“Throw down your weapons and kneel with hands behind your head!” Wang Er and others had their spears fixed on the savages while demanding surrender.
It happened so often they already forgot what time this made it, 50th? 100th? The constant repetition had cooled their enthusiasm but they still viewed these barbarians as lambs taken to the slaughter.
Humans were a fickle bunch. None wished to repeat the same thing over and over again once it lost its novelty, day after day, year after year.
The monotony drove anyone insane. For the same reason rich folk abandoned their wealthy lives in favor of the hard work of poor people.
This was the recruits’ current affliction after going through the motions so many times yet never experienced war in its full cruel capacity. Thus they completed the task of taking down tribe after tribe in mechanical fashion.
Taking away the strict rules and the many people around, it was like being on a trip, free of dangers, as they enjoyed the wild and lush nature of the plains.
That was why Zhong Yu kept calling them honor guard in his mind. Having gone through ‘war’ without being ever under real threat, while ‘winning’ every time against countless large tribes.
Seeing the savages shiver at spearpoint, with the seldom suicidal one fighting back only to be a pincushion of arrows from the imperial guards’ crossbows, made these recruits feel cocky, their mind overcome my superiority and disdaining the insignificant savages.
They considered themselves third in the food chain, after the lord and the knights. In this campaign, all they ever did was look tough and watch the prisoners. Everything else was done by the knights while they watched.
This constant flow of easy victories stoked their egos until they saw the savages as nothing, including the service army.
There were many clashes along the way as well.
Zhong Yu was sure that despite the arrogant recruits numbering double the service army, they were bound to suffer a crushing defeat. With both sides wielding sharp weapons, the recruits would be dead to the last with the savages only losing 50 at most.
That being said, Zhong Yu mediated so it would never come to pass, stopping any outrageous recruit from humiliating the service army too much.
He’d give the culprit a heavy punishment as to warn the rest while showing the savages his fairness by not taking the yellow-skins’ side.
Instead they’d obey his orders since every being with feelings and reason had a whimsical heart. Forcing them too much and they’d erupt.
That was where Zhong Yu’s fairness came in, establishing balance in maintaining peace in the army as they earned victory after victory.
But Zhong Yu was sure the Ender Alliance would notice him in a few months, the time his war against the savages would be in full swing.
He would throw these recruits in the war as cannon fodder, to understand war was no joke, that they were weak as ants, to redeem themselves for today’s offenses.
Zhong Yu was no saint. He would exact punishment for today. It was never too late to take revenge.
When the time came months later these recruits became obsolete, he’d make them pay the price for crossing him. Let them understand that some things they just shouldn’t do
These rankless inferior troops, worse than even a standard army,they had no right to take pride in anything.
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Their action would come back to bite them one day. The weak would have to pay the price for challenging him.
Another tribe cheated out into submission and cowered from Zhong Yu’s might, fell prisoner.
He needed a couple more tribes and he’d achieve his target in this campaign. His conquest in this sector resulted in 87 tribes defeated and 4,000 people.
They were enough for two townships, or four boroughs, expanding his rule to 50 km. In this way he barely qualified to have a county and became a nobleman.
And in this area of 50 km, all that was left were three tribes of 300 savages. He figured they would see through the lie and left them for last, when their surroundings ended up conquered.
Though there was a high chance they sensed there were many enemies around them and recalled their hunters rushing the reinforcement of the walls and sentry towers.
While Zhong Yu sent 300 recruits and 100 service savages to escort the 4,000 prisoners to the construction site.
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It left him with 100 imperial guards and 50 service savages. He figured dealing with the tribes with second rank chieftain and 200 warriors at most, would be enough since he had the weapon superiority.
Zhong Yu shed all pretense in the end as he took his army in clear sign to attack and gave time to the tribe to get ready for his arrival. He wanted to use power to crush their confidence and pride. To instill terror in their hearts whenever they saw him.