Chapter 220 If you can't be ruthless, you have to worry more

Yue Buqun stood under an osmanthus tree in the Lion Mountain Villa with an extremely cold expression. Even Yue Lingshan, who was his favorite, did not dare to go in and disturb him.

Not long after, Ning Zhongze walked in with the support of a female disciple from Huashan. She was now more than seven months pregnant and looked a little haggard.

There was nothing that could be done about it, even though Ou Zanghua had made all the necessary preparations for them.

But Ning Zhongze's age was there, and her gradually bulging belly caused her back pain, and the enlarged belly pressed on her stomach and intestines, making her lose her appetite.

Fortunately, she has been practicing martial arts since she was a child, and her physical fitness is far superior to her peers. Even when she doesn't eat or sleep well, she can still help Yue Buqun deal with some things from time to time.

"Senior brother."

"Junior sister, why did you come out?" When Yue Buqun heard Ning Zhongze's voice, he hurried over to support her.

"It's okay. Master Dingyi also told me to move around more." Ning Zhongze held Yue Buqun's hand and asked softly, "Brother, are you angry about Chong'er's matter?"

"Hmph!" Yue Buqun couldn't help but snort coldly when he mentioned his eldest disciple.

Nowadays, when people in the martial arts world mention the Huashan Sect, the first thing that comes to mind is the elegant, romantic and unrestrained Young Hero Linghu. Who still remembers his Gentleman Sword?
And has Linghu Chong forgotten?
What was I asking him to do by giving him the banknote?

He just put the important matter aside.

Ning Zhongze calmly analyzed, "Brother, Chong'er grew up under our care. Don't you and I know what kind of person he is? Although he is a little naughty, he cares about his fellow disciples, so I think there must be something behind this matter."

"It is precisely because I understand him that I know that he was so flattered that he became complacent and even forgot what the real job was."

"Junior sister, think about it. He has been in Hangzhou for two months. Has he ever sent us a letter?"

Yue Buqun didn't think so. He shook his head and comforted his wife, saying, "Junior sister, don't worry about this matter. You just need to take good care of the baby. As for Lingsong, I will find a way."

At this time, Yue Lingshan, who had been hiding outside the Crescent Moon Gate, poked her head out and said, "Dad, Mom, I have a solution!"

"What do you have in mind?" Yue Buqun looked at his daughter and asked calmly.

"I corresponded with Junior Sister Liu Qing a few days ago and asked for her opinion. Junior Sister Liu Qing said that if Senior Brother Ou and Senior Uncle Zuo joined forces, they should be able to help Junior Brother Lingsong!"

Yue Lingshan came out trotting, and said with a hint of anticipation: "Why don't we go find Senior Brother Ou!"

"Are you going to trouble Master Ou again?"

Ning Zhongze asked hesitantly, "We at Huashan haven't done them any favors, but we've been troubling them. Is that inappropriate?"

"That's a solution," Yue Buqun sighed and said, "If I don't ask for help from Junior Brother Ou, I can only go to Shaolin. Junior Brother Ou is a member of the Five Mountains Sword Sect after all, and we are one family. I can't repay you now, but if Hengshan Sect needs you in the future, Huashan will definitely help you."

Ning Zhongze thought about it. Although this was true, in her opinion, as long as Master Ou did not fall, Hengshan Sect would never need Huashan's full support. So her husband's words were a bit exaggerated.

“But there is still a problem. Senior Brother Ou has been ordered to leave the capital to suppress bandits. Even Junior Sister Liu Qing doesn’t know where he is now,” Yue Lingshan said, looking at her father.

Yue Buqun stroked his beard and thought for a while before speaking: "The Beggars' Sect is the most well-informed in the martial arts world. We have a pretty good relationship with them, so we can ask them for information."

Ning Zhongze thought this method was feasible, so he called his disciple Liang Fa and asked him to take some food and drinks to the land temple outside the city to look for disciples of the Beggar Gang.

At the same time, Ou Zanghua brought nearly 30,000 troops back to Dongjin Town, Xiangyang City, and temporarily set up a military camp there.

Six thousand soldiers of Xiangyang Guard and six thousand soldiers of Tianjin Right Guard divided the military camp into two sides, with the surrendered soldiers from Runing and Yicheng counties in the middle, totaling more than 14,000 people.

Ou Zanghua couldn't learn from Bai Qi and kill more than ten thousand people directly.

If Ou Zanghua wanted to learn Zhuge Liang's strategy of arresting and releasing seven times, he didn't have that ability.

Moreover, most of them were young and strong Han people, otherwise they would not have survived following the bandit army. After much deliberation, Ou Zanghua decided to first understand their basic situation before deciding how to deal with them.

So, on a sunny day, he gathered more than 14,000 surrendered soldiers.

When Ou Zanghua appeared with ten Taoists, everyone knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, sir!"

"No gift!"

Ou Zanghua bowed in return before sitting down on the cushion on the platform.

He looked at the nervous people below and said in a gentle voice, "Don't be nervous, I just want to know about your past."

"Please raise your hands if you have land at home."

As Ou Zanghua's voice fell, only more than 1,000 people out of more than 14,000 raised their hands, and the rest lowered their heads.

"If you have relatives alive, please raise your hands."

This time, there were nearly five thousand people who raised their hands. Ou Zanghua was a little surprised, and then he suddenly realized that some of these people were brothers or even fathers and sons. They were all related, so naturally there were many relatives.

"Those of you who are good at farming, please raise your hands."

After these words were spoken, only a very small number of about a thousand people did not raise their hands, while the rest of the more than ten thousand people raised their hands.

"Those who didn't raise their hands, please step out."

After hearing this order, many people immediately raised their hands, fearing that they would be executed if they stepped out of the line.

Seeing this, Ou Zanghua had no choice but to explain: "Don't panic. I won't kill people for no reason. I asked you to step out just to know what you are good at."

After hearing this, these people felt relieved and left the team one after another.

After a moment, Taoist Tiansong handed the compiled catalog to Ou Zanghua.

So he flipped through the list while listening to Taoist Tiansong's report, and only then did he realize that the composition of the remaining more than a thousand people was quite complicated.

Among them, more than one hundred were hunters, two hundred were bodyguards, more than seven hundred were horse owners, and the remaining three hundred were from various professions, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, tailors, stonemasons, chefs, storytellers, wizards, etc.

Needless to say, these people together form a complete small town.

Ou Zanghua knew what was going on, so he put down the list and said, "You have gathered together to cause trouble everywhere, and you have committed a crime. But considering that most of you were bewitched and coerced, the death penalty can be spared."

When everyone heard Ou Zanghua say this so seriously, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although storytellers often say that killing prisoners is unlucky, none of them are exact and no one dares to take it lightly.

Now that Ou Zanghua said this, everyone finally felt relieved.

Ou Zanghua and the others looked relieved, and continued: "Although the death penalty can be avoided, the living punishment cannot be escaped."

"Next, I will keep an eye on your performance! Those who perform well will be exempted from all crimes. Those who make contributions will naturally receive a generous reward. If you make a mistake, your crime will be increased."

"Think about it carefully!"

Afterwards, Ou Zanghua found Taoist Tiansong and asked him to investigate the customs and habits of these captives in preparation for his future plans.

After returning to the central army camp, Ou Zanghua picked up his pen and wrote a memorial to Emperor Zhengde.
(End of this chapter)