Outside Wusheng Pass, the gathered civilians were not many, perhaps thirty or so, all old, weak, women, and children, huddling together in fear, gazing with longing eyes at the closed city gate, hoping it would open for them.
Lu Yao's brow furrowed as he looked at the shivering refugees. These people had arrived too strangely, yet they seemed to possess no capacity for harm.
"General Lu, the refugees outside are pitiful. They've been waiting for three days without food or drink. If this continues, they might not hold on," a guard said. "How should we proceed?"
"Ignore them," Lu Yao stated calmly. "The people outside are not citizens of our Blue Moon, and they shouldn't be here. If we take them in, it might lead to a dispute with Yusheng."
"Then perhaps send some food and drink down to them?"
"No," Lu Yao replied. Having followed Xiao Luo for many years, he had seen too many siege tactics. He wasn't afraid of this being a ploy by Yusheng; he feared it was a ploy by *that person*. Yusheng would not commit heinous acts, but *that person* might. Their responsibility in defending Wusheng Pass was to its garrison and its people.
"But they are so pitiful."
"Pitiful?" Lu Yao said coldly. "What do you think prompted them to leave their homeland and come to Wusheng Pass?"
"Yusheng oppresses them, making it impossible for them to survive."
"If Yusheng oppresses them, shouldn't the able-bodied men rise up in resistance? Why is it the old, the weak, women, and children, those without the strength to even lift a chicken, who are rising up?"
"Perhaps the men went to war and never returned."
Lu Yao did not rush to answer. This was a critical juncture, and carelessness was not an option. "Issue an order: no one is to open the city gate, nor is anyone to interact with the refugees outside. If they approach the gate, drive them back with arrows and prevent them from nearing Wusheng Pass."
"Yes, General Lu."
Lu Yao carefully observed the refugees outside. Their clothes were ragged, their complexions sallow, just like refugees fleeing disaster. Nevertheless, he could not allow them into the city and bring risk to Wusheng Pass.
"General Lu, are we truly going to stand by and let them die?"
Lu Yao frowned. "It's not standing by and letting them die; it's that we *cannot* save them."
"Why not? We can open the gate, let them in, give them clothes and food, and have a doctor examine them. The weather is so cold. If we leave them in the wilderness, even if they don't starve, they'll freeze to death."
"That is their fate!" Lu Yao said harshly. He could not be soft-hearted, nor could he afford to be.
"General Lu, that's not just one life."
"General Fan, I know it's not just one life. But if allowing these people in leads to the fall of Wusheng Pass, can you bear the blame for that?"
"General Lu is perhaps being too anxious. They are just a few old, weak, women, and children, unable to even stand steadily. What harm can such people do?"
Lu Yao did not answer immediately. Instead, he recalled a past war. In that battle, only three people survived out of thirty thousand. The cause of that tragic consequence was refugees!
"Do you remember the Yanqiu Campaign?"
"I remember. Thirty thousand people, only three survived."
"I was one of those three survivors," Lu Yao said, pain in his eyes. "It was like this back then. The refugees outside were on the verge of death. I couldn't bear to see it and begged the general to let them in. The result was the death of everyone in the city."
General Fan was shocked. "Why?"
"Because someone among the refugees was infected with the plague. The enemy did it deliberately. To capture Yanqiu, they drove the plague-stricken civilians outside the city, forcing us to accept the refugees..." Lu Yao's voice trembled slightly. The past flashed before his eyes. Now, seeing those refugees, he felt as if he saw the dead soldiers and civilians of Yanqiu. If he hadn't been soft-hearted, Yanqiu wouldn't have fallen, and his brothers wouldn't have been infected and died.
"General Lu, that was a long time ago. The refugees outside..."
"General Fan, please forgive my selfishness. If there were even the slightest possibility, I would not allow them into the city. I will bear all the consequences!" Lu Yao declared decisively. He would never let these people in. He would never allow the tragedy of Yanqiu to be repeated.
The number of refugees outside the city grew. Every day, more people gathered at Wusheng Pass. From the initial thirty or so, the crowd swelled to over a hundred. They set up stoves just outside the range of the arrows, lit fires, and cooked. They ate roots and bark, but they ate as if it were a delicacy.
Living in hell, they still managed to smile. The soldiers on the city wall felt pity, but a military order was like a mountain; no one dared to open the gate and let them in.
During this time, someone fell ill and requested a doctor. No one dared to respond, and no one went to treat them. The sick person died amidst hunger and cold, their body emaciated. Their companions buried them and continued to wait, hoping the closed city gate would open and accept them.
"Still not leaving?" Xiao Luo ascended the city wall and looked at the distant refugee camp. In a short time, these people had settled outside Wusheng Pass. In makeshift shelters, people were piled together, huddling for warmth. Children cried weakly from hunger, their cries growing fainter each day.
"General, they are too pitiful."
Just then, a man staggered towards Wusheng Pass. He knelt at the base of the city wall and pleaded, "Sir, please, save my child. He is starving to death. We won't come in, please, just let my child in."
"Yes, Sir, we won't come in, just let the children in." Refugees with children rushed forward, holding their little ones. They knew entering was hopeless, but they hoped their children could survive.
The guards all looked at Xiao Luo. Here, only Xiao Luo had the authority to let them in. With a single command, they could open the gate and let the people outside in.
Xiao Luo's expression was stern. He took a bow and arrow from a nearby guard, drew the bow, and the arrow landed just in front of the man, narrowly missing him.
"Leave here quickly. Beyond you is the city of Yusheng. You are seeking help in the wrong place," Xiao Luo's voice was cold and flat.
"Sir, Yusheng completely ignores our plight. Please, Sir, save the children."
Saying this, the man, holding his child, stumbled forward. "I won't come in. I only beg you to take in my child. Please, Sir."
Xiao Luo was not stone-hearted; he too had children. But he understood deeply the consequences of being soft-hearted. He picked up another arrow, this time aiming at the man's chest.