Chapter 1473: Refining the Heart in the Mortal World (20)
Chapter 1476: Refining the Heart in the Mortal World (Twenty)
After Wang Chen left the city wall with the government officials, Ye Xiangming felt something was wrong when he woke up.
It wasn't that the county magistrate had the ability to predict the future, but his rich life experience reminded him that there was something strange about Yu Heqian's sudden summons to Wang Chen to go to the county government office.
Thinking of the conditions proposed by the bandits to withdraw the troops, Ye Xiangming was extremely frightened, so he immediately rushed to the county government office as quickly as possible.
No matter what Yu Heqian's machinations are, there is nothing to fear if he and Wang Chen join forces.
What he fears most is that Wang Chen will be plotted against him single-handedly!
But the county magistrate never expected that what he saw in the lobby of the county government was such a scene.
More than a dozen prominent figures in Qing'an County fell in a pool of blood. The flowing blood gathered into a winding stream on the terrazzo floor, which was particularly shocking.
Ye Xiangming recognized every corpse here. Some of them were respected local gentry, some were wealthy businessmen, and there were two powerful gang leaders.
What frightened Ye Xiangming the most was that Yu Heqian was sitting in the courtroom, with a bloody hole between his eyebrows, and red and white liquid gurgling out of it.
The county magistrate, who had always been at odds with him and always had the upper hand, was actually dead!
Something big happened!
Ye Xiangming subconsciously looked at the only person still standing - Wang Chen.
He lost his voice and asked: "Xian son-in-law, what on earth is going on?"
Wang Chen sighed: "When I was ordered to come to the county government office, I saw that the masters of the rogue army were killing people here. A group of gentry and the county magistrate were unfortunately killed as a result."
"Although these three thieves have been killed by me, it's a pity that it's still a step too late."
Ye Xiangming was speechless.
The county magistrate is not a fool, so how could he not guess the truth of the matter?
The situation at the scene was actually very clear. The county magistrate Yu Heqian and a group of gentry colluded with the bandits and set up a killing spree in the county government hall, trying to exchange Wang Chen's life for the rogue army to retreat.
As a result, they underestimated Wang Chen's strength and were killed by Wang Chen's counterattack, leaving them all lying here.
In fact, Ye Xiangming can understand the reason why Yu Heqian did this. After all, the losses in Qing'an County so far in this offensive and defensive battle have been huge and have exceeded their endurance limit.
But understanding is understanding. Looking at Yu Heqian who was still dead in peace, the county magistrate still felt very happy.
Qing'an County was able to persist without falling under the crazy attack of tens of thousands of rogue bandits, and Wang Chen can be credited with the first credit.
As a result, as a protected person, he was stabbed in the back, and even Ye Xiangming would not be able to bear it.
As for Wang Chen's explanation, although it was full of loopholes, what kind of person was Ye Xiangming? He immediately said with a sad expression: "I see, I didn't expect the thieves to be so cunning and cruel. It's a pity that Magistrate Yu and a group of gentry died for their country, and we can't see the victory."
A moment!”
Yu Heqian and others must have been killed by bandits, otherwise even if he committed the serious crime of being a traitor, Wang Chen would not be able to kill him without permission, not to mention that there were so many prominent figures in Qing'an County buried with him.
Ye Xiangming already had an idea in his mind.
He met Wang Chen's eyes, and the two smiled in tacit understanding.
Wang Chen said: "Father-in-law, I'll leave the rest of the matter to you. I'll go back first to prevent the thieves from attacking."
"good."
Ye Xiangming agreed without hesitation.
Such a big thing happened in the county government. Now Ye Xiangming is the number one figure in Qing'an County. If he wants to maintain stability in the city, he must personally handle the aftermath.
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As for city defense, leaving it to Wang Chen, whose strength is unpredictable, is the best choice.
During this period of time, Wang Chen was stationed on the city wall, killing hundreds of elite bandits and rescuing many soldiers.
His prestige is no weaker than that of Ye Xiangming.
When Wang Chen returned to the city wall, Ye Xiangming had already begun to deploy manpower in the county government. On the one hand, he was trying his best to ensure the supply of materials for the garrison sergeants, and on the other hand, he was purging Yu Heqian's confidants.
After he was completely in control of the situation, he issued a notice and then personally led a team to raid many large houses in the city.
The charge is of course collaborating with the enemy to murder the county magistrate!
There were more than a dozen prominent figures in Qing'an County who died in the lobby of the county government. Of course, Ye Xiangming would not confiscate all of their homes. He only selected a few of the richest people and executed them with lightning speed.
This will first further remove Wang Chen's suspicion, and provide an explanation to the higher-ups in the future.
Secondly, the wealth and materials obtained by ransacking homes can enable the garrison to sustain itself for a few more days.
In fact, the results of this house raid shocked the well-informed county magistrate!
He had thought that the big families in the county were at the end of their rope, so he had no choice but to conspire with the bandits to murder Wang Chen.
As a result, although the grain, gold, silver, and weapons stored in these households did not reach the level of a mountain, they can all be added together to fully support Qing'an County for another month or two.
Such a harvest made Ye Xiangming's eyes red, and he became even more ruthless, and even ransacked two more houses.
Any resistance would be suppressed by him with the most brutal means!
In just two days, the entire Qing'an County fell under Ye Xiangming's control.
And the rogue army retreated.
They had to retreat.
This army of rogue bandits surrounded Qing'an County for half a month. During this period, they launched dozens of fierce attacks, but were all repelled by the defenders.
Casualties reached 20,000 to 30,000.
Although rogue thieves are worthless, and there are plenty of cannon fodder for hungry people everywhere, the bandit bandits have also suffered heavy losses among their elites, and the number one general, Xiao Zhan, has also been trapped in the county town.
Under such circumstances, even though the "Pingtian King" Li Zili was extremely unwilling and boundless angry, he also realized that if he continued to fight, even if he could finally break through Qing'an County, his own side would not be able to bear the losses.
So he had no choice but to withdraw his troops and re-concentrate his strength to attack other counties.
It is impossible for every county to be as difficult as Qing'an County.
When the last figure of the rogue army disappeared into the vast wilderness, the soldiers guarding the city wall unanimously let out earth-shattering cheers.
Many people cried with joy.
It was really not easy. Everyone thought they were going to die with the city, but suddenly they won.
There were also some soldiers who lay weakly on the ground after cheering and fell into a deep sleep and never woke up.
In the days that followed, every household in Qing'an County was deserted, and cries echoed in the streets and alleys for a long time.
In this battle to defend the city, Qing'an County also suffered extremely heavy losses. More than two thousand soldiers and strong men died in the battle, and even more were injured.
When Wang Chen returned to his home, he was warmly welcomed by his wife and concubines.
Regardless of her modesty, Ye Dai teamed up with Xiao Yu and pestered him for three days and three nights.