Chapter 194: Post-War Meeting
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“Your Highness, many villagers are now purging corrupt local officials. Should we intervene?”
After the military funeral, the Battle of Cangzhou was finally concluded.
With the momentum of the great victory, the remnants of the noble families in the six prefecture were in despair.
Encouraged by their success, the civilian militias—high in morale—launched a sweeping campaign to eradicate the remaining noble factions. Many who had hidden in remote mountains and forests were hunted down and eliminated by the militias and local garrisons.
At the same time, the militias arrested village chiefs who had once served the noble families, parading them through the streets in a clear effort to completely dismantle the nobles’ influence.
Currently, Xiao Ming was in the Governor’s Residence, where all six prefectural governors, their deputies, Pang Yukun, Zhan Xingchang, Niu Ben, and other Qingzhou Army officers had gathered
With the war over, Xiao Ming believed it was necessary to hold a debriefing—to summarize the lessons of the battle and turn them into case studies and training materials. Only through practical experience could they continue to improve.
The question had been raised by Pang Yukun, based on reports from local officials in recent days.
“Crushing the remnants of the noble families isn’t a polite dinner party. It doesn’t require gentleness. On the contrary, this is another kind of war. The people have been oppressed by these nobles for years. Now that they’ve finally risen up, they need to vent their grievances—to completely shatter the mental shackles the nobles imposed and ensure they can never regain a foothold.”
After a pause, he added, “So not only should we not stop this, we should encourage the people to dig up old grievances. Drag the imprisoned nobles out and let the masses denounce them. The government must support this movement—only then can we ensure the noble families never return.”