Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 218 Lu Chengyi's Show
After much pleading and refusing, Lu Chengyi finally agreed to surrender, weeping and wailing.

This is also a traditional drama, which is the only way to show the general's guilt towards his former master, his helplessness towards his new master, and his moderate expression of his own moral sentiments.

So, just as Heshilie had finished setting up camp and ordered the soldiers of Weiwuwei to have a good meal in preparation for calling for trouble in the city again in the afternoon, the smoke from the cooking fires rose, and Xiangwu County suddenly opened its city gates. Not only were white flags erected on the city walls, but a strong man who had removed his armor and hat and was carrying a coffin walked out of the city.

Upon seeing Heshilie suddenly appear from afar, the burly man immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying:

"Your guilty subject Lu Chengyi pays his respects to General Heshilie!"

“This wicked subject is not worthy of Heaven’s favor. He was deceived by his former master and was unable to serve his sovereign. He went against the will of Heaven, which is disloyalty. He raised an army under his former master, but he was worried about his brothers, his subordinates and the people in the city and dared not obey his orders. This is injustice.”

"This sinful subject is disloyal and unjust, and has no face to live. But under the wrath of Heaven, how dare I not bow down! I beg the general to spare my whole body and humbly beg for your pardon. Please do not harm my people and my subjects, so that even the lives of ants may be saved!"

Lu Chengyi was, after all, a martial artist of the fifth rank, and he shouted these words with his true qi, so He Shilie heard them clearly.

Confused, He Shilie suddenly scratched his head.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered the possibility of the other side surrendering—surrendering would be perfectly normal. They had conquered three cities in a single day, each time killing the defending generals with a simple "May the Thunder God help me," thus "conquering" the cities without bloodshed. Given such a disparity in strength, it would be strange if no one surrendered.

I never expected that this guy surnamed Lu would be so humble!
They take themselves so seriously!
In other words, only emperors and kings would put on such a show, even stripping naked and carrying a coffin to beg for surrender.

Because their identities inherently carry political correctness, without putting on such a show, announcing to the world their surrender and "giving up" their political status, they cannot express their submission, nor can they reassure the new political forces.

And you, Lu Chengyi...

Why should I?!

Even if a martial artist with a fifth-grade cultivation level has a decent status, it's not high either! Not to mention that we've already moved on to cultivating immortality, while you're still practicing martial arts. What makes you so confident?
Do you really think you're something special?
We could ignore it, but after all, he was the first general to formally surrender. If handled improperly, it would greatly affect subsequent military operations and also the imperial court… no, according to the reforms of our sect leader Zhang Chengdao, the imperial court should now be called the "Immortal Court"…

"From now on, both Qin and Jin will be under the jurisdiction of the White Stone Immortal Sect. The term 'Immortal Court' is an inappropriate name for the old dynasty. It should be called the 'Immortal Court' instead..."

The majestic voice of his own sect leader, Zhang Chengdao, still seemed to echo in his ears. In an instant, He Shilie's thoughts suddenly went awry.

In short, it also greatly affects the reputation of the Celestial Court.

Exterminating those who surrender without being fundamentally opposed to you is against the rules of the political game!

So what should we do about it...?

He Shilie suddenly found himself in a real predicament.

"Simple! Throw them in the prisoner-of-war camp, and then arrange for some generals from the Mighty Guard to take them along as local troops to help the people build houses and farm!"

When Zhang Chengdao gave He Shilie a special lesson in ideology, politics, and military governance, Murong Ruyan, who was about to accompany him as his "military backup," naturally attended the class. Therefore, noticing He Shilie's predicament, she casually offered a suggestion. He Shilie's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he immediately frowned: "This… this person is, after all, a fifth-rank cultivator. Isn't such an insult somewhat inappropriate?"

The first part of Murong Ruyan's suggestion was brilliant. The generals of the Mighty Guard all possessed basic political qualities, and He Shilie was suddenly confident that by offering them a few carrots, he could make them do these things with a stiff nose, and without causing any major conflicts or accidents.

Furthermore, these generals were not sent there to actually build houses or farm, but rather to manage the prisoners of Longxi.

In this way, if any illegal acts were committed, it would damage the reputation of the prisoners of Longxi, while the generals of the Mighty Guard could punish them severely, which would in turn earn the Mighty Guard a good reputation.

It can be said to kill two birds with one stone!
But the second half of the idea was a bit bad.

No matter what, Lu Chengyi was the first general to surrender, and he was also a martial artist with the cultivation level of the fifth rank. It was not appropriate to directly make him the lowest-ranking prisoner.

Murong Ruyan thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed a bit insulting, so she changed her mind and said, "Then let him keep his junior brothers and sisters company and go with them to the trial!"

He Shilie suddenly thought to himself, "That's feasible..."

The so-called "trial" refers to the cleanup of backlog cases that took place a few days ago in Chengji County and two other counties, mainly to "investigate wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice".

Furthermore, at that time, He Shilie suddenly adopted Zhang Chengdao's teachings and convened a "complaint meeting" to denounce the evil deeds of local powerful families and magnates in the Longzhong region who deceived their superiors and concealed the truth. He also announced the "Immortal Court" new policy of exempting people from poll tax and tax, reducing agricultural tax to one-thirtieth of the tax, and distributing land to all able-bodied men.

This series of tactics worked very well. Most of the people, who had previously been deeply nostalgic for their former master, suddenly began excitedly arranging marriages and matchmaking, all hoping to receive an extra acre of land during the land redistribution.

Such an opportunity is hard to come by again. For ordinary people, everything else is meaningless; only the land they receive is real!
Even after the land was distributed, many people began to worship Zhang Chengdao's official title.

This is a true deity! A genuine deity!

And all of this began with the "complaint meeting," which was also the act of investigating wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice!

With the political acumen and cultural literacy of a general defending a city, there should be no problem in cooperating with the trial. The key is what role to assign Lu Chengyi.

Promising high-ranking official positions and generous salaries is certainly impossible. Leaving aside whether Heshilietudi has the authority to do so, even if he did, given Lu Chengyi's status and reputation, he is not worthy of it.

Because Li knew that if He Shilie suddenly decided to attack, she would definitely lose Xiangwu County, so although Lu Chengyi, whom she sent, was a fifth-rank martial artist, he was not one of the most important cards in Li's hand.

When the Wang family was defending Ji County, at least they sent their own direct descendant with a fourth-rank cultivation level. But Lu Chengyi was only a fifth-rank cultivator and didn't even have the surname Li!
Isn't this just plain cannon fodder?

Not to mention that Lu Chengyi has nothing to boast about except for his fifth-rank martial arts cultivation level—he has no combat experience whatsoever, his official career has always been in supplementary positions not officially listed in the court's official personnel register, and as for political reputation… he has absolutely none!
This left He Shilie wondering what to do.

Too high or too low is not suitable!
(End of this chapter)