64: Chapter 64: Fighting without bloodshed

It was completely different from the brutal, bloody battle on Du Wei's side.

The eastern army led by Liu Chengfeng found their expedition to be more like a relaxed and pleasant armed parade.

Their first target was a band of over two hundred fierce bandits entrenched in Red Rock Ridge.

The terrain of Red Rock Ridge was dangerous, with only one exit; a direct assault would inevitably result in heavy losses.

Liu Chengfeng's army arrived at the gates, yet they did not launch an attack at all.

He simply ordered his ranger cavalry to utilize their superior mobility to completely surround Red Rock Ridge, cutting off all their escape routes.

They besieged without attacking.

The bandits of Red Rock Ridge spent two days in tension, only to find the enemy completely still, leaving them momentarily bewildered.

On the third day, Liu Chengfeng sent men to capture a few bandits who had snuck down the mountain to gather intelligence.

He did not kill them, nor did he beat them.

Instead, he brought them back to the camp and treated them to good food and drink.

He let them see with their own eyes the fine weapons and armor of the Panshi Stockade soldiers, forged from hundred-refined steel.

He let them taste for themselves the meals of Panshi Stockade, where meat was served at every meal.

Then, Liu Chengfeng personally stepped forward and, with a gentle and pleasant demeanor, explained the "Merit System" of Panshi Stockade to them.

He told them that as long as they were willing to surrender, they could not only save their lives but also be allocated land and take wives; if they were willing to work hard and earn merit, it was not impossible for them to be granted titles and provide for their families in the future.

To those bandits who lived from day to day, these words sounded like a fantasy.

They were half-skeptical, yet they could not help but feel a sense of longing.

Three days later, Liu Chengfeng released those few bandits, who had been fed until they were glowing with health.

The news spread rapidly within Red Rock Ridge like a plague.

Their morale was completely shaken.

On one side, there was the option of following the Chief Leader and dying trapped in these mountains, not knowing if they would live or die tomorrow.

On the other side, there was the option of defecting to Panshi Stockade and living a good life they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

How to choose was already self-evident.

Late that night, an infighting broke out in Red Rock Ridge.

The Second-in-Command united a group of trusted confidants and, taking advantage of the Chief Leader's deep sleep, ended his life with a single blade strike.

Then, carrying the bloody head, he opened the gates of the stronghold and knelt before Liu Chengfeng, expressing his willingness to surrender.

Without a drop of blood shed, Red Rock Ridge was taken!

After resolving Red Rock Ridge, Liu Chengfeng's next target was the Iron Scorpion Hall, known for being sinister and ruthless.

The Iron Scorpion Hall was entrenched in a damp valley, surrounded by venomous insects and traps, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Liu Chengfeng still did not choose a direct assault.

He asked his personal soldier Flank General, a hunter's son who grew up in the mountains, to determine the wind direction.

After obtaining accurate information, he ordered his soldiers to ignite dozens of huge haystacks at the windward side.

Those haystacks contained more than just ordinary hay.

They were also mixed with a large amount of dried chili peppers and pungent wolf feces collected from wolf habitats.

Billowing yellow-green smoke, carried by the wind like a poisonous Dragon, poured into the valley where the Iron Scorpion Hall was located.

For a time, screams echoed continuously within the valley.

Those bandits who prided themselves on being experts in poison were choked by this purely physical "chemical weapon," their tears and snot streaming down, coughing incessantly, instantly losing all combat effectiveness.

Subsequently, the ranger cavalry of Panshi Stockade beat drums and shouted from all sides, putting on a show of force.

The psychological defenses of the Iron Scorpion Hall bandits completely collapsed; they were defeated without a fight, crying and running out of the valley to kneel in surrender.

In this operation, Flank General relied on his precise hunter's experience to find the best location to release the smoke, earning the first merit for the army and receiving public praise from Liu Chengfeng.

In the next ten days or so.

Liu Chengfeng used these endless schemes, which could be called dimensionality reduction strikes.

Whether attacking the heart, leveraging momentum, or sowing discord...

Wherever his forces pointed, they were invincible.

Quicksand Ferry, Bone-Crushing Camp, the Thirteen Soul-Breaking Eagles...

One after another, powers that were once notoriously fierce in Ghost Sees Sorrow were swept away by him with ease, as if they were made of paper.

Throughout the entire process, the casualties of Panshi Stockade did not even exceed single digits.

Half a month later.

Liu Chengfeng led his troops, who had suffered almost no losses and had actually grown stronger by incorporating surrendered soldiers, to the Three-Forked Crossing.

At this time, the flag of Panshi Stockade had long been planted at the Three-Forked Crossing.

Du Wei was resting there with his Tiger Guard Battalion.

When Liu Chengfeng saw Du Wei, this iron-faced general still had thick bandages wrapped around his shoulder, with no less than a dozen wounds of varying sizes on his body, and his whole being exuded a scent of blood and Evil Qi that had yet to dissipate.

The Tiger Guard Battalion soldiers behind him were also mostly wounded, but that elite aura of having survived a hundred battles was even sharper.

Looking at his own side, they were strong and well-equipped, almost completely unscathed.

Liu Chengfeng smiled, walked up, and handed over a flask of good wine.

"General Du, you've worked hard."

"After this battle, in Ghost Sees Sorrow, no one will dare to be an enemy of our Panshi Stockade again."

Du Wei took the flask and took a big gulp. The pungent wine flowed down his throat, causing a hint of a smile to appear on his cold, stern face.

He looked at Liu Chengfeng and the almost completely intact army behind him. A trace of complexity flashed in his eyes, but more than that, it was heartfelt admiration.

One civil, one martial; one wise, one brave.

They used two completely different methods, yet both perfectly completed the task assigned by the Stockade Master.

The two looked at each other and smiled; everything was understood without words.

From then on, except for the mysterious Hundred Ghost Cave, all forces in the entire Gui Jian Chou Mountain Range had been swept away.

The hegemonic status of Panshi Stockade was now unshakable!

When Du Wei and Liu Chengfeng led the victorious army, escorting a large number of surrendered soldiers and supplies, returning to Panshi Stockade in a grand procession, the entire valley completely boiled over.

The earth-shaking cheers, like a tangible wave of sound, swept through every corner of the valley.

Everyone, whether they were the veterans of Panshi Stockade or the newly attached refugees, had faces overflowing with heartfelt, fanatical joy.

They knew that from this day on, this chaotic land known as "Ghost Sees Sorrow" had finally welcomed its only master.

And they were the subjects of this master!

Gao Feng personally led all the remaining personnel to welcome the triumphant army at the valley entrance.

He looked at Du Wei and Liu Chengfeng, and at the endless procession behind them, his heart filled with soaring ambition.

He announced publicly that the army would rest for three days and reward the entire force!

During these three days, the entire Panshi Stockade was immersed in an ocean of joy.

Mountains of meat were brought out, and fragrant, mellow wine was served like flowing water.

The soldiers ate meat in large mouthfuls, drank wine from large bowls, and sang loudly, celebrating this hard-won victory.

Yet, as the creator of all this, Gao Feng was not immersed in the joy of victory.

His gaze looked further ahead.

War was merely a means.

Development was the eternal goal.

After the rewards were finished, larger-scale post-war integration and construction began in an orderly manner.

The mansion of Liu Chengfeng, the "General of Peace and Stability," became the busiest place.

He began strict identification, screening, and reorganization of all surrendered soldiers.

Those bandit leaders who had committed heinous crimes and caused great public outrage were mercilessly handed over to Du Wei's Law Enforcement Hall for public trial and execution to appease the people.

Those who were strong and had no bad records were broken up and incorporated into various units as auxiliary soldiers.

The remaining majority were transferred to become laborers, into the bustling construction work.

Du Wei's "Law Enforcement Hall" was also officially established.

He selected one hundred veteran soldiers from the Tiger Guard Battalion with the strictest discipline and the calmest minds to form the first "Military Police Unit" of Panshi Stockade.

They wore specially made black uniforms, carried sabers at their waists, and had brass plates engraved with the words "Law Enforcement" tied to their arms, patrolling the stronghold day and night.

Anyone who dared to violate military law or provoke trouble, whether a new recruit or a veteran, regardless of rank, would be mercilessly apprehended and severely punished by them.

Under Du Wei's impartial governance, the public order of Panshi Stockade reached an unprecedented level.

The small frictions that used to be caused by old and new soldiers or different factional cliques completely disappeared.

The entire stronghold presented a scene of prosperity and strict discipline.

The changes in the stronghold were not only reflected in the system and military equipment but were also carved into the daily lives of every ordinary commoner—Wang Laosi was one of them.

He was an ordinary old farmer, thin and dark-skinned, his back slightly hunched from years of labor, his face etched with the weathering of time.

Half a year ago, he was still a tenant farmer under Dushan Stronghold, exploited until he could barely survive.

At that time, his daily life was one of numbness.

Numbly working from sunrise to sunset.

Numbly handing over a large portion of the pitiful harvest he scraped from the land to the masters on the mountain.

Numbly watching his wife and children grow thinner day by day because they couldn't get enough to eat.

He could not see hope, nor could he feel a future.

Living, for him, was just a form of suffering.

Until one day, the army of Panshi Stockade, like divine soldiers descending from heaven, annihilated Dushan Stronghold.

He and other tenant farmers were brought to this valley.

At first, he was very afraid.

He thought he had just fallen from a wolf's den into another tiger's lair.

But everything that happened next completely overturned his perception.

He was allocated land.

A full five mu of fertile land, land that truly and genuinely belonged to Wang Laosi himself!

When he received the deed with his name on it from the hands of the skinny monkey official in the household registration office, his rough hands trembled so much he could barely hold it.

He had lived for over fifty years and never dared to dream that one day he could own his own land.

He cried.

He cried like a child.

From that day on, he felt as if he had come back to life.

Every day before dawn, he would carry his hoe to his own land.

He would tirelessly till the soil, weed, and water, tending to those five mu of land more carefully than he would his own father.

What he planted were the "Spirit Seeds" personally distributed by Lady Luo Qin, which were said to have been blessed by the Mountain God (who was their Stockade Master Gao Feng).

Those wheat seeds were indeed extraordinary.

Now, it was only late autumn, and the wheat seedlings in the field had already grown half a foot tall.

Every stalk was thicker and greener than any wheat seedling he had ever seen before!

That oily green expanse, like emeralds, rippled in waves in the autumn breeze.

Wang Laosi squatted on the ridge of the field, watching this pleasing growth, his dark face creased with smiles.

He knew that as long as there were no accidents, next spring would definitely be a bumper harvest year!

At noon, the bell for meals would ring in the stronghold.

He would put down his work and go to the nearby construction site to collect his lunch.

It was a kind of porridge made from cornmeal and wild vegetables.

Although it was coarse grain, it was boiled very thick and was filling.

What made him unable to believe it most was that there were even minced meat mixed in the porridge!

Although not much, the rich aroma of meat made him want to swallow his own tongue every time.

This was a luxury he wouldn't even dare to imagine during the New Year in the past!

After eating his fill, he would return to the fields to continue working, his whole body filled with endless energy.

In the evening, his twelve-year-old son, Little Stone, would run back excitedly from the "Panshi Night School" on the other side of the stronghold.

Little Stone used to be a silent, somewhat self-abased child.

But since going to the night school, he had completely changed.

He became talkative and cheerful, his eyes shining with a light called "confidence" that had never been there before.

"Dad! Look! I've learned ten more characters!"

Little Stone would proudly pull out a small wooden board from his arms like he was showing a treasure, with a few characters written crookedly in charcoal on it.

He would stutteringly read them one by one to Wang Laosi.

"High... Mountain... Flow... Water... People... Have... Rice... To Eat..."

Wang Laosi didn't recognize a single character.

But he understood the last sentence.

Everyone has food to eat.

This was what the Stockade Master personally taught the children in the night school.

It was also the simplest and greatest truth in this stronghold.

Looking at his son's hopeful face, Wang Laosi's eyes would always involuntarily moisten.

He knew that his son's future destiny would definitely be different from his own.

He would no longer be illiterate, and he would no longer spend his whole life as a mud-legged peasant facing the yellow earth and backing the sky.

He would have a bright future.

Sometimes, he would see a squad of military police in black uniforms patrolling past the field ridges.

That was the newly established unit of General Du.

They were all in neat military attire, with serious expressions, looking straight ahead.

Seeing them, Wang Laosi no longer felt the fear and dread he used to feel when seeing the bandits of Dushan Stronghold.

Instead, his heart was filled with a sense of security and stability.

He knew that with these people around, no one would ever dare to bully them, the honest and law-abiding commoners, again.

His gaze would cross the fields and look toward the deepest part of the valley.

There, a massive building, like a small mountain, was rising from the ground.

That was the iron smelting blast furnace personally supervised by the Stockade Master.

It billowed thick smoke day and night.

That smoke was not as choking as the cooking smoke of the past.

It seemed to carry a scorching power, the heart of the entire stronghold, beating fiercely.

Wang Laosi stood up and patted the dirt off his body.

He tidied up his clothes, which were patched but clean.

Then, he turned towards the distance, in the direction of the highest beacon tower where Gao Feng lived.

He bowed piously and deeply, pressing his forehead tightly against this land that had granted him new life and hope.

He did not speak.

But two lines of warm tears flowed silently down his furrowed cheeks, dripping into the soil beneath his feet.