At Wuyin Temple in the southern suburbs of Tongcheng, Yang Erming hurriedly arrived with Tongcheng officials.
Mr. Ma and Pi Yingju stood in front of a group burial pit. Mr. Ma stood upright. Although his face was worried, he still had an air of calmness and self-power.
Although he does not have any official position, he can influence power. His status is equivalent to the provincial governor's secretary. Even a prefect like Pi Yingju does not dare to neglect him, let alone a county magistrate.
Yang Erming was sweating profusely from the rush. This was the first time he met Mr. Ma. Judging from the position where Pi Yingju was standing, he should be the old man next to him.
But Pi Yingju was an official Shangguan, and Mr. Ma was only a commoner in name. Yang Erming didn't know who to greet first, for fear of offending either party.
Pi Yingju waved to Yang Erming, "Jinxian came to see Mr. Ma."
Yang Erming breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed to Mr. Ma and said, "Yunlian Yang Erming, who was born late, has met Mr. Ma."
Mr. Ma nodded. The title Yang Erming just used was also very specific, because Yang Erming was an official and Mr. Ma was a citizen. There was no reason for Yang Erming to salute first, so Yang Erming gave up his official status and called himself a late learner.
Generally speaking, when scholars meet their seniors or officials, they will call themselves late students. Once they are admitted to Jinshi, some will change their name to "attendants." However, Yang Erming, who was born in the same class as Jinshi, still calls himself "late students," which is enough to give Mr. Ma face.
"Mr. Yang's reputation has been heard by Mr. Ma in Suzhou.
Our reign has lasted for more than two hundred years, and as far as I know, there has not yet been a county magistrate who is fourteen years old. It can be seen that the Holy Emperor is on the throne, and geniuses have been sent to our Ming Dynasty."
Yang Erming didn't dare to say anything. Mr. Ma looked Yang Erming up and down. It seemed that he had been famous for Yang Erming for a long time, so he wanted to take a closer look at it.
Mr. Ma glanced around and saw that all the officials in the circle were bowing and nodding. He did not say hello to those county magistrates, Dianshi, six-room clerks, etc. These people were not like Yang Erming, who had a Jinshi background. They were all miscellaneous officials and minor officials.
, it is impossible to have a big development in the officialdom in the future. Although we had dealt with him last time, Mr. Ma did not remember his name and did not want to spend too much time. He nodded as a courtesy and his face was still very serious.
Pang Yu stood at the end of the front row. When Mr. Ma saw Pang Yu, he immediately smiled and waved. Pang Yu quickly came to Mr. Ma to greet him.
Mr. Ma stroked his beard and said, "Mr. Ma was reading official documents in Anqing Mansion. This time the bandits were raging in the north of the Yangtze River. The killings were so tragic that people and gods were outraged. Pang Xiaoyou beat the bandits severely in Tongcheng. Mr. Ma couldn't help but praise the incident and came here to congratulate the brave men of Tongcheng."
Pang Yu hurriedly said, "Mr. Ma is not afraid of the dangerous journey and can come to Tongcheng at this time. The people in the whole county feel the same admiration. People on the road say that Zhang Dutang is already a god-like figure. How can he be so successful as Mr. Ma?"
With the help of talented people, we will be even more powerful.”
Mr. Ma laughed and said a few words of humility, and everyone around him laughed with him. This kind of flattery was full of loopholes, but everyone liked it, and the atmosphere became a little more harmonious.
However, Mr. Ma's sudden visit without sending an official document first showed a kind of distrust, and his purpose was unknown, so everyone was still nervous.
Although Tongcheng was able to defend the city this time, the four villages were brutally poisoned and the losses were extremely heavy. If the governor's office really wanted to pursue the case, they could find a bunch of reasons. If they wanted to target one of them, the governor's office would only have to lift its little finger.
, so at this time, Tongcheng officials are still in danger.
Pi Yingju said from the side, "Mr. Ma was entrusted by Zhang Dutang to cross the river to inspect Anqing. He arrived in Anqing yesterday. Hearing about the great victory in Tongcheng, he rushed to Tongcheng without taking a rest. He didn't even have time to send official documents. Mr. Ma is working hard for the country.
He should be a role model for officials of our generation, and I hope Jinxian will not forget him in the future."
Yang Erming immediately agreed, and Pang Yu understood after hearing this that Pi Yingju was hinting to Yang Erming that Mr. Ma was here to verify the results of the battle. It was not Pi Yingju who had to come for a sudden attack, but Mr. Ma's request, reminding Yang Erming to deal with it carefully.
Mr. Ma's unannounced visit did not give Tongcheng time to prepare, and he had to inspect the corpses of the bandits upon arrival. Obviously, he did not believe Tongcheng's official documents, and he needed to be there to verify them in person.
A group of farmers had been summoned and were digging a group of burial pits. Pang Yu hurriedly told He Xianya to buy some cotton cloth from the nearest cloth store in the south gate, cut it, and prepare a wet cotton strip for each person to cover their mouth and nose.
Mr. Ma waved his hand and pushed away the wet wipes. At this time, a large pit was dug, and the smell of lime and corpses was everywhere. The farmers digging the pits were closest to each other, and they could not resist the wet wipes. They stopped and watched.
Mr. Ma walked over and said to them, "Keep digging and be careful not to damage the head."
Yang Erming quickly ordered the farmers, who had no choice but to continue digging. The corpses inside were covered with lime, many of their skins were rotten, and the stench became stronger and stronger.
When Pi Yingju saw that Mr. Ma was not using wet wipes, he planned to take them off, but as soon as he took them off, a strong odor hit his nose. He hesitated for a moment and couldn't bear it anymore, so he put the wet wipes on his nose again.
Mr. Ma asked Yang Erming, "May I ask Mr. Yang, how do you know that the people buried in this pit are real bandits?"
"This..." Yang Erming was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Mr. Sun. Mr. Sun, who was following him, was also speechless. How could he know how to tell the difference? The locals in Tongcheng had all seen the bandits die with their own eyes, and no one thought that it would be necessary.
Proved to be a true bandit.
Yang Erming quickly turned to Pang Yu. Pang Yu saw his eyes and hurriedly stepped forward and said to Mr. Ma, "To tell you what Mr. Ma is saying, there is no difference in appearance between the rogue bandits and me in Nanzhi. The difference is mainly in their appearance. They usually wear red clothes."
Some leaders wear red robes, and some leaders wear red arrow robes, but the biggest difference is their buns."
Mr. Ma looked at Pang Yu intently and said, "What's the difference between buns?"
"Mr. Ma, please take a look."
Pang Yu took the wet wipes, pointed to the more than ten corpses exposed in the pit and said, "The three tall men on the left are all adults. They wear three-cone buns on their heads. This is the usual dress of Westerners.
Men in Zhili do not have such buns. According to my observation during interrogation, prisoners in Huguang and Henan do not have such buns."
Mr. Ma looked carefully and saw that although it was a bit rotten, he could still see the style of the bun. Sure enough, he had also been to the Shanshan area in his early years. He recalled it after hearing the reminder and nodded immediately.
"Your Excellency, take a look at the one lying prone in the middle. This person has a thin body, like a child. His hair is in a short bun, which is also commonly used by Western teenagers and is very rare in other places."
Mr. Ma nodded repeatedly and dug up the three pits at random. Tongcheng County Government could not cheat, and Pang Yu's explanation just now was also very reasonable.
Yang Erming breathed a sigh of relief. Pang Yu spent a lot of time interrogating the prisoners in the past few days, while Yang Erming was busy with the aftermath. He actually didn't quite understand the role of interrogation, but he didn't interfere.
Now it seems that Mr. Ma is obviously here to verify the military exploits. Zhang Guowei needs solid evidence before he will recognize the victory. If he fails to verify, Tongcheng will lie about the military situation. Only Pang Yu can be trusted at this critical moment.
"Turn out the corpses, behead them, and stack those with different buns separately."
Yang Erming and Pang Yu agreed in unison. When they were on the road, they had complained about digging a big hole. Now facing Mr. Ma was like facing the power of the governor's yamen. They did not dare to hesitate at all, but felt relieved in their hearts.
Because it means that the governor's yamen has recognized the achievements, and the next step is to report the merits, which is much more reliable than the Tongcheng County yamen's own layer-by-layer reporting.
"Have you ever checked the number of beheadings and captures repeatedly?"
Yang Erming gave Pang Yu a wink, and Pang Yu replied respectfully, "When you answer your question, sir, you must double check it.
Tongcheng mainly killed and wounded rogue bandits in the southern suburbs and city walls, with the most night raids in the southern suburbs. There were more than 1,300 corpses in their camp, and more than 300 corpses under the city walls in the southeast.
After the bandits retreated, the county magistrate was worried about the outbreak of the plague, so he asked the villain to bury the bodies. It was only because the villain was in a hurry when he did it that he did not have time to distinguish the old bandits from their subordinates. Fortunately, Mr. Ma came and urged us to check again. The villain this time
I learned rigor from my husband and will be more diligent and meticulous in the future.
There were more than 50 people captured in the Yamen. More than 30 of them were injured by our officials and people during the attack on the city. Those who could not escape were more than 10 with Shanxi accent. Most of the others were lost in the countryside and were captured by the villagers.
Yes, the surrounding villagers are still arresting them one after another. Yesterday, two people were sent to the trailer river, and it was verified that they were Henan henchmen."
"Mou Ma wants to see the prisoner."
"Mr. Ma is invited to come into the city to check. Your Majesty has deliberately vacated the South Prison to detain rogue bandits and will never let them escape."
Mr. Ma's expression became much calmer. He was here to represent Zhang Guowei, and the losses were much heavier than they imagined, so he had been worried that Zhang Guowei would be affected.
What is particularly important now is that there needs to be a dazzling result to cover up the heavy losses in Anqing. As Zhang Guowei's tentacle, he must understand the real situation. If it is a real victory, the method of use is different. According to the current situation, Tongcheng
His record was real, which gave him much more space for subsequent operations, so he felt a lot more relaxed.
He took another look at the pit, and as the farmers dug, layers of corpses were gradually revealed.
He shook his head and said, "Sir Yang's arrangement is very appropriate. In the past, those so-called heavy criminals in the Southern Prison were all kind-hearted and good people compared to these thieves.
The government has verified the situation in Taihu, Qianshan, and Susong. The tragedy is horrifying. This kind of violence is unprecedented in ancient and modern times. We must strictly guard it and not let anyone escape."
Yang Erming asked subconsciously, "How is the situation in the three counties?"
Mr. Ma did not answer, but Pi Yingju was a little embarrassed. After all, the three counties were under his jurisdiction, and they were all captured this time. After he looked at Mr. Ma twice, he said to Yang Erming, "Jinxian, the bandits are coming this time."
Too fast, Qianshan, Taihu, and Susong were unprepared. They were all severely damaged, and tens of thousands of people were killed in each. Zhao Shiyan, the magistrate of Qianshan County, and Jin Yingyuan, the magistrate of Taihu County... all died for their country."
Yang Erming stayed at the scene. The news he quickly inquired was that several counties had been destroyed, but the specific number of casualties was not known. When he heard that even the county magistrate was in danger, he immediately felt sad that something of the same kind had been hurt.
"Susong was the acting magistrate of Chen Tong. He happened to be acting as Jiangfang in Anqing and was not in the city that day. The county magistrates Zhu Wannian and Mao Jiaoyu persisted in their retreat, but they also died. Susong suffered the most tragic disaster. The county government and all the houses in the county were burned to the ground.
, there are almost no remains of the people in the city."
All the officials who heard this were silent. What many people were thinking about was thanking the magistrate for building the city wall. Without that wall, there would be no telling who was buried in the pit at this time.
"Let's enter the city."
Mr. Ma said softly and took the lead to walk into the city.
A group of officials followed behind with their heads down, and Pang Yu was basically ranked last. When all the officials left, Pang Yu was following at the end of the team. In the blink of an eye, several people came from the official road in the south. Pang Yu looked carefully and saw Jiang Fan.