"Who knows? If we survive, we'll go drinking together. Just like when we were kids, we'd sneak out to drink together, only to get caught by our parents."
"You have the nerve to say that if you hadn't given yourself away, we wouldn't have been caught, and I would have gotten a severe beating from Dad with a bamboo stick," Wang Hongze said angrily, pursing his lips.
At that moment, the three of them seemed to have returned to their youth, and they played happily together without any worries.
…………
Magistrate Liu, who had just rushed out of the mansion with his servants, saw this scene of carnage. His hands and feet turned cold, and he broke out in a cold sweat, soaking his clothes.
Although the barbarians had almost used up their arrows, he and his less than one hundred men were no match for the two hundred-plus steppe barbarians.
The grassland people are physically strong, and their fighting ability on horseback far exceeds that of the Shang people. With him alone, these more than one hundred soldiers can only take down a few dozen cavalrymen at most, while the enemy can kill them all.
Just as Magistrate Liu was hesitating, Wutugu suddenly rode forward a step and said in broken Central Plains language, "Magistrate Liu, we are here only to help our tribe get through the winter. So as long as you hand over 10,000 shi of grain, enough clothing and money, and thirty women, I, Wutugu, guarantee that once we get the goods, we will leave immediately."
"You're dreaming! I'd rather die than agree!" Magistrate Liu trembled, not from fear, but from his uncontrollable anger. He pointed at Wutugu and shouted.
If he agreed to such a thing, it would be tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by the execution of his entire family. Furthermore, he would be branded with shame, cursed by countless students, and forever infamous.
Magistrate Liu valued his reputation above all else and cherished his honor. He even forbade his family members from using his name to commit wrongdoing, all in order to maintain his reputation as an honest official.
If he had to choose between fame and life, he would rather die.
“Magistrate Liu, this is already the best solution. If you remain obstinate, my men will storm the mansion, and then you will have no choice.” Wutugu swung his whip, which struck the ground with a “snap.”
Wutugu's face was so gloomy it could drip water. He never expected that Magistrate Liu would refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. If he didn't want to lose his subordinates, why would he bother to bargain?
It's no wonder he couldn't understand. On the grasslands, the strong are respected, and there's nothing wrong with submitting to the strong. But in the Shang Kingdom, scholars value integrity above all else; without integrity, one will be looked down upon by everyone.
At this point, the situation on both sides became increasingly dire. Magistrate Liu had already ordered his men to bring over the surviving members of the three clans who were not far away. Including all of them, there were less than a hundred survivors. It could be said that the three clans and the barbarians had formed a blood feud.
The three clan leaders of Zhou, Wang, and Sun helped each other to Magistrate Liu's side and said in a deep voice, "Old Liu, we support you in making this decision. Our three families will fight the barbarians of the grasslands to the death."
This gave Magistrate Liu another boost of confidence. He had already realized that Wutugu seemed unwilling to lose his men, so he was hesitant and dared not take action.
This was exactly what he wanted. After all, nobody wants to die. If he was allowed to retreat like this, it would be a good thing, since he wouldn't suffer much loss, and the three powerful families would suffer heavy losses, which would benefit him.
The situation is dire, like a string of firecrackers; just one fuse and it will explode.
At this moment, the cavalry behind Wutugu began to stir, muttering something unintelligible.
Wutugu's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, revealing a bloodthirsty smile. He glanced coldly at the crowd, gave a few instructions to those behind him, and acted as if he had everything under control.
Everyone felt as if they were being watched by a hungry wolf, but they had no idea what Wutugu wanted to do.
But it wasn't long before everyone knew his purpose.
One by one, tall, hideous men led dozens of civilians into the arena. Each civilian was bound with ropes and unable to resist.
Bang!
Suddenly, a burly man kicked out and struck a man in plain clothes in the leg.
The man in plain clothes collapsed to his knees. The other civilians were also forced to kneel.
A burly man with a square face and long hair walked out from beside Wutugu, a scar on his face making him look even more ferocious.
He took out a curved knife and casually swung it over a man's head, shaving off stray hairs that landed on the man's face, causing his face to tremble uncontrollably and large beads of sweat to roll down his forehead and drip onto the ground.
Those mere ten seconds felt like an eternity to the man. His pupils contracted and dilated repeatedly, and finally, his legs trembled as liquid soaked his crotch, the stench of a mixture of feces and urine emanating from him.
I was so scared I peed myself!
He burst into tears, his snot and tears mingling together. He begged and cried, "Please spare me! I have a wife, children, and elderly parents waiting for me to take care of them. I love other races! I can join you! I promise I'll be obedient!"
At this moment, both the government officials and the grassland people looked at the man with disdain, thinking that he had no backbone and had actually betrayed his own people.
The square-faced man smelled the urine and heard the man's spineless words. With a hint of disdain, he pressed the knife against his scalp and slowly stabbed him.
"Aaaaaah!"
The square-faced man grinned maliciously, ignoring the man's cries of agony. He slowly inserted the curved blade into the skull, then pressed down hard on the hilt, prying open the skull. The man stopped screaming, his eyes lost their luster, and he fell forward, a mixture of red and white fluid gushing onto the ground.
"Help! Sir, please save us!"
"I don't want to die, waaaaah~"
The commoners who were forced to kneel down saw the man's miserable state and couldn't help but cry out, pleading for help from Magistrate Liu across from them.
"Magistrate Liu, I will release these people as long as you agree to my demands." Wutugu said coldly to Magistrate Liu, seeing that the atmosphere had been built up enough. He already had a hint of impatience in his eyes. If the magistrate did not agree, he would rather lose some of his men to seize the grain.
“You…” Magistrate Liu was so angry he jumped up and down, but he was helpless. He was not angry about the deaths of these commoners, but because if he watched them die without saying anything, his career would be over.
Although he was a commoner with a low social status, the court would still push him out as a scapegoat when such a thing happened.
To save or not to save!
Both paths lead to certain death. Magistrate Liu sighed inwardly, thinking how ruthless and cruel Wutugu was, forcing him to do whatever it took.
"Son, save your father!" Suddenly, an old voice rang out from among the common people, and an elderly man kneeling on the ground cried out in his direction.
Magistrate Liu realized things were going badly and tried to stop it, but it was too late.
"Father, please, please let my father go!" A young man rushed out from among the soldiers, threw down his weapon, ran to the middle, knelt down, and pleaded with Wutugu.
Afterwards, more and more voices of relatives came from among the civilians, and the soldiers lost their composure.
These were militiamen recruited by the government; their relatives lived in this town and had just been captured by Wutugu.