Lord of the Desert

Chapter 362: The Covenant to Govern the People

Chapter 362: The Covenant to Govern the People
From September 19th to September 22nd, heavy rain fell in Duanli City for four full days, cleansing the remains of the two armies and healing the wounds of war.

Until tombstones were built outside the city, nailing the dead into another world forever.

At dawn on September 23, the rain came to an end.

In a small courtyard in the inner city of Duanli, Hong Fan sat cross-legged on the bed and entered into meditation alone.

The misty vitality under the Dragon Soul Tree is already overflowing, but unfortunately it has yet to be transformed into cultivation.

In the quiet white noise, Hong Fan recalled again and again the moment when the White Thunder God exploded, describing his feelings at that time - in an instant, the frantic rush of fire spirit energy, the joy of burning, and the solemnity of destruction completely covered his soul.

He vaguely felt that his state of mind had loosened somewhat, but it was still not yet ripe enough.

After an unknown amount of time, Hong Fan withdrew from his inner vision.

The sound of raindrops dripping in my ears suddenly became clearer, and the frosted window glass was already slightly bright.

Hong Fan got out of bed and opened the window, and what he saw was a crystal clear rain curtain dripping from the eaves, like a string of beads.

The humidity suddenly rushed in, taking away a third of the warmth in the house.

A cold autumn rain.

Compared to three or four days ago, Duanli is about ten degrees Celsius colder.

Hong Fan glanced at the bright daylight, opened the door and entered the courtyard, and started to practice the Foundation Building Fist.

The high-speed flow of fiery energy evaporated every drop of rain.

After five rounds of punches, someone knocked on the door.

It is now Chenshi (7 o'clock in the morning).

The man who came had a square face and a tall and strong build. He was the deputy commander of the Lianshan Camp of the Central Army. His name was Feng Qing. He had first met Hong Fan in Longqiu Town.

"Young Master Hong, it's still about those things from the past two days..."

Feng Qing was wearing a straw raincoat, but he was still very polite.

"This time it's three big families in West City. According to the intelligence we gathered, they must have dug up private cellars, but they just don't admit it."

"I am helpless at the moment, so I can only come to you!"

As he spoke, he bowed again, his tone respectful.

"It's my job. Lead the way."

Hong Fan replied.

He used the sand flow to pull a hat from under the eaves, put it on and went out.

In the Battle of Duanli, Hong Fan made many contributions, not only filling the moat and burying explosives, but also fighting several times and finally being the first to reach the city.

Considering that he was not affiliated with the Hundred Victories Army, there was no promotion and the final reward would all be in the form of physical objects.

A total of one thousand taels of silver and two thousand pieces of cloth.

This amount of money and property was neither too much nor too little, and was quite useless to Hong Fan - when he entered Huaiyang State, his first purpose was to receive the triple military merit promised by Xu Guinian.

Therefore, he did not take the last cent, but gave 30% of the reward as a pension to the family of Hou Pu Jian, the general of the Left Army who died beside him in the first battle, and the remaining 70% to the heavy armored soldiers who charged with him in the final battle.

This made Chisha even more famous in the Baisheng Army, and Fengqing's respect was also related to this.

After leaving the yard, the latter led the way.

The alley is quite long, with tall buildings on both sides and a strip of blue sky above, with no way of distinguishing clouds or rain.

"How are the surrendered soldiers being handled?"

Hong Fan asked.

"Cut the Gordian knot quickly. It was almost done yesterday."

Feng Qing replied.

"After the city was captured, the number of Tianfeng soldiers who surrendered was over a thousand, and the number of city defense officers was about two thousand. We killed some of them, and most of the remaining ones were dispersed and incorporated into the army, and a small number were sent to the rear to cultivate the land."

Hong Fan nodded and asked, "What about the house search?"

"Except for the Tang family, we raided all the top seven families. We worked in the rain for two days and two nights. When I left the house just now, I saw my colleagues returning to the camp."

Feng Qing has a cheerful personality and once he starts talking he just keeps talking.

"The spoils of war will be divided into three parts according to the old rules: one part goes to the public, one part goes to the collective, and one part goes to the individual."

The two chatted as they turned out of the alley and merged into the street.

Once the space is open, the sound of rain becomes sparse.

Compared to yesterday, there were more pedestrians on the street, and in addition to the soldiers, there were actually quite a few civilians walking in a hurry.

This indirectly illustrates the military discipline of the Baisheng Army.

Given Hong Fan's knowledge of medieval warfare, this is almost a miracle.

"It is said that war is brutal; but judging from the fact that no one was harmed after the city was captured, the Victorious Army deserves the word 'righteousness'."

He praised out loud.

Feng Qing smiled when he heard this.

"Young Master Hong, you are too kind. I am a family member and I know my own business."

Seeing the other party looking at him, he explained further.

"Military discipline and punishment, no matter how strict, cannot suppress the ferocious soldiers after a fierce battle; to be able to be like this, it has to rely on this..." Feng Qing pointed his thumb upwards.

"It is said that there is a god above your head. I don't know if there are any gods in Huaiyang at this time, but with Lord Iron Palm in charge, it is appropriate to say 'listen for several miles and arrive in an instant'."

"No matter how terrible the war is, how can it be more terrible than the Yuanci Grandmaster?"

He said it as a matter of course, without thinking.

Hong Fan pondered for a moment and nodded silently.

The two walked briskly along the street all the way north until they came to a narrow river.

This river is named "Xianshujing" and is connected to the city wall water system. In recent days, it has been affected by the sand and soil from filling the moat and is no longer virtuous but extremely turbid.

There is a stone arch bridge over Xianshujing.

Hong Fan walked to the center of the bridge, and his vision gradually rose. He could see the northern city wall two miles away, over the overlapping black tiles covered with mist.

Although today is only the fourth day after the city was breached, many soldiers have already put on straw raincoats and braved the rain to repair the wound. Only the hole opened by the White Thunder God has not been repaired yet. It is completely gaping, like a missing front tooth on the gums.

"Even though we have won the war, we still have a lot of time to spare."

Hong Fan sighed.

"More than that, it's even busier than when we were attacking the city!"

Feng Qing interjected.

"In terms of military affairs, the rear army will surround Duanli City to search for the rebels, and the left and right armies will send out multiple teams to clear the surrounding counties and towns; as for the cavalry camp, the vanguard should be able to reach Yao River today or tomorrow and engage in combat with the royal court's cavalry scouts."

"Besides military duties, we also have to treat the wounded, send military mail, and check the money and grain that our central army is responsible for. We are all very busy."

The two talked and chatted, and soon they arrived at their first destination in the west of the city.

A large house with a plaque reading "Chang's Residence" hanging on it. It is not small in size but its decoration is not luxurious. It is probably a second or third class wealthy family in Duanli City.

At this time, a team of soldiers was standing guard in front of Chang's house, and sounds of quarreling could be heard from inside.

There is not much to say about what happened.

The powerful and wealthy families were the main source of military supplies for the Baisheng Army. Those who participated in the city defense had to be confiscated, and the next best ones had to "donate".

It stands to reason that when the army is approaching, being able to spend money to ensure safety is a blessing, but there are always some smart people who think they have grasped Duan Tiannan's "soft temperament" and hide their private property to resist donations - this is what the Chang family did at this moment, and they even used the notice to reassure the people issued by Qiu Yuankui after entering the city to pressure him.

Until Hong Fan took over.

He just walked in and easily located two underground secret cellars, one large and two small, in the mansion with the Sand World. After he pointed them out, several patriarchs and elders of the Chang family broke out in a sweat and collapsed to the ground.

After finishing a few trivial chores, before lunch time, Hong Fan was asked to transfer to the Duanli City Guard House, which was the core of the Baisheng Army. He ran into Gu Yixin sitting under the eaves eating from a bowl, his clothes and hair were half wet, his spear was leaning against the pillar, and there was fresh blood on the blade.

The latter had been accompanying the left and right armies in their operations over the past two days, responsible for clearing the surroundings, and had probably just returned.

The two entered together.

A plaque with the four characters "The Covenant to Govern the People" hangs high, and beneath it, the top brass of the Baisheng Army are compiling data.

"Gentlemen, after three days of hard work, we have already counted what we have gained."

Military Secretary Chen Yan, holding the document, cleared his throat.

"The total grain reserves are 250,000 dan, and may be increased by 10% later; the total gold, silver, silk and cloth are more than 2 million taels of silver. After deducting rewards, punishments and pensions, the balance is more than 600,000 taels!"

His voice trembled slightly when he read to the end.

"After all, it's a city that's been around for over a hundred years!"

Chang Yimin, who had just arrived from behind, sighed repeatedly, and the smile on his face even seemed a little vague.

"How should we deal with such a harvest?"

He was mumbling something, but he wasn't really asking any questions.

Duan Tiannan looked serious.

"Brother Gu, what have you seen these past few days?"

The big man turned around, his face even calmer and more serious than usual.

"The village is in ruins, with many hungry people; the yellow dog is so thin that its ribs are visible."

Ancient meaning and new answer.

Duan Tiannan made up his mind after hearing this.

"Leave enough for the army, and set it at 100,000 dan; the rest will be given to the people."