Before they even made a move, both those who deserved to die and those who didn't were already dead, which is truly lamentable.
A few days later, Xifeng was completely calm. Duke and his confidants had disappeared. The others probably had long harbored resentment towards Duke and his men, so they didn't react much to their deaths or the deaths of their families.
People just wanted to live well and were relieved to no longer be exploited by Duke, so Ye Moxun and Zhong Qingyi's worries were unnecessary.
At the time, Ye Moxun felt that it was too tragic. Several hundred people died of poisoning overnight. It was terrifying to hear. He thought that people would be afraid and uneasy because of this, fearing that they would suffer the same calamity one day.
Unexpectedly, the people said, "They deserve it. These damned bastards have finally gotten their comeuppance. Heaven has eyes and couldn't stand seeing them do so much evil, so it's good that they're all dead."
"That's right. When Duke led his men into Fengcheng a year ago, how many people did he kill? Our family originally had a few people, but in one day, only five of us were killed. If my parents hadn't held off the soldiers and let my brothers and me escape first, we probably would have been killed too."
"Yes, good riddance. They should have died long ago, those vermin who harmed the people."
Ye Moxun sighed and shook his head. "What goes around comes around," that's exactly what Duke and his cronies are like. They did evil and even dragged their families down with them. The retribution was truly tragic.
"The most poisonous heart is a woman's; I never want to get married again in my life." One of the young men who witnessed everyone dying from the poison that day said in fear, clearly traumatized.
“Although I was also frightened, I still want to get married. Duke’s concubine didn’t want to harm people for no reason. She was forced into a corner and then took revenge. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” Another person said confidently.
Unexpectedly, the matter was resolved so smoothly that Ye Moxun didn't even have to exert any effort. However, this was for the best. If Li Niang hadn't been so ruthless, there would probably have been another fierce battle, and the common people would have suffered in the end.
Nothing went wrong in Xiangyang City, and Song Tantan and Song Zhuiyan had nothing to do every day until Ye Mo sent a message by carrier pigeon asking them to meet up in Fengcheng.
"What about Xiangyang City?" Song Tantan asked hesitantly.
"Bai Pingfeng has woken up. His men are all reliable. You can rest assured that Xiangyang City is temporarily under Bai Pingfeng's management." The petty leaders with ulterior motives were dealt with the day Duke came to attack the city, and the remaining few are also under guard. There will be no trouble in Xiangyang City.
"Actually, I don't really want to go to Fengcheng," Song Tantan honestly admitted.
"Why?" Song Zhuiyan asked, puzzled.
“More than a hundred people died in the General’s Mansion, and at least several dozen people died in other government offices. There isn’t a single decent place to live that’s clean. It’s not safe to live there.” Song Tantan shook his head, looking resistant.
"But this place isn't necessarily clean either. So many people die in this world, why worry about this?" Song Zhuiyan said dismissively.
“It’s different. We don’t know who lived here before. Although Ah Xun and I personally eliminated Boss Cao, he deserved to die.” Duke and his confidants also deserved to die, but their families were actually pitiful, especially the children, who died somewhat unjustly. So Song Tantan felt a little horrified.
"Then what do you want to do?" Song Zhuiyan thought she was just being dramatic. When you're fleeing from disaster, it doesn't matter where you stay, so why bother complaining?
Now that Xifeng is in their hands, they have the means to choose, so they start making trouble.
"Auntie, please speak to me properly. How am I being unreasonable? I just don't want to live in a house where a whole family of over a hundred people died. I'd rather stay in an inn or a thatched hut than live in some general's mansion." Song Tantan was resolute, and no one could persuade her otherwise.
"Take it or leave it," Song Zhuiyan said, looking around the room and finding nothing to pack except for blankets and clothes. "I'm leaving now, do you want to come?"
“…Go, you can’t just leave me here alone.” Song Tantan chuckled awkwardly.
Before leaving, the two went to say goodbye to Bai Pingfeng and, incidentally, instructed him to temporarily manage Xiangyang City.
"What? You want me to manage this? I don't know how." Bai Pingfeng can now sit up, but he still can't walk and needs to rest for a while longer.
"You don't need to do anything. Your brothers are very loyal and trust you. Just tell them what to do," Song Zhuiyan reassured her in a low voice.
"What should I do? What do my brothers need to do?" Bai Pingfeng asked seriously. He was not familiar with Song Zhuiyan, but he admired Song Tantan and felt that what she and Ye Moxun did was right.
Seeing him looking over, Song Tantan coughed lightly and said patiently, "Have your men guard Xiangyang City. If they find anyone gathering small groups, disperse them immediately. Anyone who dares to forcibly abduct women, steal property, or food will be killed without mercy. In short, be a good person."
This is a critical moment. We can't allow anyone to take advantage of the situation. The stability of Xifeng is hard-won, so everyone should cherish it. Anyone who dares to disrupt it will be executed on the spot... Do you understand what to do?
"I roughly understand. It's about protecting the people. If anyone oppresses them, we'll show no mercy and kill all the scoundrels with evil intentions." Bai Pingfeng said, while looking at Song Tantan's expression, wondering if he understood correctly.
Song Zhuiyan was speechless. Who was it that said they wouldn't dare stay in someone's house after so many people died? Now they're righteously teaching others to kill. She was speechless.
Well, in these extraordinary times, if anyone really causes trouble at this time, they truly deserve to die.
"Don't worry. Although you don't have many men under your command, and some are still in Fengcheng and haven't returned, I've selected some reliable people for you to use. These men can distinguish right from wrong. Although they served under Duke before, that was out of necessity."
Now they want to do something good for Xiangyang City and Xifeng, to help the people of Xifeng live a stable life.
With the original 5,000 men plus the later 30,000, Song Tantan trained the officers and soldiers every day with the help of the muscle-softening powder developed by Ye Moxun. Then, he selected 1,000 men from them. These 1,000 men were the first batch of soldiers who passed the test and could be used with confidence.
The others still need further training, but since she's leaving today, she'll entrust the training to Bai Pingfeng's most trusted brother, making him the overall leader and ensuring that the officers and soldiers are properly trained.
Among them were some who were not afraid of death. They took the muscle relaxant and still thought about escaping. Some even incited others to rebel. Song Tantan had them dragged out and beheaded in front of everyone as a warning to others.
Those who tried to cheat or slack off during training were also beheaded. After being beheaded several times, the remaining people became obedient and dared not have any other thoughts.
To be honest, Song Tantan wasn't good at training soldiers. The reason she was entrusted with this task was simply because there was no one else available, so she had to fill in temporarily. Now that Bai Pingfeng and his group had passed the evaluation and were capable of taking on this important task, Song Tantan naturally didn't want to continue training soldiers.
"Many of these soldiers are seasoned veterans, and besides, there are many of them, so they're hard to manage. Therefore, we can't stop giving them the 'softening powder' (a metaphor for a form of internal slackness). Keep feeding them. Also, be careful and don't fall into other people's traps. I don't want to hear about you dying later." Song Tantan said meaningfully.
Her main concern was that Bai Pingfeng lacked experience and might soften his heart if someone pleaded for his life. Being kind to others was being cruel to himself, and his life was more important, so she hoped he would take good care of himself.
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