Bai Qingqi did not issue an order to forbid harming the civilians...
The people of Xiliang are fierce and the civilians can also serve as soldiers. Conquering Xiliang cities is different from conquering their own cities after all... To the eyes of Xiliang people, people of Zhou are foreigners.
Therefore, they would inevitably resist with all their might. Once the people of Xiliang take up arms, it's no different from resisting Zhou. If there were orders forbidding harming Xiliang civilians, and these Xiliang civilians brandished their blades against Zhou's soldiers, wouldn't it mean Zhou would suffer a needless loss of soldiers' lives?
However, as long as the civilians of Xiliang give up resistance, the people of Zhou are willing to accept them. After all, the Bai family's aspiration for generations has been to unify the world, not to eradicate all foreign tribes, leaving only the people of Zhou.
