Kind Treatment for Captives

Shen Jingchuan: "Give each person ten jin, enough for them to get to Chang'an Prefecture, that will suffice."

"These days, even money can't buy food; if you give them silver, they'll starve to death on the way."

"Remember, just enough to get them to Chang'an Prefecture, enough to keep them from starving but not too full either."

Hu Tieniu's eyes lit up, and he said, "Young Master, I understand!"

"Let them hold out until they reach Chang'an Prefecture. Once there, if they want to survive, they'll have to go to the government, and the government will have to feed them."

"The burden of feeding 120,000 people has been conveniently passed on to Chang'an Prefecture. Young master, your move is truly brilliant!"

Lin Yue pondered for a moment, then added another sentence.

"There's one more layer. Let's take all their armor and weapons."

"If these defeated soldiers escape back to Chang'an, can the imperial court kill them?"

"According to military discipline, desertion in the face of battle is punishable by death. But this involves hundreds of thousands of people, scattered across the mountains and fields returning home. Could the imperial court possibly execute them all? The law does not punish the masses."

"At that time, we'll have to send some generals to reorganize them and continue using them."

"But their armor and weapons are all in our hands."

"Where could the imperial court find so many fine armors and weapons in such a short time? They could only find some inferior ones for them to make do with."

"This group of people, they're no good at armor, they're no good with weapons, what future can they possibly have on the battlefield?"

"Furthermore, with these readily available soldiers, the imperial court no longer needs to conscript men from the surrounding countryside."

"In this battle, we've saved many civilians from being dragged to their deaths."

Upon hearing this, Hu Tieniu slapped his thigh hard and took over the conversation.

"It's all round now!"

"These defeated soldiers were poorly armored and poorly equipped, but they remembered that surrendering would save their lives and get them rations."

"If we fight again, who's going to risk their life? They'll drop their weapons and surrender the moment we meet."

"If they don't fight to the death, fewer people will die on our side."

Lin Yue thought about it more and more clearly, and his eyes lit up.

"It's like this: the more we fight, the stronger we become, and the fewer people we lose; while the imperial court suffers defeat after defeat."

"Even if we lose, we have to gather those defeated soldiers, reorganize them, and send them back, using the same group of people, only each batch is less capable than the last."

He slapped his thigh and gave Shen Jingchuan a thumbs up.

"Young Master Shen, your move was absolutely brilliant!"

After finishing their business, Shen Jingchuan, Hu Tieniu, and Lin Yue went to the Lin Household.

Old Master Lin, Lin Weiyuan, had prepared wine and dishes in advance, and the three of them accompanied the old man for a lively dinner.

The next morning, Hu Tieniu and Lin Yue bid farewell and descended the mountain, returning to Yuxi Prefecture.

Upon arriving at the government office, Hu Tieniu immediately ordered that everything be done according to Shen Jingchuan's method.

He selected some eloquent soldiers from the army and sent them to speak to the prisoners separately.

What he said were all very practical principles.

Why do the poor get poorer and the rich get richer? Why should we, who are struggling so much, have to work for the rich?

Everyone rebelled because they couldn't survive; they all came from impoverished backgrounds. Why should the poor make things difficult for each other?

The conversation touched the hearts of these soldiers.

Many people recalled the tragedies in their families—their parents starving to death, their wives and children being sold off—and immediately buried their heads in their hands, weeping bitterly.

After explaining the rationale, he began recruiting soldiers.

These prisoners were not local soldiers; most of them were conscripted from various prefectures and cities across the country, and some were imperial guards from the Capital.

Of course, there were also some junior officers and scions of wealthy Aristocratic Clan among them; these people would never stay.

When they heard that the Rebel Army not only spared their lives but also provided them with food, preventing them from starving, they were all deeply grateful. Regardless of whether it was true or not, they repeatedly expressed their gratitude, saying that they would never again be enemies of the Rebel Army.

Those who were truly willing to stay were either homeless, jobless, or had no attachments, or had some courage who didn't want to go back and wanted to follow the Rebel Army to do something great.

More than 12,000 of these men were selected and immediately incorporated into the ranks.

The remaining nearly 110,000 people each received ten catties of grain, packed up, and headed south towards Chang'an Prefecture.

Hu Tieniu was afraid that this large group of defeated soldiers would cause trouble on the road, and even more afraid that they would rob the refugees fleeing from the south to the north.

Lin Yue was then ordered to lead three thousand cavalry to follow and escort them. Along the way, the cavalry kept watch over the defeated soldiers, preventing them from robbing the refugees and maintaining order.

At the same time, they also carried food on horseback. When they encountered refugees fleeing north, they would share some with them so that they could survive and make their way safely to Yuxi Prefecture for resettlement.

This whole process, from start to finish, took a full half month.

After Hu Tieniu and Lin Yue left, Azure Cloud Stronghold returned to its tranquility.

Shen Jingchuan pondered in his heart that in this battle, the imperial army of more than 200,000 men was completely wiped out, and even the Duke of Jing was lost.

After this defeat, even if the imperial court wanted to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion, it would have to recruit soldiers, procure food, and manufacture weapons again, which would take two or three months before it could even begin to move.

These past two or three months have been a rare period of leisure for him.

He spends every day in the Heaven and Earth Ring with Lin Qingyao, Bai Ruoli, Yue'er, Qingshu, Qinghua.

He cultivated a relationship, and then devoted the rest of his time to cultivation.

Every two or three days, he would return to the modern world to guide Meng Ke in her cultivation.

Thanks to Old Elder Yang, a large amount of grain and various military supplies he purchased were transferred in, truckload by truck, and then stored in the Ring to be taken to the other world.

Shen Jingchuan went to Spirit Creek Market again. He found Xiao Mingshu and told her everything about the battle in Yuxi Prefecture.

The entire army of 210,000 was wiped out, the Duke of Jing was killed in battle, and the two Eighth Layer of Qi Refining cultivators who were hiding in the army were also killed by him and Little Black together.

Xiao Mingshu listened quietly, without saying a single word from beginning to end.

After he finished speaking, she simply hummed in response, then got up and returned to her quiet room to cultivate in seclusion.

As Shen Jingchuan watched her retreating figure, he understood that she truly had no feelings for that royal family or that powerful Lineage. She had been in a semi-detached state for some time, and was even unwilling to return to the Imperial City.

But having no feelings doesn't mean being truly indifferent.

After all, she also shares the surname Xiao.

The Duke of Jing was her clansman, and the two cultivators who were killed were also her elders from the same clan.

And all of this, ironically, came from the hands of his friend.

She was caught in the middle, unable to side with either side, and every question she asked was awkward. What could she do but pretend not to care and bury herself in her cultivation?

Shen Jingchuan didn't disturb her, but just sighed inwardly.

The fact that she remained neutral and didn't turn against me is already a favor. The rest, let time do its work.

And so, the days passed by, and his cultivation level steadily increased.

With the five elements mutually generating each other in the Heaven-Grade Cultivation Method, the abundant Spiritual Qi in his spiritual ring, and the assistance of high-grade pills, he finally honed his Qi Refining Seventh Layer to its limit, and naturally stepped into the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

The moment he broke through the barrier, his spiritual Spiritual Qi surged and then steadily receded. His five elements Spiritual Power was even more abundant than before, and his Divine Sense covered a radius of four hundred meters.

He opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath, and felt an indescribable sense of clarity.