In the mountain stronghold's dungeon, Lin Hai saw a variety of torture instruments. Honestly, these instruments weren't particularly elaborate, mostly crudely made, many modified from weapons and farm tools, while others were simply crafted from wood. While they weren't as good as the standard farm tools found in government dungeons, they were more creative. For example, Zhang Chun meticulously explained to Lin Hai how to insert a meter-long wooden stick, like a corkscrew, through a person's vagina, and then how to nail that person to a pillar in the center of the village as a warning to others.

"Sir, my elder brother was nailed to death with this stick. He howled for three days and three nights. His son couldn't bear it anymore, so he hit him with the stick and helped him to die. Then the one nailed here was my fifteen-year-old nephew. I was too timid to help him." Zhang Chun could tell you how to use this stick, and even everything in it, when it was used, and on whom it was used. After all, compared to executing people secretly in the dungeon, the boss preferred to execute people in the middle of the city, so that his authority could be better demonstrated.

"What is your brother's crime?"

"My nephew was hungry, so he secretly killed a mountain rat. According to the rules of the village, every blade of grass and every tree belongs to the boss, so he had to pay for the mountain rat's life."

......

In the gathering hall of this mountain stronghold, Lu You told everyone what he had seen and heard.

"We just charged straight in. To be honest, they didn't even have a bow. They organized a group of people to throw rocks at the wall, but they couldn't throw them far. So we cut down a tree and broke down the door."

"We fired a volley of arrows, rushed in and hacked a few people to death, and they all surrendered. In total, we captured over 400 people, of whom about 50 were strong and armed. They were the ones who had been resisting. Then there were over 300 starving people. I guess we wanted them to block the door, but the supervisors behind them hacked a few of them to death. In the end, they had no strength, so after we broke down the door, the supervisors also surrendered."

"Then there should be some others?"

"There are twenty-one women locked up together. They are all very young. The youngest is about fourteen, and the oldest seems to be in her early twenties. They are usually tied up with ropes. Whoever feels the desire will just untie one and take him away. You can do whatever you want to them, and then tie him up and bring him back. On weekdays, these girls are responsible for cooking, washing clothes, etc. I asked around, and found out that there were more than seventy women at the peak. Later, some of them committed suicide because of their strong tempers, and some died because they could not bear the torture. The bandits robbed some of them and brought them back to replenish them. When we came, only these people were left. After knowing that we were government troops, several of them committed suicide. We couldn't keep a close eye on them, and they would commit suicide if we were not careful. Now we can only tie them up first and think of a way to deal with them. We wanted to ask the women among the refugees to help persuade them, but no one went. They said they were not clean."

"Can everyone in the village participate in adultery?"

"How could that be? It's just the boss and his gang of bandits. The rest are just serfs at best."

"There should be some other people. Who are they?"

"He's a vegetable servant who has been tortured and can't work. Just give him some food to keep him alive. It depends on the boss's appetite when he's ready to cook."

......

In the county jail, Lin Hai said to the head sergeant, "I'm a man of much experience. I've witnessed far more bloodshed than you have, but when it comes to senseless cruelty and pure evil, you truly surpass my imagination. I heard you used to be a small businessman. Are you also trying to say that you were originally a good person, and that the chaotic times forced you into this situation?"

Lin Hai spoke to the big boss, but the big boss's mouth was sewn tightly shut, so he probably couldn't answer. So Lin Hai continued, "Turbulent times can force people to rob, steal, and die, but only you can allow yourself to commit unrestrained evil. For you, I brought back something from your disgusting dungeon. I think you should like it. Oh, and you have a group of old friends. I miss you very much."

Lin Hai then took the twisted wooden stick from the jailer beside him and ordered, "Put it through him, then pin him to the board and send him to the room with those women."

After saying this, Lin Hai said to the big boss who was struggling desperately with his eyes wide open: "I respect the rules you set. If you are not dead in three days, I will let you go."

Thus, the rules for how prisoners should be dealt with were established. Simply put, bandits who had committed crimes but not involving human lives would be forced to work themselves to death in mines, factories, and farms without being informed of their sentences. Those who had committed crimes would be executed without exception, but the execution method was changed to hanging, considered a form of mercy. As for the likes of the "big bosses," they would generally be dealt with using their preferred method of punishment. Of course, if a big boss was useful at a specific time, such as when needed to pacify others, he would be pardoned for a period of time, but after his usefulness was exhausted, he would still be executed.

Everyone in Qinghe County expressed support for this practice, which was in great conflict with the laws of the Daliang Empire.