Forced to Ascend the Throne after Transmigrating

“That dog emperor wouldn’t want to…”

Suddenly, they thought of an extremely terrifying possibility, and everyone on the city wall fell silent.

Huo Rong almost broke his teeth.

“mean!”

But at the same time, Huo Rong also knew that there was no such thing as fair or unfair on the battlefield. There was only winning and losing.

So even if the dog emperor used the people of Chen to threaten me, I would be helpless.

The other side.

Prince Ding was also startled. He turned his head and asked hurriedly, “You don’t want to…”

Prince Ding has been leading the army for ten years and has used all kinds of tricks. It’s not that he is deliberately doubtful, but Huandu has been under siege for a long time, and as time goes on, it is no longer a problem that can be solved by ordinary methods.

The most important thing is that General Xu had said before that although General Huo of the State of Chen was the most marginalised in the State of Chen, he also loved the people the most, so it was understandable that my younger brother could come up with this idea.

Upon hearing this, Ye Shuo neither admitted nor denied it.

“I want to do something with the people.” But it’s not as despicable as he thought.

By the time the people finally arrived at the battlefield one after another, Huo Rong had already quietly prepared for Emperor Zhou to order the shooting of the people of Chen State and force him to surrender.

However, to Huo Rong’s surprise, the dog emperor on the opposite side did not seem to have such an intention.

When the group of people were forced to the city gate, Huo Rong finally realised that the dog emperor was unwilling to do bloodthirsty things, not because he was kind, but because he had a better choice –

The people of Chen State should have been supported by the court of Chen State. Why do they always have to be supported by the Zhou State?

As for whether Chen Guo is willing to support it, that is Chen Guo’s own problem.

It is obvious that the current Huandu simply cannot afford to support so many people. If they are allowed in, Huandu, which is already short of food, will be even more difficult to sustain. The dog emperor has a team under his command, hiding in the mountains and forests of various places in Chen State. They are elusive and have very well-informed information, so it is extremely difficult to transport food and grass from the capital. If more people are allowed in under this circumstance, I am afraid that it will not take long before the entire Huandu will be eaten up. What should we do then? ȑ

But if we don’t take them… once this news gets into the city, it will definitely cause riots.

The soldiers defending the city today can sacrifice the civilians outside for Huandu, but who knows if the defenders will not sacrifice them for Huandu tomorrow? Even ordinary people understand the principle of “the lips and teeth are cold”.

So the only solution now is…

“The dog emperor used the soldiers of the Great Zhou to impersonate the people of our Chen State and disrupt the morale of our army. His intentions are sinister and he deserves death. We must not let the dog emperor succeed.”

“All soldiers, listen to my orders. Kill them!”

The moment he finished speaking, Huo Rong suddenly looked at the deputy general beside him.

The deputy general also looked at him.

“I know that you are kind hearted, General. I’m afraid that the dog emperor also knows your character, so he came up with such a plan. But now is not the time to be soft-hearted, General!”

Then the deputy general lowered his voice again: “General, whether you can get out of your current predicament depends on this time.”

But are we going to kill all these civilians?

Huo Rong lowered his head, a fierce struggle flashing in his eyes.

On the other side, Ye Shuo could not help but frown as he watched the soldiers of the State of Chen on the tower raising their bows and arrows. Just when he thought that Huo Rong’s so-called benevolence was just empty talk, he heard a slight “creaking” sound from afar, and the gate of Huandu was opened a crack.

Almost instantly, Ye Shuo felt that the soldiers of the Great Zhou around him were ready to make a move.

If we could take advantage of this opportunity and rush into Huandu in one fell swoop…

Huo Rong also sensed the commotion in the distance and subconsciously became alert.

However, what surprised Huo Rong even more was that the dog emperor on the opposite side did not seem to be in a hurry. He watched the dog emperor sitting on the horse, slightly raised his hand towards everyone, and then everyone stopped immediately.

“There’s no need to be so anxious. We are so far away from the other side. Even if we charge on horseback, the gates of Huandu will be closed by the time we arrive.”

Then there are the civilians. Once the siege begins, with guns and arrows flying everywhere, they will inevitably become cannon fodder because they are powerless. So it’s better to just give up.

“I don’t want to provoke the people of Chen to resist yet.”

In ancient times, the common people could not read, so how could they talk about patriotism? The people were ignorant, and as long as the knife did not fall on them and as long as the people had a bite to eat, they would never reach the point where everyone was a soldier.

What Ye Shuo has to do is to never let them unite against the outside world, and try not to hurt the people if possible.

After waiting for more than an hour, the last citizen of the Chen State entered the city of Huandu, but Huo Rong still didn’t wait for that dog emperor to take action.

Huo Rong suddenly closed his eyes, knowing deep in his heart that he would not attack the city today. When he opened his eyes again, he had completely lost the desire to get entangled with the Great Zhou.

“You guys stay here and don’t let your guard down.”

After leaving these words, Huo Rong turned around and was about to walk down. The deputy general beside him gritted his teeth and followed him.  

“General, why did you let them in? Since the dog emperor of the Great Zhou has threatened the lives of the people of Chen, how could you not make preparations? I don’t know how many of the dog emperor’s followers will sneak in among the people. If you really let them in, the city will be in chaos, General!”

The deputy general has already made preparations. If the general is not ruthless, the worst that can happen is that he will take the blame himself.

How could Huo Rong not know what the deputy general said? It’s just…

“There are more than 10,000 people. How can I bear this?”

If they were soldiers from the Great Zhou, it would be fine, Huo Rong would not even blink an eye, but these were civilians, the people of his Chen State!

“Huo Wu, don’t forget that you and I are both from commoner backgrounds. We all came from Huo’s Village. What’s the difference between us and them?”

“What’s more, among these more than 10,000 people, how do you know there are no fellow countrymen, clansmen, or even relatives of ours?”

Compared to those who turn against their friends as soon as they become rich and are eager to completely cut off ties with their poor past, Huo Rong has never forgotten that he was just a wild boy who grew up in the countryside.

As soon as these words were spoken, the deputy general was speechless.

They were all ordinary people who had worked hard in the fields like his parents and brothers…

But Huo Rong was not completely defenceless and allowed these people to mingle throughout Huandu. Almost as soon as these 10,000 people entered Huandu, Huo Rong ordered his men to control them, and then found a remote area in Huandu as their settlement.

The other side.

After Huo Rong left, Ye Shuo also left after a while. On the way, Ye Shuo was wondering when the rulers of the State of Chen would respond to Huo Rong’s private release of civilians into the city.

You must know that Huandu is a vital line of defence for the entire Chen State. Once it is breached, it means that the remaining cities will be completely exposed to the attack of the Great Zhou. Under this circumstance, the current emperor of the Chen State will never allow Huandu to be broken.

The main thing is that as long as Huan is not conquered, the State of Chen will not be considered to have changed its owner, and the State of Chen will still be named Chen.

For the ruling class of the feudal dynasty, the life and death of the people have never been so important. Whether to choose the people or Huandu, Ye Shuo can know with his eyes closed what the emperor of Chen will choose in the end. All he has to do is wait patiently.

After thinking for a while, Ye Shuo suddenly realised that he seemed to be a member of the ruling class, and the supreme leader…

Ye Shuo couldn’t help but wonder what he would do if it were him, but he didn’t have the answer in his heart. He just tried his best to find a way to ensure that Da Zhou would never have to make a choice.

Seven days passed in a flash, and with so many mouths suddenly added, the food in Huandu was consumed at a rate visible to the naked eye. At the same time, the current emperor of Chen State finally received the news from Huandu.

The Chen Emperor’s first reaction was to be furious. He valued Huo Rong so much that he had even gone against all odds to let him guard the Huandu City. But who would have thought that Huo Rong would ignore the matter and let those people into the city privately. What was his intention?

The Emperor of Chen State didn’t believe that he didn’t know that there were suddenly so many mouths to feed and Huandu was simply unable to support it. What made the Emperor of Chen State even more furious was that Huo Rong had the nerve to ask him for help and wanted to ask the court for food.

Doesn’t he know how much it costs to transport food and grass to Huandu City every time? It’s really disappointing.

As expected, Huo Rong’s letter for help was not accepted at all.

But the Emperor of Chen was not a fool after all. Although he was dissatisfied in his heart, his words were still gentle. However, no matter how gentle he was, how could Huo Rong not see the indifference beneath his Majesty’s warmth?

It is clear from the words of His Majesty that he is asking him to give up those tens of thousands of civilians. After all, a great disaster has just passed and there is no extra arable land to distribute to them. In this way, those tens of thousands of civilians cannot be quickly converted into labourers. In this case, these tens of thousands of civilians are useless to the Emperor of Chen and his men, and useless people should be cleared out.

Huo Rong was unable to come back to his senses for a long time. After he came to his senses, he couldn’t help but look at his personal soldier who was responsible for delivering the message.

“How is the capital city doing lately?”

The personal soldier was silent for a while, then said, “In the capital, everything is the same as before.”

In other words, within the palace walls, there was still extravagance, singing and dancing.

Huo Rong didn’t say anything else. After his personal soldiers left, only his most trusted deputy general was left by his side.

The deputy general couldn’t help but say, “If the princes and nobles could be a little more frugal, they might be able to support so many people.”

Both he and the general came from poor backgrounds, so they were never well received by the princes and nobles. The deputy general had accompanied the general to a banquet once before, but it was that experience that he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Huo Rong couldn’t help but smile bitterly when he heard this: “How could they agree to that?”

If he had not been given the order in a time of crisis, it would not have been his turn to serve as the third-rank General Anton.

Over the years, Huo Rong vaguely felt that the princes and nobles who kept saying “water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it” did not take the lives of the people seriously at all. In their eyes, the lives of the people were like pigs, dogs, cows and sheep, which could be killed and eaten whenever needed.

But what Huo Rong did not expect was that His Majesty’s order completely exceeded Huo Rong’s bottom line.

His Majesty issued a secret order, asking him to find a way to use the people in the city to consume the swords and arrows of the Great Zhou army.

As for how the mortal body is consumed, the answer is self-evident.

Since there was no food and the court was unwilling to release it, instead of letting Huandu fall into chaos due to hunger, it would be better to let them make a final contribution to the State of Chen.