"I can even promise you that when the Yan Army marches south in the future, you will all survive. Moreover, there will be merits waiting for you."
This was, in effect, recruitment.
"I am willing! I am willing!" Hsu Defu immediately kowtowed and exclaimed.
"I’m willing too! I’m willing too!" Zhao Changgui also immediately kowtowed, afraid his display of eagerness wouldn’t match Hsu Defu’s.
"Today, your fortress has been breached by us. Once word of this gets out, your superiors will certainly not spare you."
"Yes, yes, we understand, we understand," Zhao Changgui quickly nodded.
"We left in such a hurry that we didn’t bring much gold or silver, but we will send someone to contact you later. As long as you serve us faithfully, you will be well rewarded."
"Thank you, General, for your kindness!"
"Thank you, General, for taking us under your wing!"
Seeing that matters were mostly settled, Liang Cheng left the room.
Kneeling on the ground, Hsu Defu and Zhao Changgui exchanged a look, each recognizing the terror and relief in the other’s eyes. The border had been peaceful for nearly a hundred years, and now they had unexpectedly encountered people from the Yan State! Fortunately, they had both managed to save their lives and might even gain wealth and status from this.
After resting for less than half an hour, the four hundred Barbarian soldiers poured out of the fortress, their target: due south!
They had much to accomplish tonight, like mischievous children finally let out to play, they wouldn’t return home until they’d had their absolute fill of fun.
Zhao Changgui and Hsu Defu stood on the fortress wall, watching the cavalry troops heading south gradually disappear from sight.
Hsu Defu heaved a long sigh of relief. At that moment, he finally knew for sure that he had truly survived.
Zhao Changgui sank down, his legs weak. He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. The feeling of having narrowly escaped death left him somewhat breathless.
"Fort Commander," Hsu Defu said, "later, we need to gather all our men. We must impress upon them that if even a whisper about the fortress falling today gets out, none of us will survive. Then, we’ll deal with those two faultfinders. Also, the women in the fortress are not to entertain any guests for the near future. That should be enough to bury this matter."
"Hmm," Zhao Changgui responded. "As for those who died, we’ll report them as deserters. After all, such things are common in all fortresses. Tomorrow, find a place nearby to dispose of their bodies. Make sure it’s done cleanly, without leaving any trace."
"Hmm, I understand. But this might be our path to riches. The Yan people, they’re finally going to march south. Who knows better than us how rotten our own army has become? We don’t have enough food or warm clothes. The officials in the city only know how to compose poetry and criticize us military men. The military officers only know how to bleed the soldiers dry and embezzle our pay and rations, leaving us unable to even fill our stomachs. Once the Yan people march south, we... we won’t be able to stop them. We truly won’t. Now that we’ve made contact with the Yan people, we can save our own lives in the future, and maybe even secure a good prospect for ourselves!"
Zhao Changgui nodded. "You’re right. This land will be Yan territory sooner or later, and we, too, will eventually become Yan subjects."
Zhao Changgui then continued, "Go down now and gather our kinsmen. Get the situation under control. We can’t afford any mistakes."
"Alright, Fort Commander, I’ll go right away."
Hsu Defu walked past Zhao Changgui and started down the steps.
But just then, an arm suddenly snaked from behind him, clamping around his neck. Immediately after, the dagger with the golden hilt was brutally plunged into Hsu Defu’s throat.
SQUELCH! Read complete version only at n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Hsu Defu, his face a mask of disbelief, twisted his head to look at Zhao Changgui. He stared at this fort commander who, ordinarily, was so avaricious that he would even take a three-tenths cut from the money earned by the women in the fortress selling their bodies.
"You... you... why... why..."
The dagger was embedded in his neck, blood gushing out, yet Hsu Defu still managed to force out those words.
They had just agreed, just discussed it all. Why... why?
"You... want... to hoard... the credit..."
Zhao Changgui, still gripping Hsu Defu’s neck, gasped, his voice trembling violently, "No, I didn’t intend to take all the credit from the Yan people for myself. That’s not why I killed you."
"Then... then... why..."
Zhao Changgui brought his mouth close to Hsu Defu’s ear and continued, his voice still trembling, "Didn’t you see who was standing beside the Yan people? It was Barbarians! Barbarians! The Yan people have allied with the Barbarians! They’re going to march south together! They’re going to march south together! I... I... I can’t... I can’t just stand by and watch. I can’t! I can’t! People will die... so many people will die. So many, many people!"
Hsu Defu’s body gave one last shudder and then went still.
He died with utter disbelief etched on his face, his wide-open eyes showing his profound indignation.
Zhao Changgui loosened his grip, and Hsu Defu’s corpse slumped to the ground beneath him.
He slowly rose, steadying himself with a hand on the crenellations as he began to walk.
Over a decade ago, Zhao Changgui had spent a hefty sum of silver taels to inherit his father’s post as fort commander. In his entire life, he had never killed anyone.
His father had gone his whole life without ever seeing Yan cavalry, and neither had Zhao Changgui. What he did see often were their merchant caravans.