"It's finally time for us to act! I was getting sick of waiting."
"I can't tolerate those kingdom pigs either. Their stink makes me nauseous." Someone pinched their nose, as though an invisible smell wafted through the room.
"The faster we deal with them, the faster we can go home."
"What's this part about the princess, Rat?"
The leader nicknamed Rat replied, "I'm not sure either, but I think they have some doubts."
"You mean if she's dead or not?" Rabbit replied.
"I guess so… I have no idea what they're thinking," Rat said. "We've all heard the rumors about Liguang. No one should have survived that. If the princess really survived, then why would the kingdom keep quiet?"
"Do they want to vandalize her corpse?" another joked.
"We're not here to question orders, Monkey," Rat glared at the man.
"That's not the important part." A woman huffed smoke from her pipe and glanced at them. "How are we supposed to find out anything about the princess? The kingdom won't be exactly advertising it. This complicates things."
"Snake is right." A gruff man nodded. "Should we break into their base?"
"Are you trying to get us killed?" Monkey snapped.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" he fired back.
"Let's calm down, and talk civilly," a scholarly man said.
"This doesn't concern you, Goat!"
Rat clapped his hands. "Enough! Are you two done yet? Monkey? Ox?" Upon seeing their silence, he continued, "I don't think our plan needs to change much. If we play this right, we might be able to do both assignments at once. Here's what I have in mind…" He then explained his ideas to the group and created a revised plan based on their feedback. "What do you think? Can we do it?"
"You can leave the whorehouses to me," Snake replied leisurely.
"I can handle the markets," Ox said confidently.
"Slums for me," Monkey added.
"Anything academic or religion-related is well within my ability," Goat said.
"Servants quarters here."
"General labourers for me."
"Farmer's district, or slums if we need any more help there."
They continued listing off businesses or districts in the stronghold, but when it got back around to Rabbit, she hesitated. "Are you sure we should be doing this? After all, a lot of people will…"
"Do I need to remind you that we're soldiers? Orders are orders and we do what we're told, that's all," Rat replied sternly.
"I know, but-"
"Don't tell me you feel sympathy for the kingdom?" Snake chuckled.
"No! Not at all!" Rabbit shook her head fiercely. "It's just… these are our own people we're doing this to… It doesn't seem right."
"I can't have someone hesitating. I'm sorry about this, but we'll have to detain you here until we're done. Rooster and Dragon, if you may."
"No, it's fine! I was only thinking aloud!"
However, Rat did not seem convinced. He was about to order Rooster and Dragon again when Goat stepped up. "Why don't we let her go? We need as many people as we can get. I doubt she'll betray us."
"Very well… We'll begin on the eve of the new year. Dismissed!"
***
Although the Alzar Kingdom seized the stronghold, they did not enslave the populace and put everyone to work. This was mostly advocated by Elizabeth, who suggested an experimental peaceful governance model. She convinced the Royal Assembly that nurturing trust with their new subjects would be more beneficial for the Alzar Kingdom's longevity. After all, enacting a grand genocide on the Xingyuu Empire would be a very costly and time-consuming endeavour. It would not be easy, and it would result in the death of countless budding geniuses or heroes. It would also devastate the economy, something that the kingdom could use to recoup their losses in the war. Administrating a territory equal in size to the Alzar Kingdom was not something they could achieve on their own. They needed assistance from the locals, which meant nurturing trust. This was how Elizabeth convinced the Royal Assembly, not through vague notions of mortality and harmony, but solid reasoning on efficiency and longevity. Admittedly though, her honest reasons were related to those 'vague' notions.
Life in the Yunyun Stronghold thus operated under these principles, though there were strings attached. For starters, everyone's homes were ransacked so anything useful was repurposed for the war, while anything valuable was sold off to the mainland. The problem was that anyone that stayed in the Yunyun Stronghold, despite the kingdom's invasion, meant that they were poor anyways. There was little to be gained. They were then assigned to various jobs throughout the stronghold to support the army. Although these jobs were not particularly glamourous, they were issued Alzar currency as payment, which slowly integrated the stronghold into the kingdom. Their status was somewhere higher than slaves, but lower than servants. They could also leave and return to empire-controlled territory anytime with the caveat that they had to get there without assistance. Braving the journey back would cross through multiple active conflict zones, in the winter no less, meant death was likely. Most decided to stay.
Initially, everyone was skeptical of the kingdom's true intentions and turtled up inside their homes, afraid to step one foot outside. Considering the kingdom slaughtered over four thousand, this was expected! No one wanted to stick their necks out to die. This cold attitude lasted for weeks, but eventually, they ran out of food and water. They had to venture out. And when they did, they discovered that the Alzar Kingdom was certainly not kind, but under Elizabeth's policies, the soldiers would not do anything out of line. They were guaranteed a basic level of human rights. As more and more people discovered this, that cold attitude began to thaw. Months passed, and life began to return to normal in December… at least in theory. Unfortunately though, as long as the segregation between the Alzar Kingdom and the Xingyuu Empire remained, discontent would inevitably fester. This was precisely the wound that would create the chaos to come!
"Meat for sale here! Cheapest cuts you'll find around!"
"Assorted winter clothing! Buy a matching children's set for a discount!"
"Pottery here! Use it for storage, food, cooking, or just decoration! Limited time sale today only!"
The markets were abuzz with activity, as people crowded the streets; however, very few people bought things, while most perused. This was not because they were miserly though, but because they were paid too little for the work that they did. They needed to choose their purchases carefully. One elderly woman looked over the vegetables, saw their sky-high prices, and sighed. The fish and meat stalls were similarly beyond her budget. It looked like another month of eating plain dumplings, and maybe a salted persimmon for her grandson if they were cheap. On second thought though, she shook her head. It was getting too cold in the house, and they needed coal. Or maybe it was better to buy more clothing instead?
While she was conflicted, the stall keeper greeted her, "Aunty Shen, I haven't seen you lately. How's your family been doing lately?"
"Very good, thank you for asking. Is there any way I can get a discount on these cabbages? They're already rotting it seems."
"You're the fourteenth person to ask me that today," the stall keeper scratched their head. "I'm already selling at a loss as it is, so I can't go any cheaper. I'm sorry about this."
"No, it's fine," the woman replied dejectedly. "Do you know why things are becoming so expensive? It wasn't like this last month."
"To tell you the truth… this is related to the Alzar Kingdom. You know how they control the goods being sold here, right? Well, the winter means their soldiers need to eat more, which means less food for us to go around. We only get the scraps that they don't want. Things will only get harder from this point on, so I would recommend buying and storing as much as you can now. This winter will be rough for everyone."
"I barely have enough money for this week… and our neighbours are struggling too. They had to move into our house because they ran out of coal. We're barely getting by, and it's supposed to get worse? How are we supposed to survive?" Her complexion was ugly.
"I know. It's all because of the Alzar Kingdom," a flash of fury rolled across the stall keeper's face.
"I better be going then. I need to figure out what to buy before dinner."
"Wait! Before you go, take this with you."
"Huh?" She looked at the piece of paper that was slipped into her hands.
"Read it when you get home and make sure to keep it a secret from the kingdom. Something big is going to happen soon!"