Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 288 A Heart Full of Rebellion (Thanks to Yong Su for being the Alliance Leader)
I don't know if it was just my imagination, but as soon as I left Xinhou County and stepped out of the border, I felt the temperature drop sharply.

The cold wind was like a knife.

It stung my cheek as it brushed against my skin.

The 30,000 armored soldiers presented two completely different appearances.

The six thousand black-armored soldiers under Song Yan's command showed no fear whatsoever. Their eyes were filled with excitement and even madness. They didn't care who their target was; they only knew that following General Song Yan was a matter of honor.

Whether it was Japanese pirates or Jurchens.

However, the ground was littered with corpses and mounds of corpses.

For these black-armored warriors, the concept of family and country is not very strong. What they admire and are willing to follow is Song Yan as a person, not Song Yan's status as a son-in-law of the royal family, let alone the country of Ning Kingdom... They were originally refugees abandoned by Ning Kingdom, and were the lower-class people oppressed by the government and nobles. If it weren't for Song Yan, they would probably still be struggling in the quagmire at the bottom.

It was Song Yan who gave them a ray of light in their despair.

It was Song Yan who allowed them to stand tall and live with more dignity.

Perhaps I will die.

But so what?

What exhilarating it is to ride alongside the general across the battlefield, wielding a steel blade to behead countless barbarians! This is the spirit of a true man!

Even if I die on the battlefield, it will not have been in vain that I came into this world.

In stark contrast, the soldiers under Zhang Zhen and Jiao Junze were extremely demoralized. Panic was clearly visible on their faces, whether aged or youthful… the fear instilled by the Jurchen cavalry was deeply ingrained. In their eyes, the Jurchen cavalry were invincible. They dared to fight the Jurchens using the advantage of the city walls, but when it came to open battle on the snow, they lacked any courage and simply moved stiffly according to their general's orders.

Their appearance was not even comparable to those of the temporary laborers who were conscripted to be in charge of logistics.

The faces of the conscripted laborers showed fear, but even more so, hatred that drove them to seek revenge.

When the governor's office issued the order to conscript laborers for the campaign against the Jurchens, a large number of laborers volunteered. Of course, this might be due to the one or two taels of silver involved. Song Yan's conscription of laborers was different from the usual corvée labor... Corvée labor, to some extent, can be considered the heaviest mountain weighing on the people.

The suffering caused by corvée labor even exceeded that of taxes.

In simple terms, corvée labor was the state's forced labor of its people without pay. Corvée labor was extremely frequent. It was conscripted for building palaces, the Great Wall, water conservancy projects, and even for logistics and transportation during military campaigns. Even the construction of imperial tombs required corvée labor. The heavy corvée labor severely impacted agricultural production. Worse still, corvée labor was unpaid, with no food provided. Conscripted farmers had to bring their own food, and even their travel and lodging expenses had to be covered by themselves.

During each period of forced labor, a large number of people died from exhaustion or illness because they could not bear the heavy workload.

The families of laborers who die during their corvée labor service will not receive any compensation.

It is no exaggeration to say that each conscription of laborers represented the breaking up of tens of thousands of families.

Therefore, the people feared corvée labor as much as tigers.

Song Yan's method of conscripting laborers was quite different. First, it was not mandatory; people could sign up voluntarily. Second, they did not need to provide their own food and fodder; and finally, they were paid wages, although not much, one tael of silver per person during the period of corvée labor.

For the people of Pingyang Prefecture, this was an extremely rare occurrence. If the order hadn't come from Song Yan himself, probably no one would have believed it. If he could truly fulfill his promises, it would naturally be a good thing; one tael of silver was a huge sum for ordinary people. Moreover, with the army departing, there would be one less mouth to feed at home, saving a considerable amount of food.

Lured by the potential profits and trusting of Song Yan, many people signed up.

However, there was a large group of laborers who did not come for money and did not care about a tael or two of silver. Most of them had relatives who died under the Jurchen's curved swords when the Jurchen broke through the pass. They only wanted to avenge their wives, children, parents, and brothers, and only wanted those damned Jurchen barbarians to pay for their blood debts.

They even wanted to personally appear on the battlefield, wielding steel swords, and chop off the heads of those Jurchens.

For these people, there is naturally no fear in their hearts, only the impulse supported by hatred.

Song Yan could easily see the difference in morale. To be honest, such low morale would be extremely fatal in the event of war. However, Song Yan did not say anything to boost morale at this time. Instead, he silently took out a map and searched for suitable targets on it.

No amount of grand pronouncements can compare to a real, hard-fought battle.

Once these soldiers realize that the Jurchen barbarians are just ordinary humans, capable of dying from arrows piercing their chests, spears stabbing their hearts, or slashes to their foreheads, their fear will naturally dissipate. Since this battle is only meant to bolster the soldiers' courage, they cannot choose powerful tribes. After searching, Song Yan quickly locked onto his target… the Hao Shi tribe.

Speaking of which, he has a special connection with the No. 1 Room Department.

When he first entered Liaodong, the first wave of Jurchens he killed were the cavalry of the Haoshi tribe, and he also cut off the head of the Haoshi tribe's young prince.

This is a very small tribe.

Including women, children, and the elderly, the total population is only a little over ten thousand.

The number of combat-ready soldiers was only about three thousand, and half of them had been conscripted by the royal court. That meant that the number of barbarians left who could fight could not exceed two thousand. Looking at the black-armored soldiers around him... the Haoshi tribe was simply the most suitable target. Even if those garrison soldiers had no will to fight, the eight thousand black-armored soldiers alone could wipe out the Haoshi tribe and use them as sacrifices to boost morale. It couldn't be more perfect.

Although it may take a little time, it's totally worth it.

"Brother Jiao, have the brothers turn towards the direction of the guard post in a moment." Song Yan said to Jiao Junze after glancing at the guards.

With the two forces united, Song Yan was considered the commander-in-chief.

Regardless, Jiao Junze's official rank was exactly the same as Song Yan's, except he lacked a noble title, so it was natural to inform him of this. Jiao Junze was taken aback at first, then followed Song Yan's gaze and saw the group of dejected and listless soldiers, and he understood what Song Yan meant.

Song Yan then channeled his inner energy, and a voice as resounding as a great bell rang in everyone's ears, buzzing so loudly that even the cold wind from beyond the Great Wall was suppressed by Song Yan's voice:
"Everyone, rest where you are."

"The cooks start fires and cook meals."

"An hour later, turn to the northeast."

"As night falls, launch a surprise attack on Commander No. 1." The six thousand black-armored soldiers directly under Song Yan instantly sat down on the ground, motionless, waiting for the cooks to prepare food and allowing them to recover their depleted strength in preparation for the impending battle. Only their eyes shone with excitement; after walking for so long in this icy wilderness, their broadswords were already itching for blood.

The two thousand black-armored soldiers under Zhang Zhen's command, perhaps because of the sense of security brought by their armor, were not seriously afraid, and only whispered among themselves.

In stark contrast, the other soldiers were in an uproar. Although they knew they were coming out to fight the Jurchens, no one expected this moment to come so soon.

"Damn it, we clearly have tall city walls, why should we give up the advantage of the walls and fight the Jurchen cavalry in the open field? Isn't this sending us to our deaths?"

"Has he lost his mind or something?"

"Damn it, I don't want to go and die."

Similar sounds then rang out everywhere.

The sound naturally reached Song Yan's ears, but he ignored it. He couldn't care less about Jiao Junze's soldiers; he just silently watched Zhang Zhen... If such a sound wasn't suppressed, it might cause a mutiny in the camp.

These are the soldiers of Pingyang Prefecture, and also his soldiers.

Weak soldiers are not a problem; they can be trained more. What is a problem is that they lack the courage to fight and cannot overcome their fear. Even if such soldiers are given the best armor, they are still useless. There is no need to keep them. Song Yan would rather disband all these soldiers and recruit and train them again.

He needed warriors who dared to fight and kill, not a bunch of cowards. This proactive attack wasn't just about reaping the heads of the Jurchens; it was also a test for the Fubing (military garrison) and, more importantly, a test for their commander, Zhang Zhen. If Zhang Zhen performed ineffectively… Song Yan wouldn't kill him, after all, he had promised to spare his life, but the position of Fubing commander would ultimately have to be relinquished.

Thinking this, he saw a figure suddenly leap up and rush directly in front of a soldier. This person was a centurion, who was shouting the loudest. The soldiers around him were also the most restless group. Before the centurion could react, he saw the person fly up and kick him directly in the chest.

The kick was very powerful, sending the person flying. The person crashed heavily onto the snow, their face turning an eerie red, and a trickle of crimson blood seeped from the corner of their mouth.

"Shut up, I."

A clear voice echoed all around.

Song Yan raised an eyebrow. It was somewhat different from what he had imagined. The person was not Zhang Zhen, but Zhang Zhen's son, Zhang Han.

A young man in his early twenties.

His chiseled face was contorted with rage, his wide eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at the centurion lying on the ground: "How could there be such a spineless coward as you among the Pingyang Prefecture soldiers?"

"What's wrong with the Jurchens? Do they have two more arms or two more legs than you? Is your weapon not as sharp as the Jurchen scimitars, or is your armor inferior to the Jurchen animal hides?"

The reprimand left the centurion and his surrounding soldiers blushing and speechless. Even those who felt similar fear turned red-faced, unable to meet Zhang Han's wide eyes.

“Turn your head and look, and you’ll see that even those cooks and laborers are all men, and they’re all more courageous than you.”

"If anyone dares to bastard me again, I'll strip them naked and send them to the cooks' quarters. There are plenty of bastards there who want to take your place."

"Where the hell were you all this time? You were enjoying those few pounds of meat as a reward for the troops, weren't you? Now you're scared?" Zhang Han glared angrily, a young man in his early twenties who now looked like a fierce warrior: "Remember this, all of you, it was General Song who made up for all the military pay you owed over the years!"

"It is General Song who has made sure you have enough to eat at every meal and meat every day."

"It is General Song who has enabled you to stand tall and no longer be bullied by others."

“Your lives all belong to General Song. General Song’s orders are like imperial edicts, and everyone must obey them unconditionally.”

"If I hear any more of this kind of rhetoric that undermines morale, I'll chop off his head before General Song even has to lift a finger."

Finally, Zhang Han roared, "Did you remember that?"

The soldiers around them were all silent and embarrassed, their faces flushed red. The rustling noises coming from the cooks' side sounded like mockery.

Damn it, these are the real soldiers, yet they're being looked down upon by a bunch of temporarily conscripted laborers.

Immediately, many people opened their mouths and said, "I've got it."

"Didn't you eat? Speak louder."

"Of course we haven't eaten..." some soldiers muttered to themselves, but their mouths were agape as they said, "We'll remember that."

The voices of thousands upon thousands of people.

This sound was like thunder, like a tsunami, its sonic waves resounding and lingering.

Even the surrounding cedar trees swayed, and snowflakes fell softly from their tips.

Seeing that the young general had stabilized the situation in a short time, and looking at the soldiers, who were all wide-eyed and panting heavily, it was clear that the violence in their hearts had been released by the young general's angry curses.

Jiao Junze clicked his tongue, "He's quite a talent."

But this talented person seems to have a rebellious streak no matter how you look at it.

What do you mean your lives belong to General Song? Aren't you soldiers of Ningguo?

What do you mean by saying that General Song's words are an imperial edict?

The emperor's words are the only true edicts; there's no need to put on an act anymore.

(End of this chapter)