Chapter 218 Hypocrisy or innocence, Guan Nanmen

Author: Traveling from the South

Chapter 218 Hypocrisy or innocence, Guan Nanmen

The magistrate of Hougang County, Ning Zhuo, was unable to resist the surging public opinion and could only be forced to act as the leader and lead his troops to surrender.

This was contrary to his loyalty to the court, and it also went against the will of his family. He abandoned most of the people when necessary to preserve his territory and troops.

After surviving this period of famine, Lu Ding will turn back and take over the border counties. This is the promise of the overlord of Dingxi.

Maybe most people think it's a bit ridiculous, but from the perspective of the Wangning family in Border City County, it's reasonable.

If they reach the stage like Lu Ding, they will first go south to seize the rich land instead of going north to collect a burden.

The leaders of Border City County only need to control the hungry people within the county and prevent them from becoming refugees and attacking the wealthy Pinghe County for food.

When Lu Ding goes north in the future, he will be rewarded based on his merits.

Whichever family controls the territory, has the most soldiers and horses, and contributes more to the stability of the overall situation, will be able to occupy more positions in the new dynasty.

As the largest county leader family in Border City County, the Ning family is naturally the most concerned about this. They not only control the county town of Longbei City, but also control two of the five counties.

Hougang was originally the place where the Ning family felt most at ease, because with Ning Zhuo, the orthodox county magistrate, the family had a name and soldiers, so it could be said to be unbreakable.

Another family in the county, the Wang family, and other county tycoons, can only share half of Longbei City together, and the other three counties are mostly shared by several families.

It is a pity that the elders of the Ning family never expected that as a legitimate son who received an elite education, the most outstanding descendant of the family in recent years would actually have a "conscience".

After the famine broke out completely, Ning Zhuo not only failed to recruit troops and strengthen his real power, but instead misappropriated military rations to provide relief to the victims.

When all the cities dared not let go, Hougang City allowed homeless refugees to enter the city, and at least some of them stuttered every day.

Under such circumstances, even with some food support provided by the Ning family, it would not be able to last for long.

Before, Ning Zhuo and the other refugees were looking forward to the summer harvest, but they never expected that the Ning family and other large families would jointly send troops to harvest the wheat in advance.

Everyone knows that there will be a severe drought this year and production will be severely reduced. Naturally, these big families also know that food must not be left outside.

Hougang City did not harvest a few acres of summer grain, and the order of people's hearts that Ning Zhuo had carefully maintained completely collapsed. The nearly 100,000 victims gathered every day were like a powder keg, ready to explode at any time.

At this time, even Ning Zhuo's accumulated prestige could not appease the hundreds of thousands of refugees.

On the verge of starving to death, no matter how much you say, it's all lies. At the moment, only food is real.

Therefore, no matter what Ning Zhuo was thinking, he had no choice but to surrender as he was coerced by public opinion.

Banners were fluttering, horses' hooves were like thunder, and war drums were ringing throughout the world. It had been a long time since such a powerful army had appeared in the border city.

The dark black armor, the shining blade, and the cold air.

The cavalry is like the wind, the infantry is like the sea, and like military columns like copper and iron walls, they push towards Hougang City in an orderly manner.

The extremely overbearing military spirit, like a gust of wind and rain, wiped away the accumulated resentment, evil spirit, and surging calamity energy around Hougang City.

The 100,000 hungry people who poured out of the city were still vicious wolves with red eyes, but they instantly calmed down in front of the sharp blades of the 3,000 demon-defying army.

Yes, in order to control the situation immediately, the demon-suppressing army was at the forefront.

They moved like thunder, controlled key points in the city with unparalleled speed, and then rushed into the crowd to form human walls, as quiet as mountains, blocking the impact of the waves of hungry people.

Of course, there will inevitably be violent suppression, but as long as too many lives are not lost, it will be fine.

When Zhou Bai arrived, what he saw was a phantom of Pixiu condensed with military aura, proudly holding its head high, sitting in the sky above Hougang City.

One hundred thousand hungry people were like trembling chickens under the shock of the three thousand demon-defying army. They had never seen such a terrifying army.

The average person has achieved more than a degree of physical training, and their energy and blood are majestic, and the heat is rolling, not to mention the fact that they have a murderous aura that suppresses their hunger urge.

And what kind of monster is that above the head and why is it here...

So even though the grain truck was right in front of us, Hougang City, the volcano that was about to erupt, was still forcibly cooled down by force.

Zhou Bai rode on Jijing, and slowly arrived in front of the welcoming team, surrounded by Gao Hu, Jiao Tu, Lou Jinpeng and other generals and guards.

There were only a few officials, more than a dozen generals, and a row of thin and weak soldiers with their weapons laid out.

The entire Hougang City was maintained by them before, which made Zhou Bai's eyes flash with a strange look.

He was very aware of the horror of human nature in the famine era, and he also understood the concept of a hundred thousand hungry people in one city. Otherwise, he would have let the Demon-Suppressing Army take control of the situation.

It can only be said that Ning Zhuo, the magistrate of Hougang County, may still have some abilities.

In fact, after hearing what Ning Zhuo had done from the soldiers in Shazhou City, Zhou Bai was a little disdainful, because in his opinion, this was the "Holy Mother".

In the last days of turmoil, a heart attack will not only fail to save people, but will also cause greater losses.

Just like the situation in Hougang City, if Zhou Bai didn't come, a hundred thousand hungry people would riot and eventually turn the city into ruins.

There were countless casualties, and the tragedy of cannibalism was almost predictable.

And this situation can obviously be avoided, as long as Ning Zhuo chooses to sacrifice a very small number of weak people.

"Ning Zhuo, the magistrate of Hougang County, led the people of Hougang and asked the Governor of Anbei to surrender."

Ning Zhuo wore the already somewhat dirty Daxu official robe and followed the formal etiquette, trying hard to maintain the last bit of dignity.

"Magistrate Ning, please get up."

Even though Zhou Bai felt that Ning Zhuo's previous actions were a bit hypocritical and pedantic, he still dismounted, received the surrender letter and official seal list, and completed the surrender process.

There are one and four counties behind him, and he wants to set up Ning Zhuo as a sign.

The last trace of reluctance in Ning Zhuo's heart disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief. The lives and deaths of a hundred thousand people weighed on him every day, and he was almost out of breath.

Without waiting for Zhou Bai to arrange for Ning Zhuo, he took the initiative to ask Ying and said: "Captain, can you let me participate in the relief and relief work? The grassroots people are familiar with the people's conditions and may be able to help."

This former county magistrate had a very good position. After surrendering, he actually called himself a commoner. He did not have the pride that comes from various status blessings.

Ning Zhuo's sincere request may make others think that this is a newly demoted official who is eager to perform meritorious service.

But Zhou Bai heard that the former county magistrate never meant this. He was always concerned about the mood of the hungry people and could not pretend to be so.

Zhou Bai suddenly felt a little confused. Maybe this was not a hypocritical Virgin, but a pure person?

"You are still the magistrate of Hougang County for the time being. Let's see how the follow-up goes."

With these words and a group of alternate officials brought from the Governor's Mansion, Zhou Bai strode into the city. Next, he had to consider where to attack.

Taking Shazhou City can still conceal the arrival of the Anbei Army, but taking Hougang cannot hide the arrival of the Anbei Army at all costs.

The whole county was shaken, horses were everywhere, and the sky was filled with homing pigeons.

No one expected that the first one to conquer them was not the northern grassland tribes nor Lu Ding from the south, but the Anbei Dudufu who came across Baishazhou.

And before they could react, they had already captured Hougang and gained a foothold in Border City County.

The big and small forces everywhere have different thoughts on this. Some are panicked and fearful of losing their current positions of power; some are overjoyed because the famine may be alleviated with the arrival of a new person in power; but most are still hesitant and arguing.

, fight or surrender.

…

In Longbei City, as soon as they received the news of Hougang's sudden change, representatives of the major forces immediately gathered in the county government office.

The county governor abandoned his official position and returned to the court. No one could unite the various forces in the county and the city, and no one could take the chief seat in the government hall.

Even Ning Cheng, the most powerful head of the Ning family, could only add a chair next to the main seat and could barely be regarded as the person presiding over the meeting.

In the past, because of the Ning family's advantage in the county, he could control the situation every time a crowd gathered to discuss matters, but it was different today. The Wang family joined forces with several other county tycoons to launch an attack.

"What does the Ning family mean? Ning Zhuo surrendered without any resistance. Could it be that the Ning family has climbed to the heights of the Governor of Anbei?"

"That's right, head of the Ning family, the Ning family is in charge of Shazhou City and Hougang County. If you lose it quietly, the safety of the entire county will be in danger!"

"Anbei's army gained a foothold, but it was like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable."

The continuous questioning made Ning Cheng look gloomy, and he had already cursed Ning Zhuo countless times in his heart.

But at the moment, he can't break up the trouble after all: "Ning Zhuo must have done this carefully. In his eyes, he should not be able to stop An Bei's army."

"I'm going to Ruinan in January. Is it possible that our border town is stronger than Ruinan County?"

Wang Yi, the head of the Wang family, sneered and said, "That's not necessarily true. At least my sons and daughters on the Great Wall are all first-class strong soldiers."

"Can you still afford to support them now? The 20,000 border troops have been dismantled for half a year, but now there are still 5,000?" Ning Cheng refused to give in and said sarcastically.

Seeing that the two families were about to confront each other, Zhu Weng, a good old man from Longbei City, stood up and changed the subject: "Thirty thousand people starved to death last month. This summer harvest can only last for a month. If there is a war, summer planting will not be possible."

Guaranteed, there is no hope for the autumn harvest."

"Master Jun Cheng, do you want to vote?" Wang Yi's voice showed no emotion.

Zhu Weng kept silent and did not answer, but looked at Ning Cheng. He knew that only those with soldiers in Border City County had the right to speak.

The reason why the Ning and Wang families are called county commanders in such a small county is because they have been serving in the border army for generations, and their relationship is complicated.

Ning Cheng thought for a moment and said hesitantly: "Let's see whether we vote or not. The conditions offered by Lu Ding are very generous. I heard that although Ruinan Jiedushi is not dead, he does not receive any preferential treatment."

What he was thinking was that anyway, Ning Zhuo had surrendered and his eggs were placed in two baskets, so he didn't have to worry about the Ning family being wiped out.

"The order is being sent to everyone, and at the same time, the message is being sent to Pinghe..."

Unlike other county towns located in the very center of the county, Longbei City, the county seat of Border City, is located at the northernmost end of the county.
To be continued...