Chapter 75

Edited and Proofread by KitKat

Tie Hu went to deliver the message but the gates remained closed. Not even one person came out in response.

Inside Qing Zhou, several leaders gathered to discuss their next course of action. With their troops stationed outside, they couldn’t possibly not know what was going on. 

With the current hierarchy, even though these landlords were extremely wealthy, without the proper title, they were still beneath a lot of people. Just one sentence from them and they had to deliver, with a humble smile, the gold that they had worked hard to obtain. No one wanted to be someone else’s lapdog forever. Under the current situation, it was the perfect time to stage their own rebellion.

These landlords had funded the Qing Zhou militia all these years and naturally, they had used this connection to raise an army of their own. This was also how they had been able to recruit fighters quickly right after the conflict had started. They had been confident in their calculation but did not account for the arrival of the Yanzhou troops led by the Northern Warlord.

And who is the Northern Warlord? The invincible god slayer. If he did not fear the Beidi people, how could he possibly fear them?

One or two scaredy-cats of the group spoke up, “Why don’t we open the city gates and let them in first?”

These words made the room grow quieter. 

Sitting at the top was the head of the Shi family, Shi Kairen. The Shi family possessed immense wealth, comparable to that of an entire country. In these Southern parts, they had given him the name of the Stone Emperor. Half of the fighters in this regime belonged to the Shi family and Shi Kairen, thus, became the leader of this group. 

Everyone subconsciously looked towards Shi Kairen and heard him sneering, “Raising a bow without an arrow in hand. If you’re so afraid, then go and beg for mercy by yourself. What kind of people are in the ruling class of Yejing? The court will not show you mercy and the streets are in chaos. If so, why can’t we change this world? Do you want to be the dog at their feet for the rest of your lives?”

The previous speaker was ashamed and dared not say anymore. 

However, someone else cautiously hinted, “But outside the gates is the Northern Warlord. He has a ferocious reputation and has never been defeated. If we have to face him…”

Shi Kairen smiled with contempt, “So what if he has never lost? He has rode here from a long distance, his troops and horses are exhausted, and there’s an insufficient supply of food on the outside of the city. We can drag this out for another month and a half and they won’t be able to keep up. And, while we can afford to be idle, Ruan Zhou’s situation is turning critical. He’d have to give up Qing Zhou and turn to rescue Ruan Zhou. With that, we’ll have enough time to conquer the whole of Qing Zhou. And, even if he was dead set on staking out Qing Zhou, when Ruan Zhou falls and Yejing is breached, the court will have his head. What’s there for us to fear?!”

The firmness in his words and the persuasive strategy boosted the confidence of the group. Those who had been scared of the Northern Warlord let go of their worries and praised him for his ingenious tactics.

Suddenly, before they could speak another word, a loud boom resonated from a distance. The ground began to shake and dust was falling from the ceiling. Startled, the landlords who were so full of themselves moments ago, scurried out of the hall in a disheveled fashion.

“What just happened? Did a dragon overturn the earth?”

After evacuating from the building, the dust-covered landlords had lost their golden glow. Shi Kairen was still looking neat but there was a hint of fear on his face. The loud explosions had come from the direction of the city gate. It blasted continuously with barely a pause in between.

Before they could figure out what was happening, they saw the gatekeeper rushing towards them on horseback and exclaimed, “The gates cannot hold on much longer!”

Qing Zhou’s city gates were as strong as metal, how could it fall this quickly?!

Shi Kairen’s face darkened. “What’s happening? Explain it clearly!”

The gatekeeper was injured and his wounds covered with soot. Thoroughly shaken, he stuttered, “They launched some sort of black rock at the city gate. It exploded upon impact. After four or five times, the gate was falling apart!”

Shi Kairen’s face turned black. He did not know what kind of rock could destroy armored gates.

Before he could figure out his next move, there was a dead silence before hooves could be heard stomping towards them. The person in the lead exuded a majestic but fearsome aura. They could feel a chill the moment he spoke, “The Imperial Court’s reinforcements have arrived and stationed outside. Yet you refused to open the gates. What? You want to start a rebellion as well?”

Shi Kairen was still relatively calm but the same could not be said for the other landlords. Although they were unhappy being the lackeys of Yejing’s aristocratic families, they were able to live in luxury. No one really had any plan or even the courage to rebel without the coercion of Shi Kairen. Seeing the ferocity of the Imperial Army was enough to make their legs turn to jelly.

Except for Shi Kairen, the others knelt down and said with a trembling voice, “We dare not. It’s just… it’s just…” they waited half a day and still couldn’t complete the rest of the sentence.

Xiao Zhige’s eyes twitched as he focused his glare on the Shi Kairen who refused to kneel. Shi Kairen was over forty and had a tall and slim appearance. He donned a resplendent robe and even in this situation, he still seemed fearless. He boldly looked straight at Xiao Zhige, put on a fake smile, and said, “Seeing is believing. The Northern Warlord is truly Da Ye’s God of War. I’ve been guarding Qing Zhou for quite a long time but received no reinforcement. When we heard someone shouting at the gate, we were concerned that it was a hoax. We were discussing this matter when Wangye unexpectedly broke through the city gate and came in.”

His words made it seem as though Xiao Zhige’s actions had been rash and irrational.

Xiao Zhige had no obligation to answer him. He looked down at him from his horse and said, “I’ve come to suppress the rebellion. Report to me Qing Zhou’s current situation.”

 After speaking, he rode his horse straight to the General’s Manor. Twenty thousand soldiers marched behind him, each strong bodied and neatly suited, a far cry from Qing Zhou’s soldiers. Xie Ling, who had also been assigned on this trip, looked at the weak legged landlords and urged them with a threatening smile, “Gentlemen, please follow. Wangye’s time is precious and you don’t want to annoy him.”

The General’s Manor was currently unoccupied. The soldiers went to set up their position and in no time, the whole manor was under Xiao Zhige’s control. He sat brazenly in the main hall and waited. After he finished a cup of tea, only then did the landlords arrive.

These people who only traveled by carriage and had servants to their left and right were now herded like livestock by Xie Ling. By the time they arrived at the manor, everyone was panting miserably.

Due to their continuous refusal to open the gates, Xiao Zhige had a bone to pick with them. He refused to let them sit and demanded that they tell him the current situation and where they had stationed the hired hands. 

Inside Qing Zhou, the landlords occupied the West and South gates while the rebels had taken up the East and North gates. They were currently at the South gate’s vicinity which was home to the wealthiest and most powerful of Qing Zhou. Central Street served as the border that divided the two factions. Both sides had guards stationed along this strip and until Xiao Zhige’s arrival, there had not been any large-scale attacks. 

“There are ten thousand private fighters inside the city?”

Xiao Zhige raised his eyebrows and looked at them menacingly, “Unlawful seizure of land, farmlands, and properties, raising a private army, and refusal to open the gates for Imperial Soldiers… Who is it that gave you such courage?” 

Some were scared out of their wits and dared not argue while others refused to accept the charges. Shi Kairen shook his head and rebuked, “Wangye has misjudged the situation. The buying and selling of lands has always been done with agreements and contracts from both sides, how’s that considered unlawful seizure? And about the private army that we have, if it weren’t for them, Qing Zhou would’ve been overtaken by the rebels. We dare not ask for credit but we refuse to be charged with any crimes! Wangye, please treat us with fairness!”

Hearing Shi Kairen’s speech, the rest regained their backbone and echoed in agreement.

Xiao Zhige allowed them to speak to their hearts’ content before raising his hand to shut them off. He then told Zhou He Lan to bring forth the evidence that had been collected beforehand. He had come with the intention of getting rid of these leeches first before dealing with the rebels. These landlords had thought that their activities would never be investigated and were naturally unprepared. Zhou He Lan on the other had been traversing the Southern States for some time and had been able to gather evidence of all their unlawful activities. 

A towering pile of evidence was placed on the table. Xie Ling randomly picked out a scroll and read, “Year Thirteen of the Qing Li calendar, Shi Qian, the second son of the Shi family, took a fancy to a peasant girl and wanted to make her his mistress. After she refused his advances, Shi Qian brutally killed her parents and took her by force…”

“Year Forteen of the Qing Li Calendar, there was a delay in harvesting and the Shi family inflicted a fine on the farmers based on the ‘lamb penalty’. The following year, over a hundred farmers were unable to repay their debts. Most had their lands forcibly confiscated while others had their daughters taken away as collateral…”

For years, the landlords had been left unchecked and their crimes ran rampant. The most audacious of them was the Shi family. Thinking that they had backing from Yejing’s aristocrats, they had been overly arrogant that they had no need to hide their crimes. As long as they had their eyes on something, whether it was land or women, they had openly taken them. Over the years, countless commoners had been forced to hand over their hard earned money and properties to them; numerous girls had been forced to enter the Shi family as mistresses. The Shi Manor had become as grandiose as the Imperial Palace in Yejing; the clothes they wore and food they ate were comparable to that of the royal family.

Xiao Zhige’s face was filled with a grimace as he threw the stacks of evidence at Shi Kairen. And, before he could refute, Xiao Zhige announced, “The Shi family and their immediate associates, for their crimes of raising a private army, unlawful seizure of land, murder, kidnapping women…Pass on my order for the arrest of the entire Shi family. The family heads and all accomplices will be publicly executed tomorrow at the town square. Except for those who were forcefully taken, the rest of the Shi family will be exiled and all their land and properties confiscated to fill the national treasury.”

Shi Kairen’s whole body shuddered, his eyes were red with rage, “You can’t execute with just allegations! This is slander! I won’t accept it!”

His eyes were bulging as he screamed injustice. Suddenly, he thought of something and quickly said, “I’m the Crown Prince’s relative, my daughter is the Crown Prince’s concubine, who dares to touch me! I want to see the Crown Prince!”

Xiao Zhige was indifferent looking at his dying struggle and only ordered, “Take him away! He’ll be executed on the main street tomorrow!”

No matter how powerful Shi Kairen was, at this moment, he could only struggle and scream in vain as the soldiers dragged him away. The rest of the landlords were scared silly as they witnessed how, in just a few seconds, the Shi family had been utterly ruined. They could only bow vigorously and beg for mercy.

Xiao Zhige did not intend for a mass execution. He glanced at Xie Ling who immediately understood. He stepped forward and consoled, “Don’t worry, Wangye is very wise. He despises those who break the law but he will not wrongly accuse the innocent.”

Xie Ling’s words made them more frightened than before. Who among them had not committed a crime? Even if they hadn’t, someone in their family would have. They all eyed Xiao Zhige anxiously, waiting for him to deliver their death sentence.

Seeing that their scare tactic was successful, Xie Ling smiled and said, “No one is a saint and everyone makes mistakes. Wangye is not an unreasonable person. Qing Zhou is currently in chaos and there are people suffering wrongfully. Wangye is concerned for the safety of the common people, if you can make up for your mistakes, then it might not be too late to redeem yourself.”

As for how to redeem themselves, there was no need to put it into words, they were smart enough to understand. After looking at each other, they all said in unison, “We will do our best to help Wangye and the people of Qing Zhou.”

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1 The surname 石 (Shi) means stone or boulder