Chapter 603

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Soldiers walked out of Chuzhou City one by one.

The surrendering soldiers were all required to throw down their weapons and remove their armor, leaving only their cloth clothing.

The Southern Expeditionary Army soldiers, holding their flintlock guns, supervised the soldiers coming out of the city to prevent them from taking the opportunity to cause trouble. Closely following the soldiers, Xiao Han also walked out of the city.

Lu Fei had been waiting for Xiao Han. Seeing him emerge, he said, “Your Royal Highness, you have made a wise decision. Otherwise, countless soldiers would have died in vain.”

“General Lu is right. I made this decision out of pity for the soldiers. I hope General Lu can speak well of me before His Highness in the future.”

“That’s certainly not a problem. My word is my bond,” Lu Fei said.

Xiao Han smiled bitterly. “Thank you, General.”

Lu Fei nodded. At this moment, he had Luo Hong take Xiao Han to a camp tent to be guarded. Like Prince Wei, Xiao Han also belonged to the royal family. These individuals could only be dealt with by Xiao Ming’s direct order; no one else dared to act arbitrarily.

After detaining Xiao Han, Lu Fei frowned, looking at the numerous captives. Bai Mu noticed Lu Fei’s expression and said, “General, this is troublesome. There are too many of these soldiers. If they remain in the army, our military provisions won’t be enough, and keeping them in the rear is also a hidden danger.”

Lu Fei was also pondering this issue. He said, “These people are a burden to us now. So, after these soldiers have eaten, give each of them three days’ dry rations and let them return home.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea.” Bai Mu nodded. These over a hundred thousand people would also exhaust their resources.

Lu Fei said, “Moreover, letting these soldiers go back can also spread word of our benevolence, and at the same time, undermine the morale of the garrisons in other cities.”

Having decided on the plan for dealing with the captives, Lu Fei sent someone to deliver the battle report from Chuzhou City to Qingzhou City. The next day, he had his soldiers distribute three days’ worth of dry rations to the captives. These soldiers, in military uniforms, were soldiers, but once they took off their military uniforms, they were ordinary common people. In the future, they would also be citizens of the state. It was precisely because he thought of this that he was so generous.

Receiving the dry rations, the surrendered soldiers successively left the Southern Expeditionary Army’s camp. At the same time, Lu Fei began to reorganize the Southern Expeditionary Army and advance towards the southern cities. Now, Wei’s Tongzhou, Yangzhou, Jinling City, Pengzhou City, Huaizhou City, and Chuzhou Army had all been conquered, leaving only seven cities.

The distances between these seven cities were all very close. Lu Fei believed he could take these seven cities within a month.

Qingzhou.

Three days after Lu Fei took Chuzhou City, Xiao Han arrived at the Qingzhou Grand Camp along with the battle report.

Upon receiving the news, Xiao Ming immediately arrived at the Qingzhou Grand Camp with Fei Ji.

When he saw Xiao Han in the cage, Fei Ji said, “Your Highness, that’s right, this is Xiao Han, Prince Wei’s eldest son.”

“Your Highness, this is Lu Fei’s battle report. This time, 120,000 surrendered soldiers were released. Lu Fei confiscated their weapons and armor, then gave them three days’ dry rations and let them leave on their own,” Niu Ben said.

Fei Ji nodded upon hearing this. He said, “Lu Fei handled this well this time. Keeping these surrendered soldiers in the army would also consume provisions. It’s better to let them go back to farming.”

Xiao Ming glanced at the battle report. It stated, as Niu Ben had said, that these surrendered soldiers no longer posed a threat to the Southern Expeditionary Army but were a burden to Qingzhou. If he were to turn these people into slaves, it would inevitably arouse resentment among the common people of Wei. Letting them leave on their own was the best choice.

“He didn’t waste his time at Bowen Academy,” Xiao Ming said.

At this time, Xiao Ming looked at Xiao Han. In the battle report, Lu Fei said he had spared Xiao Han’s life and requested Xiao Ming to do the same. He said to Xiao Han, “You and I are both of the imperial clan. Your leading troops to surrender also has some merit. I will not kill you, but though you are spared death, you cannot escape punishment. I have decided to demote you to commoner status on Ryukyu Island. Are you willing?”

Xiao Han’s heart was filled with bitterness, though he had long been prepared for this outcome. He said, “Thank Your Highness for your great kindness. However, I have one more request: please allow me and my family to be reunited.”

“If they are still in Jinling City, I will have them brought to Qingzhou to go to Ryukyu with you,” Xiao Ming said. Although he didn’t particularly like Prince Wei’s family, since he had made a promise and Xiao Han had atoned for his sins with meritorious service, he could only give Xiao Han a way out.

However, keeping him in the state would inevitably lead to some remnants of Wei harboring ideas. So he sent Xiao Han to Ryukyu. In such a place surrounded by the sea on all sides, he would be unable to escape, unable to cause trouble again.

After discussing this, Xiao Ming signaled the bailiffs to temporarily detain Xiao Han. Then the three went to Niu Ben’s camp.

In Niu Ben’s tent, there was a huge sand table. This sand table was a map of Wei’s cities and terrain. Niu Ben then pointed to the seven unconquered cities and said, “Your Highness, only these seven cities remain. Lu Fei will reorganize his army and continue to advance. With a pincer attack from north and south, Wei can be pacified in less than a month.”

Xiao Ming nodded. With the Chuzhou army surrendered, Wei was essentially lost. Now it was just a matter of dealing with some scattered remnants, which wasn’t a big problem. What bothered him most now was not the war but how to manage so many cities.

Fei Ji, however, was somewhat excited. Now that so many cities in Wei had been taken, these cities would undoubtedly require officials to manage them. In this way, the officials from Chang’an who were idle in Qingzhou would have a place to go.

So he said, “Your Highness, it’s time to prepare officials for the government offices of these cities.”

Xiao Ming nodded. He had brought Fei Ji out this time precisely for this reason. The thirteen prefectures of Wei had a large population, and managing this area would undoubtedly require a large number of officials.

These officials from Chang’an were all proficient in government affairs. Even without further education at Bowen Academy, they could manage Wei. Now that they had learned knowledge from Bowen Academy, there was even less of a problem.

“In that case, you will assess them in the next two days. If they are qualified, arrange corresponding positions for them,” Xiao Ming said.

Fei Ji nodded. He was more skilled at this than Xiao Ming.

Niu Ben, however, said, “Your Highness, what about the garrisons of these cities? Wei has just been conquered, and for a period, it will inevitably be filled with rogue armies and bandits. We cannot be unprepared.”

Xiao Ming had already thought about this problem. He couldn’t establish an army in every prefecture, so he said, “This problem is not difficult. You will help the government offices establish local guard stations. These guard stations will be responsible for local security.”

The “guard stations” Xiao Ming referred to were the security offices from the previous political reform, which basically equated to modern police organizations.

However, because Wei might be very chaotic for a while, he would increase the number of personnel in the guard stations.