Chen Yu and Hou Liang reached an agreement, and both sides acted swiftly.
With the help of Qian Dong, Zhou Xuemin's top henchman who surrendered, the Haidu government, led by Hou Liang, successfully occupied the Xiang Palace and shut down the defense system deployed around Haidu.
Chen Yu led his army into the city with ease.
Then, on charges of treason, they publicly executed Zhou Xuemin.
At the same time, he assured Zhou Xuemin's armed men that as long as they were willing to submit to Haidu, the past would be forgiven.
With this official guarantee, coupled with the pressure from the "anti-cold disaster relief militia corps," Zhou Xuemin's remaining followers offered almost no resistance and readily laid down their weapons, surrendering to the Haidu government.
However, not everyone has such awareness. Some stubborn remnants of Zhou Xuemin's forces hid in various corners of Haidu and repeatedly launched attacks on the government office.
After several rounds of encirclement and suppression by the government and the militia, these remnants were largely eliminated, and those remaining could no longer cause any trouble.
However, the government also paid a heavy price for the attack by those remnants, with many officials being killed, including Hou Liang, the mayor of Haidu City.
And Qian Dong, who had surrendered long ago and made great contributions to incorporating the remnants of Zhou Xuemin's forces, also died a violent death right under Qi Xiaowei's nose, which is truly lamentable.
However, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, nor can a market be without a headman for a day.
Since Mayor Hou Liang is dead, we must elect another mayor.
Due to the natural disaster, Haidu has long lost contact with Kyoto, so the mayor could only be appointed temporarily by the Haidu Municipal Government.
Ultimately, Sha Baojin, who had already retired, accepted the sincere invitation from a team of officials led by Vice Mayor Li Kang and took up the post of acting mayor of Haidu City in a time of crisis.
However, on Sha Baojin's first day as acting mayor, a shocking piece of news broke: Hou Liang's death was not the work of Zhou Xuemin's remnants, but rather Sha Baojin's men who murdered him.
Moreover, the people he sent to kill were not only Hou Liang, but also many officials who were loyal to Hou Liang.
The evidence is conclusive, and videos of Sha Baojin and his accomplices plotting have been released.
Faced with this sudden accusation, Sha Baojin took an extremely tough stance, claiming that he was the mayor of Haidu City. Although he was the acting mayor, his retirement rank was still there, and no one in the entire city could punish him.
However, at this moment, Chen Yu stepped forward and, under Sha Baojin's shocked gaze, revealed his identity as the "Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xia Cold Relief and Disaster Relief Campaign." He declared that Sha Baojin and his accomplices' actions had seriously violated national laws and the bottom line of the Great Xia Empire. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Cold Relief and Disaster Relief Campaign, he also bore the mission of maintaining social stability and justice.
Chen Yu immediately ordered his trusted guards and elite troops drawn from the "Cold Relief Militia Corps" to arrest Sha Baojin and his accomplices Li Kang and others.
The trial was conducted publicly, witnessed by government officials and surviving social elites from Haidu City.
Faced with irrefutable evidence, Sha Baojin and his accomplices' arrogance vanished instantly. Their faces turned pale, and their eyes were filled with despair and resentment.
However, the law is impartial and will not show favoritism based on their identity or past contributions.
During the trial, Sha Baojin and others tried to argue their case with various excuses and even attempted to frame others, but Chen Yu rejected them one by one.
He calmly and forcefully pointed out that every piece of evidence pointed to them, and their crimes were undeniable.
As the trial progressed, the crimes of Sha Baojin and others in murdering officials such as Hou Liang were confirmed.
Even their past misdeeds, such as embezzlement, bribery, malicious attacks on dissidents, and abusing their power to seek illegitimate benefits for themselves and their cronies, were exposed one by one.
What's puzzling is that they refuse to admit to murdering Qian Dong, who repented, surrendered, and made significant contributions to recruiting Zhou Quanmin's men.
Perhaps Qian Dong was simply killed by mistake by one of their own men, or perhaps it was truly retaliation from the remnants of Zhou Quanmin's forces? Who knows?
However, none of that mattered anymore. Considering the numerous crimes committed by Sha Baojin and others, Chen Yu sentenced them to death, which was carried out on the spot.
As gunshots echoed across the square of Haidu City, they not only heralded the end of Sha Baojin and his accomplices' criminal careers, but also conveyed a strong message to all citizens: any attempt to challenge the law or endanger social stability will be severely punished, even in this apocalyptic period.
After the incident involving Zhou Xuemin, Sha Baojin, and others, the surviving officials of the Haidu Prefecture government became much more obedient and dared not have any other ideas.
They even proactively proposed to revise a reasonable food supply plan for the general public, which greatly pleased Chen Yu.
Among all the government officials, Sun Cheng benefited the most. He was originally a district head who was ostracized by Li Kang and others, but he was transformed into the mayor of Haidu City. Moreover, he was not appointed as the "acting" mayor because he was appointed by Chen Yu, the "commander-in-chief of the Great Xia Cold Relief and Disaster Relief Campaign".
At the same time, the Haidu branch of the Tianyu Base was officially established, with Qi Xiaowei temporarily serving as the base commander, leading 10,000 "militia soldiers" to provide comprehensive protection for Haidu.
Thus, Chen Yu barely used any weapons of mass destruction, and the entire city of Haidu was firmly under his control.
Just then, news came from Nandu that the "Frost Alliance" had launched a brazen attack on Nandu under the pretext that a "Frost Warrior" had gone missing within its borders.
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