Section 69: The Danger of Veering Off Course

"You did well."

"Thank you."

"Can you continue?"

"No... although I wish I could, I'm completely drained."

"Oh, then never mind. Thank you for your hard work; I hope for more such surprises in the future."

"Heh, I'm sure there will be."

This conversation took place the day after the battle, between Wang Luo and Gettini.

Wang Luo’s relaxed, superior attitude was deeply repugnant to Gettini, yet he had no choice but to endure it.

Stepping out of the command tent, he let out a long sigh.

His heart felt stifled, burning like a fire, yet there was nowhere to vent his frustration.

What he hated most was being controlled by others; what he hated second most was others taking advantage of him. Watching the people from his church walking by in the distance, chatting and laughing, he felt a desperate urge to draw his moon blade and cut them all down.

Patience, he had to have patience here. This was only the middle of the journey; the outcome had not yet been decided, and there would be plenty of opportunities.

He should go talk to Rank. Some things were not suitable for him to do directly; letting Rank’s people do them would be safer.

----

"Training is more important right now! You have the soldiers attending two-hour lectures every day! Is that appropriate?" Zhou Yingxiong picked up a few pages of paper. "The dereliction of duty by the Han court, the exploitative methods of the scholar-officials and powerful landlords, the significance of land redistribution, who our true enemies are... I don't object to the occasional shout like before, but didn't you say we needed to face the enemy head-on? We don't have much time left!"

"Right now, we are not just an army; we are also a political force. Combined with our political platform and those recent victories, we have the possibility of winning more support."

Wang Luo looked helpless.

"As long as we can achieve a balance of power, the possibility for dialogue emerges. The ordinary soldiers of the Han army are, for the most part, ordinary people too. They have their own grievances against the Han court—the only reason they fight so hard is that they are even more dissatisfied with the Yellow Turbans. But land distribution is in the interest of the majority of them. Propaganda is highly valuable."

"Besides, what do you think they can do? Sixty-five people, all women. Do you want to send them behind enemy lines to spread propaganda? Or have them carry out administrative work in residential areas while the situation is unstable?"

Zhou Yingxiong gave a forceful rebuttal to Wang Luo’s argument. "This is a scenario! It's not the real world!"

"We can only stay for thirty days in total, and ten days have already passed! It’s hard enough just to win; what’s the use of teaching them to read? It’s a waste of time and resources..."

"Teaching the soldiers why they are fighting is a crucial task..." Wang Luo said. "Never mind, I can't explain it to you from the beginning. Now, the basic training is almost done. Discipline, drills, formations, flag signals, drumbeats, gong strikes... the soldiers have mastered them; that should be enough."

"Far from enough." Zhou Yingxiong’s expression was grim. "Someone told me about yesterday’s battle; we were completely outmatched. The soldiers' combat effectiveness is nowhere near those Han troops under Huangfu Song that you wiped out before. Relying on numerical superiority might work for now, but the Han army is so strong... we should be seizing every single second for training!"

"Perhaps this work has value, but our energy is limited. When facing an imminent battle, we should focus on combat... rather than other things, am I right?" Zhou Yingxiong said.

"Ah, the day has finally come where I am refuted using that very logic." Wang Luo covered his forehead. "Fine, an hour and a half per day."

"Half an hour."

"One hour at the very least!"

"So be it." Zhou Yingxiong stood up. "I will arrange the schedule so the soldiers can take turns listening to the lectures during their rest periods after training ends. By the way, Tie Zhu was killed in action, and his subordinates retrieved his body. Should we hold a public funeral?"

"Such rituals are important, too. Then bury him outside the camp; I will preside over it."

"Who will serve as the new commander?"

"Pick from Tie Zhu’s former deputies; let them nominate someone themselves first. If they are suitable, I will approve them."

"Then that’s settled, I’m leaving."

It was a bit like back at the company... no, under the pressure of death, the relationships between people were much tighter; they couldn't be compared to the simple transactional relationships of a corporation.

A funeral—the dead don't care about this; funerals are for the living. What should he say to them?

"Today, we bury a comrade-in-arms here!"

"He was heroic, killed by the enemy while fighting for the happiness of the people. His death is glorious and great."

"Yes, this is not a time for sorrow, but for glory! Under the orders of the imperial court, the Han army has arrived."

"They have come to plunder our grain, our land, and kill our families! Fighting them might mean death; but if we don't fight them, we lose everything and will die anyway!"

"Tomorrow, in the next battle, you or I might fall! And even if we don't die in battle, in this era, with corrupt officials, natural disasters, man-made calamities, famine, and plague... all these things surrounding us, we could die at any moment!"

"Some have turned timid and retreated, but what good does it do? They will still die! Since it has come to this, rather than dying like ants in the midst of disease, hunger, and the contempt of others, it is better to fight with all our might! Kill the enemy!"

"Yes, unite! Kill those who wish to exploit us, plunder us, and squeeze us dry! Even if we die, we must let them know that we are not weak, easily bullied, or here for them to trample upon!"

Is that passionate enough? Is it emotional enough? Will it make the soldiers more resolute?

After distributing the land and giving the soldiers a reason to fight, defining our side as the underdog to make them fight to the death?

It seems a bit early; at the moment, having achieved continuous victories and gained control of this area, it feels a bit out of sync.

Then I’ll save it for later. I’ll rewrite this one.

"Soldiers, we are here today to bury our warriors and heroes."

"They died for us and for our families."

"Their death is glorious and great."

"The Han army has come to attack us, wanting to take away the land we have distributed! They want to return the land to those landlords, nobles, and officials who exploit and squeeze us; they want to take away our food, our clothes, our land, and our homes."

"In order to defend ourselves, and for the sake of us and our families, let us defeat them!"

Can this kind of rhetoric create cohesion? Wait a minute...

Wang Luo picked up the paper and sniffed it.

"Why does this have a hint of 'Trunicht'? Is this the mindset of a politician?"

"Will some 'clever people' see through my truth (my schemes)—that I praise sacrifice and encourage soldiers to die, while I myself refuse to do so?"

Will they say I am "cleverly" hiding behind others, letting them die while I wait to enjoy the fruits of victory?

Perhaps, to prevent this "unfairness," they would think dying together is a better choice—in the eyes of some, without fairness, what does the death of tens of millions matter? Extinction might not even matter!

A thousand miles of scorched earth, rivers of blood, turning into human livestock, being slaughtered crop after crop... in the face of 'fairness,' these might be considered trifles.

Forget it... no need to overthink it. Anyway... I am not that kind of person.

I don't live in this era, nor do I have any interest in plundering their wealth. I have no children who have done nothing to leave a huge fortune to, and no stupid, troublesome relatives I am forced to take care of.

I just want to save these people, nothing more. Even if there comes a day where I am not appreciated, there is nothing I can do about that.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps they are the luckiest group of people after all.