Free Web NovelChapter 1253: Chapter 1222: Specialized in Dealing With Dissent (Part 3)
The soldiers didn’t dare eat such sumptuous food, declined it, and then hurried away, calling back to them as they left, "If you have family members who are servants, you can pool money to redeem them. The ransom should not exceed three times the selling price. Remember this and tell your neighbors, spread the word..."
They didn’t need special reminders; they verbally passed the message to their neighbors and urged them to quickly redeem their kin while the Zhao Family Army was still in Jiangnan.
"They must be afraid of the army; they won’t say anything if you redeem people now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"If you’re short on money, borrow some from relatives. The children were sold off back then to get through tough times. Now the family is a bit more affluent with this opportunity. We must redeem them. We can’t let them remain as servants all their lives."
This was propaganda for the families of servants, while Yuan Li directly visited some homes, demanding that they gather lower and middle-class servants and tenant farmers for face-to-face propaganda.
If Zu Ti were doing this, several families would publicly expel him, but they dared not do so with Yuan Li.
Yuan Li still bore the marks of punishment, appearing gloomy and sinister when staring at people, along with rumored terrifying methods, leaving Lu Yuan and others intimidated.
Indeed, it’s easier to offend a gentleman; common people are more tolerant.
Thus, Yuan Li openly promoted Zhao Hanzhang’s regulations among aristocratic families, much more effective than Wang Dao addressing Family Heads and village chiefs.
Many thoughtful servants began looking for ways to redeem themselves, or sent letters to their families, asking them to come redeem them.
The largest scale of redemption was seen with the Lu Family.
Most servants from other families were still on the fence. Although their lives as servants were hard, life as common folk was still quite average, so they were weighing their options.
If after becoming a commoner they had no land to farm and couldn’t find a means of survival, it would be better to remain servants in a big household.
Only the Lu Family saw this, due to the execution of Lu Jing, whose wickedness was widely known, and along with it, the Lu Family carried a very bad reputation.
Families with children or siblings serving as servants in the Lu Family pooled money to redeem them; Lu Family servants also grew fearful, feeling their masters would harm them next, so they sought ways to redeem themselves.
Such was the case with servants, not to mention tenant farmers.
A large number of servants and tenant farmers were leaving, and Lu Yuan could not forcefully stop them; he could only subtly threaten and entice, but the effect was not great.
Several families secretly mocked the Lu Family, and each time Lu Yuan thought of this, he felt both angry and hateful. He did not dare to hate Zhao Hanzhang, so he could only be angry at himself and hate Lu Jing.
Eventually, he transferred all his wrath and hatred onto Yuan Li.
Indeed, he was adept at self-healing and quickly found an excuse for himself, and Lu Jing was already dead. Even if he hated him, he was, after all, his relative. Turning a thought, he quickly found an excuse for him as well.
Neither himself nor his relatives were at fault; it could only be blamed on outsiders.
Zhao Hanzhang was too powerful; naturally, she was blameless, so the blame fell on Zu Ti and Yuan Li.
Let alone Zu Ti, the most hateful one was Yuan Li.
But he wasn’t capable of dealing with Yuan Li yet; he was still just a nobody at Zhao Hanzhang’s abode, though this situation would change soon.
Lu Yuan was ambitious, determined to create a sensation throughout the land, bringing auspiciousness to delight Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang, unaware of his thoughts, had already ordered the army to leave Jiangnan in batches, leaving behind forces to guard various counties in Jiangnan.
Jingzhou was still not stable at the moment; Wang Si Niang couldn’t leave temporarily, so Wang Xuan took people to escort Wang Dun’s coffin and entourage back to the capital;
Zhao Shen led the Luoyang Zhao Family Army to escort the treasures seized this time back to the capital, Zhao Ju returned directly to Yan State, and Zu Ti sent Zuo Min to lead the army back to Jizhou, while he took Zhao Shi to Luoyang.
Yuan Li had already disappeared; he didn’t follow Zu Ti’s orders, so Zu Ti didn’t know his whereabouts, whether he continued staying in Jiangnan managing the secret sector or returned to Luoyang.
Regardless, the army gradually retreated, restoring peace to Jiangnan, with the festive season arriving, streets gradually getting lively again.
Luoyang was more prosperous compared to previous years, being the most bustling New Year in several years.
Zu Ti was taken aback upon reaching the outskirts of the capital; it was different from Luoyang the last time he left. Several houses had been built near the outskirts, one being a post station, dedicated to hosting officials from other regions and profiting from commercial travelers.
Zu Ti, despite being an external officer, didn’t dare bring a large army into Luoyang even after victory, so he brought only a hundred personal soldiers. Zhao Shen arrived just a day before, having sent the treasures into the capital ahead of him and stayed here awaiting orders to enter.
And, waiting for Zu Ti together.
"The Great General said he would personally welcome us at the city gate."
Zu Ti’s eyes brightened upon hearing this; it was an immense honor.
