My lord, spare his life!

Because the rewards for meritorious service are substantial, and with many enemies vying for resources and enemy heads being difficult to obtain, it's inevitable that some will resort to dishonest means and take a chance. Enemy soldiers wielding swords and spears are difficult to kill, but wouldn't ordinary civilians, powerless as chickens, be easy to kill?

Zhang Yang naturally didn't care about that little bit of gold and silver.

She simply didn't want innocent people to die because of this greed.

To prevent the killing of innocent civilians and the claiming of merit, Du Guan, Fan You, and others discussed and increased the penalties in the newly revised military law: anyone who kills innocent civilians or prisoners without authorization and reports their heads as merits will be beheaded; if anyone in a squad kills innocent civilians and claims merits, the rest will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane, and the squad leader and platoon leader will be punished for dereliction of duty and condoning, and will be punished with one month of wearing cangue and fifty strokes of the cane; if someone knows about it but does not report it, they will be punished as a family member; if someone reports a meritorious act, it will be considered as half a merit.

Of course, there are also supplementary regulations for special circumstances.

Given the chaos of this world, there are hidden talents among ordinary people. Being unarmed does not mean being without threat. Soldiers can fight back when their lives are threatened, without being punished or rewarded.

Even so, Zhang Yang still wanted to give a special reminder.

Again--

In the world we're observing, murder is an absolute capital offense, and crime is explicitly prohibited, yet people still cross the line every year. If that world, where everything is plentiful, is like this, what about this place where everything is lacking? We can't expect self-discipline from them.

Xiao Sui hurriedly agreed, but she only had time to see her master's departing figure, and she didn't know if he had heard her.

Zhang Yang, carrying weapons, charged straight towards the center of the prefecture.

Her expression was cold and calm, her eyes darting rapidly from side to side as she scanned the red names that appeared in her line of sight, analyzing the information.

Although the system provides extremely general names before obtaining a specific name, common name styles include prefixes indicating the person. These prefixes can include place of residence, age, and emotional state, such as "[Beggar from the East of the City]", "[Old Woman]", or "[Frightened Child]". Some names directly indicate social occupation, such as "[Official in a Prefecture]" or "[Head of a Family]".

Different characters have different health bar values.

Ordinary people have the shortest health bars, followed by those with ordinary Star-level Divine Influence. People like Fan You and Xiao Sui, who have several levels of Star-level Divine Influence, have even thicker health bars. People like Guan Si and Guan Zong, who cultivate martial arts, have health bars that increase rapidly as if they have been injected with hormones.

Zhang Yang can use this information to find the high-ranking officials of the Zongzheng County.

If she could capture them all, Zongzheng County would be hers to keep.

"Found it!" With the skills honed over sixteen years of PVP, finding a special target in a dense sea of ​​red was a piece of cake for Zhang Yang. She quickly pinpointed the direction.

The people of Zongzheng County never dreamed that the city gates would be breached so quickly. They couldn't even hold out for half a day, let alone three or five days. The situation was dangerous and time was of the essence. Some tried to go to the front lines to stop the enemy troops, but most chose to flee home, gather their retainers and private soldiers to guard their manors in the city, and buy time to sort out their belongings.

Every household was in chaos and turmoil. Men, women, the elderly, and children were unaware of the situation outside, only knowing that the enemy was attacking the city.

"Parents, how did it come to this point of life and death?" The handsome man's mind went blank, his limbs trembling as if he didn't know how to react. It wasn't until someone nudged him that he snapped out of his daze, a deep sorrow filling his heart. Although Zongzheng County had experienced some turmoil in recent years, the storms outside hadn't reached the county seat. Even during the Dongxian Disaster many years ago, only Chesi County was massacred, and Zongzheng County only sent a small number of troops.

The burly woman, referred to as the matriarch, was in a foul mood. Normally, she would leisurely entertain the beauties in the courtyard, but now she was overwhelmed with her own troubles and had lost all patience. She snapped, "You idiot! Hurry up and get the carriages ready!"

How much stuff can you pack in a quick tidy-up?

He was simply taking a few boxes of gold and silver with him, his parents, and his children.

Of all the beauties in the courtyard, only the one he liked best was taken with him; the others were left at home to fend for themselves.

Similar scenes are playing out elsewhere.

Those who were abandoned included both male concubines and beautiful women.

Some people planned ahead, packing their belongings as soon as there was news of war, so they could take half their wealth and all their family members with them when they fled. Others were less fortunate, their homes located too close to the city gate. They abandoned all their possessions, jumped on their horses, and fled for their lives, only to be spotted by ravenous bandits the moment they stepped out of the gate.

The door that had just been opened was slammed shut with a loud "bang".

The lead parent was arrested, and the rest were all pushed back inside. The person at the front, who hadn't managed to escape, fell backward unexpectedly, and cried out in pain. The cries of the old and the young mingled together, the high-pitched and shrill screams disturbing everyone's peace of mind.

Through the courtyard wall, one could vaguely hear the shouts of those thugs.

"Keep your eyes wide open and watch closely. You may want to die, but don't drag us into it." Neither the previous two cities nor this prefecture had issued an order not to ban swords. Not only were swords to be banned, but it was also explicitly forbidden to disturb the people or slaughter the innocent.

Among these soldiers, some had already registered their military merits with the heads they had captured. Once the heads were confirmed to be genuine, they received gold and silver rewards on the spot, while other necessities like cloth and rice would have to wait until after the battle. Those who did not have merits from capturing heads also received different levels of rewards for the two sieges.

Some were worried about carrying their gold and silver with them, while others entrusted them to safekeeping until the end of the battle. Having captured another city with their lord today, and without suffering much injury or hardship, they were in high spirits. Hearing these stern instructions, they weren't angry; instead, they smiled and agreed, promising to strictly adhere to military discipline and prevent their comrades from being implicated.

They knew perfectly well how much wealth the family they were guarding possessed. If they could break in and ransack the place without sheathing their weapons, even just getting a handful of oil would make them incredibly rich. However—without orders from above, they dared not risk their lives. This dissatisfaction was also reflected in their attitude.

If anyone dares to climb over the wall, beat them up and throw them back.

If the other party resists with weapons, they can kill them without hesitation; killing one or two can serve as a warning to others. These wicked servants who rely on wealthy families to bully others—upon closer examination, how many of them have clean hands? A closer look reveals they're all filthy.

After noon, the commotion in the city gradually subsided.

Bloodstains stretched from the entrance of the prefectural government office all the way to the outer offices, everywhere marked by the chaos of battle. Zhang Yang returned after fighting his way through the area, tossing aside his blood-stained golden spear and shouting, "Is there any water? Is there any water? I'm dying of thirst!"

I don't know who decided that fighting requires shouting and yelling, and even using a skill requires reciting its name. The strain on the throat is secondary; the real problem is the cold, icy wind that fills the mouth, making the throat parched. When excited, it doesn't feel uncomfortable, but once calmed down, even swallowing saliva is painful. Zhang Yang shouted for a while, but no one brought him water, so he went to the entrance of the outer office's main hall and found a seemingly clean water vat. He cupped his hands, took a sip, and found it tasted alright.

Zhang Yang simply braced himself against the edge of the water vat with both hands, leaned his upper body inside, and gulped down the water to quench his thirst.

Fan You: "..."

Her good mood vanished the moment she saw her lord, half-submerged in the water vat: "My lord, what are you doing?"

Zhang Yang: "I'm thirsty."

Fan You's lips twitched: "This is rainwater."

There are many water tanks, each about half a person's height, in various locations of the outpost. These water tanks are used to store water, which is either river water carried from the river or rainwater collected on rainy days. There are also people who will check the water level in each water tank in order to deal with any possible fire in the county government.

Zhang Yang wiped his mouth: "It's not like I can't drink."

The people in this world are incredibly resilient.

After discovering numerous serious food safety issues in Chesi County, she turned her attention to her home base, Tianyue County. To her surprise, she found that food safety oversight was also inadequate in Tianyue County, and in some cases, the food conditions were even worse than in Chesi County.

Many officials in the prefecture would scoop water directly from the water vat when they were thirsty.

I didn't see anyone getting diarrhea.

It's not that the water is particularly clean; it's simply that the debuff was purified by the body's natural resistance as soon as it was applied.

Fan You: "But I haven't seen anyone fall in and drink it."

"Didn't you just see me?"

Fan You almost couldn't catch his breath.

As he continued talking to his lord, his heart began to feel uncomfortable.

Zhang Yang suddenly sniffed around.

"What's that stinky smell? Uncle Yan, can you smell it?"

The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning buildings and corpses, mingled with the smell of blood. The mud on the dirt road wasn't completely dry, giving it a strong earthy odor. The various smells blended together, creating a pungent, almost overwhelming, odor. Fan You wondered which specific kind of stench his lord was referring to.

Zhang Yang described it as: "It's like... constipation, like something that's been fermenting in your intestines for over ten days... it smells like feces?"

There was a foul smell in the wind.

The distance between them grew closer, and their feelings grew stronger.

Just as Zhang Yang was searching for the source of the stench, two filthy, enormous figures lunged at her from the left and right. With lightning speed, Zhang Yang summoned her long spear and swept it away, the sharp edge pushing the attackers back. She exclaimed, "Get away! What the hell is that?!"

No, this feels familiar.

Zhang Yang only realized after pushing the notification that the two had green names.

Not only is it a green name, but it's a very familiar green name.

One is "Dirty Zhang Dami," and the other is "Dirty Zhang Da Miao." Both of them arrived with grins on their faces, vividly recreating the meme that Zhang Yang had seen as a sample of observation—"Mom, I'm back from my mischief."

Zhang Yang stared at the two beasts uncertainly.

The two beasts' tails, which had been held high, now drooped low, and their once erect ears lay limp and lifeless. One head tilted to the left, the other to the right, seemingly unaware of what they had done wrong. Zhang Yang felt uncomfortable under their gaze, as if he had done something wrong: "Why do you smell so bad?"

Did they all go to the outhouse to eat?

Zhang Dami and Zhang Dami were both on the verge of tears.

The child was making incoherent noises, sounding anxious, angry, and aggrieved, almost to the point of speaking human language. Zhang Yang was bewildered for a while before remembering that she had smelled a similar stench above the city walls during the siege not long ago.

The dark brown and yellowish-brown scum that clung to their fur was the stuff the laborers had boiled on the city wall. She remembered that many giant cauldrons had been hurled at the two beasts. Zhang Yang stared at their charred and tangled fur, realizing with a sheepish embarrassment that her earlier discomfort was most likely a feeling of guilt: "I didn't mean to."

Zhang Dami's low spirits immediately lifted.

With excited strides, they were about to rush towards Zhang Yang.

result--

It was still blocked by a long, merciless spear.

Zhang Dami jumped up angrily, her round tiger eyes blazing with rage, her breathing heavy. Strangely, Zhang Yang, who couldn't understand the language of the star beasts, felt as if Zhang Dami was calling her a liar: "Dami, are you insulting me right now? Hmm?"

Zhang Dami seemed to have been acupunctured, remaining stiff and motionless.

It immediately tucked its tail between its legs, lowered its head, tilted its head slightly, and looked upwards with its eyes, trying to let Zhang Yang see the "Zhang Da Miao's pitiful look" that it had practiced countless times in front of the pond.

Its fur is beautiful, and the dark area around its eyes gives it a full eyeliner effect. It looks even better in this pose than Zhang Da Miao!

Zhang Yang: "..."

Seeing this, Zhang Damiao's anger flared. When she was tea-loving, she was the most beautiful woman in the world; any other beast tea-loving was considered provocative and shameless!

The two beasts started wrestling and grappling again after a disagreement.

However, in a very tacit way, they only scratch and don't bite.

Zhang Yang frowned and took two steps back.

"If you want to fight, go outside and fight. The ground is covered in shit."

Unfortunately, Guan Zong strode over at that moment, full of vigor. Before he could even utter the word "My Lord," Zhang Yang, as if he had conscripted a laborer, pointed at him and said, "You wash them."

Guan Zong pointed to himself: "Is my lord sure he wants me to do this?"

They were polite on the surface, but in their hearts they were cursing horribly.

Although he has no military achievements in charging into battle, his command and control are excellent. When the lord sees him, even if he doesn't come up and shake his hand and say, "Having a prince is like a fish having water," he shouldn't let him bathe two star beasts covered in gold sap, right?

Is this supposed to be his job?

Why is it that he's the only one who doesn't have that old, tired phrase, "like a fish in water"?

Guan Zong almost couldn't catch his breath.

Zhang Yang asked uncertainly, "Do you have other important matters to attend to?"

Guan Zong's old face turned cold, his eyes flashing with a chilling light, and he said in a sarcastic tone, "What business could a nobody like me have?"

"Then please wash them thoroughly."

Ideally, it should be a high-end, premium-grade hair care package.

Make sure there isn't a single trace of the gold syrup left, inside or out.

Guan Zong's face flushed slightly, and he led the two beasts away.

Zhang Yang's expression remained numb and indifferent, only her peach blossom eyes revealed a hint of doubt: "What's there to blush about?"

Fan You: "..."

Is Hong Wen sure it's shyness and not murderous intent?

Guan Zong's ability to refrain from killing his lord demonstrates his remarkable self-control. Those who have received an education are indeed different from illiterate scoundrels like Wang Qi.

Lu Yuan came with He Zhi.

Xiao Sui was busy overseeing the registration and verification of military merits and heads.

He Zhi is currently only considered half an insider, existing on the periphery of the core. Lu Yuan finds him convenient to use and, adhering to the principle of "why not use him if you can," also needs to explain some trivial matters to him. This time, he also came to report the list of key figures to be captured to Zhang Yang.

And how to deal with these people.

Zhang Yang tentatively asked, "...Kill him?"

Lu Yuan was astonished: "Not a single one was spared, they were all killed?"

From her perspective, there were indeed many scoundrels among them, and killing them would be doing a service to the people. However, killing them all would inevitably harm innocent people, and some of them did not deserve to die. Nevertheless, if her adoptive mother found it troublesome and wanted to make a clean sweep, that was fine with her.

??(σ???)σ..:*☆