Chapter 27: Heaven's Mandate (Part 2)

  The plateau was indeed greatly shocked, he only knew from history that Li Mu had a lifespan of one year, and thirty years ago, someone could predict that Li Mu would die next year, which really made it hard to believe. Is it said that in ancient China, there really existed a magical predictive technique?

  At this time, Gao Yuan suddenly remembered that when he first arrived in this era, Li Mu had also mentioned it to him. It was because his teacher predicted that he would appear at that time and place. However, at the time, Gao Yuan had just arrived in this era and wasn't familiar with Li Mu, so he didn't ask further questions. Now it seemed that Li Mu's teacher must be an extraordinary person. So Gao Yuan asked again: "May I ask, General, who is your esteemed teacher?"

  Li Mu smiled and said, "When I came down the mountain, my teacher strictly ordered me not to reveal my master's title to outsiders, so I cannot tell you what it is. However, I think you will meet him in the future." He paused for a moment before continuing, "But there is one thing I can tell you: when my teacher predicted your arrival, he said that you are the one who can change fate and bring peace back to the world, ending the chaos that is about to come. That's why he had me wait for you here and do my best to protect your safety. Unfortunately, I won't be able to protect you for much longer."

  The plateau was shocked again, Li Mu's teacher actually had a relationship with his own prophecy, and according to Li Mu's words, wasn't he just the savior?

  The chaotic era is about to arrive, and after careful consideration, it's indeed true that even if we count from this year, the Qin state has spent a full ten years of war to unify the country by force and establish the Great Qin Empire. Moreover, after national unification, although there were fewer wars, under the rule of Qin Shi Huang, there was no peace brought to the world either.

  Qin Shi Huang was in power for twelve years, conquering the southern Yue and northern Xiongnu, making five tours of inspection, building the Great Wall, Epang Palace, Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, digging the Lingqu Canal, repairing the Straight Road, melting down weapons to make agricultural tools, holding ceremonies at Mount Tai, searching for immortals and seeking elixirs. All these things, no matter which one, were exhausting the people and wasting national strength. In just over a decade, Qin Shi Huang managed to do all these things. After Qin Er Shi succeeded him, he became even more extreme. Therefore, although the Qin Empire only lasted for over a decade, later generations could only sigh "the world has suffered from Qin for a long time".

  Then Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in Daze Township, first raising the great banner of rebellion against Qin. As a result, China once again fell into all-out war. The Qin lost its dominance, and the world pursued it. Chu and Han followed one after another to contend for hegemony, until Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Chu, took his own life at Wujiang River, and the Han Empire was established, ending this prolonged period of chaos that lasted over thirty years. Only then did the world gradually return to stability.

  It seems that Li Mu's teacher's prophecy was indeed not wrong, and he had also successfully predicted his own arrival and Li Mu's death date, so Gao Yuan couldn't help but believe it.

  But does he have the ability to end this chaotic world ahead of time? Then what should he do, should he follow the trend of history, help Qin unify, and then change Qin Shi Huang's ways, bringing true stability to the world, but why can he influence Qin Shi Huang? According to historical circumstances, before unification, King Zheng of Qin was still a humble and open-minded person who knew his mistakes and could correct them. However, after unifying the world, Qin Shi Huang was absolutely an emperor who was arrogant, cruel, and would not listen to others' advice. And if he were to confront Qin and stop its unification, but now he is penniless and without troops, what can he use to confront Qin and end this chaotic world ahead of time? Therefore, at this moment, Gao Yuan's heart is also a mess.

  Li Mu said, "Gao Yuan, Zhao has little hope left, and you have a heavy mission on your shoulders. You don't need to stay in Zhao and die with the country. Wherever you decide to go, I won't blame you. Just one thing: please don't become an enemy of Zhao in the future."

  It was clear to Gao Yuan that Li Mu's words were absolutely sincere, because when Li Mu said this, his eyes were calm and steady, without any unease or flicker. Moreover, Li Mu's hands were flat on the table, without a single change.

  Gao Yuan was a special agent by training, and had received professional instruction in reading people's psychological states from small changes in their movements. Although it is said that the eyes are the windows of the soul, and people's emotions often manifest through their eyes, the true reflection of a person's emotions actually lies in the movements of their hands. This is because people will intentionally conceal their gaze, but rarely hide their hand movements. As such, when under tension, one's hands will involuntarily move to the most advantageous position for action and quickest reaction. But Li Mu's hands were calm and still, without even a hint of change.

  After a long silence, Gao Yuan finally said: "General, I can promise you that as long as General is still standing for one day, I will never leave Zhao State and am willing to serve under your command."

  Having made this decision, although there is a part of the reason why the plateau is indeed nowhere to go now, but mainly because the plateau was moved by Li Mu's broad-mindedness. However, after making the decision, the plateau also felt that it had put down a big stone in its heart, thinking secretly that as long as it could live up to its own conscience, it would be fine whether it was really a savior or not. At the same time, the plateau also made a decision, it must try its best to change Li Mu's fate. No matter whether it can succeed or not, it will give it a try anyway.

  Although Li Mu had already made preparations for Gao Yuan to leave, in his heart he still didn't want Gao Yuan to leave Zhao Jun's side. Although he had taken in Gao Yuan because of his teacher's prophecy, after spending more than two months together, he had a very good impression of Gao Yuan, and he could also see that Li Yinghong had a good feeling towards Gao Yuan. If Gao Yuan were to leave, his daughter would definitely be heartbroken. Therefore, upon hearing Gao Yuan say this, Li Mu's face also broke into a smile as he nodded his head and said, "Alright."

  Li Yinghong couldn't help but smile and said, "Great, I knew you wouldn't leave." However, thinking about Li Mu saying that he only had a little over a year left to live, his heart also became somewhat solemn, and he said, "Father, do you really only have...only..."

  Li Mu patted Li Yinghong's head and said, "Alright, life and death are destined, don't force it. Go rest now, tomorrow we'll set off back to Handan."

  Li Yinghong had no choice but to bid farewell to Li Mu and leave his tent with Gao Yuan.

  After walking out of the big account, Li Yinghong said: "Gao Yuan, does father really only have one year's life?"

  Gao Yuan thought for a moment, then said: "If the general died of natural causes, I can do nothing about it. But if someone deliberately harmed the general and caused him to die unjustly, I will not stand idly by and will try my best to change the general's fate."

  Li Yinghong nodded and said: "Gao Yuan, thank you."

  Dividing line Dividing line

  The next morning, Li Mu first dealt with the Qin army's prisoners of war.

  In this battle, the Zhao army captured more than 20,000 prisoners of war. Among them, there were over a hundred people with titles above the fifth grade. The Qin state's title was divided into twenty grades, and those above the fifth grade could be considered as officials at the level of national dignitaries, which is a relatively high-ranking official.

  Among these captives, nearly three thousand people were willing to surrender to the Zhao army. Li Mu ordered that these people be dispersed and incorporated into the Zhao army. As for the remaining 18,000 Qin soldiers who were captured, Li Mu ordered that, except for more than a hundred mid-ranking Qin generals, all others be released and given a certain amount of food, allowing them to return to the Qin state.

  After this decision was announced, the Qin army's captives could hardly believe their ears. In the midst of the warring states, how to deal with prisoners of war was a difficult problem. Although professional soldiers had emerged in this era, the vast majority of armies were still temporarily recruited from civilians, and these soldiers often missed their hometowns. Only a very small number of soldiers would truly surrender. Therefore, if they stayed in the military camp, not only would they consume a lot of food, but they would also easily become an unstable factor.

  As a result, many generals chose the simplest method, which was to kill all the prisoners of war. The most famous case was after the Battle of Changping, when Qin general Bai Qi killed 400,000 surrendered Zhao soldiers, and smaller-scale killings were countless.

  However, killing prisoners is not good for one's reputation, so Bai Qi earned the title of "God of Murder". Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, ordinary generals would not adopt this extreme method. But they would also make prisoners work as slaves in mines and mountains for their whole lives. Generals like Li Mu who released all prisoners were very rare in that era. After all, releasing prisoners of war is a very risky thing to do, if not handled properly it could allow the enemy to recover their strength in a short period of time.

  The method of releasing prisoners of war seems old-fashioned, but if handled well, it can also bring many unexpected benefits. In addition to gaining a reputation for benevolence, it can also undermine the enemy's morale. If they know that captives will be released, even the strongest-willed warriors may waver. Moreover, it can pass on the difficult problem of how to deal with repatriated prisoners of war, which is indeed a major headache, and neither leniency nor severity is easy to handle.

  But that's not Li Mu's problem. So Li Mu just comforted the captives with kind words, letting them return to Qin Guo after reuniting with their families, cultivating and living a good life, and not joining the Qin army again to venture onto the battlefield. The Qin army captives were also grateful to Li Mu, kneeling on the ground in gratitude for his release, before leaving the Zhao army's camp.

  After releasing all the captives, Li Mu led his troops and set off with Li Yinghong, Gao Yuan, Zhao Xuan and others to return to Handan.

  This time back to Handan, in addition to the 1,500 cavalry led by Gao Yuan, Li Mu also brought 5,000 soldiers and 300 war chariots. Although the Qin army had retreated, the danger had not been eliminated, and the State of Qin could launch a large-scale attack at any time. Therefore, on the Jiedu and Fanwu lines, they still could not relax their vigilance. Except for the 30,000 troops led by Yuan Xuan to support Handan, there were approximately over 1 million Zhao army troops on the Jiedu and Fanwu lines. Li Mu also left most of his troops behind, while intensifying the construction of fortifications and manufacturing equipment to prevent another attack by the Qin army.