Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 276 4.72 Give the people justice

Volume Four

4.72 Give justice to the people

The next morning, outside the mine.

First, the four flag gunners lined up in two lines, followed by the three matchlock flags in three lines. A small cavalry flag on each side protected the flanks, and at the same time, it also covered three infantry cannons on each side, neatly. The formation pressed steadily towards the already-unconfident mine crowd, but stopped a hundred steps away from them.

"Master Zhou is indeed a young talent, and his soldiers and horses are also the best soldiers in the world. With such a strong force, the rest will be easy." Behind the military formation, Magistrate He said good things to Zhou Yang with a flattering smile on his face, "I will ask the people from those three families to go there immediately. Master Zhou, don't be soft-hearted then!"

"I really admire Mr. He's scheming!" Zhou Yang vented his emotions with a cold face. He had no choice but to be in a bad mood if he was schemed against like this, especially when he thought he had the time and was shown like a sap on his face. It must be a very unpleasant feeling, "But I don't know if the miners have contacted me? Have they agreed?"

"Afterwards, each of the leaders will receive a hundred taels. Ordinary miners will receive a monthly salary increase of [-]%, and an additional three months of reward money. Also, if someone dies in the future, the money for burial will be doubled." Magistrate He said with a smile, "This mine Since the scene is still there, someone must do the work. This time, I don’t have to ask you to take action. As long as you report the matter, the prefect will suppress the matter. However, the one who takes action will be Commander Luo above. Made it."

"In this way, it would be great if County Magistrate He can follow him to have a sip of soup. Maybe these three mine owners are just exploring the way for the County Magistrate." Zhou Yang sneered and made Magistrate He almost choke, especially When a group of more than 300 mine guards rushed forward, the smile on his face even looked a little scary.

The iron mines in Daye have never been a secret, and huge profits from salt and iron were an iron law in the feudal era. Whether it is Zhang Bo, the prefect of Wuchang, or Luo Gang, the commander of Wuchang, who would believe them if they said they were not jealous?It's just that it's difficult to intervene and you can only receive a "filial piety". If Magistrate He really does something like "lure a wolf into the house", it doesn't even necessarily require the two above to take action. The local forces in Daye would like to tear him alive. !
"Lord Zhou, you are serious!" Magistrate He's face darkened.

"Okay, you know exactly what's going on, and I'm too lazy to talk nonsense. Next, I will let you understand why I don't take this mine chaos seriously - attack!" Zhou Yang knew very well that "it's better to shout than to shout." "Open your arms" common sense, and waved his hand behind him with a look of disdain.

The orderly waved the half-person-high red flag in his hand vigorously, crossed it in front of him three times in a row, and saw that the originally silent army formation seemed to come to life in an instant. The sound of "beep" seemed to cut through the void, making everyone present smart, followed by the sound of firearms firing one after another.

"Bang bang bang -" There were three dull blasts in a row - there were not enough qualified artillery, and the six cannons could only be fired in two waves - the first to fire was naturally the artillery on both wings, each with about [-] pieces of iron sand like raindrops. It rushed toward the mine owner's servants who were less than fifty steps away, and was followed by a shrill scream. The originally dense team of servants "melted" a thick layer like hot soup splashing snow.

"Bang bang——" Then naturally came the gunmen who had already finished charging and lighting the match ropes. At this time, the spearmen's queue had already squatted following the command of the copper whistle. Only the cold light pointing diagonally towards the sky was left, and the iron sand fell from the sky. Guns roared out from the gaps in the forest, once again covering the servants who were missing nearly a third.

The war seems to have turned into a cruel "art exhibition" at this time. A row of matchlock pellets can be fired in a little more than ten breaths, and a wave of infantry artillery fire can be fired in thirty breaths, and countless steel " "Spray" on the densely packed crowd in front. In just two rounds of volleys and less than a hundred breaths, more than 200 miners who had not reacted until they died had been "emptied".

At a distance of less than a hundred steps between the miners gathered and the military formation of Qianhu, a large area of ​​the mountain that was already bare due to mining was dyed a dazzling blood red, and thousands of miners were also injured. The unlucky boy was injured or even killed by a stray bullet. Not only was he stunned, but also the other mine owners, County Magistrate He and even a large number of the mine owner's thugs who were following behind him were all scared to death. color.

"Clean it up once, and leave the rest to the bunch of rubbish behind." Zhou Yang was actually a little uncomfortable with this kind of "conspiracy and massacre", but as long as he thought about what these people had done, the guilt in his heart immediately dissipated, "There is no need to leave anything behind." What kind of prisoners are not needed anyway, and you don’t need to care about the final cleaning of the battlefield.”

The pikemen of the four general flags in the front row immediately stood up amidst the "beep beep" of the copper whistle. However, they were also so frightened by the massacre that their movements were a bit chaotic, forcing the general flags and small flags to shout. Scolding and even punching and kicking, urging them to take action immediately, these soldiers who had already been trained to have conditioned reflexes strode forward.

Zhou Yang sneered, turned around and called for others to follow. He saw that the pikemen still maintained two formations and pushed across. If they saw any humanoid target on the ground, they would stab it regardless of whether there was any movement. There would be no trace of anything in their path. The only sound was the "click-click" sound of combat boots on the rocks, which seemed to hit everyone's hearts.

"Why...?" No one expected that among the dead and wounded, some of them would lift up their bodies, struggle to get up, and even ask with an angry face, "My Luo family has worked hard for you all these years. Bloody fighting, is it still like this today? You are so vicious, you will definitely die without a burial place in the future!" "It turns out to be Mr. Luo!" Compared with other mine owners who are somewhat ashamed, Magistrate He's "cultivation" is obvious More fully, "The Luo family has been lawless over the years and has committed numerous blood debts. The people have already been resentful. If they don't kill, the people will not be angry. Today is just an opportunity for me to clean up and give justice to the people!"

"Give justice to the people? Hahaha -" Young Master Luo looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, his voice already full of resentment, "Whose surname is He, who do you think you are? You are just a wild dog that was let down from above. How many have you eaten in these years?" How can we talk about justice when the people are fat and the people are rich? Today the Luo family is in a miserable state, how can you, the county magistrate, get better? I am waiting for you below, and I will never let you, a corrupt official, go by, hahaha!"

"Kill him, kill him!" Magistrate He's face turned red and he pointed at Young Master Luo and cursed. However, because he only brought a few government servants with him when he came, and others would not take advantage of him, he was helpless for a moment. When people asked, he was the only one jumping around like a clown.

"Bang——" Zhou Yang didn't want to continue this embarrassment and signaled a matchlock gunner behind him to fire. The huge kinetic energy of the projectile directly knocked Mr. Luo away for more than a step. When he landed, he made no sound at all and was completely dead. of.

"Master He, I won't bother with the remnants of these three families in the city, but I hope you can send someone to point out the few mines they have in hand so that the people of Xue Zihao can take over." Zhou Yang glanced at them The mine owners, who had been silent so far, said coldly, "I remember there are seven locations in total, right?"

"Not bad!" County Magistrate He looked at Young Master Luo's body viciously and said, "Master Zhou, the Luo family is considered a big family in the city, and there are two other families. Are you really not going to take a look?"

"This young lady of the Luo family is a well-known beauty in Daye. Once things are sorted out in the city, I will send her to the master's house. I will not let you down!" An unknown mine owner said with a flattering face. He said, but when he spoke, many people present had obscene and regretful looks on their faces, and they obviously had thoughts.

"You should keep it for yourself." Zhou Yang's expression was indifferent. Although the young lady may have been aggrieved or even wronged, Zhou Yang was not interested in reaching out. When the Luo family oppressed the people and took human lives lightly, she was not necessarily innocent. "Friendly reminder In a word, whether it is a gold hairpin, a silver hairpin, or even a jade hairpin, when it is poked out, it is no worse than a dagger or a short sword.

I'm too lazy to take care of the bullshit between you, but don't forget one thing. I remember what Sir He said about the conditions for these miners?I won’t ask about those leading people, but if you dare to skip the miners’ wages and burial fees, I believe you have seen the fate of the Luo family. No one wants to be the next one, right? "

These few words made people chatter to death, not to mention the constipated expressions of other mine owners, and even County Magistrate He's face was not good-looking. It was just the massacre just now that no one at the scene had the courage to refute.

"Sir, the team has been assembled. Please give instructions!" Just as he was saying this, Yuan Xiu, headed by five hundred households, came over to report.

"Call the team and go back to camp!" Zhou Yang waved his hand lightly, and turned to County Magistrate He and said, "Sir He, I just pretended that I didn't hear the words 'no living mother', how can I go up? Explain your own arrangements in person; also, don’t forget the things you promised back then, you guys have worked so hard, and if your hard work is in vain, I’m afraid there will be many things that will be hard to talk about!”

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhou!" Magistrate He's face was ugly, and his words seemed to pop out from between his teeth. He didn't even bother to say any more polite words, "I will arrange the matter on my own, so I won't bother Mr. Zhou! "

"Stand at attention! Put the gun on your shoulder - turn back! Move together!" While the two were talking, one after another commandments came from the military formation, accompanied by a neat "click" sound. There were nearly 600 people, as if They strode off as one body, and the sound of these footsteps was like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of everyone present.

"Farewell!" Zhou Yang had already mounted his horse, held the riding whip and held it in his hand for a moment. He started off without waiting for others to return the greeting. Anyway, the mining area is not far from the camp, so it would be no problem to rush back for lunch; as for the White Lotus Sect issue that was finally exposed , he really didn't bother to ask, because as long as it didn't require action, it also didn't fall within his scope of authority.

"County Lord, is he too crazy?" A mine owner said with dissatisfaction as he looked at the military formation that was gradually retreating.

The county magistrate He didn't say a word, first glanced at Young Master Luo's body, and then at Zhou Yang's receding figure, his eyes were full of coldness.

(End of this chapter)