Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

Several days after the destruction of the Dongting River Gang.

In the prefectural office, the verdict against Prefectural Assistant Mao Qingyan was finally handed down.

Just as Guo Shentong had said before, his family property was confiscated and he was subjected to the torture of being skinned alive and stuffed with straw.

When the troops sent by the prefectural authorities ransacked the mansion, they found a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings.

Its value could reach millions, which is simply astonishing.

And this money was undoubtedly obtained by him and the Water Gang in their collusion over the years, by exploiting the people of Xiangshui County.

In addition, the large amount of grain and goods obtained from the secret storage rooms on the main island of the Water Gang brought the county government a huge sum of money, amounting to several million.

However, it was impossible for the county to retain all of these funds.

Of these, 70% had to be handed over to the imperial court, and only 30% could be kept for personal use.

In exchange, Xiangshui County was exempted from commercial and agricultural taxes for three years. In addition, due to the tax reduction policy previously implemented by Yuan Zhaoji and the smooth flow of trade routes, the evil of river bandits was no longer present.

The benefits of this operation to eliminate the bandits may last for at least ten years.

However, if we only suppress bandits without protecting the Dongting trade routes, the bandits will likely return soon.

Therefore, at Guo Shentong's suggestion and under Chi Junlin's secret instruction, Xiangshui County made use of the remaining property confiscated from Mao Qingyan's home, as well as the money and grain on the main island of the Water Gang.

Based on the newly recruited troops, a new Dongting naval force was established.

This Dongting naval force used the main island left behind by the bandits as its main port for patrolling the lake.

Fortunately, the remaining water fortresses can be utilized; after renovation, they can be used for military purposes.

In order to command this newly established navy, a naval lieutenant general can be appointed in Dongting Lake, who will be a seventh-rank military officer.

The command was overseen by the governor of Xiangshui County, who was responsible for patrolling and cracking down on salt production in the Dongting Lake area.

This official position is most suitable to reward Hui Ziheng, who made great contributions in this bandit suppression, and those elite and brave soldiers under him who have made military achievements can also be granted naval officer ranks.

The imperial court also bestowed rewards upon the many other meritorious individuals from Xiangshui County.

This surprised and delighted Hui Ziheng, who had just been promoted to an official position, and he wondered how the court knew so much about the bandit suppression in Xiangshui County.

How come the rewards from all sides are so appropriate, without the slightest discrepancy?

When the news of three consecutive years of tax exemption spread, fishermen and farmers throughout Xiangshui County decorated their homes with lanterns and colorful streamers and spread the word.

For a time, the entire county and its surroundings were a vibrant and thriving place.

It was also at this time that the execution order for Mao Qingyan, the former prefect of Xiangshui County who colluded with river bandits, was issued.

The fishermen and common people of Xiangshui County loathed this instigator, whose crimes were numerous and unforgivable.

On the day of the execution, nearly 100,000 people from the county gathered near the execution ground to watch, causing traffic in the county to be paralyzed and making it difficult to get in and out.

The executioner responsible for skinning the victims was extremely skilled; the skin he peeled off had no wounds other than a cut on the back of the head.

After being filled with straw, they became even more lifelike, hanging on the city gate as if they were alive, which was truly amazing.

As for Mao Qingyan, he was not dead for a while after the executioner peeled off his entire human skin.

It rolled and howled in the mud for several hours before finally dying.

Even so, the people still felt unsatisfied.

The wealthy family whose members had died at the hands of river bandits paid a large sum of money to hire a butcher to slice the flesh into more than three thousand pieces, scraping away not a single scrap of meat, and then distributed them among the people to eat, only then did they feel relieved.

Upon hearing this, the beast's skull and bones were used to make dung ladles, and its broken bones were used to pave street stones, allowing thousands and tens of thousands of people to tread on them. Later, it became a well-known scenic spot in Xiangshui County.

We won't discuss that.

Let's return to the Red King's Landing.

After the campaign to suppress bandits in Dongting Lake came to an end, the group of people who returned to the Hui family mansion suddenly found themselves with much more free time.

It seems that after losing the Dongting Lake bandits, a major threat, the people of Huifu began to become complacent.

Master Hui could not bear to see his descendants in such a state, so a few days later he sent all his disciples to the islands of Dongting Lake to participate in the construction of the navy.

Chi Junlin and the others were unharmed.

The Hui family now regards Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia as their great benefactors who saved them, and they wish they could build a shrine for them.

If the two hadn't firmly refused, the shrine would probably have actually been built for them.

This made Master Hui feel inexplicably guilty.

Because Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia were both martial arts practitioners, they had no connection with Hui Shi and others.

They don't need any money or valuables, and there's even less need to give them gifts.

However, unlike Wenren Tianxia who didn't take a penny, Chi Junlin did receive some "rewards" that he liked.

The two sisters, Hui Zhilan and Hui Sanmei, seemed to be filled with gratitude towards Chi Junlin for his generous assistance to the Hui clan, and they had no way to repay him.

Since I have no way to repay you, I can only offer myself to you.

For the next few nights, no matter what requests Chi Junlin made, they granted them without hesitation.

Within the Hui family mansion, there was almost constant revelry and debauchery every night.

After that, even Wei Ziqing couldn't refuse and joined in as well.

After several days of this, even someone with Chi Junlin's iron-willed body was starting to feel the strain.

Indeed, it is the hardest thing to bear the kindness of a beautiful woman.

Of course, besides lingering among the flowers, Chi Junlin hasn't been idle these past few days.

Speaking of which, when Chi Junlin ventured deep into the tiger's den to the fortress on the Dongting Lake bandit island, he only brought Wenren Tianxia and Wenren Xuan with him.

But in reality, besides the two of them, there were four other little ones who also tried their best to volunteer for the challenge.

Liuli, Beidou, Yan Sijun, and Di Shanshan—these four clearly didn't want to stay home and guard the house.

On the night of the battle, if Chi Junlin hadn't repeatedly warned them, the four of them probably would have sneaked out and followed Chi Junlin to the island.

The reason why Chi Junlin was unwilling to take them along, besides their young age and fear of witnessing the bloody scenes of the island's massacre—

Another point is that their martial arts skills are rather low, and they lack sufficient means of self-defense.

Take the unexpected encounter between Chi Junlin and Li Zheng, for example. Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia were still able to defeat him.

But even if any of the four of them were combined, they probably wouldn't be a match for Li Zheng.

If this happens and Chi Junlin is unable to provide timely assistance, there will likely be casualties.

Leaving aside this bandit suppression, considering the subsequent advance into western Hunan, there are likely quite a few members of the Demonic Sect whose martial arts surpass Li Zheng's.

Even Chi Junlin couldn't protect the four of them for a lifetime.

After a moment's thought, Chi Junlin made a decision.

During this period, she and Wenren Tianxia respectively provided martial arts training to the four of them.

In this way, even if they encounter danger in the future, the combined strength of the four of them should be enough to protect themselves.

Chapter 282 Wine Doesn't Intoxicate, People Intoxicate Themselves

is the day.

It was the day that Mao Qingyan was publicly executed.

Originally, there was nothing to do today, and Chi Junlin planned to continue arranging for Liuli and the other three to practice their swordsmanship. However, the four children heard about Mao Qingyan being skinned alive. Since they had never seen such a punishment before, they were extremely curious and started clamoring to go to the execution ground to watch.

Seeing this, Chi Junlin couldn't refuse and could only wait to let the four of them leave.

He also told me to go home on time today.

As for Chi Junlin himself, he naturally wouldn't go.

When she and the Prince of Zhenbei went on their northern expedition, she witnessed far more cruel scenes than just the torture of skinning people alive.

At that point, they naturally lost interest.

However, she thought that the four little ones might not know how cruel and extreme the torture was, and that it would be quite a feat for them not to vomit on their first encounter with it.

I just don't know if they'll be able to eat dinner when they get back.

After the four of them left the Hui residence together, Chi Junlin went to the Hui sisters' place and spent a short time being intimate with them.

Then they arrived at the martial arts training courtyard and saw Wenren Tianxia sitting to the side, looking troubled.

Chi Junlin smiled at her and tossed her a bottle of Dongting rice wine.

Upon receiving the bottle, Wenren Tianxia opened it and began to drink with Chi Junlin.

The two leaned against the corridor and drank for a while. Then Chi Junlin looked at Wenren Tianxia and said, "What's wrong? You look so worried. This isn't like you."

Upon hearing this, Wenren Tianxia revealed a helpless expression and said, "What else could it be? It's naturally Yan Sijun and Di Shanshan."

When I was learning swordsmanship under my master, I never imagined that practicing swordsmanship would be such a difficult thing.

Why is it that even if I repeat the same sentence three or four times to them, they still don't understand?

Is practicing swordsmanship really that complicated?

Upon hearing Wenren Tianxia's words, Chi Junlin couldn't help but laugh.

She naturally knew what Wenren Tianxia meant.

This is because in the next few days, Chi Junlin will be giving the four little ones special training.

However, it was obviously too tiring for Chi Junlin to take care of four children by himself, so he handed Yan Sijun and Di Shanshan over to Wenren Tianxia to take care of.

In their view, this matter seemed to be no big problem, after all, among the sword techniques that Wenren Tianxia knew, there happened to be the Spring Rain Thunder Sword and the Wind and Snow Sixteen Swords, which Yan Sijun and Di Shanshan were good at respectively.

It seems just right to have Wenren Tianxia teach these two.

However, after officially starting to teach the two, Wenren Tianxia discovered that things were not so simple.

These two guys are just incompatible!

If the two were taught by Wenren Tianxia alone, they would complement each other perfectly.

However, when the two stand together, their auras seem to begin to influence each other.

In the time it takes for Wenren Tianxia to say a single sentence, the two can argue seven or eight sentences.

And after the argument, they forgot everything Wenren Tianxia had taught them in the blink of an eye.

It's like how being together can affect each other's intelligence.

But Wenren Tianxia didn't believe in superstition and insisted on teaching the two of them together.

After a while, their martial arts skills didn't improve much, but the conflicts only deepened.

The thought of Wenren Tianxia makes me furious.

At this moment, he took another sip of wine and couldn't help but complain to Chi Junlin, "Your two are still easier to teach. Both of them are talented and can learn in no time."

And both of them listen to you, they wouldn't dare to go against your orders.

Unlike these two under my command...

I don't know what's wrong with those two. They're fine when they're alone, but it's only when they're together that they act up.

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin laughed and said, "How about we switch? You teach Beidou and Liuli, and I'll teach Di Shanshan and Yan Sijun?"

Wenren Tianxia thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let's skip it."

Liuli and you are from the same school, and the Sword Heart Clarity Technique she wants to cultivate is something I've never learned. Beidou and your internal energy originate from the same source, so it's most suitable for her to receive your guidance.

Furthermore, my elders and those of Di Shanshan and Yan Sijun all have ties to me... This can be seen as returning a favor, a tit-for-tat exchange...

Sigh... I'll try again.

Seeing everyone looking so worried, Chi Junlin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She found Wenren Tianxia particularly interesting at this time.

He's usually too serious about everything, not relaxed enough.

Chi Junlin quite enjoyed seeing Wenren Tianxia display more of his other expressions.

When Wenren Tianxia saw Chi Junlin laugh, he couldn't help but laugh as well.

The two laughed and clinked glasses again, unable to resist having a few more drinks.

Dongting rice wine has a rich aroma, but its alcohol content is not very high.