Who put the yellow robe on me?

The soldiers felt relieved and looked at Zhong Xiaodan with gratitude. They knew that continuing to resist would only lead to death, while surrender might offer a chance of survival.

Zhong Xiaodan turned his gaze towards Helian Xin, with a hint of teasing in his eyes: "As for you, you are really a man of integrity!"

Helian Xin's expression changed constantly, as he knew he had no way out. His inner pride and the cruel reality collided fiercely in his heart.

He gritted his teeth and asked with difficulty, "Is what General Zhong said true?"

Zhong Xiaodan was stunned, then nodded solemnly: "Of course it's true! I, Zhong Xiaodan, never break my promise."

Helian Xin took a deep breath and slowly dismounted. He pulled out a thousand-liang silver note from his pocket and handed it to Zhong Xiaodan with both hands: "General Zhong, this is my ransom money. I hope you can keep your promise and let me go!"

Zhong Xiaoshan was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What about the others?"

Helian Xin said, "General Zhong, you can kill or chop up the others as you wish!"

Zhong Xiaodan took the banknote, examined it carefully, and confirmed it was correct. He smiled and said, "General Helian is indeed sensible. I, Zhong, always keep my word. You can leave now."

Helian Xin nodded, a hint of gratitude and complex emotions flashing in his eyes. He turned around and prepared to leave, but was stopped by Zhong Xiaodan.

"General Helian, wait a minute." Zhong Xiaodan's voice sounded behind him.

Helian Xin stopped and looked back at Zhong Xiaodan, frowning slightly: "General Zhong, what else do you want?"

Zhong Xiaodan smiled slightly, with a hint of sincerity in his tone: "General Helian, your package!"

Zhong Xiaodan pointed at the black silver ore on the ground and said.

"Yes!" Helian Xin picked up the pitch-black silver ore on the ground with trembling hands and placed it on the horse's back.

Helian Xin walked slowly, step by step, to Zhong Xiaodan's side. After bowing and saying goodbye, he turned around and left, his back looking a little lonely.

After Helian Xin left Zhong Xiaodan, he fled madly all the way westward, and the sweat behind him soaked his clothes.

Helian Xinxin was secretly delighted: "Fortunately, Zhong Xiao is such a fool that he doesn't recognize what this is. This much silver ore can probably be made into a lot of silver."

Little did they know that all of this had fallen into Jiang Chen's calculations.

……

The Western Region soldiers, who had just returned from the valley, were pale, their clothes drenched in sweat. Their hearts were beating wildly, and they could still hear the echoes of the previous battle.

"We finally escaped," a young soldier panted and wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice a mixture of relief and fear.

However, when they raised their heads and looked towards the other exit of the valley, everyone's heart sank to the bottom. They saw a familiar and frightening figure standing there quietly, staring at them with lightning-like eyes.

"It's him... Zhou Liangwei!" A soldier's voice trembled and his legs began to tremble involuntarily.

The Western Region soldiers looked at each other, their eyes filled with despair and fear.

Even with weapons in hand, they were still defeated by Zhou Liangwei without any chance of fighting back. Now that they had lost all their weapons, they were unable to even defend themselves.

"What... should we do?" someone asked in a low voice, his voice full of helplessness.

"He'll kill us," muttered another, his face pale.

Zhou Liangwei stood in the setting sun, clad in silver armor and clutching a longsword, the blade faintly stained with blood. His eyes were stern, yet tinged with a hint of compassion. A gentle breeze rustled his cape.

He took a deep breath and spoke in a loud and firm voice: "Daliang will not kill surrendered soldiers! If you are willing to submit to Daliang, you will be a member of Daliang and will have no worries about food and shelter! If you still have your heart set on the Western Regions, you can still leave on your own!"

His voice echoed in the valley, and every word was clearly heard by the soldiers from the Western Regions.

Soldiers, you looked at me and I looked at you, our eyes full of confusion and hesitation.

"Can his words be trusted?" a soldier asked in a low voice.

"Do we have any choice? If he wanted to kill us, he would have done it long ago." Another person replied.

At this moment, a voice came from the crowd, slightly hoarse, but extremely firm: "The Western Regions have not cared about our lives many times, we are willing to be loyal to Daliang!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an elderly soldier standing out, his face full of weathered hair and a determined look in his eyes.

"Yes, my brother was injured in the last battle, and the generals from the Western Regions didn't care about his life or death at all!" said another soldier indignantly.

"We are willing to be loyal to Daliang!" More soldiers began to respond, and their voices rose and fell, echoing in the valley.

Zhou Liangwei looked at the scene in front of him, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

He sighed in his heart, "The Sixteenth Prince's ability to win people's hearts is truly remarkable."

He nodded and said gently, "Alright! From today on, you will be soldiers of Daliang! Let's fight for peace together!"

The soldiers showed relieved smiles on their faces, as if they had found a new home.

However, at this moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from afar, raising dust and breaking the tranquility at the moment.

Zhou Liangwei frowned, looking off into the distance warily. A scout galloped over, his face filled with anxiety. "General, this is bad! We've spotted a large reinforcement force from the Western Regions, heading this way!"

The soldiers' hearts were in suspense again, and the fire of hope that had just been ignited seemed to be extinguished again.

Zhou Liangwei's eyes were calm as he quickly gave the order: "All troops, be on alert! Newly joined brothers, those who are willing to fight alongside us, take up arms! Those who are not willing, may leave on their own!"

The older soldier picked up a fallen spear without hesitation and said firmly: "General, we are willing to fight!"

"We're willing to fight!" Other soldiers responded, picking up weapons from the ground, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.

Zhou Liangwei felt a surge of warmth in his heart, a surge of strength. He drew his sword and shouted, "For Daliang, for peace, charge!"

The soldiers shouted in unison, their voices shaking the earth, as if to scare the enemy out of their wits.

Soon, reinforcements from the Western Regions appeared in sight, a massive mass, their flags fluttering in the wind. They had clearly not expected to encounter resistance here, and their formation was somewhat disorganized.

Zhou Liangwei seized the opportunity and led his soldiers in a surprise attack. The battle broke out in an instant, with swords flashing, shouts of killing, and the sound of metal clashing.

The air was thick with the smell of blood, dust, and sweat, making it suffocating. Zhou Liangwei was like a fierce tiger on the battlefield, unstoppable. With each swing of his sword, his enemies fell one after another.

The newly joined soldiers were no less capable. They turned their disappointment with the Western Regions into fighting motivation and fought bravely.