Free Web NovelChapter 1135: Chapter 1079: Countermeasures
On ordinary days, his treatment towards the soldiers was exceedingly harsh.
It can be said that it was either physical or verbal abuse, not only towards the soldiers but even more so towards the enemies, and not to mention the enemies, even the common people couldn’t get the slightest kind face.
As long as you angered the old man, you would absolutely face military punishment, the lightest being dozens of military canes, beating you to a point of being unable to take care of yourself.
Like the current situation of currying favor with someone, it truly was unprecedented.
Previously, even when facing the Eldest Prince, he wouldn’t be so servile.
When facing King Zhao, he was still able to maintain a businesslike demeanor.
But in the face of Lin Yi now, he dared not show the slightest negligence, nor express the slightest temper, as if Lin Yi naturally restrained him, as if Lin Yi could do anything without him daring to utter a word of complaint.
Just like that, after Lin Yi finished speaking, the old man immediately began to quickly lead people to take action.
He immediately had people take over all the facilities here, after all, countless drills had been conducted previously, thus this time was exceptionally smooth.
Even though there were significantly more people this time than before, the handling was still very smooth, with no sign of any unreasonable aspects at all.
Of course, due to Lin Yi’s previous orders and coupled with this city being their own city prior, thus when entering the city, these people were very courteous.
Especially towards the city’s common people, there was no offense whatsoever, which allowed those within to breathe a long sigh of relief.
Initially, they were wondering who was attacking them, assuming it was surely enemies.
Certainly, this was because they intentionally blocked the information, not wanting them to know that the one attacking them was their Grand General.
Especially seeing these individuals wearing their military uniforms, also belonging to Zhao Country, made them feel it even less.
They merely assumed everything happening on the city wall was just a coup, having nothing to do with them.
Not only the common people, even the noble families within the city thought the same, assuming it was merely a power struggle, thinking it was the Eldest Prince suppressing the other Princes.
However, regardless of who wins or loses in all this, it had nothing to do with them.
All they needed to do was safeguard their own small piece of property.
Consequently, once Lin Yi and his entourage entered the city, these individuals withdrew into their own estates, not coming out.
Their thoughts were simple; as long as they didn’t show their faces, the matter had nothing to do with them.
No matter who took over here, whoever obtained political imperial power, it wouldn’t affect them at all, and they would continue their indulgence without hindrance.
After making minor adjustments here, they gathered all the soldiers together.
Meanwhile, the Grand General began to fulfill his promise; for those wishing to return home, travel expenses were immediately provided for them to freely go back, and those wishing to continue serving could be integrated into the current team.
Of course, once integrated into the army, their assignments would be adjusted, making sure there wouldn’t be large gatherings of familiar individuals, meaning no more than three acquaintances would be in a troop.
This was a very simple task considering a 70,000-strong army.
Moreover, around 3,000 individuals chose to return home, and promises weren’t broken, giving them sufficient travel expenses and silver taels to go home.
Of course, among them were devoted followers of the Eldest Prince who wouldn’t cease their activities easily.
After being singled out by the old man, these individuals were given special treatment.
This special treatment was determined based on their previous actions. After all, the old man was one of the high-ranking members among the Eldest Prince’s entourage, and well-familiar with those below him.
He knew precisely what kind of people they were, whether they had engaged in corruption, or exploited the people, thus when carrying out checks, no sheltering was done.
For this reason, there wasn’t a single person able to escape unnoticed.
To sum it up, when Lin Yi led this team away, the original 70,000-strong army had increased to 78,000.
In history, this could be considered quite absurd, as it’s unheard of for a war to result in more soldiers than when it began.
As for the previous city, it was naturally handed over to Leng Yu’s followers who arrived afterwards.
After this particular resistance, there were no major rebellions again, though messages were received sporadically later, but since the garrison had already been drawn away by the Eldest Prince, as such certain cities had only a few hundred guards, leaving them with no thoughts of resistance.
By the time they arrived, when Lin Yi led the army to the city gates, they were astounded to find the city gate wide open, as if beating drums to welcome them warmly.
