Chapter 203: Iron And Blood
This magnate couldn’t withstand the terrifying atmosphere. While struggling with all his strength, he shouted loudly: “General, it’s the Yu Clan!”
“The Yu Clan has been colluding with the King of Liaoxi for more than a day or two. Ever since they learned General Pei was coming, the Yu clansmen have been acting sneaky. It must be the Yu Clan colluding with the Liaoxi Army to assassinate General Pei!”
Yu Clan?
Pei Qinghe narrowed her eyes and glanced over.
The group of magnates looked greatly horrified and all shifted to the side, revealing a man in his fifties.
This man was not dressed flashily, with a round face that looked quite amiable. He was one of the top magnates in Beiping Commandery.
The Yu Clan rose through the brokerage, engaging in the business of trafficking people. This was inherently a black-hearted trade, and the Yu Clan had operated it for decades, making a fortune. No one, not even the Yu clansmen themselves, knew exactly how much wealth they had. This head of the Yu Clan even had the nickname Yu Baiwan.
Pei Qinghe had a brochure in hand, specially compiled by Shi Yan a few days earlier. The brochure listed all the notable great clans in Beiping Commandery, with each family’s businesses clearly marked. The Yu Clan was on the first page of the brochure.
To raise troops, every magnate listed in this brochure would have to bleed money.
With today’s assassination of the Pei Family Army as a pretext, dealing with them was all the more justified.
Pei Qinghe coldly ordered: “Drag him over.”
Pei Yan, dark-skinned, burly, and radiating killing intent, strode over. Blood dripped from the long saber in her right hand, and with little effort from her left hand, she dragged the ashen-faced, trembling Yu Baiwan before Pei Qinghe.
“General, see it clearly! The Yu Clan did have some dealings with General Li of the Liaoxi Army before. But after General Li raised his flag, declared independence, and proclaimed himself King of Liaoxi, all contact was completely cut off.”
“I had no knowledge whatsoever of today’s assassination. This bastard is slandering me!”
“I am willing to offer up half my family business. Please spare my life, General!”
Yu Baiwan spoke urgently and rapidly, kowtowing and begging for mercy while glaring viciously with angry eyes at the man who had spoken earlier.
This head of the Fang Clan was also one of Beiping Commandery’s top magnates, running a pawnshop. Its black-heartedness was no less than the Yu Clan’s. The Yu Clan trafficked children and women; the Fang Clan, for some valuable antiques and objects, secretly set up schemes that ruined families and destroyed lives.
Shi Yan was very thorough; both the Yu Clan and Fang Clan were marked with the words “can kill” afterward.
The head of the Li Family who had been beheaded on the spot was no good either. As a major grain merchant in Beiping Commandery, the Li Family hoarded and speculated, driving up grain prices. Beiping Commandery’s grain price had more than doubled in just two short years, much higher than in Yan Prefecture. Many common people couldn’t afford grain and starved to death at home. They had no choice but to sell fields, houses, wives, and daughters to survive. The Li Family, however, made a fortune and leaped to become a top magnate in Beiping Commandery.
All were on the list of those who could be killed.
To save his life, the head of the Fang Clan also shouted: “General, I too am willing to offer up half my family business. Today’s assassination was the Yu Clan’s doing. Those six assassins were dead soldiers sent by the Liaoxi Army. General, you can have someone carefully examine the corpses!”
Yu Baiwan glared back furiously. Before a string of curses could burst from his mouth, Pei Qinghe’s cold voice rang out: “Send him on his way.”
Pei Yan swung her saber cleanly and decisively.
Yu Baiwan’s head rolled to the ground, his blood-smeared face frozen in a shocked expression from the moment of death. His corpse followed a beat later, slowly collapsing.
The head of the Fang Clan breathed a sigh of relief, and the other magnates secretly did the same. Finding the mastermind and killing Yu Baiwan had vented General Pei’s anger. They were safe now…
Before they could fully relax, Pei Qinghe’s voice rang out again like a death knell: “Kill this one too.”
“Got it!”
Pei Yan raised her saber and cleaved down.
The head of the Fang Clan flew off.
In a short moment, four heads hit the ground, four corpses lay in different poses, blood splattered, and the bloody smell was so thick it made people want to vomit.
The magnates could barely kneel steadily, their faces deathly pale.
Prefect Shen, kneeling at the front, was so stimulated by the bloody scene that his stomach spasmed. He turned his head and vomited on the floor.
No one dared to look up at Pei Qinghe.
The restaurant hall was deathly silent.
Pei Qinghe’s cold gaze swept around. Everyone wished they could shrink their heads into their necks, fearing to be the next one named.
“The Pei Family Army in Yan Prefecture has never killed magnates and has not committed the slightest offense against the common people.” Pei Qinghe said coldly: “Today, entering Beiping Commandery, this general has no choice but to make an exception.”
“All of you, look clearly. The Pei Family Army’s blade edge is very sharp. It can kill Xiongnu barbarians, defeat the Fanyang Army, and today, it can kill people.”
“Prefect Shen!”
Prefect Shen had just vomited his guts out, his voice weak and feeble: “This official is here!”
“A prefect who knows nothing even of assassins sneaking into the city is truly incompetent.” Pei Qinghe gave Prefect Shen no face whatsoever.
Prefect Shen was full of shame and lowered his head to admit his guilt.
Pei Qinghe had no patience for Prefect Shen’s long-winded nonsense and directly instructed: “From today, Beiping Commandery’s public security and city defenses will all be taken over by the Pei Family Army. Civil governance in the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion remains yours. If there’s any further mistake, you need not keep your head.”
At least he had escaped death today.
Prefect Shen was sweating profusely and repeatedly assented.
Pei Qinghe turned to instruct Pei Yun: “You lead men to the Lou Clan, Yu Clan, Li Family, and Fang Clan. Leave them some rations to survive, confiscate the rest, and use it for military expenses.”
Pei Yun would be stationed long-term in Beiping Commandery, so she would handle the house raids to establish authority.
Pei Yun cupped her hands and accepted the order, leading two hundred men with a fierce expression on her pretty face as she left.
Pei Qinghe continued: “All magnates, lock them in the government office prison and interrogate them carefully. Whoever has colluded with the Yu Clan, this general will surely kill. If it’s confirmed they were unaware, they can be released at discretion.”
In any case, not being killed on the spot greatly increased their chances of survival.
The magnates felt as if a heavy burden was lifted, not daring to resent it but instead full of gratitude. They repeatedly kowtowed to thank General Pei for her mercy.
In chaotic times, it was the world of martial men. Whoever held the blade and the hard fist called the shots.
General Pei had encountered assassins but refrained from killing everyone to vent her rage, which was already very restrained. Even if she killed them all, so what? Would any army avenge these magnates? Look at Fanyang Commandery, Guangning Prefecture, Liaoxi Commandery—how many places had magnates robbed and killed clean?
Those with quick wits were already calculating how to offer up most of their family business, just seeking a way to survive.
The magnates were escorted to the prison, and Prefectural Governor was helped back to the government office. On the bustling streets, all common people had vanished. Only the city gate soldiers maintaining security remained.
The moment Pei Qinghe walked out of the restaurant, the city gate soldiers felt a chill in their hearts and all lowered their heads.
This iron-blooded show of force completely cowed everyone.
