My lord, spare his life!

"Despicable, shameless, and vulgar, I am ashamed to associate with such people."

Zhang Yang perfectly mastered the players' perverse pleasure of watching the drama unfold. She sent each informant to a different location. Initially, they were overjoyed, thinking they had done a good deed by reporting her, gaining Zhang Yang's favor and saving their lives and property. They never expected to see familiar faces among Zhang Yang's group. The first and second informants met, filled with shock, anger, and fear, exchanging accusations, insults, and blame-shifting.

They revealed all the scandals in each other's families.

The attacks indiscriminately encompassed all aspects.

Stomp harder on the spot that hurts.

After the two men got tired of arguing, a third person was brought over.

After the two-on-one verbal sparring session ended, a fourth person was brought over.

By this time, everyone had lost the energy to argue; their faces were ashen, and they ignored each other until even the last county magistrate was brought in. The atmosphere inside the tent was so awkward it was almost frozen.

The magistrate sighed, "Why are you all here?"

Just a few hours ago, everyone was united in their hatred of the enemy, supporting each other and condemning the same foe at the county court. Who would have thought that in such a short time, they would be secretly currying favor with Zhang Yang to protect themselves? This is truly shameful.

The crowd was filled with shame and indignation, but what followed was a barrage of questions.

"Isn't your son here too?"

They didn't regret betraying their acquaintance; they regretted being caught red-handed afterward. They were even more furious that while they were planning to use their acquaintance as a stepping stone, the other party was also plotting their own sacrifice. In other words, if they hadn't come today, they wouldn't even know how these two beasts had killed them. Rather than let anyone escape unscathed, they'd all die together!

"Tsk, since you already intended to defect to the enemy, why are you all insulting this Zhang fellow? It's like you're just insulting idiots..."

Thinking about this, everyone wanted to slap themselves.

They thought themselves clever and the others fools, secretly stirring up trouble and gathering leverage to implicate Zhang Yang and gain merit. They believed themselves to be the ultimate winners, never imagining that the only winner was Zhang Yang—the wine given to the troops was questionable, but the hundreds of dan of grain were genuine, the hundred adult black pigs were all good, and there were also prostitutes, courtesans, and carefully selected beauties.

The chubby middle-aged man slapped his thigh: "I really made that Zhang guy eat well today."

"It's not that we enjoyed the food, it's that we're stuffed."

"Hmph, not only did she see a monkey show, but the monkey even served her snacks and drinks. I wonder how she's laughing at us now."

There is nothing more shameful or frustrating than this in the world.

The portly middle-aged man took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions: "Things have come to this point, there's no use in blaming each other. Let's save our energy and think about how Zhang will deal with us later."

The question raised by the overweight middle-aged man was very relevant.

This is also the point that everyone is most resistant to.

Zhang Yang knew the wine was poisoned and also knew their true intentions. It was a testament to her strategic resolve not to kill them on the spot; why would she let them go? Tonight, their lives would be forfeit. At this moment, the plump middle-aged man said in a somber tone, "It's actually a stroke of good fortune that Zhang only killed a few of us. The real fear is that her anger hasn't subsided and she might implicate the innocent. How many relatives do you all have? Perhaps she'll send them all down so we can reunite on our journey to the underworld."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned pale.

If you judge others by your own standards—

These scoundrels, relying on their superior numbers and strength, are habitually unreasonable. If you anger them, they will slaughter indiscriminately even if they are in the wrong, let alone Zhang Yang, who is currently in the right. This matter cannot be easily resolved without killing their entire families to vent our anger.

The magistrate's mind was in turmoil, but he wasn't thinking about his family.

There was a thought I just couldn't suppress.

...What if she doesn't sheath her sword after entering the city?

Anger always needs an outlet, and the self-righteous actions of everyone present tonight have essentially given Zhang Yang a perfect excuse not to shelve his sword. The magistrate asked himself honestly, he hadn't accomplished anything remarkable since taking office, but he hadn't made any wrongful convictions either.

Ordinary and mundane, just getting by.

At most, when dealing with these people in his capacity as county magistrate, he managed to secure some tangible benefits for his family and relatives. But he would never dare to harm the common people of the county and drag them into a massacre. On second thought, he mocked himself.

My words sound like I'm shirking responsibility.

Do not refrain from doing good because it is small, nor do evil because it is small.

He pursed his lips, thinking to himself that when he accepted bribes and turned a blind eye to others' misdeeds, who knew he might have unknowingly taken someone's life? Now, regretting the potential massacre of the city's commoners, it was too late.

The magistrate clenched his fists, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The ghost inside him mocked, "You're not truly remorseful; you're just trying to lessen your guilt through remorse."

At this point, the others also started making a ruckus.

Some wept bitterly, some wailed like ghosts, some beat their chests in despair—all were filled with deep regret. This mood lingered from dusk till dawn, leaving everyone listless. In a state of utter anxiety, they saw Zhang Yang again: "Didn't you sleep a wink last night?"

They all looked as if their yang energy had been completely drained.

Everyone twitched their lips.

The magistrate gave a wry smile: "Last night...who could possibly sleep?"

"I can sleep soundly. I thought you guys were going to make a move, and I was really looking forward to a bloodbath, ready to stay up all night. Who knew you'd throw a dud in the end?" Zhang Yang had no empathy and didn't care how upset these people were by her words. "I was feeling frustrated and annoyed at first, but your actions did bring me some pleasure, so I guess you had some good intentions."

Everyone: "..."

The other side really intended to go on a killing spree!

The horrific scene of blood flowing like rivers flashed through their minds.

The portly middle-aged man, his entire body trembling with fat, knelt down with a thud and crawled two steps toward Zhang Yang. If someone had told him that kissing the soil at Zhang Yang's feet now could save his whole family's lives, he would have done it without hesitation: "Please, Lord Zhang, have mercy!"

Everyone: "..."

He cursed inwardly that this scoundrel was servile and had no backbone whatsoever.

If it were them, they would never succumb to power.

Thump, another person knelt down, but instead of humbly crawling on his knees like the fat middle-aged man, he raised his hands in a deep bow.

Everyone: "..."

So what if it's embarrassing? I'm going to die anyway.

So, one by one, they couldn't hold on any longer and began to beg for mercy.

The magistrate lifted his robe, straightened his back, and bowed his head in shame, saying, "The people of this county are innocent and should not have suffered such misfortune because of our foolish actions. All the blame lies with me. If I can make Lord Boyuan smile even a little, I am willing to commit suicide in front of everyone, even if it means being torn to pieces a thousand times."

"...You discussed this all night and then put on this performance for me?" Given how abstract their previous behavior was, Zhang Yang didn't even think they were begging for mercy at this moment; it seemed more like they were trying to make her laugh.

Everyone: "..."

Oh no, this won't do.

Zhang Yang's voice was clear and unreadable, revealing neither joy nor anger: "I don't have much time. My troops are in a hurry to take over the entire territory of Hu County. I don't have time to waste my energy here with you. I'll tell you what to do. Those who are unwilling to obey, there's a guillotine at the door. Stick your necks in it."

Everyone present was an overly shrewd individual, and upon hearing this, they all knew that there was still room for maneuver. For a moment, everyone felt a secret joy at having escaped death, and they looked at Zhang Yang earnestly.

Zhang Yang, on the contrary, felt a little uncomfortable being looked at like that: "...It's nothing, it's just that I asked you to release the hidden households, and I'm going to take the fields away. Don't worry, if their background is clean, I will also provide compensation."

No one paid attention to Zhang Yang's last sentence.

They see any talk of compensation as just money to buy their lives.

Even if they felt resentful and had connections, they could only swallow their anger and save their lives first.

Zhang Yang shifted to a more relaxed and comfortable sitting posture, resting his right hand on his bent knee: "Besides that, I need to know all the mountains and rivers within the county's jurisdiction so that we can cultivate them later. Your Excellency, the county's population must be accurately counted so that farmland can be redistributed according to the number of people. Those messy taxes you mentioned, with their complicated names, are an extremely heavy burden on the people under our jurisdiction. It's unacceptable that the people can barely stay alive."

The magistrate bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the cold earth.

Zhang Yang said, "I want to restore people's livelihood as soon as possible, so that they can have enough to eat and have the energy to think about the future and reproduce. If you try to make up for your losses in secret, I will send someone to your house in the middle of the night to cut off your whole family's heads."

The last sentence was directed at people other than the county magistrate.

While Zhang Yang was easing the burden on ordinary people, these people were using their family businesses to drastically raise prices on necessities, leaving ordinary people still suffering terribly. So what was Zhang Yang busy with? She pointed to the person who owned the most grain shops and lowered her voice.

"If the price of grain rises by one or two coins, I'll just consider it normal market fluctuations and I won't care. But if the price of grain rises by 30%, 50%, or even three or five times, I'll use the heads of your entire family as firecrackers, smashing one every day to hear the bang. Then I'll skin them alive and squeeze their fat out to use as nightlights." Zhang Yang casually uttered these cruel threats.

It sounds cruel to outsiders, but Zhang Yang doesn't think so.

She even considered herself kind.

Zhang Yang recalled an anecdote recounted during a casual conversation with one of the observation subjects: "Over a decade ago, there was a man who had practically built a leading position in the staple grain business. He did something truly remarkable: he doubled the price of staple grains."

"Wouldn't that be making a killing?"

Whether I've made a fortune or not is unknown, but my life has definitely taken off.

The observation sample rambled on for quite a while, but it was all swallowed by the system's censorship. Zhang Yang could only vaguely hear that these people who disappeared without a trace were the work of a big shot in the observation sample's world. That big shot had been extremely powerful in recent years.

Zhang Yang couldn't reveal that he wasn't human, so he could only vaguely agree twice. Among the observed samples, some people disliked this approach, but most agreed and even admired it. Naturally, Zhang Yang, who had always been dedicated to imitating humans, also accepted it.

Doing it this way is definitely the right thing to do.

So what if the threats are a bit bloody?

She didn't do that.

But everyone present knew she was capable of such things, and dared not gamble that she wouldn't do it. Forced by her intimidation, they nodded vigorously, cooperating fully, even to the point of being submissive. Zhang Yang said, "...why didn't you cooperate like this from the beginning? Why all this fuss?"

Everyone had unspeakable grievances in their hearts.

Zhang Yang wasn't naive enough to think that verbal threats would make them obedient. She sent Xia Gengshi to escort the man back into the city, instructing him: "Xidan, take your head off and tuck it under your arm. That way you'll frighten them without obstructing your view. Besides that, bring back their most important hostage..."

Xia Gengshi did exactly as instructed.

The burly, headless man with his head tucked in was truly terrifying.

Xiao Sui said, "We should take a two-pronged approach, hoping they will be sensible and not cause any more trouble by trying to be clever."

Zhang Yang: "Too clever by half."

Take her, for example. She's always been down-to-earth and never looks down on others because of her superior intelligence. Zhang Yang isn't worried about these people running away: "It seems that only Sun Zhaoruo's Dou County in the mountains is out of my hands. Where can they possibly escape to?"

"Why are we only missing a small county?"

Zhang Yang: "Ahem, sooner or later."

Upon returning and discussing the situation, the group realized they were trapped in a quagmire. Even if they escaped Hu County, could they escape the mountains? The mountain counties were controlled by the Dongfan and Youyuan mountain ranges, with only two entrances and exits. One was in Zhang Yang's hands, and the other in the hands of the preoccupied Sun Ban—and it seemed only a matter of time before Sun Ban fell. Perhaps before they even reached Dou County, Zhang Yang would have already taken it.

After counting and counting, I can only accept my fate.

"...Surely the Zhang guy won't bring up old grievances?"

No one had a clear idea of ​​what was going on.

They disdain openly robbing and killing people, but they can't stand having family members do it, let alone those unruly servants using their names to do it behind their backs. Between two evils, choose the lesser. If it really happened, rather than waiting for Zhang to use an excuse to cause trouble, they'd better deal with it themselves first. If they confess voluntarily, they might receive lenient treatment.

Zhang Yang's troops took over the area.

Several people were promoted based on the information provided by the county magistrate.

After spending half a day meeting these people, I also issued a general task. This county was also affected by the natural disaster, and the collapsed houses in the county need to be repaired. The elderly and children in the family who do not have young and strong laborers can be temporarily resettled, and she will reimburse their normal food expenses.

The county magistrate had the heaviest task.

Zhang Yang said, "I know you made a mistake before, but now is a time when we need capable people. I will not punish you for now, and there is no one more suitable or familiar with the affairs of the county than you. If you do well, I can treat you leniently; if you do not do well, you may commit suicide."

The magistrate showed no fear; instead, he trembled with excitement.

"Yes, yes... This humble official thanks you, Your Excellency."

Zhang Yang reminded them, "Use fixed terms of address; don't change them randomly."

The magistrate looked somewhat disappointed: "It was...Lord Boyuan."

Zhang Yang left only two hundred soldiers behind and sent a centurion to garrison the area, responsible for recruiting new soldiers and supervising whether everyone was obeying orders. If any of these men showed disloyalty, they could be reported and dealt with.

Before leaving, Zhang Yang left a sum of money for the county magistrate.

Magistrate: "...Lord Boyuan, what is this?"

"Didn't you say the county was in dire financial straits?" The county government was even struggling to pay the county officials' salaries. Zhang Yang knew that if you were going to get someone to do something, you had to pay them well. "Use these for now, and remember to keep good accounts."

"Yes."

The magistrate's eyes were brimming with tears.

The others also wept as if they had lost their parents in private.

Zhang Yang left money for the county magistrate, but he also plundered a lot of their wealth, and they couldn't object to him.

You scoundrel, you really are a scoundrel!

"It's a miracle that I survived."

After Zhang Yang led his troops away, everyone received a message.

The eunuch prefecture was massacred by Zhang Yang's troops.

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