Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

Chapter 125 Military Situation

The dead were not buried in coffins or mourned, and most of the time even their parents and wives would eat their flesh and leave their remains in the fields. As a result, the roads were piled with bones supporting each other for two thousand miles, and there has been no record of this since the Spring and Autumn Period. Lu Wensheng suddenly thought of these words, and he stared at the pile of bones for a long time, exhaled a breath, and returned the same way.

It got dark quickly. The setting sun over the distant mountains covered the plain and dyed the small river that meandered around the barracks for horses to drink into a shimmering blood-red color. The moonlight was cold at night, the wild paths were white, and everything was bleak.

The weather was not yet warm, and a bonfire was lit in the middle of the camp. The flames jumped and licked the wood, making crackling sounds. From time to time, a few clusters of sparks popped out, and in the mottled light and shadows cast by them, human figures were looming.

In order to liven up the military atmosphere and to pray before the battle, the military camp invited priestesses to dance.

Monks like Lu Wensheng also had some leisure time. They stood or leaned beside the tent, looking up at the city wall under the moonlight.

The soldiers sat quietly in designated positions around the campfire, their arms, chests or heads mostly bandaged, but they tried to tilt their heads back to look over the wall, suddenly dazzled by the bright colours in the dimness, and many of them lost their minds, not knowing where their thoughts had drifted to.

The witch was wearing a crescent-colored gauze dance skirt, barefoot, and wearing a veil. Although the outline of her face was outlined, her face could not be seen clearly. Her clothes were also embroidered with incomprehensible patterns, and she looked ethereal in the hazy moonlight.

She danced to the rapid beats of the drums, her sleeves flowing like water, her slender waist moving nimbly, and she was as light as a leaf swaying in the wind. Her light sleeves fluttered in the wind, yet soft yet strong, with an inexplicable power. As she danced, the silver bells embellishing her skirt and the bracelets on her ankles and wrists made ethereal and crisp sounds that spread out.

The sacrificial dance before the war always carries a sense of beauty and power, like a soft knife shining coldly in the winter, looking soft but powerful...

Lu Wensheng noticed that Liu Zhong was sitting alone on a wooden stake beside the fire with his back to the crowd. The orange-yellow firelight illuminated his face. His eyes were fixed on the fire curtain, as if he was looking at something through it. The wooden stick in his hand was turning the fire from time to time.

"Why is Lieutenant General Liu sitting alone?" Lu Wensheng sat over in a familiar manner and received a surprised look from Liu Zhong. Lu Wensheng looked as if he was completely unaware.

The more this vast land and every inch of it covered in blood resonated with this era, the more Lu Wensheng wanted to get closer to the people of this era, to feel what they thought and see what they saw.

He wanted to blend into this bloody and chaotic world; their tears truly dripped onto the tip of his heart, wet and hot.

Liu Zhong, however, held the attitude of observing these cultivators from afar but not getting close to them. He stood up with some fear, but when he saw Lu Wensheng's sincere eyes, for some reason, he slowly sat back down. The burly man looked a little embarrassed at this moment.

Lu Wensheng could understand this, so he chatted with Liu Zhong about all sorts of things as if they were chatting about family matters, mentioned the chaos he saw from time to time, and expressed his attitude implicitly.

Liu Zhong's expression was touched, and he seemed to be much more relaxed, but he remained silent.

After Lu Wensheng finished telling everyone he had seen, he suddenly said something with emotion.

"The wails shook the heavens and captivated the souls, the mountains and rivers were shattered, and it is hard to find anything like this again in the world."

Liu Zhong felt as if he was hit unexpectedly, his eyes became hot, and he relaxed - he felt that the immortal master in front of him was really different. All the immortal masters he had met before were arrogant or looked down on them.

How could this person be like this one, sitting shoulder to shoulder with him, and even paying attention to the current situation in Dayong?

Liu Zhong did not sense any ill will from Lu Wensheng. Instead, he was somewhat moved by his enthusiasm and sincerity. However, he was also wary and could not figure out what the other party was thinking about him - they could chat, but he would not reveal any military secrets. He still understood the principle of being cautious in what he said and did.

But Lu Wensheng simply wanted to learn about the current situation in the army through Liu Zhong. He wanted to know if there was still a possibility of saving Dayong.

After realizing that Lu Wensheng had no other intentions, Liu Zhong told him some personal matters - immortal masters usually do not care about worldly affairs, and this immortal master should just be curious.

"There are starving people everywhere now. We soldiers don't have much dignity or glory. There is always not enough food and fodder. We are hungry one day and full the next. In some units, zombies are the only food, and the soldiers divide and eat it.

We are still better off now, as the capital has received some additional resources. After a war just now, there were many soldiers with missing limbs, and many of them could no longer move freely. The army could not keep them, and the most decent thing would be to abandon them, and the least decent thing would be to use them as military rations.

But the one I followed was General Yan. He ate and lived with the soldiers. He was not arrogant and never asked his soldiers to eat people. He said that even if it was absolutely necessary, he would still retain a bit of humanity - but those soldiers who were unable to move would still be abandoned.

They had no will to live and asked me to help them finish them off, so I took out a knife... In the end, my hands were numb and the knife was broken, but there were still people lying on the ground, still moving, calling my name...

But I couldn't even chop them anymore. People on the ground were wailing and begging me to kill them quickly...

I couldn’t escape the fate of being eaten even if I was alive. I knew what they meant, so I had to burn it with fire. The meat was charred and smelled delicious. I didn’t eat it, but buried it secretly. However, when I went back later, the place where I had buried it had been dug up.”

Liu Zhong was moved by what he said, but Lu Wensheng was terrified, and he noticed the words Liu Zhong used. He said "human flesh smells good", "I didn't eat it" - logically, he wouldn't emphasize this point, which shows that Liu Zhong had an intention at the time...

He didn't dare to think too much about it, so he changed the subject - this was still an elite force, but they were all like this, Dayong was probably hopeless.

"Apart from General Yan and General Yan, are there any other generals in the army?"

"Besides me, I also have a deputy general, several captains and military officers under me, and I also have two pi generals."

"There is another deputy general? Why didn't I see him?"

Lu Wensheng didn't pay attention to those captains, military officers and the like. Their levels were not high enough, and they didn't dare to approach the monks after receiving instructions.

"died."

The voice was not made by Liu Zhong. Lu Wensheng noticed it when the man approached. He reacted calmly and looked at the person who came.

Yan Xunfeng came out from the shadows of the night. The warm light of the fire made his face look much softer. He and Lu Wensheng clasped their fists and saluted.

Then he continued what he had just said, "In the last battle, Vice General Wang was captured by the grassland people. To show off, the ant-smelling, rat-rotten grassland people cut off half of his butt outside the city and threw him into an iron pot filled with oil. Oil and blood splattered everywhere, and the wailing continued all night. He was fried alive."

(The earliest record of human flesh being used as medicine was in a note novel "Yi Yuan" during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The book records: The tomb of Jing Fang, a scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, was robbed by many people during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After opening the coffin, it was found that the body was still intact. The soldiers in the army heard that "zombie flesh can be used as medicine", so they rushed up and "divided it up". This kind of zombie meat was called "Menxiang" at the time.

In this article, the flesh of zombies can be used as food, and the soldiers divide and eat it. It means that the corpses are dug out of the graves and used as food, and the soldiers in the army divide and eat it.

(Deputy general: usually appointed by the emperor, usually with a higher military rank and status, assisting the general in commanding and managing the army, and sometimes serving as the successor to the general.

Duwei: Appointed by the general, responsible for managing the daily affairs and training of the army.

Military officer: Appointed by the general to assist the general in handling military affairs and formulating combat plans.

Bijiang: Appointed by the general, he assists the deputy general and the captain in managing the army's daily affairs and combat operations.