My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

This Crown Prince truly displayed a chilling ruthlessness.

Ten thousand prisoners, that's no small number.

To the average person, these are ten thousand vibrant lives.

Liu Shan made the decision to kill them lightly, as if these ten thousand lives were nothing more than insignificant ants.

Such ruthless and decisive methods stand in stark contrast to the benevolent and kind image of his father, Liu Bei.

Liu Bei dedicated his life to restoring the Han Dynasty, and naturally, he could not avoid killing on his path of conquest.

But his killings were not indiscriminate killings of innocent people.

The Wei people who were killed earlier were all traitors and ministers of the Han Dynasty who had committed heinous crimes, betrayed the Han Dynasty, and aided and abetted the tyranny of the Han.

Liu Bei rarely killed ordinary Wei soldiers who were captured.

After all, the blame for the war lies with those ambitious usurpers, while these ordinary soldiers were mostly forced to take up arms for survival.

Therefore, Liu Bei either incorporated the captured Wei soldiers into his own army, allowing them to contribute to the restoration of the Han Dynasty, or he generously released them, thus demonstrating his benevolence to the people and soldiers of Wei.

Liu Bei had never done anything like Liu Shan's direct and ruthless decision to slaughter 10,000 Wei soldiers in his entire life.

"Your Highness, these are ten thousand prisoners of war. Are you going to kill them all?"

Zhang Fei stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

He had followed Liu Bei for many years and knew Liu Bei's style of doing things well. He was really surprised by Liu Shan's ruthless approach.

Liu Shan remained calm, as if the fate of these ten thousand lives was nothing more than a trivial matter.

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and asked in a tone of disdain:
"Otherwise what? Our Great Han now has a million soldiers and is extremely powerful. Why would we need to take the surrender of a mere ten thousand prisoners?"

His eyes revealed arrogance and confidence, as if he thought his decision was a matter of course.

"Since that's the case, we might as well execute them to show the Wei people what a miserable end they will suffer if they continue to follow Cao Cao!"

"I want everyone in Wei to know that anyone who opposes the Han Dynasty will surely die!"

Zhang Fei scratched his head, unsure how to answer for a moment.

His gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xiao He.

In Xiao He's view, Liu Shan's decision was not entirely without reason.

After all, killing to demonstrate against the enemy is a common occurrence in wars throughout history.

Although Lao Liu always upheld a benevolent policy and did not easily kill prisoners, his son did not necessarily have to follow his father's example in everything.

In this dog-eat-dog world, a little bit of domineering tactics might not be such a big deal.

However, Xiao He was also deeply confused.

He clearly remembered that the Crown Prince used to always say "No one is noble or lowly, everyone is like a dragon" and his compassionate expression made him seem like a compassionate bodhisattva.

In Xiao He's eyes, Liu Shan's benevolence seemed to surpass that of Liu Bei.

What happened before his eyes left Xiao He completely puzzled.

The same person, without even blinking, is about to kill 10,000 prisoners?
Even if these 10,000 men were soldiers of an enemy country, now that they have been captured, there is a possibility that they could be incorporated into the Han army.

These prisoners of war were also children of parents, husbands of wives, and fathers of children!

Why would this prince, who is usually so kind-hearted, make the decision to kill so easily?

Aren't these two completely different faces somewhat contradictory?
Xiao He was filled with suspicion, and for a moment he did not respond to Zhang Fei's suggestive glance, but instead fell into deep thought. "Your Highness, I believe this is absolutely unacceptable!"

Just then, Zhao Yun stepped forward and solemnly objected.

In Zhao Yun's view, Liu Shan's decision was far too hasty.

"The traitors of Han are Cao Cao and his cronies. These Wei soldiers are all commoners who are forced to serve him out of fear of Cao Cao's power and dominance."

Zhao Yun's voice was firm, and he said in a deep voice:
"If Your Highness wishes to establish your authority, you can simply kill Cao Cao's henchmen. Why bother killing these ordinary soldiers?"

"They are also victims; they are innocent."

"If Your Highness were to execute these ten thousand prisoners, it would firstly be contrary to the Emperor's reputation for benevolence. Our Great Han has always been founded on benevolence and virtue. If we were to take such an action of killing surrendered prisoners, it would inevitably damage the Emperor's reputation."

"The two actions may incite hatred among the people of Yong and Liang provinces. If we kill these 10,000 prisoners, it will surely make them feel angry and humiliated, which will instead arouse their hatred and make them join Cao Cao in fighting us to the death."

"At that time, it will be much more difficult for us to recover the two prefectures of Yong and Liang."

"Therefore, I believe it is best not to kill these ten thousand prisoners!"

After Zhao Yun finished speaking, he looked firmly at Liu Shan, waiting for his response.

After all, it was Zhao Yun who spoke frankly and directly in front of everyone, opposing Liu Shan's killing of people.

Liu Shan frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

Clearly, he was quite displeased with Zhao Yun's act of publicly contradicting him.

In his view, as the crown prince, second only to the emperor, his decisions should not be subject to such direct questioning and opposition.

The key point is that Zhao Yun also brought up Liu Bei, which is suspected of accusing him of violating Liu Bei's benevolent policies.

This made Liu Shan feel that his authority was being challenged, and he was naturally unhappy.

After coughing a few times, Liu Shan said with a smirk:
"General of Chariots and Cavalry, I only killed ten thousand Wei soldiers. It's not as serious as you make it out to be, is it?"

"If we don't make an example of them, how will the Wei people be afraid of us? How will they obediently surrender?"

Liu Shan tried to justify his decision, but his tone revealed a hint of guilt.

Zhao Yun ignored Liu Shan's displeasure and said solemnly:

"These prisoners were indeed Wei soldiers, but now that they are captured, they can be persuaded and reorganized and brought into the service of our Han Dynasty, becoming Han soldiers who can fight for the Emperor!"

"Besides, now that Puban Pass has been captured, destroying the pseudo-Wei and recovering Yong and Liang provinces is a piece of cake. We have already gained a strategic advantage, so there is no need to go to any more trouble and use killing to intimidate the enemy."

"Therefore, I believe it is better not to kill these 10,000 prisoners."

Zhao Yun reiterated his point of view, his tone extremely firm.

Liu Shan swallowed hard, a look of dilemma flashing across his eyes.

On the one hand, he did not want to give up his idea of ​​killing prisoners to establish his authority, feeling that this would demonstrate his dignity and determination.

On the other hand, he had to admit that Zhao Yun's words made some sense.

If killing these 10,000 prisoners provokes a desperate resistance from the Wei army and people, it could indeed cause trouble for the unification of the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, he was worried that his actions would violate his father's benevolent policies and arouse criticism from the people.

Liu Shan fell into deep thought, unsure of what to do. (End of Chapter)