Chapter 835 A Dream of Youth 367
Moreover, this magistrate treated them badly on a daily basis, was extremely cruel, and used countless methods of exploitation.
Xie Ning twirled the thumb ring she used for shooting arrows, pondering how to handle the situation. She certainly wouldn't kill the old, young, women, or children; what she wanted was this person, the person she desired.
Luzhou City is not so easy to conquer, and with the rebellions in various parts of Luzhou, it's impossible to quell them all.
These rebels all shared a common characteristic: they were all remnants of the old regime and were considered barbarians.
Xu Hongying, having finished her military affairs, entered. Xie Ning shook his head, signaling her not to speak, then lowered his eyes to meet Zhu Xueyi's gaze. "You want to keep them safe? Fine, but you must work for me."
Xie Ning's idea was to sow discord and appease the tribal leaders, minimizing the conflicts.
“I know what you’re thinking. The Northern Jin is invading and the Great Zhou is in turmoil. You want to take advantage of this to tear off the Shu region.”
Xie Ning's voice was calm, and Zhu Xueyi pursed his lips, not denying it.
"You think that Princess Yanxi is no threat as empress, so you have become ambitious."
Seeing that Zhu Xueyi's face was getting paler and paler, Xu Hongying sat down to the side and listened to Xie Ning's threats and inducements against him.
"Now the imperial court has sent a large army to suppress the rebellion, and the stronghold was captured by us in less than half a day. Do you still think so?"
Zhu Xueyi shook his head with difficulty. Although their fortress was not the best, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. When there were conflicts with other tribes, they relied on the good terrain to hold out for a long time, and no one could do anything to them.
But this person directly blew up their fortress... Just thinking about the power of that gunpowder made Zhu Xueyi's pupils tremble.
Zhu Xueyi kowtowed heavily, "Zhu Xueyi is willing to serve you, sir. Please, sir... spare the old, weak, women and children in the fortress."
The brutality of the Zhou army has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of all the barbarians. Even though this army appears to be disciplined, Zhu Xueyi dares not gamble on it.
He was stranded here when he was young, and he was able to survive until now thanks to the people in the village who took him in. He owes them his life.
"I can promise you again that after the rebellion is quelled and Luzhou is recovered, the imperial court will send an honest and upright official who cares for the people to Luzhou. I also hope that you can work with him to make Luzhou better and better."
Even though Zhu Xueyi didn't believe it, he still acted as if he appreciated it and was very grateful.
After instructing him to do ideological work with the others in the stronghold, Xie Ning waved for them to leave, then turned to Xu Hongying to discuss the specifics of how to divide and appease the other rebellious tribes. She wanted to send Zhu Xueyi to do this.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhu Xueyi looked at the big, clumsy man who had been thrown to the ground. After the soldiers left, he squatted down and untied the ropes binding him.
"Douxi, you can leave, why are you staying?"
Douxi is the son of their tribal chief, and they had already arranged for him to escape via a side path, but this fool came back and wanted to take him away.
Zhu Xueyi didn't want to leave; he wanted to plead for the people in the fortified village, at least to prevent the tragedy of decades ago from happening again.
Even though he had only heard about it from the elders of the tribe, he could still imagine how terrible it must have been.
“You are my husband, how can I run away alone?” His parents and brothers were all dead, his mother committed suicide, and he only had one little sister, who was hidden among a group of children.
He came back to run away with his husband and younger sister, but unfortunately they were discovered.
Zhu Xueyi looked at Dou Xi's wounds and was somewhat worried, as he didn't know how to treat them.
Just as they were wondering whether to ask Xie Ning for help again, a soldier brought over a sturdy girl. Everyone was puzzled, and then they saw the girl open the box in her hand, which contained medicine!
Those huddled in the corner were stunned, including Dou Xi.
Aqi Lan glared at him. "Hurry up and take off your clothes, I'll sew them up for you." Having not slept well, Aqi Lan had been in a terrible temper these past few days.
None of the soldiers, including Xu Hongying, dared to provoke her.
Douxi understood some Mandarin, and he never expected that this girl had come to treat his injuries.
After quickly treating the wounds of the people imprisoned on this side, Aqi Lan carried her medicine box to the other side, where women and very young children were imprisoned.
When dealing with them, Aqi Lan's voice wasn't as fierce anymore.
However, they didn't say much, because they were still enemies.
Zhu Xueyi sat cross-legged in the corner, his heart gradually calming down. In front of the guards, he began to persuade the others in the fortress.
Xie Ning was willing to release them, on the condition that they behaved themselves and did not harbor any further rebellious thoughts.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
