roccoschili Chapter 122 Restraining Mercy
Chapter 122 Restraining Mercy
After the rebellion in Xiaxiang was quelled, Li Sheng did not rush to return to Xiapi.
He sat in the county government hall for an entire night, with three things spread out in front of him: a list of local strongmen who participated in the rebellion, a register of brothers who died in battle, and a map of the surrounding counties.
The next morning, he summoned his generals, his tone calm yet leaving no room for doubt.
"Issue the order that all male members of the seven clans who participated in this rebellion shall be conscripted into the army's hard labor camps to serve as vanguards. Female relatives and young children shall be conscripted into refugee settlements and placed under the unified management and education of the Taiping Church. All family property shall be confiscated, and residences shall be converted into military granaries or schools."
He changed his mind. It would be too lenient to just make them do hard labor on the water conservancy construction site. These scum should be taken to the front line to fill in the gaps!
Liu Wu, his arm wrapped in bandages, stood below the hall. Hearing this, his blood boiled, and he clasped his hands in a fist salute.
"General, you are wise! Those guys killed so many of our brothers, they deserve to be sent to the battlefield! Forced labor is too good for them!"
Everyone in the hall echoed their agreement.
Seeing that they did not object at all, Li Sheng knew that he had always been too lenient with the enemy.
When dealing with these incorrigible landlords, the harshest measures should be taken!
The cleanup efforts in Xiaxiang City lasted for seven days.
Seven days later, Li Sheng left Liu Wu and Li Zili to guard Xiaxiang, while he himself led Li Shi and the main force north to Siwu County. After arriving in Siwu County, he camped in the city for three days.
In these three days, he did one thing: he thoroughly investigated and cleaned up the entire Siwu County.
After all, the example of Xiaxiang County is still fresh in our minds; Siwu County cannot afford to have the same problem...
Upon investigation, the problem was indeed found.
In the north of Siwu County, there lived a powerful family surnamed Zhao. When Wang Qian surrendered, the Zhao family also surrendered, and even offered up a hundred acres of their own fertile land to show their sincerity.
Li Sheng was too busy returning to the city to investigate thoroughly at the time, but now, through a covert investigation, he discovered that the land Zhao had offered was all barren, dry land, while the family's truly fertile fields had already been secretly transferred to members of their clan. Furthermore, Zhao had secretly maintained dozens of private soldiers, hidden deep within the manor, inaccessible to outsiders.
After reading the secret report, Li Sheng only said two words.
"Take it down."
That night, the Zhao family manor was completely surrounded. Taiping soldiers scaled the walls and searched the manor inside and out, seizing more than fifty sets of privately owned armor, over three hundred bushels of grain, and one million copper coins. When the head of the Zhao family was taken to the county government, he cried out that he was innocent, saying that his family were good citizens loyal to the Taiping army.
Li Sheng was too lazy to listen to his explanation and directly ordered him to be taken away.
The head of the Zhao family cried out that he was innocent, but to no avail.
The following day, the Zhao family was confiscated and all members were exiled to Xiapi.
The news caused a stir throughout Siwu County, and those powerful families who had initially hoped to escape the situation took the initiative to come forward and honestly hand over their land and grain registers.
Seeing the way these powerful families acted, Li Sheng revealed a cold smile.
He then left 500 veterans in Siwu County and promoted several outstanding Daoist disciples to serve as village priests, thus completely controlling the grassroots level.
Having done all this, he was in no hurry to return to Xiapi.
Li Sheng's gaze fell on the map, slowly moving upwards from Xiapi, past Siwu County, and landing on the city south of Donghai County.
Jianling Mausoleum.
The southern gateway to Donghai Commandery is also the vital passage connecting the capital of Xiapi to the two commanderies of Beihai and Langya. Taking Jianling would be equivalent to opening a breach in the north, allowing for a northward advance that could threaten the heartland of Donghai Commandery, and a westward advance that could directly penetrate the flank of the capital of Xiapi.
More importantly, the aristocratic power in Jianling was relatively weak, unlike the capital where the Chen family held sway. Moreover, there were large tracts of land south of Jianling County that had been seized by powerful clans, and the tenant farmers there lived even more miserably than the people of Xiapi.
Once the news gets out, people might even bring food and drink to the villagers.
"Ashi".
"Your subordinate is here."
"Pass down the order: tomorrow we will break camp and head north. Target: Jianling County."
Li Shi was taken aback.
"General, we just finished fighting Xia Xiang, and the brothers haven't had much rest yet..."
"Speed is of the essence in war. Jianling must have already received the news that we have captured three counties in succession, and they must have strengthened their defenses. But no matter how strong their defenses are, they cannot compare to the capital of Xuzhou. If we can take it down in one fell swoop before they can establish a firm foothold, we will open up a passage to the north."
Li Sheng paused, his voice slightly lowered.
"Our current predicament is that our territory is too small. Only by expanding our territory can we have more room for development."
"promise!"
The next morning, Li Sheng led three thousand men north from Siwu. Their banners fluttered and their military bearing was solemn. People lined the road to see them off, and laborers pushed carts, delivering bags of dry rations to the soldiers.
Three days later, the army arrived outside the south gate of Jianling County.
As expected, Jianling had made preparations in advance.
The city wall was over three zhang high, even taller than Xiaxiang. The top of the wall was densely packed with soldiers, archers and crossbowmen stood ready. Behind the crenellations, several large cauldrons could be seen, steaming hot—it was obviously molten gold. The city gate was tightly closed, the drawbridge was high in the air, and a two-zhang wide moat had been dug outside the gate, filled with sharpened wooden stakes.
The magistrate of Jianling County was named Wang Huan. He was a civil official in his early forties and was shrewd. He had received news from the direction of Xiapi half a month ago.
He sent people to reinforce the city's defenses, inspect the granaries, and train local militia. He also requested reinforcements from the governor of Donghai Commandery.
Standing atop the city wall, he gazed at the brightly armored troops outside the city, his expression grave yet relatively calm.
"Send the order: all troops on high alert! The enemy has come from afar and has not yet established a firm foothold; they will surely take advantage of our exhaustion to attack! If we can hold out for three days, reinforcements from the prefecture will surely arrive!"
The soldiers guarding the city walls responded in unison.
Outside the city, Li Sheng stood on his horse, looking up at the defenses of Jianling with a calm gaze.
"As expected, they were prepared in advance."
he murmured.
"However... that's all for now."
He reached down and took the halberd hanging on his horse's side; its blade gleamed coldly in the afternoon sun. Then he glanced back at the three thousand soldiers behind him, his gaze sharp as a knife.
"Brothers of the Taiping Army!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"That city across the way is a thorn in our side that we must remove before heading north. If we remove it, the road to the north will be open; if we don't, we'll be stuck in these three counties and waiting to die."
"You've followed me from Xiapi until now, fighting tough and fierce battles, and you've never backed down."
"Let's go for it again today."
He turned his horse around, raised his halberd diagonally, and pointed the tip of the halberd at the city gate.
"All troops, listen to my command—attack the city!"
The war drums sounded.
Three thousand soldiers surged toward Jianling City like a tidal wave.
Ladders were erected one after another, and the logs and battering rams were pushed forward with a rumbling sound by the laborers.
Arrows flew like locusts towards the city walls, striking the crenellations and shields with a clanging sound.
As expected, the defenders on the walls of Jianling were well-prepared. Rolling logs and stones rained down on them, molten metal poured from the walls, and scalding excrement was poured over the Taiping soldiers, causing screams of agony to rise and fall.
The first wave of soldiers attacking the city was suppressed, and dozens were killed or wounded.
Li Sheng squinted, looking at the densely packed defenders on the city wall.
He knew that a direct assault like this wasn't the way to go.
"Bring me the powerful bow!"
His subordinate handed him a powerful bow, and Li Sheng tested its feel before quickly firing three arrows.
Three people immediately fell from the city wall.
The guards cried out in alarm, but Li Sheng remained unmoved and fired several more arrows, all of which hit their mark.
The soldiers defending the city were terrified and cried out in panic.
"The enemy has a sharpshooter!"