped his head and remembered, damn it, it’s just like what they saw the rich families piling up money and grain in their warehouses.

They were scrambling to get them, fearing that they would run away.

What kind of army is this? They don’t look like the Han army.

When the atmosphere became tense, Liu Bei did not beat around the bush and asked directly: "Guan Hai, I know you still have a bottom line, so I don't want to kill you. Are you willing to surrender?"

The bamboo slips in Liu Bei's hand were documents urgently sent from the south. The 70,000 Yellow Turban Army was already attacking Gaoyuan County, and they wanted to capture the city before lifting the siege of Linji.

Without seeing the main force of the Han army move out, the other side must have become extremely suspicious.

Although Liu Bei had rested for a short time, he sent out hundreds of cavalrymen to chase and kill the defeated Yellow Turban soldiers who were trying to escape to the west along the highway.

But the news can only be stopped temporarily. What if the other party gets wind of it and runs away? We will have to go out again next year. This is the second year in a row that civilians have been conscripted for transportation.

How could the people bear it for another year?
If they had not run away, could they have defended Gaoyuan and intimidated the remaining Yellow Turbans in Linji County with only two or three thousand auxiliary soldiers and more than 20,000 conscripted civilians?

Liu Bei had a question mark in his mind.

At first he wanted to mobilize troops to rush to support immediately, but suddenly he remembered that the casualties in this battle were too heavy, and the soldiers at the moment were already stretched to the limit in guarding so many Yellow Turban soldiers and civilians.

If we transfer some more people, we will end up losing sight of the big picture.

If there is any unusual movement here, this battle will be in vain.

I just happened to hear that the Yellow Turbans in the south broke away from here and coerced the common people into rising up. Maybe finding a prestigious person to persuade them to surrender can avoid another battle.

But we need to ensure that this person surrenders sincerely, then we can see whether Guan Hai is worth using.

Liu Bei looked directly at the other person, thinking deeply.

After hearing this, Guan Hai grinned and said, "My Lord, you only need to tell me what you want me to do. Whether I surrender or not depends on your orders." Guan Hai did not want to die, but he was not afraid of death either.

During the few days of being imprisoned, he had come to some understanding. He decided to sacrifice his life for justice and fight the Han army to the death.

When the three generals Heaven, Earth and Man were all killed in the battle, Guan Hai would not have fled all the way to this day.

When I followed the Great and Sage Master to rise up in rebellion, I said I was doing it for the people, but I still had some selfish motives.

Guan Hai simply disliked the powerful. At that time, he was also a village knight. The common people looked at him with pity but also made him angry.

When he saw that they finally stood up enough and dared to charge at the powerful manor, he couldn't help but marvel at their joy.

His idea was simple: a man draws his sword when humiliated, so what is there to be afraid of?

Some are just people who enjoy watching the fun and don't mind getting involved.

Since Liu Bei didn't want to take him out and behead him, it was not impossible for him to surrender.

But if he was asked to kill the surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers, he would never do it. He would rather die than do anything that would go against his conscience.

The reason for having such thoughts was largely because the imperial court did not accept the surrender of the Yellow Turbans, and those who surrendered were all killed by the Han generals Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

After Huangfu Song captured and killed more than 100,000 people, he built a "Jingguan" with the corpses in the south of Quyang City. The several killings of surrendered people made the court's promises no longer credible.

After the expedition against the Yellow Turbans, there were only two people except Liu Xuande who did not kill those who surrendered but instead properly resettled them.

This matter was widely circulated among the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou, but Guan Hai thought it was not impossible that the Liu clan would change their minds and kill the surrendered soldiers.

Liu Bei said solemnly: "That day, the fire burned more than half of the grain. I sent people to count the remaining grain. If it is used by 400,000 people, even if the amount is reduced, it can only last for two months..."

Guan Hai thought to himself that he really wanted to kill the surrendered, and thought of those surrendered generals.

"You are too trusting of the imperial court, hundreds of thousands of people will be harmed." He couldn't help feeling sad.

However, the next moment was a mixture of sadness and joy.

Liu Bei finally sighed and said, "For the past two years, almost every household in Qingzhou has been wearing white flags. The civil unrest should be over now."

"If it's too late, it will delay the spring ploughing next year. If hundreds of thousands of you don't produce anything, how long can you survive on the stored grain? Food is the primary need of the people, so you must farm at all times and in all places!"

Liu Bei said with emotion.

Guan Hai was stunned and asked, "Did Lord Liu ever want to kill the Yellow Turban surrendered soldiers?"

Liu Bei asked, "Why should I kill?"

Guan Hai was speechless, and then said: "We have killed many nobles and massacred the common people..."

Liu Bei sneered and said, "Are the nobles who violate the law and discipline innocent?"

"As for those who killed the people, I will send people to select them. No matter if they are sentenced to forced labor or killed as a warning to the public, those who deserve to be killed will not be spared."

Liu Bei had no intention of hiding his thoughts from Guan Hai.

I think of how many people I have seen in recent years, displaced and dying tragically on the roadside with no one to bury them.

Liu Bei said angrily: "If you had surrendered to me earlier, why would I kill you and let your blood flow before I can tie you up here and talk about people's livelihood?"

"I have inspected the Yellow Turban camp these days and know that many of you have burned, killed, looted, and raped countless women. You have no rules at all. You are not a righteous army at all. At best, you are just short-sighted bandits."

"I thought you killed only the powerful, but I didn't expect that you didn't even spare the common people wherever you went. Many innocent people died tragically because they were dragged into it by you, causing their families to be destroyed."

(End of this chapter)