Princess Promotion

When the prisoners in the camp learned that they could get money, they were excited and thought that there was such a good thing in the world?

The attitude when working for others and working for yourself is completely different.

Although some people still have doubts, worried that even if they make money, it will be a false alarm in the end, after all, their lives are still in the hands of others.

But this does not prevent most people from being motivated.

When lunch was served at noon, Liu San suddenly smelled the fragrance of vegetables.

You have to know that he has been drinking porridge for several days in a row, and his mouth has tasted like bird.

Liu San dropped the half-woven bamboo basket and ran to the shed where he got his food.

Porridge was previously distributed next to the tent, but now a new tent has been set up.

The aroma of food wafted from the direction of the new tent. Liu San squeezed to the front with his bowl of rice and saw two dishes placed in the tent, one was a lush green vegetable dish, and the other was a brightly colored meat dish.

Liu San quickly handed over the bowl, fearing that if he was too late there wouldn't even be any juice left.

But the person serving the food stopped Liu San with a spoon and said, "Vegetables are one cent a spoonful, and meat dishes are two cents."

When the people around heard that they had to pay, they immediately started making a fuss.

The person serving the food immediately cursed with a cold face: "A bunch of lazy bones, wanting to eat and drink delicious food without working, there is no such thing in the world, if you had been more diligent this morning, you would have earned it."

Then he started to chase people away: "Go away, the porridge next door is free."

Liu San quickly took out the two cents he had earned in the morning and scooped up a spoonful of meat and vegetables.

Liu San finally had his first meal of meat after half a month. You know, even if you are a soldier, you can't eat meat every meal.

As expected, no one in the prisoner camp slacked off in the afternoon, and all conspiracies and tricks were wiped out in the face of a bite of food.

What you hold in your hands may not be real, but what you eat is real.

When dinner was served in the evening, there was indeed a long queue in front of the food serving shed.

When it was finally Liu San's turn, he saw that there were boiled eggs.

You know, eggs are very precious. In the past, Liu San could only eat one during festivals at home.

When I asked the price, it was five cents, which was so expensive that it was jaw-dropping.

If it were in the past, Liu San would definitely not be willing to buy it, but now he has no time to waste, so he might as well eat it first.

There was no candlelight at night, so Liu San couldn't weave a bamboo basket even if he wanted to, and he wanted to go to bed early.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion coming from the prisoner camp. Liu San hurriedly put down his bamboo basket and ran out to see what was going on.

A bonfire was lit in the middle of the prisoner camp, with a table and chairs in the middle.

An old man in a cloth robe came up and sat on the chair. He picked up the wooden board and slapped it, then began to speak: "There is a saying..."

Liu San's eyes lit up. It turned out to be a storyteller. He had only heard that wealthy families in the village would go to the town to listen to stories.

Such a luxury is out of the question for a family like theirs who can't even get enough to eat.

The storyteller told the story of a bully in a village in Qi State who committed many evil deeds and was finally arrested by the county magistrate.

After listening to the book in the evening, Liu San returned to the shack and excitedly discussed the story he had heard today with Xie Gang.

Although Xie Gang was a small captain, he also came from a poor family and his knowledge was not much higher than Liu San.

Although he also went to teahouses to listen to books, he preferred to go to pubs to drink.

Liu San said excitedly: "Life in Qi is really good. If you are bullied by a bully, there are officials to help you."

Xie Gang nodded: "Taxes are still low."

If the storyteller had praised Qi's policies in such exaggerated terms a few days ago, Liu San and the others would not have believed it.

But now they believe it. Even captives like them live well, so how good can the people of Qi be?

In the commander-in-chief's tent, Li Xinghan was the commander-in-chief of this western expedition against the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The progress of taking over the cities of the Western Zhou Dynasty was faster than he expected. As expected, the Western Zhou army without Fu Hongxuan was just a bunch of useless people.

The biggest problem now is not how to capture cities and territories, but how to deal with these large numbers of prisoners.

Li Xinghan frowned, knowing in his heart that these captives were a huge hidden danger.

Once you are soft-hearted, it may become an opportunity for the enemy to counterattack.

If these prisoners caused trouble in the rear, the supply to the front could be cut off at any time.

Li Xinghan would rather bear the infamy for a lifetime than leave any hidden dangers.

Just then Yao Chuguang came in. Seeing Li Xinghan's frown, she knew without asking that he was worried about the prisoners.

There has always been controversy over how to deal with these prisoners. Some people advocate killing them all, while others naturally say that this would be against the harmony of nature.

Yao Chuguang walked to the low table, poured a cup of tea and said, "Brother, you still plan to kill them all."

Li Xinghan nodded: "There can be no softness on the battlefield."

Yao Chuguang knew that Li Xinghan's approach was not wrong. A kind-hearted man is not in charge of an army. Every choice he made determined the lives of thousands of soldiers behind him.

Any risk on the battlefield should be nipped in the bud.

Since Yao Chuguang has chosen the path of an emperor, she is destined not to be merciful.

Otherwise, he would not have rebelled and come to power.

Yao Chuguang: "Brother, you are winning a great victory on the front line. It won't be long before you can take down Western Zhou."

Li Xinghan: "Because of this, we can't make even the slightest mistake in the rear, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain."

Yao Chuguang: "Brother, I didn't kill these captives not because of my reputation or mercy, but precisely because of my future plans."

Li Xinghan naturally knew that if he could control the captives and capture Western Zhou, it would be of great benefit to taking over Western Zhou later.

But the risk was too great. With so many captives, if a few people from the Western Zhou Dynasty sneaked in and incited trouble, their front line would collapse.

But if all the captives were killed now, it would not only leave a bad reputation, but even lead to public resentment, which would create hidden dangers for the future governance of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

But these are things to be dealt with later. The most important thing now is the war.

Li Xinghan: "No one can guarantee that the surrendered troops are truly surrendering. What if they are instigated by someone with ulterior motives?"

Yao Chuguang: "Brother, don't worry, I have made all the necessary preparations. I got the news that Fu Hongxuan has an ulcer and cannot go to the battlefield."

Li Xinghan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. The reason he was so vigilant was that he was afraid that Fu Hongxuan would be released from prison by Emperor Zhou and take control of the military power again.

Yao Chuguang continued, "That's just one reason. The second reason is that we're going to take over Western Zhou soon. Even if the surrendered troops want to cause trouble, we have gunpowder in our hands and can just blast them through."

"Thirdly, my brother is most worried about the surrendered troops feigning surrender. So let's put on a few shows and see who gets restless. As long as we get rid of the restless ones, the rest will behave themselves."

Li Xinghan: "How to act?"

Yao Chuguang: "We have people sneaking into the surrendered troops and deliberately stirring up trouble, saying they want to cause unrest. The restless ones will naturally follow."

Li Xinghan suddenly realized that although this method was cunning, it could be very effective if used properly.

In modern terms, Yao Chuguang is conducting a sting operation.

Yao Chuguangjue thought he needed an extra layer of insurance for safety reasons: "Besides that, Brother, you can send some more people to infiltrate the surrendered troops. If the surrendered troops really have any ulterior motives, we can find out in advance."

This two-pronged approach, although it cannot guarantee that there will be absolutely no problems, can basically detect and deal with problems as soon as possible.

Moreover, most of the surrendered troops were ordinary civilians. If they had no one to lead them, even if they caused trouble, the army could easily suppress it and it would not affect the front line.

Deep in the magnificent palace of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Emperor sat on the dragon throne with a heavy expression. The battle report in his hand was like a thousand-pound hammer, repeatedly striking his once confident heart.

News from the battlefield continued to arrive, each one announcing a new defeat. The enemy's iron hooves seemed to have broken through the border defense line and were approaching the walls of the capital step by step.

A trace of panic flashed in Emperor Zhou's eyes, and he suddenly remembered Fu Hongxuan, who he once regarded as a thorn in his side.

"Quick, bring Fu Hongxuan to see me!" Emperor Zhou ordered urgently.

However, the eunuch standing nearby stepped forward tremblingly, his voice trembling, "Your Majesty, Master Fu... he was severely tortured in prison. Now he has a high fever and has been unconscious for several days. The imperial physicians say... he may not last much longer."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou felt as if struck by lightning. His body trembled slightly, and the anxiety in his eyes turned into despair.

He leaned dejectedly on the dragon throne, and the battle report in his hand slipped quietly and fell on the cold jade floor.

The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became extremely heavy, and an invisible pressure filled the air.

Emperor Zhou's mind was filled with the harsh words that Fu Hongxuan had spoken. Those words that he had been unwilling to hear at first had now become an indelible pain in his heart.

"Is it really fate that has destroyed our Great Zhou?" Emperor Zhou's voice was choked with sobs.

At this time, Liu San, who was in the prisoner camp, could say that his life as a prisoner for almost a month was much better than his previous life.

He felt that being a citizen of Qi was actually pretty good, as he had food and clothing.

He didn't understand the profound principles, but he felt that an emperor who could make his people live a good life was a good emperor.

I heard that it was not the State of Qi, but Her Majesty the Empress, who would release these surrendered troops after capturing the Emperor of Zhou and rescuing General Fu.

Later, you can go home to farm or continue serving in the army.

Although a while ago many generals wanted to lead them to cause chaos, saying that as long as they disrupted the rear of the King of Qi at this time, they would wait for the army to encircle and suppress the Qi army.

These people can achieve unprecedented achievements. If they don't do it now, they will be dead soon after the Qi army wins.

Liu San didn't quite believe it. Being a prisoner in Qi was better than serving in the army in Western Zhou.

All I can say here is that there is no harm without comparison. In fact, the people at the bottom of society generally live in poverty.

Even if you join the army, you can do such a dangerous job that will put your head on the belt.

The actual treatment is not much higher, and whether your military life is good or not depends entirely on the general in charge.

If the general above is a good person, he will not withhold military pay.

At least they can have a full meal and get a monthly salary.

If you are unlucky enough to follow a general who is not a good person, don't even think about having enough food and clothing.

I also have to do private work for the general.

There were even cases where some generals were not satisfied with withholding the military pay of their soldiers, and they even took their troops out in disguise to rob people.

These military households did not dare to resist because if they left the army they would be considered deserters.

Deserters do not have household registration permits. Even if you want to go home and farm, the village chief will not let you come back.

This is also why when war breaks out, many deserters end up becoming bandits.

Why take risks when you can live well?

Although Liu San ignored it, many people were still tempted. As a result, he was caught before he even started to serve as a warning to others.

This completely frightened Liu San, and he didn't want to escape.

He also wanted to earn more money in the prisoner camp, so that he could return to his hometown to farm after the empress issued an amnesty.

Moreover, the empress was really good to these captives and even hired craftsmen to teach them skills.

You know, learning a skill that can make a living is something Liu San would never have dared to dream of before.

Liu San still remembers that there was a friend in his village whose parents spent a lot of money and effort to send him to the county to learn blacksmithing from a master.

In the first few years, I didn't even get paid for working for the blacksmith, but I still had to work very hard to get this opportunity.

Ever since my friend became an apprentice, he always walks with his head held high and his chest puffed out in the village.

What Liu San envied most at that time were those people who had a skill to make a living.

Having a skill means having a stable income, which is much better for those who depend on the weather for their livelihood.

Now that he can study for free, he naturally cherishes this opportunity very much.

When people have hope, they are particularly afraid of death. In the past, they felt that they had a miserable life and that they would not have a tomorrow.

Life just goes on like this, and there's nothing to look forward to anyway.

It's good enough to be alive. For someone like him who comes from a poor family and becomes a soldier, he has no money and can't expect to settle down, get married and live a good life in the future.

Only by winning military battles and making military achievements can we turn the tide.

But Liu San knew very well his own capabilities. Not to mention making military achievements, it would be good enough if he could just survive on the battlefield.

It's different now. He has a skill. If the empress really lets him go, he can return home with the money he earned and find a job with his carpentry skills.

When the time comes, I will get married and have hope for the future.

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the skyline of the Western Zhou Dynasty capital red, and a heavy atmosphere enveloped this once prosperous imperial capital.

On the city wall, the defenders' flags had been shot to pieces by the Qi army's arrows and were swaying weakly in the wind.

Inside the city, the people's cries and shouts were intertwined, and they were extremely terrified.

The sound of the Qi army's iron hooves was getting closer and closer. They swept in like a storm, unstoppable.

The city gate was blown open with a loud bang, and the vanguard of the Qi army poured into the city, their armor flashing a cold light in the setting sun.

Deep in the imperial palace, Emperor Zhou sat alone on the dragon throne. His face was old and his eyes were full of helplessness and despair.

Outside the palace, eunuchs and palace maids ran around in panic, trying to escape the impending catastrophe.

Emperor Zhou listened quietly to the noise outside. He knew that all this was irreversible.

In his hand he held a dagger inlaid with gems, which was the symbol of his status as a king and his last dignity.

A hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he slowly raised the dagger to his neck.

"It is Heaven's will that I am doomed, not the fault of war." Emperor Zhou muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty palace, sounding particularly desolate.

As the last ray of light disappeared below the horizon, Emperor Zhou closed his eyes and slashed the dagger across his throat.

Blood gushed out, staining his dragon robe red. His body slowly slid off the dragon throne and finally fell to the cold floor.