Rebel Army Enters the City

When they heard the news, everyone in Pingyin County was dumbstruck. The Imperial Court's Army had actually run off. Before this, they had spoken so well, saying that if the Rebel Army came, they would charge up and fight.

That was why the Noble Families of Pingyin County had contributed so many resources: they were afraid that when the Rebel Army arrived, they would be looted outright. After all, sometimes the Imperial Court's Army still cared a little about how it looked when eating; the Rebel Army would not care about any of that.

And now, wonderful. The Imperial Court's Army had fled.

The people of Pingyin County did not quite know what to do. If they were to resist and shut the City Gate, they could hold out for a while. But how long that "while" would be was hard to say.

After all, there were no troops stationed inside Pingyin County, only the Yamen Runners and constables of the County Government Office, and the equipment for defending the city was very crude. Trying to stop the surging Rebel Army would be extremely difficult.

And there was another problem. If they stubbornly resisted to the end like this, and the city was eventually breached, then all of Pingyin County would surely be plundered clean.

From the news coming from other towns and cities, any place that resisted ended up facing the same fate: burning, killing, looting. That was how so many Refugees had been created.

If they did not resist and directly opened the city to surrender, the outcome might be a little better. But it would only be a little better. Those rebels attacked cities and seized territory without ever thinking of governance or the like. Their most important goal was still all kinds of resources.

Pingyin County did not know what to do. Both choices were difficult, and both seemed to lead to one word: death. It was just that one was dying standing, and the other was dying on their knees.

Ten li away.

"The Imperial Court's Army withdrew?" Tan Zhen'an sat on horseback and looked down at the scout as he asked.

"Yes. They have all withdrawn, and over the past few days, they took away many of Pingyin County's supplies," the scout reported with his head lowered.

"What a pack of cowards. With that kind of nerve, they dare lead troops into battle!" Hua Shizhong sneered.

"If not for people like them, how could we have risen up? And if they had relied on Pingyin County to fight us, even if we won in the end, our losses would have been heavy."

Tan Zhen'an looked at the city faintly visible in the distance and waved a hand. The whole army began to speed up.

Since the Imperial Court's Army was not here, Pingyin County was already in their pocket. As for whether Pingyin County resisted or not, in his eyes, there was no difference.

Since he intended to plunder Pingyin County, Tan Zhen'an had long since made complete preparations.

The people of Pingyin County were still wavering, but the southern City Gate had already been opened. Seven or eight of the defending Yamen Runners were killed, and the rest all surrendered.

They had no choice but to surrender. A Marrow Refining Realm expert was truly a crushing existence against these Yamen Runners, who were at most in the Flesh Refining Realm. At some unknown point, Rebel Army men had already infiltrated Pingyin County, and now they erupted directly.

If the County Government Office had been sufficiently determined to defend the city, it would naturally have sent heavy forces to guard each City Gate. But with this mentality of looking ahead and glancing back, the defense of the City Gate naturally became a joke.

Chen Fei stayed in his own Courtyard, listening to the waves of clamor outside, feeling somewhat restless.

A few days ago, he had still been thinking the Rebel Army would not come. In the end, they had now appeared right in front of him.

After receiving the news that the Rebel Army had arrived, the Medical Hall had already closed. Chen Fei had originally wondered whether he should go hide with the Zhang Family, but after thinking about it, he decided not to.

With the Rebel Army entering the city, their biggest targets would instead be these Noble Families. If Chen Fei hid inside, it would be very easy for him to become the fish in the moat when the city gate caught fire. And the Zhang Family had not asked Chen Fei to go to their residence either, clearly not thinking of sheltering him.

As for whether the Rebel Army would loot commoners, that would depend on how high these people's bottom line was. If there really was no other way, Chen Fei could only fire one shot and switch to another cannon.

At a time like this, the effect of the Disguise Technique showed itself. At the very least, he would not be recognized.

"This Disguise Technique probably still has some flaws in the eyes of experts. If I have the chance in the future, I still need to find a stronger Disguise Technique to learn."

Thoughts turned in Chen Fei's mind as he returned to the Pill Room and came before a washbasin, burying his entire face in the cold water.

"Heart Cleansing Art experience value +1... experience value +1..."

Cold Water Head Wash was not troublesome, but constantly washing his head was a little tedious. In the end, Chen Fei found this method: hold his breath and bury his whole head in cold water. After a while, his experience value would increase once.

By now, Chen Fei had already cultivated the Heart Cleansing Art to Proficient Level, approaching the perfect stage.

Under the effect of the Heart Cleansing Art, Chen Fei's state of mind became increasingly calm and composed. When he encountered trouble, he could make decisions more quickly.

Of course, the greatest purpose behind Chen Fei cultivating so diligently now was still that if he could no longer stay in Pingyin County, he would trek a long distance to the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect.

Whether or not he could enter the Immortal Cloud Sword Sect was another matter, but at the very least, the stable environment there would allow Chen Fei to continue cultivating and growing. And in a large city like that, the level of medicinal pills and Secret Manuals would surely be much higher than in Pingyin County.

While Chen Fei forced himself to cultivate calmly, the yamen and Noble Families of Pingyin County were gathered together at this moment, looking at Tan Zhen'an before them.

Unlike the harmonious, cheerful atmosphere when they had dealt with the Imperial Court's Army, the people of Pingyin County now faced Tan Zhen'an with quite a bit of nervous restraint.

"It seems everyone is here, so I'll say a few words."

Tan Zhen'an looked at the crowd, a trace of a smile appearing on his face, and said, "Since I've come here, I imagine you all know very well what my purpose is."

"General Tan's requests, we will do everything in our power to satisfy." The county magistrate looked at Tan Zhen'an, a fawning smile appearing on his face.

"With those words from you, I can rest easy. Otherwise, when the time comes, someone might fail to do it and then say we didn't explain it beforehand."

Tan Zhen'an's gaze passed over the county magistrate and looked toward the people of the various Noble Families. "Zhao Family, one hundred thousand taels of silver, one thousand fine-iron blades. Li Family, eighty thousand taels of silver, one thousand half-body rattan armors. Zhou Family..."

As Tan Zhen'an reported one number after another, the faces of the various Noble Family members turned pale.

This was simply digging out every last bit of their foundation, leaving them no room at all.

"My Zhou Family has been poorly managed in recent years. We cannot take out so much silver. I hope General Tan can show some leniency."

"That's right. My Zheng Family is only a small household. How could we have..."

"Hiss!"

Blade Light flashed through the Great Hall. Before everyone could understand what had happened, they were drenched head to toe in blood. The two people who had spoken just now had already had their heads separated from their bodies.

"This is not a negotiation. It is an order. If any other family cannot do it, you may say so now!"

Hua Shizhong unhurriedly slid the blade back into its sheath, his eyes looking at the people of the various Noble Families, a mocking smile on his face.

"Hand over the money in two days, and the supplies in ten. Dismissed." Tan Zhen'an waved a hand and left the Great Hall. This conversation had indeed been nothing more than the process of issuing an order.

The people of the various Noble Families looked at one another, especially after glancing at the corpses on the ground, and could not help shivering.

At the slightest disagreement, they drew blades and killed, without even bothering to say anything extra.

Everyone returned to their respective clans and passed the matter down. Right now, it was using money to buy lives. If they were unwilling to pay, the outcome had already appeared inside the County Government Office.