Guo Jiwang was taken aback upon hearing this, turned to look at Wu Shuangren, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
Zhang Liao's expression shifted upon hearing this.
When faced with a crisis, one must be bold; he has never lacked decisiveness.
"Militia Commander Wu, let's follow Mr. Guo's plan. I, Zhang, also want to give these soldiers from the Shannan Army outside a way to survive!"
Zhang Liao said to Wu Shuangren in a deep voice.
A smile appeared on Wu Shuangren's face, "Okay!"
Suddenly, Militia Private of Yi Province Militia entered the drill ground and surrounded the captured Shannan Army soldiers.
A commotion broke out in the crowd.
Immediately afterwards, hundreds of people were taken to the high platform at the very front of the training ground.
These people were bound hand and foot, and their mouths were gagged.
They were the people Guo Jiwang was talking about who had to die!
A moment later, Zhang Liao climbed the high platform in front of the training ground alone.
The soldiers of the Shannan Army on the drill ground all looked up at Zhang Liao, their expressions varying.
Zhang Liao glanced at the crowd below the stage, but did not rush to speak.
Immediately afterwards, the Militia Private of Yi Province Militia carried boxes up to the high platform.
In front of everyone, the box was opened, revealing that it was filled with silver!
Then the Militia Private emptied all the silver from the boxes, one box after another.
Soon, silver piled up into a small mountain at Zhang Liao's feet!
The gleaming silver reflected a dazzling light in the firelight, making it impossible to look away.
The soldiers of the Shannan Army below the stage stared intently at the silver mountain, their breathing becoming heavy.
Many of them had never seen so much silver in their lives!
Brothers!
Zhang Liao spoke, his voice resounding throughout the entire area, fueled by his Internal Skill, "Xu Rong is dead. Do you want to die with him, or do you want to live well?"
"..."
The audience was completely silent.
Of course I want to live a good life!
From the crowd, a general of the Shannan Army shouted loudly.
After he shouted, people began to echo his words.
"Live!"
"Live!"
"Live!"
The shouts on the training ground grew louder and louder, as everyone expressed the desire in their hearts.
"Good--"
Zhang Liao pointed at Xu Rong's cronies kneeling in a row below the stage, "If you want to live, come up here and stab these people!"
"..."
The crowd quickly quieted down again.
Killing a fellow soldier is a capital offense, whether according to military law or official law!
Moreover, Xu Rong was Dong Zhuo's trusted and beloved general. By killing his confidant, Xu Rong was tantamount to standing with the person who killed him.
If this matter is exposed, it will be difficult for the Shannan Army to maintain its foothold!
Zhang Liao then pointed to the mountain of silver at his feet. "Brothers who fought, you can come up on stage and take ten taels of silver!"
Ten taels of silver was almost three years' salary for the vast majority of ordinary soldiers in the Shannan Army!
Zhang Liao paused, then finally roared:
"Share this silver with me and live a good life!"
The crowd stirred again, their eyes darting back and forth between Yinshan on the stage and the bound men.
"I'll do it!"
Someone shouted loudly, pushed through the crowd, and came to the front row.
He was a centurion in the Shannan Army. He took a steel knife from Militia Private and, in front of everyone, slashed it fiercely at one of Xu Rong's confidants!
Blood splattered, and the slashed confidant let out a painful groan, rolling on the ground.
The centurion spat, threw his steel sword to the ground, strode up to the platform, and knelt on one knee before Zhang Liao: "General Zhang, I'll follow you from now on!"
Zhang Liao smiled, helped the other man up, patted him on the shoulder, and then personally grabbed a handful of silver ingots and stuffed them into his hand.
The centurion beamed with joy, raised the silver ingot in his hand, and shouted loudly to the crowd below, "Brothers, follow General Zhang and share the silver, and live well!"
Seeing this, many people in the audience could no longer hold back their emotions.
"I'll do it!"
"Me too!"
"..."
The crowd began to push forward.
Outside a house not far away, Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang stood side by side.
"Was this centurion someone you chose beforehand, sir?"
Wu Shuangren turned to Guo Jiwang.
Guo Jiwang nodded with a smile.
Wu Shuangren couldn't help but exclaim, "Sir, what skill you have!"
Every detail of this grand "pledge of allegiance" was arranged by Guo Jiwang.
Wu Shuangren guessed that the centurion who was the first to step forward was definitely not chosen randomly.
Of the seven or eight captured Shannan Army centurions, why did Guo Jiwang specifically choose this one?
Guo Jiwang must have investigated this person's character, background, and personality beforehand, and selected him based on his connections and influence in the military.
Judging from the current situation, Guo Jiwang a very accurate eye for people, and the role played by this centurion is perfect!
In addition, the pile of silver on the high platform was also Guo Jiwang's work.
"Threats alone are not enough to win people's hearts; only when shared interests are added will the relationship be truly strengthened."
"Giving out copper coins is not as good as giving out silver. These soldiers from the Shannan Army have seen plenty of copper coins, but many of them have never even touched silver in their lives."
"Murder can happen offstage, but the distribution of money must happen onstage. It must be done in full view of everyone, so that everyone can see that this person received the money."
"The problem isn't scarcity, but inequality. Everyone must receive the same amount of silver, at least outwardly."
"..."
All of these were suggestions given by Guo Jiwang.
Wu Shuangren couldn't help but admire the other party's remarkable control over people's hearts.
What's even more impressive is that the other party arranged this matter in such a short time, which is extremely efficient!
At this time, the Militia Private of Yi Province Militia began to maintain order, allowing the soldiers of the Shannan Army to take turns slashing Xu Rong's confidants with knives, but not to cut vital organs.
After making a cut, you can go up on the stage to collect the silver.
Zhang Liao would smile and pat each person on the shoulder or arm as they came on stage, saying a few kind words.
In an instant, the drill ground was bustling with noise, as lively as a festival!
The sounds of the crowd—the chatter, the shouts, the thud of blades cutting into flesh, the cries of pain from their confidants—were all intertwined.
Hundreds of his close associates were hacked at in turn by thousands of men, each suffering at least ten stab wounds!
The stench of blood filled the training ground. One by one, his trusted men were hacked to the ground, their flesh mangled and bloody. The scene was gruesome and cruel!
Whether they could bear it or not, whether they harbored compassion or not, they were ultimately swept up by a fanatical emotion and raised their blades to strike...
Wu Shuangren couldn't bear to look and turned her head away.
If he could, he would not have wanted to kill Xu Rong's confidants in such a cruel way.
But if he's not cruel to these people, he's cruel to the Militia Private under his command!
This world can only tolerate a limited amount of kindness.
In the end, more than a hundred mangled corpses lay in pools of blood on the training ground, and the silver mountain on the high platform had been completely divided up.
Below the stage, more than 1,200 soldiers of the Shannan Army completed their pledge of allegiance!
Each person received ten taels of silver, Wu Shuangren distributed over twelve thousand taels of silver in one go.
If it were in copper coins, it would be at least 14,000 strings of copper coins!
Fortunately, all the spoils from Rong Province City ultimately went to Wu Shuangren, and he could afford to pay the bill.
"My lord, next, we should have Zhang Liao privately cultivate relationships with some of the generals, giving them extra silver and subtly implying that such benefits will continue in the future."
Guo Jiwang turned to Wu Shuangren and said, "Furthermore, all the soldiers of the Shannan Army must give the same account. They must be made to recount the events repeatedly until they know them by heart."
Wu Shuangren nodded. "Next, I will have people conduct simulated interrogations, questioning these soldiers of the Shannan Army in batches, so they can get used to it beforehand. Finally, these soldiers of the Shannan Army will interrogate each other, so they can learn to think from the perspective of the interrogator."
Guo Jiwang's eyes lit up. "A simulated interrogation? My lord, that's a great idea!"
Wu Shuangren smiled; he had seen this kind of tactic in movies in his previous life.
Even if you memorize what you're going to say perfectly beforehand, you might still say the wrong thing due to nervousness during interrogation.
Therefore, having all the soldiers of the Shannan Army interrogated a dozen times, and then interrogating others a dozen times, greatly reduced the possibility of exposure.
With the news of Lu Yulin breaking through to the Great Grandmaster realm preceding it, and with thousands of soldiers from the Shannan Army testifying, there was a possibility that this matter could be concealed from the public.
"Zhang Liao is highly capable and skilled in leading troops in battle; he will be an important asset to our military in the future."
Guo Jiwang said to Wu Shuangren, "Next, I will speak with the surviving officials in Rong Province City in advance, and ask them to attribute the credit for the recapture of Rong Province City to Zhang Liao as much as possible."
Tonight, thousands of soldiers from the Shannan Army on the drill ground pledged their allegiance to Zhang Liao, and Zhang Liao, in turn, pledged his allegiance to Wu Shuangren.
This [Radiant Tiger], like Lin Qian, has joined Wu Shuangren's camp!
Zhang Liao said that the Military Governor Dong of Shannan Circuit, Dong, greatly admired him, and he had repeatedly distinguished himself in this battle. He might be recruited into the Shannan Army, and he probably won't be of much help to us in the short term.
Wu Shuangren said.
Guo Jiwang smiled, picked up the wine pot, took a sip, and then said, "If that Military Governor Dong really wants to make good use of Zhang Liao, he will definitely promote Zhang Liao within Jiannan Circuit, instead of directly sending him to the Shannan Army."
Wu Shuangren was taken aback. "Why are you so certain, sir?"
Guo Jiwang didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "My lord, think carefully. Dong Zhuo is a regional military governor, wielding military power and practically ruling his own territory. Why would such a powerful figure suddenly pay attention to a mere border garrison commander?"
Wu Shuangren seemed to be deep in thought, "Does the gentleman mean that Dong Zhuo intends to expand his influence into Jiannan Circuit?"
Guo Jiwang nodded. "It's not just that. Zhang Liao is the garrison commander of Tiger Soul Pass in Ya Province, and Tiger Soul Pass is one of the important passes for Shannan Circuit to enter Jiannan Circuit. If Dong Zhuo has any plans in the future, as long as he controls Tiger Soul Pass, his Shannan Army can easily enter Jiannan Circuit. Wouldn't this area become his prey?"
Wu Shuangren's eyes flickered, and he immediately became wary.
He was slowly building his business in Jiannan Circuit, intending to make his move gradually, but it seemed that the behemoth next door had already set its sights on this territory!
"Fortunately, we've already won Zhang Liao over. If he can gain the trust of key figures in the Shannan Army, he can become a crucial figure for us to monitor Shannan Army movements."
Guo Jiwang saw Wu Shuangren's worries and said, "Moreover, if Zhang Liao can take control of the military in Ya Province, Ya Province will be as good as ours!"
Wu Shuangren nodded. "I will have people spread the news of Lu Yulin's breakthrough to Great Grandmaster throughout the entire martial arts world as widely as possible."
Only by confirming this fact can the claim that Xu Rong was killed by Lu Yulin be convincing.
Lin Qian became the key figure in making others believe that Lu Yulin had truly broken through to the Great Grandmaster realm.
Fortunately, Lin Qian is now also one of Wu Shuangren's men.