The female prisoner was fierce

The snow stopped the next morning.

On the streets of Dongshuang County, the snow had been trampled down and melted into dark gray ice crystals. Before dawn, people were already moving about the streets—pushing carts, carrying loads, and driving donkey carts out of town—there were many more people than a few days ago. The city gates had also reopened, and although checks were still in place, they weren't as strict as before; anyone with a pass could enter and exit.

Xiao Jianyang stood at the window on the second floor of the county government office and looked down. He saw the old man selling steamed buns on the street corner had set up his stall. Steam rose from the charcoal stove, and four or five people were waiting to buy buns. Just a few days ago, the old man had been hiding indoors, afraid to go out. Now, the wrinkles on his face were stretched out, and he spoke with a strong voice.

"Good morning, Lord Xiao." Lin Qingxue's voice came from behind. She carried in a bowl of hot porridge and placed it on the table. "Eat something first; Zhao Daniu and the others should be here soon."

Xiao Jianyang turned his gaze away from the window, sat down, took a couple of sips of porridge, and asked, "How are things with the prisoners?"

"We took a headcount last night. There were 183 people in total. 76 were injured, and 32 were seriously injured. They've already been sent to the medical camp. The rest are in the dungeon; we had to clear out two empty rooms to accommodate them," Lin Qingxue explained in detail. "Li Tiezhu is keeping an eye on them, and nothing has gone wrong."

"Those willing to volunteer will be selected; those unwilling will be sent to repair the city walls. They'll still be paid, but they'll be managed more closely. Those willing to volunteer will be assigned to the recruit camp and managed separately for a month of observation."

Lin Qingxue nodded in agreement and made a note in her small notebook.

Half an hour later, Defang, Li Tiezhu, Zhao Daniu, and Xiaoxing and Xiaotao arrived. The charcoal fire was burning brightly in the main hall of the county government office, and a map of Dongshuang County and its surrounding villages and towns was spread out on the table, marked with many charcoal marks.

"Everyone's here, let's get straight to the point," Xiao Jianyang said, sitting in the main seat. "First, we won at Tiger Ridge, but it was only a repelling of a probe by the Northern Di. Yelü Deguang's main force is still outside Youzhou City and doesn't have time to deal with us. However, this battle has made our name known, and there will only be more people looking to cause trouble in the future. We don't have much time left, so we need to quickly solidify our foundation."

Everyone's expressions turned serious, but there was no fear in their eyes.

"Secondly, we've taken Dongshuang County, but taking it and governing it are two different things. The town has over ten thousand residents, plus those in the surrounding villages and towns, totaling around thirty thousand. These people need food, clothing, and shelter; we can't just rely on confiscating property and seizing grain to make ends meet. We need to get the county town running on its own."

Xiao Jianyang pointed to several locations on the map and continued, "I had Lin Qingxue take people to check the granaries. The former county magistrate, Qian Youde, amassed a considerable fortune, and combined with the grain stored in the county granary, it's enough to feed us for about half a year. But in this half year, we need to plant next year's harvest. The land can't be left barren after spring."

Defang immediately replied, "Lord Xiao, after the battle at Tiger Ridge, we captured quite a few horses and weapons. The Northern Di horses were all fine horses; although a small portion died, nearly three hundred remain, all kept in the open space west of the city. We also cleared out several hundred bows, arrows, scimitars, and leather armor; I had all usable pieces collected separately."

"The horses will be placed under the unified command of the supply battalion, and the armor and weapons will be distributed to each commandery, prioritizing the replenishment of the new recruits. Make a list of the captured items and submit it to me later."

Xiao Jianyang paused, then continued, "The third thing is to clarify the household registration and land ownership in Dongshuang County. Qian Youde previously levied exorbitant taxes, and much land became the private property of his subordinates, turning the original farmers into tenants. This land must be returned; it should belong to whoever it rightfully belongs to. Li Tiezhu, you take people to do this, re-verify the land deeds, and overturn any wrongful convictions on the spot. During the process, no one is allowed to disturb the people, and no one is allowed to take advantage of the situation to seize land."

Li Tiezhu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Lord Xiao. I come from a peasant background; I'm good at these things. Any landlord who dares to play tricks on us, I'll be the first to deal with him."

Xiao Jianyang nodded and continued, "The shops and workshops in the city must also be reopened. Blacksmith shops, carpentry shops, and cloth workshops all need to start operating. Our soldiers need weapons and armor, and the people need farming tools and equipment. If we don't make these things ourselves, relying solely on spoils and purchases won't last long. Zhao Tiechui and the others are still working on their project at Table Mountain. In a few days, once the roads are better, I'll have them move their entire workshop to the county town. As for Su Wanruo, gunpowder production cannot stop. The matter of the Heavenly Punishment must be handled by our own people and must not be leaked."

Zhao Daniu asked in a muffled voice, "Sir, what about the new recruit training...?"

"Continue training as usual." Xiao Jianyang glanced at him. "After the battle at Tiger Ridge, the new recruits have seen blood and developed courage, but their foundation is still weak. Archery, formations, and obedience all need to be learned from scratch. You, Defang, and Li Tiezhu should discuss creating a duty roster, and each of them should train for at least two hours every day. In addition, all officers above the rank of platoon leader should come to me every three days; I have new things to teach them."

The moment the words "new stuff" were uttered, everyone in the room perked up their ears. But Xiao Jianyang didn't elaborate, simply waving his hand: "Let's sort things out first, and then we'll deal with the rest one step at a time."

After the meeting, everyone received their tasks and went about their business. Xiao Jianyang stayed in the hall, carefully examining the map again. Lin Qingxue stood to the side, not leaving until everyone had left, before speaking: "My lord, Wanyan Chuyu's people came this morning, saying the tribe is severely lacking in salt and asking if we could buy some on credit, to be repaid with furs and medicinal herbs after spring."

"Sure." Xiao Jianyang didn't even look up. "Give her two hundred catties of salt, fifty bolts of cloth, and also send a cartload of iron pots and shovels. Don't ask her to offer anything in return; consider it our greeting gift."

Lin Qingxue was slightly surprised, but she didn't ask any questions. She simply responded and turned to make the arrangements.

That afternoon, Xiao Jianyang went to the drill ground in the west of the city again. It was originally a training ground for county soldiers, a spacious area that could accommodate four or five hundred people training at the same time. Zhao Daniu was leading the veterans of the Third Capital in drills, the commands ringing out one after another, and the drills were quite orderly. The new recruits, who had been converted from surrendered soldiers, had a separate area where several veteran sergeants were leading them in practicing basic movements: horse stance, shield raising, and sword swinging, over and over again, in a monotonous and tedious manner.

Xiao Jianyang stood by the drill ground for a while and saw that some of the new recruits were really clumsy. So he went over and personally demonstrated how to hold a knife, and then taught a few of them how to hold it. The recruits were so scared that they trembled, but Xiao Jianyang's tone was normal and his expression showed no impatience. After a few repetitions, their hands and feet gradually stopped trembling.

"That's not how you hold a knife," Xiao Jianyang patted one of them on the shoulder. "Gripping it too tightly will prevent you from using any force. Loosen it a little, make your wrist more flexible, and you'll have more power when you chop. Try it."

The recruit swallowed hard, gripped the knife again as instructed, and swung it once; it was indeed much smoother.

"Practice more." Xiao Jianyang said these two words and turned to leave.

More people were training on the drill ground, and the shouts of battle grew louder and louder.

For the next two weeks, the entire Dongshuang County sprang into action like a machine being re-oiled. Li Tiezhu and his men scoured the county seat and surrounding villages, working tirelessly to verify household registrations and land deeds. They even unearthed several old cases—Qian Youde, during his tenure, had seized land from over a dozen farmers under various pretexts and then redistributed it. When the news spread, many people from the surrounding villages and towns came to the county seat specifically to see what was happening. Upon confirming the truth, some wept on the spot. That afternoon, a long queue formed outside the county government office, all there to register their household registrations. Many of these were originally refugees, but now, hearing that the Xiao family army wasn't robbing or seizing land and was even distributing it, they had brought their families to seek refuge.

Defang was also extremely busy. She distributed the several hundred Northern Di warhorses captured at Menghu Ridge to various commanderies. The Xiao family army had previously lacked horses, but now each commandery had at least forty or fifty. Although this wasn't enough for a full cavalry force, it was sufficient for messengers, grain transport, and patrols. She also specially selected several dozen skilled veteran riders to form a scout team, specifically responsible for reconnaissance and vigilance within a fifty-mile radius of the county town. Three groups of men were sent out each day, rotating shifts. This was crucial. Since the battle at Menghu Ridge, although the Northern Di people couldn't come anytime soon, there were still sporadic cavalry and scattered troops operating outside the city, which needed to be guarded against.

Su Wanruo and her team from the Table Mountain workshop moved to the county town, clearing out a row of empty rooms behind the county government office to serve as a gunpowder workshop. Xiao Jianyang specially allocated her a separate area, surrounded by high walls, with guards watching over access; no one except those working in the workshop was allowed to approach. She had over a dozen more helpers, all carefully selected honest people who worked during the day and were not allowed to leave the workshop at night, living and eating inside. Su Wanruo herself practically wanted to live there, personally overseeing the gunpowder mixing and fuse making, not allowing anyone else to get involved.

"Lord Xiao, at the current production rate, we can fill thirty earthenware jars a day. If we had enough materials, we could increase it to forty," Su Wanruo reported one day, her face rounder than before. "But our stock of saltpeter and sulfur is running low; it can only last for a month at most."

Xiao Jianyang thought for a moment and said, "I'll figure out the saltpeter problem. You should make good use of the materials you have, and also take some time to teach the workshop workers the basics. You don't need to teach them everything, just enough to get them to help out."

Su Wanruo nodded and hurriedly ran back.

Zhao Daniu's training was the most rigorous. Having served in the border army, he knew that slack training meant certain death on the battlefield, so he showed no mercy in the training of the Third Capital. Every day before dawn, he'd make everyone run laps, then practice formation drills, followed by sword and shield coordination, and in the afternoon, archery and formation changes. The new recruits complained endlessly, but no one dared to slack off, because the stick in Zhao Daniu's hand wasn't just for show; anyone who didn't perform the movements correctly would really get a beating.

However, Zhao Daniu knew his limits. After beating someone, he would give them an extra bowl of hot soup or a baked flatbread at night. Over time, the new recruits began to obey him. They called him "Niu Tou" in private but addressed him as "Du Tou" to his face, and they all put in their best effort during training.

Xiao Jianyang himself wasn't idle either. Every three days, he would convene a short meeting in the backyard of the county government office for all officers above the rank of squad leader. Each meeting lasted half an hour, and the topics discussed were troop deployment, command and coordination. He simplified some basic tactical concepts from later generations into colloquial terms they could understand. For example, "skirmish line" was called "bean-scattering formation," "firepower cover" was called "fighting and moving," and "echelon charge" was called "three-wave roll." These men didn't have deep backgrounds, but they had all fought in battles. They could understand about 70-80% of what he heard after one listen, and then they would go back and train their troops. As they trained, they gradually began to see the results.

After half a month, the Xiao family army had visibly changed. The new recruits stood up straight, marched in formation, and held their knives more firmly. The veterans were more energetic and upright on patrol, and people no longer avoided them on the street as they had in the first few days; sometimes they would even greet them.

Another thing that surprised Xiao Jianyang was that twenty or thirty of the surrendered Northern Di prisoners were actually willing to join him. Li Tiezhu interrogated them several times to confirm that there was no sign of feigned surrender, and then assigned them to a separate squad in the recruit camp. These men had grown up on horseback and were quite skilled in riding and archery; with a little training, they would become excellent soldiers. However, Xiao Jianyang was in no hurry to use them. He first had them train in discipline with the new recruits, and only released them after he had a clear understanding of their abilities.

……