Chapter Nineteenth: Post-War Settlement

  "...Ah..." After Zhou Cang and others left, Xu Feng gritted his teeth and clenched his buttocks, the piercing pain made him cry out, this punishment was indeed unbearable. Thirty boards had gone down, and Xu Feng felt that his buttocks were almost beaten to pulp. Although the doctor applied herbal medicine, it would take at least ten days or half a month to recover. Being a general was not easy, especially with these motley troops left behind by Cheng Yuanshu, which were like a plate of loose sand. Liu Bei's few hundred men had almost made the 50,000-strong army flee in disarray. Xu Feng couldn't think of a good solution except to put in more effort.

  "Brother Feng, how are we going to deal with Hou San's corpse? And what about Zhang Fei and Zou Jing, the two we captured, they're still being held captive. The big leader said you'd take care of it." Xue Cheng took a break from handling some miscellaneous tasks and snuck away to visit Xu Feng, taking the opportunity to ask for his advice.

  "Alright..." Xu Feng lay on the couch, heavily sighing and spitting out a mouthful of stagnant air. "Three days later, Hou San and those deceased brothers will hold a grand funeral. For these few days, you must put in some effort to count the number of dead and wounded brothers who died in this battle. They shed blood and sacrificed for us, they are all good men, we cannot mistreat them. Also, take stock of the money and grain in the warehouse. Three days later, I will make a decision. Warn our brothers that after entering the city, they are not allowed to harass the civilians. As for those rich households and officials, don't be polite, do what needs to be done, no need for me to instruct you. However, do not harm their servants and maids. Remember, at any time, we are an army, not bandits or thieves, we cannot act recklessly according to our whims." Xu Feng instructed carefully.

  "Don't worry, Brother Feng, I've taken note of it all. What about Zhang Fei and Zhou Jing?"

  "What's the use of killing Zou Jing? This little brat seems to have some background, let him write a letter in blood to his family and ask them to send money for ransom. If they're short of 100,000 yuan, take him out and execute him directly, no need to waste food."

  These officials from the aristocratic families, Xu Feng never expected them to truly surrender to him. After all, in their eyes, the Yellow Turbans were rebels and bandits that the imperial court could not tolerate, and they were also a force opposing these 'exploiting classes'. Even if they were killed, they would not have surrendered. As a transmigrator, Xu Feng saw through this irreconcilable class conflict very clearly. If he wanted to make them truly surrender, it would be necessary for the Yellow Turbans to overthrow the imperial court and support their families in order to possibly accept their surrender.

  Now? The timing is not yet ripe, they think the Yellow Turbans are just a mob, and will not be arrogant for long. When the day comes when the Yellow Turban army is invincible, many people will definitely come to surrender in droves.

  "Zhang Fei?..." Xu Feng hesitated, really didn't know how to deal with it. On the one hand, for brotherly revenge, this Zhang Fei must be killed. But on the other hand, he was a brave general, if he could be subdued, it would be of great help to himself and the Yellow Turbans.

  Seeing Xue Feng hesitating, Xue Cheng said, "Brother understands what Brother Feng means, but Zhang Fei has killed many of our brothers and even personally killed Hou San. If we don't avenge this grudge, I'm afraid the brothers won't agree to it...I also don't want to let him off."

  "I understand, bring him over first, I have something to say to him." Xu Feng waved his hand and dismissed Xue Cheng. Seeing Xue Cheng lift the door curtain and walk out of the big tent, Xu Feng fell silent.

  Xu Feng had a deep respect for Zhang Fei in his heart. As someone who liked the Three Kingdoms, he sincerely did not want Zhang Fei to die at his hands. As for Liu Bei? Xu Feng thought that he was too self-serving and not truly dedicated to assisting the Han dynasty. Although he spoke eloquently about supporting the Han dynasty as the King of Zhongshan, Xu Feng believed that there was still a large gap between his words and actions.

  Killing the Yellow Turbans is not the point, Emperor Xian was taken captive by Cao Cao and treated as a puppet, humiliated at will. At that time, Liu Bei, as the emperor's uncle, accepted the imperial edict but did not take any substantial action. On the contrary, he was not as bold and powerful as Ma Teng and his son, who at least fought against Cao Cao with real swords.

  In ancient times, there was no DNA identification. Liu Bei said he was the uncle of the emperor, but was he really? Xu Feng thinks that "Han's imperial uncle" and "supporting the Han dynasty" were more like political slogans, which were the foundation for Liu Bei to establish his dominance. Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou and took over Yizhou, all of which were territories belonging to the same clan. On the other hand, he rarely launched a preemptive attack on Cao Cao. After Emperor Xian's death, he repeatedly attacked Cao Cao, who did not claim the throne, but instead, Liu Bei became the emperor himself. Isn't this laughable?

  Guan Yu's loyalty and righteousness are indeed so, because of his loyalty and righteousness, he is inflexible and doesn't understand compromise, so there is no possibility of surrender. Zhang Fei is different, with a generous and bold personality, valuing relationships and righteousness, rough but with finesse, and acting naturally. This time, he was tricked by Liu Bei, the Peach Garden Oath has become ancient history, Xu Feng thinks there is still an opportunity to persuade him to surrender.

  "Just then..." As Xu Feng was pondering, several soldiers pushed Zhang Fei into the big tent. Seeing that Zhang Fei's body was tightly bound with ropes, which had dug deep into his flesh, and his hair disheveled, looking like a ferocious beast in captivity, Xu Feng let out a sigh and waved his hand "Release him."

  "General, this... is absolutely not allowed! This man has boundless strength and extraordinary bravery. If he were to hurt you, we would be guilty of a crime that cannot be forgiven. We beg the general to reconsider." Several people hastily shook their heads in persuasion, wondering why Xu Feng was being so courteous to this bandit, and thinking it would be simpler just to kill him with one sword stroke.

  "Loosen the ropes." Xu Feng ignored several people, took a look at Zhang Fei who was dispirited and had lost his vitality, and felt a pang of sympathy. His tone suddenly became much heavier.

  Several people did not dare to disobey, and had no choice but to untie Zhang Fei's bonds.

  "Leave now."

  He dismissed everyone and waved his hand, "Please sit down, Zhang Zhuang Shi."

  Zhang Fei was puzzled by Xu Feng's actions, and looked at Xu Feng who was lying on the couch with a sickly expression. He coldly laughed and said "Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?"

  "You can kill me, but I believe you won't do that. To be honest, I have always admired Zhang Fei, you are brave and skilled in martial arts, and you value loyalty and honor. Facing thousands of soldiers, you are fearless and willing to die for what's right. I respect you deeply. Taking advantage of my injury to kill me, this is something others might do, but not someone like you, Zhang Fei." Xu Feng slowly sat up, supporting himself with his hands, and couldn't help but grit his teeth in pain.

  "Hmph... to kill you, I, Zhang Fei, can crush you with just one finger. However, you little brat, although despicable and shameless, have not harmed the common people, and have severely punished the rioting soldiers, setting an example by personally taking the punishment. I must say, I quite admire you... but since I killed your brother, haha, let's just give me a thrill and be done with it..." Zhang Fei's face twisted in rage, his teeth clenched, unable to speak further.

  "I know Zhang brothers are uncomfortable in their hearts. Until now, you still don't believe that Liu Bei has abandoned you, do you?" Xu Feng asked back.

  "We three brothers, united in heart and soul, swore an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, not seeking to be born together, but willing to die together... Why is my elder brother treating me like this? He's not that kind of person, I'd rather die than believe it..." Zhang Fei said with his hands clasped over his head and a dejected expression.