Chapter 515 – Assault on Fengyi County (23)
It turns out Wei Ci really understood Jiang Pengji’s temperament, and he had indeed predicted correctly.
“Send scouts to observe the movements of the Green Garment Army in Jiao Ping County and Mao Lin County. Report immediately if there are any signs of troop deployment.”
Jiang Pengji squinted her eyes. She had originally planned to gradually encroach upon the four counties of Fengyi, advancing step by step with a steady strategy. However, the Green Garment Army was digging their own graves, presenting her with an opportunity. If they dared to attack Xiangyang County, she would make sure those cowards lost their stronghold.
“Yes!” Meng Hunyun accepted the order, “I will obey.”
Most of the scouts were in the vanguard camp, so this task naturally fell to him.
Xu Ke said, “Lord, we currently lack forces. If we split our troops to attack Mao Lin County and Jiao Ping County, we may not have enough strength…”
After finishing, he secretly glanced at Qi Guanrang and Wei Ci, hoping these two would step up to persuade the lord.
But alas, Qi Guanrang was also one who enjoyed taking risks; Jiang Pengji’s unconventional approach suited his taste. As for Wei Ci… he knew his lord was hard to convince. If he dared to dissuade her this time, she might create an even bigger mess next time.
If the Green Garment Army wanted to attack Xiangyang County, based on previous battles, they would definitely need a significant number of troops.
Remember, when Jiang Pengji first took over Xiangyang, the Green Garment Army had ten thousand troops stationed there, and she still wiped them out!
In other words, if they went to Xiangyang with too few troops, they would simply be delivering themselves as food. There was no threat at all.
To have a chance of breaking Xiangyang County, they would need to divert a large portion of their forces, leaving their rear vulnerable.
Simultaneous occupation of Jiao Ping County and Mao Lin County wasn’t impossible; it simply required the courage to take decisive action and strong judgment.
Seeing that they didn’t speak, Xu Ke suddenly understood their thoughts and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
He alone couldn’t possibly change the lord’s decision.
Jiang Pengji sat at the head and declared, “For now, this matter is settled. If the Green Garment Army in Jiao Ping County and Mao Lin County shows signs of moving troops, we will deploy to take out their stronghold. If they behave themselves, then let them enjoy their peace for a while.”
Whether to move troops again depended on the actions of the Green Garment Army. At present, Jiang Pengji still had the rebuilding of Cheng’an County in front of her.
Given her experience with Xiangyang, rebuilding Cheng’an County wasn’t too difficult. However, the challenges ahead remained numerous.
The biggest issue was the civilians of Cheng’an County.
Due to the Green Garment Army’s rampant chaos, young people who could escape had already fled. Now, the remaining residents were mostly the old, weak, sick, and disabled, all emaciated and starving. Every household’s rice storage was empty, and even if they had supplies, they dared not light fires to cook, fearing the smoke would attract the Green Garment Army’s looters. They could only soak raw rice in water, softening it slightly before eating it raw.
Upon hearing the reports from Xu Ke and the others, Jiang Pengji’s slightly cheerful mood turned heavy.
“How many civilians are left?” Jiang Pengji asked.
“Estimated… no more than three thousand,” Xu Ke replied.
What’s worse, these two thousand people had long been deprived of salt intake, leaving each of them physically weak. Even if Jiang Pengji provided food aid, there would be few capable of functioning as effective laborers. By this calculation, Cheng’an County’s situation was far worse than that of Xiangyang.
Now not knowing the movements of the Green Garment Army in Jiao Ping County and Mao Lin County, they couldn’t easily mobilize troops lest they fail to provide support.
Jiang Pengji said, “I will go take a look myself.”
Meanwhile, thirty-one soldiers who violated orders faced punishment. Fortunately, the situation wasn’t too severe, and they were simply given a fierce reprimand.
The only soldier remaining was to be executed publicly in front of at least one camp of soldiers, as per military regulations, to serve as a warning.
The executioner was Nong Qin.
That soldier was tightly bound and brought to a temporary training ground.
Nong Qin coldly read out his crimes, causing an uproar among the soldiers.
It had always been said that assaulting women was a crime, but this was the first time they heard of a man facing military law for the same.
However, the military laws clearly stated that one could not “assault civilians,” and since the victim was a civilian, the soldier had clearly committed a crime.
Of course, the soldiers didn’t vocalize their doubts about the judgment, but internally they were confused and opposed.
That man was originally part of the Green Garment Army’s “brothel,” so could he really be punished for roughing him up?
Surely not?
Yet, they didn’t dare voice such doubts, silently documenting them in their minds, fearing they might inadvertently step on a landmine later.
“…According to military law, executed!” Nong Qin coldly declared, “Carry out the execution!”
There were four executioners in total.
Two female soldiers held the accused down by his shoulders, preventing any escape, while the other two wielded clubs to carry out the execution.
The soldier, of course, refused to resign to fate, using all manner of methods and strength to try and break free, with veins bulging on his forehead, his face turning red and bloodied, contorted in rage, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets…
The heavy clubs swept in with a tremendous force, crashing into his body, causing all his internal organs to jolt.
But with his mouth stuffed, he couldn’t utter a word, even as his heart seethed with resentment—the metallic taste of blood rose in his mouth.
Today’s wind was not boisterous; the training ground was shrouded in silence.
The faces of the soldiers in the camp turned ashen, afraid to even take a deep breath, watching helplessly as the soldier struggled violently until his breath faded, ultimately falling silent, his back and rear now a mess, bearing visible broken bones.
The four female soldiers executing the order remained composed, not at all affected by the gruesome scene in front of them.
One of them, seeing that he had passed, released his shoulder, raised a hand to check for breath, then felt his pulse.
The female soldier turned to Nong Qin, who was overseeing the execution, and said, “Execution completed, the inmate has died.”
Nong Qin waved her hand, “Take the body away; let this be our last act of mercy.”
This was a show of strength to intimidate those restless soldiers.
Violating military orders led to this fate!
From that moment on, the atmosphere in the camp grew solemn, with everyone constantly reciting military regulations to avoid following in his footsteps.
Of course, there was another benefit to this.
Male soldiers saw the female soldiers of the camp and didn’t dare to be flippant anymore.
When they spotted them on the way, their legs would turn to jelly, and they wished they could walk around them.
Jiang Pengji’s rations were ample, and Xu Ke and the others busily organized the documentation for Cheng’an County’s government, while Meng Hunyun led two camps of soldiers to lightly repair the damaged walls and gates. Nong Qin took the remaining manpower to set up porridge kitchens around…
About three or four days later, several “unexpected guests” arrived in Mao Lin County and Jiao Ping County.
“General, our Cang Tian General died a tragic death! You must avenge him…”
After enduring three or four days of life-and-death escape, these pampered leaders of the Green Garment Army were hardly equipped to handle it.
One by one, they appeared disheveled, in rags, recalling the past few days felt like bitter water flooding their mouths.
As such, during their cries of lament and distress, their feelings became even more genuine.
