That night, the fires in the military camp burned brightly, and the air was thick with the atmosphere of battle.
The next morning, Cheng Jiao led the main force on a light cavalry charge towards the mountains.
Along the way, the villages were sparsely populated, presumably because the people had closed their doors and windows due to the recent crackdown.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, a scout reported: "The enemy camps are all in the forest, and the terrain is complex. We can take advantage of the night to sneak up and launch a surprise attack."
Cheng Jiao laughed loudly: "A night raid? Why fear them? Our mighty Qin army is what the enemy should fear!" He then ordered his armored soldiers to form ranks, the drums sounded, and they advanced directly. Sure enough, the remaining members of the aristocratic clans, who had intended to use the mountain's natural defenses to ambush and trap, could not withstand the overwhelming Qin army's frontal charge.
In less than half a day, the situation had already turned against them.
Shouts of battle echoed through the forest and reached outside the mountains, while blood flowed down the slope.
As dusk fell, Cheng Jiao stood at the entrance of the forest, looking at the weapons and bamboo slips that had been seized, and said coldly, "A bunch of pedantic scholars, attempting to incite the old people to rebel, are truly foolish beyond measure. Take them all back to Xinzheng and be executed on a chosen day."
In the following days, he personally inspected the former capital of Han and urged the three departments to thoroughly inventory the "various schools of thought".
While this move plunged the entire Han and Wei regions into bloodshed, it also quickly eroded most of the old power bases. A more intense upheaval was already brewing.
............
Looking at the Qi territory again, Feng Jie and Zhang Han had not yet left.
Even after the last large-scale purge of powerful figures and some Confucian scholars, the bloodshed still lingered in the outskirts of Linzi. However, compared to the beginning, Feng Jie had now thoroughly understood the local customs of Qi and knew that to establish himself here, he could not rely solely on massacres.
Inside Linzi City, in a council hall temporarily converted from a government office, Feng Jie sat opposite Zhang Han. On a table lay a large number of documents, recording information about the spread of various schools of thought in Qi, including the gentry, Confucianism, and Yin-Yang philosophy.
“General!” Feng Jie pointed to the map with his finger. “There is an old ancestral temple here, said to be a remnant from the time of King Xuan of Qi. It was later used by Confucian scholars to worship the classics of Confucius, and it is rumored to have housed scholars from all over the country. If it is secretly harboring rebellious intentions, it is no small matter.”
Zhang Han said with a hint of murderous intent, "Then we will send troops to investigate directly. If there is any sign of rebellion, we will kill them on sight."
Feng Jie nodded slightly: "That's right. But it's not advisable to launch another major attack and cause panic throughout the city. There are many scholars in Qi, so we need to appease them to avoid implicating innocent people and damaging the reputation of His Majesty's subsequent implementation of the imperial examination system."
"It's alright. You can secretly make your own arrangements, and just wait for the right moment to have the Fierce Tiger Army take down those rebels." Zhang Han clenched his fist and lightly tapped the table. He was used to bloodshed, having always been fierce and sharp.
That night, Feng Jie ordered local officials to search for clues overnight, and also arranged for his retainers, who were familiar with the inside story, to infiltrate the area around the "ancestral temple and old residence" to investigate.
Within two days, a group of suspicious scholars were indeed apprehended. They had secretly kept the seal of the former Qi royal family and a number of correspondence, and were suspected of plotting a rebellion in alliance with the remaining forces in several places.
Upon receiving the news, Feng Jie immediately ordered: "General Zhang Han, quickly coordinate with the Fierce Tiger Army from within and without. I have already ordered the city defense battalion to disguise themselves as patrols and infiltrate their residence at night. We must capture them all in one fell swoop."
As dusk fell and darkness still hung in the air, the Fierce Tiger Army quietly split into two groups: one ambushed along the alley entrance, while the other circled around to the high wall of the backyard.
Feng Jie hid inside a carriage, while Zhang Han climbed over the wall and saw that no lights were lit inside the house, as if to prevent outsiders from noticing.
He immediately gave the order, and the Fierce Tiger Army broke down the door, their blades flashing.
As expected, a number of people dressed in Confucian robes gathered inside the house. They were all in a panic. Some drew their swords to resist, but were immediately cut down by Zhang Han with a single stroke.
In an instant, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the courtyard, and bloodstains covered the ground.
In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the rebels had been killed. The remaining dozen or so huddled in a corner of the courtyard, surrounded by the armored soldiers of the Fierce Tiger Army.
Feng Jie strode closer, observing the group of more than ten people, including an elderly man with white hair and middle-aged scholars, all with expressions of fear. He asked coldly, "What is your intention in colluding with the rebels? The evidence is irrefutable; do you still wish to deny it?"
The old man said in a trembling voice, "We... only wish to continue the Confucian tradition of Qi, and have absolutely no intention of rebellion. The Qin army has come ruthlessly, and the gentry of Qi have long been walking on thin ice. How can this massacre not make people bewildered?"
Zhang Han stepped forward and angrily rebuked him: "You keep claiming to be acting in the name of the orthodox tradition, but in reality you are selfish and self-serving, colluding with the remnants of the old royal family and hoarding weapons. If you did not intend to rebel, why would you do this?"
The old man was unable to refute the argument, and his face grew even paler.
Feng Jie didn't say much, only instructing Zhang Han to order the soldiers to escort them to the yamen for interrogation on a later date.
Then, he looked around the mansion and saw that the pillars and interior furnishings were all inscribed with the words of Confucius and Mencius. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: The Confucian school started with Confucius and flourished in Qi, but now, because of its entanglement with the old royal family, it will inevitably be unable to escape the axe of the Qin Dynasty.
"Clean up the scene," he announced. "If there are any Confucian classics among their books and bamboo slips, preserve them. If there is any evidence of reactionary words or incitement, confiscate and burn them all."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Han knew to some extent that Feng Jie did not want to kill innocent people indiscriminately, but given the current situation, how could he show too much leniency? He said to the captain beside him, "Anyone who dares to rebel in this house shall be killed on sight; the rest shall be handed over to Lord Feng for disposal."
After another round of bloodshed and fire, the Confucian faction in Linzi City was further disintegrated.
Those scholars who were still hesitant became even more fearful upon seeing this and dared not confront the Qin Dynasty any longer.
Although the land of Qi was devastated, it laid a brutal and forceful foundation for the establishment of the new policies that followed.
............
Compared to the bloody and brutal nature of Qi, Han, and Wei, Yan was even more unpredictable and treacherous.
Yang Duanhe was ordered to suppress various hidden dangers in Yan, especially those involving Mo Xia and assassins. He worked closely with the six departments of the Black Ice Platform, and was skilled at unraveling cases and tracing their roots.
This time, he led a small number of elite troops, with the Black Ice Guard secretly cooperating, to raid and seal off mountain huts and residences within Yan territory suspected of harboring assassins and secretly communicating with rebels. To the outside world, he claimed it was "cleansing up thieves," so as not to alarm the entire city for the time being.
However, the Yan region is characterized by its interconnected mountains and rivers, its proximity to the Hu (non-Han) lands, and its distance from Xianyang, making it a historically attractive area for unsavory characters. The Mohist school had established its roots here since the pre-Qin period, placing particular emphasis on mechanisms and assassination techniques. To truly eradicate it would be no easy task.
On this day, Yang Duanhe, dressed simply, walked with the deputy envoy of the Black Ice Guard through a secluded alley in Yancheng. A cold wind howled along the street, the sun had not yet set, and few pedestrians were around. He walked and stopped frequently, as if searching for some clue. The deputy envoy followed closely behind, carefully observing their surroundings.
Suddenly, the deputy envoy's expression changed slightly, and he whispered, "Commander, be careful, there seems to be an ambush ahead."
Yang Duanhe was not surprised: "The Black Ice Guard had already discovered that there were Mo disciples hiding here. It seems that they have already sensed our presence and intend to assassinate us."
Sure enough, after only a few dozen steps, several masked men suddenly rushed out of the alley. They were agile and killed the people without saying a word.
Yang Duanhe snorted coldly, drew his sword, and severed the masked man's arm in a single move. He was no ordinary person; his martial arts were ruthless and extreme, and he killed three people in an instant.
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