The imperial cause at the end of the Han Dynasty was not one of partial peace.

Liu Bei sat calmly on the back of "Dilu," his gaze sweeping over the crowd that scurried about like headless flies and ants. Most of them were pale-faced refugees and local poor people, their eyes filled with only fear, their fierceness completely gone.

Mixed among them were dozens of well-dressed, muscular men with shifty eyes, who were trying to sway the crowd or escape into the deep alleys.

He drew another arrow from the quiver he was carrying.

"Buzz—!"

The bowstring twanged again! The arrow left the bowstring with a sharp whistle, tracing an arc before whistling past the heads of the crowd and embedding itself deeply in the lintel of a house opposite the warehouse, its rammed earth walls and thatched roof trembling incessantly.

The sudden arrow brought the charging crowd to a standstill.

Many people instinctively stopped, looking back in horror at where the arrows came from, and then at the outstanding young man on horseback.

"Stop right there!"

Liu Bei's voice was loud and clear, instantly drowning out the remaining noise.

He put away his bow, held the reins with one hand, and slowly swept his gaze across the faces that were frozen in place, at a loss.

"You have gathered a crowd, armed yourselves, besieged the mansion, and robbed merchants; this is tantamount to treason," he said in a cold voice.

"According to the Han law, those who plot rebellion and commit heinous acts are unpardonable and their entire families will be executed. Now that the ringleader has been executed, are the rest perhaps trying to escape and bring disaster upon their parents, wives, and children?"

"Exterminate their entire family!" Everyone felt their blood run cold.

Most of them were just ordinary believers who couldn't survive and were looking for spiritual solace. They never thought of committing such a heinous crime as "treason".

Suppressed sobs and chattering sounds rose from the crowd.

Liu Bei pointed his whip at the corpses of Deng and Li on the ground, his voice turning stern: "Put down your clubs and weapons, and kneel down! Anyone who dares to hide, conceal, or flee—"

He paused, his gaze settling on a burly man in the crowd who was quietly slipping a short knife into his clothes.

When the man met Liu Bei's cold gaze, he froze, and all the color drained from his face.

Without wasting words, Liu Bei drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

The bow is drawn to its fullest extent, and the arrow flies like a shooting star!

"Ah!" The man only had time for a short scream before an arrow pierced his chest. He fell to the ground with a miserable howl, and the short knife in his arms clattered to the ground.

"So this is how wicked they are!" Liu Bei sheathed his bow, his voice resolute.

Their last will to resist crumbled completely under this arrow.

"Clang!" "Bang!" "Thump..."

Wooden sticks, hoes, machetes, short sticks... all sorts of crude "weapons" were thrown to the ground. Many people's legs went weak, and they knelt down or crouched down with their heads in their hands, not daring to look at Liu Bei on horseback, nor at the three gradually cooling corpses on the ground.

Even the strong men who were trying to slip away stopped, their faces pale, and obediently pulled out the hidden blades from their bosoms and waists, threw them on the ground, and then squatted down with their hands on their heads.

In a short while, the hundreds of people who had surged like a tidal wave were now kneeling on the ground in a dark mass, like wheat being harvested.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Fei burst into laughter, his voice shaking the rooftops: "Brother, you are mighty! A bunch of swine and dogs dare to bark here!"

He brandished his eighteen-foot spear and roared at the eager apprentices behind him, "What are you all standing around for? Go and collect all that junk! Be careful, don't miss any good stuff!"

Guan Yu then whispered to Liu Bei, "Brother, be careful that someone doesn't take risks or secretly carry bows and crossbows."

Liu Bei nodded slightly: "Second brother, you take a few men, armed with bows, and guard the high places and alley entrances."

"Yes, sir." Guan Yu responded, pointing to five archers who took up advantageous positions such as walls and rooftops, nocking their bows and arrows, their sharp eyes scanning the entire area like hawks.

Zhang Fei, already excited, led more than ten wandering knights to begin collecting the "loot" scattered all over the ground. They used their spears to roughly gather the sticks and farm tools to one side, and the ring-pommel swords, short swords, daggers, and other weapons to the other side.

At first, Zhang Fei was full of disdain, cursing, "With just some broken plowshares and rotten woodcutters, you dare to use them to rob people? Bah!"

However, the cursing soon subsided, and a look of surprise appeared in the leopard's eyes.

Because the items found during searches of the Taiping Dao believers who were lying in ambush, especially those belonging to the dozens of strong men who had tried to escape earlier, gradually went beyond the scope of "vagrants and rebels".

Besides a dozen or so ring-pommel swords of varying quality and more than twenty long and short daggers, they also found three well-maintained crossbows! Crossbows were standard weapons strictly controlled by the Han army. The Han law included an article "prohibiting civilians from privately possessing crossbows," and private possession was a serious crime.

What's even more alarming are the items found on Deng Ahu's body.

Hidden beneath his robes was a well-preserved suit of armor!

It was not a simple leather armor, but a "two-piece armor" consisting of two main iron plates on the chest and back! The plates were connected by leather cords. Although there was some wear, the iron plates in the key parts were thick and had a cold metallic luster in the thin spring sunlight.

The Liangdang armor was the equipment of mid-level officers or elite troops in the Han army at that time. It was very valuable and could not be obtained by ordinary powerful families or their troops, let alone by a group of "starving people"!

Zhang Fei picked up the heavy two-piece armor, his eyes wide, and turned to look at Liu Bei: "Brother! Look at this!"

Guan Yu also saw this, his phoenix eyes narrowed suddenly, and his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

Possessing crossbows is already a serious matter. Possessing military officer's standard armor... this is irrefutable evidence tantamount to treason!

Most of the Taiping Dao believers who were crouching on the ground were bewildered, but a few of them trembled violently when they saw the armor being turned over, and buried their heads even lower.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, who were on the wall, were even more horrified.

Having traveled extensively, the two men were well aware of the dangers involved. The unauthorized possession of bows, crossbows, and armor by civilians had always been a serious crime against barbarian tribes!

Among the followers of the Way of Peace, there were surprisingly many prohibited weapons...

"What a fine 'Way of Peace'!" Liu Bei sneered, causing several crouching followers nearby to tremble.

His gaze swept over the silent faces, and he raised his voice to make sure everyone could hear him:

"Listen up, all of you! Deng Zhong and Li Shi instigated a rebellion and secretly hoarded weapons; their actions constituted treason! Their execution today is their own doing! You were mostly coerced accomplices, misled by them. Now that the ringleaders have been eliminated, you should all be shackled and sent to the county court for punishment according to the law!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crouching crowd, many of them showing despair. Handed over to the authorities? Possessing armor and crossbows, participating in the siege—even if coerced, would inevitably lead to imprisonment, or even death.

Liu Bei then changed the subject: "However, I have a benevolent heart and consider that you are mostly poor and destitute, and that you have acted rashly for a time. Today I will spare your lives."

The crowd fell silent again, countless eyes filled with disbelief and hope as they looked at the young man in coarse clothes on horseback.

"However, you may be pardoned, but you must learn your lesson!" Liu Bei's voice turned stern.

"From this day forward, you shall all return to your villages, diligently cultivate the land, and abide by your duties. You shall no longer associate with those who spread heretical doctrines and mislead the masses through the Taiping Dao! Furthermore, you shall no longer engage in any activities that involve the masses! If you are heard of or captured by the authorities, you will be punished for all your crimes and executed without mercy!"

"Now, state your names and hometowns, and my men will record them in a register! Then disperse!"

As the final word "Go" was uttered, the hundreds of people crouching there felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They scrambled to their feet, and under Zhang Fei's shouts and the hastily found piece of white silk by Jian Yong, they haphazardly gave their names and hometowns. Then, without daring to look back, they desperately fled, wishing they had been born with two more legs.

As for the confiscated weapons, how could they dare to even glance at them?

In less than a moment, the once bustling and murderous atmosphere in front of the warehouse was reduced to a scene of utter devastation, three gradually cooling corpses, and a small pile of contraband weapons gleaming coldly.