Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2825 Master Qingsong 43.0
"An informant?" Jin Miaomiao was taken aback upon hearing Shen Cha's words. "There are still survivors? Weren't they supposed to leave no one alive?"

"Although She Nanqi is a killing god, he is not a bloodthirsty person. He still has some sense of propriety. Otherwise, Emperor Taizu would not have spared him for so many years. Even if Emperor Taizong despised his behavior, he would not have just confiscated his property and spared the lives of his entire family."

"Just confiscating their property?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Cha, then at Shen Haolin. "They killed so many people, and all they did was confiscate their property?"

"Both Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong believed that although She Nanqi killed too many people, he spared no one who should have been killed and did not touch anyone who should not have been killed. He still had some humanity and was not really bloodthirsty."

"He's not exactly bloodthirsty?"

“Although we think his actions back then were somewhat excessive, but,” Shen Cha paused, “if I were in his position, I might not have made a better decision.” She sighed softly and said, “To nip the problem in the bud, I had to eliminate the root of the problem. If I had captured the Little Prince and his men, or found that island, I would probably have done what She Nanqi did: make them disappear along with the island.” She looked at Shen Haolin, then at Song Yaojia, “What about my two older brothers?”

“Same.” Shen Haolin and Song Yaojia said in unison. They looked at each other and continued, “But the people on the island are not innocent. They all participated voluntarily.”

"The people in the lair are probably the same."

"But...aren't there any innocent people among them? I mean, among the group of people he massacred."

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly." Shen Cha sighed softly and said, "Those rebels back then, although they fought under the banner of supporting the previous dynasty, did real crimes such as murder, arson, and kidnapping women. In other words, they were no longer the elite troops of the previous dynasty, and were no different from ordinary bandits."

"You mean they're stirring up trouble under the guise of the previous dynasty?"

“It’s not fake. Their desire to support the former dynasty is genuine. A considerable number of these rebels are elites from the former dynasty. Although they are not as battle-hardened as we are, they have fought in many battles, large and small. It’s quite an achievement that they survived. Besides, heroes emerge in times of chaos. Many of them dream of this, and even…” Shen Cha sighed, “they are still doing everything they can to find members of the former royal family, hoping to gain favor by marrying into the new dynasty.”

Jin Miaomiao, the "elite of the previous dynasty," stroked her chin, looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and said, "Shouldn't it be you two?"

“Not all the elites and nobles stood on the side of Great Xia. There were also many who wholeheartedly supported the previous dynasty because they knew that Great Xia would not share the world with the powerful families.”

"I see." Jin Miaomiao thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, their combat strength is indeed not weak. She Nanqi must have exerted a lot of effort to defeat them, right?"

"Indeed, my father once said something that I remember very clearly: although the rebels were not weak in combat, they were not united, and internal strife was constant. Some were fighting on the front lines, while others were stabbing each other in the back. Such situations were very common. In fact, the fact that She Nanqi learned about the rebels' strongholds back then was also a result of their infighting."

"This," Jin Miaomiao said with a look of disgust, "even if they find the descendants of the previous dynasty's royal family, it probably won't amount to much."

“That’s true.” Song Yaojia smiled. “But even so, they still managed to take several bites of She Nanqi’s flesh. Otherwise, She Nanqi wouldn’t have been able to be so ruthless.”

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “When the rebellion first broke out, Liuzhou was the hardest hit. At that time, She Nanqi was training troops outside and didn’t know Liuzhou was in chaos. By the time he heard the news, the garrison in Liuzhou had already lost more than half its strength. At that time, Liuzhou only had three thousand men, while the rebels had gathered nearly ten thousand.” “Ten thousand men attacking Liuzhou Prefecture with only three thousand garrison?” Jin Miaomiao reviewed Liuzhou’s city defense layout in her mind, sighed softly, and said, “One side of Liuzhou Prefecture is the sea, where Commander Liu is currently training his troops. This is indeed an easy breach to attack, but…”

“They never even considered that the previous dynasty didn’t value its navy much, otherwise they wouldn’t have been constantly harassed by Japanese pirates,” Shen Cha sighed. “Their main forces were concentrated at the east and west gates, where the roads are convenient and it’s only about a hundred miles from their stronghold. As for the north gate of Liuzhou Prefecture, you have to come out of their stronghold and cross a dense forest. If you’re fast, you can get to the north gate in two days; if you’re slow, it can take a week, and you might even lose your life there. So, they didn’t even consider the north gate and went straight for the east and west gates.”

"Indeed, I've heard of that dense forest; very few people manage to come out of it unscathed."

“Yes, that’s why they abandoned the North Gate, giving Liuzhou Prefecture a chance to catch its breath.” Shen Cha paused for a moment, then continued, “At first, the rebels did have the upper hand, and Liuzhou Prefecture was on the verge of collapse. But on the night of the fourth day, the situation changed dramatically because the rebels’ supplies were burned.”

"They've run out of food?" Jin Miaomiao immediately realized, "Did She Nanqi do this?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “Although he returned in time, the garrison of Liuzhou City had already suffered heavy losses. If he had arrived half a day later, Liuzhou City would probably have fallen. However, none of the rebels who attacked Liuzhou City this time escaped.”

"They're all dead?"

"No, we spared some survivors to find the location of the lair." Shen Cha waved his hand. "However, these people ended up like the rebels in the lair; they were all killed."

"I see!" Jin Miaomiao nodded. "And then? Who was the person in the know?"

"The so-called 'bandit's wife'."

"Huh?" Jin Miaomiao was taken aback, looking at Shen Cha blankly. "How come there's a bandit's wife now?"

“As I said before, the stronghold is not only filled with those traitors, but also with women and children they have forcibly taken, many of whom are from good families.”

"But..." Jin Miaomiao glanced at Shen Cha, hesitating to speak, "Although they are pitiful, but..."

"I understand what you mean. You think they're not innocent, after all, they've lived with these people for so many years, right?"

“That’s what I mean.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “Especially those so-called ‘bandit’s wife,’ they’re probably not good people either.”

"Whether they were good or bad, She Nanqi must have made his judgment back then, which is why he spared these women and children. However, he never expected that the people he spared back then would turn around and try to kill him many years later."