Chapter 184: Meeting Violence with Violence

Changhuai Guard Station, Fengyang Prefecture.

When Li Shaoyou led the three thousand royal cavalry to Changhuai Guard Station, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's insiders had already taken control of the city gates and captured the Chiliarch guarding the city.

The city gates slowly swung open, and a rolling torrent of cavalry flooded into the city, scaring the captured Changhuai Guard Chiliarch and several Centurions half to death.

These cavalrymen before them were all burly and stout, uniformly clad in fine red-tasseled helmets, their heavy black lamellar armor cold and fearsome, each soldier glaring with ox-like eyes that made one tremble involuntarily.

Several guard station officers sighed inwardly—no wonder they were the Crown Prince's men; even an ordinary cavalryman's equipment rivaled that of their own fifth- or sixth-rank military officers.

While those officers felt a chill in their hearts, the Platoon Leaders and guard station soldiers were no better off, trembling with fear, thankful that they had been captured and the gates opened—had these men stormed in, these ferocious cavalrymen might well have slaughtered them all.

Li Shaoyou's troops did not halt, leading the force straight into the city. The great column of royal cavalry poured through the gates, riding several abreast in orderly formation, iron hooves striking the blue-stone streets in a single thunderous rhythm.

The rumbling hooves carried immense pressure. Some landlords and unscrupulous gentry stirring up trouble in the streets stared blankly at these cavalrymen who swept through as if no one stood in their way, not knowing what was happening.

The common citizens, terrified, fled into their homes, peering blankly through door cracks and windows at the scene outside.

"By order of His Highness the Crown Prince, the Tianwu Army is taking over Changhuai Guard Station. People need not panic!"

The soldiers and officers of Changhuai Guard Station were dumbfounded—how had the Tianwu Army arrived at the city walls, how had they simply marched straight in? Which traitorous dog had opened the gates?

"What are we to do now..." Some gentry and merchants watching from their own attics grew extremely tense, feeling that matters had escalated far too greatly.

"Beat them to death! They've come to seize our land!" A wealthy landlord shouted loudly, summoning his household retainers and private troops to resist them.

"Everyone, drive them out together, protect our property!" Someone immediately echoed.

A household retainer asked weakly, "Master, will these military lords draw their blades and kill us?"

The wealthy landlord chuckled grimly and said, "I hear the Crown Prince's army doesn't kill civilians—anyone who strikes first will be executed by military law. Just hit them! Beat them to death! For every one you kill, I'll reward you ten taels of silver!"

"Huh? There's an army like that?" The household retainer grinned, hefted his spear, and charged forward, trying to stab a cavalryman off his horse.

Li Shaoyou said coldly, "Anyone bearing arms—kill! Anyone attacking our troops—kill!"

Li Shaoyou spurred his horse forward, ran one spear through a household retainer of the landlord who charged up, then with another thrust sent the shouting landlord flying.

The cavalrymen behind him, gripping cold long spears, began a merciless slaughter of the officials, gentry, and landlords resisting in the city.

"What's going on? Didn't the master say these military lords don't kill civilians? How—" A household retainer said dazedly.

"The master himself is already cold—let's run!"

Another sharper-eyed retainer quickly threw down his weapon, searched the fallen master's body for the treasury keys, then ran back to the manor to pack up valuables, and on the way made off with the master's newly taken concubine.

The other landlords and gentry who had been stirring up trouble, seeing the Tianwu Army begin killing, immediately burst into wailing chaos and fled for their lives, shutting their manor gates tightly upon returning home.

The Changhuai Guard Commander had already arrived with his household retainers and guard station soldiers, along with some hastily assembled landlord retainers—a motley, undisciplined mob cursing and grumbling.

The Changhuai Guard Commander shouted at the top of his lungs, "Repel the enemy, and each man gets a hundred taels of silver and a hundred mu of good farmland!"

Hearing this, the soldiers and retainers whooped and made a racket for a while—but when they saw the Tianwu Army's numbers, they began to regret it. Damn it, how were there so many men! How could they possibly fight this!

Li Shaoyou paid no heed to what the other side thought, directly ordering his troops to smash this force with thunderous momentum, complete the mission quickly, and return to report.

"Kill!"

Wave after wave of iron-clad men charged at the enemy bearing boundless killing intent. Some guard station soldiers and retainers were stunned by the terrifying aura before them, their legs going weak with fear.

"Run! They're killing people!" A guard station soldier threw down his weapon and fled.

A few clangs of weapons hitting the ground snapped everyone awake. With a great roar, the hastily gathered guard station soldiers and retainers collapsed as a body and scattered in all directions, while several whose legs had given out had already collapsed to the ground in surrender.

The Changhuai Guard Commander shouted himself hoarse trying to rally them, but no one listened to him, which left him deeply frustrated—usually these men were as fierce as tigers when bullying common folk, so why had they turned coward in an instant now?

With no other choice, he could only flee along with them.

Iron hooves pounded the hard ground with dull thuds, like death-knell drumbeats that made one's heart pound in time. Li Shaoyou led his men in relentless pursuit—he would make this rabble of mutinous soldiers know that the only outcome for daring to defy the Crown Prince was death!

Within Changhuai Guard Station, the royal cavalry began their merciless pursuit, targeting primarily the guard station officers and soldiers in their mandarin-duck jackets, and cutting down any retainers they encountered who still held weapons.

The routed guard station soldiers had no fighting capability whatsoever, leaving behind only a trail of corpses and blood.

Li Shaoyou's voice rang out across the city: "Continue clearing out the troublemakers in the city—arrest and confiscate the property of all who participated in the disturbance!"

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After two days of pacification, all eight guard stations and one garrison were under Tianwu Army control. Over a thousand guard station soldiers had been wiped out, a great swath of officials, gentry, and landlords had been killed, and countless farmland and family assets had been seized.

Zhu Cilang issued an edict: all civil officials of Prefect rank and above in South Zhili, and all military officers of the fourth rank and above in the various guard stations, were to proceed to the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum within three days. Those who arrived late or not at all would be dismissed from office. Camp soldiers and military officers in the various localities were to remain at their posts, strictly guarding against the roving bandits crossing the border.

On the third day, several hundred civil and military officials from South Zhili all entered the Forbidden Wall and came before the throne in Fengtian Hall. The officials standing in two rows extended all the way out the hall's doors—these third- and fourth-rank regional dignitaries all stood there with utmost deference, not daring to breathe loudly.

Zhu Cilang's gaze swept over to Li Tingbiao beside him and asked, "What is the situation with the eight guard stations and one garrison?"

Li Tingbiao bowed and said in a low voice, "Reporting to Your Highness: apart from the Fengyang Central Guard Commander who committed suicide, half of the principal officers of the other guard stations have been arrested. Adding the civil officials of the five prefectures and thirteen counties, this operation has netted a total of six hundred thirty-two civil and military officials of the ninth rank and above, and over twelve hundred mutinous soldiers."

Li Tingbiao continued, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has also discovered that the eight Guard Commanders had secretly conspired to communicate with bandits—the Fengyang Right Guard Commander can testify to this."

The Fengyang Right Guard Commander was the one who had voluntarily opened the city gates and surrendered that day. After surrendering, he had shown an excellent attitude in admitting his faults and had cooperated extremely well with the Embroidered Uniform Guard's investigation—a man who caused no trouble.

The entire Fengyang Prefecture, civil and military alike, had been nearly wiped out in one fell swoop. The Crown Prince's ruthless methods struck fear into the hearts of all the civil and military officials present. A profound silence hung over Fengtian Hall, broken only by Li Tingbiao's low voice echoing through the great chamber.

Zhu Cilang nodded and had Li Tingbiao re-review the crimes of the arrested officials, insisting that not a single good man be wronged, nor a single bad man be let off.

Subsequently, Zhu Cilang announced appointments and dismissals for all officials of Fengyang Prefecture.

Zhu Cilang appointed Yang Tinglin as acting Prefect of Fengyang Prefecture, and selected from the Imperial Academy students who had joined the Yongwei Camp that year, promoting them by ability to serve as acting County Magistrates and acting Assistant County Magistrates for the five prefectures and thirteen counties, with formal appointments to be issued later by the Ministry of Personnel upon reporting to the court.

The civil and military officials of South Zhili were somewhat bewildered by the Crown Prince's maneuver—he had gone to such great lengths to summon all the regional officials here, yet had not said a single word about the punishment of the offending officials, merely arranging some appointments. What did this mean?

Thanks to the book friends for their tips: Can Yue_Shun, o0Xiao Long0o, 1Ren Jian Zheng Dao Shi Cang Sang1, Du Nai Lai Lo, Du Ai Kong Xin Cai