Woman, she should be beaten every day

Inside the General's Manor, in the study.

"Great General, as per your orders, the ringleaders who gathered the mob to cause trouble and rebelled against their superiors have all been hung up in front of the military camp for public display."

"All their followers have been locked up in the death row dungeons."

As Sun Xiang reported this, his heart trembled with fear.

Having guarded the borders for decades and fought the barbarians countless times, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.

He should have been numb to any kind of ruthlessness.

Yet today, Great General Ren Tianye had severely shocked him once again.

"How is the situation outside?" Ren Tianye asked.

Sun Xiang immediately replied with a heavy tone, "No one dares to disobey!"

When he said this, what Sun Xiang was actually thinking was: How could the soldiers of Yunji City ever dare to harbor disloyal thoughts again?!

After this series of actions, the soldiers of Yunji City saw clearly that if they followed them obediently, everyone would receive generous pay.

But if they harbored any treacherous intentions, the only outcome was death!

Over five hundred people had caused trouble today.

As a result, thirty-four were publicly shot or beheaded!

All the rest were sentenced to hang after autumn!

Faced with such ruthlessness, which soldier in Yunji City wouldn't weigh the options of loyally following the Great General versus harboring ulterior motives?

Thinking this, alongside his awe, Sun Xiang felt an increased admiration for Ren Tianye.

In just a few short days, their group of eight hundred men had not only occupied Yunji City, a crucial stronghold in the Northern Frontier, but under the Great General's brilliant calculations, they had also easily taken over the city's garrison.

Following such a master, this world... didn't seem entirely out of reach.

"As long as they submit, it's fine!" Ren Tianye said leisurely. "With these people submitting, our ranks are now thoroughly expanded."

"We can now be considered to command nearly ten thousand troops. In the future, whether attacking or defending, we have the capital to do so."

"However, to make everyone in Yunji City follow us completely, we are still missing one thing."

Ren Tianye had already employed many stratagems. This morning, he had even anticipated that those loyal to Zhan Shubai would cause trouble, and by having his men lie in ambush, they achieved their current success.

This had long since convinced Sun Xiang wholeheartedly.

Hearing Ren Tianye say this now, he asked almost out of habit, "Great General, what are we missing?"

"Forcing them to rebel, of course."

Ren Tianye said, "Right now, they are merely submitting to me, but they might not be willing to rebel. Therefore, we need to force their hand!"

As he spoke, a wide smile bloomed on Ren Tianye's face. "Originally, there was no rush for this."

"Sooner or later, we will encounter the imperial army. When that time comes, after a major battle, they will have to rebel whether they want to or not. Thus, I didn't pay it much mind."

"But I never expected..."

"These past few days, while cleaning up the General's Manor, I actually made another discovery!"

Sun Xiang was curious.

"Great General, what discovery?"

Ren Tianye didn't answer him directly. Instead, he changed the subject, "I have only been in the Northern Frontier for a little over three months. My understanding of the situation here is far inferior to yours."

"Therefore, I would like to confirm something with you."

"What is the internal situation of the barbarians like?"

"Who is the next generation's ruler within the barbarian tribes?"

Sun Xiang was indeed very familiar with this matter and immediately replied, "It's the barbarian First Prince, of course. He has long been the designated next Great Khan, holds heavy military power, and has numerous supporters."

"Moreover, this person is incredibly fierce and quite resourceful."

"When the Chifeng Army was still around, we often discussed how the greatest future enemy of the Northern Frontier would be this First Prince."

"Furthermore..."

Sun Xiang continued, "Those who constantly fought with our eight hundred men were all the First Prince's people. Only the First Prince's forces would frequently dispatch small bands of barbarians to invade our Central Plains."

Ren Tianye shook his head, however, and said, "You are wrong."

"Previously, the ones our eight hundred men annihilated might have basically all been the First Prince's people. But in recent days, they haven't necessarily been the First Prince's men."

"Instead..."

"They are the barbarian Third Prince's men!"

Sun Xiang was a bit bewildered. "The barbarian Third Prince's men?"

"Correct!" Ren Tianye said. "Or, to be more precise, they are people sent by the barbarian Third Prince to assassinate the forces of the barbarian First Prince!"

As he said this, the Li Family of Huaiqing involuntarily surfaced in Ren Tianye's mind, the same Li Family of Huaiqing that had morally blackmailed him and smuggled tea to the barbarians.

Back then, after he killed that youth from the Li Family of Huaiqing who possessed the potential of a protagonist, he found a turquoise headdress on the boy's body.

That headdress had been bestowed by the First Prince.

This proved that the Li Family of Huaiqing had a deep connection with the barbarian First Prince.

Yet they had been hunted down by barbarians until their entire family was wiped out.

At the time, he couldn't understand it and felt something was fishy. He had planned to report it to the Chifeng Army upon his return, but then came the incident where the Female Emperor massacred seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army, forcing him to rebel.

For a time, he had forgotten about this matter.

But he never expected that he would unexpectedly find the answer here in Yunji City.

"These barbarians, heh, I'm afraid internal strife is about to break out among them."

Pausing, Ren Tianye called out, "Su Jin!"

Not long after, the study door was pushed open, and Su Jin walked in gracefully.

Su Jin, who was once the wife of Army Advisor Zhang Wei, had now shed her luxurious attire. Her clothes were no different from those of an ordinary maid. As she entered, she was respectful and obedient, bowing low and holding a square box with both hands, which she gently placed on Ren Tianye's desk.

Ren Tianye had just arrived in Yunji City. He had many military officers under his command but few civil officials, which meant he simply couldn't handle the multitude of official duties.

So he had Su Jin, who was literate, take on the role of an attendant secretary to help him organize documents.

Su Jin did this job quite well.

Unlike the days when Army Advisor Zhang Wei protected her and she acted arrogantly, she was now respectful, submissive, and cautious. It could even be said she didn't have the slightest bit of temper.

This made Ren Tianye unable to help but recall a joke netizens used to make in his past life every time he saw her.

Women, if you beat her every day, she has only one demand: stop beating her.

But if you don't beat her, she has a whole pile of demands!

The current Su Jin was exactly like this. Terrified of being beaten or punished again, she worked with all her heart and bore hardships without complaint.

How wonderful this was!

As he thought this, he reached out and opened the square box Su Jin had set down. Inside were some letters. Ren Tianye took out a few and handed them to Sun Xiang.

"Take a look at these first."

"Yes!"

Sun Xiang opened them and just glanced at a few lines before his expression changed drastically. "What?"

"The Female Emperor actually instructed Zhan Shubai to collude with the barbarians?"

Sun Xiang stood up abruptly, his face full of anger. "The barbarians are the great enemies of our Great Yu! For hundreds of years, the two sides have fought ceaselessly. How many soldiers have buried their bones on the battlefield defending against the barbarians?"

"How could the Female Emperor do such a thing?"

Ren Tianye felt somewhat helpless. He motioned for Sun Xiang to sit down and said, "What are you shouting for? Finish reading them first."

"Yes, Great General!"

Sun Xiang forced himself to calm down and looked again, but the anger on his face turned into astonishment. "The Female Emperor instructed Zhan Shubai to assist the Third Prince?"

"She told Zhan Shubai to help the Third Prince ambush the First Prince's men?"

"No wonder barbarians have been frequently crossing the border lately. So it was all the Female Emperor's doing. But..."

Sun Xiang still didn't understand. "But what is the Female Emperor's intention?"

"Could it be to support the Third Prince's rise to power and thereby disrupt the barbarians' internal situation?"

Ren Tianye gave a helpless smile and said, "We will naturally find out what the Female Emperor's true intentions are later. For now, it is none of our concern."

"But..."

"There are letters proving that Zhan Shubai colluded with the barbarians," Ren Tianye said, his tone unhurried. "Just think about it. The defending general of Yunji City has committed the heinous crime of colluding with the barbarians."

"Will the soldiers of Yunji City be implicated and subsequently charged with the same grave crime of treason?"

Sun Xiang's eyes instantly lit up.

...