Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 204 Iron-Blooded (Part 3)

With a precedent of assassination attempts, Pei Yan led her men to clear a path. They searched each of the two- or three-story shops lining both sides of the street, one by one.

Pei Qinghe mounted his warhorse again and rode at a leisurely pace until he reached the prefectural governor's residence.

Prefect Shen had prepared several tables of banquet, but they were no longer needed. The wealthy families had all been taken to prison, and Pei Qinghe had no time for eating, drinking, or listening to flattery.

Pei Qinghe ordered the food to be distributed, and the Pei family army soldiers, who had been traveling all day, ate and drank their fill before settling down to rest.

There were more than twenty empty rooms in the prefectural governor's mansion, with ten people per room, accommodating two hundred people in total.

In addition, Prefect Shen vacated several large houses nearby, where the remaining 800 people temporarily moved in.

The Pei family army consisted of ten men per squad, and ten squads formed a battalion. They usually ate and lived together. So, when a squad was crammed into one room, they didn't find it difficult to adjust.

Pei Yan habitually slipped into Pei Qinghe's place: "Cousin Qinghe, I'll live with you."

Pei Qinghe hummed in agreement and glanced at Pei Yan: "You wielded your sword very skillfully today."

Pei Yan was still seething with anger: "We only killed four. In my opinion, we should have killed all these wealthy families."

Pei Qinghe rolled her eyes and said, "Killing people is to intimidate them. Those four were indeed deserving of death. Some wealthy families have some redeeming qualities. Letting them run their businesses and use the money they earn to fund our military expenses can help maintain stability in Beiping County."

"If we kill them all, what difference will there be between us and the Liaoxi Army and the Fanyang Army?"

"I've already shown you all the booklets Shi Yan wrote. Can't you use your brain and learn from this?"

Pei Yan, with skin as thick as a city wall, was unfazed by the lecture and grinned, "If you tell me to kill, I'll wield the knife. If you don't, I'll sheathe it. I'll do whatever you say."

Pei Qinghe was amused by the situation and slapped her on the back of the head.

After resting for half a day, Pei Yun returned with her people.

Gu Lian went and returned with Pei Yun, firmly securing her position as the deputy. Wang Erhe shamelessly followed beside Gu Lian.

Pei Qinghe had complete confidence in Pei Yun's abilities and only asked one question: "Is the confiscation of the property all taken care of?"

Pei Yun nodded slightly: "Leave the houses and fields to them. I've confiscated all the money, grain, and silver, but the exact amount hasn't been tallied yet. We'll register it in the accounts after we send it to the military camp."

The military camp that Pei Yun mentioned was the empty camp left behind by the Beiping army.

With an existing military camp, there was no harm in using it. Pei Yun planned to leave half of her men to garrison Beiping County, while the other half would go to the Beiping military camp. She would then use the available funds and provisions to recruit and train new soldiers. There was no shortage of personnel; Gu Lian could manage on her own, and Wang Erhe could barely manage the finances.

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "You can make these decisions yourself."

Those who lead troops in the field must possess decisiveness and resourcefulness. Pei Yun has all of these qualities.

Pei Yun didn't stand on ceremony when Pei Qinghe gave the order and nodded in agreement.

Gu Lian volunteered: "General, I'll go to the prison and see how the interrogation is going."

Gu Lian is ruthless and audacious. Pei Qinghe glanced at Gu Lian: "Let Prefect Shen interrogate her first. If he can't get a clear answer, then you can take over."

Gu Lian bowed and accepted the order before leaving.

Wang Erhe followed along on his own initiative.

Gu Lian entered the prison and looked at the clean cells and the unharmed wealthy men with disdain: "Is this how the Prefect interrogates people? What can you possibly get out of this?"

Prefect Shen, accustomed to being pampered by wealthy families, was far from being ruthless. In the past half-day, he had questioned each of the dozen or so wealthy men, but they all appeared innocent, claiming to know nothing of the assassination attempt, and pleading with the Prefect to release them. Upon hearing Gu Lian's words, Prefect Shen immediately sighed, "This Prefect is too soft-hearted and inept at interrogation. Please forgive my poor skills, young lady!"

"My surname is Gu, call me Chief Gu." Gu Lian was actually quite beautiful, but the scar on her face was too hideous, making people shudder and dare not look closely. Her sharp eyes, filled with murderous intent, made people even more uneasy.

I wonder where all these powerful women in the Pei family army came from. Pei Qinghe goes without saying, Pei Yan is also a killing machine, Pei Yun confiscated her family's property without hesitation, and this scarred woman in front of me is also full of murderous intent.

Prefect Shen quickly changed his address to Chief Gu, earnestly requesting Chief Gu to take over the interrogation.

Gu Lian kept her general's instructions firmly in mind and refused to take over rashly, only saying that she would stay by his side.

Prefect Shen roused himself and brought over each of the wealthy households for questioning.

Gu Lian drew her long sword and casually slashed at the hard table, the cut penetrating deep into the wood. She slashed again, the same depth.

Gu Lian asked Wang Erhe with a smile, "Tell me, if I were to cut someone's neck with this knife, could I do it in one stroke?"

Wang Erhe was an honest man. After looking at it carefully, he shook his head: "At most, cut it in half."

Gu Lian was somewhat unconvinced, her gaze drifting back and forth over the necks of the wealthy men, eager to test the waters and determined to see what would happen.

The wealthy landowners felt a chill run down their spines and their hearts were cold. They trembled as they expressed their willingness to contribute 50% of their wealth to the military expenses.

Gu Lian continued to chop at the table with the knife, looking happy: "Wang Erhe, come and see, can you cut it in half this time?"

Wang Erhe peeked out and said, "There's still some skin left."

The wealthy men were terrified, and some changed their tune, saying they would hand over 60% of their fortune. Gu Lian ignored them and continued chopping at the table, which was now teetering on the verge of collapse.

When someone said that seventy percent of the family fortune would be donated to the military expenses, Gu Lian's expression immediately became kind. After inquiring about the wealthy man's identity and name, she said to Prefect Shen, "This man is truly loyal to our general, so he can be sent back."

Prefect Shen wiped his sweat with his sleeve, a forced smile on his face: "I'll do as Chief Gu says."

With this precedent, the other major shareholders quickly realized the situation and expressed their willingness to contribute 70%.

People have begun to confess to the collusion between the Yu family and the Liaoxi army. The assassination was indeed carried out by the Yu family in secret. The prefect was kept in the dark; they only heard rumors this morning and had no time to stop it.

Gu Lian dragged the wealthy man who claimed he couldn't stop her in time over and beheaded him with a cold smile.

After a good night's sleep, Pei Qinghe regained her full strength.

Gu Lian, who had stayed up all night, came over with dark circles under her eyes and reported her "gains" from the interrogation with a smile.

Gu Lian was ruthless, yet she knew her limits. She had done things like intimidating people and killing them, but when it came to confiscating family property, she asked Pei Yun to handle it.

Pei Yun thought to herself, no wonder Pei Qinghe values ​​Gu Lian so highly. Having such a capable and considerate subordinate is so reassuring.

"Sister Yun, you've worked hard for the next few days." Pei Qinghe said with a smile, "The same old rules apply: leave the mansions, fields, and shops of the wealthy families untouched, and take all the money, grain, and silver to use as military expenses."

Maintaining an army is a bottomless pit; money and provisions are never enough.

Pei Yun laughed too: "This job is not hard at all, I wish I could have it every day."

Pei Qinghe smiled gently.

(End of this chapter)