A Jiu's mind flashed back to the scene of fleeing famine in Xinghua Village, how those old people were unwilling to leave their homeland.
"Why would they kill the elderly?" A Jiu's voice was a little heavy.
Was it that fun to fight against one's own people?
"I don't know, perhaps it was to vent their anger. But, Younger Sister Jiu, you're right. I remember Grandma saying too, what's the point of fighting back and forth? How about this: if you accompany me, I'll personally lead the troops to only fight those who surrender and not slaughter indiscriminately."
Tuoba Yan could see it clearly now. What Younger Sister Jiu wanted wasn't to fight back, but to prevent the war from affecting the common people.
Nowadays, the people were already struggling to survive with four years of drought and war.
A Jiu furrowed her brows. She looked at Tuoba Yan. A Jiu had always been skeptical about him being a general.
Because no general would directly engage without considering the overall situation.
Furthermore, no qualified general would run off to Prince Qi to fight Prince Nanming, then return to fight their original master.
No matter how she thought about it, Tuoba Yan seemed unreliable.
But today, a troop of over two thousand men had genuinely been dispatched.
"How can I trust you?" A Jiu asked back, her voice tinged with a hint of longing. She hoped Tuoba Yan could provide a reason that would make her believe he could truly bring an end to the conflict.
"How can I make you trust me?"
"..." A Jiu felt like slashing her own throat at that moment.
She crouched down, furiously picking vegetables: "Talking so much for nothing, hmph!"
She picked a ripe tomato and took a big bite.
Before long, all the planted vegetables were harvested. The vegetables now planted in the spatial grid were neatly arranged: green beans, six hundred pounds.
Cauliflower, one thousand pounds; cabbage, twelve hundred pounds; cauliflower, nine hundred and sixty pounds; broccoli, small in size, seven hundred and eighty pounds... The rest were not calculated in detail, as they would be useful someday.
Tuoba Yan watched the busy Jiu'er, racking his brain trying to figure out how to gain her trust.
He slapped his thigh and stood up, "Younger Sister Jiu, wait for me. I'll capture Menghua City within three days."
A Jiu froze on the spot, looking up at him. From this angle, his nostrils appeared large.
His gaze was like looking at a fool: "Go ahead then."
A Jiu got up and headed towards the base.
At this time, Cai Lihua and Lu Huifen were worried.
"What do we do? Suddenly so many more people, we'll have to eat dirt to fill a valley." Lu Huifen was extremely troubled.
"I'll go report the situation to the Great Leader," Cai Lihua said, swinging her arms as she prepared to leave.
But Ma Peng was also helpless. The weapons had already been moved, waiting for the soldiers to arrive so they could go seize the government's grain. Who would have thought these elite troops wouldn't obey him, saying they only followed Tuoba Yan.
This reason was quite convincing.
Zhao Kun and his fifty men only obeyed Tuoba Yan. However, when faced with this matter, Zhao Kun still stepped forward to explain the reason.
Half a month ago, Tuoba Yan, with twenty men, had directly routed three thousand cavalry of Prince Qi who were pursuing Prince Nanming, leaving only five hundred prisoners alive. Describing it as leaving not a single blade of grass intact was not an exaggeration.
The remaining five hundred-plus soldiers were Qi troops. Seeing that the tide had turned, they laid down their weapons and all wanted to follow Tuoba Yan back. They claimed they were forced into the army and their families had already been killed on the orders of King Qi Ming.
The reason for the killings was to sever their longing for home, lest they be unable to serve him with a death wish in their hearts.
As soon as this matter was explained, Ma Peng's legs went weak.
He had harbored ambitions to fight back and pacify his hometown. However, twenty men defeating over two thousand enemy troops – he wouldn't even dare to fabricate such a story in his wildest dreams.
"Is that true?" Ma Peng still didn't believe it. Twenty men meant each person had to kill over two hundred, was that possible?
Even if they stood still and let people kill them, they would be exhausted to death.
"Precisely. You can ask any soldier in the army." Zhao Kun said no more and turned to leave.
"General Zhao, please wait." Ma Peng heard it and realized this matter didn't seem fabricated.
But the situation had arisen so suddenly. Yesterday, he still thought that kid was bragging. Today, hundreds of well-trained soldiers were right before his eyes, so what could he say?
Zhao Kun stopped.
Ma Peng furrowed his brows, his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had made a significant decision. He clasped his fist and said:
"I am also willing to follow General Tuoba."
Zhao Kun didn't turn around, his eyebrows raised high. Damn, the boss was sent by Prince Nanming to subdue these mountain bandits.