"Go and report, tell you County Magistrate He, that Lin Jue from the capital is coming with his army, and it's up to him whether he can open the city gate or not." Lin Jue laughed loudly at the top of the city.
The people at the top of the city immediately went to report. After a while, the city gate opened wide, and a large group of people poured out. The first person was short and fat, looking pampered, but the official uniform on his body was already dirty and black, which made him look quite dignified.
A bit nondescript. But looking at his face, it's not He Anmin or someone else.
"Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin, you are here. The imperial army has finally arrived. Woo hoo hoo, I'm going to suffer a big punishment. I finally waited for you to come." He Anmin staggered over, taking three steps at a time and two steps at a time.
Lin Jue stepped forward and was grabbed by him. There was a lot of snot and tears everywhere, and he howled loudly.
Lin Jue smiled bitterly and said: "Master He, Master He? Pay attention to your decency. Don't be so excited in front of the people and soldiers. You are an official."
He Anmin wiped his nose and said: "Bullshit official, bullshit. If I hadn't had time to resign, I wouldn't have been an official. The bandits almost killed me. If Shang Zi hadn't been an official, I wouldn't have stayed here.
I have no choice, who asked me to still be the county magistrate here? I can only try my best to maintain it. Now that you are here, I feel relieved. I will write my resignation later. I will not be the county magistrate anymore."
Lin Jue laughed heartily, knowing that He Anmin must have been frightened and suffered a lot. That's why he said such complaints. So he comforted him: "Master He, the court knows your sufferings.
, if you have anything to say, let’s talk about it later. It’s like the first time we met, where we just stood on the road and talked?”
He Anmin burst into tears and said with a smile: "How dare you, how dare you, hurry into the city. Are these soldiers and horses just coming? Didn't it say that His Highness the King of Jin is coming with a large army?"
Lin Jue explained the whole story with a smile. He Anmin nodded repeatedly and happily invited Lin Jue into the city. He pulled on Lin Jue's sleeves along the way and refused to let go. Lin Jue's sleeves were covered with stains, which made Bai Bing roll his eyes.
Flying into the sky.
The county government office had been burned down a long time ago, but He Anmin cleaned up the ruins and built several simple rooms. In front of one of the rooms were two broken drums, which were used as drums, and a pair of bright mirrors and a plaque hung high.
On the lintel, a table and chairs were placed in the room, and several government officials holding wooden sticks were standing in front of the house, which looked like a government office.
Lin Jue felt quite emotional that He Anmin still had some rules and regulations in his actions. Although the so-called "yamen lobby" was not in shape, it was by no means ridiculous and unnecessary. At this time, when people are distracted and the people are uneasy, what is needed is for government agencies to come out.
Sit in charge and stabilize the situation. Although the county government has collapsed, this simple county government is a symbol of the existence of the government. With this simple county government, the people have a backbone, and the chaotic people have a leader.
.He Anmin obviously understood this.
"Master He, I didn't expect that the county government is still there." Lin Jue sighed as he stood in the square looking at the dilapidated county government.
He Anmin said with a smile: "I haven't resigned yet. If I don't resign, I will be the parent official of Changheng County. How can I not perform my duties? The people in the city know that I am still here, and the county
If the government office is still there, you will feel at ease, right?"
Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "That's exactly it."
Lin Jue ordered fifty cavalrymen from each of the four cities to take over the city gates, and ordered several cavalry leaders to lead several small groups of cavalry to patrol the city and take over the security of the city. After making arrangements, he and He Anmin came to the simple county government hall.
He sat down to rest. He Anmin shouted to a few temporary small rooms in the back. After a while, a woman entered the lobby holding a teapot.
"Master Lin, everything has been burned and there is no tea, so I can only ask my concubine to bring a bowl of boiling water to quench Master Lin's thirst. Madam, this is Master Lin from the capital. Come and see me soon.
"He Anmin said with a smile.
The woman was good-looking and well behaved. However, her clothes were a little tattered and had a lot of patches. She seemed a little embarrassed and was busy showing Lin Jue the gift, deliberately covering up the patches on her hem. Lin Jue stood up and thanked him.
The woman poured two bowls of boiled water and placed them in front of Lin Jue and Bai Bing, then bowed without saying a word.
Lin Jue smiled and said, "I feel relieved to see that your wife is well. Are Lord He's sons and daughters all well?"
He Anmin said with a smile: "Everyone is still fine, that's why I am in such a mood to come out to clean up the situation. If something happened to them, I'm afraid I would have collapsed long ago. Speaking of which... I have to thank Mr. Lin."
Lin Jue took a sip of water and said with a smile: "Thank you for what? I didn't do anything to help you."
He Anmin said: "Master Lin, have you forgotten? That time you came to this county, you annoyed the religious bandits. The religious bandits gathered to attack the county government. Because I was very worried, I sent my wife and children to my father-in-law's house outside the city in advance to hide.
.The situation has been very chaotic since then, so I didn’t take them back. Fortunately, I just escaped. Isn’t this thanks to Mr. Lin?”
Lin Jue was stunned and laughed loudly. This was indeed the case when he came to Changheng County. At that time, He Anmin smuggled his wife and children out of the city, and he despised him. But now it seems that He Anmin acted the same way.
Sophisticated. He himself has never escaped, but as a husband and father, he must protect the safety of his wife and children, so it is understandable to do so. In a sense, He Anmin is a good husband of flesh and blood who takes great care of his family.
A good father. This is much more real and admirable than those who let their wives and children suffer because of their so-called ideals.
"How did Mr. He survive the storm? As far as I know, when the Qingjiao bandits started their uprising, the first wave of attacks were county government officials and garrison troops. Officials in many prefectures and counties were killed by them.
After I heard the news, I was very worried about why." Lin Jue asked in a deep voice.
"Master Lin, please don't laugh at me. I, He Anmin, am actually a person who is afraid of death. I can't deny this. On that day, the imperial court sent the imperial army to escort the two prisoners to Changheng for public trial. When they were killed in public, I knew that Qing
The cult was absolutely unwilling to give up. But I could not stop Master Pei and Hou Dutou from their decision. There was a melee that night, and although Hou Dutou and the others won, I knew that the cult bandits would never give up.
After Hou Dutou and the others left Changheng, I immediately summoned the county officials and police officers to ask them to pay close attention to the situation. I used all my manpower to occupy the north gate to prevent changes. The third watch that night
, when the incident happened, when the religious bandits were all over the city hunting down the officials, killing people and setting fires, I escaped from the north city gate with dozens of people."
Lin Jue didn't have the slightest bit of contempt and ridicule. He Anmin made the most correct decision to avoid the sharp edge and evacuate safely. Otherwise, he and the government officials would have become the dead souls of the cult bandits. If it was
He might have made arrangements to counterattack because he had foreseen the danger in advance. But He Anmin might not have the same idea as him. Even so, his approach was correct.
"Master He did the right thing, and it should have been like this. Otherwise, your life would have been in vain. But you hid outside the city for many days, and waited for the right opportunity to kill you back and regain control of the situation, right?" Lin Jue said with a smile.
"Exactly, a few days ago, a large number of religious bandits from this county went to Xucheng to gather. We heard the news that the religious bandits were going to attack Yangwu County. With such a gathering, there were very few religious bandits in the city. There were only a few
Although the old, weak, women and children believed in the cult, they had no strength to fight. We hid outside the city for more than ten days, and we couldn't hold it in any longer. So we discussed with everyone that we should just come back to the city and take back the county seat. The cult bandits gathered there.
Xucheng just gave us this opportunity. I led more than a hundred people to fight back overnight, destroyed the Qingjiao branch, and slaughtered dozens of religious bandits. The people in the city also woke up after being harmed by the religious bandits.
I personally preached along the streets to encourage them to turn back, and many people were willing to follow us to control the situation. So I organized hundreds of young men to guard the city gate and control the order in the city. We were worried that the religious bandits would come back to attack us, but we didn't expect
Mr. Lin, when you arrived, it was like rain falling from the sky. So, the bandits did not succeed in the Yangwu War, right?"
Lin Jue laughed and said: "Isn't that right? In the Battle of Yangwu, more than 20,000 religious bandits were wiped out in Bolangsha. Now the army marches in and can recover the five counties in the north of Beijing in a few days. King Huai leads the army in a few hours
We’re here. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
"Thank God, thank God, hahaha, this is really good news. I am relieved." He Anmin clasped his hands together and bowed to the sky, feeling joy from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't be busy. Some people are fleeing to the East and West Roads of Beijing after hearing the rumors. You have to send people to issue notices and set up roadblocks on official roads and small roads to stop them." Lin Jue smiled and told He Anmin the situation.
He Anmin heard the words and said hurriedly: "This is easy to handle. These guys are really ignorant. They still believe those rumors at this time. I will send someone to deal with it immediately."
He Anmin immediately summoned several petty officials and arranged to go out of the city to intercept and persuade the people. After a while, he came back and sat down.
"I'm sorry, does Mr. Lin have any other instructions? I will handle it immediately," He Anmin said.
Lin Jue smiled and waved his hands and said: "There is nothing important for the moment. We came here early for this matter. As for the purge of the religious bandits in the city, let Du Yu wait for them to do it after the army arrives. I don't want to do it."
Please pay more attention."
He Anmin laughed and said: "It's okay, I can just leave these things to them, and I don't want to bother myself."
Lin Jue said: "There is no food and supplies in the city now. Do the people still have something to eat?"
He Anmin sighed: "Where is there anything to eat? Everything has been plundered by the religious bandits. Our Changheng County is already very poor, and the people are living a very hard life. If we can all have enough to eat, the Qingjiao
How could it spread so fast? I found some food in the cult bandits branch, but I don’t know how long it will take, and the quantity is not large, so I can only cook two meals of gruel a day to feed the people, and they have to be strict
Control the distribution. After the city has experienced this disaster, even after it subsides, the people will be impoverished again. Oh, it is really a great misfortune."
Bai Bing whispered from the side: "Just now I saw that your wife was staggering when walking, her face looked hungry, and her clothes were all in tatters. I guess your family doesn't have much to eat."
He Anmin smiled bitterly and said: "As a parent, I have to set an example. My family of seven just eat some gruel and suffer. There is nothing we can do about it. What does it matter if the clothes are torn? At this time, I have a good dress.
Fortunately, it is not winter, otherwise it would be really difficult. Mr. Lin, look at my clothes, I am not afraid of your ridicule, I have never worn such dirty and torn clothes in my life. It is not that I care about this official uniform, but if I take it off
After that, I had nothing to wear."
Lin Jue nodded and said: "Master He, the army is coming, and the soldiers and horses will bring food and grass. Today is the day when Changheng County will see the light of day again. The people will have a full meal to celebrate. You don't need to restrict rations, let the people
Let’s have a full meal. Our five hundred cavalrymen carry some dry food, as well as some dried meat and other foods, and we will leave them all to you.”
He Anmin's eyes lit up and he smacked his lips and said, "Dried meat? That's great. The people can finally taste some meat."
Lin Jue smiled and said to Bai Bing: "Madam, don't you carry some clothes with you? Give two of my clothes to Mr. He. Mr. He is a decent man, wouldn't it be unseemly to wear such tattered clothes? And yourself
Please pick up some clothes and give them to Mrs. He to wear."
Bai Bing carries a package with her, which contains her own clothes and Lin Jue's clothes, which are used for daily changes. Although she wears armor during the day, she still has to change into casual clothes at night. Bai Bing also wears women's clothing in the room.
.
After listening to Lin Jue's instructions, Bai Bing nodded in agreement. He came to the door and untied the package from the saddle, picked out two gowns and pantyhose, picked out two jackets and skirts, and even had a few boxes of rouge and gouache.
The small package was handed to He Anmin.
He Anmin hurriedly asked: "How to do this? How to do this?"
Lin Jue smiled and said, "Take it in, I'll go for a walk in the city, and we'll talk later."
Lin Jue stood up and came out with Bai Bing, and heard He Anmin's excited shouting from behind: "Madam, Madam, come quickly, come quickly. You have new clothes to wear, and you also have rouge and gouache."
…
At noon, dozens of large pots were set up in the county government square, and they were boiling with steam. The imperial cavalry donated all the dried meat they brought with them and put them in the pot to cook with the rice, although there was only a little bit of dried meat.
, but the fragrance permeated the whole city. Without waiting for anyone to greet, the people had already smelled the fragrance and gathered around the square, stretching their necks and drooling, waiting.
The so-called grain that He Anmin mentioned was just a few dozen bags of rice. This grain was really only enough for the more than 4,000 people in the city to drink a few meals of gruel. Lin felt that if they didn't come today, they would only be able to survive for three days.
It only lasted four days. In order to keep the people full, Lin Jue had to order people to contribute the dry food carried by the cavalry, plus bean cake ingredients for hundreds of war horses. The horses were very unlucky.
On the edge of the square, people chewed hay and snorted. They looked at the group of humans who were robbing their horses of food with hatred. They didn't know why they were in such a miserable state.
In any case, this meal still filled the stomachs of the people in the city. The people who had not had a full meal in many days ate the food with big mouthfuls, wishing to swallow it with their tongues. Some people ate
They burst into tears as they ate, wondering how they had ever ended up in such a situation. Some old people recalled the time when they had no worries about food and clothing, and described how their situation had gradually declined over the past few years, to the point where they could not even take a bite of a full meal. They couldn't help but
Weeping and sighing. Every year is not as good as the previous year, and life becomes more and more miserable every year. They don't know what went wrong and how they ended up in this situation.
Lin Jue and He Anmin rolled up their sleeves and served food to the people in person. Mrs. He and Bai Bing were also helping. After the meal, everyone was sweating profusely. After all the people had eaten, Lin Jue
After waiting for some leftover rice, he ate it. To be honest, this was the most unpalatable meal Lin Jue had ever eaten. The bean cakes, rice and dried meat smelled really good together, but they tasted a bit...
The weird texture and taste made people really unbearable. Although Lin Jue was not from a noble background, he had no worries about food and clothing and loved delicious food. He only used two chopsticks and gave half the bowl of rice to an eager man.
Looking around, he saw half-grown children who were not yet full. Seeing this, Bai Bing also gave the rice in the bowl to the people. He Anmin wanted to do the same, but was stopped by Lin Jue.
"Master He, it's time for you to eat. It's okay for us to be hungry, but you have been hungry for many days like the common people. There are still many things to do next. You can't fall down, you must eat." Lin Jue said.
He Anmin sighed: "Mr. Lin, why do you think things have reached this point? How could I, the Great Zhou, let the people suffer so much? The people are not working less and are not lazy, so why is it like this?
Whose fault is this?"
Lin Jue said in a deep voice: "Master He, this is naturally the fault of the politicians. Naturally, today's events can be attributed to the Qingjiao rebellion, but the whole story behind it must be attributed to the imperial court. The imperial court cannot escape the blame."
He Anmin said softly: "It is rare for someone like Mr. Lin to dare to speak out, but will the imperial court understand all this? In any case, what are the people to blame? Even if the rebellion is successful this time, the five counties in the north of Beijing and the east and west roads in Beijing will be in catastrophe.
