After Cheng Zixiao issued the command, he faced a challenge from a confidant.
The man looked at Cheng Zixiao, feeling for the first time that something about General An Ke seemed off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was precisely. Gazing at the desolate Fengcheng, he said to Cheng Zixiao, "General, the city is deserted, what's the point of us guarding it?"
Cheng Zixiao's face hardened as he rebuked, "Our military provisions come from the taxes of the common people every year. Now that the common folks are suffering, how can we stand by and do nothing? Wouldn't that make us scoundrels? We stay here, naturally, to help the people of Fengcheng who are affected by the disaster."
The man was taken aback.
