Lin Zhan looked at the assembled kings of the grasslands.
He took a deep breath and said sternly,
"Military law is merciless. No matter who makes a mistake, they must have the courage to bear it. Otherwise, how can we face the loyal souls of these wolf riders?"
He then said to Zhang Dabiao,
"Record in the military law archives: Grassland King Subudai and Zhelemi, for their reckless advance driven by greed for merit, resulting in the loss of over one hundred thousand of our Golden Wolf Cavalry Legion, are hereby sentenced according to law to one hundred lashes and assignment to the suicide squad."
"Golden Wolf Cavalry Commander Temujin, for his lax discipline, allowing his subordinate kings Subudai and Zhelemi to disregard military law, is hereby sentenced according to law to thirty lashes."
"Grand Marshal of the Three Armies Lin Zhan, for his unclear military law and lax discipline, which led to today's reckless advance driven by greed for merit, is hereby sentenced according to law to thirty lashes."
As soon as Lin Zhan finished speaking, the kings immediately shouted, "Great Marshal, you cannot! What fault is yours?"
The grassland kings, in particular, were red-faced and deeply ashamed.
From the depths of their hearts, the men of the grasslands had never let others bear their mistakes, nor did they wish to implicate others due to their own errors.
Led by Temujin, the grassland kings stepped forward from the crowd.
They performed a half-kneeling salute to Changruo and the other elder figures, saying,
"Ancestor Changruo, this matter is entirely due to my lax discipline, Temujin, and the reckless advance driven by greed for merit by the grassland kings. Lin Zhan is the Grand Marshal of the Human Race's Three Armies; how can he receive such severe punishment? All blame lies with us, the grassland kings. The Imperial Son of the Human Race must not be subjected to punishment."
"We beg the ancestor for mercy."
"We beg the ancestor for mercy."
...
The grassland kings.
The entire Golden Wolf Cavalry Legion.
All the legions present pleaded for Lin Zhan's leniency.
Changruo walked onto the platform and said loudly,
"Although Lin Zhan is our Human Race's Imperial Son, he is also our Human Race's Grand Marshal. His military discipline is lax, and his military laws are unclear; he rightfully deserves punishment."
"The Human Race's bloodline is scarce, and the soldiers who can fight on the battlefield are even more precious. I hope that the entire army will take today's events as a warning and never again let the precious lives of our soldiers be wasted so meaninglessly."
"Guards, carry out the sentence!"
Three kings and a Diamond-ranked soldier from the Great Shang Ancestral Court Guard walked out.
There was no other choice. Besides this guard composed of Great Shang disciples, no one else dared to lay hands on Lin Zhan. After all, he was the precious treasure of a group of old, well-preserved elders.
Lin Zhan removed his armor and his shirt. He joked with the soldier from the Great Shang Guard, "Sultan Novel Network.
"My good sir, can you leave me a pair of underpants? I'm not married yet, and it wouldn't be good for young ladies and wives to see me."
A young Daoist nearby, holding a video recorder, shouted, "No, you can't leave him any! Not even a scrap of cloth! I plan to sell the footage after I finish recording."
The soldier responsible for the punishment looked at Lin Zhan, bewildered, and said, "Imperial Son, can you be a little more serious? Nobody intends to take off your underpants."
Cao Yu stepped forward, grabbed Lin Zhan, and tied him to the wooden frame for the whipping. He said, "Whip him hard. Just don't kill him."
Lin Zhan looked around and saw Temujin, Subudai, and Zhelemi also tied to wooden frames. He said to them,
"Old Ancestor Temujin, do you think this counts as one of life's four great ironclad bonds? We've shared hardships and experienced camaraderie. When we get back, I'll find an opportunity to arrange the remaining two."
Upon hearing Lin Zhan's words, the grassland kings, who had felt a trace of guilt, found it completely vanished.
Cao Yu, seeing Lin Zhan's flippant demeanor, angrily shouted, "Begin the punishment!"
Behind Temujin, Subudai, and Zhelemi were three kings of the same rank responsible for their punishment.
The one responsible for punishing Lin Zhan was the Diamond-ranked soldier.
These individuals, including Lin Zhan, were all battle-hardened veterans. The thick cowhide whips struck their bodies, yet not a single groan escaped them.
Only after Subudai and Zhelemi had received their one hundred lashes were Lin Zhan and the others untied.
Lin Zhan said to the assembled grassland kings, "Esteemed ancestors, you must cherish your soldiers from now on. Let's not commit such embarrassing acts again in the future."
Temujin and the others nodded with shame and performed a military salute to Lin Zhan before stepping down.
Today's events had made these straightforward grassland men feel deeply mortified.
Especially having a junior, who was younger than many of them, implicated in suffering punishment alongside these elders, it made these men, who had lived for over a thousand years, feel utterly ashamed.
Lin Zhan looked at the dejected grassland kings and let out a carefree laugh.
He then said to the young Daoist beside him, "Heh heh, brother-in-law, you watch. If my brother and I get into any trouble, these old ancestors from the grasslands will definitely risk their lives for us."
The young Daoist nodded and said, "Yes, these ancestors value loyalty and righteousness. Although they have lived for thousands of years, they still feel quite lovable."
"By the way, Big Brother, since our relationship is so close now, if I skin that husky, surely Ancestor Temujin won't blame me, right?"
Lin Zhan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "Brother-in-law, don't skin it. Ancestor Temujin still needs to ride it into battle. However, shaving its fur might be good. It could be used to knit wolf-down cloaks for your sisters-in-law."
"Heh heh, that's a great idea! I'll go find Old Fourth Tie. He has depilatory medicine. Even his own ancestor was affected by it, let alone this husky."
The young Daoist replied with a mischievous grin and then, with his short legs, went off to find Old Fourth Tie.
Lin Zhan returned to the main tent and lay on the campaign bed. Hua Shijiu was applying medicine to Lin Zhan's wounds.
"Big Brother, was it necessary? For such a minor matter, you got yourself beaten up like this. It's not worth it."
Lin Zhan looked at Hua Shijiu and said helplessly,
"Brother, I didn't want to, but we have too few human race warriors. If they all treated their lives like these old guys, after just a few battles, Big Brother would be left with an empty command."
"Hahaha, so in the end, you're just afraid of being left with an empty command."
Changruo, along with a group of Great Shang elders, entered the tent from outside. Seeing Lin Zhan's sorry state, the elders laughed heartlessly.
Changruo entered the room and first examined Lin Zhan's injuries, saying,
"It's alright. This kid's skin is thick, and they're all superficial wounds. They won't affect his ability to have children, so everyone can rest assured."
Zhu Gui and the other elders quickly nodded and chuckled, "Ah, then we are relieved. As long as it doesn't affect his ability to have children, we'd agree to beat him up again."
They then said to Lin Zhan, "Kid, you're truly a man. You're truly a seed of our Great Shang! Keep up the good work. As long as it doesn't affect your ability to have children, you can go all out, and we old ancestors will have no objections."
Lin Zhan looked at the group of old men, utterly bewildered, and thought to himself, "Have you old fellows collectively lost your minds? How can everything be related to being a seed of Great Shang?"