**Peng Longteng and the logic of irregular warfare** Peng Longteng’s behavior—sacking a town to pay her troops—draws on a grim historical reality in pre-modern Chinese armies: *cannon fodder soldiers* (贼配军, zéi pèi jūn) were often convicts conscripted into the army, treated as disposable. When pay was withheld, mutiny was common. A general who “borrowed” from civilians wasn’t acting out of cruelty alone, but out of cold pragmatism: keep the troops fed or be killed by your own men. Her line “General in the field may refuse orders from the capital” (将在外命有所不受) is a classic Chinese military adage, often invoked by warlords to justify independent action. Note how she also uses a fabricated “rebellion” pretext—this mirrors real historical justifications for looting: if you call the town rebels, their property becomes legitimate spoils of war.
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Definition
**Peng Longteng and the logic of irregular warfare** Peng Longteng’s behavior—sacking a town to pay her troops—draws on a grim historical reality in pre-modern Chinese armies: *cannon fodder soldiers* (贼配军, zéi pèi jūn) were often convicts conscripted into the army, treated as disposable. When pay was withheld, mutiny was common. A general who “borrowed” from civilians wasn’t acting out of cruelty alone, but out of cold pragmatism: keep the troops fed or be killed by your own men. Her line “General in the field may refuse orders from the capital” (将在外命有所不受) is a classic Chinese military adage, often invoked by warlords to justify independent action. Note how she also uses a fabricated “rebellion” pretext—this mirrors real historical justifications for looting: if you call the town rebels, their property becomes legitimate spoils of war.
Story context
Two worlds, two fronts. While the monster Peng Longteng calmly justifies a massacre of thousands to her horrified supervisor, Li Huowang is in a stone forest, training a spectral projection ability that could give him an edge—if survival didn’t hinge on a dwindling food supply. Chapter 201 is a masterful juxtaposition of political terror and quiet desperation. On one side, a general who treats human life as bargaining chips; on the other, a fugitive refining his only trick while his companions weigh the difference between snake sashimi and starvation. The title “Both Sides” isn’t just about the two camps—it’s about the two kinds of horror this novel serves: the deafening roar of a tyrant’s rampage and the pin-drop anxiety of running out of rations.
Why it matters
Chapter 201 is a lesson in how Dao Gui Yi Xian balances its horror with grounded stakes. Peng Longteng’s scene is operatic in its violence and dialogue—she’s a mad war machine, but her reasoning is terrifyingly sound. Watch how Cao Hai’s fussy, almost effeminate manner contrasts with her brutal directness. Then the scene cuts to Li Huowang, practicing a ghost trick while his friends eat raw snake and worry about dinner. The tonal whiplash is intentional: the macro threat (a murderous general hunting him) and the micro crisis (running out of food) are both real, and both require different kinds of cleverness to survive.
Quick facts
Source novel
Dao Gui Yi Xian
First appearance
Both Sides
Chapter references
1
Type hints
Dao Gui Yi Xian, Li Huowang, Peng Longteng
Guide tags
political horror, survival, ability training
Appears in chapters
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