Chapter 69: Widow Village and Widow Town 2

"Yes! I haven't seen this guy before! I asked him to go look around the town at night. I always felt that this town was weird. When we came here, we basically didn't see many people. Even if there were, they just took a look from a distance and left." Wanshan said.

"Just wait! We'll know the truth soon anyway!" Zhou Shuai said.

Not long after, Li Deliang and Mao Jiu returned. They brought dozens of prisoners, many still clutching heads. Blood dripped onto the ground, and the entire town was filled with the stench of blood. Everyone's face was beaming, believing they had won a great victory and hoping their master would praise them.

Li Deliang and Mao Jiu knelt in front of Zhao Xiaofei. Mao Jiu smiled and said, "Your Highness! We have made a lot of money this time! We have eliminated these bandits, more than 400 of them in total! When we return to the next county, we can get a lot of silver as a reward. Even if we don't have any, getting some food can reduce Your Highness's expenses! Hahaha!" He laughed heartily after that.

Zhao Xiaofei said with a forced smile: "You have done a great job today. Let me ask you, where did you go last night?" After saying that, his face fell.

When Mao Jiu saw the change in the Prince Consort's expression, he immediately stopped smiling and said, "Your Highness is too merciful! We can't let the villagers of that village go! I've discussed with my brothers in the Beijing camp, and we're going to strike back. We're going to kill those people to avoid trouble when we return."

"You..." Zhou Shuai pointed at Mao Jiu and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Zhao Xiaofei. He asked, "Did they kill everyone?"

"Kill all the men! We'll give the women and children one day to live!" said Mao Jiu.

Zhao Xiaofei could imagine the scene even with his eyes closed: the men were killed. What good could the women do? They suffered humiliation, some committing suicide, others simply enduring it. Watching their husbands' tragic deaths, they had no choice but to flee. In the end, they were either captured by bandits or starved to death on the road.

Seeing that the Prince Consort had his eyes closed and remained silent, Mao Jiu knew that he had gone too far. If he left and the troops were insufficient, and the Prince Consort was in danger, he would be in big trouble. He quickly took credit for it and said, "Prince Consort! When we came back, we saw our brothers chasing a group of people. We took this opportunity to surround them and didn't let any of them escape! It was also thanks to the Prince Consort that we were able to surround these bandits."

Zhao Xiaofei opened his eyes and said coldly, "This won't happen again! If you act on your own again, I won't be so easy to talk to."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity!" Mao Jiu kowtowed.

"Li Deliang! How's the questioning going?" Zhao Xiaofei turned his head and asked.

"In reply to the Prince Consort's question! I just asked, and they are all the people of Wangjia Town. They followed the instructions of Wang Yanyi in the town and are preparing to besiege us and steal our goods." Li Deliang said.

"Who is this Wang Yanyi?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"He is the landlord of this town and the brother-in-law of Mr. Qu, the magistrate of Lin County." Li Deliang said.

"Did you catch him?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"No! He is in the Wang family mansion in the town!" said Li Deliang.

"Go! Catch this grandson!" Zhao Xiaofei said hatefully.

"This... I'm afraid," Li Deliang was a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong? Are you in trouble?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.

"Your Majesty, you left the capital without permission. It would be inappropriate if the local authorities knew about this. He is also a relative of the magistrate, so it would not be appropriate for us..." Li Deliang said.

Zhao Xiaofei understood what he meant. He was afraid that he would have to pay him back later and be blamed. Even if he was the prince consort, he would be in trouble. Zhao Xiaofei smiled and said, "Do you think I will ask him for compensation? Or should I talk to him about reason?"

"Your Majesty! I am willing to lead my men to attack the Wang family compound and ensure that no one is left alive!" Mao Jiu quickly jumped out to express his loyalty.

"Bring people to surround them first!" said Zhao Xiaofei.

"Yes!" Mao Jiu immediately stood up and took 150 people to surround the Wang family compound.

This Wang Family Courtyard cannot be compared with the Qiao Family Courtyard in Shanxi, but it is also much smaller in scale. When someone saw that the house was surrounded, someone immediately went into the government office to report it. Wang Yanyi is a middle-aged uncle in his forties. His wife died five years ago, and he married the elder sister of County Magistrate Qu as his legal wife. From then on, let alone in the town. No one in the surrounding area dared to mess with him. Later, he became the patriarch of the Wang family, and his control over the town became even stronger. He had done everything from bullying men and women to seizing people's land. But human nature is greedy. He felt that the money he made was not enough, so he began to organize some people to rob passing caravans. He took the stolen goods to the shops in the surrounding county towns and sold them.

Mao Jiu began to yell and curse outside the main gate, while the people inside were on full alert. Some climbed up the wall, some held torches, and some held knives and sticks. Several captives knelt on the ground facing the gate. Mao Jiu cursed, "I've never suffered any loss in the capital! You son of a bitch surnamed Wang, get out here! Otherwise, when I break in, I'll capture your wife and daughter and make them serve me well! Hahahaha!"

While Mao Jiu was cursing, Zhao Xiaofei, Zhou Shuai, and the others were discussing whether to kill all the captives and everyone in the Wang Family Compound. Fang Xinyu said, "Let those women and children leave! They are innocent!"

"This is the Ming Dynasty! They pay attention to clan laws and family ties! If you let one of them go, they will find ways to take revenge. These women will go to the county to report to the authorities, and then the boss will be in trouble." Zhou Shuai said.

"What about the people in the town? Now that village has become a widow village! Are we going to let this town become a widow town?" Fang Xinyu asked.

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