The elderly scholar soared through the air, while the Qi army's slaughter continued unabated.
He flew over the hellish "slaughterhouse" on the battlefield.
Under the cold, scrutinizing gazes of several Autumn Kill Army generals, he arrived before Chongxuan Chuliang.
Everywhere his peripheral vision reached, there was killing. Every sound that reached his ears was a cry of anguish.
His face was etched with sorrow, yet before Chongxuan Chuliang, who hovered in mid-air, he straightened his back and spine, appearing rather dignified.
"Who are you?" Chongxuan Chuliang asked.
"This old man is Huang Yixing, former magistrate of the State of Yang's Chiwei Commandery!" The elderly scholar bowed in response.
After a slight bow, he hurriedly said: "Your Excellency's command of troops is divine. Today's battle that destroyed a nation will be renowned throughout the world! However, in war between armies, killing is inevitable. But slaughtering prisoners is inauspicious! Since ancient times, those who surrender have been spared death—this is the righteous path of the military. Why did Your Excellency order the massacre? I truly cannot bear to see Your Excellency bear such an infamous reputation, so I risk my life to persuade you!"
"If you know me, you should know my name." Chongxuan Chuliang still held Yang Jiande's severed head in his hand. Hearing this, he merely replied coolly: "Can any infamy be worse than the title 'Brutal Butcher'?"
Huang Yixing's gaze instinctively moved to Yang Jiande. Under the mask of blood and grime, Yang Jiande's wide-open eyes seemed to stare directly at him.
He instinctively averted his gaze, only managing to stammer: "Your Excellency, heaven has a virtue of cherishing life..."
Chongxuan Chuliang cut him off: "Heaven also has the might of taking life! These soldiers dared to resist the heavenly army—without killing them, how can we uphold heaven's might?"
"The Yang court has been weak for a hundred years, respecting Qi for three generations! Yet in the end, it has come to this—a great army invading our borders. General, why is this?" Huang Yixing could not conceal his agitation: "Soldiers defend their homes and protect their country—what crime is there in that? On the battlefield, they merely served their masters, fighting for life and death. Now that the outcome is decided, Your Excellency! The butcher's blade should cease!"
"Are you saying that my great Qi is waging an unrighteous war, invading this land?" Chongxuan Chuliang narrowed his eyes.
"I would never dare suggest such a thing!" Huang Yixing pleaded: "The Yang court is corrupt, the Lord of Yang lost his virtue, leading to today's situation—he deserves his fate! But the people of Yang are innocent! Qi and Yang have been allied for generations—when have the people of Yang ever betrayed that alliance?"
"You people." Chongxuan Chuliang pointed a finger at him from a distance: "You have always been arrogant, considering yourselves wealthy and noble! You have taken Qi's honor as your own honor, Qi's strength as your own strength—you are nothing but parasitic vines clinging to the great tree of Qi! Now that the tree is clearing away the vines that hinder its growth, do you still feel honored?"
Huang Yixing stood stunned for a long while before managing, with difficulty: "Today the state is destroyed, the ancestral temples of the Yang clan have no successors. This may be heaven's will! However..."
His voice gradually rose: "The Yang court is destroyed, this land becomes Qi's territory, and the people of Yang become Qi's people—how can there be any reason to slaughter one's own subjects? Moreover, now there is Jing Mu in the north, eyeing us like a tiger, and the vicious Xia in the south, harboring old grudges. To the west is the powerful Jing, gazing proudly upon the world! Though Qi is strong, how can it win hearts through slaughter?"
Chongxuan Chuliang merely sneered: "Yang Jiande foolishly mobilized his great army, using the arrogance of a small state to offend the dignity of a great power. Originally, I was prepared to exterminate everyone in this territory. It was only because a young friend pleaded for mercy that I undertook this troublesome matter. Do not lecture me on your nonsensical principles and entangled interests! Would I, Chongxuan Chuliang, listen to that?"
Though he did not say it explicitly, the young friend he referred to was naturally Jiang Wang.
And this plea for mercy was actually fictitious.
To defeat Yang Jiande, Chongxuan Chuliang had been prepared to force the entire population of Yang to their deaths if necessary—but that was only the worst-case scenario. No matter how fearsome his reputation, he would not exterminate the entire population of Yang once victory was already assured.
Only Chongxuan Sheng knew that this was about cultivating Jiang Wang's reputation. In essence, it was an important step in the post-war "pie-sharing" phase—using the Chongxuan family's Green Sheep Town as a banner to reestablish order.
Chongxuan Sheng's thinking might have some simple aspects, but one point was correct: the Chongxuan family indeed needed a righteous person—or at least someone who appeared righteous.
Because he, Chongxuan Chuliang, would play the role of the fearsome one, and there really was no suitable candidate for a banner that could soothe people's hearts.
Of course, there might be other reasons, but they were not fit to be spoken aloud...
"Huang has only ever knelt to heaven, earth, the lord, and his father—never to any man!"
Seeing Chongxuan Chuliang's attitude, right before him, Huang Yixing suddenly dropped to his knees in mid-air.
His knees struck nothingness with a resounding thump: "I kneel for the common people! I beg Your Excellency to show mercy to the people of Yang and stop killing the innocent!"
The sound of battle swords slicing through necks, blood spurting. The screams of agony, cries of pain, pleas for mercy, and the strange shrieks of killing frenzy...
All the sounds of slaughter were annotating something.
Chongxuan Chuliang gazed at Huang Yixing for a long while before speaking: "Military orders are like mountains—this commander has no reason to retract his command. However, your courage moves me. You are one of the rare loyal and upright men of the State of Yang. For your sake, this commander can spare the lives of Yang's common people, provided they sincerely submit... Would you be willing to convey this order for this commander?"
His meaning was clear: there was no room for further negotiation.
Seeing that there was no hope of persuasion, Huang Yixing pressed his hands against the empty air, bent his body forward, touched his forehead to the back of his hands, and said with tears streaming: "This old man is willing to go!"
Then he turned and shot away like an arrow, never looking back at the battlefield.
Chongxuan Chuliang paid him no further attention, merely lifting the severed head of Yang Jiande to eye level. He suddenly sighed: "The Yang court has completely lost the hearts of the people—how can it be your fault alone?"
His personal guards brought forth a jade box.
He placed the head into the jade box, looked at it once more, then closed the lid.
"Send it back to Linzi," he sighed.
In the entire State of Yang, the only heads worthy of being sent back to Linzi as war trophies were those of Yang Jiande and Ji Cheng.
At this moment, Chongxuan Sheng walked over with difficulty, his face full of killing intent: "Your Excellency, are you really going to fulfill his name?"
Chongxuan Chuliang first glanced at him, then merely noted: "On the battlefield, life and death are common occurrences."
"Shisì is not dead!" Chongxuan Sheng said, then added: "What I hate is that of the troops under my command, only seven hundred of the five thousand survived!"
Chongxuan Sheng said nothing more to this, only responding to his earlier question: "Since he is the type to sell his reputation while betraying his country, let us give him some reputation!"
Then he turned and strode back toward his own camp, not looking back at the battlefield.
Since he, Chongxuan Chuliang, had issued the military order, these two hundred and ten thousand troops of the State of Yang had to be completely exterminated.
Huang Yixing appeared loyal and compassionate, yet as the magistrate of Chiwei Commandery, he had not entered the battlefield before the war, could not save his lord or die for his country during the battle, and only rushed out afterward to plead against the slaughter.
Though perhaps there was some justice in his actions, it was likely more about preserving his reputation for saving the common people.
They said he was risking his life to save the common people, but in reality, under these circumstances, Chongxuan Chuliang killing him would have had worse consequences than massacring tens of thousands of soldiers.
The reason the Yang court had completely lost the hearts of the people was not only because of the lord's inaction, but because every one of the Yang court's officials had their own agendas—for fame or profit, each acting for themselves.
That is why Chongxuan Chuliang called Huang Yixing a man who sold his reputation while betraying his country.
This man did not hesitate to trample upon the Lord of Yang and the Yang court, while keeping himself clean, acting as if the entire nation was corrupt while he alone remained pure. But as the magistrate of Chiwei Commandery, undoubtedly a high-ranking official of the Yang court, how could he have had no involvement in the Yang court's past decisions? In the end, this man only cared about his own reputation, not about his country!
But despite all this, he still had to fulfill this man's reputation. Because the existence of such a person facilitated Qi's rule in this land.
The greater the villain of Yang, the more valuable he became as a minister of Qi.
Jiang Wang was one banner at Green Sheep Town—representing an idyllic haven.
Huang Yixing was another banner in the State of Yang—representing a restoration of order from chaos.
With these two banners, there was no worry about winning over all the hearts of Yang's people.
Le Wen