Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 151 Luzhou
The gentry and the wealthy families would be afraid of the regular army, but they would never be afraid of bandits. If a group of losers were really that powerful, they would not be called bandits, but rebels, such as Chen Gu at this time.

If you were as powerful as Chen Gu, there would be no need to attack. The big families would be tactful and surrender to you obediently, just like Chen Gu at this moment.

The Kang village leader's face was uncertain for a while, and finally he sighed and said, "I really don't have the strength to take Yongchuan, but you have to tell me how our brothers will be treated after joining us, right?"

Chen Gu nodded and said, "First of all, I am not a bandit or a mountain bandit. Although my ancestors were born as bandits, Li Zicheng established the Dashun Dynasty.

The old man built the stronghold not for robbery, but to resist the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, we are not bandits, but regular troops. "

"Is there any difference?" Village Chief Kang raised his eyebrows and said, "Although it may not sound good, in the eyes of the court we are thieves and bandits."

"Of course it's different, and it's very different. Bandits are just trying to survive, and their methods are despicable. They only rob houses to get money for themselves.

Since we are a regular army, we must have our own propositions and our own beliefs. We will only attack the enemy and will never attack civilians.

We want to overthrow the corruption-ridden Qing dynasty and establish a new dynasty where equals can give ordinary people land to farm, food to eat, and clothes to wear.

Our Chinese nation has its own foundation for establishing a nation." Chen Gu said loudly.

"What is the foundation of a country?" asked the leader of Kang Village.

"People-oriented, equal distribution of land and low taxation, the emperor under the law, pioneering and enterprising!" Chen Gu said seriously, "Now Jiangjin County is already promoting the equal distribution of land."

"People-oriented, equal distribution of land and low taxation, ~!"

The leader of the Kang Village chewed over the sixteen words that Chen Jue said for a while, and finally stood up and bowed to Chen Jue, saying: "I am Kang Minghui, your subordinate, and I am willing to lead my brothers to follow you and build a court where everyone is equal!"

Why did Kang Minghui know to call Chen the butcher leader?

Because this was just a play performed by two brothers, and the audience were the two people next to them, Boss Xu and Zhang Shaking their heads.

Kang Minghui was an old subordinate of Liu Er and had connections with Chen Gu. Although they had never met, Lao Nian had already explained everything to Kang Minghui before bringing him here.

The fact that Kang Minghui appeared here showed that he was ready to be recruited by Chen Jue.

But Boss Xu and Zhang Shatou didn't know this. They were outsiders, and Chen Gu couldn't let Lao Nian give them briefings in advance. Both of them had very good reputations, so Chen Gu wanted to meet them and test them at the same time.

Let’s see whether the two are willing to be recruited by me after knowing the true situation in my army.

Now is the time to reveal the real purpose.

"Brother, please get up quickly. With your help, our great cause will surely be accomplished soon!"

Chen Jue quickly stood up and helped Kang Minghui up, then turned to look at Zhang Shatou and Gang Leader Xu, bowed and asked, "What do you two think?" The two looked at each other, and Gang Leader Xu said apologetically, "I would like to follow Master Chen Shan to Chengdu to build a career, but my brothers have family businesses in Hejiang. If I leave rashly, I'm afraid my wife, children and mother will be left without anyone to take care of them!"

"I am already here. If Lord Chen wants to attack Hejiang, I am willing to help. I will have to let you down, Lord Chen!" Zhang shook his head and politely refused.

Chen Gu didn't take it seriously. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "This is indeed inconvenient, but our army's first strategic goal is Chengdu, but occupying Hejiang is a matter of time.

After our army occupies Chengdu, we will go down the river and occupy the prefectures and counties along the river one by one.

Why don't you two join our army as peripheral members first, and help our army collect detailed intelligence about Hejiang, such as the situation of Hejiang officials and major clans, so as to make some preparations for our army's occupation of Hejiang in the future."

"It's just a small thing, we are willing to do it, and we look forward to the day when the leader returns triumphantly!"

The two men also bowed to Chen Gu. This was not a difficult thing to do. They didn't need to conflict with the various forces in Hejiang, and they could also keep a bond with Chen Gu. If Chen Gu really returned triumphantly from Chengdu, they could officially join Chen Gu's army at that time.

After all, by then the whole Sichuan would probably be in Chen Gu's pocket, which is much less risky than following Chen Gu to Chengdu now.

Of course, the effort and reward are proportional. If they follow Chen Gu to Chengdu at this time, the benefits they can get will definitely be greater. However, for a small force like them, seeking stability and survival is the best choice.

As for Chen Gu, it doesn't matter. It would be better if he could join us immediately, but it doesn't matter if he is unwilling. It would be good to keep a token of gratitude first and make preparations for attacking the prefectures and counties along the river after taking Chengdu.

The next day, Chen Gu led his army across the Chishui River with the transportation of various boats collected by Hejiang County, and then received various supplies prepared by Hejiang County. In addition to three days of food and fodder, there were also more than 300 mules, horses, donkeys and other large livestock.

Under the threat of Chen Gu's army, Hejiang County wisely chose to compromise, otherwise only a catastrophe would be waiting for them. Only a fool would buy the court a day or two at the cost of their lives.

Chen Gou originally intended to prepare the mules and horses from Hejiang County for the Green Camp Army that would follow, but he first gave them to Kang Minghui for use.

Kang Minghui's stronghold was not weak in strength, and its combat capability might even be stronger than that of the Green Camp soldiers, but it was far inferior in terms of armaments.

So equipment can be replenished. Chen Gu decided that in addition to food and livestock, he would have to ask the other party to prepare some equipment for the next stop.

The next stop is Naxi County, which is also the seat of Luzhou.

Luzhou is a direct-controlled prefecture. The so-called direct-controlled prefecture was actually at the same level as a county, but it was directly under the jurisdiction of Sichuan, which was similar to the county-level cities and municipalities in later generations.

Because its importance is far greater than that of a county, it is called a state. Sometimes it only has one county, and sometimes it is composed of several counties, but it is definitely not as large as Chongqing Prefecture with more than a dozen or dozens of counties.

Zhili prefectures were generally important places. For example, Luzhou controlled the Chishui River, an important transportation river connecting Sichuan and Guizhou. Therefore, many garrisons were set up in Luzhou, stationing the same number of troops as Chongqing, an important city that controls the intersection of the Yangtze River and Jialing River, three thousand Green Camp troops.

However, the original troops had been withdrawn by Le Bao, and now the entire Luzhou had no defensive forces at all. Even Naxi, the seat of government, had no resistance in front of Chen Gu.

(End of this chapter)