The butler of the Southern King's mansion replied, "His Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Now, I am the Southern King! Understand?" Xiao Feng said in a deep voice.
"Yes! Your Highness! No one dares to take over the land..." the butler sighed.
"Not even forced sales?" Xiao Feng frowned.
"Those merchants and families all say they have no ready cash, nor any jewels or valuables for barter..."
Xiao Feng sneered, "Obviously, they all know that the land will be confiscated by the Great Qian imperial court and cannot be kept! If it weren't for the fact that I still need them to help defend the city, I would have sent them away long ago!"
Dugu Xiao and He Anding, who were drinking with Xiao Feng, quickly reminded him.
"Your Highness, people's hearts are unsettled at this moment. You must not destroy your own foundation..."
"I know!" Xiao Feng replied perfunctorily, then looked at the uneasy crowd below and shouted, "What are you looking at? Let the music play and the dancing continue! Liang Xiao loves his people like his children and will not attack the city rashly. I have a plan to get you out of here!"
Outside, the army was pressing in, yet the Southern King's mansion was filled with singing, dancing, and revelry, indulging in the ultimate luxury of the mortal world.
The carpets were made of brocade, the cups and saucers of gold and jade, and even the tables and chairs were made of rare agarwood...
Just as Fanyu Prefecture was in a state of panic, the 200,000 Jiaozhou soldiers had completed their encirclement.
The Great Qian cavalry and the Yizhou Legion marched towards other prefectural cities in Jiaozhou, breaking through all resistance.
Upon understanding the situation, the prefects and generals of various regions tied up the people of the Southern King's mansion and the aristocratic families, surrendered their cities.
Only Fanyu Prefecture continued to resist stubbornly and refused to surrender.
"Marquis, General Lü's wife requests an audience!"
"General Lü did not come?" Liang Xiao, who was drafting official documents, asked with confusion upon hearing Yue Qingtian's report outside, and immediately granted the audience.
At this time, Yan Huai Xi had regained her grace as a young lady from a prominent family and bowed to Liang Xiao.
"The Commander-in-Chief already knows that I am actually the youngest daughter of the Prefect of Fanyu Prefecture. I had suggested to my husband that I enter the city to inform my father. He could not bear to let me take the risk, but I wish to repay my husband..." Yan Huai Xi murmured.
Liang Xiao understood and said with a smile, "Then you don't need to risk your life. After all, the situation is precarious for everyone inside the city. If you go, you might face death. Can you bear for General Lü to lose his beloved wife?"
Yan Huai Xi lowered her head and remained silent.
"If Madam wishes to repay him, why not write a letter? I will entrust the Silent Wolf Guards to deliver it into the city and leave the rest to fate. At the very least, it will notify your family, allowing them to protect themselves and avoid involvement in the conflict. However, out of courtesy, this matter should be truthfully reported to General Lü."
Yan Huai Xi was then relieved.
Liang Xiao sent someone to find Lü Changhe and informed him of the situation.
"Excellent!" Lü Changhe was finally relieved.
Yan Huai Xi, following Liang Xiao's advice, submitted the content of her letter and returned with Lü Changhe to await news.
At dusk, the soldiers of Fanyu Prefecture were still defending the city, their morale low.
Just then, singing erupted from all four sides outside Fanyu Prefecture, startling the entire city!
"This is our Jiaozhou folk song... Are the soldiers outside all from Jiaozhou? Have they surrendered to Marquis An Guo?"
The soldiers and civilians of Jiaozhou looked at each other, filled with a strange sense of anticipation.
Especially those families whose men were at the front lines eagerly awaited news.
The strategy of "Surrounded on all sides" was ironically used by Liang Xiao against Fanyu Prefecture, further intensifying the unrest within the city.
Xiao Feng was both angry and anxious, yet utterly helpless.
Given the precedent of the Helian family, he dared not take the citizens and soldiers hostage.
Shooting his own father had also greatly diminished his prestige among the troops, as these soldiers were recruited by Xiao Chang.
At this moment, all he wanted was to escape Jiaozhou and sail overseas.
"The Peacock Dynasty is out of the question. If I go there, I will surely be exploited to death. It would be better to try my luck overseas!" Xiao Feng muttered to himself, making his own calculations within the mansion.
In the dead of night, twenty-man teams from each of the four city walls infiltrated the city.
Prefect Yan Shiming, who was talking with his wife and children at home, had a worried expression.
"Prefect Yan!"
A low call from outside startled Yan Shiming's family.
Yan Shiming opened the door and was greatly surprised to find several masked men in the courtyard.
"You..."
Before Yan Shiming could ask, the masked men gestured for silence and handed him a secret letter.
"This is your daughter's letter. Your daughter has been saved by our Great Qian's General Lü Changhe and is now his wife," the Silent Wolf Guard said, handing over the letter without forgetting to explain.
Yan Shiming, skeptical, opened the letter and deciphered it with his wife.
"This is indeed Huai Xi's handwriting..."
As they read the contents of the letter, Yan Shiming's expression grew increasingly grim.
[Xiao Feng handed our child over to the Tianri cavalry. Those jackals are brutal, and our child suffered greatly. She was saved by General Lü, but has no way to repay him...]
Upon seeing this passage, Yan Shiming's wife covered her mouth and began to cry.
The letter was worded subtly, but they knew of the brutality of the Tianri cavalry and could imagine what Yan Huai Xi had endured...
After the entire family finished reading the letter, they were overcome with shame.
They dared not offend Xiao Feng and could only sacrifice Yan Huai Xi with heavy hearts. Little did they expect that it would be a Great Qian general who saved Yan Huai Xi!
Yan Shiming still looked warily at the Silent Wolf Guards, "May I ask who you are?"
"Silent Wolf Guard under Marquis An Guo, Night Wind. My Marquis hopes that Prefect Yan will not collude with Xiao Feng and will preferably make a statement." The leader immediately presented Liang Xiao's official document and his identity token, and then produced Xiao Chang's personal seal as proof.
Yan Shiming finally believed.
"Father? We don't have to die with them, do we?" Yan Shiming's eldest son urged.
The second son also suggested, "Why not abandon the darkness and embrace the light, cooperate with Marquis An Guo, and contact the soldiers within the city to instigate them to surrender?"
Yan Shiming said with a wry smile, "They have their spies everywhere. If we make any move, we will surely be exterminated. After all, they even dare to shoot their own father!"
Night Wind smiled, "There is no need to do that. My Marquis only needs the Prefect to provide a little intelligence and promises not to harm your family. To be precise, only the chief culprit Xiao Feng and his followers will be punished. The rest, who are not acting of their own volition and have committed no serious crimes, will be pardoned if they repent. The most important intelligence is: where are the densely populated areas within the city, and where are there many scholars?"
Yan Shiming nodded repeatedly, "This official will tell you everything!"
Two hours later, all the Silent Wolf Guards, carrying sacks, dispersed to various markets throughout the city.
The sacks contained stacks of newspapers, which the Silent Wolf Guards distributed everywhere, including at residents' doors, at academies, and in vegetable markets...
This ensured that even if the common people were illiterate, they could still learn the content through those who could read.
The next morning, all the citizens of the city knew the contents of the newspapers.
"The imperial court promises that after the recovery of Jiaozhou, all assets of the Southern King's family, the Dugu family, the Gongyang clan, the Ouyang clan, the Helian family, and the He family will be confiscated. All their land will be equally distributed among the people of Jiaozhou, and the money will be used for Jiaozhou's development!"
"His Majesty also said..."
"Marquis An Guo also said..."