Commoners looked toward the “aggressive” Jinyang Army, then at the Ji soldiers who had ceased their actions. After hesitating for a moment, they still followed the Jinyang soldiers’ instructions and gathered there.
Several soldiers stepped forward to help the beaten girl to her feet.
The girl was terrified. “Y-you people… Who are you? Don’t kill my father!”
The soldiers felt a pang in their hearts. In gentle voices, they reassured her, “We are the Jinyang Army, the army of the Han people. Your father is injured, and we need to examine him.”
The girl hesitated, still refusing to let go as she threw herself over her father’s body.
“You’re injured too. Let me put some medicine on it.” A female soldier took the girl’s hand and spoke softly.
The girl had never seen officers and soldiers treat anyone so gently. Her nervous fear eased somewhat. “R-really? You won’t kill my father?”
The female soldier nodded. “Really.”
As she spoke, she could not help stroking the girl’s dry, sparse hair. What a filial child.
After hesitating for a moment, the girl got to her feet and made room.
A soldier held a finger beneath the man’s nose. “He’s still alive. Carry him beneath that tree.”
Several soldiers worked together to carry the man to the shade of a nearby tree, where they began tending to his wounds.
The female soldier took the girl’s hand. “They’re treating your father’s injuries. Come with me. Your wounds need tending too.”
The Ji soldiers looked at one another, utterly bewildered by what was happening. Every one of them turned to Rong Hei.
They had been stationed outside, overseeing the Han slaves as they gathered grain, and had not yet received any order to withdraw.
The squad leader lowered his voice. “General, what exactly is going on?”
Rong Hei’s face was so dark it seemed ink might drip from it. “Shangjing Commandery belongs to the Jinyang Army now. We’re handing it over.”
All the Ji soldiers were stunned. In unison, they cried out, “What?”
The squad leader grew frantic. “General, what—what is this all about?”
Rong Hei sighed helplessly. “Something happened in Wenxia City. I’ll explain the details later. All you need to know is that this is a decision from above. Just obey.”
“Something happened in Wenxia City?” The squad leader’s eyes widened.
Aside from the people at the upper levels, none of the low-ranking personnel dispatched across the region to collect grain knew anything about what had happened in Wenxia City.
Rong Hei swept his gaze over the crowd. “Shangjing Commandery now belongs to the Jinyang Army. We’ll finish harvesting the grain as quickly as possible, then leave Shangjing Commandery for Shouci Commandery.”
While they were speaking, all the commoners gathered around. This appeared to be a large village, with more than a thousand Han civilians.
Yun Ce’s voice rang out clearly. “We are the Jinyang Army, the army of the Han people. Shangjing Commandery has been taken by my lord, and you now belong to my lord as well. You are my lord’s people.”
“Remember this: you are no longer slaves of the Ji people. You are civilians—the people of my lord—and you are under my lord’s protection.”
“From this moment onward, if any Ji person wants you to work, they must pay you. The rate is ten copper coins a day or five jin of grain.”
The confusion and fear on the villagers’ faces turned into stunned disbelief. For a time, they had no idea how to react.
At last, an old man asked in a trembling voice, “Is—is what you say true? Do we belong to the Han people again?”
At that moment, their concern was not even the amount of grain they would receive each day. What mattered more was who they belonged to.
Yun Ce nodded. “That is correct.”
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Then a soft sob broke the silence. “W-we’re finally Han people again.”
Her weeping prompted more people to begin sniffling and sobbing, and a sorrowful atmosphere spread through the crowd.
For so long, they had been like abandoned children, deprived of their country’s protection. In the past, they had not even dared to cry openly.
They were clearly living on their own people’s land, yet they were merely slaves of the Ji people—beings who could be beaten or killed at will.
Yun Ce’s heart ached as well. “Yes. You have returned. My lord will protect you.”
The old man wiped the corners of his eyes and asked solemnly, “May I ask who the Jinyang Army serves?”
Yun Ce’s expression turned grave. “My liege is the sixth daughter of Emperor Yan, Her Highness Princess Jinyang.”
Just then, the female soldier hurried over. “The two of them are rather seriously injured. Fortunately, their lives are not in danger, but they’ll need some time to recover.”
Yun Ce frowned and looked toward Rong Hei. “General Rong, how do you intend to resolve this?”
Rong Hei snorted coldly. “Resolve what?”
Yun Ce nearly laughed in anger. “Since yesterday, these commoners have been my lord’s people. Yet your Ji soldiers beat and killed them at will. Surely you owe us an explanation.”
Rong Hei clenched his teeth. “Those who slack off deserve to be beaten. Besides, it was only a few lashes.”
Yun Ce had no desire to argue with him. He went straight to the solution. “Either you return as many lashes as your soldier inflicted on my Han people, or you pay compensation!”
Rong Hei was furious. “Don’t push things too far!”
Yun Ce shook his head. “In my lord’s territory, no one is allowed to bully our people!”
He turned his cold gaze toward the Ji soldier who had struck the civilians. “Therefore, you must pay the appropriate price.”
The soldier flinched beneath his stare and instinctively took a step back. Realizing that he had shown weakness, he forcibly steadied himself.
The Jinyang soldiers gradually closed in, their repeating crossbows in hand and their fingers resting on the triggers, waiting only for the order to fire.
The atmosphere between the two sides became taut in an instant.
The commoners were so frightened that they fell silent, leaving the scene utterly quiet.
The injured man had regained consciousness. He, too, was now so terrified that he did not know what to do. Yet beneath his fear, an aching warmth welled up inside him.
The Jinyang Army was standing up for him?
Rong Hei watched the Jinyang soldiers refuse to yield, clearly prepared to fight. The veins on his forehead throbbed. At last, grinding his back teeth, he asked, “How much compensation do you want?”
Yun Ce held up one finger. “Twenty dan of grain.”
Rong Hei roared, “Don’t go too far!”
Yun Ce sneered. “I’m asking for this much only because everyone is still maintaining a degree of harmony. Otherwise, your soldier would have to die for abusing my Han people!”
“Twenty dan of grain in exchange for your soldier’s life is a perfectly reasonable price.”
Rong Hei was so enraged that his hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his saber. In times like these, several coarse-grain steamed buns could buy a Han slave, and this man actually had the nerve to call twenty dan reasonable?
Yun Ce paid no attention to his attitude. His voice turned cold and severe. “If you refuse to provide the grain, that’s fine. I’ll return every lash he inflicted. Whether he lives or dies will be up to fate!”
Rong Hei felt as though his heart, liver, and lungs were all aching. It was clear now: asking for grain was merely an excuse. What Yun Ce truly wanted was his soldier’s life.
It took quite some time for him to calm himself. “Twenty dan is too much. You should know that my Ji Army isn’t afraid of a fight. It’s your Jinyang Army that is despicable.”
Yun Ce actually laughed. His tone was mocking. “Are you referring to my liege’s night raid on Wenxia City, where she captured your Grand Chanyu?”
“You!” Rong Hei’s pupils contracted. He had never expected this young officer to expose the Ji people’s most shameful humiliation in front of so many people.
The crowd erupted in an uproar. Not only were the Han commoners shocked—even the Ji soldiers had known nothing about this.
Yun Ce curled the corner of his mouth. “My liege is both wise and courageous. The Jinyang Army is invincible. We not only captured your Ji Grand Chanyu, but also seized more than a hundred of your civil and military officials, killed six of your great generals, and won seven out of seven single combats.”
His voice rose with excitement. He could only regret that he had not been able to take part in it himself. “This is the realm my lord carved out with her own blade, one strike at a time.”
He looked toward Rong Hei and the Ji soldiers. “In my lord’s territory, you will obey my lord’s will. These are the rules my lord established with your blood.”
His impassioned speech stirred the people deeply. Only then did they realize that the princess was so brave and astute, and that the Jinyang Army under her command was truly unstoppable.
They unconsciously straightened their backs, all eyes turning toward the Jijun soldiers.
For the first time, they realized that these Jijun soldiers—who could decide their fate, even their lives, on a whim—were themselves no more than targets to be annihilated in the hands of the Jinyang Army.
