Chapter 555

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“General Lu!”

Luo Hong’s face was a bit grim.

Just as Luo Hong was about to say something, Luo Xin suddenly pulled him, signaling him to stop speaking.

Glancing at Luo Hong, Lu Fei said, “I don’t care about the inauspiciousness of killing captives. I only know that these people are the remnants of powerful families. Precisely because they are willing to be the powerful families’ pawns, they stubbornly resisted in the city. I was merciful to them, but did they ever sympathize with our fallen soldiers?”

After a pause, Luo Hong said, “These three thousand people are just the beginning. During the siege, I already said: either surrender, or after the city falls, not a single powerful family member in the city will be spared.”

When he first arrived in Qingzhou, Luo Xin was also puzzled by the Qingzhou Army’s hatred for powerful families. Later, he gradually understood when he learned that Xiao Ming had almost died several times at the hands of powerful families, and that the local powerful families had even colluded with the barbarians.

“Brother, don’t say anymore. This is His Highness’s consistent policy. Wherever His Highness rules, no powerful families can exist,” Luo Xin said.

Luo Hong sighed upon hearing this. ‘One emperor, one set of ministers.’ If it were in the past, they would only rely on the local powerful families to manage the city after conquering it, but now everything had changed.

He said, “General Lu, I was reckless.”

“Battalion Commander Luo, you will gradually understand His Highness’s original intention in doing this,” Lu Fei said.

As the setting sun cast its last rays, gunshots echoed outside Pengzhou City. The last batch of powerful family clan members within Pengzhou City were all executed. Then, Lu Fei ordered the Southern Expedition Army to search house by house, leaving no powerful family remnants untouched.

It wasn’t that Lu Fei was cruel, but that he clearly remembered the destruction caused by the powerful family remnants within the six prefectures back then. The powerful families who were pardoned by Xiao Ming at that time not only showed no gratitude but also plotted to assassinate Xiao Ming.

From this alone, he could see that these powerful families are all venomous snakes; their temporary submission was merely like snakes hibernating in winter, and they would still bite once awake.

The order to kill the captives was his own decision. Although Xiao Ming had left him leeway, allowing powerful families who willingly disbanded their private armies and surrendered their land to live in Pengzhou City, for him, who harbored extreme hatred for powerful families, choosing to kill them was more practical.

The next day, the Southern Expeditionary Army did not remain idle. While Lu Fei dispatched a portion of his soldiers to collect spoils of war, he also sent Luo Hong and Luo Xin to the six counties belonging to Pengzhou. These six counties were under the jurisdiction of Pengzhou City, and now that Pengzhou City had been captured, he naturally had to take these six counties as well.

On June 25th, Luo Xin captured Pei County, and Luo Hong captured Pi County. On June 27th, Luo Xin captured Xin County, and Luo Hong captured Tong County. On June 30th, Luo Xin captured Sui County, and Luo Hong captured Hongshan County. In a short time, all the counties and villages within the Pengzhou City area were occupied by the Southern Expeditionary Army.

And on July 1st, upon learning that Xiao Ming had arrived at Pengzhou City with a group of officials, Xiao Ming looked at the city wall, which had been blasted to ruins by cannons, and said, “Alas, Luo Xin, that boy, should have saved some cannonballs. Look at what he’s done to this city wall. I still have to send people to repair it.”

“Hahahaha…” Fiji laughed upon hearing this. He said to Xiao Ming, “Your Highness obtaining this strategic town is well worth the expenditure of some cannonballs.”

Xiao Ming was, of course, just joking. The smooth capture of Pengzhou City meant that the southern gate to Wei’s territory was now open to him, and taking the other cities in Wei’s territory was only a matter of time.

However, he could not immediately attack the next city. He did not want to bite off more than he could chew. The most important thing now was to stabilize Pengzhou City and establish an administrative system similar to his fief.

Additionally, he needed to recruit a batch of local soldiers to join the Southern Expedition Army; otherwise, his soldiers would only dwindle in number.

“Your Highness.”

Upon learning of Xiao Ming’s arrival, Lu Fei, accompanied by a group of generals, came out to greet him.

Seeing Lu Fei, Xiao Ming heavily patted his shoulder, “Lu Fei, you did not disappoint me by leading the army alone this time. It seems this Southern Expedition General position still needs you to continue serving.”

“Your Highness, when have I ever disappointed you? I have corrected many bad habits in the past two years and no longer want to be confined to the dark cell.” Lu Fei said with a bitter smile.

“Hmm, to correct a mistake is to be truly good. There will be many battles to fight in the future. I hope you can command independently like Commander Niu.” Xiao Ming smiled. Lu Fei was one of the earliest generals to follow Xiao Ming.

In the past two years, Xiao Ming had kept Lu Fei somewhat in the background, not promoting him, not because he disliked him. On the contrary, Xiao Ming wanted to temper Lu Fei’s character, otherwise, he could only remain a cavalry commander.

After speaking with Lu Fei, Xiao Ming looked at Luo Hong and Luo Xin. He said, “They say that in war, brothers fight together, and fathers and sons go into battle. This time, it is said that you two cooperated well on the battlefield.”

Luo Xin and Luo Hong cupped their hands and said, “Thank you, Your Highness, for your praise.”

After greeting the generals, Xiao Ming and Fiji walked into Pengzhou City together. At this time, the common people in the city dared to walk on the streets. The Southern Expedition Army had not committed any offenses these days, which put the common people at ease and made them bolder.

Xiao Ming’s purpose in coming to Pengzhou City this time was to bring the officials who would take over Pengzhou City. After these officials took office, they would reform Pengzhou City, completely bringing it under Qingzhou’s administration.

“Your Highness, this is the Mi family’s courtyard, a powerful family in Pengzhou City.” Lu Fei directly led the officials to the Mi family manor.

Upon entering the courtyard, Xiao Ming couldn’t help but shake his head and say, “This Mi family manor is much grander than my royal residence. Look, the vermilion lacquered corridors, the rock gardens, the carp in the pond, and the exotic flowers and plants in this courtyard.”

“Indeed. Just the area of this courtyard is three or four times that of the royal residence, isn’t it? When I was in Chang’an, I heard about the Mi family of Pengzhou City. Seeing it today, it is indeed an extremely wealthy and powerful family. It’s just a pity that this Mi family was so obstinate and still couldn’t see through the current situation.”

As the two were inspecting the courtyard, Lu Fei brought over an account book. He said, “Your Highness, this is the property of the thirty-six powerful families in Pengzhou City. I have sent people to tally it all. It’s all here.”

Xiao Ming took the account book and glanced at it. It recorded real estate, land, warehouses, and a lot of gold and silver that they hadn’t had time to take away.

Glancing at Lu Fei, Xiao Ming said, “You’re so eager to send the account book. Could it be that you want to distribute the bounty now?”

“Your Highness, it’s not that I want to distribute it, but the soldiers are feeling anxious, wondering if this bounty system is real or fake.” Lu Fei said with a bitter smile.

Xiao Ming handed the account book to Fiji and said, “Grand Councillor Fei, you tally up how much silver these properties are worth, and then, according to the bounty system, allocate a portion of it to be distributed among the soldiers.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Fiji said with a smile. At this moment, he couldn’t help but admire.

In war, many generals condoned soldiers looting, but this would lead to military indiscipline and unnecessary losses. Now, Xiao Ming had Lu Fei submit all spoils of war, and then issued bounties. This not only showed strict military discipline but also provided practical benefits to the soldiers involved in the war, stimulating their fighting will.