"Ah!"
"Sir, spare our lives!"
"Bitch, why would we want your lives? As long as you serve us properly, your lives will be safe, hehe."
"Haha, exactly, just surrender obediently."
Despite his fatigue, Zhou Fugui, along with Ye Guantong, who was in high spirits, headed towards the place where the slaves were held. Meanwhile, within the tents where Ao Deng's wives and concubines were confined, screams from women and the roaring laughter of men suddenly erupted.
"What happened?" Zhou Fugui, though he could already guess, spoke with a hint of annoyance.
"General Zhou, I'll go ask," said Yang Xinhong, who was accompanying Zhou Fugui. With that, he turned to go to the military tent to inquire.
"Ah, forget it, Xinhong, no need to go. Let them be," Zhou Fugui sighed, stopping Yang Xinhong.
"Hmm..." Zhou Fugui then changed his mind and said to Yang Xinhong, "Xinhong, you still need to go. Remind them that this is the limit, no plundering others, and absolutely no defiling ordinary herder women. Otherwise, I'd rather give up this position of commander than let them get away with it."
Yang Xinhong acknowledged and left.
Zhou Fugui then patted Pi'e and said to Ye Guantong, "Let's go."
Pi'e had already changed into a new set of armor, and coupled with his burly physique, he looked exceptionally imposing.
Pi'e refused to go anywhere else, insisting on staying by Zhou Fugui's side.
"Alas, when one is isolated, it's hard to lead soldiers," Zhou Fugui said to Ye Guantong as they walked.
Since he couldn't offer them much, he couldn't strictly discipline them. Establishing strict military discipline, with clear rewards and punishments, was impossible for now. All Zhou Fugui could do was his best to try and maintain some control.
Looking back through history, many heroes, instigators, and even famous generals faced similar situations when leading troops. They might have wanted to strictly discipline their subordinates but were forced by circumstances to turn a blind eye.
Faith was the only viable solution, but that was a matter for the future. Currently, Zhou Fugui was incapable of achieving it.
In fact, after Zhou Fugui captured Ao Deng's camp, he had assigned Pan Guijiu to guard them, partly with this in mind. However, when the moment came, he still felt a pang of regret.
"The general has done his best, and I am deeply impressed," Ye Guantong said, seeing Zhou Fugui looking dejected and dispirited. "Those women were not virtuous people, and they deserve this fate."
"Is that necessarily true?" Zhou Fugui replied. "Aren't most of them pitiable women?"
"General Zhou speaks the truth..." Ye Guantong shook his head slightly. "Many of them were forced, but since entering the tents, they've seemed to have changed entirely, oppressing the good, committing every evil."
Zhou Fugui nodded and said no more.
Ye Guantong has stayed with the Xiongnu for a long time; perhaps he understood them better, Zhou Fugui mused inwardly.
As Zhou Fugui and Ye Guantong spoke, they arrived at the place where the slaves were kept. It was enclosed by wooden stakes, with thatched huts inside, emitting an unbearable stench, like being in a horse stable or a pigsty.
Several Yan soldiers were on guard around the area. Upon seeing Zhou Fugui approach, they all saluted.
"General Zhou, there's also a dungeon inside," Ye Guantong said to Zhou Fugui.
"Hmm, let them all out," Zhou Fugui nodded upon hearing this.
The Yan soldiers then released the slaves from the dungeon. They crowded into the open space in the center, looking at Zhou Fugui and the others with vacant eyes.
The slaves' eyes were hollow, their expressions numb, and their movements slow, like dark creatures cowering in shadowy corners. They exuded an aura of coldness and despair from the inside out. Their bodies had not yet perished, but their souls had long since dissipated.
"Are these the people you found for me?" Zhou Fugui, with his saber at his side, asked coldly, looking at the slaves.
"General, they are. Years and years of torment have reduced them to this..." Ye Guantong sighed.
"Are they still alive?" Zhou Fugui interrupted Ye Guantong.
"They are alive, and most of their bodies are unharmed," Ye Guantong replied after looking at Zhou Fugui.
"Oh? Is that so? Why do I feel like they are all dead?" Zhou Fugui asked expressionlessly and coldly.
"The general is right..." Ye Guantong nodded. "Their bodies remain, but their hearts are as dead as ashes."
Their back-and-forth conversation was loud enough for almost everyone present to hear.
"Their bodies are not dead, but their hearts are. What are they?" Zhou Fugui continued to ask.
"They are walking corpses..." Ye Guantong answered.
"What does it mean to be a walking corpse?" Zhou Fugui asked.
"Without honor or shame, without desires, without joy or sorrow, that is a walking corpse," Ye Guantong replied.
"Oh, they know no honor or shame, desire nothing, want nothing, meaning they have no self-respect. How are they different from beasts?" Zhou Fugui sneered. "No, this general is wrong. They are even worse than beasts!"
"How so?" Ye Guantong asked.
"Tigers, lions, and leopards still have territorial awareness. Wolves have their dens, bears have their nests. Even pigs and dogs will guard their food, and cattle and horses will fight for supremacy. What do they have? Is it not so? They are worse than beasts!" Zhou Fugui said coldly.
"General Zhou speaks the truth," Ye Guantong nodded in agreement.
"Roar!"
The back-and-forth between the two finally ignited the anger of the slaves. Their eyes were no longer entirely filled with despair, but with a hint of anger and confusion. However, most slaves remained still, just watching the two. Then, An Minghai, a beast tamer from the Western Regions of Sogdia, roared furiously and charged towards Zhou Fugui and Ye Guantong.
Ye Guantong was startled and quickly took half a step back, hiding behind Zhou Fugui.
The strategy of provocation might be effective on slaves who were like walking corpses, but if it got out of control, it could become a death warrant.
A riot among over two thousand slaves, including two hundred beast tamers, was no trivial matter...
Zhou Fugui, however, stood his ground, his saber drawn, motionless. His face was expressionless, but a flicker of joy arose in his heart.
As long as the blood in their veins had not been extinguished, there was hope.
"Ah!" The beast tamer An Minghai, enraged, rushed towards Zhou Fugui and Ye Guantong, gnashing his teeth, wanting to grab either of them and tear them apart like wild beasts, just as he would in the arena.
Seeing that An Minghai was about to harm Zhou Fugui, the Kunlun slave Pi'e also let out a roar and met him, grabbing his arm. With a thud, he pulled him down to the ground like an ox, kicking up three feet of dust.
An Minghai was considered an outstanding beast tamer, having never lost in his battles against fierce beasts. If he had, he wouldn't have lived to this day.
The Xiongnu's Right Guli King treasured such outstanding beast tamers and appointed him as the leader of all beast tamers. Of course, he only treated him as a treasure, never as a person. If the treasure died, it would only be a pang of grief.
An Minghai, though possessing extraordinary strength, was subdued by Pi'e in one move and thrown to the ground. Pi'e stepped on him and roared, "You dare to threaten my master? I'll take your life first!"
Pi'e's actions also served to intimidate the beast tamers.
"Pi'e, let him up. Come and speak," Zhou Fugui said to Pi'e upon seeing this.
Pi'e moved his foot away, and An Minghai got up and walked to Zhou Fugui's side.
"My surname is Zhou, my given name is Fugui..." Zhou Fugui looked at An Minghai and asked, "Who are you? Where are you from?"
Zhou Fugui also felt that the name his parents had given him was not imposing enough, rather amusing and cliché. If he had been named Zhou Hu, Zhou Long, Zhou Bao, or Zhou Yunchang, Zhou Yide, Zhou Zilong... perhaps just announcing his name would have scared the soul out of people.
Of course, if he had been named Zhou Long, he might not have lived to this day...
"An Minghai from the Western Regions," An Minghai said, rubbing his arm and glancing at Zhou Fugui, then fearfully at the watchful Pi'e beside him.
Pi'e's strength was immense. An Minghai's fall had not only been painful but had also left his arm bruised and swollen, making it almost impossible to clench his fist.
"Oh, An Minghai from the Western Regions. You must have been captured by the Xiongnu as well, a slave?" Zhou Fugui nodded and asked, "Do you find my words inappropriate, which is why you are so angry?"
"Exactly!" An Minghai replied, chest puffed out. "Do you think we want this? Do you think we want to live like this? We have resisted, we have fought with blood, but what use was it other than the death of countless brothers and making our lives even harder?"
"So you choose to drift along and accept your current situation? You see your parents, wives, and children being insulted and turn a blind eye? You see your cattle, sheep, and other belongings being seized and pretend not to notice? You live worse than pigs and dogs, yet you are content and accept it willingly?" Zhou Fugui sneered.
"No... it's not like that... we... we have been planning another resistance... You came, and we didn't know the situation, so..." An Minghai stammered.
"Good!" Zhou Fugui nodded upon hearing this, patted An Minghai's sturdy body, and then said loudly to all the slaves, "To live this life, like grass in autumn, to be mediocre is a lifetime, to strive and resist is also a lifetime. When the world is unjust, why not fight to the death? Let the lords who ride on our heads, who drink our blood and suck our marrow, be overthrown, trampled into meat paste, turned to ash, so that the sky may regain its daylight, and the air may be fresh again. Brothers, let us reclaim our women, our cattle and sheep, our tents, our dignity, our glory! Fight to the death, and even if we die, we will be upright and bloodthirsty men! We will not have lived this life in vain!"
Zhou Fugui's words were extremely persuasive, causing the slaves to shed tears of emotion. Their hearts surged like a tide, a stark contrast to their previously listless and despairing state.
This man is truly formidable! Ye Guantong, who had collaborated with Zhou Fugui in a well-orchestrated act, now felt his own blood boiling and his heart pounding as he watched Zhou Fugui with awe.
Ye Guantong had finally witnessed Zhou Fugui's capabilities.
Even Pi'e was filled with fiery emotion, his eyes welling up as he looked at Zhou Fugui, his resolve to be his eternal servant strengthened even further...
Of course, in Pi'e's life, he would only ever have one master, and that was Zhou Fugui.
This is a story for another time, and we shall not dwell on it for now.