Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Food! Food! Food!"

Early the following morning, more than 14,000 prisoners of war from Luchuan, who were being held in a temporary prisoner-of-war camp, collectively protested against the Chu army.

The reason is simple: the Chu army's food did not suit their tastes, and the portions were too small, leaving them with very little food.

Fearing further unrest, Mu Yuanying immediately increased manpower to guard the suspects upon learning the news, and at the same time quickly notified Shen Lang to take charge of the situation.

Seeing the restless crowd protesting in unison, Shen Lang's face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

"My lord, because we did not expect to capture so many Luchuan soldiers, our army's provisions were not adequately prepared."

I have already ordered Li Guozhong to return to Nanzhao to gather provisions, but the current situation is... alas.

He sighed helplessly, seemingly quite troubled by the situation.

Shen Lang curled his lip and asked, "How long will the army's rations last?"

"Excluding these prisoners, it can barely last for about two months, but there are more than 14,000 mouths to feed. According to the statistics, it will only last for less than a month."

How much grain does the Nanzhao army have left in its granaries?

"There's not much left. This year's harvest was poor, just enough to last until the spring planting season. Sir, why don't you go to the trouble of allocating a batch of grain to the neighboring counties of Nanzhao?"

"Ha ha……"

Shen Lang sneered.

"Lord Mu, you are too naive. Transferring grain from neighboring counties would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and even if it were successfully transferred, it would take at least one or two months."

Mu Yuanying frowned: "What should we do?"

"Simple." Shen Lang snorted. "Once these prisoners are dealt with, there won't be so much trouble."

"What!" Mu Yuanying could hardly believe his ears. "My lord, you mean to kill them all?"

Why waste food when dealing with a pack of wolves that can never be fed?

Shen Lang asked in return.

"They want to eat their fill? Do they think they're here on vacation?"

I was just wondering how to deal with them, but they've brought this on themselves, so they can't blame me now.

Mu Yuanying hurriedly said, "My lord, please reconsider! The military law of our Chu army forbids the killing of those who surrender!"

"What if they surrender and then rebel again?!" Shen Lang shouted angrily at him. "Prefect Mu! You need to understand one thing now!"

"Keeping these prisoners here will only hinder our military operations in Luchuan. With such an unstable element here, can you really feel at ease?"

"But……"

"It's nothing!"

Shen Lang sternly stopped Mu Yuanying from speaking.

"Anyone who dares to invade the territory of my Great Chu Kingdom must pay a heavy price! Treating invaders with kindness and mercy will only embolden neighboring countries!"

Besides, haven't these bastards already wreaked havoc throughout Nanzhao enough? I saw it with my own eyes; these beasts didn't even spare pregnant women!

Do you want to empathize with them?

"Lord Shen...that's not what I meant, I just..."

"Womanly compassion can also bring disaster to the country and its people. When dealing with enemies, we should strike hard!"

These words left Mu Yuanying speechless, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Pass on my order: put shackles and handcuffs on these Luchuan soldiers. If there aren't enough shackles, then tie them together with ropes."

Bring them all to the back mountain to assemble. I'll treat them to a hearty meal so they can travel in peace, hehe!

Without giving Mu Yuanying any chance to persuade him, Shen Lang turned and left the scene.

……

At noon, in a spacious valley behind Laoshan Mountain, more than 14,000 prisoners from Luchuan were gathered.

They were grouped into sets of five to ten, all linked together by ropes.

The Chu army conveyed a message to them, hoping they would join their ranks, and prepared a sumptuous meal for them to enjoy.

The prisoners from Luchuan had no doubts about this.

After all, they had heard about the Chu army's policy of not killing prisoners and their efforts to persuade and recruit them. It was very likely that they wanted them to serve the Chu army.

However, most of the prisoners from Luchuan scoffed at this.

Luchuan conquered the entire Indochina Peninsula, making its soldiers and civilians consider themselves the chosen people. How could they possibly be interested in the Chu army's offer of amnesty?

After conquering Laoshan, many of the Luchuan soldiers burned, killed, and looted the villagers in the nearby villages. These past few months have been spent almost entirely slaughtering and raping the border people of Chu.

The impression that the people of Chu were weak and easily bullied was deeply ingrained in them. Even now, after being defeated and taken prisoner, they remained unchanged, believing that it was just bad luck that allowed the Chu army to take advantage of the situation.

Even after suffering a defeat and becoming a prisoner, they were treated well with good food and drink.

The people of Chu are a bunch of worthless scoundrels.

With this sense of superiority, even though the prisoners still had doubts about why they had been brought here, no one suspected that they had already stepped into a forbidden zone of death.

High on the hill, Shen Lang gazed coldly at the dense swarm of creatures below.

All around them, five hundred Imperial Guard soldiers were already prepared, pointing their rifles at them.

Every ten steps or so, a canvas was laid out, forming a semi-circle that completely covered the more than ten thousand prisoners below.

After they entered the valley, the cavalry immediately blocked their retreat.

Time ticked by, and finally one of the prisoners from Luchuan couldn't help but shout, "Weren't we supposed to have a sumptuous meal prepared for us? Where's the food? Bring it up!"

His words immediately drew numerous echoes, all protesting against Shen Lang, who stood high above them.

"A meal? Okay, then I'll treat you to a good meal!"

Shen Lang's eyes turned cold, and then he waved his hand.

Qu Yi immediately blew the bronze whistle.

Upon receiving the order, the guardsmen abruptly lifted the canvas covering them.

Suddenly, a full twenty hand-cranked Gatling guns were truly exposed to the world for the first time.

"shooting!"

Da da da--

Instantly, twenty machine guns, as the gunners turned their handles, simultaneously unleashed bursts of fire and white mist.

The moment the gun fired, the crowd in the empty valley collapsed to the ground like wheat in autumn harvest, swaying in the wind.

Soon, plumes of blood mist rose from the empty valley.

"Oh no! The Chu army has started killing people!"

One of the prisoners cried out in alarm, but it was too late.

The seven gun barrels, under the steady rotation of the machine gunner, continuously unleashed their furious flames.

The acrid smell of gunpowder instantly enveloped the valley.

"You traitor Chu, I'll fuck your mother!"

Puff puff puff——

One of the prisoners roared and tried to rush toward the machine gunner on the high ground.

However, a burst of bullets soon bloomed into beautiful flowers of blood on him and more than a dozen of his companions.

In the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with corpses.

In just one minute, the 20 Gatling guns, each firing 200 rounds of chain ammunition, had already unleashed their full force.

After a brief pause, the loader immediately took out a new ammunition string and attached it. In between, rifles fired in unison, giving the prisoners of Luchuan no time to react.

During this brief respite, the prisoners of war, witnessing the massive casualties in such a short time, had their sense of inexplicable superiority completely shattered.

"Mother, save my mother."

"No, I don't want to die, I don't want to die—"

"The Chu people know sorcery, they really do know sorcery! Even the warriors of my Luchuan Hundred Swords Sect can't kill people at this speed!"

In an instant, only machine gun fire and the dying cries of the prisoners from Luchuan filled the entire valley.

An hour later, the entire execution ground was filled with the smoke of gunpowder.

What appeared before Shen Lang was a picture of a hellish landscape.

The guardsmen began to examine the bodies up close, and if they saw any that were still breathing, they would immediately step forward and deliver a bayonet blow.

Upon hearing the news, Mu Yuanying and Tang Zhao rushed to the scene, only to collapse to the ground upon seeing the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood before them.

When she looked up at Shen Lang, whose cold eyes were like knives, her eyes were filled with fear.