Sang Hongyang only came to Xiahe County to do three things: visit relatives, take a vacation, and catch the murderer.
Because when Sang Jin came back to Xiahe County, the team was attacked by bandits, and Sang Jin was almost arrested. He had to entrust his daughter to Ah Hao in the ruined temple to escape.
The Sang family is not a soft persimmon, and this matter must be investigated clearly. Before Sang Hongyang was not here, they would investigate secretly first. When Sang Hongyang arrived and had a backbone, they would have to investigate this matter carefully.
Mainly because when it comes to Sang Jin, being caught by bandits means that for an ancient woman, her reputation will be ruined. Even if Sang Jin escapes and is not caught, once the rumor spreads, anything can happen. Sang Jin herself
Because she is a widow, things are very sensitive. If there are some rumors, Sang Hongyang is afraid that his daughter will not be able to think about it.
Sang Hongyang met many people who came to visit that day. When it was time for the dinner, the Sang family restaurant was crowded, but Sang Hongyang himself only showed up once and then returned with the county magistrate, county magistrate, and county lieutenant.
his home.
County Magistrate Zhang Fa pulled the middle-aged man next to him and said, "Sang Shizhong, this is Zhang Tai, our trusted county lieutenant in Xiahe County. He is only thirty-six years old and is already a scholar."
"Zhang County Lieutenant is in the prime of life and will definitely be able to make great contributions to our Xiahe County."
Zhang Tai seems to be a man who is not good at words and just holds his hands as a courtesy.
Sang Hongyang then continued: "A few days ago, our Sang family's caravan encountered bandits when they returned to Xiahe County. The caravan carried three large gold horseshoes and several other belongings. I plan to do this.
The money used to renovate the house was looted by bandits."
"Money is small, but security is big. The incident happened near the national highway. These bandits are very cunning. They deliberately waited for the caravan to leave the national highway before attacking. I have sent my men to check the details of the other party. They are just a group of small bandits. I don't want to
After alarming too many people, we asked the county magistrate and the county magistrate to allocate some men to annihilate this group of bandits. All the money looted by the bandits was returned to the county as Sang's gratitude.
.”
Catching bandits is the responsibility of the county lieutenant. As a county lieutenant, it is your duty to protect the safety of one party.
Sheriff Chu stood up and said: "Bandits have been causing trouble for a long time. We will do our best. Don't worry, Sang Shizhong. I will order Lieutenant Zhang to lead a team to exterminate the bandits."
As the county governor, he is the highest military and political officer in the region, so the military in the county is also under the jurisdiction of the county governor.
Speaking of which, county governors are still on the same level as vassal states, but of course there is a big gap in actual authority.
The governor of Chu County handed the matter to Zhang Tai, and Sang Hongyang handed the information to Zhang Tai: "These are the information collected by our people. The other party is a group of bandits hiding in Hushan in the west of the county. It was very small before.
I only dared to steal chickens and dogs, but in the past two years, the power has suddenly grown, with nearly a hundred people, so Zhang County Lieutenant must pay more attention to it."
"That's natural. It is my duty to exterminate the bandits."
"I feel relieved because of Zhang Xianwei's words. I also brought back three large yellow crossbows this time. When the time comes, Zhang Xianwei will also bring them for long-range attacks."
When he heard about the big yellow crossbow, Zhang Tai became interested. Because the production process of crossbows was relatively complicated, they had not yet become popular in this era, so they didn't see many of them in this place. This time they brought three of them, which he could use just right.
While they were talking, three big yellow crossbows were brought up. The strength of the crossbows in the Han Dynasty was calculated in terms of stones, ranging from one stone to ten stones. It took about 27-30 kilograms of force to fully guide a stone crossbow. Among them, the ten-stone crossbow was the strongest and was also called
Yellow shoulder crossbow, big yellow crossbow.
The generals and soldiers who use the Rhubarb Crossbow must be very strong. Only such people can use the Rhubarb Crossbow. In the "Biography of Li Guang" in the Historical Records, there is a record of Li Guang holding the Rhubarb Crossbow to shoot enemy generals. According to later research and estimation, its range can reach
About 207 meters.
Zhang Tai picked up a large yellow crossbow. This kind of crossbow generally requires one person to shoulder and one person to aim and fire. There are relatively few people who can use it alone.
"Sang Shizong, with the help of the big yellow crossbow, the bandits' defense is vulnerable. I am sure to take down the enemy. However, for the sake of conservatism, I also ask several scholars in the county who can use the Tiandao script to follow me.
Strive to capture the bandits in a short period of time."
At this time, Gan Fu, who was beside Sang Hongyang, came out with a long stick: "I am also a scholar and can help."
"Mr. Gan Fu, you are famous, so it would be good to have your help." Zhang Tai felt more confident when he learned that Gan Fu was willing to help.
The Chu County Code says: "There are not many military sergeants in the county, so I will give you one."
"Okay, if we have Mr. Huo's help, it should be enough."
"Huo Shaofu?" Sang Hongyang was stunned: "Is he also a scholar?"
"Huo Shaofu once served in the county captain's house for many years. Although he usually doesn't show it, he is indeed a scholar. Back then, I was a disciple of Huo Shaofu."
Others looked shocked. Apparently no one knew that Huo Zhongru was a scholar, not even the county magistrate.
…
In the Shaofu Courtyard the next day, Huo Zhongru shouted: "Don't go, you are kidding, fighting bandits is a life-threatening job, I won't go, Zhang Tai, I helped you with kindness, how can you repay the kindness and revenge?"
Huo Zhongru's cursing voice could be heard in the distance. Zhang Tai came to him early in the morning and told him about going to fight the bandits. Unexpectedly, Huo Zhongru had such a big reaction and said helplessly: "Master Huo, this time we
With so many people going, the bandits are just a bunch of mobs. We have both armor and weapons. How can the bandits be our opponents? This is also a good opportunity for you to show off your talents."
"No, no!" Huo Zhongru was extremely determined. How could he go to such a dangerous thing?
"Huo Shaofu, you have been a scholar in your early years. You have been hiding it. This time you just take this opportunity to show it. You can continue to be promoted in the future."
Zhang Tai was also completely thinking about Huo Zhongru. For him, when he was still young and didn't understand anything at the age of fifteen or sixteen, Huo Zhongru gave him a brief explanation of the path of a scholar. The master led him to practice individually.
With a little effort, it took him more than three years to finally enter the path of being a scholar.
In the Han Dynasty, as long as you were a scholar, you could become an official directly, and the promotion speed was generally much faster than others, so he became a county captain at a young age.
He was very grateful to Huo Zhongru and thought that he would take Huo Zhongru with him if he had the chance.
But Huo Zhongru obviously didn't want such an opportunity.
At this time Huo Guang came: "Lieutenant Zhang, I will go with you."
"What are you kidding about? Go back quickly." Huo Zhongru immediately scolded him.
"I am also a scholar, why can't I go?"
"Ah?" Zhang Tai looked at Huo Guang in surprise.
Huo Zhongru rolled his eyes at his son, "I just asked you to hide your clumsiness last night, and you show it today. This is very typical of me."
"Huo Guang, are you also a scholar?"
"It took me six months to learn, and I just learned it soon."
"You learned it in six months, you are a genius? You are worthy of being Huo Shaofu's son." Zhang Tai sighed.
"Okay, then you go and go for your father. I will tell the county magistrate and the county guard that if you go with me this time, if the suppression of the bandits is successful, you will be exempted from the next garrison (military service)."