The sudden encounter started very quickly and ended very quickly.
Although Zhang He only had 100 cavalrymen, he had defeated the attack of over 1,000 bandits with ease, killing 200 enemies and capturing 500.
Only a few hundred people escaped.
As for the two bandit leaders, they were heavily injured and became captives.
One of them fainted.
Although the other person was also heavily injured, with multiple fractures all over his body and bleeding profusely, he was still able to maintain his consciousness. When he was caught in front of Chen Xiao, his face was even ferocious and arrogant.
"If you want to kill, then kill. If grandfather frowns, he's a son of a b * tch!”
This person was tall and muscular. Although he was only wearing linen clothes, it was difficult to hide his courage and bloodlust.
"Who said I wanted to kill you?" Chen Xiao was even more surprised.”
The burly man was stunned.
Immediately after, hatred and disdain appeared on his pale face."You want to hand us over to the government in exchange for a reward from the Imperial Court?”
"Looks like your name is on the wanted list of the Imperial Court.”
Chen Xiao was keenly aware of the information he revealed in his words and smiled slightly.""Tell me, how much is your head worth?”
"Bah!"
" Hmph!" The brawny man snorted coldly." What right does the court have to put my name on the bullsh * t wanted list?"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Zhang He shook the spear in his hand, and the tip of the spear was pressed against his throat."Young Master asked you a question, so just tell me the truth. If you dare to be long-winded again, I'll kill you now!”
"Then why didn't you do it?"
The brawny man could clearly feel the coldness coming from his throat, but he was not afraid at all."Hurry up, Grandpa is waiting. In any case, I can't live in this f * cking world anymore. I might as well die!”
His eyes were arrogant and determined. He wasn't pretending.
He really wasn't afraid of death.
Zhang He was surprised.
Cai Yong was surprised to see this." He's a good man. Unfortunately, he became a thief who kills and robs the Dao."”
"Bah! He was forced to become a bandit by the Imperial Court!”
When the burly man heard this, he snorted coldly again."Although grandpas have been reduced to thieves, we still abide by the rules. As long as we don't resist, we will only rob the Dao and not kill!”
Was it reasonable to rob them?
Cai Yong and Zhang He were speechless.
The two sides were on different sides, so it was meaningless to fight over this matter.
Therefore, Chen Xiao waved his hand slightly, signaling Zhang He to put away his spear.
"To be able to gather over a thousand people to occupy a mountain and become kings in the Jizhou region, you must not be ordinary bandits. I heard you shouting 'Yellow-scarved Strongman' just now.”
He looked at the burly man with a calm expression and said indifferently,"Since they are the remnants of the Path of Peace, I believe that there are not only these 1,000 strong men but also many old, weak, women and children in the village, right? Aren't you afraid that if you die, they will starve to death?”
As soon as he said this, the burly man's expression instantly changed.
Clearly, he had hit the sore spot.
He looked at Chen Xiao with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.""Who are you? With the imperial court's elite cavalry escorting them, they were no ordinary caravan!”
"Chen Xiao of Jizhou, the new Overseer of Youzhou.”
Chen Xiao did not hide anything and directly revealed her identity.
Then, under the burly man's stunned gaze, he said with a sonorous voice," If you answer the question honestly, your brother might still be saved. The remaining hundreds of brothers might not die. The old, weak, women, and children in the village might also survive…"
"But if you continue to resist, I'll send you on your way now.”
Chen Xiao said it very directly, making the burly man's eyelids twitch wildly.
The Yellow Turban bandits were a group of commoners who could not survive, so behind him, of course, there were a large number of old, weak, women, and children.
They were all counting on him, the leader, to bring people back to plunder food.
If these thousand brothers died outside, the old, weak, women, and children would not be able to survive.
Although he could ignore the lives of many commoners, there were his relatives and the families of his brothers. He could not ignore them no matter what.
This was his weakness.
But now, Chen Xiao had said it.
In an instant, all the arrogance in the burly man's eyes disappeared without a trace.
He looked at Chen Xiao and his lips moved. In the end, he chose to confess,""My name is Zhou Cang, and the one who is unconscious is my brother Pei Yuan Shao. We were all commoners who followed the Great Virtuous Teacher in the past. Later, the Great Virtuous Teacher was exterminated by the Imperial Court, and we had no way out. We could only escape to the mountains and become bandits…"
It was actually Zhou Cang and Pei Yuan Shao?
Chen Xiao was a little surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it was reasonable.
Among the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army, there were not many who could be so brave.
Zhou Cang was one of them.
"This robbery of the caravan was all the idea of a certain person. Brothers, we are only following orders. Lord Prefecture Overseer, you are magnanimous. Can you only kill me and give the others a way out?”
As Zhou Cang spoke, a pleading look appeared in his eyes."Without these strong men, the tens of thousands of people in the village would have starved to death…"
His face was deathly pale, and his mouth was covered in blood as he begged.
He was not begging for mercy for himself, but for the people in the village.
This scene caused Cai Yong to show sympathy.
Zhang He's eyes were filled with admiration.
The two of them looked at Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao was expressionless as she looked at Zhou Cang calmly.""You said that there are more than ten thousand people in the mountain stronghold you are hiding in?”
Zhou Cang did not expect him to ask again.
" Yes. Almost all of them are old people, women, and children. They rebelled against us because they had no way out. If the imperial court could give them a chance to live, who would rebel?"”
These words were true.
Chen Xiao nodded.
" More than ten thousand old, weak, women, and children can't charge into battle, nor can they wave flags and shout. Instead, they hide in the mountains with you Yellow Turban thieves. They can't eat enough, and they're in danger. They might starve to death one day. They must have no choice but to do it because they can't survive.”
He sighed softly, but his eyes flashed."In that case, why don't you follow me to Youzhou?”
Zhou Cang was stunned for the third time.
Cai Yong and Zhang He were also dumbfounded.
They couldn't keep up with Chen Xiao's jumping thoughts at all.
"I'm planning to open up wasteland in Youzhou, and I'm short of people. If these people follow me to Youzhou, they can at least have a meal and live a better life in the future.”
Chen Xiao ignored their gazes and stared at Zhou Cang with a burning gaze."" There must be other Yellow Turban remnants in Jizhou, and you're a slightly famous canal commander in the Yellow Turban army. If you can bring them all with you to Youzhou…"
"Not only will I not kill you, but I will also remember your merit and recruit you to serve in the Prefecture Overseer's Estate.”
"How is it?"
He spoke with confidence and assurance. He actually wanted to take Zhou Cang and the tens of thousands of people behind him, and even all the remaining Yellow Turban criminals in Jizhou for his own use!
Cai Yong and Zhang He were stunned by this train of thought.
The former couldn't help but say," Zi Ang, those people are indeed pitiful, but you can't act on impulse. We've just entered Jizhou, and we're still thousands of miles away from Youzhou. With tens of thousands of refugees…how many people will starve to death along the way?!"”
This was clearly what Zhou Cang was thinking.
He stared at Chen Xiao.
"Teacher, have you forgotten about the population war that I told you about?”
Chen Xiao smiled slightly and looked at Cai Yong with a confident look.""In this chaotic world, population is the cornerstone. Youzhou is vast and sparsely populated, so it's suitable for recruiting refugees to open up wasteland.”
Cai Yong was exasperated." That's true, but there are so many people. What if more than half of them die before they reach Youzhou?"!”
Chen Xiao did not respond to this question.
It was Zhen Jiang and Cai Yan who heard the commotion and got off the carriage.
Zhen Jiang smiled, not a hint of worry on his face.
"Teacher, you've forgotten that this is Jizhou, and Jizhou…is the Zhen family's headquarters.”
Her eyes were like water as they lingered on Chen Xiao's body. She said Chen Xiao's wise saying,""In Jizhou, as long as you want to do something, there's nothing you can't do!”
Cai Yong, Cai Yan, Zhang He and Zhou Cang were all confused.
The corners of Chen Xiao's mouth curled into a faint arc.
Teacher, you don't know anything about real money!
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