Chapter 1436 – Take it Easy (Part Three)
By the time Qi Guanrang and the others arrived at the discussion hall, most of the people had already gathered.
After they exchanged greetings, they took their seats. Wei Ci still looked a bit absent-minded, his complexion slightly pale.
Jiang Pengji frowned slightly; she knew Wei Ci well enough to realize that he wouldn’t typically zone out in an official setting without a serious reason.
Looking around and confirming that all her confidants were present, Jiang Pengji cleared her throat and explained the urgent reason for this meeting.
“This morning, I received an urgent letter from Nansheng. The Nansheng coalition has captured the heartland of the Four Tribes, taking over a million prisoners. After discussion, the coalition lords have unanimously decided to slaughter the Four Tribes’ savages.” Jiang Pengji’s gaze was calm, as if she were merely discussing an inconsequential matter.
Everyone had heard rumors before coming, but hearing it straight from Jiang Pengji’s mouth stirred emotions even in Yang Si and the others. In turbulent times, lives were like weeds, and battles always resulted in deaths. They were mentally prepared for casualties, but a massacre of a million people…
Li Yun cautiously asked, “A million able-bodied men?”
Jiang Pengji retorted, “The Four Tribes never had a large population to begin with. After nearly ten years of chaos, how could there be a million able-bodied men left? If there really were a million, they would have swept away the Nansheng coalition long ago. Most of these over a million individuals are elderly, women, children, and likely even the unborn in their mothers’ wombs. The Nansheng coalition is just venting their hatred for the destruction of their country; they’re truly ruthless.”
The Four Tribes had suffered heavy losses in their young and strong due to fighting, and last year’s epidemic had seriously weakened their combat capabilities. If it weren’t for the weather turning cooler soon after the epidemic broke out, many more would have died from the disease.
In ancient times, medical knowledge was poor, hygiene and prevention awareness were lacking, and medical resources were scarce. Once an epidemic broke out, the death toll was undoubtedly worse than the earthquakes in the past, with the saying “nine out of ten houses are empty” not being exaggerated. Jiang Pengji knew that this era had seen several large-scale epidemics, affecting wide ranges, with deaths numbering in the millions each time. Given that the entire population of Dongqing was just over twenty million, that was a staggering figure!
Qi Guanrang furrowed his brows and said, “Even if it’s out of hatred for the destruction of their nation, the method of genocide is indeed brutal.”
A few hundred years back, massacres were quite common during wars, but over time, it became less acceptable to wipe out entire families.
In war, it wasn’t uncommon to kill people, but few would continue to slaughter prisoners after victories, unless their own food supplies were low. Typically, the victors would reduce the defeated prisoners to a state of slavery, selling them or using them as cheap labor.
Most of these captives referred to soldiers who had fought but lost, but the prisoners slaughtered by the Nansheng coalition were primarily the old, weak, women, and children.
“No one can claim to be cruel. To me, the Nansheng coalition and the Four Tribes are just two sides of the same coin,” Jiang Pengji scoffed. “When the Four Tribes slaughtered Nansheng common people, they showed no mercy. Similarly, in the early days of Nansheng’s establishment, to prevent the Four Tribes from causing chaos, hundreds of thousands of tribesmen were forced to labor as soldiers, with over twenty thousand resulting in deaths from exhaustion in battle. Nansheng also claimed dominance over the Four Tribes, forcing them to pay tribute, taxing them heavily, and launching several campaigns to suppress them, resulting in the deaths of no less than a hundred thousand. All of this is a bloody debt!”
In the early days of Nansheng, how many noble clans filled their pockets with the blood-soaked profits from the Four Tribes?
They forcibly took them as slaves, giving them the least amount of food for the heaviest labor.
They treated them not as humans, but as talking beasts!
Wasn’t the hatred of the Four Tribes towards Nansheng forced out by these very actions?
After the Four Tribes grew stronger and eliminated Nansheng, the lords of Nansheng united to retaliate against the Four Tribes, culminating in the decision to slaughter millions and destroy entire families.
While there are no objections to extermination, don’t wave the banner of righteous revenge, thinking you’re spotless?
How many of the Nansheng coalition lords’ ancestors enjoyed the sweet fruits of the Four Tribes’ blood-soaked profits?
Jiang Pengji found these people quite amusing, their double standards on full display.
War is war, killing is killing, extermination is extermination, so drop the random excuses to sugarcoat things.
“Those who kill must be ready to be killed!”
As Jiang Pengji’s speech grew increasingly outrageous, Qi Guanrang and Wei Ci exchanged knowing coughs.
They exchanged glances and quickly shifted their eyes away.
Jiang Pengji rubbed her temples, realizing she needed to rein in her words and gloss over that part.
It wasn’t that she was backing down; it was just that the issues between Nansheng and the Four Tribes were not the main topic for today’s meeting, and it wasn’t necessary to waste time.
“Nansheng borders us, and Zhangzhou is governed by the Nansheng lord Yang Tao. If Yang Tao harbors ambitions, with no natural defenses in Zhu, Hu, and Xu counties, they could easily fall,” Yang Si interjected, steering the conversation back on track. “If Nansheng is free of external threats, they could recover their strength in just three to five years, becoming a significant liability. In my opinion, we need to prepare early for a response.”
This isn’t about taking advantage of chaos; this is about preventing it!
Who told that Yang Tao kid to occupy Zhangzhou?
That area poses a huge risk to Zhu, Hu, and Xu due to its lack of adequate defenses.
If Yang Tao launches an attack from Zhangzhou, defending those three locations would be extremely difficult—who could feel at ease about that?
Moreover, those three counties are some of the more prosperous areas under Jiang Pengji’s control, and Xu County is especially productive. Losing them would be a catastrophic blow!
Now that Nansheng has already wiped out the Four Tribes, Jiang Pengji seizing the opportunity to attack would leave the world with no room to criticize her.
“Your worries are just as I am concerned about,” Jiang Pengji stated. “Does anyone have any opinions on this matter?”
Even though Jiang Pengji was itching to wield the Blade of the God Slayer, she still needed to follow the proper procedures.
Waging war isn’t a whim; one must still search for a valid excuse beforehand.
One couldn’t just say, “I’m worried Yang Tao might attack me, so I need to eliminate him now,” right?
She and Yang Tao weren’t exactly friends, but they weren’t enemies either; they had collaborated twice without any significant conflict.
Jiang Pengji did have a potential excuse, but she needed her subordinates to help her dig up old grievances.
At that moment, Feng Zhen, who was quite clever, got the hint.
An excuse to start the war?
As it turned out, there was one! Last year, when their lord dealt with the Tao Clan, they attempted a breathtaking play to create enmity between her and Yang Tao. However, this move was quashed by the lord, and Yang Tao was busy with the South Sheng battlefield, showing no reaction whatsoever.
With a shift in his thoughts, Feng Zhen quickly came up with an idea.
While Jiang Pengji was sharpening her sword, Yang Tao, far away in Nansheng, remained blissfully unaware.
Not only that, he had fallen ill and had lost quite a bit of weight over the past few days.
As Yang Tao’s close friend, Yan Lin knew exactly what the root of his illness was.
To put it bluntly, Yang Tao was just too pure-hearted.
If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t be suffering illness after witnessing the extermination of the Four Tribes!
