Section 92: Persuading X and X’s Encouragement

"The horses have already been slaughtered. The soldiers have gathered some wild vegetables and caught a few fish; we can barely hold out for another two days."

"Hmm."

"The local populace has all fled. Word has come from Zhang Xiong's side that they, too, have suffered a defeat..."

"Hmm."

"The soldiers in the Western Camp are feeling restless."

"Understood."

On the day after the defeat, the Revolutionary Army's temporary camp still maintained basic order. In the central command tent, Sun Qiao was delivering his report, while Wang Luo continued to stare at the map before him, occasionally flipping through a few pages of notes. He did not turn around, offering only the occasional grunt of acknowledgement.

"Sir, there is still time to retreat," Sun Qiao finally couldn't help but offer his advice. "Once the Han army catches up, it will be too late for everything!"

"Have the tasks of setting up the camp, tending to the wounded, and deploying scouts been completed?"

"No. But... Sir! Some of the soldiers are burning with anxiety over their captured families! After the defeat, some are whispering about desertion! There is no food in the camp, and no medicine to treat the wounded!"

"Go and attend to your duties. With Commander Zhou gone, I leave these matters to you."

Sun Qiao opened his mouth again, but in the end, he said nothing and withdrew.

After he left, Wang Luo leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment, his face still etched with exhaustion.

Zhou Yingxiong had been captured. The other prisoners from the camp had not returned, and there was no way to contact them. Yang Wentian...

"Assistant Commander Yang has returned!" a guard announced.

Speak of the devil, Wang Luo thought. No sooner had he crossed his mind than the man appeared.

"It couldn't have been easy," Wang Luo said as Yang Wentian entered the tent, observing that he looked largely unchanged. "Escaping from the fire."

"It wasn't that difficult," Yang Wentian smiled. "I didn't participate in the battle this time; I stayed on the high ground nearby, waiting to see how the fight would turn out."

"Then why have you only just returned?"

"I found us a way out," Yang Wentian said candidly. "The returns are quite good."

Wang Luo arched an eyebrow. "That sounds like you've defected."

"Don't put it so harshly," a flicker of unpleasantness crossed Yang Wentian's face. "True, I was captured again, and then they demanded I pass on intelligence, forbidding me from letting you know in any way. But I haven't defected. I negotiated with them: if the Han army loses, I will ensure their lives; if the Revolutionary Army loses, they will ensure the safety of the three of us."

"The three of us?"

"Yes. The leader of the Wuzhou team indicated that they could forgo the profit of killing the three of us and allow us to defect, and that we could all join the Wuzhou team. The condition is that we lead the entire Revolutionary Army to a location they specify."

Wang Luo laughed—the kind of laugh that bared his teeth and made his eyes squint. The look he gave Yang Wentian now was as if he were staring at a fool.

"This is a profitable move," Yang Wentian continued. "We have lost. If we continue to lose and face total defeat, we will all be erased. Defection requires the other party's acceptance. Not everyone is like you, casually accepting enemy defectors—usually, it requires past connections or the payment of a hefty fee, and even then, it's not reliable. Because killing an opposing contractor increases one's gains during the final settlement, while accepting them might result in them diluting your own share..."

"Then, when I accepted those people who defected earlier, why didn't you say anything?"

Faced with this question, Yang Wentian chose silence.

"And furthermore, whether it was in the previous scenario or on this battlefield, you have seen what I have done... We have been through so much together. Do you really think I am such a fool as to let myself fall into this kind of passive situation?"

Yang Wentian opened his mouth but made no sound.

"You've suffered a minor setback and you want to surrender?" Wang Luo shook his head. "Forget it. At least we've known each other for a while. You were captured, and I don't blame you for doing what you had to do to survive."

"What follows is the decisive battle with the Han army. Of course, there is a possibility of losing; I cannot guarantee a win. You may continue to watch from the sidelines. If we lose, it won't be too late for you to defect."

Wang Luo had no intention of saying what would happen if they won. Yang Wentian had no face to ask, so he lowered his head and walked out.

A while later, Sun Qiao ran in hurriedly. "Sir, it's bad! In Zhou Chen's camp to the west, the soldiers are rioting!"

"Oh?" Wang Luo stood up. "Assemble the troops; we are going there."

Thus, Wang Luo arrived at the western camp with his own guards and a small number of Sun Qiao's men. Along the way, soldiers in several other camps watched them with looks of doubt and suspicion.

After the defeat, their morale had wavered. Some of them, perhaps out of a desire to watch the spectacle, followed behind their group.

Upon arrival, the situation was still chaotic. Many soldiers were cursing their assistant commander because he was eating horse meat while feeding the soldiers thin gruel. After Wang Luo arrived, some soldiers even threw stones at him from inside their tents, blaming him from every angle.

"It's all your fault!"

"If you hadn't betrayed the Great Virtuous Teacher, we would never have lost!"

"We want food!"

Wang Luo ignored them. Protected by his guards, he walked straight to a high vantage point and began to address them:

"Soldiers! Comrades!"

"We suffered a setback in the previous battle. That is the nature of the battlefield; there are victories and there are defeats. It is a common occurrence."

"Think back to the victories we have achieved together. Is a momentary setback really so important? When we began, did we not all have nothing? The landlords and gentry cruelly exploited and oppressed you; the Han army defeated you time and time again. Do I need to remind you of these things?"

"All I can do is lead you to victory. Occasionally there are failures, setbacks, and great losses—but what we must do is strive for the next victory!"

"Victory! What we have lost on the battlefield, we shall take back on the battlefield!"

Around him, some soldiers began to cheer along with Wang Luo, but the majority remained silent. Wang Luo turned his attention to them.

"You feel hungry? So do I."

"You are worried about your captured loved ones? So am I."

"But we must overcome these difficulties and suppress irrational thoughts. If anyone tells you that success and happiness will rightfully fall into your lap if you do nothing, do not hesitate—draw your blade and kill him."

"If anyone tells you to abandon our ranks to save your own kin, do not listen to him. If he persists, cut out his tongue so he can speak no more."

"Unity! Only by standing together, as a whole, do we have the strength and the possibility to rescue our families. Only by giving our all, by exhausting every ounce of our collective strength, can we achieve victory and success!"

"They may sacrifice themselves. Yes, think about it—how many have sacrificed themselves along the way? But was that sacrifice without value? No! Absolutely not!"

"It was excellent, noble, great, and worthy of being remembered by any word we hold dear, etched forever in our hearts. If not for such sacrifices, we could never have achieved those previous victories!"

The expressions of the surrounding soldiers began to change.