mtl008 Chapter 199: The grand scene of "suppressing bandits"
Chapter 199: The grand scene of "suppressing bandits"
"Hahaha! General, you are joking." Cai Kangyu raised his head and laughed, "I am flying under the general's banner, and I am transporting chariots and crossbow carts. How could someone so blind as to dare to rob the general's things?"
"However, I have heard that the local government is having a headache because of this. Those bandits are so bold that they rob the grain shops in the city. They are very capable and the government has chased them several times but failed to catch them."
"If this continues, it will hurt the people around us. And it's so close to where your troops are stationed, don't you know?"
Zong Yanli listened and turned his head away silently, then smiled and said: "Master Cai, you should know that the general is leading the army here to resist foreign enemies. If the enemy army makes any unusual movements, we will be ready to fight at any time."
She straightened her posture, her eyes slightly serious as she said, "Besides, the matter of the mountain bandits is not my business."
"If we want to send troops to encircle and suppress them, we should find a legitimate reason." Zong Yanli looked like he wanted to share the worries of the people.
"Well...it's indeed a bit troublesome." Cai Kangyu fell into deep thought after listening to Zong Yanli's words.
"I really admire you for your concern for the people." Zong Yanli looked at Cai Kangyu and said, "If you really want to wipe out these bandits, it's not impossible. I just need your help."
"General, please tell me." Cai Kangyu responded quickly.
Zong Yanli raised his hand and poured another cup of tea for Cai Kangyu, saying, "This general has the emperor's order. He must defend the enemy in front of the battlefield and cannot lead the army to fight everywhere. Otherwise, people will report that he is holding his own troops and is suspected of treason."
She looked at Cai Kangyu and said, "But... if the military supplies were looted, wouldn't it be more reasonable for me to lead my troops to identify them as foreign spies and send troops to reclaim the military supplies?"
Cai Kangyu frowned slightly when he heard Zong Yanli's words, and said in confusion: "General, you want me to..."
Seeing that Cai Kangyu had fallen for it, Zong Yanli smiled and said, "When you were building the chariots and crossbows, did you keep the ones that were not built properly and had problems?"
"Yes, I am in a hurry to transport the chariots here, and those chariots have not been dealt with yet." Cai Kangyu nodded quickly in response.
"That's easy. My Lord, have someone transport the chariot along the way. This time, it will be transported secretly and not via the official road." Zong Yanli said to Cai Kangyu with a smile in his eyes.
Now that things have come to this, how could Cai Kangyu still not understand?
He immediately agreed and expressed his willingness to do so. Zong Yanli was overjoyed and repeatedly praised Lord Cai for his love for the people, which was truly evident to heaven and earth. If this bandit suppression effort was successful, she would definitely recommend Lord Cai for credit in front of the Empress Dowager.
Cai Kangyu was also very happy, and immediately went to prepare without staying any longer.
As soon as Cai Kangyu left, Zong Yanli had someone secretly deliver a secret letter to Fu Jiashi, asking him to seize the opportunity and quickly rob a few more grain stores and grain merchants, because she would send troops to capture them immediately!
On the other side, Zhan Haoyue and Huo Wenqi were mingling in chess halls and academies in various places, secretly building up momentum.
Sang Caijie set up a drama of resurrection and rejuvenation, saying that he was enlightened by gods and dreamed that he was in some temple.
At once, many wealthy people came to watch, and there was also an old blind fortune teller who deliberately predicted the fortunes of those merchants and said some superstitious words, saying that building a temple to worship Buddha would gain eternal life.
As a result, the trend gained momentum and people actually built temples and offered incense. This was not just happening in one place, but was spreading everywhere.
At the end of July, the bandits were causing unrest everywhere. However, the bandits, who kept the slogan of robbing the rich and helping the poor, did not cause harm to ordinary people. They only targeted the local grain merchants, injuring many people but not causing any deaths.
The government didn't know how to control the area, and after sending troops to capture them several times, they came up empty-handed. Those bandits were really cunning.
But there were officers and soldiers who did catch up with him. The capable officers and soldiers planned a capture plan and finally captured the man after much effort.
That night, there was a knock on the county magistrate's door.
Fu Jiashi showed his military token, climbed through the window, and sat down in front of the county magistrate's bed...
The county magistrate broke out in a cold sweat, after all this fuss it turned out that this bandit was actually a soldier under General Zong Yan. This was the general's plan. It was probably the first time that the county magistrate felt that his "outstanding ability" was not a good thing. How great it would have been if he hadn't been caught!
How could a mere county magistrate like him possibly provoke such a person?
The county magistrate kowtowed and admitted his mistake, and the next day he made up a lame excuse that he had arrested the wrong person and released the man.
Since then, this group of bandits has been doing evil in Fengchang. Whenever someone reports it to the authorities, the county magistrate will still send troops. But this time they are well behaved and will return after pretending to fish in troubled waters.
He wants to stay in office for two more years as the county magistrate! How dare he arrest anyone?
The county magistrate of Fengchang originally thought that General Zong Yan probably wanted to snatch some money from those fat grain merchants, but had no fair way to do it, so he resorted to this desperate measure. He also thought he knew General Zong Yan's big secret.
Who would have thought that within a few days, it was heard that a group of bandits had robbed a passing merchant caravan and even robbed the men who were transporting military supplies, and even smashed and burned all the supplies.
The county magistrate who heard the news: …? ! ? ! ?
"My lord! My lord!" The servant in front of the yamen rushed in anxiously and said in great surprise: "The military supplies were damaged and looted. General Zong Yan was furious about this and has personally led his troops to seek justice for the people!"
“Ah!?!?” The county magistrate nearly fell off his chair, and suddenly felt that his brain seemed to be useless.
Then not long after, I magically watched a grand scene of "suppressing bandits".
The people in the city cheered when they saw with their own eyes the famous General Zong Yan, wearing a bronze ghost mask and holding a wolf-que long sword, leading his troops.
Under Zong Yanli's attack, those bandits were beaten and fled in defeat, which made the people in the city excited. When Zong Yanli heard that the merchants' food had been looted, he became even more furious and said that food was the most important thing for the people, and he would definitely take back the food for them.
However, he did not expect that the bandits were familiar with the terrain. After a "difficult" bandit suppression campaign, Zong Yanli finally succeeded in capturing all the bandits, destroying their hideouts, and recovering a lot of food and fodder.
Although perhaps half of the grain had already been transported and sold, the grain merchants were already deeply moved by the fact that they were able to snatch it back.
When Zong Yanli returned to the city, some people in the crowd shouted for gratitude, and some even offered food and fodder, saying that they wanted to thank General Zong Yan for relieving the people of the disaster. If General Zong Yan had not sent troops, who knows how those bandits would have harmed the people!
"The general has done so much for the country and the people, how can we not show our appreciation!" That person stepped forward and said, "The general, please accept this grain!"
"Yes, yes. The general is leading his troops outside to fight the enemy, and now he can come to fight bandits and find food for us, the insignificant people..."
“It’s really a righteous thing!”
"General, I am giving you the grain from my Xiangyun Grain Shop as a gift for your military pay!"
"Then I will also give the grain from my Fusheng Grain Shop to the general!"
As the voices rose one after another, some grain merchants who had originally not intended to speak became a little embarrassed. Some of them had lost too much grain, some were waiting for this batch of grain to make a profit, and some were already having difficulty in capital turnover, etc.
Those who spoke first were either from wealthy families and had no shortage of this, or they wanted to take this opportunity to do someone a favor. This was Zong Yanli!
Others had little to lose to begin with, so they just went with the flow and gave it away.
Why would Zong Yanli accept it on the spot?
Of course they had to say some passionate words, saying that no matter how difficult it was, they would not take the people's things.
However, those "people" were too enthusiastic. Zong Yanli saw that he could not refuse, so he reluctantly agreed and even invited the county magistrate of Fengchang to be a witness. He wrote down the names of those people and the grain shops, and said with great emotion: "I, Zong Yanli, will remember your kindness in donating grain."
After Zong Yanli said this, those who were originally reluctant to give food secretly gritted their teeth and decided to give the food out.
Just pretend that the grain has never been found!
Finally, Zong Yanli made an impassioned resignation speech, and then left with the food and fodder. The people in the city were still sighing that General Zong Yan was really kind, and that it was a blessing for us to have such a good general who serves the country and the people to defend against the enemy outside.
The county magistrate did not dare to say a word and put those "bandits" covered with black cloth into jail.
Then it was midnight again.
This time, the person who came directly to the door was the famous General Zong Yan. The county magistrate, Zong Yanli, who was wearing black military armor and a bronze ghost mask and standing in front of his bed, suddenly felt terrified as if this was the King of Hell coming to claim his life.
"Release him." Fortunately, Zong Yanli spoke. Although he only said two simple words, the county magistrate nodded repeatedly as if he had been pardoned.
That night, Zong Yanli went to the prison and fished out Fu Jiashi and others who were imprisoned. Then he asked the county magistrate to select a few death row prisoners, put hoods on them, and take them out to be beheaded the next day in order to appease the people.
The county magistrate nodded in agreement and promised to keep his mouth shut under the threat of Fu Jiashi and others. Then he saw those "bandits" put on military armor and transformed themselves into soldiers under General Zong Yan. The next day, they left in a swagger, with the farewell of the people in the city.
The county magistrate standing in the front was a little dazed for a moment as he looked at the army that was leaving in such a mighty manner...
After Zong Yanli left Fengchang, he asked Fu Jiashi to find the other hidden food and grass.
In front of the military camp, Saiya and Duzhe were stunned when they saw Zong Yanli returning with a full load. It was all rice and wheat!
It was not false at all. Sai Ya came forward to take a look, then turned to look at Zong Yanli with eyes full of admiration. It was really hard to imagine how Zong Yanli did it. The bookkeeper who came after hearing the news was shaking in his hands when he looked at the carts of grain in front of him.
Qi Wenyao hurriedly went to ask Zong Yanli about the origins of these food and fodder. After hearing Zong Yanli's words that they were donated by merchants, he was even more incredulous.
Those grain merchants were the most stingy. Even when they were ordered by the emperor to collect grain for disaster relief, they only gave out some miscellaneous grains and coarse grains. When did they become so generous?
Zong Yanli said in a few words that this was what she led the army to snatch back from the bandits for the grain merchants, and then said with great admiration: "I specially kept a list. These grain merchants are all good merchants who are dedicated to Daqian. I will report it to the Queen Mother now."
"Send this list here, and ask the Queen Mother to put up a plaque to commend them!"
"..."
They sent so much food, so why don’t you just give them a plaque?
This is really...
Qi Wenyao looked at Zong Yanli in great surprise, and suddenly felt that if General Zong Yan did not fight in the war, he might still be able to do business.
Zong Yanli held the teacup and smiled. What she sent was not just a plaque, but the most important reputation for a businessman. What an honor it was to receive a plaque bestowed by the emperor?
With the food and fodder deposited and filling the army, Zong Yanli felt relieved and waited for news from Sang Caijie. The temple issue would not be accomplished overnight, and Zong Yanli was not in a hurry. He knew that the war would not be over in a short time, and maybe the temple could bring long-term secret support?
When August came, the Northern Army stationed in Liangcheng finally showed some movement.
Peng Hai, Wang Yi and others took turns to go out on patrol and brought back some news to Zong Yanli today.
"If my guess is correct, the Northern Army must have been waiting for food and military supplies for some time." In the military tent, Zong Yanli sat with Wang Yi and others and made guesses based on the recent movements of the enemy.
"I'm afraid it's difficult for Jin to provide enough food and fodder. The Northern Army's food and fodder should come from the Northern Kingdom, so we have to wait so long." Zong Yanli spread out the map and took a quick look at the terrain around Liangcheng, as well as the passes and other cities next to Liangcheng.
"Our army now has siege chariots, so it is not impossible to take Liangcheng." Zong Yanli's brows relaxed slightly. Now that they were no longer in danger of lack of food and grass, and had siege crossbows, it was a good opportunity to try their hand at Liangcheng.
Zong Yanli immediately called everyone into the tent to discuss matters, even Princess Sai Ya and Du Zhe of Wuhuan.
Zong Yanli looked at the two and said, "Now that you and I are allies, you should participate in the siege."
Princess Saiya and Duzhe were deeply moved and immediately agreed to stand at the end and listen to orders.
Zong Yanli deployed his troops for the battle, as if preparing for a strong attack. He mobilized almost all his forces to attack the gate of Liangcheng. Even the Wuhuan were among the army. This attack was apparently intended to seize the city by force. Didn't he even consider the chances of winning?
"Is Zong Yanli's attack this time intended to test out his own siege crossbow?" After coming out of the tent, Du Zhe looked at Sai Ya with some doubt.
"That's what I meant." Sai Ya nodded slightly and said, "I've heard about the power of Qing's siege chariots. I didn't expect that Daqian would build one in less than a year."
"With the help of the chariot, siege the city will be twice as easy with half the effort." Duzhe's brows relaxed slightly, and he was really jealous of Daqian's siege chariot.
Sai Ya also smiled and returned to the tent with Du Zhe, not noticing that Miu Mo, who was following beside her, had heard their entire conversation.
That night, Zong Yanli sat in the tent with her eyes closed and rested without taking off her armor until she heard Wen Nian's quiet voice reporting that she had taken the bait. Only then did she open her eyes and ask someone to invite Du Zhe and Princess Saiya to have a night talk. It turned out that they had another plan, and she repeatedly warned the two not to disclose military secrets.