The tens of thousands of prisoners of the White Lotus Thieves will have to find someone to take them in. Otherwise, Chen Ping and the three thousand people will be exhausted, let alone the core of the White Lotus Thieves who escaped.
Of course, this job was left to Jingzhou officials. In the past, when he had no official status or was a Hanlin editor, Chen Ping was neither humble nor arrogant. What's more, now that he is an official in the southwest and recruits deputy envoys, he has the power to control the troops of the five southwest states. Used to punish thieves.
Furthermore, now that he was driving away thieves from Jingzhou, he could be regarded as a benefactor of the officials in Jingzhou. Therefore, shortly after sending the envoy to Jiangling City, Chen Ping asked Li Feng to lead his men to chase south first, and try to die if possible. Catch these elite White Lotus thieves to death.
Of course, it’s okay if you can’t follow.
After all, they are traveling by boat, which means that their route of action is traceable and restricted.
Most of Jingzhou's water systems run from north to south, and to the south of Jingzhou is Qianzhou. If these white lotus thieves insist on going south, they will play into Chen Ping's hands. If they don't go south, there will be very few directions to choose from. There is even only one direction. possibility.
"Are they going east?"
Luo Li nodded silently and moved his fingers on the map: "You are the deputy envoy to recruit from the southwest. The forces that can be controlled are only in the five states of Zhong, Dao, Jing, Qian, and Ling. To the east of Jingzhou are Jiangzhou and Yangzhou. , these places are beyond your control."
"The White Lotus thieves will not go south again. Qianzhou is a pocket. It is easy to get in and difficult to get out. If they are blocked in it, they will be dead."
Chen Ping listened carefully to Luo Li's analysis and felt that it made sense.
His eyes stayed on the map, and after a while he said: "Does this mean we can't let them leave Jingzhou and go east?"
"However, the terrain in the eastern part of Jingzhou is complex, and there are many lakes and intertwined water networks, so it may be difficult to be foolproof."
After speaking, he turned to Ji and Luo Li and asked: "Brother Luo, if a thief enters Jiangzhou from Jingzhou, how should we deal with it?"
Chen Ping is an expert in writing articles and doing business, but he is new to leading troops in war.
Now that there are capable people like Luo Li and Li Feng, he naturally needs more advice. He does not expect to be able to learn as much as the military immortal Han Xin. Chen Ping knows how much he weighs. As long as he can have the minimum military knowledge and quality , he would be satisfied if he could command two to three thousand people.
Regarding Chen Ping's question, Luo Li said it was not a difficult problem.
"Jiangzhou and Yangzhou are both prosperous places, and the soldiers there are probably even worse than those in Jingzhou. Although you are just recruiting deputy envoys from the southwest, but you have to obey the authority urgently and pursue the White Lotus bandits into Jiangnan. It won't be a big problem."
"Besides, I'm afraid the court doesn't care about you now, right?"
Hearing Luo Li's answer, Chen Ping scratched his head and smiled.
Luo Li raised the corner of his mouth and murmured to him: "I will be out here, so why don't you accept your life?"
The atmosphere was heightened here, and the two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
...
Knowing that the White Lotus bandits who threatened Jingzhou had been beaten away, the Jingzhou magistrate had mixed emotions, but he still obediently sent people to take over the White Lotus bandits who were captured by Chen Ping, and invited the recruiting envoys to come into the city to rest.
When Chen Ping led more than 2,000 cavalry to appear at the foot of Jiangling City, the large banner with the word "honor" fluttering in the wind made every Jingzhou people who saw it calm down.
The officers and soldiers are here, the officers and soldiers are here!
"Master Chen is truly the savior of thousands of people in Jingzhou!"
"I am here to thank Mr. Chen on behalf of the people of Jingzhou."
Chen Ping glanced at the duplicitous Jingzhou magistrate and chuckled: "Master Fang, why are you doing this? I am serving the imperial court and hunting down thieves under His Majesty's order. This is just my duty."
But even though he said this, he did not reach out to help Fang Zhifu, but instead squinted his eyes to examine him.
He still remembered that he had come to Jingzhou to invite the King of Chu to the capital. As for the attitude of these officials in Jingzhou towards him, the first one to bear the brunt was the Jingzhou prefect, who was extremely arrogant because he was a member of the King of Chu's party.
Now the King of Chu has come to Beijing to have a fight with the Yongxing Emperor, and he has entered Jingzhou with the black gauze hat of the Southwest Recruitment Deputy Envoy. Although Chen Ping is not the kind of person with rat belly and chicken intestines, he will never do anything to the enemy.
What a good look.
This Jingzhou is the fiefdom of the King of Chu. The white lotus bandits are wreaking havoc here, which can be said to have greatly affected the strength of the King of Chu. As for the people who were affected by the military disaster, there is nothing they can do.
After all, if the White Lotus Thief doesn't cause trouble in Jingzhou, he will also cause trouble in other places. This is beyond his control.
The only thing Chen Ping can do is to wipe out the White Lotus bandits as soon as possible, and then return to the capital to do his best to stabilize the situation and repair the Dayu ship, which is full of holes.
There is an old saying that goes, no matter how bad the order is, it is better than no order at all.
It has been 180 years since the founding of Dayu. Officials are corrupt and the politics are chaotic. Chen Ping is aware of these problems. If possible, he would of course want to drastically improve Dayu, but the problem is that the current situation does not allow it.
Outside, there are the Northern Liao barbarians who are eyeing him, and inside, there is the White Lotus cult that is deceiving people. His primary purpose is to stabilize the situation, and other things must be put aside.
"Master Chen is really concerned about the country and the people. I admire him, I admire him!"
Magistrate Fang's eyelids twitched when he saw this, and he resisted the temptation to pull out his lips and replied with a smile.
Then they introduced Chen Ping and others into the city, exchanged polite greetings, and entertained them wholeheartedly.
There is no other way, who gives him the right to control him now that he is holding the title of Deputy Envoy of Southwest Recruitment?
However, Chen Ping didn't come to Jingzhou to enjoy himself. He came to suppress thieves. When he entered Jiangling City, he also checked the situation of Jiangling and Jingzhou officials so that he could have a good idea.
So, after only staying in Jiangling City for a day to rest and recuperate, Chen Ping led his army out of the city and headed southeast. Before leaving, he informed the prefect of Jingzhou about the situation of the White Lotus Bandits.
"The White Lotus thief must rush east and south. I will lead the army to pursue him. You must follow up as soon as possible to fill the gap and prevent the thief from building a plank road to sneak into Chen Cang."
"Nowadays, the most important thing is to suppress thieves, and the military orders are like mountains. If the thieves get away because of your negligence, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
These threatening words fell on the ears of the officials in Jingzhou, making them even more frightened. You must know that Chen Ping now has three thousand fine cavalry in his hands, and he still came under the emperor's order, even though they are all kings of Chu.
However, if Chen Ping is used to impeach or even convict him, it is still unknown whether His Royal Highness the Regent will protect him.
No one dared to bet their wealth, life and future, so they naturally nodded repeatedly to Chen Ping's beating. After transporting them for several miles, all the officials relaxed as they watched thousands of cavalry leave in the dust.
Tone.
"Your Excellency, the man named Chen is so domineering. Could it be that the situation in the capital has changed?"
Because of Chen Ping's tough attitude, some people couldn't help but have wild imaginations and worry about the capital thousands of miles away in the north.
Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Jingzhou immediately turned around and glared fiercely: "How can I allow you to talk too much about national affairs?"
"The white lotus thieves are causing trouble in Jingzhou, and neither you nor I can escape! Now you have to suppress the thieves properly, otherwise it will not be as simple as losing your hat!"
Jingzhou.
All the way from Jingbei to Jingnan, although he still had to pursue the White Lotus Thief, Chen Ping had another task on his shoulders.
That is to inquire about the news of Qianzhou. After all, he is so close to his hometown. No matter from which point of view, he needs the support of Qianzhou.
Originally, Chen Ping thought that three thousand fine cavalry were enough to deal with the White Lotus bandits. Even if they could not be annihilated, they could still pursue them all the way, but now he felt that he was still a little fanciful.
In September, Jingzhou was not as cool and breezy as the capital. It was still humid and hot. This caused the cavalry in the team, who basically came from the north, and their horses to feel uncomfortable. Moreover, the dense water network in Jingzhou greatly reduced the mobility of the cavalry.
.
Even if Jingzhou's navy is mobilized to use ships, it will be difficult to catch up with the thieves.
At this moment, he felt the constraints caused by the shortage of manpower, and Chen Ping saw the combat effectiveness of Jingzhou officers and soldiers. Using Jingzhou soldiers would not only not help, but might ruin the matter.
Qianzhou was his birthplace, and many of his classmates were there. Yang Qian, the prefect of Qianzhou, also clearly expressed his support for Emperor Yongxing. Qianzhou could be regarded as his base camp for Chen Ping both emotionally and rationally. p>
What's more, he hasn't forgotten that a certain senior who is dedicated to scientific research is working hard for Dayu's strength.
It would be unjustifiable if we didn’t go there and take a look, and recruit some young soldiers from Qianzhou who were determined to make contributions.
So, seeing that he could not catch up with the White Lotus thief who seemed to have been prepared for it, Chen Ping simply figured out that if they wanted to leave Jingzhou and go to Jiangnan, let them go.
Since he couldn't stop it, he simply accepted it. This wasn't because Chen Ping didn't work hard to suppress the bandits. It was because although he had the title of deputy envoy to the southwest and nominally had the right to control the troops and horses of the five southwest states to suppress the bandits, but In fact, the prefects of these several prefectures, except for Qianzhou and Lingzhou, the other three prefectures either work in secret or are on the sidelines.
The only one he can really rely on is himself, because there is pressure from border defense in Lingzhou, and the only choice left for Chen Ping is Qianzhou.
In late September, in the late autumn, after Chen Ping handed over his team to Li Feng, he crossed the river lightly with hundreds of fine cavalry and arrived at the border of Qianzhou.
Yang Qian, the prefect of Jingzhou who had already heard that Chen Ping was appointed as the deputy envoy to the Southwest and was ordered to suppress the bandits, held a banquet as soon as he got the news and went out of the city to welcome him in person.
"Master Chen, you should treat each other with admiration after three days of separation!"
"Mr. Yang, that's ridiculous. We're all doing things for His Majesty. After wiping out the bandits, we still have to be called a lower official in front of Your Majesty."
After some polite greetings, Yang Qian seemed to be in a good mood. He enthusiastically invited Chen Ping into the city, saying that he had already arranged everything and wanted to help the hero who defeated the White Lotus Thief.
Chen Ping did not refuse this. After all, it was someone’s kindness, wasn’t it?
But when he got to the wine table, he quickly explained his purpose.
"The White Lotus thieves are deeply rooted and cannot be eliminated in a short time. Now they are fleeing eastward. The officers and soldiers in Jingzhou are too weak to fight and cannot stop the thieves from going east. I want to recruit more soldiers from my disciples in Qianzhou to help."
"Please help Mr. Yang with this matter."
Although Qianzhou is his hometown, Yang Qian is the prefect here. Chen Ping wants to recruit young soldiers in Qianzhou to help suppress the bandits. Without Yang Qian's help, it will be difficult.
Moreover, he could use this incident to test Yang Qian to see if he was truly against the King of Chu.
Although he has only been an official for a short period of time, he is already well aware of the dangers and the need to be careful in everything.
As the saying goes, if you are not afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the worst.
Yang Qian stopped what he was doing with a smile and turned to look at Chen Ping.
"Master Chen, what are you saying? Everyone will be able to punish Bai Lian's traitors. As long as Master Chen releases the news, everyone in Qianzhou will enthusiastically sign up to join the army. I can't help."
His smile was caught in Chen Ping's eyes, and for a moment he couldn't tell whether it was the truth or a lie, or a half-truth.
After a long while, Chen Ping suddenly smiled and toasted to Yang Qian: "It was under the governance of Mr. Yang that Qianzhou could be as prosperous as it is today. The scholars had an atmosphere of learning, the common people and merchants had convenience, and the whole group was prosperous. It was the land of thirteen states in the world. , rarely like this."
Chen Ping was not sure that Yang Qian must be his ally, but he thought about it rationally, and based on Yang Qian's character, family background, and position, it was unlikely that he would fall to the King of Chu.
Then he took a bet. There was a half chance that many people would be unable to hold back and try to give it a try, and there was more than a half chance that Yang Qian would support him or choose neutrality. What reason did he have not to bet?
Furthermore, gambling can be divided into intelligent gambling and brainless gambling. Making this choice does not mean that Chen Ping will no longer care about everything and everything will be fine.
He will also always pay attention to Yang Qian, and he will be on guard if anything goes wrong.
Have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy singing and dancing.
In the early morning of the next day, Yang Qian seemed to know what Chen Ping was thinking, and asked him to go back to the hometown of Jiangxia Academy with him, and then tell some interesting stories about being an official to the future generations of scholars.
Now that we are in a hurry to suppress the bandits, and the capital is turbulent, Chen Ping has no time or interest to talk about these things. It is impossible for Yang Qian to be unclear. The reason why he said this must be to find a reason to invite him to see him openly. He is a local high-ranking gentleman in Qianzhou.
Chen Ping, of course, wholeheartedly agreed to this. Although he hated the evil gentry for oppressing the people, if there were enlightened gentry who understood the general situation and righteousness, it wouldn't hurt to meet them.
When a group of people left the city of Zhengxing Prefecture and came to Jiangxia Academy, many gentry had already arrived early after hearing the news. When they saw Chen Ping coming to chat with Yang Qian, the prefect of Qianzhou, his steps were slow and graceful. Although he is light, his whole body exudes an aura that attracts attention.
Upon seeing this, all the Jingzhou gentry who came to pay their respects were in awe, and some famous noble men and women in Qianzhou were also filled with admiration.
In the early days when Chen Ping had not yet made a fortune, they had heard about this child prodigy who worshiped Ye Wenchang. After Chen Ping passed the imperial examination, they had some impressions, and then Chen Ping won the sixth prize and became the number one scholar in Jiangxia Academy to give lectures. , they were all surprised that Chen Ping had such achievements at such a young age, saying that he was an unprecedented talent.
"Jiangxia Academy is where I have studied for many years. Today, there are many students and the literary style is flourishing. This should be attributed to Mr. Yang."
"Haha, please invite Mr. Chen in. After all, in Jiangxia Academy, Mr. Chen should be the host and I am the guest."
Chen Ping smiled calmly and followed the steps up the stairs. At the same time, he chatted with a group of Qianzhou gentry.
When I entered the academy and heard the chirping of birds and animals and the sound of reading, I couldn't help but feel emotional.
I’m afraid it will be rare to see such a pleasant study experience again.
The White Lotus bandit rises, the Northern Liao soldiers peek, and the two dragons fight, how can the great reputation be restored?