"Sir! If this man lives, we'll all die here!" The aide-de-camp dropped his own sidearm and, staring at his superior officer, began to explain.
Behind him, several officers and the nearby soldiers were also standing there in a daze, waiting for their immediate superior to say something.
"Alas..." The head artillery commander also knew that during such turbulent times, if they truly wanted to play the role of loyal subjects and valiant generals willing to die for their country, that would be fine, but what they feared was being both covetous of life and afraid of death while not wanting to be held accountable afterward.
He had given the order to fire the cannons earlier, intending that when it came time for retribution after the fact, those on the artillery platform above and below could have an explanation.
After all, we did fire the cannons. It's not that we didn't fight; it's just that we didn't dare to fight—there's a difference there.
