Chapter 782: Chapter 311: Expulsion and Unease, an Overzealous Xia Chuan (Part 3)
On the contrary, Xia Chuan had several deep sword wounds on his chest, visible even through the fabric strips. His breath was erratic as he walked, and his injuries were obviously more severe than his own.
Xia Chuan didn’t answer and instead approached with concern to carefully examine the wounds on Xia Hong’s body. After looking them over, his face instantly filled with rage.
But he quickly suppressed his anger and then opened his mouth to respond:
“Just now, Yuwen Dao sent Chen Ying to the Beehive to inform me, saying there are a lot of matters piling up here in Long Mountain that need my handling. The army won’t be able to set out until after nightfall. I found it too slow, so I hurried over by myself.”
“Indeed, there are many matters here. You’re just in time!”
Long Mountain has more than 130,000 people. As of now, nearly 10,000 people are still locked in the dungeon, while the remaining 120,000 are scattered throughout the camp. It’s all up to the over 10,000 Earth-digging Realm soldiers led by Hou Jing, Yu Bin, and Dong Zhong to watch over them, but they still occasionally stir up trouble.
Riots need to be suppressed, personnel need to be sorted, and the people in the dungeon must be handled, including post-war penal adjudications and the subsequent integration and relocation of populations…
These are matters Xia Hong doesn’t have the mind to deal with. Xia Chuan, as the Minister, is indeed needed to handle them specifically.
“Understood, big brother. I’ve already notified Yuwen Dao to gather everyone in the main hall. I’ll start dealing with it right away.”
Xia Chuan’s expression was very serious, obviously having been informed by Chen Ying at the Beehive about a lot of the situation here.
Xia Hong nodded slightly and suddenly turned to glance at the back of the main hall, saying:
“How to handle the people of the Li Family, and how to appease those loyal to the Li Family, Yuwen Dao should have told you. Prioritize handling these two matters to prevent any further disturbances in the camp.”
“Yes, big brother!”
“Alright, you handle it. I’m going to rest now.”
After Xia Hong finished speaking, he gestured for Xia Chuan to handle things on his own and then directly walked toward the residential quarters at the back of the main hall.
Xia Chuan took a seat at the chief position on the left side of the main hall and closed his eyes, waiting for people to arrive.
Very soon, Yuwen Dao was the first to walk in.
“Greetings, Minister. Everyone has been notified and will be here shortly.”
Xia Chuan waved his hand and said, “Good, wait with me!”
Yuwen Dao, noticing Xia Chuan’s unhappy expression, thought for a moment and didn’t find a place to sit, instead standing in the middle of the main hall.
Very soon, Liu Yuan, Peng Bo, Chen Yingba, Wu Tianxing, Yue Feng, Chen Ying, and others totaling fifteen Cold Resistance Level individuals of Great Xia arrived;
followed by Hou Jing, Yu Bin, Dong Zhong, Hou Xing, Zhang Ying, Kong Fan, and Wu Ningyuan, totaling seven Cold Resistance Level individuals from the four families of Zhaoyang, White Abyss, Xiling, and Dongkang.
In addition to these twenty-five Cold Resistance Level individuals, five people with only Earth-digging Realm Limit Cultivation entered with anxious expressions.
“Greetings, Minister!”
Xia Chuan’s always tense expression relaxed considerably after seeing Li Hu and Yang Zhong. He gently raised his hand, indicating for the two to rise.
As his gaze shifted to the other three, Yuwen Dao timely introduced:
“Minister, these three are Yan Donghai, Wang Biao, and Liu Gu, sons of former leaders of the Yucheng, Song Yuan, and Changning families. They were instrumental in inciting the 3,000 Earth-digging Realm individuals in Long Mountain.”
Yan Donghai and the three others promptly bowed and paid their respects to Xia Chuan:
“Greetings, Minister!”
“No need for excessive courtesy, rise.”
Xia Chuan waved his hand to signal the three to rise, then directly got up and stood below the main seat of the platform, facing the crowd, he spoke in a stern tone:
“I heard that after storming into Long Mountain last night, there were nine outbreaks of unrest in the last hour and more before dawn, and during the last one, six assassins even got close to the leader, nearly succeeding in assassination.”
Xia Chuan’s voice was tinged with evident anger, and the nine individuals present last night had slight changes in their expressions. Hou Jing, Yu Bin, and Dong Zhong furrowed their brows, clearly sensing something.
“Excluding the over 10,000 people locked in the dungeon, there are over 120,000 people scattered throughout Long Mountain camp at present. But basically, these are Logging Realm and even ordinary people, with very few Earth-digging Realm individuals among them.”
“You have over 600 Cloud Dragon Army soldiers and more than 10,000 Earth-digging Realm individuals, yet you can’t even handle this number of people. I want to ask, are you truly too stupid and incompetent, or do some of you harbor ulterior motives?”
Xia Chuan’s tone was calm and low, and the last sentence he nearly directed right at Hou Jing and the nine others.
In front, Liu Yuan and Peng Bo had long bowed their heads in guilt.
Hou Jing’s expression was downcast, with an unreadable look on his face. Dong Zhong and Yu Bin, along with six others, clearly lacked the composure of the former, with their chests heaving with anger, seemingly ready to retort; Chen Yingba and Wu Tianxing hastily lowered their heads, not daring to meet Xia Chuan’s eyes.
“Yuwen Director, take 10,000 Earth-digging Realm individuals, divide them into ten battalions of a thousand each, and place them under the command of Yue Feng, Bai Wuting, Ying Yi, Lu He, Zou Yuankai, Chen Ying, Lu Sheng, Tong Xinglong, Li Yuankun, and Xiao Kangcheng. Have them all ready before nightfall.”
“At your command!”
“After nightfall, you ten will lead, driving all 120,000-plus people in the camp to the vicinity of the North District dungeon. Ensure not a single one is missed, and any who cause unrest or defiance, kill them outright without reporting to me.”
“At your command!”
“Peng Bo, after nightfall, take 300 Cloud Dragon Army soldiers to drag out all Li Family members from the dungeon. Remember to silence them.”
“At your command.”
“Liu Yuan, take the remaining Cloud Dragon Army soldiers, and bring all Cold Resistance Level individuals and their families from the main building to the dungeon area as well.”
“At your command!”
“After nightfall, I want to announce in the North District that Long Mountain has thus changed ownership, the Longyou Calendar is hereby ended, and from now on, the entire Longyou will uniformly use the Great Xia Calendar. Furthermore…”
At this point, Xia Chuan paused slightly, then his voice deepened sharply, continuing:
“All Li Family members must also be executed with proper sentences!”
Upon hearing this, the fury that had just emerged on the faces of the nine not named, including Hou Jing, dissipated considerably. They looked up at the killing intent on Xia Chuan’s face, feeling a chill in their hearts.