Chapter 701: Do Not Pursue a Defeated Enemy, the Capital View Shakes the Northern Frontier

The atmosphere atop the city tower dropped to freezing point because Wei Shaokuan's stern order to refuse battle.

The few eager subordinate commanders, though not daring to defy the order, flushed red, snorted through their nostrils, clearly deeply dissatisfied.

Even Dou Luling, who had always respected Wei Shaokuan, now wore a face full of bewilderment and anxiety; if not for the constraints of rank, he would have argued forcefully by now.

It was like seeing a big piece of fatty meat hanging at the mouth, yet having one's head forcibly held down so one couldn't eat it—such unbearable frustration drove one crazy.

Wei Shaokuan seemed to sense the restlessness behind him.

He did not get angry; instead, he slowly turned, removed the heavy helmet from his head, and casually handed it to a nearby personal guard.

His graying hair fluttered chaotically in the hot wind, making him look less like an iron‑blooded general and more like a shrewd elder.

"Do you think I'm an old fool? Or do you think I'm afraid of that bereaved dog Ku Di Gan?"

Wei Shaokuan's voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

He stepped before Dou Luling, pointed to the open plain Outside City, and, in a steady tone, analyzed: "You only saw the Qi State army retreating, but forgot that it was a main force of over forty thousand men, not forty thousand pigs."

"Since Ku Di Gan dared to cut off his tail to survive, it shows he still retains a sliver of reason and command ability. The Qi State army now is like a frightened, wounded trapped beast."

Wei Shaokuan's gaze swept the crowd, his eyes like knives: "A trapped beast is the most dangerous!"

"If we now open the city gates and charge out onto this unshielded plain, and press them so tightly that Ku Di Gan sees no retreat, should he, like a cornered dog, turn back and fight us desperately, what would be the result?"

"We would still have to split forces to defend the city; even if you are valiant, even if they are a defeated army, the wave of forty thousand men fighting back at death would be enough to drown your few thousand!"

"Then, when the boat capsizes in the ditch and Licheng is gained and lost again, what will you use to answer the Court? What will you use to face the heroic souls defending Gancao City to the death?!"

These words, like a bucket of ice water, instantly doused the generals' heated spirits.

Dou Luling shivered all over, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

Indeed, a defeated enemy should not be pursued; it's a cardinal military taboo.

He had just been intoxicated by the huge battle merit, only thinking of the thrill of pursuit, forgetting that a frantic rabbit still bites, let alone a famed Qi State general commanding tens of thousands.

"Old General's reprimand was… was my own recklessness," Dou Luling said shamefully, bowing his fists and apologizing.

Wei Shaokuan patted his shoulder, his expression softened a bit, but the chill in his eyes did not fade.

He then looked at the still wailing, charred Qi State corpses below the city, a chilling grin curling his mouth: "Moreover, why trade the precious lives of Great Zhou's sons for those doomed, worthless lives of theirs?"

"Sometimes, not killing is harsher than killing."

Wei Shaokuan pointed at the three thousand so‑called "Abandoned", slowly being consumed by fire and arrow rain, his voice icy: "Let these three thousand die here slowly. Let the fleeing forty thousand Qi State main force watch and hear how their comrades are abandoned by their commander, how they wail miserably here."

"This fear of abandonment, this resentment toward the commander, will spread through the Qi State army like Plague. What Ku Di Gan brings back will no longer be an army, but a scattered flock of disloyal, distrustful men."

"Returning with this shame and fear will shake the Qi State Court more than we slaughter them on the battlefield, and will utterly collapse their military morale!"

This is the true art of killing with a borrowed knife, killing the heart.

The generals felt a chill down their spines, and seeing the white‑haired Old General before them, they harbored no dissent, only deep awe.

This is the true bearing of a famed general: taking three steps ahead, caring not for short‑term gains, but planning for eternity.

One and a half hours later.

The setting sun sank westward, the dying sun like blood.

The shouts and killings below the city finally fell completely silent.

The last Qi State soldier attempting to climb the ladder was pierced through the throat by a sharp arrow, falling like a kite whose string had snapped, crashing heavily onto the moat bank.

The moat, once clear, was now stained a shocking dark red by blood, floating with countless severed limbs and charred corpses.

In the distance, the banners of the Qi State main camp grew sparse, leaving only empty tents rattling in the wind, as if summoning the three thousand lost souls.

"Old General, the enemy has been completely annihilated," the Deputy General reported, his voice trembling slightly.

Wei Shaokuan nodded, put the helmet back on, restoring his iron‑blooded warlord visage.

"Open the city gates."

He barked the order coldly, each word striking the ground: "Send men to clear the battlefield. Gather all three thousand corpses and, three li beyond Licheng's main gate, build a 'Capital View' for me!"

"Capital View?!"

The surrounding commanders inhaled a cold gasp.

The Capital View, a mound of enemy corpses piled and covered with earth, is the most brutal and deterrent display of martial prowess in ancient warfare.

"Exactly, the Capital View!"

Wei Shaokuan's gaze burned like a torch, staring at the endless northern grassland and yellow sand: "I will use this corpse mountain to warn all who spy on Great Zhou's Lingzhou!"

"Whether they be Qi State people, Rouran, or the rising Turkic People!"

"Licheng is their burial ground! An insurmountable sky‑dam! Whoever dares return will meet this fate!"

Night fell, torches blazing.

Beyond Licheng, a massive, terrifying Capital View formed slowly from three thousand piled corpses.

The intense scent of blood was detectable even ten li away.

Having dealt with all this, Wei Shaokuan did not return to his residence to rest.

He stood alone on the highest beacon tower of the city wall, shedding his Iron Armor.

The evening wind stirred his battle robe soaked with sweat.

The Old General did not look toward the fleeing northern enemy, but cast his gaze eastward, toward the pitch‑black night sky.

In the depth of that gaze, a little less killing intent and a little more senior's hope and satisfaction for the junior.

He knew that this seemingly great victory commanded by him was actually orchestrated by someone else.

That young man, strategizing hundreds of li away, now leading a great army forward.

His son‑in‑law, the Duke of Wei of Great Zhou, Chen Yan.

"A Yan..."

Wei Shaokuan murmured softly, a hint of smile at his mouth, "The next, larger game now depends on how you place your pieces!"