Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 63 In this chaotic world, who else but me can succeed!
As night fell and dawn broke, the armored soldiers who were supposed to protect the area swarmed in like locusts, slaughtering the unarmed civilians.

These Cao troops, who had just fled from Yuan's camp, were now more ferocious than tigers and beasts.

Thousands upon thousands of arrows rained down from the sky, and the blood and fire of battle set the entire city ablaze.

Countless people roared, countless people fell, the huge plaque burned, flipped and crashed to the ground, and was trampled over by countless people.

The two characters "Yang Di" written in bold, silver strokes are still faintly discernible above.

"Strategist, it's too late, Yuan's army is approaching."

"They arrived quickly."

The sickly scholar on the carriage listened to Yue Jin's anxious report, but his eyes remained calm. He took one last look at the burning city behind him. He feared that this parting would be the last time he saw this city in his lifetime.

Since it doesn't belong to me, I'll burn it all rather than hand it over to someone else. Let all this prosperity of the city be buried with Yuan Rang. Only with raging flames can my army's power be displayed throughout the world.

His eyes grew colder and more resolute as he waved his hand and ordered, "Withdraw."

The fire in Yangdi burned endlessly, and the city gates were sealed off by Cao Cao's army before they left. The people wept and cried, with nowhere to flee.

When Yuan Shu burst through the gate, his carriage rolled over the charred plaque of "Yangdi". All he could see were people writhing on the ground, burned alive, their screams heart-wrenching. The ground was covered in blood and corpses, all dead in the city, and the stench was unbearable.

His initial joy at the victory celebration in the city vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling coldness. He hastily ordered his men to extinguish the fire and save the city.

The people were bewildered to see the tightly closed city gates broken open, and a carriage pulled by six horses came into view as the dawn broke.

The nobleman stood on the carriage for a long time, without slaughter or looting, silently watching them, his eyes filled with a sorrow that seemed to transcend a thousand years, and remained speechless for a long time.

He swept through six prefectures and eighty-one cities in Jiangdong, and all of them surrendered at the mere sight of him.

He captured fourteen counties in Yingchuan, which were also abandoned by Cao Cao's army. Although they were plundered at the time, most of the people were just hungry and cold in order to deplete his food supplies, and their suffering was not as dire as it is now.

To this day, Yangdi can be considered the first city he truly conquered, and the first time he has truly witnessed the cruelty of war since crossing a thousand years ago.

The cruelty extends far beyond the bloody battles and rivers of blood on the battlefield; the truly cruel victims of every war are always the ordinary people at the bottom of society.

Soldiers could still pick up their swords and fight for their lives, but the common people could only wait to die in the flames that engulfed the city.

In the seventh year of the Guanghe reign of Emperor Ling of Han, the population of the Han Dynasty was 5500 million. By the late Three Kingdoms period, the registered population of Wei, Shu, and Wu was only 767 million, of which Wei had 443 million, Shu had 94, and Wu had 230 million.

Although the population was severely underreported due to powerful families at the time, the figure was still chillingly cold.

At this very moment, this cold, ancient number, spanning a thousand years, is unfolding before Yuan Shu's eyes, telling him its origins.

He was well aware of the chaos of the Three Kingdoms period and was confident in pacifying the world. He also knew the tragic consequences of the Five Barbarian Invasions and was determined to turn the tide and prevent the tragedy from happening.

But how can the records in history books and the cold words in memory compare to the shocking cries of those in the flames before our eyes?

With the city gates tightly shut and nowhere to flee, they awaited being burned alive beneath the raging fire—what utter despair that must have been.

As the saying goes: Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos.

The atmosphere was oppressive in silence. The wailing people were surprised to see the high-ranking nobleman get off his carriage and personally lead his soldiers to rescue them from the fire.

He shouted in the scorched, filthy mud, "Those who save five civilians today are equivalent to killing an enemy head, and I will record your merits!"

Therefore, none of the soldiers who had stormed into the city like wolves and tigers thought about celebrating their victory in the city that night. When couldn't they have a victory feast? This kind of achievement that they got for free was the biggest celebration feast that their lord would give them after they captured Yangdi!

The people were shocked!

They had never seen such a ferocious army, vying to come and rescue them.

These armored soldiers seemed to value their lives immensely, preferring to suffer minor injuries themselves rather than risk injuring the others during the rescue.

Soldiers: Nonsense! What if you're missing arms or legs, and your military merits are also shortchanged?
Looking at the nobleman, whose fine clothes were covered in soot, yet who smiled from the bottom of his heart as he held the swaddled baby in the ruins.

At that moment, the baby cried out, and the light of dawn shone through the dirt on his body.

At that moment, the people shouted in unison, "Welcome the royal army!"

Tears streamed down their faces. They had long heard of the General's arrival and the pacification of Yingchuan in the north. People from all fourteen counties lined the streets to welcome him.

I heard the songs sung in the Jianghuai region: If the emperor were like Lord Yuan, wouldn't the world be at peace?
They didn't believe it at first, but now they know that seeing is believing. Why didn't you come sooner, Master Yuan?
In this scene, the people respectfully welcomed Yuan Shu and shouted "King's army!", which made Sun Ce and Zhou Yu fall silent.

They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with even greater despair. If Yuan Shu continued his reckless behavior as before, the whole world would despise and scorn him.

Even if Sun Ce breaks away from Yuan Shu, as long as he obeys orders but not proclamations and does not openly rebel, the world will know that Yuan Shu is not a wise ruler and his reputation will be ruined. The pressure from public opinion on Sun Ce will be somewhat reduced.

But now, Lord Yuan is praised by the world and regarded as virtuous!

This reputation is even showing signs of intensifying.

By then, Yuan Shu's reputation for virtue will be universally acknowledged. If Sun Ce were to betray such a virtuous person, wouldn't he be recognized by the world as an ingrate and a villain? At that time, who would still want to follow him?

The net that bound them was still tightening, becoming tighter and tighter. The suffocating sense of despair made Sun Ce sigh, and he followed Yuan Shu to rescue the people. Zhou Yu handled the aftermath and helped Yuan Shu to settle the people's livelihood.

In any case, opportunity always favors the prepared. Right now, they should wait for the right time and try to gain Yuan Shu's trust. It can't be wrong.

The same scene, but Lu Xun saw it with a different meaning. He walked up to Yuan Shu with a smile and cupped his hands to congratulate him.

“In the past, when Gao Yao was the Minister of Justice, if he was about to execute someone, Gao Yao would execute them three times a day, and Yao would pardon them three times a day. Therefore, the world feared Gao Yao’s strict enforcement of the law, and rejoiced in Yao’s lenient use of punishment.”

Now, Cao Cao is ruthless, while the teacher is lenient; Cao Cao is violent, while the teacher is benevolent. Therefore, the world will fear Cao Cao like a jackal or tiger, and welcome the teacher as a royal army.

The students congratulated their teacher, saying, "Great things can now be accomplished."

"What is there to rejoice in? A virtuous person cannot bear to see a creature die when it is alive. If this is true even for animals, how much more so for humans?"

Yuan Shu did not show the joy that Lu Xun had imagined. He stared at him intently and, for the first time, taught him in the tone of a teacher.

"This is not a battlefield, yet people are burning and killing living beings without cause. How cruel!"
Xi Zhicai schemes for Cao Cao, willing to sacrifice the world for my own benefit. How can such wickedness last?

His gaze fell upon the city engulfed in flames, a scene of utter devastation, his sorrow spanning four hundred years.

He knew that all this chaos had only just begun. Four hundred years after the end of the Han Dynasty, with the cruel hand of Heaven, the last spark of the Wuzhang Plains dissipated, the land of China was submerged, the elite fled south, and China was about to fall into the most desperate long night in its history.

In that instant, the teacher's expression was complex and hard to understand; Lu Xun could only hear him sighing softly.

"In times of chaos, all the feudal lords are vying for control of the Central Plains. Who else but me can restore peace to the world?"

(End of this chapter)