The female prisoner was fierce

After a moment's thought, Xiao Jianyang decisively said:

"Find a way to recruit all the county soldiers who surrendered, then break them up and incorporate them into our Xiao family army."

Lin Qingxue nodded immediately:

"Yes, Lord Xiao."

"By the way, what should be done with Commandant Zhou?"

Xiao Jianyang didn't think much of it, and his tone was decisive:

"Join Qian Youde in a public trial!"

Lin Qingxue immediately agreed:

"clear."

"Oh, right."

Xiao Jianyang asked again:

"How are the public proclamations and the methods I instructed for pacifying the people going?"

Lin Qingxue:

"Reporting to Lord Xiao, it has already been taken care of. You may go and check it yourself."

Xiao Jianyang:

"Okay, you can go and get back to work now."

Lin Qingxue:

"Yes."

Retreat quickly.

After processing several official documents, Xiao Jianyang decisively stood up and, escorted by Xiao Tao and Xiao Xing, walked out of the county government office.

The most important thing right now is to win people's hearts and minds!

Although he had taken Dongshuang County, the people in the city were still unaware of Xiao's army.

All that is known is that Xiao's army blew open the city gates, slaughtered all the Northern Di people, and captured their county magistrate.

In their eyes, they were no different from bandits and rebel armies.

Therefore, in ancient times, it was very important to have a just cause for launching an attack!

Even if you don't have the necessary conditions, you can create them yourself.

……

After leaving the county government office.

On the street outside the county government office, Defang was leading the female soldiers of the guerrilla unit and the male soldiers of the Xiao family army to post notices to reassure the people.

Taking into account the illiteracy issue, some literate female soldiers were also assigned to provide explanations.

These female soldiers were all female prisoners after the upheaval in Beijing. Although only about thirty remained after the deaths, they were all elite soldiers.

Not only can they read, but they can also describe things vividly.

"Fellow citizens, we are the newly arrived Xiao family army, under Lord Xiao's command. It doesn't matter if you don't know us, but in short, we are different from the soldiers of the past, and we are also different from the county magistrate."

"We are not the Northern Barbarians, we are the Great Wu people. We do not steal or beat people, so you can rest assured."

"By the way, Qian Youde has been arrested by our Lord Xiao for embezzlement and corruption. He will be publicly interrogated in the next couple of days, and everyone can come and watch."

Upon hearing these words, the people hesitated and said uncertainly:

"Really? You're not going to beat people or steal food? And you're going to arrest and try that corrupt official, Qian Youde?"

"Wait, what does 'trial' mean?"

"It means he broke some law and they want to kill him."

"What? The Xiao family army is going to kill Magistrate Qian? Really? He's a righteous and upright official! Is the Xiao family army really willing to stand up for us poor people??"

There was doubt and confusion, but also anticipation.

The female soldiers continued to explain with great effort.

After glancing at it, Xiao Jianyang ignored it and walked away.

Publicity is only the first step; practical action is crucial.

At each street intersection.

At this moment, more than a dozen porridge stalls have been set up, and each person queuing up can receive a bowl of free white porridge, and there is porridge every day.

Although it wasn't much, it could save lives in those chaotic times of war!

Some bolder civilians approached the soldiers of Xiao's army and cautiously asked:

"Where are you soldiers from?"

The male soldier in front of me smiled and said:

"Fellow villager, we are the Xiao family army, soldiers of Lord Xiao."

The people were puzzled:

"Who is Lord Xiao?"

The soldier scratched his head:

"It's on Table Mountain, fifty miles to the west of Lord Xiao."

The people in front of them were astonished:

"Huh? From the mountains?? Aren't those bandits? I..."

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, he quickly shut up.

The male soldier in front of him had a dark expression, but remembering Xiao Jianyang's orders not to be rude to civilians, or else face military law, he could only say with a grim face:

"Why are you asking so many questions? Just eat what you have to eat."

"Yes, yes, sir, I deserve to die, I will never ask again."

He immediately nodded in agreement, took the congee, and stepped aside.

Xiao Jianyang's forehead turned slightly black as he watched this scene.

"But it doesn't matter. With this county seat, this kind of situation will rarely happen again."

Thinking it over, he stopped and walked towards the city wall.

At this moment, Li Tiezhu was leading his men to work at the city gate.

The city gate was blown up by explosives, and a new one was hastily pieced together from wood and iron bars. Although it was not beautiful, it was functional.

"Lord Xiao."

Upon seeing Xiao Jianyang arrive, Li Tiezhu wiped his sweat and walked up, saying:

"The breaches in the city wall have all been patched up. There wasn't enough time to clear the moat, but I put up a few rows of barricades outside the city gate, which should be able to hold them off to some extent."

Xiao Jianyang nodded:

"Thanks for your hard work."

Li Tiezhu grinned and said with a simple smile:

"This is nothing hard. I'm a poor man, I'm not short of strength."

Xiao Jianyang:

"Um."

He paused, then said:

"After the city gate is repaired, take your men and find as many old outhouses as possible, and scrape as much saltpeter as you can from the walls."

"Also, we need to search every general store in the city, and buy all the ones that sell firecrackers."

"Remember to pay and be polite; we're not bandits or brigands."

Li Tiezhu nodded repeatedly:

"Don't worry, Lord Xiao, I've got it."

Xiao Jianyang:

"it is good."

He gave a few more instructions, and then continued to inspect the situation in the city.

Dongshuang County is not too poor, but it is not rich either.

There are only two streets in the city.

One side is for business, and the other side sells food, vegetables, and other items.

Among them, the street where business was conducted contained several shops owned by the Jurchen people.

The boss was dressed in Jurchen clothing, wearing a felt hat and a thick animal skin coat. His expression was not as ingratiating as the other people, but it was not hostile either. Instead, it was wary yet calm.

Xiao Jianyang was a little curious and asked Xiao Xing and Xiao Tao beside him:

"What do you know about the Jurchens?"

The two women searched their memories and answered:

"Lord Xiao, all we know is that the Jurchens are a nomadic hunting people who live in the eastern and northern parts of the northern border, bordering the Northern Di people."

"The country is very weak, with a population of less than one million and an army of no more than 50,000, and this is the whole picture."

"In reality, the Jurchen people were divided into more than ten tribes, suppressed by two large tribes. The tribe closest to us to the east was a very weak one, nicknamed 'Tiger'."

"They named it that because they admire tigers."

"The Jurchen people live in a region covered in snow year-round, and they are warlike and martial, so although they are weak, they have never wanted to conquer."

Xiao Jianyang's eyes flickered slightly.

To others, this was a wild and uncivilized land.

But in his view, the conditions were similar to those on the Siberian Plateau, but certainly better.

There might be abundant natural resources down there.

Coal, steel, oil and gas, etc.

"Once the Industrial Revolution happens, the entire Jurchen territory will absolutely be a treasure trove!!"

……