177: Persuade to surrender

A few days later, Lin Yue finally received his Fief.

His Majesty incorporated two villages near the town into Lin Yue's Fief.

He also received a hundred taels of silver, all as a reward for uncovering a major case involving a million catties of grain.

It was said that on the day Li Yannian was officially sentenced to decapitation, more than three hundred people were killed in one go, and heads rolled in the marketplace, the smell of blood lingering for three days straight.

Lin Yue didn't go to see any of this, as it was a bit far, he only heard about it from others.

But how did the grain become a million catties again?

Just with the tens of thousands of Mountain Bandits on the mountain? Even tens of thousands of pigs couldn't eat that much!

What Lin Yue didn't know was that Wang Li might have had some hearing problems. When She Jian reported, he mistakenly heard 'ten' as 'four' again, and a memorial about four hundred thousand catties of grain was rewritten by She Jian.

Then, when it reached Prince Fusu, to prevent anyone from holding onto lucky and making a big mistake, and to deter them, he rounded it up.

Lin Yue wanted to say, there's no rounding up like this, even with conventional rounding!

Going back and forth several times a day, the memorial was revised again and again, and She Jian's legs were almost worn out.

Finally, when Prime Minister Li Si saw Li Mu's signature guaranteeing its accuracy, he grimaced and accepted it.

Eventually, when this major case of a million catties of grain was announced nationwide, it shocked the world!

However, those with discerning minds knew what was going on, which is why this case, despite its huge fanfare, resulted in a very small Fief for Lin Yue, and no one raised objections.

After all, if it truly were such a major case, and Lin Yue only received a Fief of two villages, someone would surely jump out to voice injustice for Lin Yue.

They would do it not for Lin Yue, but for their own future achievements.

Along with this nationwide major case, another imperial decree from His Majesty arrived.

That was, The First Emperor, out of compassion for the hardships of the Mountain Bandits, specifically allowed those Mountain Bandits whose consciences were not completely lost and whose hearts still belonged to Great Qin, to descend and surrender.

They only needed to serve Great Qin in labor for two years to atone for their sins, and then they could obtain household registration in Great Qin.

Lin Yue couldn't help but sigh. The strategy of sealing off the mountains starved the Mountain Bandits until their chests touched their backs, and then a strategy of inviting surrender would surely result in a line of people so long it could encircle Great Qin!

Indeed, a good tactic.

It seems the Epang Palace in the game can finally come into existence!

Subsequently, Lin Yue and the White Horse Camp went to Xishan together.

Most of the Mountain Bandit leaders had been killed by Zi Long, Yang Dengshan, and Wu De, and it would take six days in the game for them to revive.

Now, with only one day left until their revival, this was precisely when the Mountain Bandits were hungry, starving, and leaderless. Going to persuade them to surrender, wouldn't both sides hit it off instantly?

It was simply a godsend opportunity!

No sooner said than done. By the time Lin Yue arrived at the foot of Xishan, it was barely morning.

Lin Yue said, "Start cooking!"

Xing Daorong, who was beside him, asked in confusion, "My Lord, we just had breakfast. What are we eating now?

We're not those pigs on the mountain."

"Just do what you're told, where's all this nonsense coming from!" Lin Yue cursed.

"Understood!" Xing Daorong chuckled sheepishly and then ordered the cooking camp to start preparations.

Then, when the aroma filled the mountain, Lin Yue led his men swaggering up the mountain.

Because of the continuous mountain blockade and Lin Yue taking away their rightful grain last time, everyone on the mountain, except for the Zang Ai Family, had no grain left.

Therefore, the path up the mountain was not met with the slightest resistance; not even a single scout, usually present, was seen.

"Ma Hao, it's up to you," Lin Yue said.

He and Meng Fang both had loud voices, practicing similar cultivation methods. He was a talent Lin Yue borrowed from She Jian when he came, prepared for this surrender!

"Understood! Colonel, you can count on your Subordinate," Ma Hao said, patting his chest with a laugh.

Lin Yue nodded, and then he shouted:

"By His Majesty's order! Lay down your weapons, two years of labor! Limited spots, first come, first served!"

"By His Majesty's order! Lay down your weapons, two years of labor! Limited spots, first come, first served!"

"..."

Ma Hao shouted loudly. His voice wasn't deafening, but it could carry very far, echoing through the mountain, with faint reverberations.

"First come, first served" was added by Lin Yue. He didn't know if scarcity marketing would work here, but he wanted to try.

The Mountain Bandits were greatly alarmed upon hearing this. How did the Qin Army manage to reach here!

But then, when they clearly heard what Ma Hao was shouting, they all hesitated!

Two years of labor? Could this be true?

There were also busybodies who, dragging their weak bodies, went out to investigate. Seeing that the Qin Army had indeed reached the mountain, appearing not far from him, he instinctively wanted to run.

"Grumble!"

But his stomach reminded him at the opportune moment that even if they ran, without food, they wouldn't live for more than a few days.

So he bravely asked:

"Sir, is it really just surrender and no killing?"

"The death penalty can be waived, but the living punishment cannot be avoided. You need to labor for two years, and only after washing away your sins can you become a citizen of Great Qin!" Lin Yue said.

"Two years of labor?

Good, good. It doesn't matter where I work.

Sir, I surrender!"

"Someone, take him down the mountain for some porridge," Lin Yue instructed, then helped the extremely weak Mountain Bandit down the mountain.

Subsequently, Ma Hao and the Army walked and shouted!

The Mountain Bandits were all somewhat moved by the voices, but a portion of the players were unwilling to descend the mountain.

"Don't believe them. Could Great Qin be that kind-hearted?

If they were that kind-hearted, would we be starving here?" Chen Wang said.

Guild Leader Shao Tianlong died in battle a few days ago, but he fortunately escaped. Now that Shao Tianlong has not yet revived, he is the highest authority in the Guild.

"But we have no food, and they've already reached here, so we can't escape either," a Mountain Bandit said.

"Then fight!" Chen Wang threw out the toothpick in his hand and said, "As long as we work together, those few people who came up the mountain are no match for all the Mountain Bandits!"

"Vice Guild Leader, should we send a brother to scout the enemy? What if it's true?"

"You don't even think, how could it be true?" Chen Wang said with a sneer.

As a player, he had never suffered since childhood. How could he choose to serve two years of labor for a Great Qin household registration in the game?

"But we have no food, and we'll starve to death soon anyway. Since we're going to die sooner or later, why not try today!" the Mountain Bandit said.

"Try what? Follow me to ambush them and break through their lines!" Chen Wang laughed.

He had secretly eaten the last remaining grain in the Guild, so he felt no hunger at all now.

As the Vice Guild Leader of the Tianlong Guild, he was usually pampered. Making him do labor would be more painful than killing him!

So he would do everything in his power to break through their lines!

But at the same time, he also started calling for people in the regional chat channel.

Because he knew he couldn't be the one to stick his neck out!