Mythology Management System

A few days later, dozens of large pits, each more than ten meters deep and tens of meters in diameter, appeared outside the camp. Zhao's prisoners of war were brought up by Qin soldiers and lined up in dozens of long queues, a dark mass of people that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Zhao Kuo was also brought up. He was no longer as dashing as before, but he was still relatively calm. Everyone was destined to die sooner or later.

However, when he saw the hundreds of thousands of Zhao prisoners of war, he was subconsciously stunned, especially when he saw the dozens of large pits a hundred meters away. He seemed to understand something, and his face turned extremely pale. He pointed at Bai Qi and cursed, "Bai Qi, you shameless villain, you clearly promised me that you would let these innocent soldiers go, but now you've gone back on your word?"

Bai Qi said calmly, "Innocent? There are never any innocent people on the battlefield. Once you're on the battlefield, you should be prepared to die like a true warrior."

"You...you're talking nonsense!" Zhao Kuo pointed at Bai Qi, his wrist trembling. A sense of fear rose in his heart, but more than that fear, he was filled with anger.

How dare he do this? These are four hundred thousand real, flesh-and-blood people!

"They are nothing but puppets forcibly brought in by the King of Zhao. If anyone should be killed, it should be us generals. This has nothing to do with them."

Bai Qi glanced at him sideways, a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "How long are you going to be so naive? Do you really think this is still the tactical game you and your father played as children? This is a battlefield! A battlefield where people are devoured without spitting out bones! This is not a place for someone like you!!"

"As for you, I will kill you, and I won't let these people go either."

Bai Qi's casual words plunged Zhao Kuo into despair. The word "game" sounded particularly grating to his ears. Perhaps he was right; compared to the battles on the battlefield, the game he played with his father really seemed like child's play.

Now he finally understood where he had lost in his confrontation with Bai Qi. In terms of talent, he was no less than Bai Qi; he only lacked some battlefield experience. In terms of strategy, he believed he could rank among the top ten in the six states. His father, Zhao She, often lamented that if he, Zhao Kuo, had been born a few years earlier, the Qin state would have been out of the picture.

Despite his pride, he was ultimately defeated by Bai Qi. He didn't understand it before, but at this moment, he finally understood.

There's only one reason he failed—he wasn't ruthless enough!

He couldn't bring himself to use his soldiers as bait, nor could he bear to abandon the army besieged by the Qin forces, ultimately losing all 400,000 troops.

Zhao Kuo deeply regretted his actions, but he knew very well that even if he were given another chance, he would still lose.

His ruthlessness was only superficial, while Bai Qi could decide the life and death of 400,000 people with a smile. Such a person was definitely not someone he could deal with!

Zhao Kuo looked utterly dejected, clinging to his last glimmer of hope as he cried out, "You can't kill us! Yes, you can't kill us! King Zhao will definitely send someone to save us! He will!"

Bai Qi's words shattered Zhao Kuo's last illusions: "Give up, the King of Zhao has already abandoned you."

"What?! Impossible, impossible, you must be lying to me, you won't succeed, you won't succeed!" Zhao Kuo's eyes were bloodshot, and his face looked like a madman.

Bai Qi's eyes showed a hint of pity as he said, "With your intelligence, you should have guessed this, but you just didn't want to admit it."

"The Zhao state is now at its last gasp. If it agrees to exchange these 400,000 prisoners for resources, the vast Zhao state will collapse in an instant. Don't you understand this?"

Zhao Kuo shoved aside the guard beside him and desperately grabbed Bai Qi's collar. Bai Qi could have easily countered Zhao Kuo, but he did not. Instead, he let Zhao Kuo grab his collar and question him loudly.

"No, you must be lying to me. How could King Zhao abandon us? Absolutely not. And my father too, he would never abandon us." Zhao Kuo clung desperately to the last straw, like a drowning man.

Bai Qi yanked Zhao Kuo away, slapped him across the face, and shouted, "Look at the state you're in now! You'd better wake up and stop embarrassing your father!"

Zhao Kuo was slapped and burst into tears: "I know, I know everything. From the moment I was captured, I guessed that the King of Zhao would abandon us, but I dared not think any further. I was afraid that I would not be able to bear this pressure and would collapse!"

Zhao Kuo knelt on the ground and desperately begged Bai Qi: "Please spare them! They were just commoners not long ago, and there were even many teenagers among them. They shouldn't die!"

Bai Qi ignored Zhao Kuo's pleas and said bluntly, "Your mind is already in turmoil. You should know that this is not something I can decide."

Zhao Kuo trembled, biting his lip hard with his pearly white teeth: "Is there really no other way?"

"That's a total of 400,000 people! How can you really be so heartless?"

Bai Qi retorted, "So what if we can be ruthless? So what if we can't? This world has never been ruled by us."

Zhao Kuo crawled to Bai Qi's feet and pleaded desperately, unwilling to give up even if there was only a sliver of hope. His father had once said that although Bai Qi had killed countless people, he was a rare man of compassion, and there might still be a glimmer of hope.

“We can act as the vanguard in attacking Zhao. Although Zhao has lost most of its army, its strength is still there. The Qin army alone will definitely not be able to take it down in a short time, and may even suffer heavy losses due to a strong attack.”

"As long as you spare us, no, as long as you spare those soldiers, with them, Qin will be even more powerful when it attacks Zhao, and it will also reduce a lot of personnel losses for Qin. As long as you put it out there, the King of Qin will definitely not refuse this proposal."

Zhao Kuo had gone mad. He listed every possible benefit he could think of to persuade Bai Qi to keep these prisoners of war, trying to win him over. Even if he couldn't save everyone, saving most of them would be good, as long as they were still alive, there was still hope.

Looking at Zhao Kuo, who resembled a stray dog, Bai Qi's eyes revealed a trace of sorrow. His heart, as firm as a rock, did not waver in the slightest. He spoke directly, "Your idea is far too naive. Wars between countries are not as simple as you think."

"You are indeed a genius in terms of tactical planning, but you are still far from being good at understanding people's hearts."

Zhao Kuo squatted on the ground, covering his head, his voice filled with bitterness and pain.

"I am not a qualified general. I have ruined them. I have ruined them."

Bai Qi said with some sympathy, "You've done enough. The fault lies with this unreasonable world..."