Chapter 277: Begging the Military Lord for Mercy

Thick smoke billowed, drifting into the cave.

The Northern Frontier Army formed a fan shape, holding Bow and Arrow and other weapons, waiting in full battle array outside the cave entrance.

As long as anyone tried to charge out, they would be met with a rain of arrows.

The pitch-black, thick smoke drifted into the cave.

Soon, a series of shouts came from inside the cave.

"Put out the fire, we... we surrender..."

Xiao Moting shouted coldly, "Throw all your weapons out."

As soon as he finished speaking, weapons were thrown out of the cave one after another.

Broadswords, Bow and Arrow, throwing stones...

Seeing the other side throw out their weapons, Xiao Moting ordered the fire to be extinguished.

But he still instructed the Northern Frontier Army to hold their Bow and Arrow, in case the other side tried to break through.

"Quick, cover it with dirt." Qin Zhan led a dozen Northern Frontier Army soldiers to dig baskets of soil from a nearby hillside and cover the burning branches.

It had not rained for a long time, and the mountain stream was only a trickle; it took a long time to fill a single bucket of water.

Using dirt to put out the fire was more convenient.

The soldiers covered the flames with baskets of soil, and the flames were soon extinguished.

A moment later, a group of people walked out of the cave.

This group of people wore tattered clothes, their faces blackened by smoke, looking extremely disheveled.

But they were all very young, around twenty years old.

This group of people carried no weapons.

Seeing them come out, Xiao Dabao immediately went up and kicked them one by one.

"Kneel!"

"You have the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard, daring to come and steal the rations of our Northern Frontier garrison."

Xiao Moting walked in front of them and asked in a cold voice.

"Who exactly are you people?"

The dozen or so people looked at each other, and one young man who looked like the Leader was just about to speak.

Suddenly, Qin Zhan strode over and threw a few things in front of Xiao Moting.

"Prince, these were found in the cave."

On the ground lay several battle robes of the Yuan Family Army.

Xiao Moting's expression turned cold instantly, "Are you spies sent by Yuan Canghai? Trying to scout out the military intelligence of my Northern Frontier."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of Northern Frontier soldiers behind him drew their Long Sword one after another.

"Daring to come to the Northern Frontier to spy on military intelligence, Prince, kill them."

"Hang them up and execute them all by slow slicing."

Seeing the formation, those dozen or so people panicked.

The young man who looked like the Leader spoke in a panic.

"We are not spies, nor are we here to scout military intelligence..."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Dabao kicked him and roared, "If you aren't here to scout our military intelligence, why are you hiding near the Beijiang Junying? No wonder you run to the military camp to steal property every few days; it turns out you were looking for an opportunity to gather information."

The man was kicked to the ground, bruised and swollen; he ignored the pain, scrambled up, and explained.

"No, we... we are deserters from the Yuan Clan."

"Deserters?" Xiao Moting raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Do you know that as deserters, once caught, you are to be dealt with according to military law and executed on the spot?"

The man looked miserable.

"We know, but we had no choice."

"Last time we fought at Shiya City, the gods gave a prophecy in the sky, saying that Yuan Canghai was going to rebel."

"Rebellion is a capital crime, especially for ordinary soldiers like us; if we followed him in a failed rebellion, our entire clans would be executed."

"We are all from nearby villages and have many relatives at home; everyone didn't want to rebel, and even less did we want to implicate our elders and fellow villagers, so we deserted and fled from the Yuan Family Army."

"Even if desertion is a capital crime, it only kills us alone. Compared to following the Yuan Family Army to rebel and harming the whole clan, it is better to have our own heads cut off."

After hearing his words, Xiao Moting roughly understood.

Last time at Shiya City, Bai Wei sent Firework that could display characters; she set the Firework into the sky and, under the guise of the gods, predicted that Yuan Canghai was going to rebel.

After the Firework were set off into the sky, the Yuan Family Army fell into chaos, and the soldiers were all filled with panic.

General Yang was also unwilling to be his accomplice and remained still.

Forced by circumstances, Yuan Canghai had no choice but to retreat.

Afterwards, even though he submitted a memorial to the Emperor to explain, he didn't know where he got another Firework to show the Emperor, which cleared his suspicion.

But the Yuan Family Army was already in disarray; many people had joined the army just to make a living and had no desire to rebel.

Xiao Moting shouted, "You are deserters, so why have you come to steal things from my Northern Frontier mine time and time again?"

The man kneeling on the ground also realized Xiao Moting's identity and said hurriedly.

"Prince, many people have deserted from the Yuan Family Army, and Yuan Canghai is furious, hunting down deserters everywhere; as long as they are caught, they are beheaded on the spot."

"Our homes are all in the villages nearby, and we were afraid of being caught by them, so we could only hide in these mountains."

"It's just that... there was a snow disaster last year, and the people in the village had nothing to eat; many people froze or starved to death. We didn't want our families in the village to starve to death, and seeing that you had plenty of supplies, so... so we came to steal your grain."

The more he spoke, the lower his head hung, and his face turned bright red.

Xiao Dabao sneered, "You only steal our grain; you really have the guts, aren't you afraid we'll find you?"

Among the crowd kneeling on the ground, someone spoke in a low voice.

"We grew up in these mountains, so crossing mountains and ridges is nothing to us, and Er Gou even knows Lightness Skill. The soldiers guarding the mine are not good at climbing mountains, so..."

After finishing, he pointed at the young man kneeling before Xiao Moting.

"He is Er Gou."

Xiao Moting took a careful look and discovered that the other person had a thin and small build, yet was the one with the best Lightness Skill.

"Er Gou, you know Lightness Skill?"

Er Gou lay on the ground, "Replying to the Prince, my family are ancestral hunters. We often hunt in the mountains and know a bit of crude martial arts. I have been climbing mountains with my family since I was small, so I practiced a set of Lightness Skill."

Xiao Moting said, "Your martial arts are not bad, yet you turned to being a thief; it is a waste of your skills."

Er Gou's face was full of shame, and he dared not answer.

Qin Zhan shouted sternly, "Where are our ores, Saltpeter, and food?"

Er Gou stammered, "The food was all given to the villagers to eat. As for stealing your iron ore and Saltpeter Mine, we intended to find an opportunity to sell them and exchange them for food, but the ores were too heavy to move out of the mountains for the time being, so they are all kept in the village."

After finishing, he hurriedly kowtowed.

"We haven't touched the iron ore or the Saltpeter at all. I beg the Prince to spare us."

Qin Zhan snorted coldly, "Since you are deserters and have stolen so many supplies from our Northern Frontier Army, you still want to live? You are simply dreaming."

Just at this moment, a burst of clamor came from afar.

Xiao Moting turned his head and discovered a group of villagers rushing over, panting.

The villagers ran to the front, plopped down onto the ground, and began to wail and plead all at once.

"I beg the soldiers to spare these few children."

"They were all press-ganged by the Yuan Family Army and brought into the army; they only became deserters because they were unwilling to follow the Yuan Family Army in rebellion."

"They stole the food only to keep us old bones alive. I beg the soldiers to show mercy and spare their lives."

Suddenly, a voice filled with anger rang out.

"You stole the Tribute and still want to live? All of you shall be beheaded."