Ba’e was consumed by grief and rage, but he also knew that snatching the Grand General’s remains from the Jinyang Army would be nearly impossible.
He had never fought the Jinyang Army head-on, but he knew that it was the Jinyang Army who had seized Lin County from the Grand General.
He also knew that they had taken Xiangluo and Fuchuan in Donghu Commandery in a single night, and Dancheng County in one day.
With such achievements, how could he dare underestimate them?
He closed his eyes. “Return to Dongcheng County at once.”
Now was not the time to avenge the Grand General. He was more worried that the Jinyang Army would launch a surprise attack on Dongcheng County and seize the entirety of Ze’a Commandery.
Jiang Jin’s capture of Feng’an County had not been easy either. After all, the Grand General still had many loyal subordinates, and those men had fought back to the death.
By the time she had cleared out the entire city, evening had already arrived.
Even someone as powerful as Jiang Jin felt a trace of exhaustion.
Dong Si, who had just come from the saltworks, looked at her with concern. “My lord, you’ve worked hard.”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “How are things at the saltworks?”
Dong Si sighed. “There isn’t a single person there. The people from the saltworks were probably deceived by the aristocratic families into coming into the city to fight.”
Jiang Jin rubbed her forehead. “The saltworks must resume production as soon as possible. Ask the people in the city—anyone who used to work at the saltworks may return. If we still don’t have enough workers, recruit more.”
Dong Si nodded. “Understood. I’ll handle it.”
Jiang Jin turned to Xie Nanxiao. “Go to the docks at once and make sure the night watch is properly arranged.”
There was not much grain left in Ze’a Commandery, and she planned to leave all the grain on the ships in Feng’an County.
However, it was already late. They would have to wait until tomorrow to transport it into the city.
Xie Nanxiao was still caught up in the excitement. “Should we move the money and goods to Feng’an County as well, or transport them back to Gefeng?”
Their territory had expanded, giving them more places to choose from.
Jiang Jin thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Put them in Xiangluo County. We’ll take them back tomorrow.”
Gefeng was still too far from the coast. Moving such a large quantity of money and goods would be inconvenient.
Xie Nanxiao nodded. “Yes, my lord!”
The civil officials entered the city just as Xie Nanxiao was leaving it. He could not help sighing with emotion. “I’ve only ever seen one person lead civil officials in an assault on a city—our lord.”
Zhu Xiaoliu chuckled. “Exactly. Our lord always has everything under control.”
Xie Nanxiao burst out laughing. “You’re using idioms now? Not bad—you’ve been studying!”
Zhu Xiaoliu scratched his head. “Heh, I had to study. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how to write my own name, much less call roll.”
He was now a platoon leader, in charge of several dozen men.
Xie Nanxiao consoled him, “Simplified characters are easy enough to learn. You have no idea how complicated the old writing system was. Ah, it’s a long story. Things are much better now. If you don’t know how to pronounce a character, you can even look it up in a dictionary.”
He sincerely thought pinyin was especially useful. Otherwise, even if one had a dictionary, one still would not know how to pronounce the character after looking it up.
The county government office in Feng’an County remained lit almost the entire night, and the city was brightly illuminated as well.
Liu Mi led people in treating the wounded. Among them were not only soldiers of the Jinyang Army, but also soldiers from the aristocratic families and ordinary residents of the city.
Apart from those guarding the city, all the soldiers of the Jinyang Army were handling the corpses and cleaning the streets.
Zhao Yu’s expression was numb as she held a cloth and repeatedly wiped Sheng He’s body.
Sheng He’s corpse had been found at the mouth of that alley. In addition to the arrow wounds, he had fourteen cuts across his body. Even at the moment of his death, he had still been gripping his sword tightly.
Beside him lay the bodies of several other young men from the aristocratic families, along with more than a dozen Quzhao soldiers.
It was clear that he had fought until the very end. He had neither begged for mercy nor surrendered, and he had not disgraced the integrity of a military man.
The other young men from the aristocratic families had done the same.
Plop.
A tear fell onto Sheng He’s paper-white, stiff face.
Zhao Yu pressed her lips together, refusing to let herself cry aloud, but she could not hold back her tears.
She had watched this face from childhood, seeing him grow from a boy into a young man. Together, they had walked through the years.
She had believed they would grow old side by side. She had never imagined that, in the blink of an eye, they would be separated by life and death.
This man, who had promised to protect her for the rest of his life, had ultimately gone on ahead of her.
Sometimes, she hated him for it. He had clearly known what the family head was like, yet he had still offered all his loyalty without reservation, even though he ultimately became the one abandoned.
He had said that he was a member of the Sheng family. He had enjoyed everything the Sheng family had given him, so it was only right that he remain loyal to the Sheng family and serve it.
Zhao Yu rested her head against Sheng He’s forehead, feeling the stiffness and icy coldness of his body. The touch held no warmth at all, and she could not help letting out a low whimper, like a trapped beast wounded to the depths of its heart.
The next day was clear and sunny. The sunlight shone upon the bloodstained city walls, giving them a faint golden sheen.
Jiang Jin and Yao Ji stood atop the city gate tower, watching Hua Ruo and Shuangjiang depart with several hundred Jinyang soldiers.
There were three counties along the coast between Ze’a Commandery and Daqing Commandery. Tao County and Zhuangchang County had already been taken.
Now only Yushui County remained. Once Yushui County fell, the Jinyang Army and the Daqing Army would be fully connected, which would greatly benefit their cooperation.
However, her forces were too few. Thus, the Daqing Army would still serve as the main force this time, while the Jinyang Army would provide support as they worked together.
Just then, Dong Si hurried up the tower. “My lord, Lady Zhao… passed away last night.”
Jiang Jin frowned. “Passed away?”
Dong Si sighed. “She took the poison she had on her.”
Poison was not easy to obtain, but noble aristocratic families always had their methods. In such a chaotic age, it was perfectly normal for them to carry poison on their persons.
Jiang Jin fell silent. Perhaps when Zhao Yu had entrusted her child to someone else, she had already decided to follow Sheng He in death.
Dong Si shook his head. “Love truly harms people.”
Yao Ji frowned. “If it harms people, then it is best not to touch it.”
Dong Si thought about it and found that it made perfect sense. “My lord, when you want male favorites, I’ll choose a few handsome ones for you. But you mustn’t fall in love with them. Men are merely playthings.”
Jiang Jin: “…”
Yao Ji, who was himself a man: “…”
He discreetly glanced at Dong Si’s lower body. Well… had Lord Dong ever considered that he had once been a man too?
Er, perhaps now he could still be considered one?
Dong Si did not think there was anything wrong with what he had said and changed the subject without the slightest concern. “My lord, does Feng’an County need to be rebuilt as well?”
Jiang Jin shook her head. “The damage here isn’t too severe, and most of the houses are occupied. Repair whatever can be repaired. Only tear down and rebuild those that cannot be salvaged.”
Feng’an County had previously been under the control of the aristocratic families. The Quzhao forces had entered the city but had not yet had time to cause much destruction before they arrived.
Dong Si smiled. “Speaking of which, most of the land in the city belongs to the aristocratic families. Should we charge the common people rent as they did?”
Jiang Jin raised an eyebrow. “The aristocratic families really are wealthy.”
Dong Si sighed. “They are, especially when it comes to those shops and private residences. They all belong to the aristocratic families, and now they belong to you.”
Jiang Jin smiled faintly. “Then repair them. Install heated brick beds wherever possible. Don’t force it where they cannot be installed.”
As though remembering something, Dong Si asked, “My lord, are we building an industrial district in the city?”
Jiang Jin nodded with a smile. “We are, but not inside the city. Once we take the entirety of Ze’a Commandery, we’ll choose a plot of land and build an industrial park separately.”
Chongzhou, Wenxia City.
Beneath several massive pillars along Central Street, long iron chains bound more than a dozen gaunt men.
Some lay on the ground while others sat amid filth. Their clothes were tattered, filthy, and barely covered their bodies. Their hair was matted, and grime coated them from head to toe, making it impossible to see what they had originally looked like.
Besides these dozen or so living men, more than a dozen skeletons were still chained to the pillars. They were the remains of companions who had died from wounds, illness, or hunger.
Once, they had fought together, trained together, laughed together, and shared food and drink.
Then they could only watch helplessly as the others died, began to stink, and slowly rotted under the scorching sun and biting wind until nothing remained but piles of bones.
A thin, frail woman glanced cautiously from side to side. Only after making sure there were no guards nearby did she creep over and place a dark, lumpy bundle of food—its contents impossible to identify—on the ground in front of a man.
The man lifted his eyes, which were filled with savage fury and icy indifference. “Get lost!”
