DLERB -Chapter 96 Hang Them on the City Walls and Dry Them Like Cured Meat!

The massive gates of Hangu Pass rumbled open with a thunderous roar.

The earth itself trembled in rhythm.

The first thing that came into view was a moving black steel forest.

Three thousand Xuanjia heavy cavalry.

Their black armor, illuminated by firelight, looked like a solidified abyss.

The overwhelming killing intent they had unleashed when charging out earlier had now been restrained.

Yet that silent pressure made them even more suffocating.

Behind them—

A dense mass of prisoners.

Tens of thousands of coalition soldiers had been stripped of armor and weapons, bound together with ropes like livestock.

They hung their heads, faces filled with numbness and terror.

Both sides of the pass were packed with civilians who had rushed over after hearing the news.

At first, there was only silence.

But the moment they saw the tens of thousands of captives being escorted in—

Someone shouted.

“We won!”

“We won!!”

The next moment—

A deafening roar erupted like a tidal wave.

“Great Qin forever!!”

“Long live His Majesty!!”

“Long live the Ninth Prince!!!”

This time, the cheers were different from any before.

They came from the heart.

Ferocious with the exhilaration of survival after disaster.

Emperor Ying Zheng sat high on a temporary command platform, still wearing his black battle attire, only loosely draped with an outer robe.

He looked at the frenzied crowd below, then at the small figure in front of him who was currently struggling with a plate of pastries on the desk.

At that moment, a Confucian official stepped out from behind Li Si.

He adjusted his robes and bowed deeply toward the platform.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

“As the ancients say, killing surrendered enemies brings bad fortune.”

His voice stood out sharply amid the roaring cheers.

“Now that Great Qin has achieved a complete victory, we should demonstrate imperial benevolence.”

“I humbly request that these prisoners be released, to bring peace to the world’s hearts!”

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding cheers dimmed slightly.

Many generals frowned.

Wang Jian even let out a cold snort.

Ying Zheng remained expressionless and said nothing.

Ying Ziye paused mid-reach for an osmanthus cake.

He lifted his little face and looked at the Confucian scholar.

Then he smiled.

“Release them?”

His clear childish voice was not loud, but it reached everyone’s ears distinctly.

“Old sir, do you mean… let them go home, recover, have a few sons…”

“…and twenty years later, raise another army to attack us again?”

The Confucian scholar froze, opening his mouth.

“This… this is benevolence…”

“Can benevolence be eaten?”

Ying Ziye tilted his head, his expression innocent.

“Or can benevolence stop them from rebelling?”

He raised his chubby little hand and pointed at the tens of thousands of prisoners.

“Great Qin is now rebuilding everywhere—roads need to be built, mines need to be opened.”

“We’re short on labor.”

“Look, aren’t they just delivered right to us?”

“Two-legged oxen, and they don’t even need grass. How convenient.”

The Confucian scholar’s face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

He pointed at Ying Ziye, his fingers trembling.

“You… you… insolent brat! Barbaric argument!”

Pfft.

Before Ying Ziye could respond, Ying Zheng beside him laughed.

He peeled a plump orange slowly and unhurriedly.

Li Si immediately stepped forward, his voice booming.

“Ninth Prince’s strategy is far-sighted and ensures peace for Great Qin for ten thousand generations!”

“I, your servant, agree!”

Wang Jian stepped forward as well, his voice like a great bell.

“I agree!”

“We all agree!”

All the officials, whether sincere or not, bowed in unison.

The Confucian scholar stood alone, as if struck by lightning.

Ying Ziye didn’t even bother to look at him again.

He waved his little hand and made the decision.

“All prisoners are to be reduced to convict labor!”

“Half sent north to build the Great Wall!”

“Half sent to the Tianshang Workshop to mine coal and iron!”

“Make full use of everything—use every man to his fullest!”

He paused, then turned his gaze toward Tian Dan, Zhao Xie, and the other nobles of the Six States who were tightly bound apart.

“As for these few…”

A troubled expression appeared on his little face.

“Killing them would be too cheap.”

“Locking them up would just waste food.”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“Qinglong!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Qinglong’s figure appeared silently below the platform.

“Send all of them to Xianyang.”

“Then find the tallest flagpoles and hang them up one by one.”

Ying Ziye counted on his fingers seriously as he gave instructions.

“Hang them at the city gate.”

“Let the sun dry them, let the wind blow them.”

“Let the people of Xianyang—and all the merchants of the world—take a good look.”

“This is what happens to traitors.”

He added at the end with a bright smile.

“When they’re dried out, they can even be used as cured meat.”

Thud.

Zhao Xie, still bound, rolled his eyes and fainted on the spot.

Tian Dan was trembling violently, and a puddle quickly formed beneath him.

Ying Zheng listened to his son’s words.

He casually placed a peeled, glistening orange segment into Ying Ziye’s mouth.

“Mm.”

“This idea is not bad.”

……

In a dark, damp prison cell—

Fan Zeng was chained to the wall, his hair disheveled.

He listened to the cheers outside, a strange smile appearing on his face.

The prison door opened.

Qinglong walked in.

Without a word, he threw the wolf-head bone whistle in front of Fan Zeng.

“Speak.”

Just one word, cold as ice.

Fan Zeng looked down at the bone whistle and laughed hoarsely.

“Hahaha…”

“You want to know?”

He raised his head, his cloudy eyes filled with madness and resentment.

“I’ll tell you!”

“You think… you’ve won?”

“You think… with those iron machines, you are invincible?”

Qinglong said nothing, only stared at him.

Fan Zeng’s laughter abruptly stopped.

He lowered his voice, like a demon whispering from hell.

“The 300,000-strong army of Xiang Liang was never meant to win from the start!”

“It was just bait!”

“A massive bait to draw all your attention!”

Qinglong’s body did not move.

But his grip on his blade tightened slightly.

Fan Zeng stared at him fiercely, word by word.

“While you were at Hangu Pass celebrating your victory…”

“The real killing move had already struck the heart of Great Qin from the north!”

Qinglong asked coldly:

“What killing move?”

Fan Zeng’s face twisted into a sick, fanatical smile.

“The Xiongnu!”

“We used the land and wealth of the Six States to secure the promise of the Xiongnu Chanyu, Modu!”

“Three hundred thousand! Three hundred thousand cavalry from the steppe!”

“They will tear through your northern defenses! Flatten Xianyang! And turn all the women of the Ying clan into their slaves!”

Qinglong’s figure vanished from the cell.

Shortly after—

An urgent military report, along with Qinglong’s message, was placed before Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng picked up the 800-li urgent report from the northern border.

It stated:

The Xiongnu cavalry, 300,000 strong, broke through the Great Wall defense line three days ago.

Due to the withdrawal of main forces south to suppress the rebellion, General Meng Tian was left with insufficient troops and has been steadily retreating.

Now, the Xiongnu vanguard has reached the city.

Which city?

Shangjun.

Ying Ziye’s fingers slid to the end of the report.

It read: due to Meng Tian’s main forces being absent, the commander currently defending Shangjun was…

The osmanthus cake in his hand was crushed into powder.

It slipped through his fingers and fell in fine grains.

Fusu.

His dear elder brother, Eldest Prince Fusu.

Ying Ziye’s voice carried no emotion.

“That idiot…”