Han Baihang knew very well that rescuing troops was like putting out a fire. Shangqiu was more than two hundred miles away from Yongcheng, and it would take a day and a night to walk there. The bandits only had three days to redeem people, so time was very tight. He gave the troops ten orders.
It took five hours to reach Yongcheng's death order. Fortunately, the terrain along the way was flat and there were no mountains to climb. This marching speed could barely be achieved.
The troops were marching in a hurry. Han Baihang was unable to ride a horse due to his injury, so he leaned on a carriage. While enduring the bumps, he quickly thought about good strategies to suppress the bandits. After all, this was his first appearance since he was stationed in Yongcheng.
, only success is allowed and failure is not allowed.
Youdao knows yourself and your enemy and you can win a hundred battles. Before setting off, he inquired about the situation of the bandits with Captain Xu of the Shangqiu garrison. The group of bandits who kidnapped the county magistrate’s wife haunted Mangdang Mountain. The bandit leader was named Zhu Chunzi, also known as Zhu Liuzhi, and he had five or six men under his command.
Bandit No. 100 has more than 200 guns and is considered one of the most powerful among the many bandits in Yongcheng. He usually roams across Yongcheng County in Henan Province, Dangshan County and Xiaoshan County in Jiangsu Province, and is notorious.
The most sinister thing he did was to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy family in Xiao County who had not left the court. According to the rules of Green Forest, this kind of eldest daughter who had not left the court was called a quick ticket. They usually kidnapped people in the morning and released them in the afternoon. It was emphasized that they would be taken on the same day.
The idea of receiving the ransom was a quick word, in order to ensure the innocence of the girl's family. The kidnapped girl's family was well-off, and an uncle from the family went up to the mountain with the ransom money that afternoon, but he treated it as a ransom payment.
When they took the person away, Zhu Chunzi unexpectedly got mad at her and raped the girl in front of her uncle. Although he was released as promised, the girl jumped off a cliff and committed suicide on the way back. This incident will be remembered forever.
The city caused an uproar and people's resentment boiled. The government had to send troops to encircle and suppress them. However, Zhu Chunzi was very capable. He actually defeated the officers and soldiers who entered the suppression, killing and wounding dozens of people. In this way, Zhu Chunzi's reputation as a bandit became even more famous.
This made the government put a taboo on the rat and just sit back and watch him bring disaster to the place.
"I want to take the Zhu Chunzi sacrificial flag!"
Han Baihang was furious after hearing this and secretly made up his mind. But after all, he was thoughtful and knew that Zhu Chunzi had done many evil things but was able to run rampant for several years. He must have something special about him. It would be difficult to kill him with ordinary force. Only wisdom
Take the talent and wipe it out in one fell swoop.
"Zhou Qing."
Han Baihang straightened up suddenly and shouted.
"exist."
Zhou Qing came flying over, running abreast of the carriage.
"Get in the car!" Han Baihang shook his head.
Zhou Qing climbed onto the shaft, jumped onto the carriage with a little effort, and asked: "Company commander, what are your orders?"
Han Baihang whispered in Zhou Qing's ear. Zhou Qing nodded vigorously, jumped off the carriage and stood still. He waved the box cannon and shouted loudly: "Platoon, reconnaissance squad, spy squad, follow me."
…
When we arrived at Yongcheng, it was already noon the next day. This time was the busiest time in the city. But what surprised Han Baihang was that the gates on all sides of Yongcheng were closed tightly, and there were no pedestrians coming in or out. The atmosphere was weird.
"Hey, people in the city, please open the door quickly. Company Commander Han is here with his troops to garrison Yongcheng!" A soldier had already stepped forward and shouted to the top of the city with an open voice.
A few heads poked out from behind the crenellations on the city wall and shouted: "You said you are officers and soldiers of the garrison. What proof do you have?"
Han Baihang was immediately laughed out of anger. Before he could say anything, the soldier who called out had already cursed: "You're blind, look at what I'm wearing."
The people in the city retracted their heads and shouted: "I'm sorry, the bandits pretended to be officers and soldiers and pretended to open the city gate. We had to guard against it. According to the order of Magistrate Mei, no one is allowed to enter the city without a certificate."
Han Baihang's heart trembled. A little doubt in his mind was now solved. He originally suspected that there was an insider in the city who let the bandits into the city. Now it seems that the bandits are too cunning. Bandits who dare to pretend to be officers and soldiers are really rare. He
The transfer order was sent to the city. The people on the top of the city took it in a bamboo basket and took a look. Naturally, they could not tell whether the transfer order was genuine or not. They sent someone to the county government office to ask the county magistrate to check the authenticity.
In the county government office, Mei Changyuan was leaning on the Taishi chair, looking tired and sighing. He regretted coming to Yongcheng, a place of right and wrong, to be the county magistrate. Before he could sit still, his favorite concubine was kidnapped by bandits.
What better way to deal with a beautiful woman falling into the hands of bandits? He was so regretful that he beat his chest and had no appetite for three meals in a row.
"County Magistrate, I'm back." A middle-aged man holding a briefcase came in panting.
"How about it? Do all the big families in the city pledge to donate?"
Mei Changyuan perked up and asked urgently.
The bandits demanded a ransom of 10,000 yuan, but he spent all his money to collect less than 500 yuan. The county government's accounts were even more destitute. With no other option, he could only set up a new tax name to collect taxes from the whole city.
The person who paid taxes was his distant cousin and his staff, named He Ruiliang, who had worked as a clerk in the provincial government for several months.
He Ruiliang shook his head and sighed: "After going all over the city, I only collected a thousand yuan. It seems that all the big households have agreed upon it. They all say that the tax name you set up is illegal, and no one is willing to pledge."
Mei Changyuan was furious: "This is unreasonable. The collection of taxes by the county magistrate is the law. Anyone who dares not to pledge donations will be arrested and punished for banditry."
He Ruiliang smiled bitterly and said: "County Magistrate, the police station and militia in the county are all people from big families. Even if you want me to arrest people, I can't move them."
Mei Changyuan calmed down and felt a little frustrated. As the county magistrate, he had no real power at all, and everything he did depended on the eyes of the local tycoons and business gentry in the city. When he first took office, he did not recognize the current situation clearly, so he aggressively removed the police chief and the militia chief.
He was replaced by one of his own people. Unexpectedly, something big happened within a few days. The bandits actually entered the city. Instead of robbing the rich households of a grain of rice, they turned the county government office upside down and kidnapped the concubine. This incident
After the incident happened, he finally recognized the reality. In Yongcheng, he, the county magistrate, was just a puppet in name only. The real people in charge were the wealthy businessmen and gentry. Unfortunately, this realization was a bit late. The key now is, if not
After rescuing his concubine from the bandits, not only did he, the county magistrate, lose the dignity to stay in Yongcheng, his future was completely lost.
"Report, a group of troops came from outside the city, claiming to be the Yongcheng garrison. They have a transfer order as proof. Please see the county magistrate." A policeman rushed over and handed over the transfer order with both hands.
Mei Changyuan took a look at the transfer order and knew it was true. He hurriedly said: "The garrison has arrived. Please come into the city quickly."
The police ran out of the door, and Mei Changyuan stood up from the Taishi chair and said excitedly: "Great, the officers and soldiers have arrived, and there will be a way to suppress the bandits."
He Ruiliang was not as happy as he was. He shook his head and said: "County magistrate, now that the officers and soldiers have arrived, suppressing the bandits is still a difficult problem."
Mei Changyuan frowned and said, "How do you say this?"
He Ruiliang said: "Does the county magistrate know that there used to be a regiment in the Yongcheng garrison, and a regiment could not do anything to deal with the bandits? Now there is only one company of officers and soldiers, and the strength is less than one-tenth of the past. It is a new arrival and unfamiliar with the local situation. Let's
They rashly suppressed the bandits, regardless of whether they agreed or not. Even if they agreed, there was no guarantee of success. They were afraid that the bandits would not be successfully suppressed and they would end up harming my concubine instead."
When Mei Changyuan heard that it made sense, he hesitated and said, "What's your idea?"
He Ruiliang rolled his eyes and whispered: "County Magistrate, we couldn't collect taxes just now, but it's different now. You have the power to mobilize the officers and soldiers stationed in the city. We can use officers and soldiers to suppress the big households in the city. They
Don't you rely on the police and militia? How can it be compared to serious officers and soldiers? As long as the taxes are raised, you can have the money to redeem the concubine. As for the bandits, you can avenge them later. What is the saying?
It’s never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.”
Mei Changyuan slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, we need to collect taxes first." Then he felt a little worried: "Can the officers and soldiers listen to me?"
He Ruiliang said with a smile: "Of course you can't talk in vain, but you want to collect taxes now, you can induce them with benefits. After the work is completed, you can allocate part of the money to the officers and soldiers. One is to buy people's hearts, and the other is to reward them."
What a brave man."
Although Mei Changyuan was a little reluctant to give up, he still agreed: "Okay, I will do as you say. You go and greet Company Commander Han for me."
