What does it take to win the people's hearts? Simply reward those who serve with merit!
What is the key to leading an army? Nothing more than this: reward merit and punish fault!
Seeing the villagers' reactions, Xiao Jing nodded in satisfaction.
His gaze shifted to the other spoils of war.
[Armor]: Cloud-Light Iron Armor (Damaged)
[Quality]: Yellow
[Durability]: 20/200
[Effects]: 1. Vital Point Protection, damage to vital areas -17%
2. Defense, Defense +8, damage taken -8%
[Description]: From the Zhao family's treasury. Originally a Blue-quality piece of armor, it was severely damaged by a strike from Zhou Cang, causing its quality to drop to Yellow.
The Cloud-Light Iron Armor had excellent stats, but its durability was pitifully low. It looked like it couldn't be used anymore.
'Looks like I'll have to wait until the blacksmith shop is up and running to find someone to repair it.'
Shaking his head, Xiao Jing turned to the book, *An Introduction to the Thirty-Six Stratagems*.
[Book]: An Introduction to the Thirty-Six Stratagems
[Quality]: Blue
[Effects]: 1. Flash of Insight: Reading this book provides a chance to enter the 'Flash of Insight' state, moderately increasing comprehension and memory.
2. Thirty-Six Stratagems: Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear! Upon successfully reading this book, there is a 1% chance to comprehend the Hundred Schools Art 'Art of War' and a 0.01% chance to comprehend the Stratagem Art 'Thirty-Six Stratagems'!
[Description]: From the Zhao family's treasury. Originally a secret gift from the Zhao family to a high-ranking Yellow Turban Commander. It is unknown why it appeared here...
Xiao Jing's eyes lit up as he took the book.
He hadn't expected it to be a secret manual.
In *War*, many factors influenced the outcome of a battle: martial strength, tactics, battle formations, Stratagem Arts...
Among these, Stratagem Arts had a major impact on warfare.
An outstanding strategist could not only devise plans but could also deploy large-scale Stratagem Arts based on the battlefield situation to secure victory or even reverse the tide of war...
Abilities like 'United as One,' 'Flash of Insight,' and 'Persuasion' from Guo Yun's panel were all Stratagem Arts, but they were life-oriented rather than combat-oriented.
From what Xiao Jing knew, combat-oriented Stratagem Arts were very powerful, but their cost was also extremely high—anywhere from twenty or thirty to eighty or ninety points. They were true strategic-level abilities.
For example, the combat-oriented Stratagem Art from the Thirty-Six Stratagems, 'Deceive the Heavens to Cross the Sea,' cost 80 Stratagem Points to activate. It would forcibly conceal an army's movements for six hours, an extremely powerful effect.
'But this probability...'
A wry smile touched Xiao Jing's lips as he saw the string of zeros after the decimal point for the probability of learning a Stratagem Art from the book.
'It really is a case of "read a book a hundred times"... I've crossed over into another world, yet I still can't escape studying.'
He grumbled internally, but his heart was filled with joy.
After all, despite his complaints, he knew a treasure when he saw one. A secret manual like the *Thirty-Six Stratagems* could serve as the foundation for an entire noble house. Anyone who mastered the Stratagem Arts within would be an honored guest of warlords wherever they went. How could its value be anything but immense?
On the market, it would be a treasure with a price but no sellers, easily fetching hundreds or even thousands of gold.
"Good!"
"Elder Guo, how are the prisoners being handled?"
Xiao Jing put away the *Thirty-Six Stratagems* and walked over to Guo Yun, who had just returned from his duties.
Guo Yun wiped the sweat from his brow, a smile on his face.
"Village Chief, I've tallied the numbers. There are 978 prisoners in total. 831 of them are able-bodied commoners who were forced to join. They only followed the bandits to have something to eat. If we provide them with food, we can absorb them into our village to provide labor for our development."
"Forty-one of them are heinous criminals who have committed countless evil deeds—burning, killing, and pillaging. I propose we send this group to the iron and salt mines to work as miners for us..."
"As for the remaining 106... I'm a bit hesitant. I haven't decided how to handle them yet..."
As he spoke, a hesitant look appeared on Guo Yun's face.
This piqued Xiao Jing's curiosity. He asked:
"Elder Guo, your suggestions for the other prisoners are very reasonable. Are the remaining 106 somehow special?"
Guo Yun nodded and said hesitantly,
"The remaining 106 are all skilled fighters with potential. Their strength isn't bad—at least Tier One—but they are all Yellow Turban Soldiers. That is the reason for my hesitation."
"This..." Xiao Jing fell into thought.
Yellow Turban Soldiers were indeed difficult to handle.
Integrating them into his army might attract unwanted trouble from the Han Court. After all, he knew that no matter how powerful the Yellow Turban rebellion seemed now, it would ultimately fail.
If he drew the attention of the Han Dynasty, the losses would far outweigh the gains.
But to use these Tier One fighters as common laborers... Xiao Jing was unwilling to accept that. It felt like a total waste.
After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Jing pulled up the stats panel for the Yellow Turban Soldiers.
[Troop Type]: Yellow Turban Soldier
[Level]: 32 (22/6500)
[Class]: Light Infantry
[Potential]: Common-grade (Gray, +0.3 free Attribute Points per level)
[Tier]: Tier One
[Attributes]: Force: 11.5, Martial Intent: Unawakened, Morale: 3 (Defeated)
[Hundred Schools Art]: Saber Proficiency
[Martial Arts]: None
[Upkeep]: 0 (Defeated, Prisoner)
[Traits]: 1. The Yellow Heaven Shall Rise (Yellow): Faith in the Yellow Heaven makes them easily inspired (when inspired, temporary +2 Morale, +2 Force).
2. Plunder (Gray): Gain additional loot when pillaging villages and towns.
[Summary]: A peasant Rebel Army...
Through the panel, Xiao Jing could clearly see that these Yellow Turban Soldiers were all veterans (level 30+), and their power was at Tier One.
For a Gray-potential troop type, their traits were decent.
The 'Yellow Heaven Shall Rise' trait, a temporary +2 to Morale and Force when inspired, could even turn the tide of battle if used well.
'Yellow Turban bandits indeed. They even have a gray Plunder trait to increase their gains from pillaging. It would be a great trait in the Yellow Turban Army, but it's useless to me. After all, the villages and towns are all under the Han Court's jurisdiction. Even if I could, I wouldn't dare make a move!'
Of course, what tempted Xiao Jing the most was the zero upkeep. It meant that for a long time, he could maintain this troop of Yellow Turban Soldiers as an army by only providing them with rations.
'The cost-effectiveness is off the charts.'
He thought about his upcoming series of military expeditions. This was exactly when he needed soldiers.
Thus, he only hesitated for a moment.
He then gave his order to Guo Yun.
"Disperse these 106 Yellow Turban prisoners and integrate them into the village's security patrol. With so many former rebels now living in the village, maintaining order will be a major concern. It's fitting to use this group of Yellow Turban Soldiers to help maintain the peace."
Guo Yun's eyes lit up. "An excellent point, Village Chief! An excellent point!"
As if remembering something, he quickly added, "Village Chief, we should put the construction of a village prison on the agenda..."
Xiao Jing nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Have the prison built as soon as possible. I'll leave this matter to you, Elder Guo..."