Chapter 006: All in the same team are slain
Wu Da said: "Fourth, you should deliver the two bottles of medicine we have hidden to them tonight"
After Wu Si nodded in acknowledgment, he saw that the Qing soldiers had already pushed the more than ninety individuals to an open area by the riverbank, and then made them kneel facing the woods. Just as everyone thought the Qing soldiers were about to inflict punishment on them, the deputy leader, who had just been with the gunmen, quickly walked to the front of the crowd and turned around to shout loudly: "These individuals are from the same group as those who escaped earlier. In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, General Tashike has decided to execute all of them!"
What!
Seeing the faces of these young men from Wu, there was little expression; they merely stared blankly at themselves. Ta Shike squinted his eyes slightly and suddenly led several squads of Qing soldiers to the west side, selecting dozens of individuals from the crowd. Without further ado, he ordered them to be tied up with ropes. The faces of those who were bound remained calm, as if they had already anticipated that the Qing soldiers would act in this manner, and none dared to resist, obediently allowing the Qing soldiers to bind them.
He then turned his head away, looking at the young man with a benevolent expression: "Sanzi, you are only eighteen years old, and logically, you still have a long way to go. But now, do not blame Uncle Du; if he is dead, then he is dead. In this world, we have nothing much to live for anyway. Your father was considered a hero of our Wu army, and now that we are nearing death, you should show some of your father's spirit. After all, living is just suffering for us, and dying would be a relief!"
Wu Si looked at the bound individuals with some sympathy and said, "We need to find a way to get some ointment for their wounds tonight; otherwise, those brothers won't be able to endure."
After the Han overseers returned to report to the Qing soldiers, Tashike led several subordinates to an open area in front of the crowd. He surveyed the surroundings with a fierce expression and shouted loudly: "I will say this again: those who attempt to escape will be killed without mercy. Even if you manage to slip away, I will send people to capture you! So do not entertain any thoughts of luck!" After a pause, he continued: "The Emperor has granted you, the remnants of the Wu rebels, the great favor of being assigned to the frontier. If you do not settle down, you are only seeking your own death!"
The middle-aged man known as Lao Du wore a calm expression, ignoring the cries of the young man, and stared expressionlessly at the forest. After a while, seeing that the few people were still shouting incessantly, he couldn't help but frown and shouted loudly: "Can you all act like men? If you're going to die, die quickly! The situation has already escalated, and the enemy has made it clear that they want to kill us. What good is begging for mercy now?"
Damn it, I knew they would do this!
A young man of about eighteen or nineteen, kneeling beside Old Du, was crying uncontrollably, shouting, "Uncle Du, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
Several terrified men, their faces pale with fear, turned their heads towards a middle-aged man in his forties, exclaiming with a tone of reproach: "Old Du, didn't you say we would be fine!"
Old Du, you have truly brought us to ruin. Had we known it would turn out this way, we would have never let those four escape, no matter what!
I should have died back then; these past two years have been extra years of life, and it has been worthwhile
I had said long ago that they would not escape, but you did not believe me. Now, it turns out well, we are all implicated and facing execution together
Pah
After bringing back the heads of four individuals, several Qing soldiers raised the severed heads high, seemingly in a display of triumph as well as intimidation. At the behest of their Qing commander, several Han overseers shouted loudly into the woods, "General Tashike has said that anyone who dares to escape again will meet the same fate as these four!"
The hearts of the brothers are terrified to the point of being unable to bear it any longer, alas, we originally hoped...
It seemed as if they were afraid that someone had not heard clearly, or perhaps to intensify the fear in the hearts of the young men of the Wu army, several Han overseers followed behind the Qing soldiers carrying severed heads, calling out from the north all the way to the west before finally stopping. As they passed in front of Zhao Qiang's group, Chen Zhao deliberately raised his voice and shouted: "Make sure you all see clearly, these four fleeing fellows were just alive a moment ago, but due to their momentary folly, they lost their lives. Do not follow their example, or even the King of Heaven cannot save you!" Chen Zhao deliberately raised his voice and shouted: "Make sure you all see clearly, these four fleeing fellows were just alive a moment ago, but due to their momentary folly, they lost their lives. Do not follow their example, or even the King of Heaven cannot save you!"
At his shout, those kneeling were momentarily stunned, no longer shouting as they had before. Some appeared ashen, others were quietly sobbing, while some wore smiles on their faces, seemingly unaware that they were about to be executed. They gazed nonchalantly at their companions in the woods across from them. However, a few continued to cry out in fear. The young man ignored the words of the man surnamed Du, his face filled with terror as he struggled desperately to stand, only to be firmly pressed down by the Qing soldiers beside him. Yet, a few still cried out in fear. The young man paid no attention to the words of the man surnamed Du, his face full of fear as he desperately struggled to rise, but was firmly held down by the Qing soldiers next to him.
Hearing Chen Zhao's shouting, Wu Si spat in anger, his face turning ashen as he muttered, "One day, I will chop this brat into minced meat!"
Zhao Qiang did not understand why the Qing army wanted to bind these people. One person behind him informed him that the four fleeing Han men were among this group. It seemed that the Qing army intended to punish the other members of the group, at the very least giving them a severe beating, to set an example and intimidate the others.
With the cheers of the Qing soldiers, two bloodied bodies surfaced from the river, then swiftly drifted downstream to a sandbank with the current. Some Qing soldiers followed the corpses to the sandbank, where they saw two other men who had been shot with arrows. After shouting a few words, the soldiers did not check whether the four were alive or dead, and with a swing of their swords, they severed the heads of all four, carrying them in their hands as they ran back to the shore.
Zhao Qiang sighed and said softly, "It's a pity for those four good men; I hope they can find a good family in their next life."
Yes, elder brother
The heads of these four individuals will be hung in your camp. For those of you who are considering escape, take a good look at these heads before you run, and think carefully about the consequences of fleeing
The burly man in the middle also shouted in response: "Exactly, we are living like neither humans nor ghosts; dying would actually be a relief! What are you all howling about? Show some manliness! Dying would be just right to go meet the king!"
Your Highness, I, Du Wu, have come to see you
The young men of Wu Jun in the forest were taken aback after hearing the words of the squad leader, and those who were bound could hardly believe it, crying out in disbelief. They had thought that they would only suffer physical pain, but they never expected that the Qing army intended to kill them all, which was something they could not accept under any circumstances
We are wronged, we are wronged, we did not intend to escape
Eighteen years later, he will be a fine man again
The leader glanced at Tashik in the distance, saw him nod, and then turned around expressionlessly, raising his hand and commanding: "Chop!"
It has nothing to do with us
We did not run away, so why should we be killed
Pan Changqing's eyes were fixed on the river surface, never once glancing at the heads of the four men. After letting out a sigh with Zhao Qiang, he silently gazed at a large tree in front of him, no longer speaking, and he seemed to have aged several years, appearing quite weathered. Zhao Qiang noticed that the expressions of the surrounding young Wu soldiers had once again turned into that previous lifeless demeanor. Some men who had just been whispering to their companions now wore a vacant look in their eyes, an indescribable despair. He did not quite understand what Pan Changqing meant by his final remark about hope, but he speculated that it likely referred to the hope that the successful escape of the four would bring a glimmer of hope to these already despondent Wu soldiers, yet it had only deepened their despair.