Lu Yuanjun's initial five thousand men, including the three thousand men Shen Qing brought later, were already in a predicament where they could not break through the siege.

Not only did they fail to break through after a long period of attack, but they were also occasionally caught off guard by the opponent.

Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, the enemy would occasionally allow Lu Yuanjun's troops to enter the city through some gaps, but once inside, they could not get out.

Despite Lu Yuanjun's wounded soldiers and generals, he failed to harm any part of Yuhe County.

Wu Aidao was indeed different from Wu Aimin; Wu Aidao was a capable administrator.

If Wu Aidao had been in charge of the Wu family, perhaps they wouldn't have been destroyed in that way.

Unfortunately, it's just a matter of "what if"...

Shen Qing discussed with Lu Yuanjun, "Major General, I will lead a suicide squad to storm in. Trust me."

This wasn't the first time Shen Qing had pleaded with Lu Yuanjun, but Lu Yuanjun had refused.

The commando team has already lost several waves of casualties; the casualties are enormous.

Shen Qing is a rare talent, but he is not yet fully developed. It would be a real pity if he were to be lost because of this.

Moreover, he knew that Shen Qing was Shen Xi's younger sister, and he didn't want her to suffer any harm here.

"Shen Qing, this is an order. I will not send out any more assault teams until I am absolutely certain of success."

The commando team consisted of elites, elites who had been painstakingly trained, yet they perished in Yuhe County without achieving any results.

That's such a pity.

Shen Qing persisted, "If we don't send out a strike team, how will we be able to take the city?"

Yuhe County is different from other counties in two ways: first, it has a very large territory, larger than three counties combined; second, it is impossible to besiege it.

Yuhe County is backed by the territory of Xianghe Prefecture, and the defenses of the county town extend to the border area adjacent to Xianghe Prefecture.

Unless they borrow passage from Xianghe Prefecture and besiege the city within its territory, trapping Yuhe County, internal turmoil will inevitably erupt sooner or later when food supplies run out and no reinforcements arrive.

News of the battle at the front was reported to Shenxi daily. After discussing with Gu Beitian, Shenxi agreed to negotiate with Ge Congshan, the prefect of Xianghe Prefecture, to allow them passage to besiege the city.

The round trip would take more than half a month. Chenxi's order to Lu Yuanjun was to deploy troops on the outskirts of Yuhe County, but not to attack the city again.

After Qi Xiuwu arrived, he planned to provide assistance to Yuhe County.

Shenxi pointed to the location of Yuhe County and said to Qi Xiuwu, "Take another three thousand men and deploy them on the south side of Yuhe County. Wait for a reply from Xianghe Prefecture. If we can get passage, we will go directly through Xianghe Prefecture's territory and surround Yuhe County."

A siege puts more pressure on the enemy than a direct attack.

As long as there is no encirclement and supplies are not lacking, a defensive battle is sufficient.

But if they are already surrounded, and there are no reinforcements, defending them would be suicide.

Wu Aidao had calculated everything, except for the matter of borrowing passage through Xianghe Prefecture.

You have to understand that Xianghe Prefecture is a government-run area, and it's impossible for them to allow rebels to pass through!

Besides, Wu Aidao knew Ge Congshan well and would never be threatened or used by rebels.

But little did he know, he had miscalculated; Ge Congshan had indeed borrowed the road.

In an instant, Qi Xiuwu led his troops to surround Yuhe County.

Surrounded on all sides and attacked from both sides, Wu Aidao knew that Yuhe County could not be defended.

He sent out many letters asking for help, but received no reply.

In other words, the Wu family in the capital, as well as the aristocratic families with whom they have close ties, may be unable or unwilling to provide assistance.

His letter requesting help was also sent to Ge Congshan.

As a result, Ge Congshan not only did not send troops to help, but also allowed Shenxi to pass through.

Ultimately, Wu Aidao had no choice but to surrender after discussing it with other prominent families in the county.

However, Wu Aidao, Qi Xiuwu, and Lu Yuanjun put forward a condition: the Wu family in the county town must be preserved.

The message Shenxi sent back directly was that if the Wu family had not done anything immoral, they could be spared.

Wu Aidao directly executed all the family members who had done outrageous things.

He would rather clean up the scum within his clan himself than leave it to Chenxi.

Upon learning this information, Shenxi couldn't help but smile.

This might be Wu Aidao's last act of defiance.

However, Wu Aidao is indeed a rare talent, and if used properly, he would be a great asset.

However, because he was born into the Wu family and was forced to surrender, Shenxi needed to give him a lesson in ideology and politics.

Shenxi assigned this task to Dou Yong, who was not only to give ideological and political lessons to Wu Aidao, but also to all the people in Yuhe County.

They called on the people to balance learning and production, actively cultivate the next generation, and at the same time put forward the slogans of equality for all, the elimination of slavery, and the prohibition of buying and selling people.

After a series of policies were implemented, the people in Jianming Province's capital city were no longer surprised, but the people in Yuhe County found it quite novel.

Ordinary people, in particular, cherish the opportunity to learn for free.

They were extremely excited about the slogan of equality for all.

However, the call for gender equality has been met with opposition and criticism from many people.

After all, the men in a family have the final say, the male elders in a clan have the final say, and the male village chief in a village has the final say.

It's not a woman's place to give orders.

Not only the slogans are like this, but the policies are too.

Anyone who dares to favor sons over daughters will be subject to criticism and education at best, and direct reform and re-education at worst.

If the preference for sons leads to abuse or even death, it violates the law and will result in imprisonment.

If a girl is deprived of the opportunity to go to school simply because she is a girl, she will also be punished.

There are also a series of new marriage laws, which significantly increase women's rights. Women can still hold official positions.

This kind of wind has stirred up a huge uproar among the people.

This also caused a great stir among the aristocratic families.

After all, the aristocratic families were no longer the lofty and powerful entities they once were; they were merely people with some money, and no longer held any special status or power.

They no longer have servants or private armies. If they want someone to serve and take care of them, it can only be through an employment relationship, not by purchasing someone.

The people you hire are just there to do your work, not your servants. They are equal to you in status.

Anyone who mistreats their employees is breaking the law.

Even some aristocratic families that had committed heinous acts were subject to reckoning.

At that time, Chenxi did not distribute land to individual people; it was all collective work, and things were distributed according to needs.

After all, in this chaotic situation, such a system is more conducive to the production and life of ordinary people.

However, they are extremely cautious when selecting village chiefs, township chiefs, and town chiefs.

Anyone with any character flaws will not be appointed.

When grassroots officials such as village chiefs, township heads, and town heads make mistakes, the punishment is particularly severe.

Furthermore, it was clarified that these officials were merely maintainers, not managers.

They have no special privileges; they are merely the propagandists and implementers of policies. All government orders come from above, and they cannot have their own private policies.