A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

After the head hit the ground, blood sprayed several meters forward from the severed neck.

The refugees standing at the front of the refugee line were sprayed with water and immediately looked terrified, retreating backward.

At this moment, the refugee procession was no longer noisy and chaotic, but eerily silent.

Everyone shrank back and lowered their heads, not daring to look at the soldiers of the Wangbei Camp in front of them, for fear that they would be the next ones to rush into the ranks and grab them.

"The ringleader has been executed! The rest of you, continue lining up for porridge. If you dare to cause trouble again, this will be your fate!"

After Zhao Daxuan shouted, he pointed to several sallow-faced men standing in the crowd.

"You lot, yes, you guys, come here!"

The sallow faces of the men pointed out by Zhao Daxuan turned deathly pale.

Despite her fear, she still forced herself to walk out of the crowd and stand in front of Zhao Daxuan.

"Lord Zhao, we didn't cause any trouble just now, please let us go!"

Several men bowed deeply to Zhao Daxuan, their voices trembling.

Zhao Daxuan laughed heartily, "Don't worry, you think I'm here to cause you trouble? Quite the opposite!"

"Because you stepped forward during the chaos to protect the elderly, women, and children around you, your actions are commendable!"

"Today you can all receive two servings of rice porridge. If you'd like to join my Wangbei Camp, you're welcome anytime!"

The turn of events came too quickly. The men were stunned for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy, and they knelt down before Zhao Daxuan.

They hadn't had a proper meal for several days, and they had a wife and daughter at home. They had come here alone because the situation was too chaotic.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Don't be shy, get up and get your porridge."

Zhao Daxuan waved his hand, then turned and left, leading the thousand soldiers he had brought from Zhenbei City into the camp.

"Erlong, help them settle in. From now on, they're one of us."

Upon entering the camp, Li Erlong came to greet them, and Zhao Daxuan gave him some instructions.

Li Erlong glanced at the group behind Zhao Daxuan, gave a friendly smile, and then asked Zhao Daxuan with a puzzled look.

"Sir, you're quite capable. Where did you recruit so many new brothers?"

"One of the captains died, and his soldiers were divided up among several captains and me. These were all the best men I had handpicked."

Looking at the soldiers in the group, some of whom were ugly and even as thin as sticks, Li Erlong suddenly became skeptical of Zhao Daxuan's claim of being "skilled".

"Brother Long, don't you believe me? Adults have a much better eye for people than we do!"

Zhao Fubao's voice came from behind the two of them.

With order restored at the soup kitchen outside the camp, he led four hundred men back to the camp, leaving one hundred to reinforce the defenses.

He happened to overhear Zhao Daxuan and the others' conversation, and immediately chimed in with a smile, then briefly recounted what had just happened outside the camp to Li Erlong.

Li Erlong stared wide-eyed at Zhao Daxuan, his face showing shock.

"Your Excellency has excellent eyesight! You were able to pick these people out of a crowd of thousands. I am truly impressed!"

Zhao Daxuan smiled. Without the [Observation Skill], he would probably have had no choice but to suppress the chaos by force.

"Alright, Erlong, settle the people in."

"My lord, are they deploying swordsmen and shieldmen, or armored cavalry?"

Although two different types of troops are stationed in the same camp, troops of the same type will be placed together, since it is more convenient for daily operations.

"They've all been assigned to the Xuanjia Cavalry. We've just acquired so many warhorses; it's the perfect time to replenish our cavalry."

Their main enemy was the Tartars to the north, and having cavalry was obviously a greater advantage, so Zhao Daxuan naturally prioritized the development of cavalry.

On the way to the camp outside the city, Zhao Daxuan had already transformed the thousand soldiers who had just joined the Wangbei Camp into Xuanjia Tuqi (Black Armored Cavalry) through the [Xuanjia Tuqi Talisman].

Although they were infantrymen before, they naturally mastered many cavalry combat skills the moment they transformed into Xuanjia Cavalry.

Li Erlong nodded and greeted the newly joined soldiers with a smile.

"Welcome, brothers, to the Wangbei Camp. Follow me, I'll take you to settle in. The Xuanjia Cavalry are all here at the camp, so get to know each other."

After Li Erlong and his men left, Zhao Daxuan also turned and walked out of the camp, giving instructions to Zhao Fubao as he walked.

"Fu Bao, you take these four hundred men and come with me into the city."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fubao immediately waved his hand, ordering his soldiers to follow Zhao Daxuan to Zhenbei City.

"Sir, what brings us into the city?"

"Go and find wealthy families in the city to donate grain."

Zhao Fubao was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

"My lord, the Tartar army has not yet completely retreated, and we don't know how long the blockade of Zhenbei City will last. Is anyone willing to donate grain at this time?"

Zhao Daxuan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile.

"That's not up to them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fubao looked thoughtful, wondering how Zhao Daxuan would get the wealthy households in the city to donate grain.

In the past two years, the city had also asked wealthy households to donate grain, but each time the total amount added up to less than a hundred bushels, which was just a drop in the bucket.

Zhao Daxuan led his men to the city gate, and the gate quickly opened from the inside. Now, the people of Wangbei Camp no longer faced any difficulties entering or leaving Zhenbei City.

Especially Zhao Daxuan, as soon as he showed his face at the foot of the city, someone would immediately open the city gate for him.

After entering the city, Zhao Daxuan went straight to the grain market in the south.

The South City Grain Market was the largest grain distribution center in the north of the town, where grain from the south was stored and sold.

Hundreds of people stood at the entrance of the grain market, immediately attracting a large crowd of onlookers from the surrounding area.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

Zhao Fubao looked at the rice shops, noodle shops, and grain stores on both sides of the grain market street, one after another, and didn't know where to start.

"Go inside and see which grain price has risen the most outrageously!"

Zhao Daxuan's voice was icy; he was going to start with the grain shops that were the biggest bloodsuckers.

Upon receiving the order, Zhao Fubao led his men into the grain market, where they dispersed to inquire about the prices at each grain shop.

A moment later, Zhao Fubao returned with his men, his face showing barely suppressed anger.

"Sir, I've looked around, and the current grain prices are outrageous. They've tripled in some cases, and even quintupled in others. It's practically sucking the blood of ordinary people!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhao Daxuan's eyes. Although he had expected it, he still couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

"Which store saw its business increase fivefold? Which one is the largest?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fubao answered without hesitation, "It's Fuyuan Grain Store!"

"Walk!"

At Zhao Daxuan's command, hundreds of people marched in a grand procession toward Fuyuan Grain Store.

Zhao Daxuan walked heavily down the street of the grain market. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a middle-aged man who had come to buy grain, clutching a money bag, standing in front of a grain shop with a hesitant look on his face.

"Shopkeeper, didn't the Tartar army retreat? Why is the price half a percent higher than yesterday?"

The shopkeeper standing at the entrance of the grain store glanced at the passing soldiers from the Wangbei Camp, barely managing to suppress the arrogance on his face, but his reply remained cold and ruthless.

"The Tartars have retreated, but martial law has not yet been lifted in Zhenbei City, so grain cannot be brought in, and prices will naturally rise."

Seeing the middle-aged man hesitate before handing over his money bag, Zhao Daxuan stepped forward.

"Fellow villager, don't rush, buy it later."

Hearing the voice behind him, the middle-aged man turned around and, seeing that it was a soldier, quickly bowed and saluted.

"My lord, we've been holding on for a few days, but we really can't hold on any longer! We thought that once the Tartars retreated, the grain price would drop, but unexpectedly it has increased by another 50% compared to yesterday."

Zhao Daxuan looked up at the grain price displayed in the shop. It was three times the normal price, which was still considered low for grain prices at present.

He gave the shopkeeper a cold look, who shuddered and looked embarrassed. He quickly bowed to Zhao Daxuan, but still showed no intention of lowering the price.

Zhao Daxuan gave a cold laugh and looked back at the middle-aged man who was buying grain.

"Listen to me, wait at most half an hour, and the price of grain will definitely drop."