Cheng Xu stood before the more than six hundred captives, chuckling twice.
Those six hundred or so people trembled; they dared not resist, as the terrifying giant hand in the sky could strike down at any mont, leaving them with no courage to fight back.
Now they could only wait quietly for their fate…
Rebellion was a capital offense, punishable by execution along with their families; they knew their chance of survival was slim.
Their only hope might be being captured and turned into artisan households, but that was not much different from death—in fact, living might be worse than dying.
Cheng Xu had originally intended to say: “Now I’m sending you off to Gaojia Village for labor reform.”
Suddenly, it occurred to him—no, he was impersonating Captain Ghost at that mont; how could a “rebel band in Guyuan” handle matters of Gaojia Village? Better for him to slip away first instead.
After laughing weirdly twice, Cheng Xu turned around and shouted loudly to County Magistrate Liang Shixian, who had just erged from the city: “Magistrate Liang, I’ve done what I promised. Now I must return to Huanglong Mountain. This ss here belongs to you.”
Liang Shixian was still utterly dazed and hadn’t noticed the huge flaw of “The Deity erged, yet Captain Ghost showed no fear at all.” He gave Cheng Xu a deep bow: “Thank you, Captain Ghost, you’ve truly been a great help this ti. On behalf of Chengcheng County’s residents, I thank you. I’m a man of my word; I’ll definitely speak well for you in the court to help recover your back pay and restore your official title.”
Cheng Xu chuckled: “That’s fair enough, just don’t trap and kill .”
He waved to the militia: “Let’s go! We’re returning to Huanglong Mountain.”
Then, the militia made a splendid exit.
Liang Shixian stood dazedly before the over six hundred surrendered soldiers, his head aching slightly, thinking to himself: How should these people be dealt with? By the rules, they ought to be escorted to Xi’an and handed over to the Provincial Governor for punishnt, but I lack sufficient manpower for the escort. If Fang Wushang does it, he only has a hundred troops; guarding over six hundred from the border army? That was laughably risky! These troops were terrified now, but after a day or two, they’d recover their nerve; even unard, they could annihilate Fang Wushang’s hundred-so n later.
But… they’d already surrendered; I couldn’t just order them wiped out now, could I? The one in the sky… hadn’t killed them…
Thinking this, Liang Shixian couldn’t help but lift his head and gaze at the low cloud in the sky.
Clever as he was, he almost instantly linked the Deity with that low cloud.
While he was tangled in doubts, Mr. Wang and the mysterious woman in a bamboo hat walked over to him together.
Mr. Wang smiled: “County Lord, are you suffering from these six hundred captives giving you a headache?”
Liang Shixian: “Yes! Though we relied on divine aid to defeat the rebels, figuring out how to punish them—I’m really… well… a bit…”
Mr. Wang: “Do you recall those two thieves who stole stead buns?”
Liang Shixian obviously rembered; such a case didn’t even need recalling through a parade system to be clear: “What do you an, Mr. Wang?”
Mr. Wang smiled softly: “There’s no need to send them to the imperial court for judgnt; turn these six hundred plus into ‘labor offenders’ so they can atone for their sins through work.”
Liang Shixian: “But this is treason, warranting execution along with their families! How can sothing serious like that get resolved through labor reform?”
Mr. Wang sighed lightly: “Earlier, the Deity struck only the ground in front of them, not their heads. This made the Deity’s position obvious… They say Heaven values all living beings; the Deity ant that these border soldiers were re subordinates, constrained by circumstances beyond their control. Most of the bla for rebellion, looting, and slaughter lies with their leader, Captain Wolf, who has already been executed…”
Liang Shixian got it: “Heaven values all living beings—that phrase fits perfectly here.”
Mr. Wang went on: “County Lord, you likely lack enough hands to escort these rebels to Xi’an now. If you send soone to Xi’an requesting forces for escort, Provincial Governor Hu Tingyan might stir up so troublemaker.”
Liang Shixian mulled it over: That was true; Hu Tingyan was a notorious incompetent governor with poorly disciplined troops full of n like Li Ying. If the Provincial Governor dispatched soldiers to Chengcheng to collect them, those troops might go on a rampage in Chengcheng County and cause more trouble instead.
Mr. Wang said: “Act as if these people had already died in the battle just fought. Write to the Provincial Governor, attach Captain Wolf’s severed head, and report that all rebels were executed—this actually makes things easier for you.”
Liang Shixian smiled bitterly: “It’s clearly a lie, so why does it feel… like the more viable path?”
Mr. Wang sighed deeply: “Because… in these hard tis, living honestly brings more hardship than deception.”
Liang Shixian: “…”
Mr. Wang: “If County Lord finds them too burdenso to manage, hand these rebels over to Gaojia Village to deal with.”
Liang Shixian: “This… doesn’t that seem inappropriate?”
Mr. Wang pointed at the low cloud overhead: “The Deity will watch over them.”
Liang Shixian felt his spirits rushing with pride.
His focus returned to the Deity.
He raised his head, looked deeply at the low cloud in the sky, then clasped his fists and bowed deeply: “This humble official arrived at Chengcheng County over a year ago; ever since, I benefited from the Deity’s protection without realizing it. Only today did I learn of the secret assistance—I’m deeply embarrassed.”
Li Daoxuan smiled.
Gao Yiye leaned close to Mr. Wang’s ear and whispered a few sentences.
After that, Mr. Wang said to Liang Shixian: “The Deity says, no formalities are needed; you’re a fine official who cares deeply for the people. He wishes you to keep that approach going forward. The welfare of the common folk should top all priorities; the rest… can be tossed aside.”
Liang Shixian had always pursued that path; being affird by the Deity filled him with quiet joy.
Liang Shixian turned his attention toward Mr. Wang: “Then I’ll notify Patrol Officer Fang imdiately to have these surrendered soldiers escorted to Gaojia Village and handed over to your managent.”
Mr. Wang smiled: “Excellent; leave the next steps to us.”
Liang Shixian turned and headed toward the county office.
Li Daoxuan glanced around: Fang Wushang had arrived with his hundred-so troops to carry out the escort. From the county seat to Gaojia Village was just over thirty li—quite a short distance, manageable in half a day—but guarding over six hundred captives with barely a hundred n remained highly dangerous.
Fang Wushang’s n felt imnse pressure.
Li Daoxuan focused his vision on the group, monitoring the rebels closely along the route. Thankfully, they were thoroughly terrified and showed no signs of resisting at all; obediently escorted by Fang Wushang, they walked the over thirty li. Only as evening fell did Gaojia Village finally appear.
The enormous fortress and the wondrous railway train startled the captive rebels imnsely the mont they entered Gaojia Village.
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