Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 217 Kill
With a creak, the city gate finally opened.

Liu Zun and his men quickly took control of the city gate.

"Where is your prefect?" Liu Daogui entered the city under the protection of armored soldiers. As soon as he stepped into the barbican, he saw several unrecognizable female corpses lying in the city gate.

A few steps further, several women lay on the ground, their arms and legs broken, staring blankly at the soldiers entering the city.

"Prefect...I am too busy with official duties to greet you all. Please forgive me."

A clerk-like man offered a compliment.

Liu Daogui looked at him and asked, "What's going on?"

The clerk dared not meet his gaze, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "These are all women of the demon bandits, abducted by the soldiers... but they refused to submit even to the death, so we had to resort to some methods..."

"Are these all the women of the demon thief?" Liu Daogui pointed to the corpse of a girl who looked about eight or nine years old on the ground.

The soldiers around him were furious, and Gao Xun's eyes were filled with rage.

Even the usually rude Liu Zun couldn't bear to look at them, because what these people were doing was utterly depraved.

Anyone with a little common sense would know that these corpses must be the wives and daughters of those young men who died tragically. The bandits used the Qiantang River as a barrier and never set foot on the north bank.

The clerk lowered his head.

Liu Daogui took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said, "I would like to trouble Prefect Yu to come to the city tower to discuss the matter of defending against the bandits."

The clerk felt as if he had been granted a pardon and left with his head in his hands.

“This man has a great deal of resentment among the people and cannot be trusted!” Gao Xun harbored great hatred for the governor of Wuxing.

"Don't worry." Liu Daogui had been around for so many years and knew that a bad teammate was often more terrifying than a formidable opponent.

Not long after, the clerk rushed back, "Reporting to the general, my... my prefect said he comes from a high-ranking family of the second rank, and according to the rules, the general should... go and pay him a visit..."

Among the prominent families of Jiangzuo, the Wang, Xie, Yu, and Huan families rose to prominence even before the Xie and Huan families. Yu Yi and Yu Bing once controlled the court, and Huan Wen was promoted by Yu Yi...

But times have changed. The Yu family was first suppressed by Huan Wen, who squeezed their power out of Jingzhou and Xiangyang.

Subsequently, Yu Kai, the governor of Yuzhou, suffered a major defeat at the hands of Sima Shangzhi, losing all his remaining wealth.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Ah Zun, take some men and invite Prefect Yu over. Let them know our rules!" Liu Daogui's face was already full of murderous intent.

"Yes, sir!" Liu Zun turned and left with more than a hundred armored soldiers.

The clerk was so frightened he couldn't speak.

Half an hour later, Liu Zun carried a scholar in a loose-fitting robe upstairs and threw it on the ground.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?"

The man's face was covered in bruises, but his arrogance remained undiminished.

"Then do you know who I am?" Liu Daogui looked the man up and down. He was around forty years old, with a dignified appearance and the demeanor of a refined scholar.

"Hmph, I am Yu Zidu of Yingchuan, a trusted confidant of the King of Langya!" Yu Huan immediately invoked Sima Daozi's name, but his trembling hands betrayed his bluster.

Liu Daogui slowly drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist and held it out in front of him. "Do you know who this is?"

The blade was tinged with the afterglow of the setting sun, a faint red glow flowing across its surface.

“You—” Yu Huan’s eyes widened.

“The way is to know when to stop,” Gao Xun suddenly changed his stance and came to advise Liu Daogui.

After all, this person was a confidant of Sima Daozi and also a member of the prestigious Yu family.

Gao Xun might want to teach him a lesson, but he didn't want to see him die at Liu Daogui's hands.

However, the surrounding soldiers widened their eyes, their faces full of anticipation. Hearing Gao Xun's dissuasion, Yu Huan suddenly felt confident, "Everything I have done is for the court, without any selfish motives. Hmph, it is you who are insubordinate and lawless!"

He raised the ring-pommel sword and thrust it out amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd.

Yu Huan was stunned for a moment before he realized that the knife had been stabbed into him.

Liu Daogui drew his knife and stabbed the man six or seven times before he finally lay still and died...

"The corpses will be displayed throughout the city and hung on the city walls. Anyone who participated in the massacre of civilians will be beheaded!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Liu Daogui pointed at the surrounding guards and shouted, "This is a military order! What are you all standing there for? Kill them all!"

Liu Zun was the first to react, and he swung his axe at the guard next to him, spraying blood everywhere.

The other soldiers didn't hold back either, drawing their swords and slashing at the surrounding defenders.

When they started, they were quick and ruthless; even if someone fell to the ground, they were hacked into a bloody pulp by the blades.

A stench of blood instantly filled the surroundings.

“The Way…” Gao Xun stared blankly at Liu Daogui.

"This man colluded with bandits, massacred civilians, and threw rotting corpses into our army's water source. After investigation, this man not only refused to surrender, but also joined forces with his troops to launch a surprise attack on our army. I was forced to fight back."

Liu Daogui spouted a string of nonsense as soon as he opened his mouth.

Gao Xun said, "Although this man deserves to die, he is a man of the Prince of Langya and a member of the Yu family of Yingchuan. After the bandits are quelled, he will certainly not let the matter rest."

"Brother Gao, you're being foolish. Back then, Sima Daozi sold out Wang Guobao and Wang Xu to avoid being purged by Wang Gong. Why would he care about Yu Huan? Besides, after the bandits are quelled, who will let things go? It's not certain!"

Liu Daogui wiped the blood off the blade on the corpse, then sheathed the knife, his face full of self-righteousness.

The Yu family is now a drowning dog; killing them is no big deal.

The imperial court couldn't afford to deal with such a trivial matter. The rebels had a powerful navy that could come and go as they pleased, and there was no possibility of quelling them in the short term.

It would be good enough if we could recover Kuaiji Commandery.

Gao Xun smiled wryly, "Could it be that you planned to kill him the moment you entered the city?"

"That's right. We can't possibly quell the rebels by force alone. Historically, we should use both suppression and appeasement to suppress them. We should first win over the hearts of the people of the Wu region and disintegrate the rebels' power. They will then have no place to stand. Once their morale is broken, our army can then advance on Kuaiji and achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Many of the rebels were ordinary people from the Wu region who had been coerced into joining the rebellion; they were not wholeheartedly following Sun En.

Yu Huan's actions forced the people to join the bandits.

Liu Daogui killed him in order to appease the people of the Wu region and win their hearts.

Gao Xun said, "So, you already have a way to defeat the enemy?"

Liu Daogui nodded, “To fight external enemies, we must first secure internal stability. The Northern Army is, after all, an outsider. Without the support of the locals, they cannot defeat the demon bandits. The demon bandits are by no means a rabble. They have defeated the Northern Army twice, killing and capturing nearly 20,000. Their fighting strength is evident. If I did not have such means, I would certainly not be their match.”

The reason why Xie Yan, Sun Wuzhong, and Gao Ya were defeated and led by the nose by the enemy army was precisely this.

Gao Xun was persuaded. "I can't argue with you. However, killing members of the gentry without authorization will damage your reputation. I'm afraid that even if you quell the rebellion in the future, the court will not reward you."

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "I am only responsible for suppressing the bandits. Other matters are none of my concern. Besides, whether or not I am rewarded is not up to the court."

After the disastrous defeats of Xie Yan and Gao Ya, seven-tenths of their troops were lost, leaving the imperial court with increasingly weak forces and forcing it to rely more heavily on the Liu family of Pengcheng.

The Huan clan in the west is sharpening their knives; who will rule the world in the future is still uncertain.

(End of this chapter)