At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 111
In Anfeng County, the Zhu, Huang, and Peng families are preparing to cut off Zhou Qi's right and left arms.

However, after that trial, the new county magistrate Zhou Qi began to live in seclusion and stopped managing county affairs on the grounds of illness.

Dian Wei, Xiang Hong, and Zhou Zhan also stayed in the county office every day and did not go out.

This made the three major families who were about to fight a big battle feel like they were throwing a punch with all their strength, but they hit the air.

Just when they were guessing whether the county magistrate wanted to bow his head, the news came that the Lujiang thief Huang Rang joined forces with the water bandits, recruited the refugees, and gathered [-] people to loot everywhere, but it scared the big families into panic.

They gathered together again to discuss countermeasures.

Peng Zun, the head of the Peng family, said with a solemn expression: "We have received accurate information. Huang Rang divided his troops and looted everywhere, and wiped out seven wealthy gentry families in one day. The direct bloodline of these wealthy gentry, regardless of gender, old or young, were all slaughtered. All the money and food at home were also robbed.”

The county captain Huang An jumped up at the case and scolded: "What an arrogant and domineering bandit leader Huang Rang, how dare he do such an outrageous thing!"

Although the tycoons who were destroyed may not be as good as the Zhu, Huang, and Peng families, they all ran rampant in the land, owning homes, fields, and countless tenant farmers.

Almost all the gentry in Anfeng County, large and small, are all married to each other, have mutual interests, and even have a relationship of mutual dependence.

It was precisely for this reason that Huang An, the county captain, was so angry.

In addition to being angry, Huang An was actually a little scared, worried that his family would also be attacked by unscrupulous bandits, and the whole family would be robbed.

But he had forgotten that his methods were no different from those of the bandits. In some aspects, they were even worse.

Zhu Bao, the county magistrate, said in a deep voice: "Now is not the time to be angry. The thieves are so powerful that they are sweeping across Anfeng. Those wealthy gentry who have not built forts will probably be slaughtered to death in a short time."

"We must think of countermeasures as soon as possible. Otherwise, when all the gentry that are easy to defeat are destroyed, how can we be alone?"

The head of the Huang family, Huang Zheng, asked, "Does the county magistrate have a good strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Zhu Bao pondered for a while, and said: "For the current plan, the main thing is to save the lives of the gentry. You can let the gentry in the county gather in Anfeng County, and call the officers, soldiers, young adults and refugees from the county to guard the city."

"Although there are many thieves, they lack siege equipment, and they are all mobs. As long as we defend the city, we will be able to delay it for some time."

"Besides defending the city, we will send someone to ask the county guard for help."

"Wait for the reinforcements from the county to arrive, what's the point of mere bandits?"

When everyone heard the words, they all praised him as good.

However, Huang An, the county lieutenant, said hesitantly: "Whether mobilizing county officers and soldiers to defend the city, or recruiting elites and refugees to assist, the county magistrate must sign an order."

"Even asking for help from the county magistrate, the magistrate still needs to sign an official document."

"We made things difficult for him before, if he deliberately made things difficult, what should we do?"

Hearing this, Zhu Bao smiled and said: "There is no need to worry too much about this matter. The thieves invaded the county seat and plundered all directions. It is the county magistrate's duty to defend the city against the enemy. The thieves don't care whether he is the county magistrate or not. If the county seat is destroyed, he will Is there any reason to live?"

"Even if the county magistrate abandons the city and flees, if the court pursues it, the county magistrate will not be able to escape responsibility."

"We just need to lower our posture and implore the county magistrate to protect the people and guard the county seat, and we will be able to succeed."

Everyone thought so.

within the county government.

The county magistrate Zhu Bao, the county captain Huang An, and the heads of several major families all came to visit Zhou Qi, but they were stopped by Dian Wei.

"The county magistrate is ill and will not see guests."

Everyone looked at Dian Wei, who was holding a pair of iron halberds, blocking the front fiercely, but no one dared to step forward.

The reason Zhou Qi was able to stay undisturbed during this period was because everyone was afraid of Dian Wei's bravery and did not dare to be too arrogant in the county government.

They originally wanted to set up a trap to frame Dian Wei and eliminate him within the scope of the law.

However, Dianwei almost never left the county government office and stayed by Zhou Qi's side day and night, which led to the failure of the plans of the major families.

The county magistrate Zhu Bao cupped his hands and said: "Bandits are everywhere in Anfeng County. They take pleasure in killing and looting. The people are crying and crying everywhere, and the ravines are filled with bones. We are here for the important affairs of our family and the country. I also hope that Lord Dian will pass it on to you. "

Dian Wei was unmoved at all, and continued to block the door like a steel tower, not letting everyone in at all.

Everyone was chattering, but they found that the big man in front of him was simply a muddleheaded person, and he didn't like oil and salt.

While they were getting angry, they suddenly saw the door of the room being opened and Zhou Zhan walked out of it. He said to everyone: "The county magistrate already knows what happened in the county. However, the county magistrate is ill and is not suitable for handling government affairs." , you’d better please come back.”

Wherever they were willing to go, they all lowered their posture and begged, Zhou Zhan was a little relieved.

"As the head of a county, it is natural for the county magistrate to exterminate the bandits. However, when the county magistrate first arrived, the county government was short of money and food, and there was no way to recruit ordinary people and refugees to help defend the city."

"What's the use of forcing the county magistrate like this?"

Everyone understood immediately after hearing the words.

The county magistrate Zhu Bao came out and said: "The county magistrate does not need to worry about money and food. We are all willing to share the worries of the county magistrate. If we have money, we will provide money, if we have grain, we will provide food, and if we have people, we will make sure that the county magistrate's orders can be carried out smoothly." No hindrance!”

When Zhou Zhan heard this, a little smile appeared on his face.

He remembered Zhou Qi's explanation again, and immediately said deliberately: "Although that is the case, the county magistrate occasionally feels cold, and the cold evil enters the body, and he urgently needs a lot of precious medicinal materials."

"However, the county magistrate has a clear mind, and those medicinal materials are extremely expensive and cannot be obtained at all."

Speaking of this, Zhou Zhan paused on purpose, and said meaningfully: "If the county magistrate's illness is not cured, even if he wants to wipe out the bandits, I'm afraid he will be powerless."

The county captain Huang An hurriedly said: "It is our duty to share the worries of the county magistrate. If you are missing any medicinal materials, just list them out, and we will definitely give them double."

Only then did a smile appear on Zhou Zhan's face. Shi Shiran took out a list from his arms and handed it to Huang An.

After Huang An finished watching, he immediately felt ashamed, and secretly scolded Zhou Qi for taking advantage of the fire.

Seeing that Huang An's face was not very good-looking, the heads of several big families gathered around. When they saw that there were extremely rare and precious medicinal materials on the list, their expressions were a little ugly.

It doesn't matter how expensive it is.

However, many medicinal materials have a high demand for vintage, and they cannot be bought with money. Even if the major families are powerful, after obtaining these medicinal materials, they will be treasured as life-saving items.

Huang An even wished he could give himself two big-eared melon seeds.

It was already very difficult to gather the medicinal materials on the list, and he put down his bold words, saying that he would give them twice as much, and he regretted it to death.

Zhou Zhan had a panoramic view of everyone's expressions. Although he sneered secretly in his heart, he pretended to be happy and said on the surface: "If you can get double the medicinal materials, the county magistrate will be cured."

"As long as the county magistrate recovers, the bandits in Anfeng County will have nothing to fear!"

After all, Zhu Bao is still relatively deep in the city, and he knows that the most important thing now is to get the understanding of the county magistrate, and everyone will work together to resist the bandits.

Compared with the wealth and lives of major families, although these medicinal materials are very precious, they are nothing.

He snatched the list from Huang An, and said with a smile on his face: "Please tell the county magistrate that these medicinal materials will be delivered tomorrow, and the county magistrate will be invited to preside over the overall situation."

Zhou Zhan nodded and said, "It's natural."

No matter how precious the medicinal materials are, they still cannot be compared with the years of accumulation of the major families.

Although they were in pain, they still quickly got together a double batch of medicinal materials, and Zhu Bao personally gave them to Zhou Zhan.

County government office, in the bedroom.

Zhou Qi looked at the rare medicinal materials placed in front of him, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

He said with joy on his face: "Zhicai first experienced the pain of losing his wife, and he was depressed in his heart. He was drunk every day to relieve his worries. Recently, the weather is cold, and he has a cold evil in his body. If he doesn't take good care of him, he may fall to the root of the disease."

"There are good doctors among the people sent by my uncle. After diagnosing Zhicai's pulse, he prescribes medicine. Finally, these rare medicinal materials are collected."

Zhou Qi is not a greedy person, so what are these medicinal materials compared to Xi Zhicai's life?
He knew that in the original history, Xi Zhicai was in poor health and died young.

When meeting the other party for the first time, Zhou Qi felt that the other party was not in good condition, so he asked the doctor sent by Zhou Jing to treat him.

have to say.

Zhou Qi treasured his only counselor very much, so he tried his best to extort precious medicinal materials from the big families.

These medicinal materials are all treasures.

Zhou Qi was also worried that when the rebels broke through the major families, these medicinal materials would be ruined or they would not be found at all. To be on the safe side, they gathered them in advance.

Presumably, after Xi Zhicai took the medicine made from these medicinal materials, his body would definitely improve slowly, and he would not die as early as in history.

"And keep the medicinal materials properly, I will meet these people."

Thinking of local powerful people like Zhu Bao and Huang An, Zhou Qi's face turned cold instantly.

"Tap Tap!"

On the official road, three riders galloped wildly, and the leader was Xiang Hongxiang Bode.

The people on both sides of him were from Anfeng Zhu's family and Huang's family respectively. They brought the official request for help signed by Zhou Qi and were about to go to the county seat to ask for help from the county guard.

Originally, Zhou Qi only planned to send Xiang Hong alone.

However, the major families were not at ease and insisted on adding two martial arts experts to accompany him. The purpose was to monitor Xiang Hong and ensure that the official document asking for help could reach the county smoothly.

A few people came to the secluded mountain road, Xiang Hong suddenly let out an "oops", first slowed down the horse's speed, and then stopped.

Seeing this, the entourage sent by Zhu and Huang's two families reined in hastily and asked, "Xiang Bode, why did you stop here?"

Xiang Hong jumped off the horse, clutched his stomach and said in pain, "Maybe I ate my stomach just now, I can't hold it anymore, I want to go to the toilet first, please wait here."

Although the two were a little dissatisfied, considering that the official request for help was still with Xiang Hong, it was not easy to offend each other, so they could only jump off the horse helplessly.

But they didn't see that Xiang Hong, who was lowering his head and covering his stomach, had a cold light in his eyes.

During the Han Dynasty, many chivalrous warriors had clear grievances and grievances. Due to the rise of the Gongyang theory, the trend of revenge prevailed.

Since Xiang Hong arrived in Anfeng County with Zhou Qi, he has seen the aggression of the big families, and the two sides have forged enmity.

However, Zhou Qi was single and lonely, so he had to bear it for the time being, and Xiang Hong and Dian Wei were also full of anger.

Given the opportunity for revenge today, Xiang Hong naturally didn't hesitate at all, taking advantage of the moment when the two of them got off their horses, he violently killed them like a cheetah preying on them.

"puff!"

"puff!"

Xiang Hong was originally good at martial arts.

Now that he has been with Dian Wei for a long time, Xiang Hong's martial arts has improved a lot, and he has almost touched the threshold of a first-class general.

In addition, he did the calculation with his mind but didn't care, he saw the light of the knife passing by, and the two heads flew up immediately.

"call!"

After Xiang Hong killed two people in a row, he exhaled a long breath, and only then did he feel that the depression that had been accumulated in his heart for a long time dissipated a little.

After Xiang Hong disposed of the body, he directly burned the official document asking for help.

He did not return to Anfeng County, but rushed towards Zhou Jin's previously secret water village, preparing to hide in the water village for some time.

The major families in Anfeng County still didn't know that reinforcements from Lujiang County, which they had high hopes for, would never come.

In Anfeng County.

Huang Ran led the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command to once again break through the fort of a wealthy gentleman. After counting the loot inside, a bright smile appeared on his face.

He pointed to the mountains of money and food in the warehouse, and said to the people behind him: "These money and food are all the people's fat and people's anointing. Before the brothers went up the mountain and felled the grass, they were all naked and hungry, but these thieves, the old food in the granary was almost gone. It's going to be moldy, and I still don't want to distribute it to help the poor."

"Should these evil thieves be killed?"

When many bandits heard this, they all shouted in unison: "You deserve to be killed!"

Their hoarse shouts were not just to echo Huang Rang, they were indeed from the bottom of their hearts.

Huang Rang ordered the slaughter of the entire family of the noble gentry, and then summoned Xi Zhicai, Xu Chu, Zhou Jin and others, and said: "I will get a lot of money and food when I go down the mountain this time. The brothers are all eager to see it. Do you want to share some money?"

As the leader of the Lujiang bandits, Huang Rang naturally knew how to win people's hearts. Normally, as long as he looted a lot, he would distribute some money to reward his subordinates.

This is also the fundamental reason why Huang Rang was able to occupy the Dabie Mountains for a long time, but he never fell down.

Xi Zhicai heard the words, but his eyes moved slightly, and he said seriously: "Dare to ask the leader, how do you plan to reward?"

Huang Rang hesitated for a while, then replied: "There are so many brothers who are investing now, if the money is distributed according to the head, although it can make all the subordinates happy, it will cost a lot of money, and it will not be good for the future development of the Shanzhai."

"I would like to privately reward those old divisions who have followed me for a long time, as well as the new leaders. What do you think, sir?"

Xi Zhicai shook his head and said: "Have you ever heard, chief, that you don't worry about the scarcity of people but the inequality?"

"If everyone has not been rewarded, even if they feel dissatisfied, they can still sympathize with the leader. If only some brothers are rewarded in private, if the news leaks, the rest will definitely complain."

"The leader is the one who commands the people, because of his prestige."

"If the prestige is lost, I am afraid that the [-] people who have just gathered will fall apart in an instant."

Huang Rang was horrified and stood up in a hurry and asked: "If you hadn't warned me, sir, I might have made a big mistake. I just don't reward you for my merits. Isn't it chilling?"

Xi Zhicai said sternly: "If the leader just wants to gather together, he can freely distribute the money to win people's hearts."

"However, those who want to achieve great things must strictly enforce military discipline."

"Only by being rewarded for your merits, punished for your mistakes, and following orders and prohibitions can you become a good soldier. Does the leader think so?"

Huang Rang nodded and said, "What Mr. said is very good."

Xi Zhicai said: "In this way, the leader only needs to distinguish between rewards and punishments, so as to convince his subordinates without spending too much money, why not do it?"

Huang Rang thought so deeply, so he asked Xi Zhicai to count his merits and demerits.

turn out.

Xu Chu, Zhou Jin, Zhou Cheng, Chen Wen, etc. fought every battle regardless of their own lives, and gained a lot of money. They only killed noble gentry and did not harm the common people.

Even those newly recruited refugees, in order to have a bite to eat, strictly obeyed the military orders and did not dare to go beyond the slightest.

On the contrary, most of Huang Rang's old troops have not changed their banditry. Some people violated Huang Rang's military orders and looted everywhere, and some people hid far behind when they attacked Wubao, unwilling to contribute.

After seeing the documents compiled by Xi Zhicai, Huang Rang was so angry on the spot that he summoned his old department leaders to give him a severe reprimand.

Afterwards, under Xi Zhicai's suggestion, Huang Rang rewarded Xu Chu and the newly recruited meritorious refugees, but instead severely punished his old ministries who did not obey orders.

He did not know.

Although his actions made the new recruits very grateful, it made the loyal old department full of complaints.

This matter will not be tabled for the time being.

However, he said that under Xi Zhicai's plan, the bandit army was as powerful as splitting bamboos, plowing through the courtyard and sweeping holes, and there was no gentry's fort that could withstand the attack of the army for three days.

this time.

The bandit army only killed the gentry and their relatives. Instead of killing the tenant farmers and private slaves of the gentry, they would distribute money, food, and land deeds to let them go.

There are exceptions to everything.

If the gentry and private slaves helped the tyrants to do evil and insisted on helping the gentry resist the bandit army, causing heavy casualties to the bandit army, then after the Wubao was broken, all men, women, and children would be slaughtered.

It is precisely because of Xi Zhicai's strategy of dividing both grace and power that the resistance of the gentry was divided from the inside, and those fortresses that were originally difficult to break through were broken one after another like chickens and dogs.

Not long after, except for the three largest families of Zhu, Huang, and Peng in Anfeng County, almost all other big and small gentry were breached, and the local forces in Anfeng County were swept away.

In front of Pengjiawu Fort, a dense army of bandits has surrounded Wubao.

Huang Rang took Xu Chu and Zhou Jin to pat the horse forward, pointed at the Peng family members who were hiding in the Wubao with a knife and shouted: "Men of the Peng family, if you take the initiative to open the Wubao, hand over the money and food, and only kill the adults of your family's direct line. "

"If private slaves revolt and open Wubao, the Peng family will slaughter all of them, regardless of gender, age or weakness, and all rebels will be rewarded with money, food and land titles."

"If everyone insists on resisting, when we break through Wubao, there will be no dog left behind!"

Huang Rang's voice reached Pengjiawu Fort.

The members of the Peng family, who had always been unscrupulous in Anfeng County, all turned pale at this moment, with deep fear in their eyes.

The Patriarch of the Peng family, Peng Zun stuck out his head and shouted: "We have never had any enmity with you, why did you come to attack my Peng family?"

"The soldiers from Lujiang County will arrive in Anfeng County in the near future. If you are willing to retreat, I am willing to offer half of my family's wealth, money and food to express my feelings."

"If not, we rely on the geographical advantage to defend Wubao and wait for the county soldiers to kill them. How can you survive?"

(End of this chapter)