Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 99: Revolution is not a dinner party
Eji glanced at the couple who had been embedded in the earthen wall by Yun Ce, then turned to Feng An and Liang Kun and asked, "If something happens, would you do the same thing?"

Feng An, holding a knife in his hand, said to E Ji, "Before I could do this, I would have already died in battle."

Liang Kun looked at Eji's belly and said, "There's nothing in your belly. Even if I wanted to abandon you to hold off the enemy and run away with the young master, I couldn't. I'd just have to die in battle like Feng An."

Eji touched her empty belly and said, "Feng An is wrong. We should run away first. If we can't escape, we should do as Liang Kun said."

Yun Ce said gloomily from the side, "I'm not dead yet."

Feng An laughed and said, "I just went to check, there are no fewer than 100,000 soldiers there. You wouldn't do something like abandoning us and running away..."

Yun Ce retorted angrily, "Who said I couldn't do it?"

Liang Kun cautiously held the reins of the chestnut horse and asked, "Why aren't you running away?"

Yun Ce sat on the newly made wooden stool, took a sip of water, and said, "Because there's no need to run. Such a large army, just the outposts and scouts alone, would be enough to destroy the royal hunting grounds ten times over."

"Hey, where are Steward Qiu and the others?"

Feng An gritted his teeth and said, "I guess they've already run off to join that army by now. I saw them; the soldiers were dressed in rags. They must be a bunch of rebellious slaves or something."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Chou rushed over and shouted at Yun Ce.

"Go into the mountains, go into the mountains, they don't have time to search the mountains."

Yun Ce smiled as he looked at Lao Chou running over and said, "No need to run. Their general is my friend. The reason they brought 100,000 troops over is that they want to show off in front of me. After all, I used to pity them. Now that they've made it big, they feel uncomfortable if they don't come here to show off."

Eji's eyes lit up.

“Hong Guniang still owes us money. You’re a grown man, but you’re too shy. I’ll ask for it back later.”

Yun Ce nodded approvingly. He thought Eji was a truly good wife.

Feng An and Liang Kun exchanged a glance, then Feng An said to Yun Ce, "Let's go guard the gate."

Although Lao Chou was trembling with fear just like Lao Cheng, who was embedded in the wall in front of him, Yun Ce looked at Lao Chou with much more kindness.

Fear is a human instinct. When faced with a truly terrifying enemy, Yun Ce was also afraid. However, fear is one thing, but you must not harm others.

None of the women in the family were with Yun Ce. The youngest child was even nestled in his arms. The child wasn't afraid at first, but the constant wailing of the women and children in the hunting grounds had frightened him.

Yun Ce gave the child a cake to eat, while he sat imposingly in the courtyard, with the lance left by Old Cheng planted beside him, his eyes fixed intently on the gate.

Hong Gu Niang shouldn't be too unreasonable, but it's hard to say about Pei Chuan. If this guy dares to harm people, Yun Ce will let him try out the Overlord Divine Power he has been training during this period.

Feng An walked in with an inscrutable expression, holding a visiting card in his hand. This card was made of fragrant wood and was said to be very valuable, reserved for wealthy and powerful families.

Feng An deliberately spoke loudly: "My lord, Miss Hong has come to visit with General Pei."

Yun Ce took the visiting card and called out towards the door, "Visiting cards are usually sent three days in advance. Are you two planning to come back in three days?"

Immediately, the door was kicked open, and the girl in red walked in first, complaining to Pei Chuan as she went. She said that he was originally from a poor family, and Yun Ce knew that, but he still insisted on doing these pointless things and making himself a laughing stock.

The Red Maiden at this time was very different from the Red Maiden Yun Ce had seen in the wasteland. Back then, the Red Maiden, dressed in a red cloth dress, could dance before the battle to boost morale and after the battle to comfort the dead.

The Red Girl of today has changed her cloth clothes into red silk, which makes her look much more elegant. Although her face is still dark, the various exquisite jewelry in her hair makes her dark face appear less dark and more yellow.

As for Pei Chuan, he was even more remarkable. He wore a pure black, unidentified full-body cavalry armor, which matched his black boots inlaid with many fish scales. In particular, the pair of colorful bird feathers on his helmet were at least two meters long. In an instant, everyone knew that he was the commander of this army.

Hong Gu Niang had been waiting for Yun Ce to speak to her since she came in, but Yun Ce just smiled and looked at them. The more he looked at them, the more mocking his eyes became.

Pei Chuan retorted angrily, "Are you mocking us?"

Yun Ce glanced at Pei Chuan's impossibly beautiful armor and said to E Ji, "I need money."

Seeing Yun Ce speaking so casually to E Ji, treating the two of them as if they were nothing, Hong Guniang couldn't help but say, "In the army, the hierarchy and respect for superiors are paramount. Without this, it's impossible to command respect."

Yun Ce laughed loudly: "In Pingyuan City, I helped you take Zhang Gongyaliang's head from among ten thousand troops. In Sheyang City, I cut off Yu Gong's feet, which were worth ten thousand gold pieces, from among ten thousand troops. In the battle of Moyan Ridge, I killed Zhao Ling, the military commander, from among the army."

"Pei Chuan, dressed like this, do you think I can take your head from among your 100,000 troops?" As Yun Ce shouted, he stomped his foot on the ground, and seven or eight radial cracks immediately appeared on the half-foot-thick stone floor.

Hong Guniang frowned and asked, "What about those who disagree?"

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Those who are not convinced are simply not convinced. Such people will ruin your plans in favorable circumstances and will be the first to run away in adverse circumstances, disrupting your morale. Why not kill such people?"

Pei Chuan angrily said, "Such excessive killings have resulted in half of our side dying before the enemy is even dead. You are harming me."

Yun Ce laughed loudly: "You were a poor wretch to begin with. Now that you're wearing these two clothes and your head is full of jewelry, do you think other poor wretches will still think you're a poor wretch?"

Now, with a large army and many who have surrendered, instead of promoting the brave and rewarding the dead, you've been putting on a show of bravado. Have your actual combat strength and intelligence increased?

The chaos in Chuyun Prefecture this time was not your doing, but rather the result of the help from the Han Dynasty. The governor of Chuyun Prefecture, Han De, and the lord of Chuyun City, Pang Bei, helped you.

If it weren't for the internal strife among the wealthy, with your limited abilities, you wouldn't be thinking about conquering cities and strongholds. Instead, you're aiming to take over Izumo City instead of continuing to conquer the two hundred cities of Izumo Prefecture.

"Red Girl, Zhou Chengming alone, leading three thousand black-armored cavalry, almost wiped out your twenty thousand men. Do you really think those wealthy people will help you when you attack Chuyun City?"

Hong Guniang took off the jewelry in her hair one by one, and Eji naturally caught it with a small basket. After Hong Guniang had taken off all the jewelry, Eji even took off Hong Guniang's earrings.

Hong Guniang ignored Eji's plundering and looked at Yun Ce, saying, "Someone suggested to me that right now, the city lord and the governor are already locked in a fierce battle with the wealthy people of Chuyun City, which is a good opportunity to seize Chuyun City. Once Chuyun City is taken, the other cities will surely surrender without a fight."

Yun Ce gestured with his eyes to direct E Ji's attention to Hong Guniang's neck and hands, and continued, "Who is the greatest enemy of the rich?"

Hong Guniang was somewhat displeased that Eji had removed the necklace from her neck. When Yun Ce asked, she frowned and said, "Of course, you're a poor wretch."

"If that's the case, do you still think the people of Izumo will help you when you attack the city?"

After a moment of contemplation, Hong Guniang said, "No, they might even join forces to trap us in Izumo City. After we are defeated, they will continue to fight each other."

"If you ignore Izumo City and continue to conquer other cities and territories, what will they do?"

"Continue the fighting, and wait until a result is achieved before engaging us in a final battle."

Yun Ce continued, "Even if you take over Chuyun City, will you be able to govern the city? Do you remember the tragedy that happened in Pingyuan City?"

Hong Guniang said, "We can only plunder and destroy Izumo City."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "Now that the Han Dynasty no longer wants to leave Yunzhou, are you still willing to destroy Chuyun City? You still have a lot to learn. You need to learn how to govern a large number of villages, how to manage a fifth-level city, and understand the operational relationship between villages and cities."

You must improve the lives of the people of Izumo in a short period of time, especially the poor like you. If they can all have enough to eat, warm clothes, and houses to live in, they will trust you and be willing to follow you to fight the enemy for a better life.

Instead of what we're doing now, just blindly following you around grabbing things and then scattering like birds and beasts.

Seeing that Eji had already plundered Hong Guniang, Yun Ce immediately stopped talking and refused to say anything more. He felt that he had said too much and was even feeling like he had lost out.

Hong Guniang said, "You're not lying to me? You know I'm honest and straightforward. If I do as you say and it causes serious consequences, I will certainly not escape death, and you may not be able to get away with it."

Since Hong Gu Niang had nothing of value on her, Yun Ce naturally stopped talking and just kept staring at Pei Chuan's armor and smiling.

Red Girl looked at Pei Chuan, whose face was pale, and said, "Remove your armor!"

Pei Chuan asked, puzzled, "You believe what he said?"

Red Girl said with a gloomy face: "Last time I trusted you, the person you said was very trustworthy. As a result, my 20,000 brothers were almost all killed or wounded, and you and I almost lost our lives as well."

Pei Chuan muttered, "That was an accident."

Red Girl roared, "If it weren't for this excuse, I would have sent men to hunt him down long ago! Remove your armor!"

Seeing that Miss Hong was angry, Pei Chuan immediately put on a smiling face and said, "Don't be angry, I'll take off my armor right away, I'll take off my armor right away."

The anger on Hong Guniang's face subsided slightly, and she said to Pei Chuan, who was still reluctant, "We're about to have a child, and I don't dare to take any risks."

Hearing what the girl in red said, Pei Chuan immediately sped up the process of removing his armor. What was most frustrating was that this bastard winked at Yun Ce while removing his armor, showing no sense of humiliation whatsoever, but rather acting as if he had just won a battle.

(End of this chapter)