"A thousand, two thousand of us will all be killed."
"The people at the top are not like us."
Li Guanyi looked at the irascible Western Regions samurai, knowing that Batur's rage and painful anger were not actually directed at him. Batur wanted to persuade this young merchant from the Central Plains, but the merchant simply polished the simple spear in his hand and said:
"We Central Plains people have an old saying."
"It's called, 'Are generals and ministers born destined?'"
"Were emperors and generals only passed down through bloodlines?"
Those words pierced Batur's heart like a sword. The rules of the Western Regions, like an invisible shackle, had bound every person for centuries. He roared angrily: "What do you know?! Don't we want to go?"
"But, what about the old and weak?"
