The bearded man who went to Heifeng Village that day to persuade Yang Jun to plunder was now reporting the news: "More than 300 archers were recruited from each township, and they were not equipped with swords, guns, bows and arrows, and they had not experienced battle formations. The magistrate also hired an old man.
Officer, I am responsible for training those archers, I am afraid it will not be easy to break through the bandit stronghold."
"Let the civil servants practice archery?" Zhu Zongdao laughed when he heard this.
The bearded man added: "Nothing happened in the county government, and our people did not encounter any difficulties. Magistrate Xiang only drank with that old official yesterday."
Zhu Zongdao frowned and said, "The post I appointed was not made difficult by Bai Chongwu?"
"No." The bearded man said.
Zhu Zongdao shook his head and said: "Something's wrong, it's too abnormal. He should take the opportunity to mess with my people. If he doesn't do anything, I'm afraid there's something wrong with him."
The bearded man guessed: "Could it be that Magistrate Xiang is going to take action against my eldest brother?"
Zhu Zongdao sneered: "I am the chief clerk and an official. So I arrested Yang Jun and Yang Ying alive and confessed that I sent you to deliver the message. We can also completely refute it and say that it was a bandit who was slandering people."
"But the husband of Li Tongpan's family was injured by a bandit," Big Beard reminded. "If Tongpan colludes with the county magistrate and forcibly accuses the eldest brother, I'm afraid..."
Zhu Zongdao was silent for a moment.
He came ashore with his name as a traitor and had tasted the benefits of being an official. He would not give up his official position and run away easily. He always held a bit of luck in his heart.
Unlike in the past, people who were barefoot were not afraid of people who wore shoes, and single people could do whatever they wanted.
Once you put on your shoes, you have to take extra care of them. Not to mention taking them off and throwing them away, you will feel bad even if they get dirty.
Big Beard said: "If you really want to attack us, I'm afraid that after the archers are trained, they will not attack Heifeng Village, but first surround eldest brother's house."
Zhu Zongdao still refused to believe it and kept shaking his head: "If you want to capture me, why do you need to train troops?"
It is true that the power has made him stupid, Zhu Zongdao can't bear to be an official, and his IQ has almost dropped to a negative number.
He knew that what the big bearded man said was right, but he refused to believe it.
Even if you don’t believe it, you still have to be on guard.
Zhu Zongdao ordered: "During this period, brothers, please don't wander around and come to my house with weapons."
This guy's former subordinates were all dispersed during the recruitment process. The weak ones were placed in various villages to work as farmers, while the strong ones were sent to Yangzhou to serve as Xiang soldiers.
The Xiang army worked hard, and some of them escaped one after another, and returned to join Zhu Zongdao.
Zhu Zongdao happened to be short of confidants, so he started to mess around. He stuffed the polite ones into clerks, the reckless ones into soap officials, and the county captains who didn't know how to do anything.
It was precisely because of breaking the rules and indiscriminately stuffing people in that the conflicts with Lao Bai and others intensified, resulting in such a mess.
…
County government office, inner courtyard.
Xiang Zhixian asked: "He is still not afraid of crime and absconding. Is it because I am not obvious enough?"
"How about sending a few strong men to monitor Zhu Zhai and let him find out on purpose?" Bai Chongwu suggested.
He nodded to the magistrate and said, "Okay."
The two people's plan was to scare Zhu Zongdao away.
Once you escape, you can be considered as absconding out of fear of crime, which is much easier than forcibly filing charges. After all, the chief clerk is also an official, and it is not good to go too far. Direct arrest is the last resort.
Therefore, Zhu Zongdao was ordered to stay at home and not to wander around. While not moving Zhu Zongdao's trusted officials, he also excluded Zhu Zongdao's confidant archers and prevented them from participating in the bandit suppression operation.
A three-pronged approach, it’s almost impossible to say it clearly.
The sinister and ruthless Master Zhu actually looked like he couldn't understand, which was far beyond the expectations of Magistrate Xiang and Bai Chongwu.
"My lord, Mr. Lu wants to see you." The old slave came over to inform.
He asked the magistrate: "Who is from Luguan?"
The old slave replied: "The one doing business in the west of the city."
"A businessman who buys bullfights dares to call me an official," Xiang Zhixian sneered, "Let him wait first!"
Bai Chongwu said: "Since the county magistrate has a visitor, I have resigned first."
Xiang Zhixian said: "Yes."
Bai Chongwu bowed and left the inner courtyard, and met the official Lu on the way. The two looked at each other, Bai Chongwu nodded slightly, and the official Lu bowed his hands in greeting.
Lu Guanren is the richest man in Xixiang County!
The stolen goods in Heifeng Village were resold by Xiaobai Yuanwai through Lu Guanren.
At the same time, part of the tea from Lao Bai's family was smuggled into the market through Lu Guan people every year.
Let's put it this way, with the current tea ban system in Sichuan, coupled with the exploitation by tea and horse officials, tea growers would have gone bankrupt if they hadn't engaged in smuggling.
Lu Guanren walked into the inner courtyard calmly and became frightened when he saw Xiang Zhixian: "Please forgive me, Lord County!"
Xiang Zhixian smiled with a smile on his face and said in a kind tone: "Guan Lu, why are you like this? Sit down quickly and talk."
How could he become the richest man in a county without having an official background?
What's more, Guanren Lu is still a contractor (contractor), and it is impossible to win the bid without the protection of an official.
This type of wealthy businessman did not want to offend the magistrate.
Official Lu bowed and bowed: "Your Majesty the County, Rong Bing, Zhu Zhu colluded with the bandit and forced me to sell the stolen goods for the bandit. I am a law-abiding businessman and I would never dare to do such a thing, but I can't resist being forced by others."
.”
"Is this happening?"
Xiang Zhixian looked surprised, but in his heart he was wondering what the other party's purpose was.
Official Lu added: "The stolen goods in Heifeng Village were forcibly sold to me by Master Zhu, through the hands of Bai Zongmin of Xiabai Village."
"Okay, Bai Zongmin actually colluded with the thieves!" Xiang Zhixian finally understood that the old Bai Yuanwai had a huge appetite. Not only did he want to steal Zhu Zhu's book, but he also planned to kill the young Bai Yuanwai.
Is this one fish and three meals?
Official Lu continued: "Bai Zongmin also smuggled tea, and Master Zhu also forced it on me. Zhu's commission was too high, so I sold forbidden goods privately, but I didn't get even half of the profit. I ask the county magistrate to make the decision!"
"
Xiang Zhixian began to think deeply, and felt itchy in his heart that he was about to be coaxed into corruption.
It feels so good!
There are policies from above and countermeasures from below. Faced with the severe ban on tea, Sichuan and Shaanxi have already formed a smuggling system.
Zhu Zongdao also served as the county captain, responsible not only for catching thieves but also for anti-smuggling.
According to custom, local merchants who smuggle tea must secretly honor the county captain.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Zongdao stretched his hand too far and was not satisfied with the little filial piety money, so he actually went out to draw the commission himself.
Although he didn't smoke much and was still within the acceptable range, Lu Guanren was already extremely dissatisfied.
This time, he was persuaded by Old Bai Yuanwai that he would not mind going along with the situation and giving Zhu Zongdao a ride. Then he would help Old Bai Yuanwai and kill his enemy Xiao Bai Yuanwai.
He could also vent his ill will on Li Hanzhang, take the opportunity to get on Li Tongpan's line, and easily clear customs when smuggling goods through Yangzhou - this is the key point!
At the same time, for future smuggling, we should also pay tribute to the magistrate, so that the magistrate and the gentry and merchants can get along harmoniously.
Smuggling tea leaves, the ones who lose profits are the Tea Horse Company, Guan Li Tongpan and Xiang Magistrate. They wish they could get their filial piety money in vain.
Xiang Zhixian stroked his beard and pretended to be angry: "I already know about this. Mr. Lu has been persecuted and has not earned even half a penny. Heifeng Village will be destroyed, and Zhu Zongdao and Bai Zongmin will also be arrested!"
Official Lu reminded: "These two people colluded with the bandits to rebel and stubbornly resisted arrest. They deserved to die! They deserved... to die!"
"really."
Xiangzhi County suddenly felt a chill in his vest. It was really dark in Xixiang County.
One or two, they would kill people at every turn, and he was afraid that one day he would be killed too!
In fact, everyone still adheres to the rules. It was Master Zhu who broke the rules first, so don't blame others for completely breaking the rules.
Whether they are wealthy businessmen in the county or gentry in the country, they all want to seek stability. They are the ones who obey the rules the most. At the same time, they hate the reckless fools like Master Zhu the most.
Isn’t it good to make money in a harmonious way?
He sent the richest man away to the magistrate and went to the archer's school in person. He decided not to wait for Zhu Zongdao to abscond in fear of crime, but directly took the archer to surround the house and kill him.
"Gather troops!"
"Dang-dang-dang!"
The gong had been ringing for a long time, but the archers could not gather together. Zhu Ming and Zhang Guangdao were both absent-minded.
Xiang Zhixian was a little angry and sternly reprimanded: "When we gather troops in this county, three of them are in charge and two are absent. Is there any military discipline at all?"
Chen Ziyi stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, the weapons issued by the government are not usable. Zhu and Zhang both have heads and have personally led people to make weapons."
Xiang Zhixian was speechless for a moment. He also saw it yesterday, and it was all a pile of junk.
After waiting for two hours, Ju Ming finally brought someone back.
There were more than a hundred archers, some carrying bamboos and others holding pot lids, more like the leading soldiers busy cooking.
"Is this your weapon?" asked the magistrate.
Zhu Ming cupped his hands and said, "We can only make do with what we have. We cut bamboo and buy pot lids with our own money. Can the county magistrate allocate some money to make up for it?"
Xiang Zhixian had seen Ju Ming's knowledge and already regarded him as a fellow scholar. He nodded and promised, "I'll ask someone to bring the money later. You three are all heads, and come over to discuss important matters in detail."
Zhu Ming, Zhang Guangdao, and Chen Ziyi immediately gathered around Xiang Zhixian, while the other archers were sent far away.
He whispered to the magistrate: "I have found out that Zhu Zongdao, the county chief, secretly colluded with the bandits and secretly hid soldiers with the intention of rebelling. Just follow me to arrest people. If you encounter anyone who resists arrest, you must kill him!"
"As ordered, you must kill!" Zhu Ming said first, adding an accent to the word "kill".
Xiang Zhixian smiled and nodded: "You can teach children."
As expected, he is a scholar. He is on the same page as us. There is no need to explain anything clearly.
