At present, they were in an extremely awkward predicament.
Surrender was out of the question. Yuan Shao was still alive, and surrendering would mean betraying their lord. For men who had lived their entire lives for their reputations, that was something they could not afford.
Leaving Ganling was out of the question too. Regardless of whether Wang Xuan had deliberately refrained from surrounding the city, leaving would mean fleeing—especially while Yuan Shao was unconscious and unable to make decisions.
Yet they were unwilling to simply wait like this. There was no chance of persuading them to surrender anymore, let alone any scene where they would visit someone's home and beg him to come out of retirement.
The only thing that gave them even the slightest comfort was that their lives were not in danger... Ultimately, it all came down to Wang Xuan not thinking much of them.
Compared to them, the military officers were actually in a slightly better position.
The military officers were either from humble families or collateral branches of their clans, so their low birth status had instead become an advantage at this moment.
"All right, why are you thinking so much? Just wait," Xu You interrupted him, then continued asking the scout, "Did you find out what Liu Bei's army has been doing?"
"I did. They've been busy dealing with the prisoners. On one hand, they've been announcing Liu Bei's army's terms to the prisoners: a monthly military stipend, twenty mu of farmland for their families, military farmland, tax exemption while forbidding trade..."
"Skip the terms and continue with what comes after." Xu You frowned. This sort of thing absolutely could not be allowed to spread through Ganling.
"Oh. The rest is that those unwilling to become soldiers are given money to return to their native