For two consecutive days, the people of Gaoyang City spent their days in an uneasy atmosphere, but what they were worried about did not happen. The soldiers of Jingwei Camp were busy in their respective areas, and also helped to maintain law and order, as if they had forgotten about the looting and plundering.

  These Jinwei camp soldiers seemed less ferocious than the bandits before, and a few bolder villagers cautiously stepped out of their houses to greet these soldiers.

  A civilian from Gaoyang pulled at the sleeve of a Yang (Yang Fan's) flag soldier who was directing the bandit prisoners and said in a low voice, "Sir, what are you doing?"

  The soldier turned his head and said, "Can't you see? We're escorting these bandits..."

  The commoner swallowed hard and asked: "That... may I ask, sir... when will you... that..."

  "What? Speak clearly." The soldier didn't understand what he was saying at first and asked again carefully.

  The villager, trembling all over, replied in a low voice: "It's that one... I only beg of you, sir, to show mercy when the time comes and spare my family's life..."

  The Jingwei camp soldiers suddenly had a black face: "What are you talking about? Speak clearly, what is the way to survive?"

  "Hmm..." The commoner looked at the people following behind him and, mustering up his courage, said: "It's just 'boosting morale and sharing joy with the people for three days', I only hope that you military officers won't take away my family's grain, we have elderly and children relying on this to survive..."

  The commoner's eyes were brimming with tears, and some of the people behind him also shed tears. This half year has really been a disaster caused by bandits.

  "Enjoying the people's joy for three days..." The soldier muttered to himself, suddenly came to his senses and shouted loudly: "How dare you! Do you think our Imperial Guard is a bandit army?"

  Those civilians were taken aback by his sudden shout, and before they could regain their composure, the soldier grabbed the inquiring civilian's collar and loudly said: "The Wei Garrison has been strict with discipline since its establishment! We have never offended any good citizens! How dare you spread rumors and deceive people in front of me? What kind of 'sharing joy with the people' is this? You're enjoying yourself at my expense, and if you dare to speak nonsense again, don't blame me for being impolite! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you, get out!"

  The soldier loosened his collar, panting and continuing to command the troops escorting the captured bandits. The surrounding civilians rushed over to support the civilian who almost fell down.

  "Really?" The civilian, though scolded, felt a little relieved after being frightened.

  "Is there really such an army?" The civilian who was being supported by others muttered to himself as he gazed at the soldier's receding back.

  "What's going on here?" Yang Fan came over with several soldiers to find out what was happening.

  "I've seen Commander Yang Qi." The soldier nodded at Yang Fan and then recounted what had happened.

  Yang Fan's eyes narrowed after listening, and he said, "There are still people who take the initiative to seek out trouble, the world is vast, and nothing is impossible."

  The surrounding soldiers nodded in agreement, and Yang Fan continued: "It's no wonder they're like that. I used to be in the military too, and whether it was the army or bandits, they were all the same. The custom of allowing soldiers to plunder for three days after capturing a city has always been an unspoken rule in our Great Zhou army. After all, many soldiers have grievances about their rations being withheld, so this is an opportunity for them to vent their frustrations and reduce their resentment. Unfortunately, it's the civilians inside the city who suffer. I didn't understand this before, but after reading books for a few days and with General's guidance, I finally understand the reasoning behind it."

  After finishing, he sighed and the surrounding soldiers were staring at him in a daze. Yang Fan smiled and patted the soldier's head: "Fortunately, our Jingwei Camp is strict in discipline and generous in rewards, showing great magnanimity. You must be strict with yourself, and in the future, you will become an official army member and stand out from the crowd, setting up a banner!"

  "Obey the Commander-in-Chief's order!" Everyone simultaneously clenched their left fists and pounded them on their right chests, giving a military salute.

  As for the upcoming transformation into a regular army, neither the upper nor lower levels of the Jingwei Camp had any objections. After all, who wouldn't be happy to have their identity formally recognized? It was as if Liu Ce's persuasion was unnecessary trouble, but everyone only acknowledged the Jingwei Camp as their own unit. If they were to go to other regular army formations, they would rather become refugees...

  "Very good." Yang Fan nodded with relief, full of confidence in his own soldiers.

  The soldier who was in charge of escorting the captured bandits whispered to Qi, "Commander, what should we do with these bandits?"

  Yang Fan's eyes turned cold, a hint of murderous intent appeared in front of him: "You've been in the Imperial Guard for some time now, don't you know that those who fall into the general's hands have a good ending?"

  The soldier's face flashed with excitement, and after a moment of thought, he said, "More than 80,000 people, it's not good to kill them, in case it causes chaos, it will be difficult to control..."

  Yang Fan sneered: "Who told you that killing people must use a knife, tonight is the death date of these bandits, hum..."

  The people around saw Yang Fan say this and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on their backs, fortunately they were not members of the Liuxi...

  "Dad, Mom! I'm back..."

  "My child, you've finally come back, what a suffering..."

  On the side of the street in the city, dozens of civilians rescued by Jingwei Camp rushed into their parents' arms, crying and wailing, and a burst of crying sounded on the street.

  Looking at their own daughters escaping danger, those parents couldn't help but shed tears of joy. The days finally have something to look forward to, as long as their children are still alive, nothing else matters.

  Jing Wei's camp rescued over 2,000 women from the bandit lair, all of whom were beautiful young girls with good looks, but unfortunately, each face was haggard and pale, having been ravished by the bandits day and night, tortured to a pitiful state.

  "Thank you, General Xu, thank you, General Xu..." More than a hundred people knelt down in unison and kept kowtowing to Xu Hui's troops who escorted these girls back.

  "There's no need for that, please get up quickly." Xu Hui hurriedly stepped forward and helped them up one by one, his eyes red with tears he was trying to hold back. The other soldiers were also moved to emotion, quietly wiping away their own tears as they proudly puffed out their chests, feeling proud of themselves for rescuing the women from the jaws of death.

  ……

  At this time, the city master's mansion had already been cleaned up. Liu Ce, Qin Mo, Ye Bin, and Xue Peng sat together to discuss their next move. Liu Ce held the intelligence sent by Su Wenchan and fell into deep thought.

  After a long time, he spoke: "The news brought by Su Wenchuan has confirmed Mr. Qin's previous judgment. Duan Hong was defeated and his life or death is unknown. Nearly two million of his troops have scattered and fled, most of them heading in the direction of Jing Tai. The crisis in Wu Liang Town has been lifted, but..."

  At this point, Liu Ce paused for a moment, looked at everyone, and said: "The Thunderbolt Army has already sent a large army to kill in the direction of Gao Yang City, with very obvious intentions..."

  Qin Mo continued, "And the general sent by the Lei Feng army this time is none other than Li Suwen, a descendant of the Li family of Xiliang, who also led the main force that defeated the million-strong army of Duan Hong."

  Xue Peng nodded: "The descendants of the Zhu Yan army are indeed worthy of being a tiger general! This battle is well fought."

  Ye Bin shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, I have observed that this young man's tactics are somewhat unorthodox. From what I've learned from others about his past battles, he often resorts to unscrupulous means to win, killing a thousand enemies but also losing more than half of his own soldiers in the process, showing no regard for their lives. I heard that this time, the fire at Wuliang Town was beautifully executed, but it also resulted in the loss of two local military flags and over ten thousand civilians..."

  Liu Ce put down the intelligence in his hand and said, "Now is not the time to study how Li Suwen was poisoned. Everyone has their own way of doing things, we have no right to comment on what's good or bad. The most pressing issue before us is how to deal with Li Suwen after he enters the city?"

  Qin Mo smiled and said, "That depends on the general. Sometimes enduring a temporary anger is the best way to have a vast and open future, this is the most reassuring method for Jingwei Camp."

  Liu Ce said: "I don't mind being slightly angry, but if the Jingwei Camp is implicated, I, Liu Ce, will never agree to it."

  Qin Mo and Ye Bin exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, with such a protective commander, the future prospects of the Jingwei Camp will be boundless.

  "Mr. Ye, are the medicines you prepared ready?" Liu Ce suddenly asked Ye Bin about the medicine.

  Ye Bin said: "It's all ready, add the Lingzhi mushroom to the Xiyangcao and Zhebaiye, mix it with the insect spirit grass, extremely toxic, mix it into food, half an hour later will take effect, once the medicine takes effect, will immediately die."

  "Hmm." Liu Ce nodded and said coldly, "Get ready, after tonight, there won't be a single thief left in Gaoyang City."

  "Hiss……" Xue Peng, who was standing beside him, took a deep breath as soon as he heard it. It's said that Li Suwen is ruthless, but this young man in front of him is not much better. More than 800,000 lives were decided in the blink of an eye.

  "General Xue." Liu Ce suddenly awakened Xue Peng from his contemplation, "This time we were able to take down Gaoyang City so smoothly, General Xue and your men's contributions are undeniable. The spoils of war have already been counted, according to our army's convention, one-third will be taken out and distributed among the lower-ranking officers and soldiers. I've already included your share in the calculation, please don't decline."

  "This, how can this be...” Xue Peng was moved by a wave of emotion. He and his subordinates had been relying on the young man in front of him for their food, clothing, and daily necessities in Meihe Town all these days. The Jingwei Camp didn't treat them as outsiders either, they just taught them some martial arts every day. This time, they went to war with the intention of repaying kindness, without thinking about any rewards. But Liu Ce was still willing to give him and his subordinates a portion of the huge amount of supplies he had obtained, how could it not move him? Although he was from a scholar-official family, his family had long since declined, and their living standard wasn't much better than that of commoner generals. These rewards could be said to be a great benefit for himself and his subordinates."

  "General Xue, don't decline anymore, take it." Qin Mo said as he handed a box from his hand to Xue Peng's, inside was the bamboo plaque for receiving money and grain.

  Xue Peng also stopped being polite and directly clasped his fists in gratitude, saying: "Liu brother, then I, Xue, will humbly accept this. I'll thank you on behalf of the soldiers under me."

  Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "General Xue, let's stop with the formalities. After the imperial edict is issued, we'll be colleagues. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

  Xue Peng said seriously: "Brother Liu, don't worry, just speak up if you need anything in the future!"

  Liu Ce nodded, then said to Ye Bin: "After the money and grain are distributed this time, except for the necessary materials such as horses, military equipment, and iron, you can only see half a chapter of 'Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu' 69 Swords Drawn. To read the full version, please search Baidu: () and then search again: Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu