Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 176 Zizhou
Provincial capitals and counties are administrative units, while states are often important military towns. They are usually changed into direct-controlled states because of the need to station troops.

For example, Luzhou was promoted to a direct-controlled prefecture because it controlled three important shipping routes: the Chishui River, the Yangtze River, and the Tuojiang River.

The same is true for Zizhou, because Zizhou controls the source of Tuojiang River and is the gateway to the Chengdu Plain, so it was promoted to a direct-controlled prefecture.

At first, Chen Gu was worried that there were troops in Zizhou guarding various passes. As a result, there were only some old, weak and sick people from the Green Camp left in Zizhou, and they surrendered directly to Chen Gu's army.

Originally, Le Bao did not withdraw troops from Zizhou. After all, he started from Chengdu along the Minjiang River, passed Leshan to Yibin, entered the Yangtze River, then went to Luzhou and then to Jiangjin.

Zizhou was not on the way, and Le Bao already had an army of 9,000, so he did not need the 1,000 Green Camp soldiers from Zizhou. However, these 1,000 Green Camp soldiers were taken by Liu Qing and Yang Kui.

After figuring out the cause and effect of the matter, Chen Gu couldn't help but think of the one thousand very cunning Green Camp soldiers who surrendered in Luzhou.

If the several thousand Green Camp soldiers led by Xing Honghai could still be used, then the one thousand Green Camp soldiers who surrendered outside Luzhou City were completely useless.

At the beginning, Chen Gu just trained them and continued to use them, but it turned out that more than half of them were heavy smokers. What was even more infuriating was that those guys were all very cunning, and they could find countless excuses to be lazy while working.

They had to be whipped to get anything done, and Chen Gu was so angry that he wanted to chop them all to pieces. Finally, Chen Gu handed them over to Dong Chuansong and asked him to take the 1,000 Green Camp soldiers to open a mine, and release them when things became normal.

After all, they were a thousand strong men, so Chen Gu certainly couldn't just leave them alone.

The remaining old, weak and disabled soldiers in Zizhou were equally cunning. Before Chen Gu's army arrived, they had already sent people to contact Chen Gu. The answer was one word: "money".

As long as Chen Gu was willing to give them a reward, they would sell the entire Zizhou to Chen Gu.

Whether it was the topographic map of Zizhou, the layout of the defensive checkpoints, or the specific conditions of officials and wealthy families in various cities of Zizhou, they could sell them all, as long as Chen Gu offered a suitable price.

To show their sincerity, they also gave Chen Gu some information, which was more detailed than what Lao Nian had found out.

Looking at the middle-aged captain in front of him, Chen Gu couldn't help but think of a saying: if the Jurchens have less than 10,000 troops, they will be invincible if they have 10,000; if the Ming army has less than 10,000 troops, they will be invincible if they have more ....

Comparing it with the present, can we also say that Chen's army is invincible when it has less than 10,000 men, and invincible when it has more than 10,000 men, and that the Qing army is invincible when it has less than 10,000 men and has more than 10,000 men?
"What's your name?" Chen Gu asked the middle-aged captain in front of him.

The rank of a battalion commander was actually not low, it was the seventh rank, which was equivalent to the rank of a county magistrate. However, a second rank general was a head shorter than a county magistrate, and a thousand-man commander was just a dog in front of a county magistrate, let alone a battalion commander.

"I am Xie Guangfeng, what do you think, Your Majesty? It is definitely worthwhile to do business with me!"

Chen Gu scratched his head and said, "But I don't have any silver now. Who would carry so much silver with them when I lead a large army to fight?

I'll give you two choices, or I'll give them to you later~!"

Before Chen Gu finished speaking, Xie Guangfeng shook his head like a rattle, "No, I have to pay the money and deliver the goods. If the king cuts off my head afterwards, I won't be able to resist!"

"Then let's talk about the second one. You provide the information, and then my army takes action. I will give you 20% of the money and food we earn." Chen Gu smiled and said, "I can also let you choose what you want first!"

Xie Guangfeng's eyes rolled around quickly and he agreed immediately, "Okay, it's settled!" "Okay, but remember to only choose targets along the way to Chengdu. My army will attack Chengdu first, and we can't waste too much time!" Chen Gu reminded.

"Okay, let's attack the two big towns of Shiling and Nanjin first, and then attack Zizhou City. Before entering Chengdu, we can also attack the two towns of Jianyang and Longquan. These places are all rich and will guarantee that the king will make a fortune!" said Xie Guangfeng.

Chen Gu smiled and nodded. He was not seeking to make a fortune, but he really needed a stable rear base before entering Chengdu. Zizhou City was a very good place.

After all, Chengdu is a strong city, and there is a Manchu city inside. Chen Gu only has three or four thousand people. If the people inside unite to resist, it may not be possible to take it down in a hurry.

By then, with Zizhou as a stable rear base, there will be sufficient supply of materials. Even if the imperial army from Shaanxi comes, Chen Gu can attack or defend.

Shiling is an iron ore mining area. After careful consideration, Chen Gu did not attack or even harass the other side. After all, although Xie Guangkun said that this place was extremely rich, people there would not store their silver in the mining area.

If it is a gold, silver or copper mine, Chen Gu can plunder it first. As for the iron mine, it is better to keep it for now. It would be great if he can take it over intact later. There is no need to worry about the other party taking away the iron.

Nanjin Town is a small material distribution center because the Tuojiang River passes through it. It is indeed relatively wealthy. However, facing Chen Gu's army, the other side did not resist at all and sent people to make contact in advance.

Chen Gu did not make things difficult for the other party. After asking for some food and 10,000 taels of silver, he left with his army.

The ten thousand taels of silver were for Xie Guangkun. When this guy saw the silver, his eyes turned green. He came with a group of brothers, took the silver, and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Chen Gu asked Lao Nian to send people to follow him, but they failed to catch up. An hour later, Xie Guangfeng appeared in front of Chen Gu again.

"Very good, you have some skills!" Chen Gu couldn't help but feel a little curious about this guy.

"Hehe, I don't have any other skills, except that I can run for my life very fast!" Xie Guangfeng said with some pride.

Chen Gu nodded and said with a smile: "I have seen it before. When I was in Luzhou, I spent a lot of effort to capture the 1,000 Green Camps of your Zizhou, but in the end more than 100 of them still escaped."

Xie Guangfeng's eyes widened involuntarily, and then he asked anxiously: "Did the king kill them?"

"No, you should be able to tell that I am not a person who kills lavishly. Except when we are in direct confrontation on the battlefield, I generally do not kill people at will. If they surrender quickly, I will not kill them even more.

Now they are mining in the mines." Chen Gu said.

"Then can the king let them go?" Xie Guangfeng pleaded nervously.

Chen Jue looked at Xie Guangfeng with a half-smile and asked, "What are you going to use to redeem me?"

"How much silver does the king want to release the people?"

(End of this chapter)