"Get out, get out of this room!"
Zhou Fugui, the commander of the Yan army's White Tiger Battalion, roared at his men, who were brandishing swords and spears like a pack of wolves.
Inside the room was a small girl, four or five years old. She had a thin, oval face, sallow and lacking any rosy hue, clearly a victim of malnutrition. Dirt smeared her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, forming a gray circle around her small mouth. Two lopsided braids, adorned with stray hairs that fluttered about her face in the wind, hung from her ears. Her hands were so thin that her veins were clearly visible.
Zhou Fugui knew this was the result of long-term malnutrition.
Guangling Commandery had been under siege for over a hundred days. It was a stroke of luck that she had survived.
The only lively part of the little girl was her dark eyes. Huddled beneath a collapsed wooden table, she watched Zhou Fugui and his men, who looked like ferocious demons. Her dark eyes were filled with terror and panic.
Seeing this, Zhou Fugui berated his subordinates, ordering them all to leave the room.
His men hastily retreated. Only Zhou Fugui and the little girl remained in the room.
Zhou Fugui raised his sleeve, wiping away the bloodstains on his face as best he could, revealing a heroic countenance. He forced a kind smile onto his face, crouched down, and reached out to the girl, speaking gently, "Little girl, don't be afraid. Can you come out first?"
Looking at the pathetic child, Zhou Fugui finally remembered he was a human, not a beast.
But Zhou Fugui's kindness only frightened the girl further. She desperately squeezed herself deeper under the table, avoiding his outstretched hand, and stammered in fear, "Hu... bandits, I... I... my father... my mother..."
The girl's head turned towards the inner room, her voice weak, as if she hadn't eaten in days.
Following her gaze, Zhou Fugui saw a man lying inside, blood flowing from him; he was dead. A woman hung from the rafters, swaying slightly in the wind.
Beside the girl lay a short knife. It was likely that her parents, before taking their own lives, had intended to kill her to spare her from the humiliation of the Yan army and the endless tribulations that lay ahead. But in the end, they could not bring themselves to do it.
A pang of shock struck Zhou Fugui. He sighed, lifted the wooden table, and forcibly pulled the little girl out.
The girl struggled desperately, but after so long without food and being so young, she had almost no strength left. Her struggles in Zhou Fugui's arms were like a dragonfly trying to shake an ancient tree. Finally, she fainted.
Zhou Fugui hurried out of the room and pinched the girl's philtrum, trying to rouse her.
Zhou Fugui knew that if she fainted now, she might never wake up.
With a faint cry, the little girl finally awoke. She was too weak to speak or struggle, merely looking at Zhou Fugui with fear in her eyes.
"Blind Wei, bring a bag of sheep's milk, clean, and with a bloody smell, or you'll pay for it," Zhou Fugui called to Wei the Blind.
The sheep's milk was clean. You're the one who made it bloody. How can you blame me? Wei the Blind muttered to himself, then found a bag of sheep's milk.
In this battle, Zhou Fugui had led from the front, displayed exceptional bravery, and commanded with great skill. He had already earned the unwavering loyalty of the entire White Tiger Battalion, and his prestige grew with each passing day.
"Drink slowly, no rush, no one will take it from you," Zhou Fugui said with a smile as he brought the sheep's milk to the girl's lips. The girl was already starving and latched onto the leather bag of milk, gulping it down greedily.
"She'll be fine. Once she eats some dry rations and sleeps, she'll recover," Wei the Blind said, approaching Zhou Fugui and the girl.
You quack, what do you know? Zhou Fugui shot Wei the Blind a sideways glance, thinking to himself. Someone who has been starving for days cannot eat dry rations first. They need to consume liquids to ease their system. Otherwise, dry rations could choke them to death or cause their stomachs to swell.
Zhou Fugui was well aware of these basic facts.
"Hahaha, chase them, don't let them escape!"
"Little lady, grandpa's here!"
"Hu bandits, may you die a horrible death, ah!"
At this moment, the streets of the ruined Guangling Commandery were filled with the screams of women, the cries of children, and the death throes of the dying. What then met Zhou Fugui's eyes were streams of Yan soldiers, laughing madly as they stormed into various houses. A naked woman, crying, rushed out into the street, only to be dragged back into a house by three or four Yan soldiers. Some women were even violated in the street. Rows of Xia people, their hands bound behind their backs and strung together with ropes, were being marched away. One Xia man suddenly broke free from the rope and charged out of the procession, only to be impaled by several spears on the ground in an instant.
"Why is this happening?" Zhou Fugui turned the girl's small face into his chest, shielding her from the gruesome sight, and asked with a darkening face.
"The Commander issued the 'three days of self-determination' order..." Li Qing sighed in response.
"Three days of self-determination? How outrageous!" Zhou Fugui immediately understood what was happening and exploded in anger, "The city has been captured, why are you still slaughtering innocent people?"
Before, Zhou Fugui had been like a beast, somewhat numb. Seeing these horrific scenes, he might not have cared. But now, after saving the little girl, his humanity had been reawakened. He had transformed from a beast back into a man, and was now filled with righteous fury.
"Alas, Battalion Commander..." Li Qing sighed again. "Guangling Commandery held out for so long. The army suffered countless casualties attacking the city. They are already filled with immense resentment. Now that they have taken the city, they naturally want to vent. Besides, they've done such things before. You don't need to worry about it."
The order was from the Left Virtuous King, Grand Commander Murong Bole. As a mere battalion commander, what use would it be for you to object? This was the thought in many minds.
"I will worry about it, damn it!" Zhou Fugui roared. "Where are Dian Meng, Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, Pan Guigui, Feng Cheng, Gu Gounu, Liu Qingmiao, Liu Changshun, Sun Siming, and Bu Gude?"
"Your subordinate is here!" Four banner commanders, Dian Meng, Suo Dacheng, Pan Guigui, and Feng Cheng, responded in unison.
"Where are the others?" Ten banner commanders, and only four answered. Zhou Fugui asked with a darkened face.
"Alas, Battalion Commander, brother Changshun has... gone. Sun Siming is injured and is being treated. Mancang and the others... have gone into the city," Li Qing replied.
Zhou Fugui's heart ached upon hearing this, and then he fumed, "How can this be! Have they forgotten their roots? Forgotten that they too were once humble people? Have they gone to plunder? Order them to return, or never return!"
Similarly, not long ago, Zhou Fugui might not have cared about this matter. But at this very moment, something had unknowingly changed within him.
While Zhou Fugui was raging, the little girl, having drunk her fill of sheep's milk, slept peacefully in his arms.
The little girl's heart held no concept of "Hu bandits" or "Han bandits." It was all that her parents and others had instilled in her. Now, Zhou Fugui was kind and attentive to her. Perhaps, in her small heart, she already considered Zhou Fugui a good person.
After a long while, Xu Mancang, Gu Gounu, and others, panting, rushed back with their subordinates, their arms laden with looted goods.
"Xu Mancang, you come from a peasant family and have been bullied yourself. Have you forgotten your origins? You went to plunder the property of civilians? What sense does that make? And you, Gu Gounu, I see you as a slave, full of slavishness. Whatever they do, you do too. Have you forgotten the times when your family didn't have enough to eat? You went to plunder civilians? And even committed other evils, didn't you? Liu Qingmiao, you always appear honest and simple, but you committed such wicked deeds. You've greatly disappointed me! And you, Bu Gude, your villainous nature hasn't changed. Burning, killing, raping, and plundering. If you do this again, get out of my command!"
Zhou Fugui handed the sleeping girl to Wei the Blind and then berated each of the four banner commanders who had gone to plunder.
"Battalion Commander, your subordinates only... plundered, ah, without killing or raping!" Bu Gude protested repeatedly. However, seeing Zhou Fugui's angry expression, his protests grew fainter until they fell silent.
"Who doesn't love wealth? I love it too. But a gentleman loves wealth and obtains it righteously. Plundering and obtaining wealth is a despicable act, the act of a thief. Aren't you ashamed? I have divided all the wealth in the camp among you, leaving not a single coin. Do you still think it's not enough?" Zhou Fugui asked angrily.
Dian Meng, Suo Dacheng, Pan Guigui, Feng Cheng, and most of the White Tiger Battalion soldiers wore expressions of disdain.
"Brother Fugui, they all went to plunder. If we don't go, won't we be at a disadvantage?" Xu Mancang mumbled.
"To hell with you!" Zhou Fugui said, kicking Xu Mancang over. He then gripped his sword hilt and said menacingly, "Don't call me brother. I don't have a brother like you. If you dare to say another word, I will enforce military law and execute you on the spot!"
Seeing this, Xu Mancang dared not speak further. He got up and sullenly obeyed the order.
"Alas, Battalion Commander, Battalion Commander..." Li Qing hurriedly advised, "They already know they were wrong. Let bygones be bygones... What is it you wanted to call them back for?"
"I don't care about other battalions or banners, but within my battalion, military discipline must be strictly enforced. Burning, killing, raping, and plundering will not be tolerated, or you will face my ruthlessness," Zhou Fugui said coldly before issuing an order: "Raise the surrender flags. Those who surrender will not be killed, raped, plundered, or abused."
"Your subordinate obeys the order!" All eight banner commanders responded.
Moments later, five large flags were raised. One bore a giant character for "Surrender," and the other four bore the words "No Killing, No Raping, No Plundering, No Abuse."
The remaining Xia soldiers and civilians in Guangling Commandery were initially disbelieving, but driven to desperation, they decided to take a chance. Some came forward, and the White Tiger Battalion indeed kept its promise, arranging for them to be housed properly and even brewing porridge to distribute, so they could fill their stomachs.
As a result, more and more surviving Xia soldiers and civilians came, and the White Tiger Battalion was kept extremely busy.
Zhou Fugui's actions saved many Xia people, but it also incurred the hatred of other Yan army units.