gnovel Chapter 114 It's a pity, he's someone else's man.
Chapter 114 It's a pity, he's someone else's man.
A day later, Lou Ban returned, looking travel-worn, to report.
"My lord, the trail has been broken."
He knelt on one knee.
"Hunters passed through the mountains and disturbed the tracks. There were tracks going east, west, and south, making it impossible to distinguish the real ones. We chased for thirty miles but lost the trail."
Yuan Tan sat in the newly erected military tent, tapping his knees with his fingers:
"Not a trace at all?"
"Yes, but it's too messy." Lou Ban paused for a moment, "I only found this one by a stream."
He presented a torn piece of clothing, stained with blood, which was the lining fabric of the Jiangdong Army's standard uniform.
Yuan Tan took it; there were teeth marks on the edge of the cloth, as if someone had torn off strips of cloth to wrap it.
He looked at Jiang Qin, who was being held aside.
Jiang Qin stared at the piece of cloth, his breathing quickened for a moment, then he sneered:
"It seems my lord has returned to the sea like a dragon."
"Is that so?" Yuan Tan tossed the strip of cloth onto the table. "And what about you?"
Jiang Qin raised his head: "Kill me if you want."
Yuan Tan looked at him for a while, then suddenly laughed: "I heard you're from Lujiang? And you have an elderly mother at home?"
Jiang Qin's expression changed.
"I won't kill you." Yuan Tan stood up and walked to Jiang Qin. "But you must tell me where Sun Ce might have gone. Moling? Wu Commandery? Or perhaps he's gone to join Liu Biao?"
"Dream on." Jiang Qin spat, spittle landing on Yuan Tan's boots.
Yuan Tan didn't wipe it, but slowly said:
"I've recently been reading some miscellaneous books, and they contain a lot of information about criminal law. Do you know what it is?"
Jiang Qin did not answer, his eyes wary.
"For example, the death by a thousand cuts. Three thousand six hundred cuts, each one drawing blood, until the person dies and only a skeleton remains."
Yuan Tan spoke in a flat tone.
"For example, grooming. Using a wire brush, scrubbing away the skin and flesh stroke by stroke. Another example is skinning, cutting down the spine and slowly separating the skin and muscles on the back, like a butterfly spreading its wings..."
Those around him were all sweating profusely.
What strange and bizarre things are going on in this Governor Yuan's head?
"Enough!" Jiang Qin roared, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Tell me where Sun Ce might be, and I'll give you a quick death." Yuan Tan stared into his eyes. "Otherwise, I'll let you taste this. I guarantee you'll regret being alive."
Jiang Qin trembled all over, unsure whether it was from anger or fear.
He looked at Yuan Tan, at those calm, unwavering eyes, and suddenly understood.
This person is not joking.
silence.
The only sound inside the tent was the crackling of the brazier.
Jiang Qin suddenly laughed, a bitter laugh: "Yuan Xiansi, you may have won on the battlefield, but you can't win the hearts of the people."
He gritted his teeth suddenly.
"Stop him!" Guo Jia shouted.
But it's too late.
Blood trickled from the corner of Jiang Qin's mouth, and a large piece of his tongue was spit out, falling to the ground and twitching slightly.
His mouth was full of blood, and he looked at Yuan Tan with a cruel sense of pleasure in his eyes.
Then he collapsed to the ground, convulsing, making hoarse sounds in his throat.
Yuan Tan looked at the severed tongue on the ground, then at the unconscious Jiang Qin, and after a long while, waved his hand:
"Take him away and let the army medic treat him. Don't let him die."
"My lord, this..."
Jia Xu was about to speak.
"He's a real man." Yuan Tan sat back down, his tone devoid of emotion. "Unfortunately, he's someone else's man."
After Jiang Qin was carried away, Guo Jia presented him with bamboo slips.
"Results tallied."
He whispered an explanation from the side.
"Sun Ce's forces suffered approximately 31,000 dead and over 6,700 captured. Our army suffered 5,300 dead, over 900 seriously wounded, and countless minor wounded."
Yuan Tan picked up the bamboo slips; the numbers danced in the firelight.
Five thousand three hundred people.
Pension, resettlement allowance, child support, parental care... he quickly calculated in his mind.
Those who die in battle will receive 20 shi of grain and 50,000 coins each, according to the previously established standard.
Five thousand three hundred people, that is one hundred and sixty thousand shi of grain, or two hundred and sixty-five million coins.
This doesn't even include compensation and subsequent expenses for the seriously injured.
In addition to the previously promised expenses for the construction and worship of martyrs' shrines...
"The more we fight, the poorer we become." Yuan Tan put down the bamboo slips and rubbed his temples.
"My lord, we have captured weapons, horses, and provisions, valued at approximately..." Guo Jia continued.
"Not enough," Yuan Tan interrupted him, "It's a drop in the ocean."
Silence fell inside the tent. Gan Ning, his arm in a sling, muttered:
"If you ask me, we should just rob it. Jiangdong is rich..."
"and then?"
Yuan Tan looked at him,
"After looting, the locals hate you to the core. Today it's Sun Ce fleeing, tomorrow it's Li Ce or Wang Ce popping up, and rebellions are raging everywhere. How many soldiers do we have to quell the rebellion?"
Gan Ning shut up.
"Using war to sustain war, not robbing our own people."
Yuan Tan looked at the map.
"Rob the enemy's supplies, rob what's outside. But that's a story for later. Now..."
He paused.
"First, let's think about how to get rid of these nearly seven thousand mouths."
……
The prisoner-of-war camp was set up on a sandbar by the river, surrounded by wooden fences.
The room was packed with people, some sitting, some lying down, most of them injured, their eyes numb.
When Yuan Tan entered the prisoner-of-war camp, his personal guards gripped their knives tightly.
But Yuan Tan waved his hand, signaling them to step back.
He walked to a slightly higher earthen slope and looked down at the dark mass of people below.
Seven thousand people stood in silence, but something was brewing within that silence.
"My name is Yuan Tan," he said, his voice not loud, but loud enough to carry, "and I'm the one who defeated you."
A commotion arose among the prisoners, and some looked up at him.
If looks could kill, Yuan Tan would probably have died a hundred times over in this short time.
"I know you hate me," Yuan Tan continued, "hate me for killing your comrades, hate me for ruining your lord's ambitions, hate me for imprisoning you here."
He paused, scanning the crowd: "But you should hate me, not me."
The crowd quieted down.
"You should hate Sun Ce."
Yuan Tan raised his voice.
"I hate that he led 30,000 Jiangdong men north to their deaths for the sake of a couple of women. I hate that he could have easily defended Jiangdong, but he insisted on playing the hero and provoking my Qingzhou army. I hate that after his defeat, he abandoned you and ran away."
"You're talking nonsense!" someone yelled.
"I'm talking nonsense?" Yuan Tan looked in the direction of the shout; it was from a young officer with injuries on his face. "Then tell me, where is Sun Ce now?"
The young officer was speechless.
"He ran away. He abandoned 30,000 brothers who died in battle, and he abandoned you who were captured. He ran away."
Yuan Tan's voice turned cold.
"When he ran away, did he think of you? Did he think of your elderly mothers waiting for their son to return? Did he think of the babies crying for milk in your arms?"
Some of the prisoners bowed their heads.
"Do you consider yourselves loyal and righteous men?"
Yuan Tan laughed.
"No, you're fools. You were deceived by Sun Ce's ambition, by his title of 'Little Conqueror,' and by the empty promises he made. And then what? What did you get? The corpses of your comrades? Shackles? Or orphans and widows waiting for your handouts at home?"
silence.
A heavy silence.
"I don't hate you," Yuan Tan's tone softened. "I even pity you. You've been brought to this state by a selfish lord. So, I've decided to let you go."
The crowd erupted in uproar.
"All prisoners will be untied at dawn tomorrow, given three days' worth of rations, and allowed to return home."
Yuan Tan spoke each word clearly.
"Go back to Jiangdong and tell your elders and fellow villagers how this battle was fought, how it was lost, and how your lord abandoned you and fled. Also tell them that I, Yuan Xiansi, will not kill prisoners, plunder civilians, or massacre cities."
He paused:
"But if any of you still want to follow Sun Ce and risk your lives for him, I will show no mercy the next time we meet on the battlefield. Because the first time, you were foolish. The second time, you will be damnably foolish."
After saying that, he turned and left without looking at the prisoners again.
Behind them, the prisoner-of-war camp was deathly silent.
Then, suppressed sobs could be heard.