Chapter 365: The Integrity of a Scholar

Jiangzhou City.

Only after the arrogant Jia Shu left with a swaggering gait did Luo Huo's complexion turn livid; he smashed the wine cup in his hand fiercely onto the ground and bellowed, "Preposterous, simply preposterous! These Han people are truly hypocritical and detestable! Does he really think this King dares not kill him? Hmm?"

Murong Che sighed slightly from the side.

You don't dare to kill him, do you?

Otherwise, why would you have stopped him?

This was why Jia Shu had not yielded an inch at the banquet today. His wording was extremely arrogant, telling Luo Huo directly that if he could withdraw from Jiangzhou at this time, the Prefect Liu would grant Luo Huo the greatest friendship. In other words, your Agutuo has already been surrounded by me at Mang Mountain; your force has already gained many benefits in Jiangzhou, so what are you waiting for if you don't leave?

If you leave at this time, I will act as if you never came.

Your Jiaozhi Kingdom will still be our friendly neighbor.

Luo Huo was so angry he could barely breathe; just listen to that.

Is that human language? Is that an attitude for negotiation? He is currently the one controlling the lives of three hundred thousand people in Jiangzhou! You want me to leave, and you aren't ceding territory or paying reparations—are you joking?

"Great King, I believe we should first assess the situation."

Murong Che thought for a moment and said, "Currently, Xie Yang of Shuzhou has already been captured. Our army is already isolated, and Agutuo is trapped at Mang Mountain; we only have one hundred and fifty thousand men left. These Jiangzhou commoners number three hundred thousand... this..."

Luo Huo frowned, just about to speak.

Who would have thought, several Southern Barbarian strategists nearby sneered one after another: "Mr. Murong, that is incorrect. Jiangzhou is a natural fortress; our one hundred and fifty thousand-strong army is stationed here, and the city has abundant grain and fodder, enough to last at least two years. At this moment, that Prefect Liu and Agutuo are still evenly matched, and looking across all of Chuan Shu, where is there an army with the strength to fight?"

Once these words were spoken, the crowd laughed and chimed in one after another.

The entire Chuan Shu now relies on that Liangzhou Army that came to support; what is there to fear?

"If you ask me, we should just chop this arrogant Jia Shu down tomorrow! And those Jiangzhou commoners, bury them alive together!"

"We shall occupy this Jiangzhou, fortify our defenses, and see who dares to come!"

"Exactly!"

The group was extremely arrogant.

Luo Huo was actually considering it too; the Geography of this Jiangzhou City is quite unique. To put it plainly, this is a mountain city, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Jiangzhou is the Chongqing of later generations; one can imagine how difficult it would be to take this city. After all, in later generations, the reason it became the auxiliary capital was because of its superior Geography, making it easy to hold.

Given the current situation, the only troops in Chuan Shu capable of fighting are the one hundred thousand led by Prefect Liu and the one hundred thousand in Yong'an.

Two hundred thousand troops...

It probably won't be very easy to break through Jiangzhou.

And...

He simply does not believe that Agutuo, who is a famous fierce god even among the Southern Barbarians, cannot finish off at least fifty thousand of Prefect Liu's troops.

"Great King..."

Murong Che still wanted to persuade him.

Luo Huo slapped his thigh and shouted coldly, "Enough nonsense! Tomorrow, let's see what that Jia Shu has to say! If he doesn't give this King the two hundred thousand people of Jiangzhou as slaves and one hundred thousand Gold Coins, I will slaughter him!"

This was the condition he held in his heart for withdrawing his troops.

The next day.

The negotiations began again.

Murong Che knew he could not persuade Luo Huo no matter what, so as the negotiation representative on this side, he gave Jia Shu a wink several times, signaling him to take a step back.

Unexpectedly.

This Jia Shu was stubborn to such a degree that he refused to yield an inch, no matter what was said.

You want slaves? No way!

Not a single Jiangzhou commoner can be missing!

You want Gold Coins? That is possible.

The authority Liu Zheng gave him was one hundred thousand Gold Coins, but he left himself some leeway and would only give fifty thousand!

This negotiation lasted straight from the morning until the afternoon.

Finally, Luo Huo could no longer hold back; he brought his fierce warriors and stormed in, looked coldly at Jia Shu, and bellowed, "You shameless fellow, tie him up for this King! Today, I will dig out his heart and eat his flesh!"

Jia Shu's expression changed drastically.

Luo Huo's men had already pinned him firmly to the ground.

"Great King..."

Before Murong Che could speak, Luo Huo had already glared at him coldly: "Mr. Murong, I will not give anyone face regarding this matter! Drag him out!"

Soon, Jia Shu was dragged into the street by the crowd; his scholar's robes were torn apart, and he was in a wretched state.

Being dragged through the streets and humiliated like this, Jia Shu, who had been incomparably arrogant just yesterday, instantly became an object of ridicule for these Southern Barbarians.

Some even urinated on his face, taking pleasure in it.

Jia Shu was a tough man; all along the way, despite being beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, his words remained firm: "You barbarians, when the Young Master arrives, you will all be nothing but ants!"

"Do you barbarians dream of entering the hall? Longyan will not tolerate it!"

"A flow of barbarism, defiling Jiangzhou—is this not the misfortune of Chuan Shu!"

Hearing this, Luo Huo's complexion turned livid: "Tie him up for this King and slice him to pieces!"

At this moment, because he wanted to achieve a deterrent effect, Luo Huo deliberately pushed out all the Jiangzhou commoners; for a time, the people of Jiangzhou were filled with panic.

Everyone watched as Jia Shu was tied naked to a pillar.

"Who is this person?"

"I heard he came to negotiate!"

"This..."

The commoners discussed it in hushed tones, many of them weeping, crying out that Longyan was exhausted and that the rites and music had collapsed...

Such a man of iron backbone was actually going to be executed on the spot.

This Luo Huo, who drank blood and ate raw meat, taking pleasure in bloodthirst, laughed loudly at this moment: "Weren't you very arrogant? Weren't you very haughty? Come, come, kneel down and beg this King, and I will leave you a whole corpse!"

Although Jia Shu's hair was disheveled, his gaze remained sharp; hearing these words, he spat, "I am a scholar of Longyan, and though I may die, my integrity remains!"

"The people of Longyan are all more noble than you, a barbarian Feudatory King!"

"You want me to kneel? Keep dreaming!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Huo's expression changed drastically: "Cut!"

At the command, a Dagger appeared on Jia Shu's body, and a piece of fresh flesh was actually sliced off in full view of everyone.

The entire crowd was weeping bitterly.

Murong Che was also watching with his fists clenched tight.

Jia Shu was truly a ruthless man!

Looking at Jia Shu's eyes at this moment, they were still filled with fearlessness, composure, and mockery; it was as if, to him, life and death were not as important as integrity.

How could these people not feel heartache?

Among these three hundred thousand captives of Jiangzhou, one hundred thousand were young and able-bodied; yet at this moment, they were being escorted by this gang of southern barbarians like walking corpses; looking at Jia Shu's current state, how could they not feel ashamed in their hearts? Their home and country were in trouble, yet they were powerless; because they feared death, they had become captives...

This complex emotion of terror, shame, and anger began to permeate the sky over Jiangzhou.

"Continue!"

This man Luo Huo seemed to become incomparably excited whenever he saw flesh and blood, his entire corpulent body trembling along with it.

Another cut!

Jia Shu gritted his teeth hard and did not cry out.

Seeing this man so unyielding.

Luo Huo could not believe it, roaring, "Continue, give me more!"

Who would have known.

Just at this moment.

"Great King, it's bad, it's bad!"

A subordinate ran over in a panicked rush, tumbling and crawling.

Luo Huo frowned as he looked over: "What matter is there to be so panicked about?"

"Great King, Great King..."

"Agutuo's one hundred and fifty thousand troops have been... completely wiped out..."

As soon as these words were spoken.

The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.