Chapter Twenty

When the horn sounded for the twenty-fifth time, the assembled officers finally arrived in haste. Dozens of personal guards shouted and brandished their leather whips, driving the townsfolk away to clear a narrow path, allowing the generals to gallop through on horseback. In an instant, the avenue outside the Prefect’s office was lined with the generals’ guards, and the common people shrank back timidly, some young men climbing rooftops and treetops to gaze at the commotion from afar.

Lin Feng smiled as he directed his subordinate officers to take their seats one by one, saying nothing of the reason for this gathering, but instead turned to jest with the elderly gentlemen present.

“Commander…” Old Liu, the fourth, impatient by nature, could not help but stand and speak, “May I ask why you have summoned us? Is there urgent military news?”

“Oh? Old Liu, come here, come here. Here is Mr. Liu, a man of vast learning and scholarship, your own kin—why don’t you come and get acquainted?” Lin Feng replied, smiling.

Old Liu gaped, turned his head, and glanced contemptuously at the elderly gentlemen. “Commander, I, Liu, only know how to fight. I couldn’t recognize a single character if you wrote them on a bushel. As for scholarship, you’d better spare me!”

Lin Feng, surprised, said, “How could that be?” He fixed his gaze on Old Liu with a smile. “Old Liu, your troops are stationed in the west of the city, yes? This gentleman here was just praising you, saying your soldiers are diligent and eager to learn—a model for all our Han army!”

Old Liu’s mouth hung open, utterly at a loss.

Lin Feng, smiling, waved his hand. “There’s no need for modesty, Old Liu. Mr. Liu here told me your men admire his learning so much that as soon as they entered the city, they rushed to his house. Look—these gentlemen will soon come to thank me for sending so many disciples to them, filling even the homes of their neighbors along the street!” He cast a mocking glance at Old Liu. “Old Liu, this time you’ve truly done a great deed—educating the people and spreading the words of the sages!”

Seeing Lin Feng’s smiling face, Old Liu suddenly turned pale, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He stammered, “Commander, after the men entered the city… I ordered the arrest of the Eight Banners’ families… There were some misunderstandings, certainly…”

Lin Feng’s smile faded, his expression turning cold. “Didn’t we set military regulations during training—wasn’t there a rule strictly forbidding the plundering of civilians and violation of women?”

Old Liu’s knees buckled and he fell to the ground, bowing his head. “Yes, there was…” Though he admitted it, his heart was indignant. Regulations like these existed in every army, but when it came down to it, when the opportunity arose, who didn’t plunder?

“So you knowingly broke the rules?” Lin Feng frowned, speaking kindly. “Tell me honestly, Old Liu, are you short of money? Are your men lacking funds?”

Old Liu kept his head down, silent.

“Pass the order: apart from my central command, all other units are to leave the city and set up camp outside!” Lin Feng softened his tone, turning to Zhou Peigong. “Peigong, take two thousand soldiers and have the victims point out the perpetrators. Anyone who has committed crimes—round them all up!”

“Commander…” Zhou Peigong looked worried, bowing. “Perhaps we should wait a bit. If we act so harshly now, I fear it may affect morale…”

“Nonsense!” Lin Feng slapped the table, sneering. “If I have the ability to turn peasants into soldiers, I have the ability to turn soldiers into corpses. Go ahead and arrest them—kill anyone who dares resist.” He gave a cold laugh, sweeping his gaze across the officers. “What do you think I’m afraid to do? If you’re not convinced, take your men and try me in battle. Who have I ever feared?”

The officers, Zhou Peigong included, turned pale with fright. They all leaped to their feet and knelt. “Commander… We swear to serve loyally without any other intention!”

“Enough, enough, I was only speaking offhand!” Lin Feng helped Zhou Peigong up. “Go and arrest them, Peigong. If we want to conquer the world, we must pass this trial.”

The other officers, lacking Lin Feng’s command, remained kneeling, not daring to raise their heads. Lin Feng shouted, “Someone! Bring Old Liu—”

“Commander…” Before the words left his mouth, the officers raised their heads, and Zhao Guangyuan crawled forward, grasping Lin Feng’s sleeve with tears in his voice. “Please, you can’t! Old Liu is merely hot-tempered. Spare his life, let him atone for his crimes!”

Lin Feng was taken aback, then burst out laughing. He shook off Zhao Guangyuan’s hand, scolding, “When did I say I’d kill him? Damn it—Old Liu may have his faults, but he’s my brother from Linji County, a comrade who’s risked his life alongside me. I don’t need you fools to remind me!”

Old Liu lay on the ground. Hearing this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, deeply moved. Lin Feng spoke kindly, “Old Liu, it’s not that I disregard our bond. You neglected discipline and committed a serious crime. Death may be spared, but punishment cannot be avoided. Someone—drag him out and give him eighty strokes of the military rod. Strip him of the rank of division commander, demote him to brigade commander, but let him remain to atone for his crimes.”

Old Liu loudly expressed his gratitude, then was dragged away by the guards. Soon, the sound of sticks striking flesh echoed in the distance. The officers’ faces turned solemn as the military clerk counted each stroke. Old Liu bore it stoically, refusing to utter a sound.

Looking at the dense crowd of criminals below, Lin Feng was suddenly seized by a chill of dread. His troops had only been in the city for less than three hours—half a day at most—and yet they had committed all manner of crimes. Had they lingered for a day or two, he could hardly imagine what would have become of Tianjin.

After Zhou Peigong’s thorough investigation and accounting, it was found that the Eight Banners’ families in the western part of Tianjin had suffered the worst, followed by other residents living near them. Nearly seven hundred women had been raped, more than two hundred men had been killed by Han soldiers while resisting robbery, and over a thousand houses had been burned. Other property losses were impossible to tally.

The main trigger for this mass crime was the Eight Banners’ families. After Old Liu ordered the purge, his soldiers began large-scale plundering. Such unrestrained acts quickly became addictive. After ravaging the Eight Banners’ neighborhoods, they turned on nearby residents. Meanwhile, this criminal behavior spread like a malignant contagion to other units, whose soldiers soon joined the ranks of the looters.