Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 501: Xia Zhining: You’re Not Planning to Massacre the City, Are You?

Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Xia Zhining: You’re Not Planning to Massacre the City, Are You?

Very soon, the Song people who were captured by the Jin Xia Army and brought to Haiyan Pass to serve as slaves were all rescued.

They knelt in front of Chen Mo’s carriage, crying and expressing their deep gratitude: "Thank you, General, for saving our lives. May we know your honorable name so that we can remember our benefactor and never forget?"

Their gratitude to Chen Mo was heartfelt.

After being captured by the Jin Xia Army and brought to Haiyan Pass, they were all sold to slave owners, chained up like goods, and put on display on the street for the people of Jin Xia to purchase, often suffering insults and beatings.

Most despicably, to fetch a good price, the slave owners would separate families, selling young children and girls for a higher price, while the elderly and feeble women were sold for the lowest price.

From then on, families were scattered, each member living separately.

Before being sold, they were treated worse than animals, locked in iron cages with over a dozen people, doing everything inside the cage.

Just when they thought they would live the rest of their lives this way, the Chen Army appeared.

To them, the Chen Army was undoubtedly a beacon of hope amid darkness.

"Listen well, this is Chen Mo, the Marquis of Pingting County, the youngest marquis of Great Song," Sun Meng said, stepping forward.

Luckily, Chen Mo became well-known early on, and they had heard of him even before they were captured by the Jin Xia Army and brought to Haiyan Pass.

"Thank you, Marquis Chen, for saving us."

Once again, the Song people expressed their endless gratitude to Chen Mo.

Before Chen Mo could speak, Sun Meng continued in a loud voice: "You may not be aware that after the Marquis defeated the enemy in Youzhou, he learned of your abduction to Haiyan Pass. Furious, he defied the court’s orders to attack Haiyan Pass and rescue you all. Now that Youzhou has been recaptured by the Marquis, he has come to take everyone home."

Hearing this, the Song people inside Haiyan Pass were so moved that tears streamed down their faces.

They never imagined that someone would care about their insignificant lives.

They immediately knocked their heads on the ground in gratitude towards Chen Mo again.

As Youzhou was a border province of Great Song, the common people were largely uneducated. In their excitement, some of them even started shouting long live the Marquis.

Yet such rebellious words drew no significant reaction from the Chen Army soldiers; rather, they regarded it as normal.

Chen Mo glanced at Sun Meng, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. The reason he attacked Haiyan Pass was no doubt because he learned of its lack of defense, allowing him to pursue a blow of victory.

Saving them was merely a coincidence.

But this misunderstanding was not something Chen Mo intended to clarify.

Instead, he allowed the misunderstanding to continue. He dismounted and approached one of the kneeling commoners at the front, helping him up, saying, "It’s cold, everyone, please get up first, beware of catching a chill."

"Th-thank you, Marquis." The person Chen Mo helped was a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion. Being treated this way by Chen Mo moved him to tears, finding it incredible that such a high-status Marquis would be so down-to-earth.

"You don’t need to do this. I am the Grand Commandant of Great Song, the Marquis of Pingting County. You are all citizens of Great Song, and with you trapped, how could I stand by idly?"

Saying this, Chen Mo robustly called out, "Someone, come."

Sun Meng stepped forward to receive orders.

"Take them to eat and rest," said Chen Mo.

"Understood," replied Sun Meng upon receiving the order.

...

After settling this matter, Chen Mo called Chang En over, asking him to lead the Personal Guard Battalion to clear out any remaining enemies at Haiyan Pass.

After that, he summoned Shao Jinneng.

"Marquis," Shao Jinneng said, cupping his hands in respect.

"I have a task for you," Chen Mo said.

"Please instruct me, Marquis," Shao Jinneng replied.

"You have three days. By whatever means necessary, and while trying to avoid killing, I need you to confiscate all the horses in Haiyan Pass that can be taken," Chen Mo instructed.

Upon hearing these words, Shao Jinneng was momentarily stunned before becoming immensely excited, clearly understanding Chen Mo’s intention.

It’s worth noting that the Chen Army’s military discipline was strict; without explicit orders, he would’ve definitely hesitated to perform such an act.

But now, he was given the leeway to act boldly.

Jin Xia had many warhorses, and this borderland undoubtedly had numerous horse farms for breeding horses.

Assigning this task to him strongly implied that the Brave Cavalry Guard would be expanded in the future.

"Understood." The word "understood" was delivered with resolute determination.

After Shao Jinneng left, Chen Mo called in Cui Shuang.

Similarly, he was given three days to gather all the Jin Xia inhabitants in Haiyan Pass.

"You’re not planning a massacre, are you?" Xia Zhining queried, walking over with a frown after Cui Shuang left.

Although the Jin Xia Army acted horribly in Yao’er City, retaliating by massacring them would be unacceptable.

It’s not that she was sanctimonious; indeed, such actions would be against heaven’s will.

There were elderly people and children among them.

The Jin Xia Army may be brutes, but we should not descend to their level.

"What are you thinking? Do I seem like the kind of person who indulges in slaughter?" Chen Mo scoffed at Xia Zhining.

The Yao’er City matter—if there was vengeance, it would be directed at the Jin Xia Army and the Jin Xia court, not the civilians.

"Then why gather the people of Guanzhong?" Xia Zhining asked, puzzled.

"To take them away," Chen Mo replied.

Xia Zhining: "???"

"Although we’ve occupied Haiyan Pass, we can’t hold it for long. It’s certain that Jin Xia reinforcements will arrive soon, and our battleline is stretched quite far. So, I plan to withdraw from Haiyan Pass in three days..."

As he spoke, a glint of shrewdness flashed in Chen Mo’s eyes. "But I don’t intend to make it easy for them, so I decided to leave them an empty city. I’ll take all these Jin Xia people back to Youzhou with me."

Xia Zhining: "..."

"Will that... work?" Xia Zhining asked.

Chen Mo nodded: "There have been many instances like this throughout history. Furthermore, Youzhou is close to Haiyan Pass. The customs and habits of both places are not very different. In the past, when the two countries were at peace, there were instances of trade and intermarriage between them."

...

Fengzhou.

News of the stabilization of the northern war spread like a tidal wave across the land at the beginning of December.

Being closest to Huai State, Fengzhou naturally faced it first.

To avoid a repeat of the earlier failure in attacking Huai State, Prince Huai prepared thoroughly, discussing various details.

In the study, after Prince Huai and Chu Ce finished discussing troop deployment, Diwu Fusheng rushed in urgently, saying: "Your Highness, something terrible has happened. News from the north says the Chen Army has completely annihilated Jin Xia’s Eastern Army, winning battle after battle, and recaptured Youzhou on November 27th, stabilizing the northern war. According to this timeline, Chen Mo could return triumphant before the New Year."

"Impossible, it’s false, all false. How could they stabilize it so quickly?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Huai was directly stunned, muttering in disbelief, his face flushing due to his intense emotions.