Su Jing and Zuo Xun exchanged a glance, smiled bitterly, and closed their eyes, awaiting death.

A flicker of excitement flashed across Dong Yue's eyes.

Hmph, just two poor scholars, thinking they can fight him? They're dreaming.

But the next second, the icy sword did not strike Su Jing and the other man as he expected; instead, it swung fiercely toward his neck.

Dong Yue's pupils contracted as he tried to dodge, but the knife was too fast. In the blink of an eye, he felt a chill on his neck, and blood gushed out with a "glug glug".

"You, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he crashed to the ground with a thud.

Luo Xi didn't even glance at Dong Yue, who was still bleeding profusely. He disdainfully tossed the broadsword in his hand and said, "Qi Lei, listen to my command: spare no one among the family heads present."

With a voice so calm it could hardly be calm, she issued a command that chilled all the clan leaders to the bone.

"Rosie, you can't do this! We're innocent!" they cried out in a desperate last stand.

But the only response they received was a single, emotionless word from Luo Xi: "Kill!"

As this word fell, the Crimson Soul Army, like a scythe reaping lives, ended many lives with each rise and fall.

Before long, there wasn't a single living person left on that side.

"Reporting to the chief, I have carried out your orders and executed all the family heads on the spot." Qi Lei respectfully walked over to report.

"Good, not bad." Luo Xi took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the precious sword in his hand until there was no blood left on it before saying, "Hang their corpses at the city gate and expose them to the sun for three days and three nights as a warning to others!"

"I'd like to see who dares to outwardly comply while inwardly defying me."

"Yes, boss."

Beside Dong Yue's body, the county lieutenant knelt trembling, a stream of foul-smelling water trickling from his hem.

"Boss, spare me! Boss, spare me! The grain was embezzled by Dong Yue, and the goods are all hidden in his private treasury. This plan was also carried out by him according to his usual practice. It has nothing to do with me. Please forgive me this time."

He knelt on the ground, snot streaming down his face, and cried his heart out.

Ugh, that's disgusting!

After suppressing his nausea, Loxi asked for the location of the private vault and then winked at a Crimson Soul soldier next to him.

The Crimson Soul Army understood immediately, and amidst the county magistrate's howls, they walked over and killed the man with a single slash.

Without the taunting howl of the county magistrate, the whole world suddenly became incredibly quiet. The onlookers all kept their heads down, and no one dared to look at Luo Xi.

He must have been quite frightened by her ruthless methods just now.

Luo Xi took the saber and walked to the front, raising his voice: "From today onwards, Su Jing will serve as the magistrate of Cangfeng County, and Zuo Xun will serve as the county magistrate. All affairs of Cangfeng County will be managed and controlled by them. Anyone who dares to disobey will suffer the same fate as Dong Zhuo."

As she spoke, she plunged the horse-slaying sword in her hand into the ground with a clang.

Rosie's sudden movement startled everyone around her.

She smiled with satisfaction and continued, "Su Jing, after the grain that Dong Yue embezzled is brought back, you will be responsible for distributing it to the people. Oh, and give each person an extra half a bushel of wheat."

Luo Xi speculated that the private coffers of corrupt officials like Dong Yue probably contained far more than just a little bit of grain and treasure.

"Also, spring will be here soon. Remember to lead everyone to prepare the fields. After a while, someone will come and give you wheat seeds for free. The tax rate is the same as in other places, three out of ten. No other taxes or fees may be levied under any other name."

Hearing his name again, Su Jing finally snapped out of his daze. He immediately knelt before Luo Xi, his eyes red, and said, "Don't worry, Chief, this humble official... will certainly not let you down."

At this moment, the people not far away also came back to their senses from the shock, and their eyes were instantly filled with starlight with joy.

So, they... now have a way to survive?

They wouldn't be afraid of ten or eight more bandit leaders like the Big Boss.

"Long live the Chief! Long live Chaoyang Manor!"

Luo Xi glanced at the densely packed crowd of kneeling people in front of him, leaving only a junior officer with two hundred Crimson Soul Army soldiers to help Su Jing stabilize the situation, before leaving with Qi Lei and Wei Qing.

Only after Luo Xi and the others could no longer be seen did Su Jing slowly stand up: "Boss, you are indeed different from the others."

"I thought we were definitely going to die this time."

“Yes.” Zuo Xun still looked in the direction Luo Xi left with a face full of admiration: “Only by following a master like the Boss can we poor kids have a chance to realize our ambitions.”

Su Jing revealed the first genuine smile in his life: "Therefore, we must do our job well and never let down the boss's trust."

The events in Cangfeng County spread throughout the entire Nanyue Prefecture within a few days, and those who were planning to make trouble immediately withdrew their hands.

Money and food may be tempting, but one's own life is more important.

This woman, Rosie, is a ruthless character who doesn't play by the rules; they can't afford to mess with her.

Immediately, after the change of leadership, Nanyue County, which should have been in chaos for a while before returning to calm, returned to normal within just a few days, and even seemed more vibrant than under the rule of Tianqi.

In particular, ordinary people were filled with hope for the future again in an instant.

Compared to the jubilation of the people, the atmosphere in the capital of Nanyue County was suffocatingly oppressive.

Originally, Du Hong woke up when Luo Xi captured Shihua County, but the next moment, he heard the news that the magistrate of Shihua County and a group of officials had abandoned the city and fled. He was so angry that he reopened his wound.

Now, he has finally managed to suppress the hatred in his heart and heal his wounds, but the entire Nanyue County is no longer under his control.

"Men, immediately reorganize the troops! I'm going to fight back!" Du Hong slammed his fist on the table in the study and said through gritted teeth.

His face, already gaunt from his injuries, looked even more ferocious.

The chief clerk at the lower end hesitated for a moment, then carefully stood up: "Sir, I'm afraid we won't be able to fight back in the short term."

He didn't say anything more, because he knew that the Prefect understood.

Du Hong understands; how could he not understand?

"How many soldiers do we... still have?" he asked with difficulty.

On the other side of the seat, Liu Wei, whose face was still very pale, sighed deeply: "Only... 30,000, and there are many wounded."

This was only because many of the scattered soldiers managed to return; otherwise, there would probably have been even fewer.

"Haha, thirty thousand, what a fine thirty thousand!" Du Hong laughed until tears streamed down his face.

Back when he first arrived in Tongning County, he had a full 100,000 troops under his command—100,000!

In just one battle, they lost 70% of their strength.

"Red Soul Army, Luo Xi, I, Du Hong, am sworn enemies with you!" Du Hong slammed his hand on the table with a "bang".

If it weren't for these villains plotting against him, he wouldn't have lost so badly.