Chapter Twenty-Three: Forged in Blood

The heavy snow that had fallen for days suddenly ceased the following morning. Rare, pale sunlight spilled over the city walls, yet the cold wind remained bone-chilling.

As the citizens of Beining City emerged from their homes, they were stunned to find rows upon rows of Jurchen prisoners kneeling neatly atop the city walls. Seeing these butchers, who had so heartlessly trampled their homeland and slaughtered their kin, the people’s long-suppressed emotions erupted. Some began hurling stones they found on the ground, while others unleashed torrents of vitriolic curses from below. Soon, a massive crowd had gathered at the city gates.

"Your Highness, the time has come," Guan Xingsheng said, approaching the command tent on the wall to notify Qin Xuan.

Qin Xuan, who was busy studying a map of the city’s defenses, gave a slight nod before stepping out with long, purposeful strides. At the same time, a large contingent of the Divine Strategy Army appeared behind the prisoners, each soldier gripping a steel blade that shimmered with a cold, piercing light under the sun.

"Does everyone remember these faces?" Qin Xuan walked to the front and declared in a booming voice, "It is these very Jurchen soldiers who broke our land, shamed your wives and daughters, and slaughtered your kin."

"Today, here atop these walls, the Divine Strategy Army will behead all ten thousand of these Jurchen prisoners to comfort the heroic souls of those who died in battle and our own fallen people."

As soon as Qin Xuan finished speaking, the crowd below erupted into thunderous cheers.

"Kill them! Kill these animals!"
"May they never find peace in the afterlife!"
"Give me back my children's lives!"
"Off with their heads! Off with their heads!"

The people's fervor was ignited instantly. The deafening roar of the crowd terrified the Jurchen soldiers, who began to beg loudly for mercy. Some were so paralyzed by fear that they collapsed, wetting themselves in terror.

Qin Xuan watched the scene with a calm, steady gaze before issuing the order: "Execute them!"

At his command, a hundred heads rolled to the ground. Yet, the people kept chanting for more, as if trying to vent over a decade of suffering in a single day. Batch after batch of Jurchen soldiers were brought forward, and the Divine Strategy Army soldiers, acting like cold, numb machines, relentlessly harvested their lives.

This slaughter lasted for three full hours before it finally ceased. By then, the area at the city gate had become a river of blood. The gray stone bricks were soaked in a deep, dark red, and the stream of blood stretched for ten miles, trailing back into the main street. Even then, not a single citizen left. They were so consumed by hatred that they wished they could have carved off the heads of these beasts themselves; fear was a foreign concept to them now.

"Prefect Wu, do you see the ferocious faces of these people?" On the wall, Wu Renxin and the others were pushed forward.

After his legs were broken, Wu Renxin had initially resigned himself to his fate. But watching ten thousand prisoners beheaded one by one, his primal instinct for survival surged, and he was struck with fresh terror. Though his legs were shattered and he lay collapsed on the ground, he ignored the excruciating pain, writhing like a maggot as he tried to crawl toward Qin Xuan.

"Your Highness, this subordinate knows his crimes! Please, I beg you, give me a chance to redeem myself..."

"I know every wealthy merchant in Beining City. I can help you acquire countless gold and silver treasures..."

"Your Highness, believe me, I can even help you lure the invading Tulan army into a trap."

"Your Highness, as long as you spare my life, I am willing to be your beast of burden—no, I am willing to be your dog!"

In his desperate bid to live, Wu Renxin had lost his mind. Yet, even if his words were true, Qin Xuan would never spare such an unforgivable, corrupt official.

"You need not fear. Look, there are so many people accompanying you on your journey," Qin Xuan said, gesturing to the other prisoners kneeling in neat rows beside him, his eyes filled with icy detachment.

If the Jurchen soldiers were cruel, it was the nature of war and their duty. But a beast like Wu Renxin was truly vile. He had harmed his own countrymen and betrayed his nation. If Qin Xuan did not execute him, how could he face the soldiers of the Divine Strategy Army who had died in bloody battle?

"Kill him."

Qin Xuan wasted no more time. With that single, sharp command, the soldiers’ blades fell. This time, the cheers from the crowd below were even more piercing.

Not long after, the rogue soldiers of the city garrison and most of their officers were also dragged onto the walls. The end was just as swift, the heads falling just as decisively, though this time, a faint sound of weeping could be heard among the crowd. The people of Beining were kind at heart; even though they were traitors being beheaded, they still felt a lingering sense of loss for their own countrymen.

They wept, yet their hearts remained filled with righteous indignation.

After the last of the prisoners were executed, Qin Xuan felt utterly exhausted. No one is born a butcher, but today, Qin Xuan had to be cruel. This was Beining City, a place once soaked in blood and trampled by iron hooves. The backbone of its people had to be forged in blood, and their resolve tempered by the sight of rolling heads.

"From this moment on, the entire city is under Level One combat readiness! Close the gates and impose a curfew!"

Qin Xuan issued the order, and the Divine Strategy Army rode through the city to announce the decree. Perhaps due to the day's execution, not a single citizen panicked.

Meanwhile, the rear guard of the Great Qi’s one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-strong coalition force finally arrived.

Liushi Town, located about fifty miles outside of Beining, had been named for a fallen meteorite. But the once-thriving town had been razed to ruins by the Jurchen cavalry five years ago. Now, amidst the broken walls and rubble, the coalition force was setting up camp.

In the command tent, Commander Sun Wei sat at the center. To his left was Major General Liu Zhizhong, and to his right, Vanguard General Zhang He. The other commanders had all arrived as well. A middle-aged man resembling a scholar, dressed in a fur-lined coat with sharp, piercing eyes, stood among them—this was Cao Xueguang, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the envoy sent by the Emperor of Great Qi to the Jurchen nation.

"Gentlemen, I think the situation is clear enough without me needing to spell it out," Cao Xueguang said, his voice low and chilling. "The previous failures have already enraged His Majesty. If we fail this time, not only I, but every one of you will lose your heads."

At these words, many instinctively shrank back. Most, however, cast their gaze toward Liu Zhizhong. Liu cursed inwardly—dammit, as if every missed opportunity had been his fault alone!

"Supervisor, the entire coalition will give our all in this battle to wipe out Qin Xuan and his Divine Strategy Army," Sun Wei declared with firm conviction.

Cao Xueguang scanned the group noncommittally. "Commander Sun, you need not make promises to me. His Majesty only wants to see results."

"Furthermore, although I am the supervisor, I will not interfere with any military arrangements. How you fight this battle is entirely up to you."

"But I must remind you: the Jurchen nation will simultaneously deploy one hundred thousand troops to attack the South Gate of Beining. If they breach the city and we do not, our heads will be forfeit regardless."

With that, Cao Xueguang fell silent, leaving the generals to deliberate on the upcoming battle.