The battle failed, but Tan Guoyuan did not dare to hide it at all, and a battle report was quickly handed over to Liu Ziqiu.
Liu Ziqiu looked at it twice and said thoughtfully: "These two bandit suppression campaigns also illustrate some problems. It seems that some changes need to be made."
Yu Shinan asked in confusion: "What changes does Your Majesty mean?"
Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "In the past wars, the soldiers charged in the front, and the common people carried food and grass behind. Needless to say, the reason why the Yushan campaign failed this time was that spies were mixed in among the common people. These common people were all common people of the Han Dynasty. My people, why do they want to help the bandits? Let’s ignore them for now, but for the transportation of the army’s baggage and grain, from now on we will need to train specialized baggage soldiers.”
After a pause, Liu Ziqiu continued: "Furthermore, crossbows and trebuchets are powerful tools for attacking fortresses, but they are inconvenient to transport, especially when traveling in mountainous areas. They become a drag. We can let He Chou and the others think of a way. The equipment must be made smaller while reducing weight, and secondly, it must be able to be disassembled and installed so that it can be easily carried.”
Yu Shinan nodded and said: "Your Majesty has thought it over carefully. I will formulate your Majesty's opinions now and send someone to Luoyang at Xingye. However, the Yushan bandits have already escaped. Can we let the soldiers withdraw first?" "
It was not easy for him to follow Liu Ziqiu to the south of the Yangtze River this time. In addition to helping Liu Ziqiu draw up some documents, he also had an important task, which was to find ways to get Liu Ziqiu to return to Luoyang as soon as possible. Of course, this important task was not given to him by Liu Ziqiu, but by Liu Ziqiu. It was arranged privately by Wei Zheng and others who were in charge of the cabinet. Now that he has been delayed here for more than half a month, how could Yu Shinan not be anxious? Although the Yushan bandits caused trouble for the canal, compared with the emperor's return to the capital, it was only a small step. Of course Yu Shinan hoped that Liu Ziqiu would end his campaign to suppress the Yushan bandits.
But Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "Let them continue to clean up. When will the Yushan bandits be completely wiped out, and when will the troops withdraw. As for how to wipe out, it depends on their ability. We will only watch, not tell."
Yu Shinan had no choice but to write Liu Ziqiu's request into a document and send it to Qiao Wei and others.
…
Just when Tan Guoyuan was worried, Ji Mingliang was also very busy in that small town. There were more than 1,300 households in the town, and Ji Mingliang interrogated him almost twice, but no suspicious person was found. In fact, it is no wonder that the entire town Except for Lu Mingxing and his dozen or so cronies, there is no one in the town who has anything to do with the Dangshan bandits. This place was originally a retreat arranged by Lu Mingxing for himself. He usually strictly orders his gangsters that no one is allowed to enter this place. Small town. And the house he built in the small town was also used by local people.
Since they are all locals, their identities are naturally innocent. If there is anyone else who is suspected, it is only Lu Mingxing himself. However, Lu Mingxing and more than a dozen of his cronies were all disguised when they came to the town. Even When the prisoners were confronted, they could not recognize any of them. And everyone in the town praised Lu Mingxing as a good person, because in the past six months, Lu Mingxing had spent a lot of money building roads for the town and taking care of the elderly who died of illness. .Almost all the people in the town spoke for him. Even if Ji Mingliang had doubts, he did not dare to force himself.
However, Ji Mingliang really accepted the truth. Anyway, the battle over Yushan was in trouble. Even if he went there, he couldn't help much. He was simply stuck with this town. The situation in the town where no entry was allowed and no exit was allowed.
It lasted for twenty days, and there was no sign of change. This made the people in the town feel very panic, but in the face of the soldiers holding sharp swords, they had no choice but to be angry and dare not speak.
After enduring this for a few more days, some people finally couldn't hold on any longer and ran to Lu Mingxing's house and said repeatedly: "Executive member Lu, please help us. It won't be a problem if this continues."
Although Lu Mingxing's current identity is just a businessman, he claims to be from Luoyang. He should be someone who has seen the world. When the people in the town are desperate, the first person they think of is him.
After dozens of people begged for help, Lu Mingxing suddenly had an idea. He stood up suddenly and said loudly: "Okay! I will risk my life for everyone!"
He also had his own wishful thinking. Although Dangshan was finished, the officers and soldiers stayed in the town, obviously to trace his whereabouts. It was also a good thing for him to let the officers and soldiers end the blockade early. Of course, he went to find the officers and soldiers
Being reasonable also requires taking great risks, but he must take this risk. Because he is a "merchant". If a "merchant" is trapped here for many years and is not in a hurry, it will appear very abnormal, but it will easily arouse suspicion.
At this time, if he took the initiative to come forward, it might be easier to clear up his suspicions. So Lu Mingxing came to see Ji Mingliang without saying anything.
Knowing that the most suspected "merchant" in front of him asked him to lift the blockade of the town, Ji Mingliang couldn't help but narrowed his eyes: "Executive member Lu, military and national affairs are not yours to decide!"
Lu Mingxing cupped his hands and said: "General, please calm down. The common people are also doing the general good. Although the common people are foreigners, they have been here for more than a day or two. They are quite familiar with the people in the town. They dare to guarantee their wealth and life.
There is absolutely no one who colludes with the bandits. If the common people are right, then the bandit leader on Dangshan Mountain may have fled far away. The longer the general stays here, the harder it will be to achieve success. The common people have a plan, I wonder if the general is willing to listen to it.
One listen?”
Ji Mingliang was at a loss for what to do, so he couldn't help but nodded and said, "Tell me and listen."
Lu Mingxing chuckled and said: "Those bandits must have families when they have been here for a long time. As long as the general captures the families of those bandits, there is no need to worry about the bandits not being destroyed!"
There was a look of contempt on Ji Mingliang's face: "How dare you show off your skills in front of me, the general! The Dangshan bandits and bandits all came from Hebei, Shandong and other places, how could they have any families? There were a few who got married, and they were all killed in the mountain.
I am the general who captured him. I heard that the leader of the thieves is also unmarried, so where can I go to capture his family members?"
"That's it!" Lu Mingxing looked disappointed, shook his head and sighed, "I thought thieves were just like ordinary people, but who knew they didn't marry, that would be very difficult. General, I also heard that there are more than 100 thieves here.
There are bandits all the way up Dangshan Mountain, and there are bandits on that fish mountain. Could it be that the leader of the bandits has defected to someone else?"
"Then don't think about it. I have already found out clearly that Dangshan and Yushan are incompatible with each other, and it is impossible for Lu Mingming to defect to Yushan!" Suddenly, Ji Mingliang seemed to remember something, and slapped his thigh suddenly, "Yes,
You can try this method!"
Lu Mingxing looked at Ji Mingliang's surprise and couldn't help but laugh, but he said: "I wonder what the general has ingeniously planned. Maybe the common people can help?"
"Okay, okay, you have nothing to do here." Ji Mingliang waved his hand impatiently, but warned, "Go back and stay well! You are not allowed to leave here until the blockade is lifted!"
Lu Mingxing pretended to be troubled and retreated, but he secretly laughed in his heart. It seemed that this strategy of bringing trouble to the east was paying off.
…
After Lu Mingming left, Ji Mingliang hurriedly explained and rushed to Yushan with 500 people. As for the blockade of the town, it was still not lifted. Ji Mingliang always had an intuition that Lu Mingming should still be hiding in
In the town. But he didn't know that the person who often faced him face to face was Lu Mingxing. Of course, although the blockade continued, the searches and interrogations had stopped, and the people in the town were somewhat peaceful.
At this time, Tan Guoyuan was still searching everywhere in Yushan. A large number of soldiers and horses almost turned over Yushan, but he could not find even a trace of the bandits. However, Lord Yu who was sitting on the edge of the canal had already made a move.
Then, when will the bandits in Yushan be wiped out, and when will the troops be withdrawn? Just when he was depressed, Ji Mingliang came up with a plan, arresting all the people by the canal, and interrogating them one by one, he could always find out a few
A hidden bandit!
This method was stupid and could easily arouse public anger. Tan Guoyuan couldn't help but hesitate and said, "Let's discuss it with Qiao Wei."
Qiao Wei stayed on the boat all day. Not to mention bandits, even the people along the coast refused to go into the water and could not even catch a hair. The life on the boat was not as good as on the shore, and even his sleep was uneasy.
As the moon came down, the weather gradually became hotter again, and his soldiers complained endlessly. After hearing the methods of Tan Guoyuan and Ji Mingliang, Qiao Wei also rushed to the doctor because of his illness. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Let's do it like this!"
Of course, this kind of thing also requires the cooperation of the local government. Wu Junwu, Quan Tonghua and others were also involved, and the entire canal was in a state of panic.
…
Although this operation was not reported to Liu Ziqiu, Liu Ziqiu's camp was located on the edge of the canal, and dozens of mounted scouts were arranged to patrol around every day. News soon came back. I heard that the government actually started arresting people.
The river workers and their families along the canal, regardless of gender, age or child, were all taken away first before proceeding. Liu Ziqiu became furious and shouted: "What a nonsense!"
Liu Ziqiu knew very well that water could carry or capsize a boat, so how could he tolerate such behavior that seriously disturbed the people?
Yu Shinan had never seen Liu Ziqiu so angry before. He shuddered with fright and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I will send someone to stop them now."
Liu Ziqiu got angry and calmed down a little. He shook his head and said, "No need. I will go there myself to comfort the frightened people."
Gao Xiuer came out from behind the tent: "Husband, I will go with you."
"I want to go too, I want to go too!" The ones making the noise behind were not a few children, but Tuoba Qianyu who still looked childish. She had been bored in the military camp these days, except for competing with Mu Duoli on arrows.
Besides, it was really boring. But in the archery competition, she still lost.
Liu Ziqiu nodded and said, "That's fine. With the two of you going together, I'm afraid the effect of appeasing the women and children will be better."