Chapter 1682

On the list, there were a total of one hundred and thirteen families. On this snowy night, heads were truly rolling, and blood was flowing like a river! Bai Tan also chose the most labor-saving method: for every household of officials and nobles he slaughtered, he ordered people to dig up the grain in their cellars and distribute it to the refugees behind him.

No matter how short of grain Tianshui City was, the storehouses of these wealthy families were at least seventy percent full; every time one was dug open, it was accompanied by bursts of cheers.

Finding a rat's nest in a famine year was just that happy.

The refugees, starving to the point of sticking to their ribs, received grain and were all beaming with joy; they volunteered to take the lead when going to the next wealthy family, hoping to rush in and get the first bite, get more grain, and get more money.

A once-in-two-hundred-year opportunity was worth cherishing.

Their gratitude toward Bai Tan also reached its peak; Bai Tan didn't even need to wave his arms and shout, the refugee team behind him grew larger and larger, eventually exceeding twenty-eight thousand people, a sea of black as far as the eye could see.

The team didn't just consist of refugees; many civilians also mixed in, smashing, looting, and burning.

The nobles who were usually high and mighty, the masters who usually thought them dirty just by looking at them, turned out not to be so tough after all; they screamed even more miserably than ordinary people after being hit with sticks! Seeing them paralyzed on the ground, curled up like dead dogs, the civilians and refugees had dilated pupils and flushed faces, howling as they rushed up.

What they were grabbing and how much they were grabbing was secondary; the opportunity to beat up noble masters didn't come every day.

Beat them to death, kick them to death! Break their hands, break their legs, scald their mouths, make them kneel, make them kneel properly!

Listen to their screams, listen to their wails, listen to their pleas for mercy, listen to their crying! The cycle of heaven finally turned, and it was our turn to be the masters! Awesome, damn, too awesome!

If the stick broke, change to another one and keep going; if you were tired to the point of foaming at the mouth, grab a bottle of wine to boost your energy, and you could keep going after crawling up! On this freezing snowy night, Tianshui City was filled with raging fires, illuminating half the sky.

Physiognomy books say fire signifies prosperity; only by being red and fiery can one be prosperous! At this time, Bai Tan personally led the army to sincerely "visit" several military officers.

In Tianshui City's defense system, these military generals occupied key positions, with soldiers and power under their command, such as the gate commanders of Tianshui City's eight gates and the supervisors of the City Patrol Army units.

Before the coup, Bai Tan was the Minister of Justice, the superior of their superiors. Since they were in the same system, it was easy to speak clearly.

The military officers had just learned that the Yao Nation had changed and the Yao court was in chaos, and they were also full of confusion and at a loss. The object of their loyalty had suddenly disappeared, the unit that paid their salaries had suddenly disbanded, and their old leader, General Bai, offered his thigh at this time; naturally, some people came to embrace it.

Even if some military officers were unwilling to submit, Bai Tan was followed by more than twenty thousand people, all staring at them with the eyes of hungry wolves, making it clear that not listening to advice meant death.

Under this pressure, most military officers complied.

There were also a few who stiffened their necks and were ignorant of the times, pointing at Bai Tan's nose and cursing him as a usurper who forgot his ancestors.

Bai Tan particularly admired their loyalty and courage, and then surrounded and annihilated them, and killed their entire families.

To serve as a warning to others.

There were also several military officers who, while leading troops to suppress the refugee riots, suddenly received the bad news of the national change; after discussing it, they decided this place was not to be stayed in, and simply took their confidants and subordinates to rush out of Tianshui City during the chaos.

Upon hearing the news, Bai Tan didn't pursue them; this short vacuum period after the King of Yao's death was too precious, and he had to seize the time to take over the entire Tianshui City!

Because he knew very well that new challenges would follow one after another.

On this night, the sky of the Yao Nation collapsed.

The next evening, Bai Ziqi returned to Tianshui City.

He felt something was wrong on his way back, because he encountered batch after batch of Tianshui refugees fleeing.

Thus he understood that Qingyang and the Heavenly God had launched the coup in advance.

At present, Tianshui City remained in a state of full martial law, with idlers not allowed to enter or leave. Of course, the Heavenly Palace's Cloud Envoy had special privileges.

As soon as Bai Ziqi entered the city, he felt the tension of everyone being a soldier; although the markets were open, there were few pedestrians on the street, and most civilians dared not go out.

The City Patrol Army, reorganized by Bai Tan, had already begun patrolling the streets, arresting suspicious characters.

Bai Ziqi walked through seven or eight streets on his way to the temple; he didn't know how many pairs of eyes were peeking from behind door cracks, all being extremely cautious.

Passing by several large mansions, which were once tightly closed with deep courtyards, the gates were now wide open for anyone to enter, and the stone steps were stained with blood. Bai Ziqi took a few glances inside; the once meticulously pruned gardens were all trampled, and the ground was covered in countless messy bloody footprints, which had long since turned into black stains.

He also saw a pair of legs exposed behind the screen wall; the pants were dirty, but he could see the fabric was exquisite, and the embroidered shoes on the feet were adorned with a small pink ball.

The legs moved once, and the small ball moved with them.

Were there still living people in the courtyard? No.

He took another step and discovered two wild dogs behind the screen wall, gnawing on a young girl in her prime.

They gnawed once, and the corpse moved once.

The girl's face was turned toward the gate, her eyes wide open, facing him exactly.

Bai Ziqi couldn't help but sigh: "These Yao people are truly resolute and ruthless."

He knew Bai Tan had used thunderous means to intimidate the whole city.

Scenes like this could be seen everywhere further on.

The Yao Nation coup had only passed for less than a day, and there were still a large number of corpses in the streets and houses that hadn't been cleared; the smell of blood in the air was so thick it couldn't be dissolved, making one want to vomit.

The vast white snow couldn't even cover the bloodstains on the ground.

Bai Ziqi first went to pay his respects to the Miaozhan Heavenly God.

Don't look at how desolate other places were; the small and large temples were overcrowded and bustling with incense.

Suddenly encountering such a change, people's hearts were in chaos, so they had to come to the temple to seek comfort and peace of mind.

Then, Bai Ziqi left the city and went to Youhu Villa.

He took a shortcut along the water and passed several rows of low houses, hearing the sounds of a man and woman arguing inside, as if they were a married couple.

The husband said: "Is the temple a must-go? Can't it wait two days? People are being killed outside at every turn; it's extremely dangerous!"

"You blockhead! The temple is the safest place in Tianshui City right now; the entire family of the Guest Reception Official has hidden in the temple!" The wife retorted, "I heard that if the nobles in the city don't want their heads to fall, they go to the temple to seek refuge. The place they all go to must be safe!"

She added: "We can still find a place to stay if we rush to the temple now. If we go late and others react, the temple will be packed, and even if you climb over the wall, you'll be driven back to the street!"

The husband was hesitant: "Do we really have to go? I heard the refugee riots have ended, and they've all been driven back to their shacks. If we leave, the things in the house will be stolen."

"Being stolen is better than being killed. How glorious was the Zhu family in the west of the city originally? Did you pass by this morning? Corpses were strewn everywhere!" The wife said impatiently, "For middle-class, well-off families like ours, no one cares if refugees come to smash and loot; now is the most dangerous time!"