Chapter 1675 – Capture of Nan Sheng, Slaying of An Huan (Eighty-Three)
Baby flesh is tender and crispy, not suitable for boiling too long, with female infants offering the best meat.
Children have tender flesh, best cooked to about seventy percent doneness, with ginger, garlic, and rice wine to remove the fishy smell, and among them, boy’s flesh is the finest.
Adult meat is sour but chewy; male meat is especially exceptional, whereas female meat is too fatty and a bit greasy, suitable for refining human oil.
The flesh of old women and men is unbearable in odor and intolerable in sourness, tasteless, except for human bone broth, enhanced with spices for a rich, fragrant soup.
Aside from this, the author has also experimented with unborn fetuses from women, available in every month.
The entire “Cannibalism Essay” is only five hundred words long, but each character is filled with the greatest malice and evil intent of humanity.
After reading this “Cannibalism Essay,” Lü Zheng became even more eager and intense in his longing for a peaceful and prosperous age. He put all his hopes for such an age on An, desperately wishing that this tragedy wouldn’t happen again, yet An left him disappointed time and again.
An, An Duoxi, simply could not bear Lü Zheng’s aspirations.
Kang Xintong spoke with a crying tone, “… Human flesh… how could they actually do that…”
Lü Zheng replied calmly, “It depends on the situation.”
Kang Xintong was frightened by the implications of Lü Zheng’s words, her red eyes wide in shock.
She hesitated to call out, her voice trembling, “Foster Father…”
“If An is a wise leader, then those who mix human flesh into military rations would naturally step forward to take the blame for him.” Lü Zheng sighed, “After all, we are not an alien race; the others act recklessly, cannibalism is their norm, but we are different. Some things, the others can do, we cannot. Eating humans, even for survival, is ultimately a heinous act against humanity, exceedingly cruel! Not only will the world condemn it, but it will also be scorned for eternity. Even so, it must be considered whether it’s worth it…”
Kang Xintong quietly asked, “Does this mean…”
Lü Zheng said, “If it really comes down to a desperate situation, and An actually is worth carrying all the blame, then using human flesh could be justified.”
What he cared about wasn’t the use of human flesh for military rations; it was that An simply didn’t deserve someone to shoulder such blame for him.
Lü Zheng’s worldview was such; not just him, but many strategists thought similarly.
Upon hearing this, Kang Xintong trembled slightly, unsure what kind of internal conflict she was facing.
“If you find this cruel, once these matters are settled, remain at home until you come of age; I will arrange a good marriage for you,” Lü Zheng said calmly, “Hua Yuan claims the supplies will arrive in three days, but his words cannot be trusted; he is not loyal to An and even harbors ambitions of harming him to take his place. I fear that after three days, the supplies will still be nowhere to be seen. Liu Xi seems to have already secured victory…”
Despite Lü Zheng finding it absurd, he had to admit that his own classmate was more suitable to be the ruler of the world than An.
This dispute had reached a point where it was time to conclude.
Kang Xintong said, “Does Foster Father plan to turn to Lan Ting in the future? She values you quite highly…”
“Values? It’s hard to say! Liu Xi’s character is unpredictable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she is capricious and quick-tempered. She has recruited me multiple times, but each time has come with schemes and calculations; who knows what her true intentions are? Is it genuine recruitment, or mere feigned affection?” Lü Zheng was an insightful person, but he tended to overthink things and easily got caught up in his thoughts; he continued, “However, I am not like Cheng Jing, and if An truly falls… after lying low for a while, he would most likely rely on his connections from Langya Academy to re-enter the political arena.”
“Cheng Jing? The senior brother you mentioned before?”
Lü Zheng explained, “He is a gentleman, very different in temperament from me, with more meticulous thinking. He is great in many aspects, but the only downside is that he’s too ‘selfless.’ Since Huang Song’s defeat, he hasn’t been heard from and is idling at home. He certainly doesn’t blame Huang Song; he thinks of many things, mainly for a few senior brothers and Mr. Yuanjing… not wanting to implicate them.”
Kang Xintong was confused.
“How could this be implicating?”
Lü Zheng said, “If you carefully observe the officials under Liu Xi, you would see how much the influence of Langya Academy has grown.”
“Lan Ting probably doesn’t care about that; one more doesn’t make a difference, one less is still the same.”
Kang Xintong believed that her idol wouldn’t be so narrow-minded.
“While she might not care, Cheng Jing cannot possibly not care, nor can other members from Langya Academy.” Lü Zheng sighed, “There are few gentlemen in the world, but many petty people; Langya Academy is not a pure land. Mr. Yuanjing cannot guarantee that every student he teaches is a righteous gentleman. There will always be those who, relying on their Langya connections, will resort to unscrupulous means to climb to the top. This is not what the teachers and senior brothers wish to see, but they can only restrain themselves and cannot control others…”
The more Kang Xintong listened, the more she felt something was off.
If Lü Zheng deemed the cautious Cheng Jing a gentleman, then didn’t that define himself as a petty person?
Cheng Jing chose to avoid suspicion, yet Lü Zheng spoke of entering politics…
“Foster Father…”
Lü Zheng said, “Everyone’s choices are different; there’s nothing to criticize; as long as one’s conscience is clear, that’s enough.”
Kang Xintong also said, “In that case, I wish to follow Foster Father and never be a small bird in the inner residence!”
Lü Zheng’s lips showed a faint smile.
“Good!”
Due to the matter of human flesh, Kang Xintong and Lü Zheng had no appetite that day.
They could not stop the soldiers from consuming this batch of supplies, only ensuring they did not partake.
“Tomorrow, I’ll find an excuse to take you out of the military camp,”
An was destined to kneel, whether under Jiang Ji’s hand or Hua Yuan’s, and Lü Zheng did not want to accompany him in death.
Moreover, the camp’s supplies would not last two or three days; after they were exhausted, An would likely struggle to maintain control.
Lü Zheng valued his life; he did not wish to die on the road before witnessing an age of peace and prosperity.
Kang Xintong nodded, raising her hand to soak the hard bread cut into pieces in hot soup to soften it; otherwise, it’d be impossible to chew.
Lü Zheng took two bites and then set it down, leaving the rest for Kang Xintong.
Just as Lü Zheng anticipated, the supplies promised by Hua Yuan did not arrive.
Everyone, looking forward to seeing the supply convoy, instead found those sent to intercept the supplies ambushed by the enemy.
The enemy struck them hard, leaving them lost and bewildered.
When An received this news, he was enraged and fainted from the anger.
The culprit, Li Ze, returned to camp with his soldiers, pleased with his success.
He believed this was just a routine accomplishment, not realizing his lord had attributed great credit to him.
“Huh?”
The enemy was small in number and lacked fighting strength; Li easily dominated them without pressure.
Who would have guessed he actually gained great merit!
“Did I overlook something? Accidentally killed their leader?”
