As soon as Hu Yanyu finished speaking, the generals' expressions were startled for a moment, and then suddenly tightened, and the same idea suddenly appeared in their hearts.
Warlord, is he preparing to trap and kill the prisoners?
With this thought in mind, everyone couldn't help but fell silent. They looked at Hu Yanyu with tangled expressions and hesitated to speak.
You must know that Dalong has not done anything to trap and kill prisoners for many years.
If the two armies were still engaged in a desperate battle, killing tens of thousands of enemy troops in a head-on confrontation on the battlefield, they would not feel the slightest burden in their hearts.
But if they were asked to trap and kill tens of thousands of unarmed prisoners who had abandoned their weapons and surrendered, they would really not be able to overcome the hurdle in their hearts.
The reason for such hesitation has nothing to do with the ominous killing of prisoners. The main reason is that the psychological burden is probably difficult to bear.
Feng Buer reacted from his deep thoughts, frowned slightly and looked at Brother Hu Yan who looked neither sad nor happy. He raised his hand and pulled Hu Yanyu's one-armed arm. Feng Buer walked to the side first.
Hu Yanyu looked at the old brother's back, hesitated and followed him silently.
Jiang Lei, Ke Yan and other generals didn't say anything when they saw this scene. They looked at each other with complicated expressions and gathered together to talk quietly.
On a higher slope on the battlefield, if you stop here and raise your eyes slightly, you can take in the unobstructed view of the desert in the distance and the sunset over the long river.
The fleshy corpses and blood-stained weapons dotted on the yellow sand add to the lonely and desolate feeling of the beautiful scenery in front of you.
It's just that it's a bit depressing after watching it for a long time.
Feng Buer untied the wine bag from his waist, stared at the enemy prisoners who had been gathered together in the distance, raised the wine bag, took a few sips, and then casually threw it to Hu Yanyu aside.
"Brother Huyan, can we discuss this matter again? These prisoners are not a small number. Including the wounded soldiers after cleaning up the battlefield, it is estimated that there are nearly 15,000 people.
If this were to be directly carried out, let alone the kind of pressure we and the other generals and soldiers would have to bear, what would happen to the military records? How would the imperial court explain it?
After all, they were no longer the enemy who still fought to the death and refused to surrender while still holding their weapons, but prisoners who had voluntarily laid down their weapons and abandoned their weapons and surrendered.
There are still so many prisoners.
If they had resisted to the death, they would have been killed in front of the two armies as they went back and forth, but now they have become meat on the chopping board to be slaughtered.
To be honest, brother, if you act like this, I really can’t do it!
I think not only my brother can't do it, but also the rest of the brothers can't do it.
This is not a question of whether you are merciful to the enemy or not, but a question of whether you are able to overcome the hurdle in your heart!"
Hu Yanyu looked at Feng Buer's serious expression. He raised the wine bag and took a few swigs. He casually wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his arm. Hu Yanyu sighed heavily.
"Brother Fuji, I know what you are thinking in my heart. To be honest, I have just thought about what you are thinking carefully several times.
Brother, I have no choice but to make such a decision.
Before the expedition, His Majesty had repeatedly told Commander Zhang, Commander Nangong and I, the main generals of the Western Expedition, that once they reach foreign territory, our dragon's artillery must not fall into the hands of these barbarians no matter what.
Even if God does not bless our Western Expedition and we unfortunately fail in the Western Expedition and have to return home defeated, even if our artillery is destroyed, it cannot fall into the hands of any enemy.
Your Majesty said it himself, once these artillery pieces fall into the hands of the barbarian enemies, if they copy them in the future and even develop more powerful artillery pieces, they may use them to do the same thing to our dragon.
.
If something like this happens in the future, not only us generals, but also Your Majesty himself will be the eternal sinner of our Chinese nation.
What my brother said are the exact words that His Majesty himself said!"
After Hu Yanyu said these words in a low tone, he raised the wine bag again and started drinking. He didn't stop until the wine in the wine bag bottomed out.
"It has been nearly a month since these Roman barbarians obtained artillery.
Who can guarantee that none of these Roman prisoners came into contact with the cannons they snatched from the general?
Who can guarantee that no one among them has tried to study or explore those artillery pieces?
We have captured so many people, and we cannot identify them one by one who has not been exposed to these artillery pieces. If one of them is released, the root of the disaster will be laid!"
"This...no one can guarantee it."
"So, brother, you should know what I am like after we have been together for so many years. I, Hu Yanyu, am definitely not a murderous person, but I have no choice but to make such a decision!
Since there is no way to distinguish, the only way to ensure that nothing goes wrong is to kill the wrong person rather than let it go, and to nip in the bud the possibility that powerful weapons such as artillery will fall into the hands of foreign countries.
All the secrets of casting artillery, developing artillery, and using artillery are safest for us only if they are in the hands of our Dalong Heavenly Kingdom.
We cannot become eternal sinners! Your Majesty, let alone he, cannot become eternal sinners!
Do you understand my brother’s hard work?
Brother Fuji, after all, someone has to step forward to be the villain. For the sake of the overall situation, let me, Hu Yanyu, bear the infamy of this villain!"
Feng Buer was silent. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that he was convinced by Hu Yanyu's principles.
Compared with the righteousness of the family and the country, the lives of more than 10,000 prisoners are indeed not worth mentioning.
But this time the soldiers and horses setting up an ambush to encircle and suppress the Roman legion were not just the dragon soldiers and horses! There were also 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Great Food Kingdom who served as the vanguard!
If I and others wantonly killed the soldiers of the Roman Kingdom this time, would it make the soldiers and horses of the Food Kingdom feel sad after seeing this scene?
If this is the case, it will lead to estrangement between the soldiers of the Dashi Kingdom and the great dragon in the days to come.
And all the efforts made by myself and others to appease people in the Big Food Country were all in vain.
Feng Buer thought of this, took out his dry tobacco bag and lit it, then quietly expressed his worries to Hu Yanyu.
After hearing Feng Buer's words, Hu Yanyu's eyes suddenly condensed, and his expression became a little serious.
"Brother has neglected this point. If the soldiers of the Great Food Kingdom see us trapping and killing the Roman soldiers, it might really make them feel sad!
Thirty thousand soldiers from the Great Food Kingdom were present, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they had many eyes and ears. Once these Roman prisoners were trapped and killed, there would be no way to cover it up.
As a result, this matter is really difficult to handle.
It's impossible to trap and kill, and it's even worse to let him go. This is really a dilemma!"
Feng Buer blew out a puff of thick smoke, knocked the embers from the smoke pot a few times on the soles of his shoes, glanced at the soldiers and horses of the two countries cleaning the battlefield in the distance, and slowly approached Hu Yanyu.
"Brother Huyan, I have a compromise here, but you have to pay a little price."
Hu Yanyu's eyes lit up: "Tell me about it!"
"Send troops and horses to escort these Roman prisoners back to our capital, Dalong, and hand them over to Your Majesty.
These Romans could be said to be tall and strong, and they must be good at work. They could be sold to wealthy families as servants, or they could be exiled to various state capitals to work as laborers like the soldiers surrendered by Tsarist Russia.
Letting them work as laborers only requires enough food, which can completely save a lot of expenses for the court and use them for other purposes. This is more beneficial to my dragon than killing them directly.
As long as they reach the hinterland of my dragon, even if they have the mind to study artillery, they will have no use for it.
In the future, as long as they can stay with us forever, we won't have to worry even if some of them have been exposed to artillery or have studied artillery.
Your Majesty will have a proper way to deal with them.
Don't we just have a batch of newly smelted gold and silver to be escorted back to the capital? My suggestion is that we just escort them back.
It's just a matter of consuming more food and grass, what do you think, Brother Huyan?"
Hu Yanyu squinted his eyes and was silent for a while, then smiled and nodded to Feng Buer.