Chapter 1214: The Princess Consort Whose Memories Were Altered (89)

At first, the people living in the conquered cities were terrified, believing that days of suffering had arrived.

To their utter surprise, the soldiers of Northern Yan neither burned, looted, nor slaughtered. They simply registered everyone's identities and informed them that from now on, they were citizens of Northern Yan.

As long as they were willing to submit to Northern Yan, they would receive all the benefits that belonged to the people of Northern Yan.

The commoners remained skeptical at first, but before long they discovered that life had become even more peaceful than before.

Northern Yan sent officials to govern the region and exempted them from taxes for three years. In merely a month, the entire city had undergone earth-shattering changes.

The people of those cities suddenly realized that their lives had improved tremendously.

Southern Shu, having suffered consecutive defeats and lost six cities in succession, had no choice but to halt its offensive.

Now, throughout Southern Shu, rumors spread everywhere about how prosperous and comfortable life was in Northern Yan.

"Did you hear? Those cities that were occupied are doing extremely well now."

"They used to worry about food and clothing, but now every family can eat white rice, and they even get to enjoy meat from time to time."

"I have a distant relative in one of those cities. He wrote to me saying that the officials sent by Northern Yan are very good and never oppress the people. The villagers nearby were given many kinds of seeds with high yields, and specialists even came to teach them how to grow them."

"I heard they're really living well."

Such discussions could be heard everywhere.

Those whose lives were particularly difficult envied the residents of those six cities even more.

Before long, Southern Shu began arresting many people who spread these rumors.

They executed them publicly as a warning.

"By imperial decree, anyone who spreads such false rumors in the future shall be executed without exception!"

The crowd retreated in fear, their faces pale.

Outwardly they trembled, but inwardly they were filled with anger.

They had merely envied the lives of Northern Yan's people. How had that become a crime worthy of death?

If Southern Shu itself offered such a life, why would they need to envy Northern Yan?

Besides, wasn't the loss of those cities entirely Shangguan Yi's fault?

Who the Imperial Noble Consort was, or who the Empress of Northern Yan was, had nothing to do with them.

What they cared about was what they would eat, what they would wear, and whether they could live peacefully.

Shangguan Yi had launched a war over a woman and lost territory in the process.

Now they could not even discuss it without risking execution.

A tyrant.

Shangguan Yi was a tyrant.

Some stubborn people still insisted on speaking openly, and every time one was discovered, they were executed.

Neither Shangguan Yi nor Shangguan Jing could tolerate such talk anymore.

In their obsession with reclaiming Tang Guo, they had already lost themselves.

In their eyes, killing those people was perfectly justified.

As long as enough blood was shed, the rest would become too frightened to speak carelessly.

But people had mouths.

It was impossible to completely stop them from talking.

Even as the rumors persisted, and more people were executed, the common folk increasingly believed that Shangguan Yi was cruel and unjust.

The Shangguan brothers still refused to abandon their plans to invade Northern Yan.

During the period of recuperation, they enforced mandatory conscription and increased taxes, causing untold misery among the people of Southern Shu.

After a year and a half of rebuilding and training, they once again declared their intention to attack Northern Yan.

By then, Southern Shu had become a land of suffering, with the people plunged into misery and despair.

The Shangguan brothers had already gone mad.

Unless they brought her back, they would never accept defeat.

This time, Shangguan Jing personally led the campaign.