Early morning, Wuchang Prefecture.
Before daybreak, the entire Wuchang Prefecture was already bustling with activity.
"Soldiers from all units, bring their families and luggage to the north gate to gather and wait for their assigned houses."
"The soldiers who were laid off should gather at the west city gate and wait for their land and housing to be allocated."
"New soldiers, go to the East City Gate, gather around the Yuan flag, and wait for military orders."
As the news was passed down level by level, Wuchang Prefecture became increasingly busier.
Before leaving Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong not only took many civilians with him, but also looted and killed people in the city.
The result of the killing was that half of the houses in the city were left vacant and there were countless wastelands outside the city.
It was precisely because of this situation that Yuan Jixian dared to cut down the military and distribute land and houses.
Yuan Jixian got up early, washed and had breakfast.
Breakfast was simple yet "sumptuous": a bowl of rice porridge, two pieces of pickles, and a bird's egg.
Don’t underestimate this bowl of rice porridge. In that era, only the elite could afford it.
After breakfast.
Yuan Jixian took 500 cavalrymen and 1,500 infantrymen, dressed neatly, left the barracks and headed towards the south of the city.
The once prosperous Wuchang Prefecture has become extremely desolate today.
Many houses were burned and collapsed, and some yards even had piles of dead bodies that had not yet been cleared.
Some houses are well preserved.
The bright roof tiles, tall walls and lush greenery in the yard make people feel relaxed and happy.
Loneliness and prosperity are sometimes only separated by a wall.
"Go, cover the mouth and nose with a wet cloth, drag the body to the street, and then have the baggage team transport it out of the city by horse-drawn carriage, and either bury it or burn it." Yuan Jixian ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Two soldiers walked to the well, wet the white cloth prepared in advance with well water, covered the mouth and nose with it, walked into the yard, and dragged the body onto the street.
The rest of the people were not idle either. They walked towards the nearby houses and knocked on doors to call for help.
"Governor Yuan has ordered an inventory of the population of all houses in the city. Open the doors quickly!"
The people did not dare to stop them and opened the gates to allow the soldiers to enter and search.
The soldiers first walked into the yard and briefly inspected the house, then took out a pen and paper and asked the owner: "How many people are there in your family? How many rooms are there in the house? Does it need repairs? How many days of food do you have left?"
After answering, the homeowner asked back, "Sir, why are the government collecting these statistics? Are they doing this to help us build houses?"
"I don't know. Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask," the soldier replied.
After registering the information, the soldier asked again: "Are there any empty rooms? Can you accommodate people who have nowhere to stay?"
The homeowner was stunned and didn't know how to answer.
"If you can, you can. If you can't, you can't. The government won't force you." The soldier reminded kindly.
"Yes, I have an empty room. It'd be best if the other party is a woman, and it's best if she doesn't have children, but it's OK if she has children." The owner of the house answered with some excitement.
The soldier rolled his eyes at him and said, "Damn it, you have bad intentions. Someone, please write it down. He has an empty room here. He will arrange for two old Taoists to move in."
"Sir..." The owner's face turned pale, "I..."
"What do you mean? The Taoist brought his own dry food and will not eat your food. Now let's go!" After registering, the soldier quickly caught up with the large group that had not yet gone far.
The team of two thousand people walked neither fast nor slow. Every time they knocked on a house, two people would go over to register.
When they occasionally encountered people robbing the people on the road, these people would rush up and hack them to death without Yuan Jixian's orders.
Amid the cheers of the people, Yuan Jixian and his party arrived at the intersection of South City and West City.
It was already noon.
Yuan Jixian was just about to tell everyone to rest where they were when he heard the gate of a house open and bursts of crying coming from inside.
"Go and take a look." Yuan Jixian held the knife in his left hand and the handle with his right hand, his face slightly cold.
Ever since he got rid of Zuo Liangyu, he has been emphasizing military discipline in all departments.
Previously, military pay was in arrears, soldiers were hungry and occasionally engaged in looting, but he mostly turned a blind eye.
We can't let the soldiers starve without money or food, right?
But he showed no mercy to adultery.
Find one and behead one.
As the two soldiers walked into the yard, a tragic woman's cry broke out: "Ah!!!"
Yuan Jixian was worried, so he arranged for seven or eight personal soldiers to rush into the yard.
A moment later, a personal soldier came back and whispered, "Governor Yuan, thieves broke in here last night. Three people from a family of four were killed, and the survivor was a young woman. She was first insulted and then stabbed twice in the chest."
"But she was lucky, the wound was not deep, so she didn't die at the time and is still alive today."
Yuan Jixian gnashed his teeth in anger, his eyes flashing with rage: "Come on, take me to see it."
Led by his personal soldiers, Yuan Jixian walked across the courtyard and into the house.
There are three ordinary adobe houses, with a living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides.
Before Yuan Jixian walked into the bedroom on the left, he was choked by the pungent smell of blood.
The bedroom looked like it had been ransacked, with everything out of its place.
Tables were piled by the door and stools were thrown in the corner.
There was a dead body lying on the ground, the blood had already coagulated.
A woman with messy hair was lying on the bed, covered with a blood-stained sheet, breathing more out than in.
If you look at it, you will die.
Yuan Jixian sighed and asked softly, "Do you know who the murderer is?"
The woman shook her head with all her strength. Without waiting for Yuan Jixian to continue asking, she took a deep breath and said, "Sir, the murderer was wearing a military uniform. I bit off a piece of the murderer's left ear."
"Please, sir...give me, give my family of four, revenge!" The woman tilted her head and stopped breathing.
Yuan Jixian closed his eyes and was silent for a while. As he walked out, he ordered: "Carry the bodies of the four of them out of the city and bury them in a separate pit."
"Also, ask the neighbors if they have any clues. There must have been a lot of commotion yesterday."
"The rest of you should rest here and continue working after eating your dry food."
Yuan Jixian had just sat down to eat fried noodles when his personal guards came running over: "Governor Yuan, something bad has happened. There are more than 20 households and more than 100 people nearby, all of whom have died."
"What?" Yuan Jixian stood up suddenly.
Just yesterday, we emphasized the issue of military discipline to all departments, and today this horrific family massacre occurred.
Blatant opposition!
Yuan Jixian's brain was working rapidly, thinking of countermeasures.
Wuchang Prefecture was Zhang Xianzhong's base camp during the Western Expedition. All troops and food supplies had to pass through here before they could reach the front line.
Wuchang Prefecture cannot be in chaos.
Similar incidents had occurred in the city before, but the murderer only raped and did not kill anyone.
There have been more than a dozen murders now, and it is obvious that someone is behind it.
With tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city, it is almost impossible to find the murderer.
However, he couldn't concentrate on his western expedition unless he found the murderer.
Yuan Jixian looked towards Nanjing angrily, muttering to himself: "Is there really someone in the court who doesn't want me to march west?"
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