192: Chapter 192 The Second Son

"Light the fire!"

A torch was thrown inside.

"Boom—!"

The kerosene ignited instantly, and a raging fire blocked the gate tunnel, with tongues of flame leaping more than a person's height.

Ma Lie, who was charging at the very front, abruptly reined in his horse. A wave of heat hit his face, and his warhorse whinnied and backed away a few steps.

"Damn it, this bastard is truly ruthless!"

Ma Lie cursed, looked at the wall of fire in front of him, and gritted his teeth.

"Brothers, charge with me!"

He squeezed his horse's flanks, and the spiritual power within his body circulated wildly, forming a layer of protective spiritual light on the surface of his body.

Then, he charged headlong into the fire.

The dozen or so personal guards behind him also gritted their teeth and followed.

The flames scorched their protective spiritual light, emitting a sizzling sound.

A few personal guards with slightly lower cultivation levels had their spiritual light burned through; their clothes caught fire, and they howled in pain.

But they did not retreat.

They followed Ma Lie and forced their way through the wall of fire.

The moment they rushed out of the sea of fire, Ma Lie's hair was singed, and his face was covered in black and red patches, making him look extremely disheveled.

But he couldn't care about that; he raised his long saber and hacked at the defending troops in front of him.

"Kill—!"

The dozen or so personal guards followed him into the city and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the defending troops.

The defending troops inside the city had little fighting spirit to begin with, and seeing Ma Lie and his men rushing in while covered in fire, they were scared until they were Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

"Ghosts! They are ghosts!"

"Run!"

Of the 1,200 defending troops, fewer than 300 actually came up to fight; the rest were all running backward.

Ma Lie led his personal guards on a rampage through the city, swinging his long saber, and with every swing, someone fell.

Before long.

The Yunzhou Army behind them also charged through the wall of fire one after another and joined the battle.

1,500 against 1,200, and the difference in morale was like heaven and earth.

This battle had no suspense from the very beginning.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the defending troops were either dead or surrendered, and no one resisted anymore.

Su Bai rode his horse and slowly entered Mu City.

On both sides of the street, the commoners hid behind their doors, peeking out through the cracks, all trembling with fear.

Su Xing led a few scouts at the front of the formation, shouting as they walked.

"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid! We are the Yunzhou Army! We are the men of General Su Bai!"

"General Su has defeated that remnant of the previous dynasty, General Li Tao, and from today on, Mu City belongs to General Su!"

"Everyone's good days are coming!"

Behind the door cracks, the expressions of the commoners changed from fear to confusion, and then from confusion to surprise.

"Su Bai? Is that the General Su who opened the granaries to distribute grain in Ze City?"

"I heard he was serving porridge in Ze City and even distributing land to the commoners!"

"If he runs Mu City, will we be able to have food to eat too?"

"General Su is a good man!"

One door after another was pushed open.

The commoners walked out of their houses and stood on both sides of the street, watching the Yunzhou Army enter the city.

Although they were still a little scared, there was no longer any fear in their eyes; instead, it was replaced by a sense of anticipation.

Su Bai rode on his horse and nodded to the commoners on both sides.

He did not say any grand or boastful words.

He just let Su Xing take some men to post public notices to reassure the people in the city.

The notice was written simply and clearly: From today on, Mu City is exempt from all harsh taxes and levies; commoners tilling their own fields only need to pay 20% of their harvest as military rations.

After this notice was posted, the entire Mu City was in an uproar.

"20%? General Li Tao used to collect 50%!"

"General Su is truly an upright official!"

"Heaven has opened its eyes; a good official has finally come!"

The commoners ran to tell each other the news, their faces wearing long-lost smiles.

Su Bai watched this scene and smiled with relief.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for recapturing Mu City. Reward: Popular Support.】

【Effect: From now on, every time a city is captured, public support will increase by 50%.】

Su Bai was stunned for a moment, then his heart stirred.

For every city captured, public support automatically increases by 50%?

Doesn't that mean the more places he conquers, the more the commoners will welcome him?

Then what if one day he attacks the capital...

The corners of Su Bai's mouth slowly curled up.

How would the people of the capital see him?

Would they line the streets to welcome him like the people of Mu City, or would they treat him as a traitor?

Thinking of this, Su Bai suddenly felt a little curious.

"General, what are you thinking about?"

Ma Lie leaned over, his face still covered in black marks from the fire, looking extremely comical.

Su Bai glanced at him and held back a laugh: "Nothing. Pass the order down: the whole army will rest for half a month. Half a month later, we will set off for Jing Prefecture."

"Jing Prefecture?"

Ma Lie's eyes lit up, "General, are you going to attack Jing Prefecture?"

Su Bai nodded.

"Jing Prefecture is the territory of King Zhou Li. I heard there is a fourth-rank City Protection Array there; it won't be easy to attack." Ma Lie scratched his head.

"Even if it's hard to attack, we must attack." Su Bai said indifferently, "Rest for half a month, let the brothers get their energy back."

"Yes!"

Ma Lie turned and went to pass the order.

Before long, the Yunzhou Army in the city shouted in unison.

"General Su is mighty!"

"General Su is mighty!"

"General Su is mighty!"

The sound was earth-shaking, and even General Li Tao's flag planted on the city wall was shaken down.

The commoners stood on both sides of the street, watching the spirited soldiers of the Yunzhou Army, and followed along, shouting.

"General Su is mighty!"

An old man tremblingly raised his hand and let out the first shout.

Immediately after, more people joined in.

Su Bai rode on his horse, listening to the mountain-shaking and sea-roaring cheers, and he couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.

He knew that these people were not cheering for him, Su Bai, but for the three words: "having enough to eat."

Whoever lets them have enough to eat, they will cheer for that person.

That is enough.

The City Lord's Mansion.

General Li Tao's residence was much more luxurious than Su Bai had imagined.

A large courtyard with three entrances and three exits, with carved beams and painted pillars, rockeries, and flowing water; it was more than a grade better than the City Lord's Mansion in Ze City.

Su Bai walked into the main hall, looked around, and couldn't help but exclaim.

"This old guy has squeezed quite a lot of the people's wealth."

Su Xing followed behind him, holding a booklet in his hand, which was the inventory of General Li Tao's family assets.

"General, General Li Tao served as the garrison commander in Mu City for six years. He extorted over 200,000 taels of silver alone, not to mention countless grains, cloth, and medicinal materials. Besides..."

Su Xing paused and looked up at Su Bai.

"Besides what?"

Su Bai sat on the main seat and picked up a teacup to take a sip.

"Besides, General Li Tao has eleven concubines. I don't know how you want to handle them?"

"Pfft—"

Su Bai spat out a mouthful of tea.

"How many?"

"Eleven."

Su Xing also said somewhat indignantly, "Every single one of them is a decent woman he forcibly snatched from Mu City and surrounding villages and towns. The oldest is no more than twenty-five, and the youngest is only sixteen."

Su Bai put down the teacup, his expression darkening.

"This beast."

He was silent for a while, then suddenly asked: "How many wives do I have?"

Su Xing was stunned: "What did you say, General?"

"I mean, how many wives do I have now?"

Su Xing counted on his fingers: "First Madam Zhou Qingying, Madam Lin Weiwei, Madam Su Mei, Madam Ji Yingying, Madam Fang Liu, Madam Li Qing, Madam Ma Zhenhua, Madam Lin Chanchan... eight wives."