Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 34 Departure
At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the entire Jiangjin County of more than 3,000 square kilometers was divided into only three villages, one downstream of the county seat and one on each side of the upstream. In the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, it was divided into twelve sections, and later changed to twelve districts.

Chen Gu was originally from this county. He died in battle on the border and returned to his hometown, but more than 180 years have passed since then. Although there are many familiar places, there are also many unfamiliar places, which always seem to be true but not true.

"This place is called Zhouwang Mountain, which belongs to the First Capital. It was formerly called Sunxili. There is a market town nearby called Longhua. Our stronghold is on top of Zhouwang Mountain!" Lao Nian introduced to Chen Gu.

Chen Gu nodded and said, "Whoever has quick legs can go up and call the brothers down. I won't go up because I'm in a hurry!"

"No need!" Lao Nian winked at Scar.

"Grrrr!"

Scar put the index fingers of both hands together and put them in his mouth, and a whistle that resounded through the sky was soul-stirring. Soon, several people ran down the mountain.

"Very good!" Chen Gu praised Scar, thought for a moment, and said, "We can actually get a few suonas, and then make a few tunes as secret codes to convey some simple information over short distances."

"Haha, it just so happens that Scar can play the suona!" Lao Nian laughed, and then said to Scar: "You have to keep this arrangement of Shao Shantou in mind!"

"Okay!" Scar nodded shyly.

By the time Zhang San and everyone returned home, it was already past noon. The total distance was about 120 miles.

"The Shiyi District is in front of us. There is a market town called Baisha near the river. It is very prosperous and much larger than other market towns." Lao Nian introduced.

Jiangjin County is a county along the river. Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the most prosperous so their areas are relatively small and are divided around the county seat. Districts 5, 6, 7 and 8 are all located along the north bank of the river. Districts 10, 11 and 12 are all located along the south bank of the river. District 9 is also located along the south bank of the river but is not near the river so its area is the largest and the poorest.

Chen the Assassin threw a tael of silver to Zhang San and told him, "Go buy a load of soybeans and other fine fodder to feed the horses!"

Along the way, everyone was very caring towards the horses, and some even gave half of their dry food to the horses.

Chen Gu nodded. He knew Baisha and was very familiar with it, because it became a rare city-level town in later generations. Although the top leader was only at the deputy-department level, it was already very impressive for a town.

In front of them was a courtyard with earthen walls and tiled roofs. Liu Er walked out with Zhang Haomin. Seeing Chen Gu getting off the car, Liu Er couldn't help but smile and said, "You are a boy who knows how to enjoy life!"

Lao Nian took Scar and others to remove the saddles from the horses so that they could relax a little. In that era, a horse cost at least twenty taels of silver, which was a real asset and could be said to be more valuable than a person.

Even in ancient times, transportation was still an extremely important indicator of a city's prosperity.

"It's mainly because we're in a hurry. Well, it can also help us escape faster!" Chen Gu said with a smile.

The three people on the mountain quickly ran down. After Chen Gu asked them what their names were, he announced that they would take a break for a cup of tea, let everyone eat something and drink some water, and then continue on their journey.

The river flows eastward, with its upper reaches in the west. As it continues westward, it changes from the first city to the twelfth city, and then to the eleventh city.

Baisha has a deep-water wharf, so many factories were opened there. Among them is a well-known enterprise, Jiang Xiaobai.

After the Eleventh District is the Tenth District, which is the sphere of influence of the Bian family. Zhang Haomin is also in the Tenth District.

"Shake your head!" Lao Nian and Scar and a few others came over to greet Liu Er.

Liu Er nodded and said, "Let's go and meet up with the brothers. There are so many people and the yard is not big. There are also women here, so everyone should be careful!"

"Yes!" "How is the search for the place going?" Chen Gu asked.

Liu Er frowned and said, "We have found a good place, and we have found two more spots as backup. It is the dry season now, so it is not difficult to find an ambush point, but it always feels a little off."

"Then I'll go and take a look myself later!" Chen Gu personally took down the explosive box and rifle, and said, "Let's find a suitable place to test the weapons first!"

"What kind of place do you want?" Zhang Haomin asked.

"A secluded place will do, preferably a deserted place. These things make a lot of noise, and if many people hear the noise, when we start tracking them down, I'm afraid everyone in this area will be implicated!" said Chen Gu.

The death of a Chengdu general would definitely be a major event that shocked the world. The court would certainly investigate very vigorously, especially the area near the scene of the incident, which would definitely be thoroughly investigated.

It would be fine if the murderer was caught in the end, but if not, the surrounding area might be massacred, and the Qing court would not show mercy to these ordinary Han people.

Moreover, finding a scapegoat can bring a lot of benefits. For example, the Bian family, which will be the first to be hit, will be badly beaten if not killed.

"Then let's find a straight ditch!" Zhang Haomin said after thinking for a while.

Hilly terrain is generally divided into plateaus, slopes and gullies. The terraces you see are slopes, and the gullies are between two hills.

"What kind of people and things do you need?" Liu Er asked.

Chen Gu thought for a moment and said, "Knives, saws, dry bamboo poles, and as for people, there are archers who are strong and can throw things far."

Liu Er nodded, then went into the house with Zhang Haomin to prepare.

Not long after, everyone carried their things and followed Zhang Haomin along a path into the old forest. These places will all be transformed into farmland in the future, but there are still many old forests now.

After all, Jiangjin County had only over 200,000 registered residents at that time. Even if the major families concealed some of the population, it would be around 300,000 at most. In later generations, Jiangjin County had a population of over one million.

With a population difference of more than half, there will naturally be a lot of barren places.

After walking for about half an hour, the surrounding area was already deserted, but for safety reasons, Zhang Haomin led everyone down the mountain and into a main ditch.

“This place is called Wild Boar Cave, but it’s actually a canyon with a river underneath. Occasionally, people come in to hunt, but now is the spring ploughing season, so it’s impossible for anyone to come in.

And if you want to come here, you must pass by my house. I have asked the boss to guard the intersection. If anyone wants to come in, they will be persuaded to go back!" Zhang Haomin said.

Chen Gu nodded and said, "Let's get started. Let's test the specific power of the explosive tank first."

Chen Gu first took out a few empty cans and asked everyone to fill them with soil to try out the feel. After all, explosive cans are not only difficult to make, but also expensive. Although they wanted to test their power, they could not be wasted easily.

Chen Gu himself began to urgently make small detonators to be tied to bows and arrows.

Explosive cans can be used to target groups, but detonators can be used to target individual targets.

(End of this chapter)