Looting and Murder

The desolate city quickly became lively.

Liang Ying's defeated troops were just the beginning; afterward, more than a dozen groups arrived.

The smaller groups numbered three to five hundred, while the larger ones had one or two thousand. They found courtyards in the city to stay in and ordered the county magistrate to procure provisions.

"This desolate city doesn't even have ghosts; how am I supposed to procure provisions?"

Zhao Tai could use his mentor as leverage when dealing with civil officials, but facing these starving, routed soldiers, he couldn't reason with them, nor did he dare to. He had no choice but to transport the mine's grain and distribute it.

With several thousand people in the city, this amount of grain would only last three to five days at most.

The various generals and commanders knew that the desolate city had no grain and secretly communicated with each other.

They publicly declared a scorched-earth policy to resist Great Yong, and then began to plunder the surrounding villages and towns.

The soldiers were like a fine-toothed comb, legally and systematically robbing the people. The people's homes were emptied, leaving them with nothing. They had no choice but to become refugees, dragging their families south to escape.

Anyone who dared to resist was a spy for Great Yong!

At the city gate.

Li Hong watched as cart after cart of grain and wealth were transported to the various military leaders in the city, desperately suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Sir, I often heard my elder brother talk about how the million-strong army of the Northern Frontier didn't dare to commit the slightest offense against the people, and at least maintained strict discipline. How could they have degenerated into this in just a few years?"

They were afraid of death when fighting external battles, but oppressed the people internally. The poison of these bandit soldiers was even worse than that of mountain bandits and rebels!

"Human nature is like this. It's difficult to become good; you need to abide by various rules and constantly tame and discipline yourself. It's very easy to become bad. Not to mention five years, it only takes a few months to turn an iron army into a band of roving bandits!"

Zhou Yi slowly said, "War is about to break out on the Northern Frontier. War is dangerous, and a wise man does not stand near a crumbling wall. I will return to Shenjing today. In the midst of the chaos, remember that preserving your life is the top priority."

After staying in the desolate city for nearly half a month, a series of defeats came from the Northern Frontier.

Yesterday, the routed soldiers in the city almost mutinied, because the last fully organized army of the Northern Frontier was surrounded and defeated by the Great Yong army.

Yizhou and Suzhou, the two prefectures of the Northern Frontier, used to be the old territory of Great Yong, and now they have been completely returned. It is not yet known how much more territory the Fengyang Kingdom will lose.

Li Hong said in surprise, "With your strength, which even surpasses my father's, who in this world can keep you here?"

"You haven't even left the Fengyang Kingdom, how dare you speak of the vastness of the world?"

Zhou Yi said solemnly, "Those who cultivate must remember not to be arrogant. This world is very big, so big that mortals cannot travel all of it in their lifetime!"

Li Hong performed the disciple's salute and bowed, "Thank you for your teachings, sir."

In recent days, his exchanges with Zhou Yi, and the many unconstrained ideas in his words, have broadened Li Hong's horizons. Some of the remarks seem bizarre, but every time he recalls and ponders them carefully, they are truly profound.

Li Hong understood many principles not found in books. Although there was no formal master-disciple relationship with Zhou Yi, they had the substance of one.

"I'm leaving."

Zhou Yi was not a procrastinating person. Possessing a long and boundless life, he needed to get used to parting as soon as possible.

Li Hong bid farewell with tears in his eyes, "Have a safe journey, sir."

His parents and brothers had all died, and now he was parting with Zhou Yi. He was truly alone in the vast Northern Frontier.

Zhou Yi looked back and transmitted his voice.

"The chaos in the Northern Frontier is a terrible thing for the people, the soldiers, and the imperial court. Only for you is it a good thing. If you are interested in emulating the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation, spend some money to buy a lieutenant general position."

After saying that, he mounted his horse, cracked his whip, and rode away.

A lieutenant general with real power to command troops only costs tens of thousands of taels of silver. Even if the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation's mansion is declining and dilapidated, Li Hong can still come up with this amount of money.

Following the official road all the way south.

Three days later.

In the distance, he saw smoke rising. Ahead was Chen Family Village, where he had stayed before.

The village head, Old Man Chen, was a wonderful person, roasting fragrant and crispy rabbit meat, brewing fine yellow wine, and possessing remarkable conversation and knowledge.

Zhou Yi talked to him about the heavens and the earth, pointing out the past and the present, but he couldn't gain the upper hand at all. They chatted all night before he felt refreshed.

"A strange man in the mountains, nothing more than that!"

Zhou Yi touched his empty pocket, "I didn't even leave any loose silver. With Old Brother Chen's knowledge of astronomy and geography, he wouldn't be reluctant to lend me two taels for lodging, would he?"

A poor family should travel richly. Zhou Yi brought five thousand taels of silver notes when he went out, and "heroes" had given him several thousand taels along the way, but now he had spent every last penny.

As Zhou Yi pondered, his horse did not stop, and he was already close to Chen Family Village.

A gust of wind blew, and suddenly his expression changed slightly!

"What a strong smell of blood."

Zhou Yi leaped from the horseback, and the distance of a hundred zhang was covered in an instant.

There was indeed smoke in the village, but it was not from farmers cooking, but from two or three hundred soldiers making a fire at the entrance of the village.

The sentry soldiers spotted someone coming and shouted, brandishing their broadswords, "Old man, what are you looking at? If you don't want to die, get lost!"

"Where are the people of Chen Family Village?"

Zhou Yi didn't need to ask to guess. These soldiers had fresh blood on their bodies and knives. The cooks were slaughtering pigs and sheep, and next to them were piles of large and small bags of grain and cloth.

The leading officer said, "Enough nonsense, just shoot them."

At his command, bowstrings twanged, and more than a dozen arrows shot out.

"Zhou Yi has never been fond of fighting, yet some people insist on seeking death!"

Zhou Yi's figure flickered, his speed as fast as lightning, far exceeding the limits of ordinary human reaction.

The officer only saw a faint phantom, shuttling through his soldiers. Before they could even utter a death scream, the soldiers fell in swathes, as if being mowed down like grass.

"Ghost!"

The officer shrieked and ran towards Chen Family Village, clutching his head.

It took Zhou Yi only a dozen or so breaths to slaughter more than two hundred soldiers. With a few leaps, he caught up, his icy voice ringing in the officer's ears.

"You want to see a ghost so badly? This humble one will grant your wish!"

With that, he activated the House-Protecting Talisman. One after another, Yin spirits floated out of the village houses. Most were ethereal and indistinct, their faces unrecognizable, while a few had missing arms and legs, their bodies covered in knife and spear wounds.

One vengeful spirit was particularly clear. Its neck was broken, and two gaping holes in its abdomen oozed blood.

Shriek!

Upon seeing the officer, the vengeful spirit's resentment surged, its face contorted in rage, and it emitted a piercing ghostly wail.

The other Yin spirits, their consciousnesses muddled, were summoned and guided by the vengeful spirit, and they all pounced.

The officer had never seen such a terrifying scene. One ghost dragged half its intestines, another held its own head. He was so frightened that his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The ghosts swarmed over the officer, about to devour his Yang energy and essence, when suddenly, the baleful aura of a military formation manifested, protecting him.

The knife-like, sword-like pain made the Yin spirits scream and retreat, not daring to approach.

The vengeful spirit's eyes were bloodshot, and it spat out black mist, enveloping the officer.

Zhou Yi circulated his mana and used the Lion's Roar Martial Path technique: "Old Man Chen, leave him a breath. I still have questions to ask him."

His voice was like thunder, jolting the vengeful spirit from its ferocity. Recognizing Zhou Yi, tears of blood streamed from its eyes.

"I thank benefactor for avenging Chen Family Village!"

"Old Man Chen, please accept my condolences."

Zhou Yi walked up to the officer and used his mana to pierce several acupoints. The excruciating pain of slow slicing roused him from his stupor.

"Are you a routed soldier from the Northern Frontier?"

The officer looked at the surrounding Yin spirits, their red eyes staring at him with resentment, and a chill ran down his spine. He scrambled to his feet and kowtowed, begging for mercy.

"I had no choice! Since the defeat at the Northern Frontier, the Great Qian Dynasty has not issued new military orders, nor has it allocated military pay or provisions!"

"We haven't eaten for seven or eight days. To avoid starvation, we had no choice but to plunder the people!"