The Bodyguard King's CEO Wife

Chapter 1695: Chapter 1695: Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkey

Ye Shikai’s guards were all the elite of the military, and the Hidden Guards were composed of cultivators. Hundreds of them arrived in the blink of an eye, terrifying the Chu Army soldiers, causing their knees to go weak and their weapons to drop to the ground.

"What are you people doing?" Ye Shikai shouted loudly, drawing his sword and riding a tall horse. The Chu Army soldiers weren’t foolish; upon seeing this ’God of Slaughter,’ they didn’t dare breathe heavily.

"Ge...General, these people behaved strangely. We were worried... worried they were robbers, so we..."

"You’re talking nonsense." Suddenly, a man stood out from among the civilians, pointing at those few Chu Army soldiers, "You clearly are taking advantage of the chaos. The Qin and Chu are at war, and we and the nearby villagers have been displaced, and you came to rob us."

At this point, the situation was already very clear. Ye Shikai had seen and heard it himself; these were not Chu Army soldiers, but local thugs.

"Yes, General, please stand up for us. These military bullies have been robbing passing civilians, seizing money. If anyone resists, they at least beat them severely, at worst... they kill them." An elderly woman cried.

"General, don’t listen to their one-sided story. We really... truly were investigating the details."

"Is that so." Ye Shikai said coldly, slowly walking to the leader of the Chu Army, pointing at the group of civilians.

"Children three or four years old, do you think they’re robbers too?"

"This..."

"According to military law, those who seize civilians’ money receive fifty lashes, and those who harm civilians are sentenced to death without pardon." As Ye Shikai’s words fell, his sword also fell, and the leader of the Chu Army fell into a pool of blood, dead with one strike.

Though Ye Shikai had resigned and left the camp, he couldn’t sit idly by in the face of such civilian oppression. Only executing on the spot could quell public anger. What’s more, stepping back, this was still Ye Shikai’s responsibility. After all, he had just left the camp, and this group of soldiers had been misbehaving here for a while. In other words, during his command, such behavior had already existed, yet he had been completely unaware.

Seeing the leading officer killed, the remaining soldiers trembled all over, terrified to the extreme. Heads rolling, this was no joke.

"The rest of you, today I spare your lives. Hand over all the silver tael you’ve seized. If I see you doing evil again, your end will be worse than his." Ye Shikai shouted loudly, and the soldiers were relieved as if pardoned, quickly taking out all the silver tael they had seized, fearing Ye Shikai would change his mind, and hurriedly slipped away.

"Dear villagers, please accept these silver tael. Before you find a new stable place to live, this money can help you." Ye Shikai said lightly.

"Thank you, General."

"Thank you, General."

The crowd kneeled and kowtowed, Ye Shikai quickly told them to rise. Truth be told, he originally intended to punish those soldiers severely. What he couldn’t tolerate was bullying the weak and killing innocents. But he had only his guards with him, no large army, unable to "gift" each with fifty military lashes. Yet to execute them all seemed too cruel, so he could only "kill the chicken to warn the monkeys," killing the leader to set an example.

"Villagers, hurry up and rise, take the silver tael, and continue on your way." Ye Shikai urged. The war had displaced countless civilians, most Qin Army in Sichuan faced little resistance. Though it seemed ’weak,’ they at least preserved the peace of some civilians. Previously, Ye Shikai’s mind was all about the war, neglecting these "aftermath issues." Now upon returning, the problems were more severe than he had anticipated.

All along the way, Ye Shikai held a Token, allowing him unhindered passage. Many fortress guards recognized his identity and naturally didn’t dare stop him. It seemed Mi Wen hadn’t sent orders to obstruct him.

Rear Guard Camp.

"Old Ye, you...why have you come?" Shangguan Jian looked at the visitor, first stunned, then shocked, and "thudded" directly kneeled down before him.

"Old Ye, it’s...it’s my fault to you." Shangguan Jian suddenly slapped his face hard.

"Shangguan, what are you doing? Stand up." Ye Shikai quickly pulled him up from the ground.

"I didn’t follow your orders well. That day, Lord came to invite me for a drink, and after I’d had just a few cups, I... I passed out. When I woke up, I heard...heard those war prisoners were buried and killed." Shangguan Jian said while crying, scolding himself, clearly full of guilt. Before Ye Shikai left, he had instructed multiple times for Shangguan Jian to guard the prisoners well. Without Ye Shikai’s military order, no one could touch them.

"It’s alright, it’s not your fault." Ye Shikai learned the truth, a flash of seriousness in his eyes. There must have been sedatives in the wine, and Mi Wen had definitely planned it all out. She knew how loyal Shangguan Jian was to Ye Shikai; as long as it was Ye Shikai’s order, even with Mi Wen present, he would carry it out without fail. If Mi Wen had directly ordered the killing of prisoners, Shangguan Jian would certainly have resisted to the death, even mobilizing his four thousand troops. Thus, the best way was to knock him out, then order the troops to move and kill.

"Old Ye, why have you returned?" After calming down, Shangguan Jian curiously asked.

"To be honest, I resigned."

"What." Like everyone, upon hearing this news, Shangguan Jian was shocked, but quickly understood. He realized why Ye Shikai suddenly resigned, it was certainly because of Mi Wen burying and killing prisoners.

"It’s nothing too surprising. I neither crave wealth nor power. The position of Chu Army commader was not what I wanted in the first place. After resigning, life may be more relaxed." Ye Shikai continued, "Moreover, without an official position, I can spend more time at home with Ling’er. Now, the war situation is stable, and the remaining matters, Lord can handle well on his own."

Indeed, without an official position, he could spend time with He Linghan. Thinking of this, Ye Shikai’s mind flashed with longing; without an official position, life is lighter, and after this matter, Mi Wen surprisingly ’softened’ towards him. Days ahead might bring some peace.

"Shangguan, though I’ve resigned now, you, Man Cang, Wan Qi Yuan all stay in the military. In the future, take care of each other. Besides, I’m planning to place Mr. Xu with you, he’s a strategic genius, in critical moments, he can be of great help to you."

"Don’t worry, Old Ye."

"Alright, I won’t say much more. I’ve just resigned, worrying Lord might change her mind. I can’t stay here long, soon I’ll depart for Linxian."