The 20th Chapter: Bitter Flesh and Gathered Army Hearts

  The battle has finally come to an end.

  The Han army had 300 soldiers from the county, plus 800 troops from the allied forces of the local magnates. Except for more than 200 who fled and over 200 who were killed or wounded, all the rest were captured.

  The dead and wounded Han soldiers were mostly trampled to death by each other, while only 70 or 80 of them were actually killed by the Heavenly Army.

  Looking at the Heavenly Scales Troop, apart from Zhou Cang's hundred-man squad which lost twenty-four men and had nineteen seriously injured, the rest of the casualties were no more than ten men.

  Facing such a report, Zhang Kuang's face was actually iron-green. He shouted loudly:

  "Dianna, where did you die?!"

  If it weren't for Dianwei's sudden retreat, the casualties of Zhou Cang's unit should have been reduced by half.

  What's even more infuriating is that half a time has passed since the battle ended, and even the battlefield has been cleaned up, but this guy still hasn't returned!

  Zhang Kuang's anger was half anger and half worry.

  Dian Wei, you won't leave me like this, will you?

  Cao Mengde, return my Ding Wei!

  Thinking of this, Zhang Kuang became even more frantic and let out a loud shout:

  "Dianwei, where have you died to?!"

  Suddenly, the vanguard was in an uproar. Zhang Kuang was just about to go and investigate the reason when he saw a nine-foot-tall robust man dragging several captives, striding towards the central army with his head held high.

  That sturdy fellow, with just one glance, gave people a feeling of a great mountain in front of them, not typical, yet who else could it be?

  "Qú shuài, mǒu jiā..." -> "The general's residence is a certain household..."

  "How dare you! Do you know your crime?"

  He was taken aback by this sudden rebuke, and Tian Wei rubbed his head in confusion, asking:

  "What crime has he committed?"

  "What crime?"

  Zhang Kuang's extreme anger turned into laughter:

  "Fled in battle, and still unaware of guilt?"

  "Desert in the face of battle?"

  Dian Wei's eyes widened and he shouted loudly:

  As he spoke, Tian Wei suddenly lowered his voice:

  "He's gone after that bastard..."

  As he spoke, Dianwei picked up a head from his waist. From the bloodstains, it could be vaguely identified as the Han army general who was killed by Dianwei earlier.

  Seeing Dian Wei's momentum drop, Zhang Fei let out a breath and coldly shouted:

  "Long live the military advisor!"

  "Here!"

  Wang Guo took a step forward, responding loudly. A faint smile hung on his face as he watched Dian Wei with schadenfreude. Since Wang Guo joined the Tianping Army, his relationship with Dian Wei had been like fire and water. This was no surprise, after all, who made Dian Wei the culprit of breaking through Wang Guo's Han army?

  "Abandoning one's post and duty, what punishment should be given?"

  "Cut!"

  "Huh?"

  Everyone was shocked at once. Zhang Kuang stole a glance at Dian Wei and hurriedly took over the conversation before Dian Wei could speak:

  "Dianba Chang also went to pursue the enemy, it can't be so severe..."

  Wang Guo had also expected this outcome. After all, the commander-in-chief's subordinates lacked such a super powerful and fierce general. No matter who was in charge, it would not be possible to kill such a powerful general for nothing.

  However, this way, Dian Wei had to suffer greatly. In front of the entire army of thousands of people, Zhang Fei had to heavily punish Dian Wei in order to maintain military discipline from now on.

  This is not Wang Guo's intentional framing, it's just the fact.

  Thinking of these things, Wang Guo's heart was filled with beauty.

  Ha! You've finally gotten your comeuppance, you ugly thing!

  "Demote by one rank, and according to the regulations for improper handling of affairs, flog with sixty strokes!"

  As soon as this was said, everyone was shocked again, except for Dian Wei himself. These sixty lashes are not a good thing to endure. Even if it's leniency, an ordinary person who has been beaten would be bedridden for half a year.

  Dian Wei didn't think so. He had now mastered the "Battle Qi", and if he were to unleash it, even a heavy rod would be shattered into several pieces. As long as he protected his internal organs, these sixty rods would only be enough to make Dian Wei lie down for half a month.

  Zhang Kuang's face changed, and in that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. A moment later, he made a decision, one that he would occasionally regret when thinking back on it a day later:

  "Commander Wei of the Hundred Men, at the time of deployment, made a mistake in his arrangements. He should be heavily punished for this. However, considering that our army is about to attack the city, I will let it pass for now. Remove Commander Wei from his position as Hundred Men Commander and demote him to Ten Men Commander, temporarily replacing him as commander of the 'Heavy Armor Unit'."

  As soon as this decision was made, the surrounding Tianping soldiers immediately buzzed with discussions. Wang Guo shouted loudly:

  "General! No..."

  Zhang Kuang continued to loudly declare:

  "He is arrogant and tyrannical, when enforcing military law, he intentionally shows favoritism to his subordinates, and should be punished with sixty lashes!"

  As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked again!

  "Absolutely not!"

  "My lord, you mustn't!"

  …………

  Many people took turns to dissuade him, but Zhang Kuang refused to listen.

  "Commander! As the ancient saying goes: 'The law does not apply to the honorable', how can you be punished like this?"

  In the Tianping Army, the only scholar, Taiping Dao's sacrificial wine, also came out to dissuade. This sacrificer was one of the victims of the "Party Cang's disaster" that year, and joined the Tianping Army with the defeated soldiers of the Longshe Society. People did not know his real name, but called him "Chen Dashi".

  Since he was the most knowledgeable person in the army, everyone else also took this as a reason to persuade Zhang Kuang. Although some people who had read books felt that they had never seen this sentence before and only thought that their own learning was not thorough. No one expected that this sentence was actually fabricated by Master Chen himself.

  Zhang Kuang is not a "masochist", and Chen Dashi, who has always had prestige in the army, also came forward, hesitated for a moment, and took advantage of the situation to say:

  "Very well, I'll reduce your sentence by one degree. You shall receive thirty strokes of the cane!"

  The crowd once again persuaded, until the rod punishment was changed to twenty, Zhang Kuang felt that if the degree of punishment was not enough, it would be difficult to convince the masses, and he refused to reduce it, insisting on carrying out the punishment. This result was finally settled. For Zhang Kuang, this board was bound to be suffered. If not, the severity of military law could not be established. And Dian Wei's loyalty would also be difficult to buy.

  Even if someone can see through the true intention of this "hollow trick", they must still give a thumbs up:

  Great effort!

  There are many people in this world who are cruel to others. But how many can be as harsh on themselves?

  Zhang Kuang did it. So even if Zhang Kuang's thoughts were seen through, others couldn't help but admire him for it.

  In front of the whole army, Zhang Kuang was flogged with twenty military rods. Although the executioner did not dare to use too much force, Zhang Kuang's back was still beaten until blood and flesh flew everywhere.

  The entire Tianping Army was shocked and intimidated by this scene. From then on, Wang Guo's enforcement of military law in the army became extremely smooth. Not only did the number of offenders decrease greatly, but those who were punished would also obediently accept their punishment without any complaints as soon as the military judge said "Are you more noble than Lord Qian?"

  This physical suffering, although not serious, with no sequelae, still needs to let Zhang Kuang lie down for a few days. Although during the beating, Zhang Kuang had several times when he almost couldn't bear it and wanted to stop, in the end, he endured it. It must be said that this ordeal greatly tempered Zhang Kuang's willpower, which is very beneficial for his future development.

  Fortunately, Tai Ping Dao has always been good at treating injuries. Zhang Kuang's treatment of external injuries has a set of skills. The "Tai Ping True Qi" he cultivated is also a kind of rare skill that is very beneficial to physical recovery. After applying the specially made trauma medicine, Zhang Kuang's wound healing speed was greatly accelerated. In just a few days, he can get out of bed and take care of things.

  However, before his injury healed, Zhang Kuang could only lie on the bed and relieve himself.