Attack Tongxian.

Surprisingly easy.

In order to receive Tao Feng, who was passing through the area, Ma Chongshang, the magistrate of Tongxian County, had plundered a great deal of the people's wealth.

The people, already on the verge of life and death, directly rebelled.

When the troops from Shenxi arrived, there were hardly any people to be seen in the towns and villages along the way.

We arrived directly outside the county town, where the town was already surrounded by layers upon layers of local people.

Not only were civilians outside the county town, but some civilians had already stormed into the county town, causing chaos.

Shenxi immediately dispatched Dou Yong to persuade them, saying that they had come to attack Tongxian and to save the people from suffering.

Many locals had long heard of Bian'ai County.

I am interested in going to Bian'ai County. On the one hand, I am reluctant to leave my hometown and will not leave unless absolutely necessary. On the other hand, Bian'ai County did not previously border Tongxian County.

Because Chenxi occupies two townships in Juxian County, a small part of Tongxian County is connected to Bian'ai County.

During the rectification period in the two townships of Keju County, outsiders were not allowed to come.

Therefore, even people from Tongxian County who want to go to Bian'ai County have to take a long detour.

Most people believed it immediately when they heard that he was a subordinate of Chen Xi from Bian'ai County.

Nowadays, everyone in this area knows that Bian'ai County is the best county, where people have enough to eat and drink, and clothes to wear.

These local people not only did not hinder the advance of the troops in Shenxi, but on the contrary, they helped the troops clear the way.

Of course, there were also some who truly wanted to rebel. These people not only wanted to attack Tongxian County, but also refused to submit to the control of Chenxi.

Chenxi didn't tolerate these people; he went straight for the fight, continuing until they were either subdued or killed.

Shenxi's group easily entered Tongxian County.

Those who had truly rebelled first cleared the way for Shenxi. The officials and soldiers in Tongxian County were few and far between; some were dead, some had fled, and some were hiding.

The wealthy and powerful families in Tonglian County who could escape fled, while those who couldn't were basically killed by the rebel army.

Even the county magistrate's family couldn't escape being killed; dozens of members of the family were all slaughtered by the mutinous troops.

I thought it would take a lot of effort, but Tongxian was taken over so easily.

Then we need to set up camp here to take stock of the county's population, arable land, and living conditions.

This inventory allowed Chenxi to confront the sharp decline in population during the famine years even more directly.

Three years ago, things were alright here; the county had a population of over 50,000. A year ago, it was about 35,000. However, during the two-year famine, more than 10,000 people have been lost. According to current statistics, there are less than 10,000 people left.

The vast majority of the property stolen from those aristocratic families ended up in the hands of the rebel army. Since the rebel army was wiped out by Shenxi, the property naturally ended up in Shenxi's possession.

When all of this came together, Chenxi was completely stunned.

This is much more than what was seized in Bian'ai County back then.

By then, Bian'ai County had already been squandered by the chaotic army, but this place had not yet had time to be squandered.

The grain stored by these people is enough to feed the remaining 8,000-plus people in the county for two years.

And the vast majority of them are refined grains.

This is the root cause of the chaos in the world.

The imperial court had no money and no grain, and the common people had no money and no grain; it was all in the hands of these powerful families.

As he counted the items, Shen Rongxuan laughed.

"Now, not only will these surrendered civilians have food, but the army's rations will also be more plentiful."

Before Shenxi could issue any orders, seven or eight hundred of the more than eight thousand civilians volunteered to join the army. They were all young and strong, including more than twenty young women.

These people had already inquired and found out that there were female soldiers in Chenxi's team.

Female soldiers are treated the same as male soldiers, with no gender discrimination whatsoever.

If a female soldier performs meritorious service, she can also become an officer.

This gave those oppressed women a glimmer of hope.

Shenxi entrusted these matters to Zhao Rong, who was in charge of matters concerning the army.

Zhao Rong ordered people to register them and thoroughly investigated their backgrounds. Anyone from a clean family and in good health could apply for enlistment.

These people were then incorporated into the new recruits and needed to undergo training for a period of time before they could go to the battlefield.

Pan Ruoqiao took the booklet to Zhao Rong.

"General Zhao, here is the brochure for the female soldiers. I have already arranged their accommodations."

"Okay, these new female soldiers, have some veterans teach them about military discipline."

Once they've adapted, they'll train alongside the male soldiers.

"yes."

Pan Ruoqiao came with the army this time, and Shen Xi took special care of Zheng Ankang.

Once the army is stationed there, Pan Ruoqiao and Zheng Ankang can be together.

Just as Shen Xi was stationed and making reorganizations in Tongxian, a letter from Qi Xiuwu arrived.

Inform Shenxi that the Eighth Prince's Consort has returned to her residence in Xiahe County and sent many fine gifts to thank her.

However, in his letter, Qi Xiuwu specifically mentioned that there was a talented person under the Eighth Prince's wife, a person of great general caliber named Feng Yu. If the commander could acquire this person, he would definitely be able to add a tiger general to the ranks.

Unfortunately, Qi Xiuwu said that he failed to persuade Feng Yu to serve his superior, but he did persuade one of Feng Yu's subordinates, who was also named Feng Tao.

Feng Tao brought three men with him and joined Qi Xiuwu's army. They are now serving in his camp.

Shen Xi laughed. She never expected that in such a vast world, one of her generals would have the same name.

It doesn't matter if the names are the same, but if the troops are combined in the future, it's easy for some soldiers to get them mixed up.

So Shenxi replied directly that both Feng Taos were now under Qi Xiuwu's command, and in order to distinguish them, one of them had to change his name.

In addition, Shenxi instructed that the gifts from the Eighth Prince's Consort should be accepted, but as for Feng Yu, Qi Xiuwu was required to recruit him under his command no matter what. Since he was a general of great talent, it would be a waste for him to serve as a guard under the Eighth Prince's Consort.

Sure enough, Qi Xiuwu later replied that Feng Tao, one of the Eighth Prince's subordinates, was willing to change his name because his name was given to him by the Feng family. His own surname was Liu, and he wished to revert to his original surname and be called Liu Tao.

He also revealed that he was trying to befriend Feng Yu and had told the Eighth Prince's wife that he wanted Feng Yu to join the army.

Although the Eighth Prince's wife was extremely reluctant, she relented and said that as long as Feng Yu himself agreed, she was willing to let him go.

That's a story for later. After replying to Qi Xiuwu, Shenxi discussed the next steps with Zhao Rong, Dou Yong, Gu Beitian, and others.

They cannot afford to rest for too long and need to take Qingshui County as soon as possible.

Qingshui County is the most difficult place to govern.

Zhao Peng also sent back information from the direction of Jianming Prefecture.

Zhao Peng and Tao Feng have broken up completely. They have fought three times already. Although Tao Feng has more people, she has not gained any advantage.

This is also one of the reasons why Shenxi had to march quickly.

The city of Jianming Prefecture must not fall into the hands of Tao Feng and his ilk.