Chapter 284: Kill Without Mercy

Qi Yuangong looked at Sun Chuanting, a strange expression on his face. He couldn't quite put into words what he was feeling, so he simply said nothing.

So he changed the subject, looking at Sun Chuanting and asking, "Then, sir, what should I do next?"

Sun Chuanting looked at Qi Yuangong and said expressionlessly, "Have your men supervise the rear. Once the assault on the city begins, your men stay behind. Anyone who cowers and hesitates—kill without mercy; anyone who disobeys orders to advance—kill without mercy; anyone who dares to turn and flee—kill without mercy!"

Hearing the ice-cold "kill without mercy" from Sun Chuanting's mouth, Qi Yuangong said helplessly, "Yes, sir."

Seeing Qi Yuangong looking like he wanted to say something but held back, Sun Chuanting glanced at him and said directly, "Do you think I'm being cruel?"

"These men were formed late and trained little. Having them attack Luzhou City was already asking too much of them, and now on top of that, any slight disobedience means death without mercy?"

Qi Yuangong fell silent. He gazed at Luzhou City ahead without speaking, but his meaning was clear—Sun Chuanting had hit the mark.

Sun Chuanting pointed at the men behind him and said disdainfully, "What are they?"

"They're almost all rebels, bandits, and roving brigands. The best among them are mountain folk, but there are few of those. These people have done countless heinous things, and now they think they can just change their identity and become imperial soldiers. Where in the world is there such a good deal?"

"If it weren't for my shortage of troops, I wouldn't use them at all. But since I am using them, I have to decide how. In one word—only those who survive have the right."

Sun Chuanting's tone was frigid. He didn't turn to look at those men, only at Qi Yuangong, saying without a trace of emotion, "I want them to fight for me and wipe out the rebels. If they can't even do that much, then there's no point in them living."

After saying this, Sun Chuanting turned and went to arrange the assault on the city.

As he was leaving, Sun Chuanting said to Qi Yuangong, "The supervision of the rear is in your hands. Tell your men not to hold back."

"Yes, sir." Qi Yuangong hastily bowed.

Watching Sun Chuanting's departing figure, Qi Yuangong let out a sigh of relief.

The pressure just now had really been immense. This young Master Sun was truly ruthless and merciless.

He had originally thought that since young Master Sun was all smiles, he would be an easy person to deal with. When he had been recruiting those men, he had been all smiles too.

But who would have thought that the moment he turned around, his face changed. Not only did he view the rebels as nothing but weeds, even his own capable subordinates were treated like weeds by young Master Sun.

Qi Yuangong thought with lingering fear—it was probably only because he was His Majesty's man that he received such good treatment.

After letting out his sigh of relief, Qi Yuangong turned to arrange the supervision of the rear. This matter, his subordinates could handle well enough. As for not being able to bring themselves to do it—that was simply out of the question.

Atop the city walls of Luzhou.

She Yin stood at the crenellations of the wall, gazing at the army in the distance. His face was expressionless, his hand pressing on the long saber at his waist.

At She Yin's side were his leading generals, the most conspicuous being Fan Hu.

After Fan Long had left the city, Fan Hu had become She Yin's trusted confidant.

"General Fan, do you think we have a chance of winning if we strike while they're still settling in?" She Yin turned to look at Fan Hu and asked.

Hearing She Yin's words, Fan Hu's expression barely changed. Looking at the chaotic Ming army below the city walls—they didn't seem to have formed up their ranks yet—he was also rapidly weighing the matter in his mind.

After arriving, the Ming army had first rested for a full two hours before sluggishly getting to their feet. From the looks of it, they were forming up—they were preparing to assault the city.

For Fan Hu, going down there to have a go was the last thing he wanted to do. The reason was simple—it was too dangerous.

If they really did go down to have a go, who would She Yin send?

Other than him, Fan Hu, there probably wouldn't be anyone else.

Even if these Ming troops weren't elite, just look at their numbers. If they charged down like this, they probably wouldn't make it back. It would simply be more loss than gain.

In Fan Hu's view, wouldn't it be just fine to hold their position here?

But Fan Hu also understood She Yin. Yesterday, he had already been stirred up by his own words, and in his heart, he was thinking only of how to wipe out the Ming army below the city, and then how to counterattack all the way to Guizhou.

Once the ambition in a man's heart is ignited, it's truly hard to extinguish.

Fan Hu gazed at the Ming army below the city and said in a cold voice, "Young Master, as the saying goes, 'The first burst of vigor wins, the second fades, the third is spent.' The Ming army arrived at the city but didn't attack directly—instead they rested for two hours. They've already lost their first burst of vigor."

"If their assault this time is beaten back, then that's the second burst fading. If they attack twice in a row without any results and suffer heavy casualties, then that's the third being spent."

"That will be our best opportunity to counterattack. Caught between us and an attack from within and without, the Ming army is bound to suffer a great defeat."

Listening to Fan Hu's words, She Yin pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "What the general says makes sense. Let's do as the general suggests."

At the same time, the Ming army below the city began to slowly advance toward the city walls.

Qi Yuangong personally led the men of the Roaring Tiger Battalion in supervising the rear. These men had already loaded bullets into their muskets, all held level and aimed forward.

If anyone retreated and ran back, they would be shot full of holes on the spot.

The men in front already knew about this—there was a supervision squad behind them. Some were furious, some resentful, some indifferent, but no one dared to turn around and say they quit.

Why didn't they dare?

Because whoever dared to say that would probably lose their head the next moment.

As the war drums were beaten, the great mass of troops began charging toward Luzhou City.

The scaling ladders, prepared long in advance, were carried by several men, rushing quickly toward the city. Upon reaching the walls, they were set up, and then men holding shields began climbing up rapidly.

Siege warfare had always been extremely brutal combat. Compared to the slaughter of pitched battles, siege warfare was often even more cruel.

From atop the walls, stones were constantly hurled down, along with countless rolling logs, boiling water, and boiling feces.

For a moment, the cries of battle shook the heavens, and screams of agony resounded across the earth.

Sun Chuanting watched expressionlessly as wave after wave of men charged up, watched men fall from the walls, watched men be killed by arrows, watched them crash to the ground and never move again.

As if everything around him had nothing to do with him, Sun Chuanting's gaze continuously swept across his surroundings.

In Qi Yuangong's view, this kind of warfare completely contradicted the principles he had learned.

It was too cruel, and the efficiency was too low—it was filling the gap with human lives. Yet Sun Chuanting seemed to think this approach was just fine.

Just as Qi Yuangong was pondering this, Sun Chuanting suddenly said, "The men in front are retreating, but I haven't sounded the gong to withdraw. Kill them."

Hearing Sun Chuanting's words, Qi Yuangong snapped back to attention. He hastily turned to look in the direction Sun Chuanting had indicated—and sure enough, there were several dozen men running back.

Their faces were streaked with blood, and they looked utterly panicked. From their clothing and bearing, Qi Yuangong recognized them—these men should be Liao Sanniang's subordinates, meaning they had originally been bandits.

Sure enough, these bandits were useless. Qi Yuangong raised his hand, then lightly lowered it.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Gunfire rang out, and white smoke instantly rose into the air.

The men who had just turned to flee suddenly burst with sprays of blood, then all collapsed to the ground, never to make another sound.

Sun Chuanting turned his head gently and said, "Send another three thousand men up."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Hu acknowledged the order, then went to relay it.

"Sir, isn't this loss a bit too heavy?" Qi Yuangong looked at Sun Chuanting and spoke.

The battle had only just begun not long ago, yet already a great many corpses had piled up beneath the walls of Luzhou. If they kept fighting like this, the dead would likely number even more. Even if they did take Luzhou, they would probably lose half their men.

Sun Chuanting, however, paid it no mind. He said, "There are many more hard battles ahead. What is this? If we can't even chew through this place, how can we fight later? What use would I have for these men?"

"I have neither the time nor the effort to drill them carefully myself, so let them learn their drilling on the battlefield. Those who survive can earn merit and reward; those who don't—consider it atonement for their past crimes."

"Don't harbor any sympathy for them. I've already given them a path to survival. Otherwise, these men would have been wiped out on our march here. Have you forgotten? You wanted to bury them alive yourself."

Qi Yuangong smiled bitterly.

How could that be the same?

When he had wanted to bury those men alive, they had not yet been his own men—they had had no connection to his side at all. They were the enemy.

It seemed he had misjudged this young Lord Sun. He had originally thought this young Lord Sun was just an ordinary civil official, skilled at training troops, willing to gather up all sorts of ragtag people.

Now that he thought about it, that was not the case at all. This temper, this ruthless streak—not someone to provoke.

The rebels atop the city wall were not faring well either. The Ming army surged up like a tide, charging forward recklessly, as if their eyes were bloodshot with killing frenzy, catching the defenders on the wall completely off guard.

Neither She Yin nor Fan Hu had expected the Ming army to be so ferociously brave.

But the two soon learned the reason—those who fell back and cowered were all cut down by the Ming army's own men. The supervisory squads were utterly merciless, giving people no chance to live.

After witnessing that cold-blooded execution just now, both She Yin and Fan Hu drew in sharp breaths of cold air.

She Yin no longer sought any counterattack now; he only prayed to hold Luzhou. But judging by the current situation, even holding Luzhou would not be easy.

Turning to look at Fan Hu, She Yin said, "General Fan, take your men and go. You must drive the Ming army back—you cannot let them set foot on the city wall again."

Fan Hu nodded and said, "This officer will go at once."

With that, he led his men, blades in hand, toward the city wall.

The slaughter remained fierce. The Ming army charged up in waves, climbing like ants, crashing against the city wall like the tide. Though beaten back several times, they would soon surge up again.

Standing at the very front of the crowd, Sun Chuanting glanced at the city wall, then at the sky.