Chapter 154: Willing to Go Through Fire and Water for Lord Bing, Winning the People’s Hearts

Chapter 154: Willing to Go Through Fire and Water for the Master, Winning the People's Hearts

Baili Wuya was escorted away along with the Xiongnu.

Within the city, the previously noisy atmosphere suddenly fell silent, returning to peace. This silence came much earlier than usual, and for a moment, the people did not realize that the Xiongnu had been driven away.

Bing Wengu did not allow his soldiers to disturb the people, waiting for them to gradually come to their senses on their own.

As time passed, no more cries or pleas from their fellow clansmen were heard outside, and the people began to cautiously peek out.

At this glance, they saw the bloodstains on the ground and several workers cleaning them up, illuminated by the first light of dawn in the eastern sky. There were no widespread corpses of their clansmen, no naked women alive but numb as if dead.

"Did the Xiongnu leave?" an old woman asked hoarsely, poking her head out.

The worker cleaning the street turned back, smiling, "They were all repelled by our Prefect. The Prefect is brave and mighty, taking the head of the Xiongnu Third Prince Uyak among a hundred men."

The door panel the old woman was leaning on clattered to the ground, her eyes wide open, "Is that true?"

"Of course it's true, just wait and see, there will be a good show today." The worker sighed, "The Master is truly a good official; he didn't want to alarm us, so he didn't let the frontier army go door-to-door to announce the victory."

Crouching in the cellar, the Lady Cong noticed that it had been quiet for a long time and guessed that the Xiongnu soldiers might have retreated, so she decided to go out and check.

The young lady tightly held onto Lady Cong's sleeve, "Mother, don't go, it's dangerous."

The eldest son said, "Mother, I'll go; I'm the only man in our family."

Lady Cong comfortingly hugged the two children, "Don't worry, Mother will be right back."

Lady Cong climbed out of the cellar and onto the street, finding that the street, which used to be desolate after being plundered by Xiongnu soldiers, was unusually lively today.

Among these people were many familiar faces, and seeing them unharmed brought a sense of unprecedented peace to Lady Cong's heart.

"Auntie, it’s such a relief to see you all safe and sound," Lady Cong said with a genuine smile.

The old woman smiled so widely that only her teeth showed, "Lady Cong, you wouldn’t believe it, but we won the battle! We defeated the Xiongnu!"

Lady Cong was taken aback, "We won?"

"Yes, we won! Hahaha..." The old woman laughed until tears streamed down her face.

Lady Cong joined in the laughter, laughing so hard that tears and snot ran down her face. After laughing to her heart's content, she suddenly realized that Lady Zhou was nowhere to be seen. She searched through the crowd but still couldn't find her, and an ominous feeling crept into her heart. Lady Cong pushed through the crowd and ran towards Lady Zhou's house.

At the Zhou household, only an old man remained with a few young boys; Lady Zhou and her mother-in-law were gone.

Lady Cong had seen this scenario too many times before. People who were laughing and chatting with you one day would turn into cold, lifeless corpses the next.

She slowly backed out of Lady Zhou's house, overhearing passersby discussing, "When the Magistrate opened the martial arts classes, most families sent someone. But they stubbornly refused to send anyone to learn, and as a result, when the Xiongnu broke in, they had no means to defend themselves."

"This time, the Xiongnu stayed in the city for a short while. Anyone who had learned martial arts and had even a bit of self-defense skill managed to hold out long enough for the Magistrate to lead the frontier army back."

"I heard that the casualties were the lightest this time. The officials verified that there were only about ten deaths, but two of them were from their family."

"I told you those martial arts classes were useful. Whether men or women, everyone should learn martial arts. When the Xiongnu invade, they show no mercy, especially to women. That’s why we women need to learn martial arts even more."

Listening to the murmurs around her, Lady Cong felt immensely relieved that she had enrolled her two children in the martial arts classes. Having some skills gave them the courage to resist. Otherwise, if the children hadn’t been able to cooperate with her in time, they might have all died at the hands of the Xiongnu.

Lady Cong returned home and announced to her children with joy, "I have good news to tell you: we won the battle, and we defeated the Xiongnu!"

The two children first looked disbelieving, then burst into enthusiastic cheers.

At this moment, Lady Cong thought of her mother-in-law and hurried over to look. Her mother-in-law had already passed away with eyes wide open, as if unwilling to close them in death.

Lady Cong reached out to close her mother-in-law’s eyes and cried to the two children, “Your lady is gone.”

Elder Brother immediately rushed to the front, while Little Miss slowly approached.

“Lady, Lady…” Elder Brother cried loudly, pushing the old woman’s body.

Little Miss stood there quietly, her eyes devoid of sorrow or joy. She was not an innocent child; she remembered the old woman’s words that she should die.

Suddenly, Little Miss felt a sharp pain in her leg as Lady Cong pinched it hard. The pain brought tears to her eyes, and she looked up at Lady Cong with a sense of grievance. She saw Lady Cong’s face, tear-streaked and overwhelmed with grief.

“Little Miss, your lady is gone, you should be very sad, you should cry,” Lady Cong said to Little Miss.

Little Miss burst into tears and, like Elder Brother, fell onto the old woman’s body to pay her respects.

When Lady Cong found the neighbors to help with the funeral arrangements, they saw the two children crying their eyes out, especially Little Miss, and sighed in admiration.

“Usually Auntie treated Little Miss so poorly, I thought this child would bear a grudge. But now that Auntie is gone, Little Miss is so heartbroken. Little Miss is such a pure and filial child.”

Lady Cong wiped her tears, “Little Miss, Elder Brother, remember, your lady was killed by the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu are our family’s mortal enemies. When the time comes, you must avenge your lady.”

“Yes,” Elder Brother and Little Miss answered in unison.

As the sun rose high in the sky, Bing Wenggu led the frontier army, escorting the Xiongnu soldiers, into the market square.

The townspeople, who had long received the news, gathered here today as if they had just emerged from hibernation, behaving quite unusually.

When they saw the Xiongnu soldiers, the hatred in their eyes seemed ready to burst forth. The people of Fengzhou were poor, and even rotten vegetables and eggs were too precious to waste on the Xiongnu soldiers. After much deliberation, they picked up clumps of dirt and threw them fiercely at the Xiongnu soldiers.

The common folk were somewhat aimless; some of their blows landed on the frontier army, but the soldiers did not dodge, allowing the people to vent their anger.

Bing Wengu watched this scene in silence, not stopping them, letting the people vent their frustrations. When the people had mostly finished venting, Bing Wengu finally spoke. As soon as he opened his mouth, the people fell silent, listening attentively to what Bing Wengu had to say.

"Fellow villagers, today I am here to give you an account," Bing Wengu said, seated on a high platform, looking down at the crowd below.

"Bring Bai Li Wu Ya up."

Bai Li Wu Ya was stripped of his official robes, left in only his undergarments.

"Bai Li Wu Ya failed to defend the city properly, allowing the Xiongnu soldiers to breach the walls and causing the deaths of over a dozen civilians," Bing Wengu said, looking at Bai Li Wu Ya who was lying prostrate on the ground. "I sentence him to fifty lashes. Begin!"

Bing Wengu threw down the rod, and the soldiers on either side raised their boards and struck him fiercely. In no time, Bai Li Wu Ya's skin was torn open, and eventually, he fainted. Only after all the lashes were administered did Bing Wengu order that Bai Li Wu Ya be dragged away.

"I have something important to show all of you!" Bing Wengu gestured to the frontier army at one end, and they pulled off the red cloth from the spear, revealing the head of the Xiongnu Third Prince, Wu Yake, to the crowd.

Small children and women with weak nerves screamed in terror.

"Do not be afraid, everyone. This is the head of the Xiongnu Third Prince, Wu Yake, the enemy of all Fengzhou's people. Your loved ones died at his hands. Now that his head is here, you should not be afraid but should cheer!"

When the people realized that the unblinking head belonged to the Xiongnu, they stopped being afraid and began to cheer loudly.

"I had heard that Magistrate Bing killed the Xiongnu Third Prince, but I didn't believe it. Now that I see this head, I believe it."

"Magistrate Bing is truly a god of war descended upon us. He killed the Xiongnu Third Prince in his first battle in Fengzhou. With Magistrate Bing here, we won't have to suffer from the Xiongnu raids anymore."

"How could I remember someone saying that Magistrate Bing was a scholar, too weak to lift anything? If Magistrate Bing is a scholar, how could he come here and kill the Xiongnu Third Prince on his first day, while former martial magistrates could only be beaten back repeatedly by the Xiongnu?"

Shen Chengzhou clearly heard the murmurs of the people. Looking at Bing Wen, he saw for the first time that Bing Wengu on the platform seemed mighty and imposing like a deity. At this moment, he seemed to exude a powerful aura of bloodshed, the kind of killing intent that could hold off ten thousand men with just one man.

Shen Chengzhou suddenly recalled the unease he felt when he first met Bing Wengu. At that time, he thought that he and Bing Wengu would eventually die at the hands of the Xiongnu. He never imagined that in just a few days, the third prince of the Xiongnu would be slain by Bing Wengu.

At this moment, Shen Chengzhou doubted whether his former self had been blind. How could he have ever mistaken such a formidable beast for a gentle lamb?

"Bring the Xiongnu soldiers forward," Bing Wengu commanded again, and immediately, the captured Xiongnu soldiers were brought up.

Bing Wengu looked at the people below, "This is your enemy, the murderer of your loved ones. If any of you wish to, you may come forward and personally behead your enemy."

The people exchanged glances, and after a moment of silence, an old man slowly raised his hand.

"Magistrate, I wish to be the executioner."

"Please." Bing Wengu ordered the soldiers to bring the old man forward.

Only then did everyone see the old man clearly—a completely white-haired elder with deep wrinkles on his face. He shakily walked to the guillotine but, weakened by years of hunger, lacked the strength to operate it. It was only with the help of the executioner that the Xiongnu soldier was beheaded.

The old man looked at the head he had just severed and fell to his knees, weeping bitterly, "My wife, my eldest son, second son, third son, fourth son, my eldest daughter-in-law, and second daughter-in-law, this old man has avenged you!"

Those who recognized the old man quietly wiped away their tears, for they knew that his entire family had been killed by the Xiongnu, leaving him alone.

For all those who wished to participate, Bing Wengu allowed them to personally behead the Xiongnu soldiers, releasing their pent-up resentment.

Once all the Xiongnu soldiers were beheaded, the people spontaneously knelt before Bing Wengu.

"Sir, thank you for avenging our families. We have nothing to offer in return, but we are willing to follow you through fire and water for the rest of our lives."