I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 135 Suppressing the Riot
"Grain, it's grain!" The disaster victims were overjoyed as they smelled the fresh fragrance of the newly harvested rice.

The grain convoy members stood guard in front of the grain carts, holding wooden sticks, ready for action.

"What are you all standing there for? Let's all charge! If we grab the food, we'll have enough to eat!"

The disaster victims, emboldened by the hunger that had plagued them for days, kept growling and clamoring for food.

"Who dares to be disrespectful in front of the Protector General's Mansion!" Wu Ding shouted, startling everyone. His eyes, like those of a cheetah, fixed on the disaster victims who had just stirred up the crowd.

The disaster victim was terrified by the sight, but emboldened by the distance between the two men and the fact that the crowd blocked the road, making it difficult to catch him, he said, "Brothers, don't be afraid. The law doesn't punish the masses. Let's rob together. Can he really kill us all?"

Yeah, when everyone's attacking, who can tell who's involved and who isn't? Even if you get caught, you'll just get a beating and a scolding, as long as you don't die.

"Charge!" the man at the front shouted and charged forward.

Wu Ding flew to grab the displaced person who was stirring up the crowd, but the displaced person quickly disappeared into the crowd. Inspired by the first displaced person who rushed out, the rest of the displaced people rushed out one after another.

The disaster victims behind heard the commotion from afar, but they didn't know what was happening, so they anxiously stuck their heads out to look.

He Wei drew his broadsword from his waist, shouting, "I swear to protect the grain carts to the death!"

The guards of the grain convoy responded in unison, raising their wooden sticks and striking the disaster victims without mercy. However, there were too many disaster victims, and they dared not really hurt anyone's life, so they were at a disadvantage for a time.

The guards of the Prince's Mansion who were standing guard in front of the General of the Nation's Mansion were stunned. They called to their brothers to stop the brawl while sending someone to the main courtyard to inform the others.

Upon receiving the news, Tang Zhao ran to the gate of the mansion and saw that the open space in front of the mansion, which was originally spacious enough for thousands of old men and women to dance in the square, was crowded with people, all jostling and fighting, with straw sandals, tattered clothes, and people flying everywhere.

Tang Zhao:.
"Stop it, all of you!" Tang Zhao roared, but apart from the palace guards and Wu Ding Si, no one cared.

Enraged, Tang Zhao scanned the crowd and found the most ruthless and manipulative disaster victim. He drew his sword, charged into the crowd, and slit the victim's throat.

The jubilant expression on the disaster victim's face froze, his body collapsing uncontrollably to the ground, where he died instantly.

Warm blood spurted from his neck, splattering onto the people fighting fiercely around him.

"This man incited the people to riot and disregarded the laws of Wuwei. He has already been executed on the spot by this princess! Are you still not stopping? Do you want to follow in his footsteps?!"

"Ahhh! Murder!" The disaster victims became even more agitated.

Surrounded by Wu Ding and the palace guards, Tang Zhao sneered, "By order of this princess, anyone who violates the laws of Wuwei, acts violently, or provokes conflict shall be executed without mercy!"

"Yes!" Upon hearing this order, the guards of the Prince's Palace and the guards of the grain convoy were no longer restrained. After killing dozens of vicious disaster victims, the remaining disaster victims finally felt fear.

Tang Zhao's mind raced as he tried to think of other ways to establish his authority, but then he heard the sound of hooves behind him. Turning around, he saw countless iron cavalry galloping towards him.

The disaster victims had never seen such a massive scene before, and they all scattered. Gu Ci took the lead and arrived in front of Tang Zhao in the blink of an eye. He jumped off his horse and looked Tang Zhao up and down for a while. Only when he found no trace of injury on Tang Zhao's body did his tense mind relax slightly.

The iron cavalry charged forward, their silver spears sharp and their red tassels like blood, forcing the disaster victims to retreat to one side.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Wu Ding immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, "Your subordinate is guilty, please punish me, young lady!"

Once the refugees had calmed down, they saw Wu Ding, who had led them all the way to Wuwei, kneeling on the ground to beg for forgiveness. After a moment's hesitation, they knelt down as well. Even those who were unwilling to kneel eventually yielded and knelt down under the sharp silver spearhead.

After the riot subsided, Tang Zhao felt his hand holding the sword tremble slightly. Gu Ci stepped forward, took the sword, took out a handkerchief from his bosom to wipe away the bloodstains, removed the scabbard from Tang Zhao's waist, and put it back in its sheath.

He stepped forward, looked down into Tang Zhao's eyes, and said, "Don't be afraid."

Tang Zhao stubbornly replied, "I'm not afraid."

“Hmm, aren’t you afraid?” Gu Ci said, then stood beside Tang Zhao so that Tang Zhao could lean against him.

Tang Zhao leaned against Gu Ci for support, adjusting his facial expression with heartache, and said, "Did you come to Wuwei to steal a cart of grain, or to fight with all your might for a chance to survive?"

"If it were the former, wouldn't Luoyang, Jiangnan, or even Sichuan be places rich in resources and prosperous in economy? Not to mention mere grain, you could plunder gold and silver treasures without exhausting them! Why would you travel through mountains and rivers and suffer hardships to come to this barren land of Wuwei?"

"If it's the latter, don't you know that highway robbery is against the law? Don't you know that such behavior will destroy your hard-won chance to survive?"

"You know that! But you're all hoping to get away with it. You think the law won't punish everyone, and you think this princess will let you off the hook because you've suffered so much!"

"Dream on! To hell with your 'the law does not punish the masses' mentality, to hell with your 'victims should be forgiven' mentality," Tang Zhao sneered. "Listen up, I, the Princess, govern my family by law. Anyone who comes to me must abide by the law and public morality! Anyone who violates the law or violates public morality will be severely punished!"

"I, the princess, will now give you two choices. One is to leave Wuwei now, and I will not pursue your wrongdoings. The other is to stay in Wuwei and follow my arrangements. I will guarantee that you will have work, food, and clothes, provided that you accept the corresponding punishment for the crimes you just committed. You can choose for yourselves!"

The disaster victims hesitated for a moment, filled with fear and despair.

Gu Cipufa stated, "Those who commit robbery on the street may be punished with compensation, imprisonment, caning, exile, or even execution, depending on the severity of the offense."

“The ringleader has been executed. You are accomplices. Although you caused chaos, no one was killed or property was stolen. Therefore, you only need to be punished with twenty strokes of the cane as a warning to others.”

Upon hearing this, the disaster victims who were about to get up and leave immediately knelt down and became even more obedient: "If we can get work and food after enduring twenty battles, only a fool would leave!"
Tang Zhao waited for a while and, seeing that no one had left, he had the people present either confess or point out the people who had caused the disturbance. He then cleared an open space and punished them one by one with caning.

The guards of the Prince's Palace received a hint that what appeared to be a severe blow was actually just a superficial injury that would heal in a few days.

However, the thud of the paddle hitting the buttocks was still frightening, and those disaster victims who hadn't participated in the chaos but were itching to join in immediately threw their little thoughts to the winds.

The guards of the Prince's Palace were replaced wave after wave. By the time all the disaster victims who had participated in the robbery had been flogged, the sun was already high in the sky.

After punishing the victims, Tang Zhao offered them a reward: he opened the bags of grain delivered by the grain merchant on the spot, asked the surrounding people to help cook it into a thick porridge, and then gave a bowl to each of the disaster victims.