Chapter 7015 The Evil Professional Soldier

Chapter 7015 The Evil Professional Soldier
Upon hearing Gao Yi's words, Zhao Zhen remained silent for a moment, his clenched fist clenching and unclenching repeatedly before finally speaking, "If I were to say a few kind words, it would only be treating you like a fool. Since you asked, I will be frank. Even if we were to go back to that day, I would still be the same as I was on that day!"

These words are tantamount to laying my cards on the table. Let alone regretting it, even if I could do it all over again, even with my current strength—enough to fight to the death against those with internal energy leaving their bodies—I would still have no choice but to act the same way on that day. So don't talk about regretting it; I've already thought it through.

Chen Xi watched this scene with a sour feeling in his teeth. This was exactly what he was worried about, but he couldn't give Zhao Zhen any prompts or teach her how to answer in private. Moreover, these things all had to have a result, and this was something Chen Xi couldn't get involved in.

If Chen Xi's initial desire to kill Cao Cao was genuine, then his later restraint and decision not to kill these people was also genuine.

After all, if we really follow what these people say, a life for a life, do they really think there aren't any wronged ghosts in Chen Xi's temple? What a joke! Back in the early years at Mount Tai, when Chen Xi couldn't fully control the army, and the whole era was filled with killing and slaughter, and Chen Xi had no way to completely reverse the trend, how many people died at Chen Xi's hands?
Are all those tens of thousands of people damned ghosts?

It's really not that bad!
If Chen Xi directly states this and attributes it to the prevailing social trends, then what about others? Can't others be blamed? If they can, then it's better not to say anything at all; it's even more disgusting!

Therefore, Chen Xi's attitude in this matter has always been tacit approval. He tacitly allowed the victims to handle the matter themselves, but he did not take the lead, nor did he allow anyone with a salary of over 2,000 shi to take the lead. He left it to them to rely on their own abilities. He gave them the opportunity to make connections, which was already the greatest degree of leniency.

Chen Xi didn't give any more, because he didn't dare to. Some things can only be smoothed over by the times and development. If the killing were to be unleashed, there would be no end to it.

The significance of the state and government consolidating public power lies here: it can open a loophole to allow you to seek revenge, but there must be a limit to this permission. If a dog bites a person, the person cannot bite back, but the person can put the dog in a pot and stew it. Chen Xi allows stewing, not letting you bite back like a mad dog.

The problem is that, even after Chen Xi's efforts to adjust the social atmosphere, there is still a large group of people who think, "If the dog bites me, I'll bite it back!" and "After I've bitten it, you can stew the meat." At first, Chen Xi thought it was outrageous, but after seeing it many times, he also thought, "That's fine, as long as it doesn't happen on the street."

Admittedly, killing Cao Cao could sever some of the chains of hatred, but what about the others? What about the rebellion in Yong and Liang, the massacre in Bing Province, the massacre in Yan Province, and the breaching of the dikes in Jing Province?

Do we need to find the person involved in all of this, drag them out, and slaughter them?
Forget it, let's just release Cao Cao and let him be the target. Then a group of people can chase after him and distract them. It's better than the people of Xuzhou killing Cao Cao, the people of Yanzhou seeing an opportunity to jump out and demand that the Yuan family pay with their lives, and the people of Qingzhou seeing this, demanding that everyone around them pay with their lives.

It would be better to just break up.

To be honest, Chen Xi was indeed using Cao Cao as a target. With Cao Cao, the biggest target during the Jian'an period, around, and the people of Xuzhou who had been relentlessly pursuing him despite the biggest and most serious incidents of the previous era, the people of Xuzhou were able to keep quiet.

Although this was indeed unfair to the people of Xuzhou, Chen Xi compensated them in other ways, reconnecting them with their families. Ten years later, of the hundreds of thousands of victims, only a little over a hundred remained who continued to hunt down Cao Cao.

Such behavior is wrong, but it is effective. Chen Xi had lived through that era and knew that once the army wielded its sword, it was difficult to retract it.

In those days, the saying "soldiers pass by like a comb" was no exaggeration. From Huangfu Song onwards, every general and officer was capable of causing harm to the local area. Even the local people were used to this kind of thing and knew how to deal with it.

At most, Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao did something particularly perverse, directly creating an unrestrained sword-wielding system, which led to some truly outrageous events.

After all, the background of that era was so bloody and brutal, and the soldiers of that era didn't treat others as human beings.

Huangfu Song admired Chen Xi for one thing: Chen Xi had actually managed to ensure that the Han soldiers, these murderous bastards, did not harm the local people in the slightest, which was simply unbelievable to Huangfu Song.

After all, some of Chen Xi's soldiers had served under Huangfu Song, and Huangfu Song knew very well what kind of killers these people were. When Jiang Guang slaughtered the Yellow Turbans and killed prisoners to build a Jingguan (a mound of corpses), he showed no mercy whatsoever. But now? He has a good reputation for benevolence in the local area!
And then there's Sun Er. When Sun Er slaughtered Mengjin, he didn't hold back either. And compared to Jiang Guang, who killed what could still be considered soldiers, Sun Er really killed civilians. It was a real massacre. But now, Sun Er is also an upright and good man.

And then there's Zhang Er. Everyone knows what kind of bastards the Xiliang Iron Cavalry are. To put it bluntly, in the old days, would there even be a need for a Zhang Yong Victims Association? They would have been a graveyard!
I won't say much more. Anyone who has reached that level and experienced that era has innocent blood on their hands.

Kill them all?
Are you kidding me? That would be blatant treason!
All Chen Xi could do was to rectify the social atmosphere, transform these people from mad dogs, savages, bandits, and other inhuman, even ghostly, creatures into human beings, and then lightly dismiss the sins they committed in the past, letting the times heal them.

As for the rest, it's impossible for someone to say something like "we need to examine the merits and demerits before dealing with them" at this time. That's pure nonsense. This is the sin of murder, massacre, and cannibalism. It's not something that can be brought back to life just because you say you have done something great!

Some merits and demerits can be offset, while others cannot.

Therefore, Chen Xi said from the first year of Yuanfeng that Yuanfeng would not hold past transgressions against him!

Chen Xi genuinely wanted to forgive and forget, but the problem was that while Chen Xi could do it, others couldn't. And since others couldn't do it, it created a chain reaction. It was only through Chen Xi's extraordinary social progress measures, strict punishments, and generous rewards that this damned social atmosphere was gradually reversed. The army of the previous era, which would definitely bring back some outrageous things as long as they went out to fight, finally began to resemble an army that was truly protecting the country and fighting for the people.

You should know that when they were conquering Nanpi, even the elite troops that Chen Xi personally led couldn't avoid snatching women from within the city. Chen Xi's attitude at the time was, "Damn it, don't kill people! You've already snatched someone else's daughter, she's your father-in-law! And you're even going to kill her? That's going too far!"

Indeed, at that time, Chen Xi, who had established his authority and strengthened his military control by relying on his great victory and the resources he had accumulated, was unable to set up a so-called supervisory team to order his soldiers not to extort the people of Nanpi in the face of this situation.

Back then, it was truly impossible to do that. At most, Chen Xi could only ensure that his soldiers would only extort and force women, and that the women they seized would be wives, not prostitutes. Most importantly, he would not kill anyone with a knife, but only use coercion.

Even so, when Ju Shou and Chen Xi sat facing each other back then, they both felt that Chen Xi was terrifying. His soldiers were so restrained, it was truly astounding.

Ju Shou bestowed the title of "Celestial Being" upon Chen Xi, thus beginning his attempt to undermine Chen Xi through excessive praise. This was the beginning of the incident.

In Chen Xi's mind, these soldiers were already quite rubbish, but in this era, an army that could storm a city and still control itself was already considered a heavenly army.

In other words, it took Chen Xi about ten years to gradually reform the soldiers before he could enforce military law to prevent them from disturbing civilians or committing massacres!

Given these realities, in the entire Grand Martial Arts Tournament, apart from a few young geniuses, there are absolutely no other elite veterans whose hands are untouched by the blood of innocent people.

If killing an innocent person truly meant paying with one's life, then everyone would die. Therefore, some things are best left unsaid. Within the constraints, time and space can be used to mitigate the damage. For the few that cannot be offset, handle them simply if possible; for those that cannot…

Well, Old Cao is a good target. Let's keep him for now. After all, the people of Xuzhou deeply hate Old Cao. More than ten years have passed, and Old Cao is so far away from them, yet they still managed to form a team to hunt him down. Let's use Old Cao as a target for now. In a few years, when most of the previous generation is dead and revenge is no longer the main goal, we can hold a memorial service for Old Cao's remains.

As for whether it was someone from Xuzhou who did the killing, it's definitely someone from Xuzhou who did it!

And there you have it, the problem is solved.

However, aside from Cao Cao, Zhao Zhen's past actions are also difficult to avoid.

"You deserve to die!" Gao Yi, who had been hesitant, completely extinguished his confusion and looked at Zhao Zhen with a fierce light in his eyes. He really had a way to kill Zhao Zhen, a way to kill Zhao Zhen in the small world and Zhao Zhen in the real world would also die.

Driven by the belief in revenge, Gao Yi's strength rapidly climbed to its peak. His true nature as a Super Six was revealed directly to Zhao Zhen. Chen Xi's expression became extremely solemn. Under his special talent for willpower, Gao Yi's limit-breaking willpower had already reached the level of transcendence.

Without a doubt, this is the source of Gao Yi's confidence to say, "If I kill you, I will commit suicide in front of your grave." It is also the inevitable sign that, with the passage of time, reaching the seventh level is already a certainty.

Zhao Zhen didn't bother to explain. He just walked straight toward Gao Yi with a cold face. Since he didn't accept the rules of this era and chose to use the methods of the previous era, then he would follow the rules of the previous era—the strong live and the weak die!

Stripped of all civilization and the benevolence embellished by Chen Xi, they fought with pure bestiality!

Fists collided, and terrifying force splashed out, directly turning the surrounding atmosphere into a vacuum. The wild storm forced Yang Tuo, who was watching from the sidelines, to retreat repeatedly!

On the contrary, Zhao Zhen and Gao Yi, who were in the very center, did not retreat an inch. They both looked at each other resolutely and threw punches at each other.

At this moment, both sides unleashed powerful punches that produced the sound of wind and thunder. The terrifying aftershocks of the force quickly crushed everything around them, forcing Yang Tuo to retreat further and further away. However, under such terrifying force, neither side showed any intention of dodging and instead resolutely attacked the other with all their might!

"Gao Yi, hate your powerlessness." Zhao Zhen unleashed all his power, and the full force caused the image of Zhao Zhen, obscured by dust and mist, to become somewhat distorted. However, Zhao Zhen's words were clearly transmitted to Gao Yi's ears. This was Zhao Zhen's ultimate power; he wanted to blast Gao Yi to death, shattering his beliefs along with him!
With this punch, Gao Yi's vision and perception were completely oblivious to everything else; there was only this one punch! It was a punch as powerful as the collapse of the heavens!
Gao Yi's spirit was boiling to the extreme. His special idealism was propelled to its peak under this will that was close to surpassing the will. However, when faced with Zhao Zhen's power that was truly capable of destroying peaks and uprooting mountains, he was still a step behind. And that step was like heaven and earth!

At that moment, Zhao Zhen's iron fist emitted a dazzling light, and then, as if blasting through a paper doll, it directly shattered Gao Yi's upper body.

Zhao Zhen didn't look at him again and turned to leave. Gao Yi died in battle, and the strong will that had kept Gao Yi from dying at the hands of the Yanzhou people was shattered. Along with him, the Sevenfold Path, which was originally only four or five years long and was basically a smooth road, was completely interrupted by Zhao Zhen.

“It’s over.” Zhao Zhen walked towards Yang Tuo and said indifferently.

Yang Tuo didn't say much. He activated the cell-level linkage to help Zhao Zhen repair the large number of broken cells, so as to ensure that Zhao Zhen could perform stably in the future.

"Who else is in Xuzhou next?" Yang Tuo asked after healed Zhao Zhen's injuries and tossed him a wild sugarcane.

"That's it. If Huang Tao hasn't shown up yet, then he's unlikely to come. As for the others, the most troublesome Gao Yi has been killed by me, so that matter is settled," Zhao Zhen said indifferently.

“You could actually say a few nice things,” Yang Tuo suddenly said.

“I can’t explain it. Everyone is alone. I joined the army back then to pass on the sins that others inflicted on me,” Zhao Zhen said coldly. “I was never a good person from the beginning. It’s just that this era is good.”

Yang Tuo was speechless. Zhao Zhen's answer was pure evil, but having experienced all of this from the beginning, Zhao Zhen really was after evil.

"It's just cannibalism, it's not like I can't eat people," Zhao Zhen said coldly. "I don't mind others seeking revenge. Putting aside whether I could disobey military orders back then, let me just say this: if I could disobey military orders, why would I? Killing those people and plundering their property is the rule! I've experienced this cruelty, so is there a problem with continuing this cruelty?"

For Zhao Zhen, ending the chain of hatred was something he couldn't do; that was something for saints and great figures. All he could do was continue along the chain of hatred, thinking, "Why should I suffer this kind of hardship while you don't?"

"You seem to be going a bit too far," Yang Tuo said helplessly.

“Since Gao Yi really wants to kill me, then I will definitely not be polite.” Zhao Zhen said frankly. “I have thought about everything I have done. I can accept admitting my mistakes and confessing my sins, but I cannot pay with my life. I will kill the person who made me do this, because this is the rule of the previous era. If you want to follow the rule of the previous era, then you must be prepared to be killed.”

"No, the person came to you for revenge, so how can it be based on the rules of the last era?" Yang Tuo said, somewhat speechless. He felt that his old brother Zhao was being a bit extreme today.

“Because the rules of this era are that the Grand Commandant bears this sin, I need to admit my mistakes and my sins, but I don’t need to pay with my life.” Zhao Zhen glanced at Yang Tuo. “To take the military orders I carried out as sins and then kill me is the rule of the previous era. Actually, I also liked the rules of the previous era because I also wanted to kill someone, but it’s meaningless in this era.”

Yang Tuo felt a chill in his heart, but he also understood Zhao Zhen's meaning. He knew how much sin he had committed and did not regret what he had done. If you want to take revenge in this name, then it's simple: kill me if you have the ability.

Zhao Zhen was able to overcome the test of will and ascend to the seventh level because, to put it bluntly, he had a clear understanding of himself. He was a bad seed, very pure, but this bad seed was the result of the crazy atmosphere of the previous era. The previous era did not give him the opportunity to be a good person.

But now, he has the chance to be a good person, so why should he give it up and atone for his sins? Screw you! Not a single veteran who has come before me, Zhao Zhen, can say that he doesn't have the blood of innocent people on his hands. It's just the pot calling the kettle black!

Since that's the case, why not use the bestiality of the last era to determine who is superior? We are all people who have experienced the last era and have accepted its customs. Now we are putting away our fangs, hiding our claws, and concealing our bestiality, just to avoid shattering this new era, which is as exquisite as porcelain!
What right or wrong, what good or evil? That's something only Lord Chen, standing in the heavens, is qualified to comment on. You and I are nothing more than beasts that Lord Chen brought out of hell, bound their ferocity, and clothed them in robes. Let's settle our differences and never see each other again!

"Gao Yi was able to come to me only because he has this power, and I was able to kill him only because of this power. Most ordinary people who have experienced massacres and lost their loved ones don't even have the chance to stand in front of 'me'!" At this moment, Zhao Zhen's coldness and complete lack of concealment were completely different from the sunshine he had shown before.

“We beasts shouldn’t be thinking about these things. Let the sages or great thieves in the heavens do the talking.” Zhao Zhen got up and walked in the direction he sensed, with Yang Tuo following closely behind.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xi sighed softly. Zhao Zhen, a professional soldier with malicious intent!

Damn, I see you guys are discussing the people's view of history and the hero's view of history. You guys should read more books. The people's view of history doesn't deny heroes, but rather emphasizes that heroes come from the people. Take Chen Xi as an example. The hero's view of history says that without Chen Xi, this prosperous era would not have been possible. But the people's view of history says that Chen Xi's existence made this prosperous era possible in this era. Even without Chen Xi, after going through twists and turns and trials, similar fruits would still have formed on this land thousands of years later.

To put it simply, the hero-centric view of history believes that the hero determines the era, while the people-centric view of history believes that the hero reduces the setbacks in the arrival of the era; without the hero, the path might be detours, but the destination would not be missed.