Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace-Chapter 146 Tragedy

Upon hearing this, Gao Zheng’s face turned dark.

The casualties in a siege battle were enormous; it wasn’t easy to breach the city, let alone being in the first wave of siege soldiers.

"Don’t worry, nothing will happen," Chen Mo smiled slightly. After all, having simulated it, he had a general idea of the development of the situation.

The reason the Yellow Turban rebels could breach so many cities was not just because of their numbers.

The main factor was their momentum. Their overwhelming numbers frightened the defending government troops, and with several cities already lost before, the official army had lost the will to fight. Weakened in momentum, they fell to the Yellow Turban Army.

Combat relies on courage. The successful capture of a city by the Yellow Turban rebels greatly boosted their confidence and courage.

Once their resolve was firm, they managed to conquer numerous cities with one decisive push.

As for the official army, they faltered again and again and again.

The Yellow Turban rebels did not win when they were weak; now that they’re strong, the government soldiers thought, "I couldn’t defeat them when they were weak, and now there are even more of them; how can I win now?"

Their fighting spirit was gone.

There’s a saying, isn’t there?

("First comes vigor, then decline, and finally exhaustion.")

Now, all Chen Mo needed was a significant victory to break the Yellow Turban rebels, and then their momentum would be weakened.

They were nothing more than a bunch of peasants without any professional training, just ordinary people.

Once their momentum was broken, their combat power in front of a fully martial Imperial Guard would be like chopping vegetables, utterly vulnerable.

Then, their momentum would collapse entirely, and a mere charge or the arrival of a large army would scatter them without a fight.

Since Chen Mo had said so much,

Gao Zheng couldn’t say much else.

He just hoped not to be assigned a siege task.

The Vanguard Army sped towards Nanyang.

Along the way, they encountered several incidents.

For example, a giant stone blocking the road.

When crossing the river, someone had dismantled the bridge.

The cavalry could detour,

but for the infantry, it was a waste of time.

Thus, they had to build a bridge.

As a result, time was delayed.

Quickly,

The day darkened.

The army began a short rest, and Gao Fen planned to travel overnight, intending to reach Nanyang at daybreak.

...

Meanwhile,

At Liu Family Village, located more than ten miles outside Nanyang City, a prosperous settlement of nearly a thousand people had become the encampment for Zhang Ping’s army.

After occupying Nanyang City, they quickly dispatched troops to sweep through surrounding counties, initially clearing scattered remnants of the Song Army.

Don’t be fooled by these small towns’ fragile defenses.

The wealth amassed inside was overflowing.

At that moment, all the riches were piled up in Liu Family Village, stored in large chests, and ready to be transported out once Nanyang was fully occupied.

The orders Zhang Ping received were not to defend after occupying Nanyang but to plunder the entire county’s wealth and grain, then turn towards Western Shu with an expanded army.

Western Shu is mountainous with natural defenses, easy to defend, difficult to attack.

Once in Western Shu, they could start strengthening their forces.

Main General’s Tent.

Heavy breathing and the screams of a woman emanated from the tent.

The personal soldiers outside the tent voluntarily retreated three feet away, covering their ears.

"Slap! You wretch..."

"Thud!"

A loud slap sounded, and the noise in the tent ceased.

A moment later, Zhang Ping emerged from the tent, fastening his belt, and gestured.

The personal soldiers gathered around.

"Deal with it," Zhang Ping said casually.

Two personal soldiers entered the tent.

Another personal soldier said to Zhang Ping, "General, the Black Shadow has sent a message. The Imperial army has already arrived in Nanyang. They advise you to conclude the Nanyang campaign quickly and turn towards Western Shu."

"So quickly? Who’s leading them?" Zhang Ping frowned; this speed was much faster than he had anticipated.

"Huangfu Hao, from the Huangfu Family, a Second-Grade Martial Artist. They arrived so quickly because they dispatched the cavalry ahead," the personal soldier replied.

"A Second-Grade Martial Artist..."

Zhang Ping furrowed his brows even more, then said, "Wake up all those who are asleep, issue the orders, move out!"

"Yes, sir."

Just then, two personal soldiers dragged out a disheveled, already dead pregnant woman from the tent.

This woman was seven months pregnant and was the concubine of the head of Liu Family Village.

After Liu Family Village was occupied, Zhang Ping took a liking to this concubine and raped her that night.

In the end, due to her resistance, she defied Zhang Ping and was killed by him.

...

Before the darkness fell.

On the afternoon of the seventh day of the great turmoil.

Beijiang County.

This was a small city.

Only a few hundred Yellow Turban troops defended it; Huangfu Hao took it single-handedly.

But when he entered the city,

what greeted his eyes was a scene of devastation.

The houses were in ruins, and countless bodies lay abandoned on the streets, unclaimed.

Under the scorching sun, they had long started to rot, swarming with flies.

It was apparent that the once Song Army soldiers, their clothes stripped off, bodies stabbed over a dozen times.

Huangfu Hao even saw the corpses of children.

As for the remaining survivors, at the moment, they were reduced to beggars, living a life of starvation.

The entire city was a veritable human purgatory.

Huangfu Hao initially thought he could obtain some supplies through Beijiang County.

It turned out he was overly optimistic.

Almost everything that could be taken away had been.

What couldn’t be taken was destroyed.

"Damn Yellow Turban rebels."

Huangfu Hao’s face was furious as he swore to eliminate every single leader of the Yellow Turban rebels.

"Grand General, should we pursue them?" Huangfu Xin also couldn’t help but be moved by the sight, coming to Nanyang to suppress the rebellion initially for personal achievement.

However, seeing this scene, speaks to both his self-interest and conscience, he was obliged to suppress the Yellow Turban rebels.

Huangfu Hao shook his head, saying, "First, gather the bodies and burn them. If this continues, a plague will erupt."

They were not the Yellow Turban rebels.

After conquering Nanyang County, they had to govern it.

If they did not deal with so many corpses, an epidemic would break out.

"Understood."

Thus, they dug a large pit outside the city.

They threw all the gathered bodies into the pit. By night, the pile of corpses rose as high as a small mountain.

Huangfu Xin gathered the surviving residents of the city together.

Huangfu Hao rode forward on a fine horse, holding a torch in his hand. He looked around at the living citizens and proclaimed loudly:

"The Yellow Turban rebels act against the will of heaven, cruel and tyrannical, committing atrocious acts that anger both men and gods. I, Huangfu Hao, the main general sent by the Imperial Court to quell the rebellion in Nanyang, assure you tonight that I swear to kill the Yellow Turban rebels and bring justice to you, restoring peace and prosperity."

After speaking, his personal soldiers poured petroleum on the corpses, and Huangfu Hao threw the torch onto them.

With a roar, a great fire rose, and flames soared several feet high.