Chapter 1146: Chapter 633: Unable to Survive (Double-Length)

"This person," the Prince of Annan’s voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were recounting a trivial matter, "colluded with the rebel party, concealed household registrations, exploited tenants, lined his own pockets, moreover bribed the royal court, spoke treacherously, incited rebellion, and the evidence of his crimes is irrefutable, heinous beyond reprieve. Now he has been executed."

With each charge she listed, the faces of those Dao family remnants on the ground grew grayer, and their bodies slumped an inch lower. By the time "heinous beyond reprieve" and "now executed" were spoken, some had completely collapsed to the ground, like mud.

"Order the Chief Clerk of the Prince Mansion to immediately take over all the accounts, storerooms, and land deeds of this manor. The Iron Scale Army will assist, purging the remaining members, and identifying the villagers."

"All direct descendants of the Dao Family, housekeepers, and trusted aides are to be arrested and rigorously interrogated. The manor’s tenants are to be re-registered and archived according to the new order from the Prince Mansion."

"Those who dare conceal, conspire, or resist will be treated as rebel parties and executed without mercy."

"By the order!" Soldiers of the Iron Scale Army responded in unison, their voices shaking the beams with murderous intent.

The Chief Clerk also bowed and accepted the order: "I obey the command!"

With this command given, the soldiers of the Iron Scale Army sprang into action like tigers out of a cage, pairing up and swiftly pouncing on the terrified Dao family stewards and able servants, dragging them up like eagles catching chicks, binding them mercilessly. Screams and pleas for mercy arose again, but were quickly drowned out by soldiers’ shouts and the clanging of iron chains.

Before long,

everywhere you looked was pale, the ground was covered in blood.

Within the fortress lay chaos, with Dao Chengsi dead, the entire fortress suddenly lost its backbone; even the devoted retainers shouting to protect their master were swiftly suppressed.

The remaining people dared not resist, in the face of the cold gleaming iron armor, they could only submit, and the Prince of Annan subsequently ordered someone to gather the village gentry and leaders from various manors.

A sea of heads swarmed into the fortress, initially filled with anxiety, no one knew if this sudden event would bring fortune or disaster. Quite a few arrived with nail rakes and hoes, hoping for an illusory sense of security.

The Prince of Annan immediately distributed the gold, silver, and jewels taken from Dao Chengsi, selecting a few leaders and gentry, openly stating that returnees would be resettled back to the county, and after a moment of silence, there was an immediate burst of jubilation.

The reason was simple.

Various Tusi painstakingly gathered and conscripted refugees due to land having much space and few people, yet to the many generations of residents living here, no matter how much land there is, it shouldn’t be randomly divided among outsiders.

Moreover, once these refugees arrived, they couldn’t magically produce food straightaway, so the Tusi had to collect extra grain to provide relief, naturally causing much discontent, but with the Tusi’s power locally, no matter how much resentment they had, they dared not speak unnecessarily.

Surely, they couldn’t rebel?

Yearning day and night, they finally waited for a benevolent magistrate.

Although the Prince Mansion had other plans, who cared about all that.

When Qin Qingluo left and returned, Chen Yi kicked aside Dao Chengsi’s head, then asked, "What should be done with the Dao Family?"

"A fattened pig is slaughtered for the New Year," Qin Qingluo said calmly, "Select another leader to be the Tusi."

Leaders, referring mainly to elders or village chiefs within villages, were usually chosen from those with exceptional ability or esteemed virtue and were often local barbarians.

In the Southern Border area, there wasn’t only Han people but countless barbarians, with customs differing between Han and barbarians, and due to such as land and water distribution disputes, only by letting local leaders manage and mediate, uphold justice, even communicate with the uncivilized in the forests, the existence of leaders was indispensable.

This is also why in successive dynasties there have been efforts to transition from native governance to centralized administration, yet most were impossible to enforce, failing prematurely.

"Do you know why you were allowed to kill him?" Qin Qingluo asked unexpectedly.

Chen Yi somewhat guessed but feigned ignorance, saying, "He offended the royal authority, I happened to take action, without killing him how would I establish power and gain submission?"

"Wild nature, you should be a leader," Qin Qingluo chuckled and then slowly said, "Among the seventy-two Tusi routes, the Dao Family is at the bottom, their ancestors had splendor, but reaching here they were strong on the outside but weak on the inside, perfect for killing chickens to scare monkeys."

Chen Yi slightly raised his eyebrow and laughed, "The Dao Family is just a chicken, that’s not hard to understand."

"But if you kill too many chickens every year, will the monkeys still be afraid?"

Chen Yi was slightly taken aback, "You mean..."

"Every generation of the Prince of Annan has patrolled the Southern Border in various places, and every generation has killed chickens to scare monkeys. The fall of the Dao Family is limited in its warning to the remaining seventy-one Tusi, especially the Tusi families; at most, they might just give back a little of what they’ve swallowed, so they could trade for an Elixir Book Iron Scroll," Qin Qingluo continued, "The downfall of the Dao Family, instead of alarming those large Tusi families, and not to mention someone indeed attacked us on the way to the Dao Family, killing chickens today is for killing monkeys someday."

She feared he did not quite understand and intentionally explained more clearly.

Chen Yi slightly lowered his eyes, showing a look of sudden realization,

"I hadn’t thought, the situation in the Southern Border is this complex... the actions must be this ruthless."

"You have much to learn."

Qin Qingluo said coldly.

......

Before leaving, Chen Yi once again passed by the door of that old farmer, pushed open the door, the old farmer still full of fear, did not expect Chen Yi’s actions to be so decisive and ruthless, yet even so, after coming to his senses, he knelt down again, crying and weeping.

This time, Chen Yi helped him up, after accepting a few flattering words from him, asked, "Old man, living here so miserably, why not go to the county?"

The old farmer, who was just shedding tears, suddenly froze.

He turned his head, staring at Chen Yi with utter terror on his face.