Chapter 81: 81. Subjugation and Absorption

With the death of the Qingzhu Tribe leader, Knight Wili, the remaining matters could be left to the Guards and militia led by Tangmu and Dawei to handle.

The utility of a force composed of ordinary people was also reflected at this moment; their combat power could not compare to Knights, but they had the advantage of sheer numbers, allowing them to suppress more ordinary people.

Under the loud scolding and driving of the soldiers, men, women, old, and young stumbled out of their thatched huts one by one, gathering on this dirt road while trembling all over; some timid women and children had already begun to cry.

In the eyes of the Qingzhu Tribe members, they were already lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and their subsequent fate would either be to be gathered and killed, or to be tortured for others' amusement...

In short, what awaited them was basically endless torture and suffering.

Luoning took advantage of this time to take a tour of the tribe.

The houses here were mostly quite dilapidated, and even the house of the leader, Knight Wili, was only slightly larger; he lacked the ability and financial resources to build a castle like a noble.

The scale of the stockade was not large, and all the houses were basically concentrated in this palm-sized area. Building it this way was convenient for Wili to manage, and at the same time, it was relatively safe.

After a rough walk around, Luoning returned to the gathering point and had Maiken bring Wili's two captives before him.

"Spare our lives, my lord! Spare our lives!"

As soon as the two were brought before Luoning, they knelt on the ground and begged for mercy; their attitude was much more like that of a defeated party, and they were far more sensible than Wili.

"I am merciful and will not take your lives easily."

Luoning smiled on his face, looking very kind, "Introduce yourselves."

The two captive Knights began to introduce themselves cautiously, and from their mouths, Luoning gained a further understanding of the Qingzhu Tribe.

The leader of this tribe, that is, the ancestors of Knight Wili, belonged to the Fox Baron family under the Orland Empire.

In a series of disputes, the Fox family stood on the opposite side of the Auduin Kingdom from many nobles, which led to them being surrounded, suppressed, and hunted down by the Noble Allied Forces led by the Wushan Family.

Wili's father died many years ago, and the Qingzhu Tribe was then led by Wili; he himself had decent cultivation talent and became an Intermediate Knight at twenty-five, enjoying high prestige in the tribe.

Hearing this, Luoning could not help but sigh; sure enough, their perception, huddled in the mountains and forests, was still unconsciously low.

Becoming an Intermediate Knight only at twenty-five, such talent could only be described as average, far from the evaluation of "decent talent."

As for the two captives before him, their aptitude was even more ordinary.

Whether it was the twenty-three-year-old Wodun or the twenty-one-year-old Dandi, they both accidentally activated their Battle Qi Seed at the age of nineteen, much like Zhuweite of Shanlin Town.

At most, they could only become Advanced Knights around the age of forty or fifty, and that was only if they cultivated diligently; if they slacked off even a little, they probably wouldn't even be able to become Intermediate Knights.

"I heard that your Qingzhu Tribe has reclaimed fields in the north; about how many mu?"

Luoning asked, "How was the harvest this year?"

Wodun and Dandi looked at each other, and a look of panic flashed in both their eyes; they could not answer this question.

Dandi tentatively replied: "I am very sorry, my lord, we are not very clear about this question; perhaps you could ask Sailisi?"

Sailisi?

Luoning looked at Maiken on the side, and the latter immediately understood, walking into the crowd of captives to bring Sailisi over.

"My lord, spare my life, my lord!"

As soon as Sailisi arrived, he knelt on the ground to beg for mercy just like Wodun and Dandi; Luoning noticed that this person was trembling all over.

"Don't be nervous, Sailisi."

Luoning comforted him kindly: "I heard that you are more familiar with the food situation of the Qingzhu Tribe. Tell me, how many mu of land have you reclaimed, and how was the harvest this year?"

Sailisi was afraid that if he answered slowly he would be beaten, so he answered almost without thinking, "My lord, we have reclaimed a total of over 980 mu of land here, but the grain harvest is not very good, only seventy-plus jin per mu, which is completely unable to feed the more than 360 people in the tribe!"

"Every year, every winter, a few people here starve to death, and we barely manage to survive by digging for wild vegetables and wild fruits."

With so little land, plus such a low yield per mu, it was indeed very difficult to feed more than three hundred people, and most of them must have been in a state of starvation all year round.

Yet even so, Wili still coveted the control of the Qingzhu Tribe, wanting to be this king of the mountains; the temptation of power and status was simply too great.

"Wodun, Dandi, Sailisi, you are now my captives."

Luoning said indifferently: "There is only one path before you..."

"We are willing to submit, my lord, we are willing to submit!"

Before Luoning could finish his sentence, the three of them immediately kowtowed like pounding garlic and shouted.

With Wili's example before them, they were afraid that if they said one more word, their necks would be severed by Luoning's terrifying Wind Blade.

Especially Sailisi, whose tone was the most submissive, "My lord, from now on I am your slave; whatever you want me to do, I will do! Even if you ask me to eat dung, I won't frown!"

Luoning was stunned by these words.

"There is a good old saying: those who are sensible are heroes; your performance makes me very satisfied."

He stood up, walked a few steps forward, and climbed onto the high slope nearby.

On the road below him, more than three hundred captives were all kneeling on the ground, the crying of children and the sobbing of women merging into one.

They were the captives.

When nobles treat captives, they will select those who are useful to keep; if their territory is not short of people, then this group of people will be sold to a slave exchange.

Generally, they would not be killed indiscriminately, because the reputation would be bad if it spread, and it could potentially be used as a handle by those with ulterior motives to attack.

"Everyone listen!"

Luoning's voice was clear and cold, carrying far in the stockade as night fell; those who were crying stopped their voices in unison.

"Although you are now my captives, I could have executed you enemies of Wushan Territory on the spot, or packed you up and sold you to a slave trader!"

The people below raised their heads, their eyes revealing despair.

But Luoning's tone changed, "But I am merciful and willing to give you a chance. Now you only need to work for me honestly and peacefully, and I can guarantee in the name of a noble that not only will I not kill you or sell you, I can also guarantee that your future life will be better than your current life!"

Luoning looked at Sailisi, "Go, take the cooks of your Qingzhu Tribe and move out Knight Wili's grain; tonight, let everyone eat their fill!"

Sailisi was stunned for a moment, then reacted, prostrating respectfully on the ground, "My lord, you are truly too merciful!"

He stood up and called out to the people in the crowd: "Bate, Old John, hurry, the respected Baron is willing to bestow upon us a full meal, come and lend a hand!"

Under Sailisi's call, two people walked out of the crowd; while shouting about the Baron's mercy, they walked toward Knight Wili's house with Sailisi.

Luoning gave Dawei a look, letting him take people to follow to prevent any accidents.

He looked at the kneeling captives again and said loudly: "Wili was nothing but an incompetent Knight; he couldn't even guarantee your safety and food, but I can!"

"Most importantly, you will never have to worry about being hunted by nobles from the outside again, nor will you have to let your descendants cower in the perilous Shanlin."

"You will be the same as the Slaves in my territory; as long as you can work steadily for me for ten years, I will grant you farmland."

He paused, emphasizing specifically: "That will be land that belongs to you yourselves!"

Luoning was not very good at brainwashing people, but he knew what the people of the Qingzhu Tribe wanted.

For this group of people, as long as Luoning could provide them with food, clothing, and a relatively safe environment, they did not really feel much of a difference whether the person they served was Wili or Luoning; after all, they were serving someone regardless.

However, if they could freely choose whom to serve, anyone with even a little bit of sense would choose Luoning.

Because Luoning was different from Wili; he was a true noble, and he was far better than Wili, who was a wanted man!

The feeling of unease slowly dissipated among this group of people, and the women and children who had been holding back their tears also gradually calmed down.

What they feared most was the butcher's knife falling upon their heads, but now the knife had not fallen, and instead, there would be hot, fragrant bread.

(End of this chapter)