My lord, spare his life!

"Kill? What other way is there for our lord besides killing?" Fan You couldn't bear to listen any longer. He let the two of them finalize the plan, leaving him with no one he could rely on. He couldn't be too angry with his lord, but as his lord's famously promiscuous adopted daughter, Lu Yuan, Fan You wasn't intimidated at all. "And you, you only know how to flatter and obey, not how to offer any advice?"

Lu Yuan was rebuffed for no reason, but since Fan You was his adoptive mother and new master's confidant, he had to give Fan You face.

She replied with a smile, "My godmother is a woman of great wisdom, far beyond the ordinary. Observing her actions, she is methodical and orderly. She possesses both benevolence and ruthlessness, combining kindness and decisiveness. Therefore, there is no need for a muddle-headed person like me to say or think too much; I can simply follow my godmother. If all else fails, my godmother also has loyal and righteous men like the Chief Secretary under her command, so there is no need to worry about making a mistake."

He Zhi's eyelids twitched violently, and he sighed inwardly.

See? It wasn't entirely his fault that he was tricked and imprisoned back then. Who could stay on guard against such a mouth all the time? Speaking of which, the former master was also very wary of Lu Yuan in his early years, but he couldn't resist Lu Yuan's face-saving act. Once he opened his mouth, it was as if it were coated with honey, and he could say all sorts of human and ghostly things.

Fan You: "..."

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, let alone when Lu Yuan not only smiled but also said kind words. Unless Fan You was determined to completely antagonize her, he couldn't ignore the way Lu Yuan was offering him. He gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger.

Zhang Yang gently patted Lu Yuan's strong arm.

She found herself growing to like this adopted daughter more and more.

Talented, and speaks in a pleasant way.

The stereotypes observed in the sample do have some merit; a daughter is the most considerate. Zhang Yang thought to himself, but said aloud, "Yes, yes, I'm going to do that."

He said he would kill, but he never actually killed anyone.

She can change her address however she wants.

Fan You: "..."

He was not only heartbroken, but also had a headache, and for the first time, he doubted his own teaching abilities. The moment the doubt arose, he shook his head inwardly in denial. Teaching was a family tradition for him; how could his teaching skills possibly be lacking? Jiuge had learned so well.

Zhang Yang was the first major blunder in his teaching career, enough to ruin his reputation in the education world, while another student, Shi Xu, helped him regain his confidence. It couldn't be that his teaching methods were flawed; the root of the problem lay with his lord. In an instant, Fan You made up his mind.

The list was presented, and Zhang Yang frowned as he looked at it for a long time.

She said bluntly, "Bafeng, I recognize these words, but I don't know these people. You and Feiye have lived in the mountains for a long time and cultivated connections here; you should know them better than I do. Look at these people, who deserves to live, and who deserves to die?"

Upon hearing this, He Zhi's eyelashes trembled subconsciously.

Was this a test or something else?

If it was a test, then Zhang Yang was indeed quite cunning. But if it wasn't a test, but a sincere request for advice, had she considered that either he or Lü Yuan could use this opportunity to legitimately eliminate those who were detrimental to them? It should be noted that being detrimental to him or Lü Yuan doesn't necessarily mean being detrimental to Zhang Yang.

The interests of rulers and their subjects are never entirely aligned.

He Zhi didn't have many men under his command, but his nephew He Wen was different; he still had some connections in Che Si County. As for Lü Yuan, she was ostensibly the lord of Che Si County, and she was also the one who actively planned the attack on Zong Zheng County. If Zhang Yang allowed Lü Yuan to eliminate the local bullies in Zong Zheng County, wouldn't the vacated positions be perfect for promoting people who would benefit Lü Yuan? These people would naturally remember the favor of their promotion.

He Zhi remained silent, being cautious.

Lu Yuan also unusually remained silent.

Both men worried that Zhang Yang was merely testing them, and that they might not be able to control themselves from making their actions too obvious, thus attracting the attention of Zhang Yang's followers. It was better to remain silent and wait for the situation to unfold.

Zhang Yang waited for a while but received no response.

She said, "Is it a difficult decision?"

Zhang Yang thought about it and it seemed to make sense.

These two aren't mind readers; they can't possibly hide under someone's bed and monitor everything, let alone decide their life or death. Zhang Yang added, "We just want to hear your opinion."

The decision is still in your own hands.

Zhang Yang only took their opinions as a reference.

Lu Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his slightly tense face softened into a natural smile: "The Zongzheng Commandery has close ties with the Zongren Commandery and the Bodu Commandery. I was previously the Commandant of the Chesi Commandery, and with bandits watching me, it wasn't good for me to be too close to outsiders. I had too little contact with them, so my understanding is naturally not thorough enough, and some things are just hearsay. If there are any errors, please forgive me, Mother. Is that right, Fei Ye?"

He Zhi gave a vague reply: "Mm."

How do you evaluate a person?

It's just a matter of mentioning the other person's family background, talent, and reputation.

It seems simple, but the implications are quite clear; it all depends on what Zhang Yang needs. If he needs to win over powerful families, then he'll keep those with good family backgrounds; if he needs to recruit talented people, then he'll keep those with decent abilities; if he needs to enhance his reputation, then he'll keep those with outstanding reputations. These people are there as scapegoats and living advertisements.

The hint was nice, but Zhang Yang didn't catch it.

Not only did she not recognize the meaning, she also said, "So vague?"

However, this is not entirely Lu Yuan's or He Zhi's fault.

He Zhi had been imprisoned by Lu Yuan for too long and was out of touch with society. As Lu Yuan's adoptive mother, she couldn't be too harsh on him. Lu Yuan had previously been living in fear under the old man's command and couldn't have too much contact with outside forces. This move could also be seen as her way of protecting herself.

Zhang Yang glanced around in his mind and saw the system log.

"Alright, bring everyone over here so I can take a look."

The recruitment platform's information was vague, and some of the figures seemed unreliable, but they still had some reference value. Zhang Yang didn't have much time—Zongzheng County had been captured, and Zongren County and Bodu County were restless; their assembled troops might still be on their way—she decided to take a shortcut and eliminate the unstable factors as soon as possible to avoid any future worries.

"Those who deserve to die, those who don't deserve to die, and the innocent are punished." The approach was simple and brutal, but Zhang Yang was worried that he might have overlooked something, so he told Fan You, "After you've seen them, check them again."

Don't wrong innocent people.

Since learning that this world wasn't a side map world, and that the people he encountered weren't NPCs that could be refreshed—these people generally only had one life—Zhang Yang changed his mindset after careful consideration. Unique things are always precious.

Zhang Yang cherished his own life, and he also cherished the lives of others.

Of course, this excludes situations on the battlefield.

Fan You said, "Death and employment are easy to discuss, but how should punishment be imposed?"

"If the family property is confiscated, half of it will be seized; if the person dies, all of it will be confi

Fan You then asked, "Exterminate the entire family?"

Zhang Yang: "Shouldn't we avoid the issue of collective punishment then?"

"His children should also be punished." With Lu Yuan, a living, bloody example, sitting below, one must nip the problem in the bud if one wants to rest easy. "But we should also show some leniency; his family members can leave with their personal belongings and find their own way to survive. What do you think?"

"good."

On this point, Zhang Yang was relatively obedient.

Zhang Yang did not consider family background or reputation when selecting people.

Whose family background is currently superior to Xiao Sui's?

Whose reputation can be better than her management of Tianyue?

As for talent?

"...We can't just look at talent and ignore other factors." Zhang Yang brazenly pulled out his notebook, flipped through a few pages, and said, "Didn't Uncle Yan say before that the more intelligent a person is, the more harmful they are? They have the ability to plan but no compassion for the people; they have the power to make decisions but no sense of awe. If they have power in their hands, they will either use their cunning to deceive their superiors or their power to suppress their subordinates, treating human life like dirt... There are many capable people in the world, many who can help me conquer cities and defeat enemies, but few who can help me save people from fire and drowning..." Zhang Yang glanced at his classroom rant, "It's not good to be good at only one subject; it's best to have both talent and virtue."

These words are completely out of Zhang Yang's league.

However, that's not important.

The important thing is that she took notes, and that's where her performance came from.

Considering that no one is perfect and that people in this world are not in a normal mental state, Zhang Yang did not insist that one must be both talented and virtuous in order to survive; as long as one had not made any major mistakes, one could be taken into consideration.

It didn't take much time to meet everyone.

Those who had been arrested were still unaware of the situation. Some trembled and begged for mercy, some cursed loudly, and others tried to persuade Zhang Yang with their silver tongues to consider them as capable individuals—as long as they survived, they might one day follow in the footsteps of Lü Yuan. Zhang Yang ignored them all, simply asking a series of questions, circling or crossing out names on the list, and then handing it to Fan You. He would send men to search their homes that evening.

Zhang Yang finally remembered someone she had forgotten for many days.

"Alas, what a pity, Youzheng is not here."

Alarm bells rang in Fan You's mind.

"Why did you suddenly think of Young Sei, my lord?"

"If he were here, it would be simpler and more efficient."

Fan You: "..."

Alarm deactivated, danger averted.

Zhang Yang soon realized that something was missing from his side.

Oh, it's because two permanent green names are missing from the rooftop.

"Where did Eggman and Wildman go?"

"Guan Siyin has led the Hundred Ghosts Guards to investigate the situation. Zhang Dagu listens to him quite well. Right now, we need to be wary of the reaction from the Imperial Clan Court. We don't know about Wang Gongsun yet. Should my lord send someone to look for him?"

Wang Qi's escape will also cause trouble.

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and shook his head: "No need, let's not worry about it for now. Half of the proceeds from the confiscation will be put into the treasury as the budget for rebuilding Zongzheng County, and the other half will be assessed for value and converted into gold and silver rewards. Extra incentives are necessary for large-scale projects."

The sample included a diverse range of professions, from company owners to employees. The company owners all boasted about how good they were to their employees and how high their benefits were, and the employees' desired job benefits were largely the same. Zhang Yang thought that perhaps what people aspire to is all pretty much the same.

If the sample you're looking for is something good, then it must be something positive.

They wanted it, and Zhang Yang gave it to them.

Fan You asked, "Half?"

Even without resorting to massacres and plunder, the soldiers would only receive about 30% of the wealth; the lion's share would be divided among the lord and generals. If the proportion weren't so high, how could they possibly become rich?

"Hmm, not enough?"

"There are too many, and it will be difficult to deal with them later."

"Difficult to handle?"

"I had a poor appetite, but I suddenly overate."

Compared to Zhang Yang's ambitions, the Zongzheng Commandery was merely a very small victory. If such a smooth battle could be rewarded with only 50%, how would she reward the soldiers for the tough, protracted battles that would often drag on for months? Fan You did not quite agree.

"This meager amount is barely enough to satisfy a bird's appetite, isn't it?"

Fan You: "..."

How could my lord be so harsh from the very first word?

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Zhang Yang said, "Send the message out. We've been on the move these past two days, and everyone's tired. Let's rest for a day, recharge, and then we'll have to go head-to-head with the Zongren County."

Fan You bowed and accepted the order.

Zhang Yang added, "Oh, and don't forget about the Imperial Throne City."

Fan You: "They...are somewhat cunning."

He could tell whether Fan You had given his all or not. He could understand the selfish motives of the Emperor's Throne City, but Fan You was under Zhang Yang's command and not from the Emperor's Throne City, so their feelings would be biased.

"deceitful?"

"Yes, we didn't give it our all in the battle."

Zhang Yang tried to understand the logic: "It's true that slacking off isn't good, but they are contract workers after all, and we can't expect them to work as hard as those with permanent positions. Just treat it as something fun, let them have some fun too, and I'll pay for it; we won't split the money."

Since she's said that, what can Fan You do?

It was simply a matter of following orders.

The soldiers were already in a good mood, and hearing this news made them even happier. Their fatigue vanished, and they couldn't wait to stay on duty for another night.

The commander of the Imperial City was gathering his troops and taking a headcount.

Knowing her status was different, she wisely refrained from vying for anything and did not harm the common people after entering the city, awaiting Zhang Yang's next order. She never expected to receive such a generous reward; it took the garrison commander a while to realize he hadn't misheard.

Somewhat hesitantly, he asked Lu Yuan for confirmation: "There's no mistake?"

"This matter passed through the hands of the Chief Clerk and Xiu Ying, that's correct."

The Imperial City garrison commander's expression was somewhat complicated. She rubbed her calloused palms against her trouser leg, then couldn't help but twist it into a spiral, then smooth out the wrinkles... repeating this several times, showing how unsettled she was. After a long while, she let out a soft sigh.

"I was judging a gentleman by my own petty standards."

In fact, Zhang Yang gave the Imperial Throne City a sufficient reward.

These rewards are in exchange for the support of the Imperial Throne City, and the Imperial Throne City should do its best. However, she thought that the lives of her brothers and sisters were more important, so she could bring back as many people as she wanted. On the battlefield, she would focus on providing support, and let Zhang Yang's troops bear the enemy's firepower.

Honestly, she made the right choice.

I would do the same thing again if I did it again.

Faced with Zhang Yang's open, kind, and generous treatment, she felt her cheeks burning, as if her dark and selfish thoughts had been laid bare under the sun, making them crystal clear to everyone.

I felt both ashamed and uncomfortable.

Lu Yuan was slightly surprised but did not show much reaction.

The people from Imperial Throne City had been locked up in the mountain fortress for too long; it's normal for them to be so slippery and straightforward. Lu Yuan, however, thought it was more likely due to Zhang Yang's wealth than anything else—his own people were getting rewards, while the people from Imperial Throne City were just watching and feeling sorry for them. Giving them all a consolation prize would make everyone happy too, and it wouldn't cost much.

Lu Yuan thought to himself expressionlessly.

She's really crazy.

They actually managed to call this huge sum of money "small change".

??(σ???)σ..:*☆

Once things are settled at home, I'll choose one of Monday or Tuesday next week to add an extra chapter.