Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains
Chapter 843 - 843: 369, Consecutive Conquest of 7 Cities, The Reality and Illusion of the Chan Sect (Part 3)

Qingzhi County, in the city center.

Hou Yucheng stood in midair, put away the Hou Clan identity token, and looked at the Red Flame Army cleaning up the battlefield below. He didn't pay attention to the bloodstains on his armor and plunged directly into the square below, observing the captives being continuously brought in from outside, with a cold light flashing in his pupils.

"Second Master, there are still over twenty thousand sect members of Leiyin Temple in the county. The captured garrison numbers forty-three thousand. How should these people be dealt with?"

"How many are willing to surrender?"

"Less than ten thousand!"

"The remaining fifty thousand or so, none are willing to surrender?"

"Essentially only the Huang Chan Army originally surrendered, but the majority are from the city itself, and those unwilling to surrender are all sect members of Leiyin Temple. Judging by their accent and habits, they likely followed Leiyin Temple from Jizhou down south, not accepting us, quite normal."

Hou Yucheng's brows slightly furrowed; the five town soldiers he led only totaled a hundred thousand. From yesterday to today, they captured four county towns and suffered nearly a thousand losses.

The surrendered soldiers from the previous four counties are actually similar to Qingzhi County, numbering between fifty and seventy thousand, with the proportion willing to surrender also roughly the same, around ten to twenty thousand.

Capturing these cities isn't the end; he still needs to assign people to oversee them. Both the surrendered soldiers and civilians, as well as the Leiyin Temple sect members lurking in the shadows waiting to counterattack, need tight supervision. Currently, Jiuchi County is stationed with four towns' worth of soldiers, and under his orders, these ten thousand troops have been divided into four parts to be stationed in each of the four counties, carrying out oversight.

Twenty-five thousand soldiers, plus over ten thousand surrendered soldiers, overseeing and guarding against forty or fifty thousand unarmed captives is just about right. If no special circumstances arise, Qingzhi County can also mimic the methods of the previous four counties.

The problem is, it's different!

Qingzhi County is different from the previous four counties; it is the focal point connecting Pengkang and Jiuchi counties. As soon as my brother captures Pengkang County, then Jinyang and Pingchuan in the north of Pengkang Prefectural City will be trapped, and capturing them means the entire Pengkang County is in our hands. At that time, the two counties will join into one, cutting Jianye Prefecture into a third, effectively enclosing the Hexi forces within this one-third portion of territory. By then, for Leiyin Temple to seize it back, it won't be so easy.

Such an important place as Qingzhi County might very well become Leiyin Temple's key target, so he must ensure there's no chance of failure. At present, he has only ninety thousand troops left, already severely insufficient. He will have to transfer a town's troops from Jiuchi County over for support, unable to spare any to specially guard those fifty thousand captives.

Hou Yucheng looked at the surrendered prisoners not far away, with a cold flash in his pupils.

"Give them another half-hour, if they're still unwilling to surrender, then let them be!"

"Let them be... what?"

The man was momentarily stunned, then looked up and saw the cold light in Hou Yucheng's pupils, realized what he meant by 'let them be,' and his body immediately trembled.

"Aren't there still over ten thousand willing to surrender? Let them do it!"

"I'll handle it right away."

The man went to the place specially designated for guarding surrendered soldiers, and after relaying Hou Yucheng's order, the generals who heard it almost involuntarily showed a trace of alarm on their faces. Turning back to meet Hou Yucheng's somber gaze, they all trembled and began to carry out the order.

After half an hour, the bloody slaughter began...

"Hexi's wanton killing will surely bring divine retribution!"

"Spare me, I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender!"

"Hou Yucheng, you bloodthirsty butcher, when my temple's high monks arrive, they will surely kill you."

"The honored one, the World-Honored One, Buddha, save your disciple!"

"Amitabha, Hexi's great sins will surely lead to retribution in days to come."

......

Under the fear of sword and knife slaughter, the soldiers of the Huang Chan Army and the disciples of Leiyin Temple reacted differently: some begged for mercy, some cursed vehemently, some closed their eyes while reciting the Buddha's name awaiting the descending blade, and some, scared witless, sought to surrender, even some who knew Hou Yucheng fervently pleaded with him to spare them...

Unfortunately, that half-hour just now was already the final deadline given by Hou Yucheng, and the executioners were the first to surrender, handing in their Certificate of pledge, their expressions were indeed complex, yet towards the Red Flame Army soldiers beside them, they were obviously much closer, evidently realizing they couldn't go back.

Out of over fifty thousand, only four or five thousand saw the unfavorable situation and surrendered within the half-hour, saving their lives. The remaining nearly fifty thousand captives, though numerous, were nonetheless all slaughtered swiftly by nearly ten thousand executioners.

These were nearly fifty thousand Martial Artists with vigorous energy and blood, even the corpses emanated an astonishing aura of blood; the entire Qingzhi County seemed to be permeated by a smell of blood, even though the civilians were hiding in their homes in fear, they could smell this potent scent and, originally already anxious, became even more fearful.

Hou Yucheng walked in front of the over ten thousand surrendered captives, looking at their armor and clothes soaked in fresh blood, and said solemnly: "Originally, you too would have died with these people, but considering you were still sensible, I'm now giving you the chance to live.

For now, although the war between Hexi and Leiyin Temple isn't over, your lives are in Hexi's hands. I intend to form a new army with you for future battles. As long as you render meritorious service, not only will all your previous crimes be absolved, I will also specially allow you to join the Hou Clan, how about it?"