A soldier asked curiously, “What’s going on? Where did these Han Chinese come from?”
The scout glanced at him. Recognizing him as one of Ji Bo’s men, he politely explained, “There have been several incidents lately involving our soldiers being killed, haven’t there? While we were patrolling outside, we happened to come across this group being pursued and attacked by those bandits.”
“Unfortunately, the bandits turned around and fled when they saw us. So I brought this group back with me to ask them about the bandits.”
The soldier looked at the group of burly, bandit-like Han Chinese behind him. Quite a few of them were injured, and he could not help frowning. “Are you mountain bandits?”
Ye Shang clutched his still-bleeding arm and cast him a sidelong glance. “So what if we are?”
The soldier sneered. “You dare act so arrogantly on our territory?”
Ye Shang exuded the fierce air of a bandit. “It wasn’t us who wanted to enter the city. Your people were the ones who asked us to come in.”
He knew very well that acting timid and cowardly like a dog would neither fit the image of mountain bandits nor earn them a place in Ji Bo’s ranks.
Only fierce bandits with a certain degree of ability, who could demonstrate their value, might be recruited by Ji Bo’s army.
Of course, they could not behave too lawlessly, either. If Ji Bo’s army felt they were impossible to control, they would not keep them around.
In short, if they misjudged the situation even slightly, their entire group could be wiped out.
Even if they managed to strike the perfect balance, Ji Bo might still kill them outright if he happened to be in a bad mood.
That was the nature of a hidden gambit: they were in the wolves’ den, facing death at any moment.
Seeing the fearless, hardened-bandit look on Ye Shang’s face, the soldier said coldly, “You’ve got some backbone.”
He then looked toward the scout. “You saw those bandits yourselves. Are they really that formidable?”
The scout smiled helplessly. “We did. They’re truly impressive—every one of them is fierce. But this group of mountain bandits isn’t weak, either. I saw them injure several of those bandits. They probably won’t be able to come out and cause trouble again for a while.”
While they were talking, Chu Qing clenched his teeth hard to keep his expression from changing too much. He had actually spotted someone familiar among the mountain bandits!
Xin Bai kept his head lowered, doing his best to make himself inconspicuous. He had never expected to see the Young General the moment he entered the city—and he was truly still alive!
Although the man’s face was covered in grime and he had grown so thin that he was almost unrecognizable, Xin Bai still recognized him.
He desperately suppressed his emotions, afraid that he might accidentally reveal them.
The soldier, however, had sharp eyes and noticed that something was wrong. “You—lift your head.”
Ye Shang’s heart tightened, but his expression remained calm as he turned around. “What’s wrong with you? You’re a grown man. It’s only a little blood—why are you pulling such a long face?”
Xin Bai reacted quickly. He raised his head, looking somewhat sheepish. “It… it still hurts a little.”
“I told you we should treat it first, but they insisted on dragging me to Wenxia City,” he muttered unhappily.
Fortunately, there was a slash across his shoulder, which gave him a convenient excuse.
Only then did the soldier’s suspicions ease.
The scout smiled and took his leave. “Our superiors are waiting to question them, so we’ll be on our way.”
The soldier nodded. “Go on, then.”
Before leaving, Ye Shang cast Chu Qing a subtle glance.
The sun was blazing overhead, and the soldier had lost any desire to harass them. He turned and walked away.
“Just now… was that…” someone asked after a long while, his voice trembling.
“Shh.” A hoarse voice sounded.
He picked up a mantou from the ground, tore it in half, and handed one piece to Chu Qing.
Yet his own hand was trembling slightly.
“That traitor, the Young Marquis—bah! What kind of Young Marquis is he?” As usual, he cursed Wei Tai, hurling the most vicious and humiliating insults at him.
But as he chewed, he found himself unable to swallow. His throat felt tight, as though something were stuck there.
In this city, so many people were struggling simply to survive. And they had allowed the two of them to stay alive as well.
Could it be that their hope had finally arrived?!
But was there really hope? Chu Qing wondered uncertainly. His eyes held confusion and worry, and he desperately wanted to know what was going on.
He closed his eyes briefly and forced down his many thoughts, leaving only indifference on his face.
By the afternoon, Jiang Jin had obtained statistics on the city’s civilians, as well as the soldiers belonging to the various aristocratic families.
There were only a little over thirty thousand civilians left in the city. To think that an entire commandery had been reduced to so few people—Jiang Jin felt a deep ache in her heart.
As for the soldiers, only a little over six thousand remained.
What surprised her was that most of these aristocratic soldiers were willing to join the Jin-yang Army and become her soldiers.
Yao Ji explained, “They saw us fight yesterday and learned how strong we are. It’s only natural that they want to join.”
Admiring the strong was human nature, especially in a chaotic age.
The Jin-yang Army’s street fighting yesterday had saved countless soldiers and civilians.
After witnessing the Jin-yang Army’s combat strength and equipment, it was not only the aristocratic soldiers who wanted to enlist. Quite a few civilians now wanted to join the army as well.
Moreover, thanks to the Jin-yang Army’s deliberate publicity, everyone knew that its treatment was excellent. Not to mention clothing and equipment, simply being guaranteed enough food was sufficient to attract people.
“Do we want all of them?” Yao Ji asked.
Jiang Jin did not hesitate. “Yes. Break them up and distribute them among our units.”
It would be foolish not to accept them. Soldiers with a foundation were much faster to train than complete recruits.
She believed that, after receiving the Jin-yang Army’s systematic education and training, winning their loyalty would only be a matter of time.
Yao Ji had clearly anticipated her decision as well. With a smile, he asked, “How many more soldiers are you planning to recruit from among the civilians?”
Jiang Jin thought for a moment. “Two to three thousand.”
Yao Ji nodded in agreement. Then, remembering something, he asked, “What should we do about burying the aristocratic soldiers and civilians who died?”
Soldiers who died serving in the Jin-yang Army were to be buried in the Gorfeng Martyrs’ Cemetery. Their remains had already been transported away by ship that day.
Jiang Jin pondered for a moment. “Those with families who claim them can be taken home and handled by their relatives. For those no one claims, choose a hillside and erect a gravestone for each of them.”
It would be a massive undertaking. But these people had protected the city, whether they had done so willingly or under duress. They deserved respect in death.
Fortunately, there were now plenty of civilians and aristocratic soldiers who could help with the work.
Yao Ji hesitated before asking, “Does that include Sheng He and the other scions of the aristocratic families?”
Jiang Jin nodded. “Yes. As for Sheng He and his wife, bury them together.”
Remembering something, Dong Si asked, “There must also be civilians from Ze’a Commandery who escaped, right?”
Yao Ji was clearly already familiar with the situation. “Some of the farmers living in the villages outside the city fled when they realized something was wrong. Others hid in the mountains.”
“However, there aren’t many of them. Most people trusted the aristocratic families and entered the city. And the result…”
“Once things here are settled, we can travel around the surrounding areas. If there are civilians still living outside, we can bring them back,” Jiang Jin said helplessly.
Apart from Feng’an County, all the other counties in Ze’a Commandery were now under Qu Zhao’s control. The civilians living outside were not safe.
“We also need to get the workshops in the city running as soon as possible. The civilians can’t remain idle,” she added.
Work relief was the best way to support the civilians. But since Feng’an City was not undertaking any major construction projects, there was no work for them to do.
Without work, families lacking savings or a solid foundation would have nothing to eat.
She could not simply support all these civilians indefinitely, providing them with food and lodging for free. The best solution was to give them work and wages, allowing them to buy the necessities of life with their earnings.
Yao Ji nodded. Then, recalling Qu Zhao’s casualties, his mood brightened. “This time, we eliminated Qu Zhao’s soldiers and found more than thirty thousand bodies.”
These corpses certainly weren’t all killed by the Jinyang army; some were casualties from Qu Zhao’s previous attack as well.
Dong Si grinned. “All right. Heh, my lord, what should we do with that Yu fellow?”
Jiang Jin thought for a moment. “Send word to the Grand Chanyu of Qu Zhao and have him bring money to ransom him.”
