Thinking too much into it
"First, we deal with this army and take their weapons and armor before letting them go," Rain explained. "After that, we invaded the nearby cities, towns, and villages and forced them to trade war supplies for food with us. We keep a decent rate that it will make them feel a bit satisfied, but not that much since they will feel suspicious."
"I suppose that could work…" Branden said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We won't be making allies per se, but they won't feel that inclined to join other campaigns against us."
"Naturally, we will have to lock down anyone who is working for the king and Joanis. We have to nip troublemakers in the bud before they cause problems," Rain added.