Three Edicts
The massive, mangled body of the Blood Wolf King Puppet crashed onto the frozen earth along the Wei River like a collapsing mountain. Foul-smelling blood, mixed with shattered mechanical parts and viscous black grease, gushed from the wound piercing its forehead, quickly seeping into the cold ground. The enormous, blood-dripping wolf skull talisman embedded in its skull shattered completely under Xiao Yuxuan's final, thunderous strike. Its dark red, malevolent light, like the pupils of a dying viper, flickered resentfully a few times before finally extinguishing completely.
Dead silence.
A brief, suffocating silence enveloped Longshou Plain, which had just been baptized by blood and fire.
Only the howling of the wind and snow, the groans of the wounded, the dying convulsions of the giant wolf, and the distant creaking of the school's frame in the cold wind, sounded like a sob.
The laborers and soldiers of Anji Camp, as if awakened from a terrifying nightmare, stared blankly at the devastation—the torn corpses of their comrades, the trampled and ravaged newly cultivated fields, the collapsed corner of the school wall, and the remains of the colossal beast exuding a strong, eerie aura. Before the relief of surviving could even rise, immense sorrow, fear, and helplessness overwhelmed everyone like a cold tide.
Xiao Dingbian, leaning on his strange short sword, gasped for breath, staring at his father's figure, which resembled a blood-soaked demon, his eyes filled with lingering fear and... an indescribable shock. He had just been one step away from death.
Ji Zhai strode to the remains of the Blood Wolf King puppet, ignoring the filth, and crouched down to carefully examine the broken mechanical parts and shattered bone talisman fragments, his brows furrowed in a deep frown. "What an evil creation! Mechanical arts combined with flesh and blood, evil magic... The Beast Head Sect has fallen into demonic ways!" He carefully used a specially made lead plate to pick up a bone talisman fragment with dark red patterns and placed it in another leather pouch.
Xuanweizi moved swiftly and solemnly among the wounded, his whisk lightly touching the wounds as he thrust his silver needles in. The wounds from the giant wolf bites were a strange bluish-black, bleeding profusely and emitting a sweet, putrid stench identical to that of the bone talisman. "Evil energy has entered the blood; the poison must be removed and the body strengthened!" He directed an old soldier with some medical knowledge to wash the wounds with boiling lime water and apply specially prepared antidote herbs. A'Tu, enduring the stinging pain in his fingertips, helped pass him the herbal bandages, his little face tense.
Xiao Yuxuan leaned on the heavy spear, its tip dripping blood, his chest heaving violently. Each breath carried the heavy stench of blood and gunpowder. The old wound on his right hand had long since reopened, blood flowing down the spear shaft and congealing into dark red icicles on the cold tip. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those still in shock, their faces etched with sorrow and despair, over the trampled fields, over the remains of the colossal beast symbolizing destruction, and finally settling on the Anji Academy, its corner smashed, yet still stubbornly standing.
At the school gate, the pile of fresh soil that buried the ruler with the character "安" and the blood-stained stone tablet remained intact amidst the chaos.
A cold, burning flame, tinged with anger, weariness, and an even more stubborn intensity, raged within him. The Blood Wolf Banner attack, the Beast Head Sect's sorcery, the Legalist shackles… they could destroy flesh and blood, trample the earth, but they could not destroy the deep-seated yearning for peace in people's hearts!
He had to do something! Immediately! Rekindle that faint spark of hope amidst these ruins!
"Chen Zhong!" Xiao Yuxuan's voice was hoarse, yet it carried an undeniable penetrating power, breaking the deathly silence.
"Here!" Chen Zhong, his face covered in blood and his arms wrapped in strips of cloth torn by wolf claws, stepped forward in response.
"Take a headcount for the casualties! Collect the bodies! Treat the wounded!"
"promise!"
“Mr. Ji Zhai!” Xiao Yuxuan turned to the Mo family patriarch.
"Governor!" Ji Zhai stood up, clutching the leather pouch containing the bone talisman fragments tightly in his hand.
"Take men and thoroughly search the battlefield! Especially the remains of that wolf puppet! Every fragment, every drop of blood! I need to know just how many evil spirits the Beast Head Sect has buried in this land! Focus on investigating the core nodes of the irrigation canal! Ensure everything is safe!"
"Understood!" Ji Zhai's eyes flashed, and he immediately ordered his disciples to take action.
"Master Xuanwei!" Xiao Yuxuan's gaze fell on the old Taoist who was administering acupuncture to a seriously wounded soldier.
Xuanweizi did not turn around, but paused slightly in the whisk in his hand, indicating that he was listening.
"I would be grateful if you could do everything in your power to heal the injured! Any evil spirits that have invaded their bodies must be expelled! I will find a way to obtain the necessary medicinal herbs, no matter where they may be!"
"Amitabha Buddha," Xuanweizi responded softly, his silver needle precisely piercing the injured man's acupoint.
The order was given swiftly. The chaotic camp began to struggle to regain order. Cries, groans, and commands to clear the battlefield mingled together.
Just then, a dense and orderly sound of hooves, like cold drumbeats, came from afar and shattered the deathly silence above Longshou Plain!
Everyone looked up in astonishment.
At the end of the official road, a troop of people was galloping towards them! Leading the way were twenty black-clad guards dressed in tight-fitting black armor, with ring-pommel swords at their waists and expressionless faces! They escorted a black official sedan chair carried by four men! The sedan chair curtains were tightly closed, but the solemn and imposing ceremonial guard, and the black bird banner symbolizing the authority of the tax inspector, were like a cold declaration—Yan Yang, the Legalist, has arrived!
They arrived so quickly! So coincidentally! Just as the Blood Wolf Banner attack ended, at the weakest and most chaotic moment for Anji Camp!
"Whoa—!"
The black-clad guards reined in their horses, their movements perfectly synchronized, like cast iron. The official sedan chair came to a steady stop about ten paces from the edge of the battlefield. The curtain was slowly lifted by a hand wearing a black jade thumb ring.
Yan Yang's pale, thin, and rigid face was revealed. His narrow eyes swept across the hellish battlefield—corpses everywhere (men and wolves), burning remains, trampled fields, collapsed sheds, and the gruesome remains of the Blood Wolf King puppet. His gaze did not linger on the dead and wounded laborers for a moment, finally settling on Xiao Yuxuan, who stood covered in blood, leaning on his spear.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards very slowly, outlining a cold, stone-carved "smile" devoid of any warmth.
"Commander Xiao, what a grand scene." Yan Yang's voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly pierced through the wind and snow, carrying a condescending scrutiny and undisguised sarcasm. "I heard that bandits were harassing Longshou Plain, so I came to investigate. I didn't expect... to see the Commander here conducting military exercises? But the price for this 'exercise' is rather... tragic." He casually distorted the bloody attack into a "military exercise"!
Xiao Yuxuan's eyes instantly became even more piercing than the cold wind of Dragon Head Plain. He gripped the spear in his hand tightly.
Yan Yang's gaze swept across the battlefield, precisely locking onto the several large wagons brought by Fan Xin, covered with thick felt. Although some of the felt had been torn during the attack, revealing bulging sacks inside, most of the supplies remained intact. A barely perceptible glint of greed and calculation flashed in his eyes.
“However…” Yan Yang’s tone shifted abruptly, his voice suddenly turning sharp, like the slamming of a gavel, “I want to know even more: where did these supplies come from?!” He pointed at the large carts, his gaze piercing Xiao Yuxuan like a blade, “My words from the ‘New Commercial Tax Decree of Hexi’ still ring in my ears! All grain, salt, iron, medicine, and other such items are not permitted to enter the camp without the approval of the tax supervisor! Violators will be punished as aiding the enemy! Governor Xiao, as the Governor of Hexi, you knowingly violated the law and privately received prohibited items! What is your punishment?!”
"And another thing!" Yan Yang gave no one a chance to argue. His finger suddenly pointed to the devastated, ravaged farmland, ravaged by the Blood Wolf Banner and war puppets. His voice grew even colder and more murderous. "This land! It belongs to the imperial court! Governor Xiao, without reporting to the authorities, destroyed the ruins of the 'Soul-Suppressing Stele' at Longshou Plain (he deliberately omitted mentioning the ruins), and privately cultivated the land, damaging the earth's veins and disturbing the spirits of the dead! This is already a great disrespect! Now, he has attracted evil spirits and bandits, causing this tragedy! His crimes are compounded!"
His gaze finally settled on the blood-stained spear in Xiao Yuxuan's hand, and the sneer on his lips deepened: "Furthermore, he has been unauthorized in using weapons, privately possessing military equipment (the spear is not standard issue), and harming... uh, suppressing bandits? Such heavy casualties show that the governor is incompetent in commanding troops and incapable of governing!"
Three grave sins! Each one fatal!
Confiscating prohibited items! Destroying official land! Incompetent command of troops!
Yan Yang's voice was like three poisoned daggers, piercing Xiao Yuxuan and the hearts of all the survivors of Anji Camp! He not only wanted to confirm Xiao Yuxuan's guilt, but also to completely negate all the efforts made by Anji Camp! To utterly crush the budding hope on this land into the mud!
"Guards!" Yan Yang abruptly waved his sleeve, his voice as cold as ice. "Seize all the smuggled contraband! Take them back to Jincheng! Arrest all those involved, especially that Sichuan merchant Fan Xin! Interrogate him thoroughly! As for Governor Xiao..." His icy gaze locked onto Xiao Yuxuan, "Temporarily relinquish his military post and return to the Jincheng headquarters with me to await further orders! If he resists... kill him without mercy!"
"Yes, sir!" the twenty black-clad guards shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the surrounding area! A cacophony of swords clashing as they drew their blades filled the air! The cold, sharp edges of the blades reflected a chilling light in the wind and snow! Like a black tide, they split into two groups: one group charged menacingly towards the carts loaded with life-saving grain and salt! The other group directly surrounded Xiao Yuxuan! The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense! Swords were about to be drawn!
The laborers and soldiers of Anji Camp instinctively gripped their tools or broken weapons, watching in terror as the black-clad guards approached, then at their commander, who stood like a pillar of strength. Despair and anger spread silently. They had just repelled the demons, and now the Legalist sword was hanging over their necks!
Just as the black-clad guards' blades were about to touch the cart and Xiao Yuxuan!
"Wait a minute!"
A smooth, resonant voice, yet tinged with a barely perceptible tremor, suddenly rang out!
Fan Xin, who had been "guarded" by two bodyguards by the thatched hut, suddenly broke free of his restraints (or rather, the bodyguards did not forcefully stop him), and staggered to the center of the standoff! His round, plump face was no longer tinged with the obsequiousness of a merchant, but instead displayed a resolute determination like that of someone who had burned their boats! He spread his arms and blocked the black-clad guards who were rushing towards the cart!
"Lord Yan!" Fan Xin's voice trembled with excitement, yet it echoed clearly across the battlefield. "These grains, salt, and medicines were not privately taken by Governor Xiao! Nor are they any contraband! They are donations I, Fan Xin, made voluntarily to Anji Academy in my capacity as the newly appointed leader of the 'Suspended Blade' Rift Formation Sect, in accordance with the ancient Mohist precepts of 'universal love' and 'rescue and defense,' to aid disaster victims and support education! They have nothing to do with Governor Xiao! They have nothing to do with buying and selling!"
"Hanging Blade? Rift Formation Sect? Leader?" Yan Yang's narrow eyes suddenly narrowed, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, a hint of surprise flashing deep in his eyes! He had heard a little about the split of the Hanging Blade organization, but the new leader of the Rift Formation Sect was actually a merchant from Sichuan and Chongqing?
Fan Xin gave Yan Yang no chance to react! He suddenly pulled something out of his pocket and held it high!
It wasn't a gold seal or jade seal, but a palm-sized, jet-black token, neither gold nor wood! The token had an ancient and simple design, with a short sword pattern engraved on the front, running through a compass, square, and ink line—the supreme token of the Hanging Blade Organization, the "Compass Token"! Under the dim light of the day, the token had no dazzling luster, but it exuded a heavy and cold majesty that had been accumulated over countless years and witnessed countless secrets and bloodshed!
"The Order of the Master is here!" Fan Xin's voice carried a tragic and resolute tone. "Seeing this order is like seeing the sword of the past Masters! I, Fan Xin, have been entrusted with the dying wish of Master Gongxi to take over the Rift Formation Sect! Holding this order, I fulfill the Mo Sect's responsibility of 'saving the world and relieving the suffering'! Now, seeing the people of Hexi in dire straits, and the land of Longshou scorched and waiting to be fed, I, as the Master, will carry out this act of righteous donation! This is an internal matter of our Mo Sect! It has nothing to do with national law! Nor is it a private matter!"
He whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the black-clad guards approaching Xiao Yuxuan. His voice suddenly rose, carrying a strange, intimidating power: "The righteous leader of the Guardian ...
The leader of the Rift Formation Sect? A charitable donation? An internal matter of the Mohist School?
Fan Xin's identity and reasons were like a boulder thrown onto a chessboard, instantly disrupting Yan Yang's meticulously laid trap! The Suspended Blade organization's power was deeply entrenched, and although it was fragmented, its influence remained! In particular, the Ju Zi Token, symbolizing the highest authority, represented a deterrent force from an ancient underground order that transcended secular laws! Yan Yang could disregard a merchant, but he had to weigh the weight of a Suspended Blade Ju Zi who held the Ju Zi Token!
Yan Yang's face instantly turned extremely ugly. His rigid nasolabial folds twisted, and his narrow eyes stared intently at the dark token in Fan Xin's hand. Then he glanced at Fan Xin's resolute face, and then at Xiao Yuxuan, who was covered in blood and whose eyes were as cold as iron, as well as the Anji Camp laborers around him who, although terrified, were gradually clenching their fists and whose eyes were burning with an indomitable flame.
His meticulously prepared thunderous strike was abruptly halted by the sudden appearance of the "Rule Order"! A forceful action would not only lack a legitimate cause, but could also completely enrage the vast remaining power of the Hanging Blade Organization, triggering unpredictable consequences!
In the midst of this tense, suffocating silence, an even more unexpected voice rang out.
"father!"
Xiao Dingbian, leaning on his short sword, walked to Xiao Yuxuan's side. The boy's face still bore the weariness and childishness of battle, but his eyes were unusually bright. He pointed to the distant, ravaged field, trampled by the Blood Wolf Banner yet still stubbornly revealing the color of freshly turned soil, and shouted, "Look! Those fields! Those irrigation ditches! And this school! All of this was fought for with the lives of our uncles and brothers of Anji Camp! Those dead wolves, those broken logs, they just wanted to destroy this! Lord Yan says this is unauthorized destruction of official land? Says it's attracting evil spirits? Then I want to ask, if we don't cultivate the land, draw water, and build a school, are we just going to sit here and wait to starve and freeze to death, waiting for those monsters to come and kill us?!"
The boy's words were like cold water thrown into a pot of boiling oil, instantly igniting the grief and indignation suppressed in the hearts of everyone in Anji Camp!
"Yes! We're not going to just wait to die!"
"We opened up this land! We built this school! Why are you saying we're destroying government land!"
"Without the governor, without the school, we would have died in the snow long ago!"
"If you want to take the governor, ask us first if we agree!"
Scattered echoes began to rise, gradually coalescing into a wave of angry shouts! The previously numb and desperate laborers, the wounded soldiers, now had red eyes, gripped their makeshift tools and even stones, and spontaneously gathered around Xiao Yuxuan and the school! A tragic and resolute aura quietly gathered on the ruins!
Yan Yang's face grew even more grim. He hadn't expected that these refugees and remnants, who were like ants, would dare to raise their voices in resistance under the blades of the Black-Clad Guards! Even more unexpected was the powerful influence of a mere child's words!
Xiao Yuxuan looked at the angry crowd around him, at his son's stubborn face, at the Juzi token held high in Fan Xin's hand, and at Yan Yang's face twisted with the pain of his failed scheme. The cold flame in his heart burned to its fullest extent.
He slammed the blood-stained spear in his hand heavily to the ground!
"Thump!"
The dull sound, like a war drum, instantly silenced all the noise!
All eyes were on him.
Xiao Yuxuan slowly raised his head, his blood-stained face expressionless, except for his eyes, deep as an icy pool, burning with a flame powerful enough to extinguish all shackles. He no longer looked at Yan Yang, but at all the survivors of Anji Camp, at this scorched earth soaked in blood and tears. His voice was not loud, but like thunder, it clearly rolled across every corner of Longshou Plain:
"Anji Battalion, listen to my command!"
"From this day forward, the Three Pardons are hereby promulgated!"
From his robes, he pulled out the silver seal with a dragon-shaped knob—the symbol of the Governor-General of Hexi's civil administration! The cold seal gleamed eerily in the wind and snow. He then took out a scroll of edict, written on rough tree bark, which he had prepared beforehand! On the edict, written in deep red cinnabar (likely his own blood mixed with some mineral powder), were three startling characters:
**Three Pardons**
Xiao Yuxuan unfurled the imperial edict, his voice like the clang of metal on metal, each word carrying immense force, striking the hearts of everyone present:
"First Amnesty: In the counties of Hexi, all displaced and unregistered people who wish to register and cultivate wasteland, regardless of their origin or past, may be included in the 'Anji Household Register,' granted land for cultivation, and exempted from taxes and corvée labor for three years! The cultivated land shall be the land of the farmers forever!"
Pardon displaced people and grant them official registration! Grant them land to cultivate! Exempt them from taxes and corvée labor! Allow them to live as private property forever!
This news struck like a thunderbolt into the hearts of every refugee! Registration! Land grants! Owning their own land! This was a dream their ancestors had never dared to even imagine!
"Second Amnesty: Within the territory of Hexi, all artisans who wish to work in Anji to build workshops and contribute to water conservancy, agriculture, sericulture, and school construction may be removed from the register! Their artisan registers will be transferred to the direct jurisdiction of the Governor's Office! They will be exempted from all exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous duties in their original place of residence, and their work will replace their service, and their skills will offset their taxes!"
The artisans were pardoned and removed from the register! They were exempted from corvée labor and taxes! Their artisan registration was directly under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General's Office! This was tantamount to severing the chains that Legalists used to exploit artisans through the artisan register, giving these skilled artisans true freedom and dignity! Ji Zhai and the Mohist disciples around him instantly blazed with fervent light in their eyes!
"The Third Amnesty: In all prisons in Hexi, those who have committed minor crimes other than the ten heinous crimes, and are awaiting execution or serving their sentences, may redeem themselves by entering Anji Camp to reclaim wasteland, perform construction work, or guard the camp. Their labor will replace their punishment, and their crimes will be commuted to their dues. On the day their service is completed, their previous crimes will be completely forgiven, and they will be restored to good citizens!"
Those who commit minor offenses are pardoned and allowed to atone for their sins through labor! They are restored to good citizens! This gives a path to rebirth to those who are imprisoned and waiting for death in despair!
The three amnesty decrees each directly addressed the core of Yan Yang's oppressive rule! Each one tore a huge hole in the tightly knit iron curtain of Legalist governance! Each one opened up an unprecedented path to survival for Anji Camp and for the people struggling to survive on this scorched land!
Xiao Yuxuan's voice suddenly rose, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger, drowning out the wailing of the wind and snow:
"These three pardons are not to disrupt the law, but to ensure its preservation! They are not for personal gain, but to safeguard the state!"
"The seal is here! The decree is here! Xiao Yuxuan swore an oath today by cutting his robe, and now I hereby grant these three pardons with this seal!"
"All who are willing to follow me in Anji will be granted this pardon! We will reclaim wasteland, divert water and build canals, establish schools, and pass on the torch! With our blood and sweat, we will revitalize Hexi!"
"Those who obstruct my peace and stability—"
Xiao Yuxuan whirled around, his blood-stained spear pointing directly at Yan Yang, whose face was ashen and eyes were sinister! The wolf blood on the spear tip, not yet congealed, dripped in the cold wind!
"—They are the enemies who obstruct the survival of the millions of people in Hexi! They are the invaders who destroy the flame of Chinese civilization!"
"Though thousands may oppose me, I will go! Though swords and axes may be drawn against me, this order—is unforgivable!"
"No mercy—!" Chen Zhong roared first, raising the broken knife in his hand!
"No pardon—!" Ji Zhai's hair and beard bristled, and he slammed his measuring ruler heavily on the ground!
"Unforgivable—!" Xuanweizi pointed his whisk to the sky, his Daoist robes fluttering even without wind!
"No pardon—!!" Countless laborers, soldiers, artisans, and even those who had just been pardoned for minor offenses, their eyes red, raised everything they could find—hoes, pickaxes, sticks, stones! They roared deafeningly!
The roar was like a flood bursting its banks, sweeping across the entire Dragon Head Plain! Its tragic and resolute momentum even caused the black-clad guards' strict ranks to tremble slightly!
Yan Yang stood before the official sedan chair, his face having turned from ashen to a terrifyingly pale white. He looked at the group of ragged, wounded "ants" before him, yet radiating an astonishing aura; at the silver seal with a dragon-shaped knob gleaming with a cold, eerie light in Xiao Yuxuan's hand; at the dark, imposing token in Fan Xin's hand, representing the authority of the underworld; and then he heard the deafening roar of "Unforgivable!"...
He knew that his meticulously planned assassination scheme had been completely shattered at this moment. Forced suppression? The cost would be too high, the outcome uncertain, and it would only solidify his reputation as someone who "obstructs the people's livelihood"! For the first time, a deep-seated fear and...powerlessness appeared in his narrow eyes, beyond his cold calculation.
He stared intently at Xiao Yuxuan, as if trying to etch the image of this man—who had repeatedly thwarted his plans and risen from the brink of despair—into his very bones. Finally, he abruptly flicked his sleeve, his voice as if squeezed out from between clenched teeth, icy and chilling:
"Good! What a fine 'three pardons'! What a fine 'pacification'! Xiao Yuxuan, you... better watch yourself!"
"Let's go!"
The curtains of the official sedan chair fell with a "whoosh." The black-clad guards, like a receding tide, swiftly sheathed their swords, surrounded the sedan chair, turned their horses around, and sped away along the official road they had come from. They quickly disappeared into the gray, snowy wind.
The oppressive feeling suddenly disappeared.
Anji Camp erupted in a cheer, a mixture of weeping and shouts, as if they had survived a catastrophe! They had won! They had withstood the Legalists' butcher's knife! They had won a chance to catch their breath!
Xiao Yuxuan, leaning on his spear, stood firm in the center of the cheering crowd, like a pillar of strength. He gazed in the direction Yan Yang had disappeared, his eyes showing no sign of relaxation, only a deeper, more solemn gravity. He knew this was only a temporary retreat. The Legalist counterattack, the Beast-Headed Sect's conspiracy, and the evil influence of the Blood Wolf Banner, like colossal beasts lurking behind a snowstorm, could pounce again at any moment.
His gaze swept over the cheering crowd, over the trampled fields, over the pile of fresh soil at the school gate where the ruler with the character "安" (peace) and the blood-stained tombstone were buried, and finally landed on the cold, dragon-shaped silver seal in his hand.
The three amnesties have been issued, and a path to survival has been opened.
However, the real test has only just begun.
Fan Xin walked to Xiao Yuxuan's side, put away the Juzi Token, and his round face no longer bore the previous merchant's obsequiousness, only showing exhaustion and a complex sense of relief. He said in a low voice, "Governor, the Liezhen Sect... is willing to stand with Anji through thick and thin."
Xiao Yuxuan nodded emphatically, his gaze fixed on the western Qiang region. The grain and salt transport route must be opened as soon as possible! The Wei River water diversion project must be completed quickly! Schools must be established as soon as possible!
"Chen Zhong!"
"exist!"
"Beat the drums! Gather the generals!"
"Anji Camp—"
Xiao Yuxuan's voice pierced through the wind and snow, carrying the power of rebirth through blood, and resounded through the heavens:
"start--!"
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