Just as Jiang Pengji had said, she was there to collect a debt. Those who betrayed her and caused the soldiers under her command to die in vain were directly or indirectly related to these people. She was a magnanimous person, but she was also stingy. This debt must be paid with their heads!
Meng Heng and the others did not mistreat the prisoners, but before they were captured, these prisoners had been living a life of luxury. The mouthwash they used was a precious item that ordinary people could not afford. They suddenly lost everything and were treated like ordinary soldiers. Naturally, they could not adapt.
When they were brought before Jiang Pengji, their faces were yellow, oily, and dark. Their clothes were wrinkled like dried vegetables.
"Do you know who I am?"
Jiang Pengji asked them with a smile, but her smile did not have much of a smile. Instead, it gave the illusion that it was bone-chilling.
More than ten people were pressed to the ground and kneeling. Their hands were tied behind their backs. If they wore prison clothes, they would really look like prisoners.
One of them said, "Liu Xi, why did you capture us? Aren't you afraid of being despised and cruel?"
"Not only did I capture you, but I also wanted to kill you as a sacrifice. I can't control other people's mouths. They can say whatever they want. Can they hurt me? Whether it's your merits or demerits will be judged by future generations! You know very well what you've done, "Jiang Pengji said." Let me give you a piece of advice. If you confess, you'll be lenient. If you resist, you'll be severely punished. Admit it quickly. Don't make a fuss until you lose your last shred of dignity. That won't look good. "
Of course, there was evidence.
Meng Heng had always been cautious. The evidence of these fellows colluding with Huang Song was well kept. With such evidence in hand, Jiang Pengji could not kill them. Even if she killed their clansmen, people would only applaud and praise her for doing a good job.
When Jiang Pengji mentioned this, the few people who were jumping around suddenly stopped talking. They were guilty and afraid.
Everyone was scared out of their wits. Instead, one of them knelt down and asked her, "Do you have the ambition to rule the world?"
Jiang Pengji was not angry. Instead, she laughed and asked, "What do you think?"
"I know that I will die, so I dare not defend myself. But if you have such ambition, do you know that the reward is equal to the merit and the punishment is equal to the crime?"
The reward should be equal to the merit and the punishment should be equal to the crime.
Of course, Jiang Pengji understood what he meant.
"Are you implying that I'm not giving out proper rewards and punishments?"
That person shook his head. Of course, he wouldn't court death like that. This wasn't courage or backbone. This was courting death by dragging his entire family with him.
"I wouldn't dare — it's just that going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Although the crime of colluding with the enemy is punishable by death, there are also different degrees of severity." The man was so scared that he almost bit his tongue. His face was flushed red, but he still forced himself to say, "When rewards are given, the soldiers will definitely fight to kill the enemy and gain merit. The punishment is appropriate for the crime. Those who commit serious crimes will plead guilty, while those who commit light crimes will learn from it. They will be grateful and won't dare to do it again. This will also deter those who have ulterior motives. If the Duke of Lanting did not distinguish between right and wrong, regardless of the severity of the crime, and executed all of them, wouldn't that be unfair? "
Han Yu couldn't help but look at the man after he finished talking.
"What you said makes sense. The punishment for a completed crime and an attempted crime are always different." Jiang Pengji smiled and changed the topic. "But for me, colluding with the enemy is colluding with the enemy. It's a fact that you colluded with Bogao. Your ambition is written in black and white on the letter! Is it not a betrayal just because your family didn't have time to move to Bogao's territory? "
Normally, Jiang Pengji wouldn't have bothered to explain so much.
But Han Yu was there. She had to make it clear so that she wouldn't ruin her image.
The man's face turned red. He couldn't argue with Jiang Pengji.
"This is betrayal and colluding with the enemy!" Jiang Pengji continued, "If we really want to talk about the severity of the crime, you guys are slightly less serious than the families in Zhonghe County."
If it was more serious, they would die, but if it was less serious, they would still die.
The only difference was that the former would die more, while the latter would die less.
No one dared to make a sound.
The man took a deep breath and asked, "If that's the case, how does the Duke of Lanting plan to deal with us?"
"Kill them!"
It was an expected answer, but he was more concerned about how Jiang Pengji would deal with his family.
Jiang Pengji naturally didn't have that much time to deal with it. She directly handed it over to Han Yu.
The lightest punishment would be the extermination of one family, while the heaviest punishment would be the execution of all three families!
If Jiang Pengji was still the Commander of the federal army, she certainly wouldn't do that. According to the federal law, an individual who committed treason and colluded with the enemy would only be sentenced to death. In serious cases, the family members' freedom would be restricted and they would be put under observation for a few years, but they wouldn't lose their lives.
However, this was ancient times, a place where the development of all aspects of society was extremely backward.
Although the family members didn't have the intention to commit a crime, due to various considerations, they still had to be punished with capital punishment to achieve the effect of deterrence.
Jiang Pengji wouldn't be too serious about this. She still had to go with the flow.
Han Yu carried out his orders. The masterminds that he caught were all thrown to the flag by Jiang Pengji.
The flag was sacrificed before the expedition, so as to stimulate the soldiers' fighting spirit and morale.
Jiang Pengji also asked Wei Ci to write an elegiac oration for the 6,000 soldiers who had died in vain. The effect of this move was outstanding. The soldiers were sad and angry at the same time, but at the same time, their fighting spirit was ignited. They couldn't wait to rush to Huang Song and defeat him. The disloyal people were anxious. If they wanted to betray her in the future, they would have to think twice about whether the thing on their necks was more important or taking the risk for their future!
Jiang Pengji felt refreshed after collecting a debt. Next, she would go to Changye to settle things with Huang Song.
"All troops, set off!"
After the army rested and reorganized, they set off again. Jiang Pengji glanced at the bullet screen out of boredom. Only then did she realize that the bullet screen was much quieter.
It was really hard to adapt to a salted fish who didn't talk nonsense.
The salted fish was frightened by the way she sacrificed people to the flag. He trembled in front of the screen. Jiang Pengji looked at the bullet screen for a while, then she turned off the bullet screen and focused on marching. Wei Ci and the others were also silent. As time went by, their expressions became more and more solemn. The whole army was permeated with a solemn atmosphere.
This battle was related to whether the territory of Dongqing would be completely in Jiang Pengji's pocket. Naturally, no one was in the mood to talk about other things.
Jiang Pengji drew up a battle plan as they hurried on the road. She was so busy that she couldn't rest.
"Report — traces of the enemy's march have been found ahead!"
"It seems that we're on the right path," Jiang Pengji said. "All troops, on guard!"
Although it was only traces of the enemy's march, there was no guarantee that the enemy would launch a sneak attack halfway. It was better to be cautious and take precautions.
Because Jiang Pengji had to rendezvous with Luoyue, she wasted some time dealing with a few traitors and sacrificing them to the flag. Therefore, she was delayed for nearly two days.
Huang Song had set off earlier than her. It was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't set up an ambush.
In fact, Huang Song was even more nervous than she was.
However, the scouts that were sent out could not find any traces of Jiang Pengji's army. This made him even more flustered. He was like a criminal awaiting his death sentence.
In addition …
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