Chapter 1320 – Assault on Huang Song, Unification of Dongqing (Sixty-Two)
As Jiang Pengji stated, she was here to collect a debt today. Those who betrayed her and caused her soldiers to die in vain—these individuals had both direct and indirect connections to it. She could be magnanimous at times, but she could also be petty; this debt absolutely had to be repaid with their heads!
Meng Heng and the others questioned themselves, claiming they hadn’t mistreated any prisoners, but these prisoners had been living lavishly before their capture, using mouthwash that ordinary folks could never afford. Suddenly stripped of everything and receiving the same treatment as regular soldiers, it was no wonder they couldn’t adapt.
When presented before Jiang Pengji, each prisoner looked pale and greasy, their clothes wrinkled like dried vegetables.
“Do you know who I am?”
Jiang Pengji asked with a smile that held little warmth, giving an icy impression.
A dozen men were pinned down, kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs; if they had been dressed in prison garb, they would have truly resembled prisoners.
One spoke up, “Liu Xi, why are you capturing us? Aren’t you afraid of being condemned for your cruelty?”
“I’m not only capturing you, but I also intend to kill you for a flag sacrifice. I cannot control what others say; they’ll say what they want. Can they still hurt me? The judgments of right and wrong will be told by future generations! You know perfectly well what you’ve done,” Jiang Pengji replied. “I advise you to confess; those who come clean will receive leniency, while those who resist will face harsh punishments. Just admit it happily without ruining your last shred of dignity— that would be quite the ugly sight.”
There was indeed evidence.
Meng Heng was always cautious in his work, and those fellows had left behind correspondence with Huang Song conspiring, all meticulously preserved. Under the current circumstances, with Jiang Pengji holding ironclad evidence, no one would complain if she executed them or even wiped out their families; people would only applaud and say she did well.
As Jiang Pengji mentioned this, the few who had been animated went silent, feeling both guilty and terrified.
The crowd was scared stiff; however, one person straightened up, asking her, “Does Lan Ting have ambitions of conquering the world?”
Instead of getting angry, Jiang Pengji smiled back, retorting, “What do you think?”
“I know I’m destined to die and dare not argue for myself, but does Lan Ting have such aspirations? Can you reward according to merit and punish according to crime?”
Rewards must match merits, and punishments must fit offenses.
Jiang Pengji understood this sentence all too well.
“Are you indirectly accusing me of inappropriate rewards and punishments?”
The man shook his head; he certainly didn’t want to dig his own grave. This wasn’t about honor or bravery; it was about dragging a whole family down with him.
“I wouldn’t dare—just that excess or deficiency can both cause problems. While treason is indeed punishable by death, there are degrees of severity in circumstances.” The man, clearly on the verge of biting his tongue from fear, was reddening but still managed to assert, “Rewarding according to merit will ensure soldiers compete to achieve merit; punishing according to crime will require those who committed major offenses to accept their guilt while those with minor offenses learn from their mistakes, being grateful thereafter. This also serves to intimidate any nefarious hearts. If Lan Ting indiscriminately slaughters everyone without distinguishing between severe and minor offenses, wouldn’t that be unjust?”
After he finished speaking, Han Yu’s gaze fell upon him.
“You do have a point; there indeed is a difference in sentencing between completed crimes and attempted crimes,” Jiang Pengji smiled, shifting the subject. “But to me, treason is treason. The fact that you conspired with Bo Gao is undeniable; your ambitions are written plainly in black and white in the letters! Just because you all haven’t had the chance to move under Bo Gao’s rule yet, does this behavior not count as betrayal?”
Normally, Jiang Pengji wouldn’t bother explaining so much.
But since Han Yu was present, she needed to clarify things to avoid ruining her image.
The man’s face flushed as he couldn’t argue back against Jiang Pengji.
“This is all betrayal and conspiracy!” Jiang Pengji continued, “If we’re talking about circumstances, you’re lighter than those few families in Zhonghe County.”
Lighter? Heavier? It still meant death.
The only difference was that the former would die more, while the latter would die less.
The crowd remained silent.
The man took a deep breath and asked, “In that case—how does Lan Ting intend to deal with us?”
“Kill!”
An expected answer, but he was more concerned about how Jiang Pengji would deal with his family.
Jiang Pengji, of course, didn’t have time to deal with this personally and directly handed it over to Han Yu.
The lightest penalties would entail wiping out a household, while the heavier ones would mean the execution of fathers, sons, and grandsons!
If Jiang Pengji were still the commander of the Federation army, she certainly wouldn’t go this far. According to Federation law, an individual’s treason would only warrant a death sentence, and in severe cases, relatives might be restricted in their freedom for observation over several years but wouldn’t lose their lives.
However, this was an ancient era where society was all-around underdeveloped.
Though relatives didn’t intend to commit any crimes, they still needed to face severe penalties for various reasons to achieve intimidation.
Jiang Pengji wouldn’t argue about this; she would just follow the trend.
Han Yu was given orders, and those conspirators Jiang Pengji caught were sacrificed for the flag.
The flag was consecrated before departure, designed to inspire the soldiers’ morale and combat spirit.
Jiang Pengji even had Wei Ci write a moving eulogy to commemorate the six thousand soldiers who died in vain. This method had an excellent effect; while the entire army was filled with sorrow, it ignited their fighting spirit, making them eager to rush forward and defeat Huang Song at once. Those harboring ulterior motives were filled with trepidation; if they wished to betray in the future, they would have to weigh what was more important—their necks or risking it all for future gains!
Collecting a debt, Jiang Pengji felt invigorated; next, she would head to Changye to settle accounts with Huang Song.
“Set forth, all troops!”
After the army rested, they hit the road again. Jiang Pengji, bored, glanced at the bullet comments, realizing the comments had thinned out quite a bit.
The idle folks who nitpicked weren’t adjusting well.
Being scared by her deadly flag sacrifice, the idle folks were trembling in front of the screen. After watching for a moment, Jiang Pengji closed the comments, focusing on the march, while Wei Ci and the others fell silent. As time passed, their expressions grew increasingly solemn, with an air of solemnity permeating through the whole army.
This battle was crucial for whether the Dongqing territory could be fully wrapped into Jiang Pengji’s grasp, so everyone naturally had no mood to discuss anything else.
While making the journey and formulating battle plans, Jiang Pengji was busily occupied.
“Report—enemy troop movement traces detected ahead!”
“It seems we haven’t lost our way,” Jiang Pengji remarked. “All troops, stand by!”
Although it was just traces of enemy troop movements, one couldn’t rule out an ambush on the way; being cautious was wise.
Since Jiang Pengji was to rendezvous with Luo Yue and had wasted some time dealing with those traitors for flag sacrifice, she had delayed nearly two days.
Huang Song had set off before her; there was no guarantee he wouldn’t set a trap.
In fact, Huang Song was even more anxious.
His scouts had been unable to track Jiang Pengji’s army, making him feel increasingly uneasy, like a prisoner awaiting execution.
Moreover—
“At this moment, Huai Zhen should have received the secret letter, right? I wonder if he can make it in time—”
