It is normal to have bandits. After all, it is close to the Taihang Mountains. In addition, over the years, farmers in many places have been affected by various disasters to varying degrees, so farmers who cannot survive go into the mountains to become thieves.
Theoretically it's very smooth.
It is also very logically complete and self-consistent.
Therefore, there are "bandits" in Zhongmou.
Because of the "bandit rebellion", the Zhongmu area has never been very stable.
Without stability, food production will naturally be low.
If grain production is not high, taxes must be reduced or reduced.
What's wrong with this?
Therefore, the amount of taxes paid in Zhongmou land was reduced accordingly, and the reduced taxes were retained by the local government to protect the local area and provide subsidies to poor farmers.
What's the problem with this?
At the same time, because we need to fight against bandits, we must also supplement some military equipment. Then the expenditures on military pay and pensions cannot let the soldiers go to war hungry, right?
Therefore, the various expenses in Zhongmou Land are also very high, and from time to time, the Han Dynasty needs to allocate additional subsidies from other places...
This is definitely no problem.
No, there is another riot in Zhongmou.
It is said that they are the remnants of the Black Mountain Army.
The Montenegrin Army has an old tradition. Almost every winter they go down the mountain to harass, smash, and loot. I don’t know if they have some irresolvable hatred with the big man.
Fortunately, the local defense forces in the Zhongmou area seem to be quite good and can resist the Montenegrin Army every year. Even though military expenditures have remained high, the losses have not been small.
Some people say that the Black Mountain Army in Zhongmu is the original Montenegrin Army, others say that these Montenegrin Army are actually the remnants of Yuan Shao's army back then, and some even say that the current Montenegrin Army is supported by the Hussars General Fei Qian. Anyway, it doesn't matter.
Yes, but no matter what the situation is, it proves that the remnants of the Black Mountain Army bandits in Zhongmou are very difficult to fight, or in other words, very difficult to clean up.
At the beginning, the big man didn't care about this, because at that time he didn't even care about himself.
Later, Han Fu arrived in Jizhou and was unable to take care of this matter. However, after Yuan Shao took over Jizhou, he had a real fight with the Black Mountain Army, but he couldn't take care of it anymore.
By the time Cao Cao arrived, Zhongmu was already used to it, or in other words, he had been used to it by everyone from top to bottom.
I'm used to hearing the news about bandits in Zhongmou, I'm used to Zhongmou's reduced taxes, I'm used to extra subsidies and expenses from time to time, I'm used to Zhongmou's officials making heroic sacrifices in battles with bandits...
Habit is a terrible thing.
It's like living in a smelly room for a long time, and once you get used to it, you no longer feel the smell.
It's late at night, the moon is dark and the wind is high.
There were a lot of people sitting around the big tent at the Han Zhong Mou Bandit Suppression Camp.
The odor of sweat, feet, sour body odor, and breath odor complement each other and complement each other.
Everyone is so stinky, so no one stinks. Therefore, no one in the big tent has any objections to the stench. On the contrary, they have strong objections to the upcoming patrol.
"Zhang Sanlang, the war report you reported earlier has been approved. You will be credited once, but you will not be promoted for the time being..."
The leader picked up a piece of writing from the desk and threw it into the arms of the other person.
"What? Why?" Zhang Sanlang shouted before he even started writing, "Wang Xiaowei, why can't I be promoted? Didn't I defeat the Black Mountain Bandits?"
"It says there is no body, no head certificate..." Colonel Wang pointed at the text and said, "You know what it means, if you do this next time, there will be problems sooner or later!"
"Hey, Lieutenant Wang, you can't blame me for this. The Black Mountain bandits came over in vain. It's not easy for the brothers to take the risk and defeat the thieves... Although I didn't get any heads, but
Armor, swords, and guns can also prove something. Can’t this be upgraded to a level? You can’t let us go to the mountain stream to find the corpse of the thief?」
Colonel Wang turned his eyes and said, "I told you, it can't be counted! Do you understand? No, it can be counted!"
"..." Zhang Sanlang was still a little unconvinced, but he remained silent.
Colonel Wang knocked on the desk that was covered with grease and dirt, and then said: "I tell you to restrain yourself a little, restrain yourself a little, and pretend to be more like-minded. Let's communicate with each other, and the result will be good. Just think about yourself."
What a mess! It’s okay now! We’ve brought in the inspectors... Then we’ll expose them all, and you and I will have a good life?"
"Didn't you say that the inspectors are here to check for spies? We don't have spies here, only Black Mountain bandits, what's the point?" The military prince on the other side said, "The superiors have taken so much, so they should give us some cover."
Come on? Otherwise, how can you do this job? 』
"You think the higher-ups didn't do anything? The higher-ups sent people to tell us this news! Check the spies, check the bullshit spies! They are here to check us!" Wang Xiaowei knocked on the desk, "It's just numb.
At that time, I only reported ten or twenty military exploits, but now I dare to report thousands of them. Ah, you bastards, you really think that no one else can see it, ah? If you move, there will be hundreds or even thousands of people in Black Mountain.
There are only so many people, but you have killed tens of thousands in total! What a nonsense!"
Everyone was silent.
There is indeed some truth in saying this, but if you don't pay more, how can you satisfy the growing appetite?
"Everyone, let's talk about what to do now!" Captain Wang knocked on the table.
Zhang Sanlang coughed and said: "Isn't that what everyone is doing when they come out to work, to support their families? Can this inspector...can make some money..."
"Difficult." Wang Xiaowei shook his head and said, "This man's surname is Lu Minghong. It is said that he had the courage to find trouble with General Xiahou in Yecheng before, and he was almost killed by General Xiahou... and it is said that his life is poor and he is not happy."
To enjoy himself, he even tore off his brocade robe to show his determination... For such a person, it would be... difficult, difficult to give money!"
"If you don't want money, this will be troublesome..."
"Yes, the most annoying thing is that people don't need money. How can you be a human being without money?"
"Is this person sick?"
"Being sick, yes, it's best to be sick! It would be best if you die of illness on the way!"
"You are stupid. You were not sick when you came out, but you were sick when you arrived in Zhongmou. It was still a serious illness, and you died the next day. Only a fool like you would believe it?!"
"Wang Dafei, what do you mean?!"
"That's what I mean, what's wrong?"
"Nima..."
Everyone was chattering, talking and moving up and down the stairs.
"Everyone, please be serious and let's talk about business!" Colonel Wang banged the table twice again.
Everyone fell silent. You looked at me, I looked at you, and there were no words again.
"You're capable of pulling things blindly, but you act like a mute when it comes to serious matters!" Colonel Wang slapped the table, which was already a little unstable, as if it was about to fall apart in the next moment.
, "If we really want to find out something by then, neither you nor I can escape!"
"How about you give me an idea, the captain? I'll do whatever the captain says!" Zhang Sanlang, the military lord on the side, said.
The military lord Zhang Sanlang was the first to express his stance, and the rest of the people also agreed.
Isn't this how it has been all these years?
Those who can be bribed can be bribed, those who can be coaxed, those who can be corrupted, those who can be intimidated can be intimidated. If it really doesn't work, they will sacrifice themselves heroically and die on the front line. Anyway, as long as the action plan is well formulated and their hands and feet are clean, they have no objection.
.
They are everyone in Zhongmu from top to bottom.
Captain Wang did not knock on the table this time. He did not know whether it was because he thought it would fall apart if he knocked any more, or because he felt that there was no need to knock anymore.
Captain Wang looked around and said, "What can I do? I thought of one...this Black Mountain bandit is very cruel..."
"This..." Everyone looked at each other.
Didn't I just say this...
No. It doesn’t matter whether you said it or not. What matters is that this is the inspector!
This is the Prime Minister, no, this is the inspector sent by Xun Lingjun. Is it appropriate to go directly to the big move now?
Captain Wang's eyes became colder, "What? You have the guts to make money, but don't have the guts to do things?"
Zhang Sanlang gritted his teeth and slapped his thigh, "Fuck it! Just do as the captain said!"
After a while, everyone responded one after another. For a moment, they seemed to be rushing to the battlefield, with a rather iron-blooded atmosphere.
Anyway, I've done it several times.
No, this is the first time for an inspector, but the previous petty officials and so on can be considered to have accumulated a certain amount of experience?
With the name of Black Bandit Studio in front of it, the only one to blame is the Black Bandit!
Lieutenant Wang pinched the short beard on his chin, "Then you all agree?"
"It's done! It's done!"
"agreed, agreed!"
"Yes, fuck him!"
"Okay! Bring the wine! Make an alliance with blood!" Captain Wang didn't waste any more words. He took out a short blade from his boots, and then took out a piece of silk. He scratched the edge of the blade with his fingers, and bright red blood flowed out and dripped on it.
In the wine jar, he pressed it on the silk and signed the blood seal!
"Ah?" Everyone was a little surprised, does it need to be so grand?
Back then, it was nothing more than fighting against Dong, but now it is being used to deal with an inspector...
Lieutenant Wang cast his gaze over, like a knife piercing his body. Zhang Sanlang immediately felt as if he had been stabbed. Without saying a word, he took the knife and made a cut, then dripped blood into the wine jar.
Then the next one.
Next one.
One after another, line up.
It was as orderly as if you were queuing up to share money.
……ヽ(???)?(???)?……
Lu Hong staggered on his horse.
Inspector.
Which one is bigger, the school minister or the inspector?
This is not important.
The important thing is that as long as you climb up and the position is high enough, even if you do nothing, it will be very important. For this, Lu Hong knew very well.
Lu Hong didn't know whether there were spies in Zhongmou, but he knew there was something wrong with Zhongmou.
This problem has actually been going on for a long time.
Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have fought against Black Mountain bandits before, so there must be Black Mountain bandits, but if it continues until now, something is a little abnormal.
Yuan Shao sent soldiers from various places into the mountains to encircle and suppress them. He said it was a great victory, but was it really...
If it is really a big victory, then why not take advantage of the victory and pursue it? It’s not because the effort and reward are already out of proportion.
Later, the battle between Cao Cao and the Black Mountain Army was fought at the foot of the mountain. At that time, the Black Mountain Army had all left the mountain, so it was not considered a victory in the mountain. As for the hussar general Fei Qian, it seems that he also fought outside the mountain.
Well, no one has actually gone into the mountains to encircle and suppress people. No one knows how many thieves there are in the Black Mountains, and no one can guarantee anything. After all, ordinary people can become refugees, yellow scarf thieves, and then become some...
Montenegrin bandits, what can be surprising?
In fact, whether it was Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Han Fu, or other local officials, it was not that they did not send some troops to suppress the bandits, but those soldiers who rushed here from other places were always defeated...
Lu Hong discovered a very strange problem. Every time he mobilized troops from other counties to start a war with Montenegro, the Zhongmu troops that were supposed to support them either had this problem or encountered the obstruction of the Montenegrin bandits, preventing them from moving forward. In the end,
Naturally, the soldiers transferred from outside the county were defeated in the mountains.
Of course, this may just be a coincidence. After all, Li Guang was so unlucky back then. On the battlefield, who can guarantee that he will always be lucky?
The mountain roads in the Taihang Mountains are rugged and complicated. Sometimes it is inevitable to get lost or encounter problems on the mountain roads, so slow progress is not a problem. What's more, the captain and captain here in Zhongmu are connected to some local civil servants.
Several people were killed in the confrontation with Montenegro. It seems unreasonable to say that the defenders of Zhongmou did not contribute.
Later, Cao Cao himself had many problems to deal with. As long as he didn't make too much noise in a small place like Zhongmu, he basically didn't care too much. Until this time, Xun Yu relisted this place as a
focus.
As for why Xun Yu focused on Zhongmu, the more Lu Hong thought about it, the more exquisite he felt.
Lu Hong felt that this might be the gap between him and Xun Yu. As long as he thought about these things clearly, it would be equivalent to shortening the distance between him and Xun Yu.
This should be.
First of all, Zhongmou is neither big nor small, and it is located on the Taihang side. There are caravans, so there will inevitably be some idle people waiting, and it is naturally very possible for some spies to sneak in.
Secondly, Zhongmou is relatively closed, with Taihang to the west, Julu Ze to the north, and large rivers to the south and east. This territory has always been controlled by several big surnames, the Li family, the Wang family, and more importantly, the Ren family and the
Pan's.
However, these surnames are not very prominent, they are average, at least a little above.
Is it a good fit?
Just like the Ren family, Ren Jun's Ren family.
Ren Jun served as a county official in Zhongmu County in his early years. Later, during Dong Zhuo's reign, Yang Yuan, the original magistrate of Zhongmu County, planned to abandon his official position and flee, but was dissuaded by Ren Jun. Later Ren Jun suggested that Yang Yuan take the lead in raising troops to fight against Dong Zhuo. Yang
Yuan adopted Ren Jun's suggestion and took the lead in launching a campaign against Dong Zhuo. However, Zhongmou was too small and not as powerful as Yuan Shao and others, so it did not receive much attention.
Soon after, Cao Cao also raised troops to fight against Dong Zhuo in the Chenliu area. Ren Jun led more than a hundred people including his clan, guests, etc. to attach themselves to Cao Cao, and he became the elder of Cao Cao's group from then on. Cao Cao was very happy for Ren Jun's surrender, and not only appointed him
Qi Duwei also married his cousin to Ren Jun.
Afterwards, Ren Jun was basically responsible for the supply of logistics and grain, and he has been holding the position of military commander in the field. He implemented the policy of fielding with remarkable results, and became one of the important forces deployed by Cao Cao in Yingchuan.
Yingchuan, haha...
Lu Hong smiled, feeling that he might have touched something.
As for the Pan family in Zhongmu, basically speaking, they have less influence than the Ren family.
Among the Pan family, the eldest was named Pan Xu, and his son was named Pan Man. Pan Xu entered the official career in his early years and served as Shangshulang, Shangshu Youcheng and other positions under Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty.
He was famous for his past affairs. Later, he abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown when Dong Zhuo was in chaos. Now he is back in office and serves as the Zuocheng Cao of Jizhou. His son Pan Man is also very talented and learned, and is praised by the countryside.
The mountain road is winding. Although it is not very rugged, it is not very easy to climb up and down.
Suddenly, Lu Hong and his party encountered a checkpoint.
"Please show your official credentials so that we can inspect them and release them as soon as possible!" the soldiers at the checkpoint shouted loudly.
"You bastard! You dare to stop me in front of the inspector?!" Lu Hong's guard shouted, obviously not satisfied with being stopped.
"No, there is an order from above! Everyone must be inspected!" The sentry soldiers did not flinch, "Everyone, dismount and accept inspection!"
Lu Hongce immediately stepped forward, frowned and asked, "Who do you belong to?"
"What do you mean? Talk like a human being!" said the Sentry Guards School, "There is an order from above and everyone must be inspected!"
"..." Lu Hong was a little angry.
"Which department are you in? Who is your boss?" Lu Hong's guard couldn't help but shouted.
"Why are you asking this? If there is an order from above, it is from above!"
"Let me ask your superior..."
"Forget it," Lu Hong waved his hand, "Take what you gave him..."
Lu Hong's subordinate snorted, then got off his horse, rummaged through the luggage on the side, then took it out and handed it over.
The checkpoint military academy took over the check-in, looked up and down for a few times, and suddenly his expression changed, "This is fake! Come on, there is a thief pretending to be in the check-in, trying to break through!"
"What?" Before Lu Hong's men could react, they subconsciously reached for the pass, "How could this be fake..."
"How dare you commit murder and resist arrest!" There was a sudden shout, and then a long knife flashed out and was chopped down directly!
With a "puff" sound, the sharp long knife cut the right arm of Lu Hong's unprepared man in two!
Blood spurted out, and the stump of the limb that fell to the ground was still holding half open, and its fingers twitched.
"ah!
!" Guard Lu Hong screamed and fell to the ground.
"The thieves are trying to break through the checkpoint!" The checkpoint military academy raised his blood-stained sword and shouted, "Counterattack! Counterattack!"
"Those who pretend to be officials will be killed without mercy!"
"The thief will die!"
The soldiers at the checkpoint came out to kill the generals ferociously. Lu Hong and others finally reacted and tried to get their weapons in panic, but it was already too late.
Arrows came whistling, and several guards on horseback were shot before they even took out their crossbows. They fell off their horses. The horses, which had lost control of their riders, were frightened and bumped into the queue, causing several more guards to fall.
The soldiers and guards stood unsteadily and fell down the mountain. They screamed and hit the rocks like smashed tomatoes.
The soldiers at the checkpoint even rushed toward them with knives and spears. Even the small caravans who seemed to be waiting for inspection also rushed forward with weapons on wheelbarrows.
The swords were thrown at each other randomly, and Lu Hong's guards did not even have a chance to fight back, so they were killed on the spot. The two guards standing in front of Lu Hong just raised their swords to resist, but as soon as one of them raised his sword, he was hit by an arrow.
The arrow hit, and the other one cut the air with one sword, and then there was no chance to make a second strike...
Seeing that the sword was about to break through Lu Hong's protective circle and hit himself, Lu Hong was so scared that he was sweating all over. Then he had an idea and called out, "Don't kill me! Killing me is more troublesome! It's even more troublesome! Knife"
It’s good to keep people here! It’s good to be here!』
The miserable screams, like the howls of a fat pig about to be carried to the slaughter table, echoed in the valley...
