Chapter 405: Way Out

"Xuan... His Royal Highness Prince Xuan? Princess Princess?"

The second in command widened his eyes and looked at Xiao Jinxuan and Xie Zhuoning in disbelief.

He was very smart. Through clues, he guessed that they were not ordinary people. They were most likely secret messengers working for the current emperor, or confidants of Marquis Changxing.

But he was not very smart, because he could not imagine no matter how hard he tried that a king would take the risk alone and go undercover in a den of thieves!

No wonder he was so powerful that even He Wenjun was no match for him; no wonder he was able to stop the attack of the Xichuan Army with the motley crowd of the Green Forest League; no wonder he made careful and detailed arrangements, resulting in almost no casualties among the Green Forest League in this battle.

No wonder he was so confident and assured himself that the Nanyang Army would never kill people indiscriminately!

When the man in front of him was compared with the legendary invincible and famous Prince Xuan, everything seemed to make sense.

Even the second in command was like this, not to mention Tiezhu and the others, who were all dumbfounded and shocked on the spot.

Xiao Jinxuan raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite, please sit down."

"Thank you, Your Highness." After Yang Lie saluted and stood up, he immediately looked towards Xie Zhuoning, but he did not see the figure he wanted to see.

Unable to help feeling a little disappointed, he lifted his robe and sat down at the bottom.

"You guys take a seat too." Xiao Jinxuan said to the other members of the Green Forest Alliance.

Everyone came back to their senses in a daze and sat down in a hurry reluctantly.

Xiao Jinxuan glanced at everyone present, and then slowly spoke, "You are all veterans of the Green Forest Alliance, and you should also know that the court has to reorganize even the Xichuan Army, and it is absolutely impossible to allow such a big hidden danger like you to exist. But most of the bandits in the Xichuan bandit camp have to become bandits because of the situation. Therefore, this king will show you a clear way -"

"Except for those who have committed serious crimes and cannot be forgiven, the rest of the bandits who have not committed any murder will have their crimes reduced by one level; those who have made meritorious contributions will have their crimes reduced by one level; the relatives of the bandits who were killed or injured will have their crimes reduced by one level."

"Those who meet any of these three conditions will be released without charge, and we will provide you with free travel expenses to allow you to return to your hometown and start over. If you do not want to return to your hometown, you can also join the Nanyang Army and become a part of it."

When everyone heard these words, their eyes suddenly became hot and they couldn't suppress their excitement.

Originally they were still worried that the Nanyang Army would come and kill them. You know, this is a great military achievement!

And now, not only do they not have to die, they even have the right to choose their own future!

"Before, I had no choice but to be a bandit. But now, I want to be a good person. I want to join the Nanyang Army!"

"I still have a few acres of land at home. I want to go back to being an honest farmer and stop living a life of fighting and killing."

"I want to make great achievements!"

"I'm going to get married and have kids!"

Everyone is looking forward to the future, full of ambition and confidence.

Seeing this, Xiao Jinxuan nodded slightly and said, "Since everyone has no objection, then go and notify the Green Forest Alliance and find the team leaders of each team to register."

The Green Forest Alliance immediately stood in the middle and bowed to Xiao Jinxuan in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Then he turned around and left quickly.

They have to tell other people this good news as soon as possible.

"Hey, there's still me!" The second in command stretched out his hand and looked into the distance.

He was badly injured and had to be carried here by others, but these people were so happy that they forgot about him.

Seeing this, Xie Zhuoning covered his lips to suppress his laughter and asked him, "After the Green Forest Alliance is dissolved, what will the Second In Command do?"

Where to go?

The second in command was stunned for a moment, then silently closed his eyelids.

He really didn't know where he could go if he left the Green Forest Alliance.

Go home? His family had been killed by corrupt officials, his land had been occupied, and he had no home left.

Join the army? His body was not suitable for being a soldier, and now he was injured so badly that he would just be struggling to survive.

After thinking for a while, he said, "I can write. Maybe I can set up a small stall in a town and write letters for people."

Xie Zhuoning's eyes slightly curved when he heard this. "You are so full of schemes and tricks. It's a waste of your talent to write a letter."

The fact that a weak scholar could become the second in command of the Green Forest Alliance is enough to show how scheming he is.

The second in command's mouth twitched.

I couldn't tell whether I was scolding myself or praising myself.

Besides, when it comes to scheming, he can never outsmart them as a couple.

He replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Your Highness Princess, you are joking. I am just a humble commoner. It is already very good for me to have a skill to make a living. I can't really say that I am talented."

Xie Zhuoning raised his eyebrows, "Do you think I'm joking? I'm serious. Now, most of the people in the Green Forest Alliance will join the Nanyang Army. Yang Lie is in need of someone who knows all of them to manage them. Besides, Yang Lie is honest and can be easily deceived. To put it bluntly, he lacks brains. You happen to be smart, so stay by his side as a counselor and complement each other."

Yang Lie blushed: "..."

Because he was deceived by Zhao Yi, he could no longer hold his head up in their eyes.

However, he still valued the person who could be recommended by Xie Zhuoning, so he immediately stood up and bowed, "Mr. Lai, please come to Nanyang to help me."

"This, this, this... How can this be possible! Lord Marquis, please get up quickly!" The second in command was so flattered that he couldn't even speak clearly.

He quickly raised his hands, not daring to accept Yang Lie's gift.

But Yang Lie remained motionless.

Xie Zhuoning smiled and said, "If you don't agree today, he might not be able to get up."

The second in command sighed. A dignified marquis was willing to lower himself to invite him. If he didn't agree, it would be really ungrateful.

"I am grateful that you have not given up on me. Although I feel ashamed to accept this, I hope that my remaining light will help you on your future path!"

Yang Lie quickly straightened up and went to support the second in command, "Don't get up, you should take good care of your injuries."

"Okay, okay." The second in command's voice trembled, and it was obvious that he was still immersed in excitement.

Xiao Jinxuan asked someone to send the second in command downstairs to rest, as he still had some things to discuss with Yang Lie.

Xie Zhuoning was thinking about the women in the back mountain, so he left Zhongyi Hall and went to the back mountain.

"Line up, don't rush, come one by one!"

Song Yuqiu was standing next to the cash box, distributing repatriation expenses to a group of women according to the list.

These silver coins were exactly the taxes paid by various mountain strongholds this year, and together with the portion that should have been sent to the Xichuan Army, they were withheld by Xiao Jinxuan.

Now it can be said that we have taken from the bandits and will return to them what we have gained.

Xie Zhuoning also took into consideration that it was more difficult for women to survive than men, and that they were all victims who were captured and taken to the mountains, so he specifically instructed that the travel expenses for women would be twice that of men.

However, Xie Zhuoning found that few of the women who received the silver were happy.

She asked curiously, "What's wrong with you? Are you unhappy about going home?"

When a few people saw her coming, they bit their lower lips and said, "We...we no longer have a home. Everyone in our family is dead."

"I do have family, but I was taken to the mountains and lost my name. If I go back, my family will be criticized by others for the rest of their lives. It would be better for me to die out there."

"In our village, unmarried women who lose their virginity will be put in a pig cage. I... I don't dare to go back."

Life in this world is tough, and for women, it is a hundred times tougher.

Xie Zhuoning thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, I originally planned to open a branch of Niyifang in Nanyang, but I'm short of a large number of flower workers and embroiderers. If you don't mind, you can go to Nanyang to help me."

It was clearly she who helped them, but she asked them to help her.

The women all knelt on the ground with tears in their eyes, and kowtowed to Xie Zhuoning, "Thank you, Madam, for your kindness!"