The soldiers and horses were only a few miles away from Zhaozhou City, and the cavalry reached Zhaozhou City along the pipeline in less than a stick of incense.
Zhang Yin led hundreds of cavalrymen to rush along the city wall towards the east gate. However, they saw flames blazing into the sky at the city gate, and many people were shouting and fighting up and down the city walls. The battle was very fierce.
Zhang Yin led the cavalry and approached the city gate. The drawbridge of the city gate had been lowered. There was a simple assault vehicle at the gate of the city that was roaring towards the city gate. Hundreds of unknown people surrounded the city gate.
Seeing a large number of cavalry arriving, they arrived in an instant. When the group of people at the city gate noticed, the cavalry was already approaching.
"Who are you? You dare to attack the city." Zhang Yin shouted loudly.
"It's officers and soldiers, damn it." someone shouted in shock.
"Damn it, he's actually a cavalry man. What a tough idea!" Someone shouted loudly.
But after hearing a whistle, the group of people began to flee along the bottom of the city wall. It was dark, and there was a moat across the city. If the cavalry wanted to catch up with them, they had to first cross the drawbridge and chase them along the narrow ramp under the wall, which was not easy.
In addition, it was dark, and the gang disappeared into the darkness after escaping, making it difficult to hunt for them. Moreover, Zhang Yin didn't know their identities or how many there were, so he didn't dare to order people to disperse and hunt them down to avoid being hunted.
Hidden arrows or an ambush. So he ordered the cavalry to chase along the outside of the moat for a while, and then gave up.
Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi led hundreds of cavalry to the city gate. Seeing that there were shouts of killing at the city gate and inside the city gate, they ordered people to shout towards the city gate.
"People on the city tower, listen, we are the cavalry of the Beijing regiment. The leader is the Marquis Zhang of Jianchang. The guard at the top of the Zhaozhou city will quickly open the city gate and let us enter the city."
The defenders at the top of the city had already seen the dark cavalry soldiers and horses below the city. Their armors were uniform and bright under the torches, and they could see that they were obviously the soldiers and horses of the imperial court. Then they heard a shout from the city, saying that a regiment of cavalry had arrived, and they quickly ordered people to open the city.
Door.
An official rushed out with several soldiers. The official was disheveled. He raised his hands and shouted loudly: "I am the magistrate of Zhaozhou County, Jiang Yuanchun. Are these really soldiers from the Beijing camp coming here?"
"Nonsense, the Marquis of Jianchang of the Ming Dynasty led the cavalry of the Zhenwei Battalion of the Beijing Camp. Why don't you come forward to pay homage?" Chen Shiyi shouted.
The official hurried forward and led everyone around him to kowtow and salute.
"I will see you at the Marquis of Jianchang. You guys came just in time."
Zhang Yanling waved his hand and said: "No need to be polite, Mr. Jiang, what happened here? Who was attacking the city at the gate of Shicai City? Why is there still sound of fighting in the city?"
"Xiaguan reported back to Mr. Zhang that tonight the thieves from Xifeng Mountain came to our county to cause trouble. Xiaguan and Wang Baihu from Zhaozhou, the right guard of Shenwu, are fighting against them. Some of the thieves arrived in the city during the day and took advantage of the opportunity.
At night, we cooperated with the gangsters outside. Just now, some of them were scared away by Lord Hou's soldiers and horses. There are still dozens of gangsters in the city, and Wang Baihu is leading his troops to capture them." Jiang Yuanchun said hurriedly.
Zhang Yanling frowned and said: "Thieves? Are you so brave? Do you dare to attack the county town openly?"
Jiang Yuanchun said hurriedly: "That's not true, they are here to rob the prison and save people. They..."
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said, "We'll talk about it later, but take the people first."
Without waiting for Zhang Yanling's instructions, Zhang Yin waved his hands and shouted: "Search the whole city and capture all the gangsters."
The cavalrymen responded with a roar, their horses' hooves rumbled, and they rushed in from the city gate. After a while, the entire county was filled with the sound of cavalry's horseshoes.
Jiang Yuanchun was in a daze, and Zhang Yanling said: "County Magistrate Jiang, how about we go into the city and go to your county government office for a while and wait for the gangsters to be captured?"
Jiang Yuanchun said hurriedly: "Okay, I will invite you to Jianchang, and I will lead the way for you."
More than a hundred riders followed Zhang Yanling into the city to go to the Zhaozhou County Government Office. Zhaozhou County is not big, and the county government office is on the main street in the city. They arrived in a moment. Zhang Yanling sat down in the lobby of the government office, and Jiang Yuanchun ordered the servants to serve tea.
Standing aside with hands down.
"Master Zhang, if you hadn't arrived today, the small county would have been in a terrible situation. Do you dare to ask, did the Marquis come here specially to clear out the thieves under the orders of the imperial court? That would be great. The Marquis of Jianchang will do a great job this time.
Completely eliminate the banditry. Otherwise, we will have no peace." Jiang Yuanchun said with an apologetic smile.
"Suppressing the bandits for you? You county magistrate has a wonderful idea. If you want to suppress the bandits, it won't be the Marquis's turn. How shameful are you? The Marquis led his army back from Ningxia to suppress the rebellion. Because of the flood, he took a detour from Kaifeng.
Let's go north from the ferry. I just happened to pass by here today." Chen Shiyi shouted in a deep voice.
Jiang Yuanchun said in astonishment: "Oh, it turns out that Mr. Zhang returned triumphantly from Ningxia to suppress the rebellion? Yes, I went to Zhending Mansion a few days ago to do business. I heard from Admiral Zhang Hui'anbo of Shenwu Right Guards, Ningxia
suppressing rebellion
Things. Oops, I am so stupid that I forgot about it just now. Couldn’t I just be talking about the Marquis Zhang of Jianchang and Mr. Yang, the Governor of Shaanxi? Damn it, damn it, I didn’t think of it for a moment. Don’t be surprised, the Marquis of Jianchang.
"
"Magistrate Jiang, you're welcome. Can you tell me how come there are thieves here? Are the thieves so brave? How dare they confront the government and enter the county town to rob the prison?" Zhang Yanling asked.
"Does Mr. Zhang not know the situation in my land in Hebei? The thieves have been rampant recently and have become more and more serious. Hey, I and other Hebei officials, ranging from the governor and magistrate to the lower officials and other small county magistrates, are really in trouble day and night.
An, I’m restless. It’s all these thieves and bandits who are making trouble.” Jiang Yuanchun sighed.
Zhang Yanling said: "I have heard about the mountain bandits and horse thieves in Hebei. But I didn't expect them to be so powerful. They dare to openly attack the county town and rob the prison? There are really many people. There are hundreds of people outside the city just now.
If there are dozens of people inside, wouldn't it mean there are two to three hundred people? Those are no ordinary gangsters, and their strength cannot be underestimated."
Jiang Yuanchun sighed: "Isn't it? There are more than 200 bandits in Xifeng Village on Xifeng Mountain in the west of Zhaozhou County. We can't afford to offend them in the nearby counties. I am not afraid of Mr. Hou's jokes. I, the leader of Zhaozhou County,
The defenders only have over a hundred people from the Shenwu Right Guards Zhaozhou Division, plus our county regiment.
There are not as many practicing yamen officers as they do. If it were gongs vs. gongs vs. drums, they might not be their opponents. No, in order to prevent them, I, Zhaozhou County, will interrogate people entering the city during the day, and lock the city once dark
Door. In other places, bandits are afraid of officials, but here, officials are afraid of bandits."
Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "How could this happen? I've never heard of it being so serious before."
Jiang Yuanchun said: "Master Hou is unaware of this. There were thieves in the mountains and forests before, but it was really not as serious as this. But recently, many people have defected to bandits. The ranks of thieves are getting stronger and stronger, so that they have reached the point where they are today."
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Are you saying that a large number of people fell into disgrace and joined bandits? Why is that? Why do people do this?"
Jiang Yuanchun opened his mouth and said with a wry smile: "The Marquis asked the official, but he didn't know the reason. The official is just a small county magistrate. He doesn't have much knowledge, so he doesn't dare to say nonsense."
Zhang Yanling frowned and pondered. He could see that Jiang Yuanchun didn't know, but he refused to tell. Maybe there was something strange about the reason, so he didn't dare to say anything in front of him.
Zhang Yanling didn't want to force him. If others refused to tell him, there must be something unspeakable. As a small county magistrate, there was no need to make it difficult for him. Jiang Yuanchun didn't seem to be a fool. Tonight, he personally led the people.
It is quite timid to resist bandits. You will definitely find out the reason why.
After chatting for a while and drinking a cup of tea, the sound of horse hooves pounding outside the Yamen was heard. Zhang Yin led the cavalry to the Yamen and brought more than twenty people covered with blood to the hall.
"Master Hou, nine of the thieves in the county were killed and twenty-six were captured alive. There were still more than ten who escaped into private houses in the city. I have ordered people to search for them with all their strength. They must not be able to escape. I'm afraid that Master Hou is anxious.
First, send the captured thieves to the Marquis for interrogation." Zhang Yin came in to report.
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Bring them all up."
A group of captured thieves were escorted into the hall. Amidst the shouts and shouts, they all knelt down in the hall.
Zhang Yanling squinted at these people and found that these people were in ragged clothes and did not look as vicious as he imagined. They looked like they were dressed like ordinary people.
Jiang Yuanchun was so happy that he pointed at one of the gangsters and shouted: "Qi Yanming, you want to escape? You actually seduced the gangsters from Xifengzhai to attack the county and rob the prison to save you. You really deserve to die. You said you are also a person who has read books after all.
How could you be associated with these gangsters? You really don’t know how to respect yourself, and you have read the books of sages in vain."
The gangster raised his head, his face covered with blood. His horse face was full of a sneer.
"Jiang Yuanchun, you are such a dog official, if these soldiers hadn't suddenly arrived tonight, I wouldn't have skinned you tonight."
Jiang Yuanchun shouted: "You bastard, you are still stubborn and you deserve to die. Tomorrow you will be escorted to Zhending Mansion and beheaded in public. Let's see if you still have the courage to speak big words."
The gangster laughed and said: "Since I dare to fall into the grass, are I still afraid of losing my head? I'm going to die, so why don't you make a grand scene? Jiang Yuanchun, don't be complacent. I may lose my head, but you won't live long. I, Xifeng
The village brotherhood is watching every day
You, you don't even think about sleeping peacefully one day. I guarantee that one day, you will move your head. You are a ruthless dog official. When you are an official, you don't make decisions for the sake of reputation, but instead help others to do evil. You studied and became an official, but it's a pity that your conscience was eaten by a dog.
The book went to the dog."
Jiang Yuanchun cursed angrily: "Qi Yanming, you dare to threaten me when you are about to die. It seems that you can't do it without giving you some pain. Someone drag this guy out and beat him severely."
Several government officials came forward and dragged the gangster named Qi Yanming out. Zhang Yanling shouted in a deep voice: "County Magistrate Jiang, who calls the shots here, are you or me?"
Jiang Yuanchun was startled, and apologized with a smile: "Master Hou, I don't know, this guy's name is Qi Yanming, and the gangsters from Xifeng Village are here to rob the prison tonight to rescue him. He is the dog-headed military advisor of Xifeng Village's den of thieves. This guy
I read some books and became very cunning."
Zhang Yanling shouted: "I want to ask you, do you call the shots here or do I? Are you interrogating or am I interrogating?"
Jiang Yuanchun said hurriedly: "Of course it is Mr. Hou who makes the decision."
Zhang Yanling shouted: "Since I am the one who makes the decision, why are you dictating? Do you think I am nothing?"
Jiang Yuanchun quickly handed over his hands and confessed, and San San stepped aside.