Zhao Long felt quite dejected as he watched the head of the Cui family fall.
Li Da was an excellent archer.
Zhao Long wished he had thrown his long spear directly at the target earlier.
However, glancing at a man in the governor's official attire standing beside the Cui family head, Zhao Long immediately made him his new target.
The man in the official robe was Cui Luoshu, from the second branch of the Cui family.
He was utterly terrified, a growing puddle of liquid spreading beneath his feet.
His elder brother, the head of the Qinghe Cui family, had been felled by an arrow.
It was simply too much for him to comprehend.
His trembling legs felt weak.
Suddenly, Cui Luoshu felt an icy sensation on his neck.
Looking down, the tip of a long spear rested against his throat.
His legs gave out completely, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
"Unfair! Unfair!"
"It was the family head's orders, it has nothing to do with me!"
Zhao Long chuckled.
"Whether it has to do with you or not, we'll discuss it when you meet the Emperor later!"
With that, he stepped forward, lifted Cui Luoshu, and leaped off the city wall.
Li Da followed suit, carrying the body of the Cui family head as he too jumped down.
Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin exchanged bewildered glances.
"We were supposed to capture the Cui family head, but how did we end up with two?"
The soldiers on the city wall were stunned.
In a matter of moments, both the family head and his brother were gone.
Just then, Fang Er, who had noticed the commotion on the city wall, issued an order to the Third Battalion.
"The entire army to enter the city!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Third Battalion moved out in unison, charging towards the city gate.
At this moment, Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin walked over, dragging the corpse of the Cui family head and Cui Luoshu.
"Eldest Brother, please judge this situation."
Fang Er looked at them, one alive and one dead.
He then asked the living Cui Luoshu, "Are you the head of the Cui family?"
Cui Luoshu shook his head like a rattle drum.
"No, no, no! The family head cannot hold official positions; that is a clan rule."
"He is the family head."
He gestured towards the corpse of the Cui family head with his head.
"He is the family head, and you are the governor. Your relationship must be unusual, right?"
Fang Er took out two boxes of cigars and tossed them to Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin.
The two accepted the cigars and moved aside, happily lighting them up.
"Ahhh! So refreshing!"
Cui Luoshu hesitated, but then considering that official family backgrounds were all registered, this was something he couldn't hide.
He then said with a look of panic, "This subordinate is the younger brother of the Cui family head."
"However, regarding the matter of rebellion, this subordinate was completely unaware!"
Fang Er merely watched him with a playful smile and said, "Do you believe that yourself?"
After speaking, he ignored Cui Luoshu.
Meanwhile, in the city, the Cui family was without its patriarch. The soldiers, seeing the bound civilians, were unsure whether to kill them or release them.
They simply abandoned them there and fled for their lives.
However, a single decree from Chai Shao extinguished their hope of escape.
"Issue an order that anyone who reports or apprehends a member of the Cui family will be rewarded with one tael of silver per person!"
Thus, the Sky Fire Army searched the city, loudly repeating Chai Shao's words.
The Cui family had been local overlords here for hundreds of years.
And the Cui family members had committed no small amount of wickedness. Consequently, with the reward posted, the civilians who had been hiding in their homes pushed open their doors and emerged.
They scoured the surroundings, searching for any sign of the Cui family members.
In less than half a day, over a thousand members of the Cui family were escorted by the civilians to Chai Shao.
As for the Cui family's wealth, no one dared to touch it; it had already been confiscated and secured by the Sky Fire Army.
One could say this was the last good deed the Cui family had done. Those carts of wealth and jewels saved the Sky Fire Army the trouble of searching every single room.
Given the vast number of Cui family members scattered throughout the large Qinghe County, it took a full two days to complete the arrests.
By noon on the third day, as no more civilians came forward to claim rewards for delivering Cui family members, Fang Er gave the order to withdraw.
Chai Shao, shouldering his da dao and with a cigar in his mouth, slung an arm around Cheng Chumo's shoulder.
"Kid, give me two more of your cigars, otherwise, your father will just snatch them away when we get back."
Cheng Chumo clutched the cigar box on his chest tighter.
"Don't even think about it. After distributing them to Zhao Long and the others, I only have a dozen left, and you just snatched one from me!"
Smelling the aroma of cigars wafting from Chai Shao's direction, he also wanted to light one up.
But damn it, the very cigar Chai Shao had in his mouth was one he had snatched from him!
The troops began to withdraw towards the Wuya warships. The carts of treasures made Fang Er feel incredibly weary, as if digging them out himself was an utterly idiotic endeavor.
"How much wealth is there in total?"
Fang Er asked Liu Meng.
Liu Meng pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and glanced at it.
"Reporting to the Marquis, there are twenty-one thousand taels of gold and over six hundred and forty thousand taels of silver.
The copper coins are too numerous to count, totaling eighty-seven carts.
The Cui family's granaries still hold countless amounts of grain, which we estimate we cannot transport."
Fang Er was speechless. He reaffirmed his belief that going to dig for silver before dealing with the aristocratic families was an act of pure foolishness.
"Leave three companies to guard the granaries."
Liu Meng replied, "Yes, Marquis."
With that, he turned to arrange the personnel who would remain to guard the granaries.
ps: First update