Lian Guoshi heard Luo Xi's panicked shout and suddenly realized what felt wrong.
"This battle today…" he said slowly, brows knitting together, "even watching from the rear, I couldn't fully understand what happened. If I were to submit a memorial to His Majesty, he would surely think it unbelievable."
He paused, then gave a bitter laugh.
"Wouldn't it just be dismissed as nonsense? Accused of deceiving the Emperor?"
For once, Lian Guoshi found himself at a loss for words.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Leaving that aside—gentlemen, you've captured an enormous number of Henan rebels. What do you intend to do with them?"
"Killing them all would violate heavenly principles. That is absolutely unacceptable."
"But managing so many people… we simply don't have the capacity."
He hesitated.
"Should we send them back to Henan? To Governor Fan Shangzheng? I doubt… I truly doubt Fan Shangzheng could absorb so many surrendered rebels."
Zheng Gouzi turned his head.
"These surrendered rebels—we plan to put them into labor reform."
"…Huh?"
Lian Guoshi froze. "Labor… reform?"
Zheng Gouzi nodded matter-of-factly.
"Building roads and bridges takes manpower."
Lian Guoshi blinked, then slowly nodded.
"Labor reform… that's not a bad idea. But if they're working, they need to eat. Feeding ten thousand mouths is no small matter."
Zheng Gouzi waved it off casually.
"Your Excellency, no need to worry about such a trivial issue. We'll handle it."
Then he reached out and patted Luo Xi heavily on the shoulder.
"Commander Luo here is the richest man in Shanyang County. Most of the fertile land at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain belongs to his family. His assets are… considerable. Feeding this many people shouldn't be a problem for him."
Lian Guoshi turned to look at Luo Xi.
Luo Xi's heart screamed internally:
I could barely afford to feed ten thousand ghosts—where am I supposed to find grain for ten thousand living people?!
But Zheng Gouzi's hand on his shoulder tightened slightly, his gaze carrying a clear, wordless message.
Luo Xi finally understood.
This was a choice.
Not between right and wrong—
but between sides.
After everything he had seen today, Luo Xi instinctively knew which side he needed to stand on.
He immediately laughed, smooth and knowing.
"Your Excellency, leave this matter to me," Luo Xi said confidently.
"Near my residence, on the western slope of Tianzhu Mountain, my family owns a small mine. In recent years, all the miners have fled. There's no one left to work it—it's been abandoned for ages."
His smile grew broader.
"I'll take these vagrant rebels back with me. I'll make sure they're fed just enough not to starve… and then have them dig relentlessly."
Lian Guoshi felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Turning ten thousand surrendered rebels into family draft animals…
How ruthless. Truly ruthless.
Military men were terrifying.
Lian Guoshi knew he would never be able to do such a thing himself. He felt the urge to scold Luo Xi—
—but then reality caught up with him.
He couldn't take responsibility for these people either.
Since Luo Xi was willing to take them off his hands, Lian Guoshi had no grounds to interfere.
He sighed inwardly and let the matter pass.
Just then, Flat Rabbit poked his head out from the side.
"Your Excellency," he asked, "the vagrant rebels all fled south. That direction—that's Yunxi, isn't it?"
Lian Guoshi nodded.
"Yes. That's Yunxi. Beyond that point, it's no longer under my jurisdiction. I can only pursue them this far."
Flat Rabbit pressed on.
"Then who governs that region? Please write a letter immediately and have him dispatch troops. If we converge from both sides, we might trap the vagrant rebels along the border."
Lian Guoshi nodded again.
"That would be Jiang Yunyi, Administrator of Yunyang. I'll send a messenger at once."
At this very moment—
Jiang Yunyi, Administrator of Yunyang, was writing a memorial.
The content was painfully short:
Helpless. Merely petitioning for death.
Ten characters.
Too exhausted to even bother with the formal courtesies between ruler and subject, Jiang Yunyi set down his brush and pushed open the window.
What greeted him were shouts echoing throughout Yunxi City.
"Don't let Jiang Yunyi escape!"
"Seize Jiang Yunyi and kill him!"
"Don't let the corrupt official get away!"
Rebel banners filled the streets.
Vagrant rebels clashed violently with garrison soldiers. The city walls had already fallen—how could the streets be held?
Street fighting collapsed completely.
Yunxi City was on the verge of falling.
Jiang Yunyi let out a long, hollow sigh.
"So even petitioning for death is unnecessary now," he murmured.
"The Emperor won't even get the chance to kill me."
He drew a dagger, lifting it toward his throat—
"Master!"
A group of household guards burst in, snatching the blade away.
"Please don't take your own life! Fleeing is the only option!"
The household guards were far stronger than the garrison troops. Fighting fiercely, they carved a bloody path through the streets, escorting Jiang Yunyi toward the city gates.
Behind them, Yunxi City erupted in flames.
Thick black smoke rolled skyward.
Jiang Yunyi turned back for one last look at the city he governed and wept.
In the sixth year of Chongzhen, the vagrant rebels split into two forces.
One force advanced south, successively taking Yunxi, Shangjin, Fang County, and Baokang—
moving through abandoned and undefended land like a storm.
The second force—eight battalions led by Full Sky Star, Sweeping King, Rampaging Wolf, Yi Dou Gu, Wa Guanzi, and others—attempted to re-enter Shaanxi.
Hong Chengchou issued orders for the Heyang garrison to intercept them.
But before reinforcements arrived, this force was intercepted by Shaanxi Governor Lian Guoshi and former Commander Luo Xi, suffering a heavy defeat.
They turned south instead, successively taking Xunyang, Ziyang, Pingli, and Baihe, pushing toward Sichuan.
Upon entering Sichuan, they were intercepted by the White Pole Soldiers.
In the mountains of Sichuan, no force could rival the White Pole Soldiers.
The vagrant rebels were beaten badly—but their momentum was fierce, and the White Pole forces were few. The two sides became locked in a grueling stalemate.
The rebel advance was halted—
but not destroyed.
Meanwhile—
The ten thousand surrendered rebels remained a pressing problem.
They had to be sent to prison.
But Huanglong Mountain Prison was far away.
Marching to Xi'an, boarding trains, transferring them—this alone would take days. Transporting everyone would require more than ten trips.
Ten thousand prisoners couldn't be left unguarded.
The Gao Family Village Militia would have to escort them the entire time.
The delay would be enormous.
Li Daoxuan frowned.
He couldn't afford that delay.
If the militia withdrew now and took more than ten days to return, the vagrant rebels might very well double back—charging straight toward Wuguan Pass, then the outskirts of Xi'an.
Unacceptable.
Li Daoxuan had seen the records.
In the seventh year of Chongzhen, Chuang Wang would attack Chengcheng County.
Without intervention, Shaanxi would once again be ravaged like wildfire, and next year countless families would be destroyed.
He had to block the rebels here.
No retreat.
Not even one step.
The militia had to hold firm near Shangzhou.
So—
How should these ten thousand people be handled?
Should Lian Guoshi take them?
Li Daoxuan was still thinking when he heard Luo Xi speaking excitedly nearby.
"Brother Zheng," Luo Xi said, grinning, "do you remember what I said last time when I was bluffing the Governor?"
Zheng Gouzi frowned.
"What did you say?"
"Mining!" Luo Xi beamed.
"My family owns a mine—right at the foot of Tianzhu Mountain. Assign some of these able-bodied surrendered rebels to me, and I'll put them to work digging."
Li Daoxuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had just heard something… interesting.