After hearing Zhang Jing’s words, the crowd below fell into brief silence.
Then, one after another, they began pleading for mercy.
“My lord, spare my life!”
“Please forgive me, my lord! I won’t dare do it again!”
“My lord, I know I was wrong!”
The people gathered here had already had their crimes confirmed.
Under Qihuo Army rule, the population was organized according to military administration.
The common people were not closely connected to these offenders.
As long as they had truly committed crimes, a simple investigation by the central army was enough to uncover the truth.
Many among them had seen others whose crimes were confirmed and who were executed in the marketplace within half a day.
Their severed heads and lists of crimes had been displayed throughout the four commanderies as warnings.
Now, the only thing left for them to do was beg for mercy.
“Good! Very good!” Seeing this, Zhang Jing laughed in anger.
“You number nearly a thousand men, and not a single one of you has been falsely accused!”
“Only now do you claim that you dare not do it again?”
“I don’t believe you have suddenly become afraid of wrongdoing!”
“You are only afraid because you know you’re about to die!”
People often said that evil men repent before death and regret the sins they committed.
But unless death was truly staring them in the face, they would not reform.
They would only become even worse.
As for genuinely turning over a new leaf, that was even less likely.
“My lord, spare us!”
“Please spare our lives!”
The crowd instantly fell into panic.
Hearing that they might die filled them with genuine terror.
Originally, many of them had believed their crimes were not particularly serious.
After all, most had not directly taken lives.
Now, none of them dared think that way anymore.
“Raise your heads and look at me!” Zhang Jing shouted coldly.
“If you refuse, I’ll have you all executed right now!”
The crowd’s faces immediately turned pale.
Not daring to speak further, they all raised their heads and looked toward Zhang Jing on the platform.
“You have disappointed me greatly.” Looking into their eyes, Zhang Jing’s expression was grim.
“I have often said that the soldiers of the Qihuo Army are common folk.”
“We are the sons of farmers.”
“Our fathers were farmers.”
“Our grandfathers were farmers.”
“We came together because we had suffered enough under the exploitation of the Han court.”
“We had suffered enough under the oppression of corrupt officials.”
“That is why we united.”
“That is why we resisted the Han.”
“For ourselves.”
“For our parents, wives, and children.”
“So that we might carve out a path to survival.”
“Today, the Qihuo Army controls four commanderies.”
“But those four commanderies are far from secure.”
“The Han court hates us to the bone.”
“The warlords outside watch us like tigers eyeing their prey.”
“And yet this land in Yan Province…”
“This land was acquired with the blood of countless brothers.”
“With the lives of countless comrades.”
“Only then did we gain this tiny foothold in the world.”
“Many of you were once veterans of our army.”
At this point, Zhang Jing’s face was filled with disappointment and grief.
“Most of you were discharged because of age.”
“Or because your abilities were no longer sufficient.”
“But even so…”
“Did I ever abandon you?”
“Did I ever let you starve?”
“Did I ever let your families starve?”
“Even those old soldiers who could no longer lift a blade…”
“I arranged proper livelihoods for them.”
“In your villages, you may not have held positions of great honor.”
“But as long as you worked diligently, you could have lived comfortable lives.”
“The village heads and elders were all former comrades-in-arms.”
“They would never have deliberately made life difficult for you.”
“But what did you do instead?” Zhang Jing gritted his teeth.
“In less than three months!”
“In merely a few dozen days!”
“Hundreds of people have died!”
“Thousands of crimes have been committed!”
“Tell me!”
“How are you any different from the corrupt officials of the Han?”
“Our brothers shed blood.”
“Our brothers gave their lives.”
“They bought us this fragile foothold with their sacrifices.”
“And before this territory has even been secured…”
“Instead of enjoying the peaceful lives they won for you…”
“Are you trying to rebel?”
As Zhang Jing finished speaking, Dian Wei and the soldiers of the central army looked once more at the nearly one thousand men standing in the center of the drill grounds.
Their eyes were filled with coldness and anger.
Our lord treats people so well, they thought.
Yet these men behaved like rebels.
Their actions are unforgivable.
“This subordinate knows his crime! Please calm your anger, my lord!”
“My lord, spare my life! I know I was wrong!”
“Please forgive me, my lord!”
“It was my fault! I am willing to atone with my life!”
Looking at Zhang Jing’s grief-stricken expression and hearing his words that pierced straight into their hearts, the men below suddenly felt that their crimes were truly unforgivable.
Many had tears welling up in their eyes.
Quite a few genuinely believed they deserved death.
Even if Zhang Jing ordered their execution on the spot, they felt they would have no grounds for complaint.
“All of you, be silent!” Zhang Jing drew the Blade of Judgment.
His eyes reddened as he pointed the blade at the crowd below.
In a deep voice, he shouted:
“A true man must admit his mistakes!”
“And when he is punished, he must stand firm and accept it!”
“Your crimes are indeed unforgivable!”
“But you are all men of the Qihuo Army!”
“You are all common folk!”
“You all come from poor families!”
“Now, as war is about to engulf the four commanderies…”
“I am willing to give you one chance.”
“A chance to redeem yourselves through merit.”
“Does anyone object?”
The moment Zhang Jing finished speaking, silence descended over the field.
Then suddenly—
“Thank you for your mercy, my lord!!!”
One quick-thinking man smashed his forehead against the ground and shouted in wild joy.
“Thank you for your mercy, my lord!”
Others immediately followed.
“We thank our lord for his mercy!”
The crowd finally understood.
Their eyes lit up with hope.
Their faces filled with excitement as they kowtowed repeatedly.
Compared to dying immediately, living was obviously preferable.
And compared to dying a humiliating death, they knew exactly which choice to make.
“The Han has its Penal Battalions.”
Only then did Zhang Jing sheathe the Blade of Judgment.
Looking down at them with a solemn expression, he declared:
“The Qihuo Army is made up of common people.”
“We gathered together so that we could live good lives free from exploitation and oppression.”
“And to realize the Yellow Heaven’s Great Peace.”
“Therefore, the name ‘Penal Battalion’ is unacceptable.”
“Starting today!”
“You shall form a new unit.”
“It shall be called the Forlorn Hope Battalion.”
“It signifies being the first to storm the enemy lines and seize their banners.”
“It signifies finding life through facing death.”
“There is no skill in bullying honest commoners.”
“I, Zhang Yuheng, find such conduct deeply shameful!”
“If you truly have ability…”
“Then go cut down enemy generals!”
“Go seize enemy banners!”
“Go bully the soldiers of the warlords!”
“Better yet, go bully the warlords themselves!”
“That would be real ability!”
“Even if you fall in battle…”
“I, Zhang Yuheng, will call you heroes!”
At these words, Zhang Jing’s expression became deeply emotional.
In a solemn voice, he asked:
“I intend to place all of you into the Forlorn Hope Battalion.”
“Do you fear it?”
“My lord, I do not!”
“I do not fear it! We are willing to join the Forlorn Hope Battalion!”
“…”
Amid the chaotic replies, a powerful roar suddenly rang out across the field.
“First to storm the walls, seize the banner—find life through death!”
“First to storm the walls, seize the banner—find life through death!”
“First to storm the walls, seize the banner—find life through death!”
The crowd froze for a moment.
Then, as though they had found a backbone to rally around, they shouted the slogan in unison.
By this point, the Forlorn Hope Battalion had been successfully established.
Its combat effectiveness was still inferior to that of the regular garrison forces.
However, it possessed one advantage.
Compared to ordinary soldiers, these men were far more willing to fight desperately and risk their lives.
When Zhang Jing returned to the government office, Cheng Yu was already waiting for him.
“My lord.” Stepping forward, Cheng Yu reported:
“Zhou Cang, who is stationed at Linyi, has sent word.”
“In recent days, the Xu Province army across the river has been making frequent movements.”
“They may launch hostilities at any moment.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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