Chapter 283: Appeasement

Betrayal always comes so fast, and the ending may not be as satisfactory as imagined.

Liu Guotai looked at the corpse in the Guimeng Village Juyi Hall, and couldn't speak in a daze. He felt his hands and feet were cold, and he didn't know what was wrong. A strong man was piled up in the middle, and he was hit by dozens of arrows. He died in a very miserable state. It was Qin Bajia, the boss of Guimeng Village.

Obviously, in the Green Camp Army a few days ago, I was discussing that I would lure several nearby bandits to Guimeng Village to recruit them together. If there are any rebels, they would be killed without any regard. In this way, they could be beheaded and military achievements; they could also surrender, which would be considered a way to advance.

Also puzzled was Cao Yong, who came with Dengzhou General Li Xiong to "suppress the bandits". Yes, why didn't he see the step of "recruiting" in the middle, and directly arranged for the archers to shoot in a volley? When he heard the news and came with Li Xiong, the dust had settled here.

The bloody smell in the room made people feel uncomfortable, and Cao Yong faintly felt anger.

Although "suppressing bandits" was a matter of the green camp, it was the territory of Yizhou after all. Moreover, when Li Xiong arranged for Liu Guotai to be an insider, he was following him. What he said at the beginning was to "recruit" first, and then kill those who were stubborn and unscrupulous and refused to reconcile.

Li Xiong, the general of Dengzhou, stood proudly in the gathering hall of Guimeng Village, looked at the corpses on the ground, and said to Cao Yong who was accompanying him: "Cao Erfu, this time the appeasement place relies heavily on the Emfu Village! It was just that the bandit leader ran away, but he failed to achieve his full results. It was a pity!" In his words, there was a hint of pride: "However, the leaders of several bandit camps around him are here, which is a great profit!"

While speaking, someone came to report that the other bandits were protecting women and children to confront the officers and soldiers in the back mountain, and asked Li Xiong to show his advice.

Li Xiong smiled grimly on his face and waved his hand, "Kill! Let these bandits see what the power of heaven is! Could it be that the boy from our Qing Dynasty Green Camp be a mountain product without eggs?"

Cao Yong frowned slightly. Mr. Zhuang had said before that if Dengzhou general Li Xiong came to suppress the bandits, he would have to start a large-scale murder. Because when Li Xiong first arrived in Shandong a few years ago, he suffered a great loss because of the Yimeng bandits. Due to the failure to suppress the bandits, he was reduced from a second-rank deputy general to a third-rank guerrilla guerrilla. He only entrusted his relationship with him to become the general.

Since these on the ground are the leaders of various villages, there should not be many unjustly killed. After all, there are countless cases of robbery reported by counties over the years. However, Cao Yong could not watch Li Xiong use his lives to fulfill his military achievements.

"Li Junmen, wait!" Cao Yong glanced at the corpse on the ground and asked slowly: "What is this? Why is this officer in a daze?"

Although the general is the second-rank official and much higher than Cao Yong's fourth-rank official and Taoist platform, the Heshuo Ershuo is an official rank equivalent to the first-rank Wu. In this way, Cao Yong has a higher status.

Li Xiong is a disciple of Prince Zhuang's mansion. In addition to the failure of the bandit suppression a few years ago, his career in the past two years was broken and he met him twice last year. Although Cao Yong's identity was higher than his, he really didn't look down on him, but he was not easy to offend him in his face.

Li Xiong replied with a smile: "When the prince comes back, these bandits have always been fierce. If they don't take the chance, how could they behead nearly a hundred people? I'm afraid they'll have slipped back to the mountains long ago!"

Cao Yong narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at Liu Quantai, who was ashamed next to him, and said softly: "Is it because I remembered the wrong thing? The order above was not 'pac', but it was 'suppression'? Li Junmen meant, but it was a great contribution to the 'no-dog' to keep it'. I wonder if Long Live is satisfied with this birthday gift?"

After hearing this, Li Xiong reported that Kangxi had always governed the country with "benevolence and filial piety". No matter how much his contribution was, he would have no hope of his future with a "hesperate" hat. Not to mention that this year's Jiazi longevity is the time for the court and the country to chant.

Thinking of this, his expression was a little stiff. When he looked at Cao Yong, he looked at him more.

Cao Yong was looking at the one with the most arrows in the middle, and asked Liu Guotai who was stunned by it, "Who is that? Could it be Qin Bajia?"

Liu Guotai was shocked by Cao Yong's voice. When he looked at him and Li Xiong again, his eyes were already panicked and he nodded stiffly.

Once Qin Bajia died, the clues of the ring finger were probably cut off. Liu Guotai had already told him that he and Zhang Laosan were both natives in Yizhou, and only Qin Bajia and a few of his guards were outside. The few near Qin Bajia's corpse seemed to have died trying hard to protect him, but they thought they were those who were the ones.

The soldiers who came to ask for instructions were still waiting for Li Xiong's instructions. Thinking that the guerrillas outside were still waiting, their faces showed a hint of anxiety.

Cao Yong couldn't stand by and let Li Xiong figure out whether he should start a massacre, and then said, "Since there are still stubborn bandits in the back mountain, then the military gate and the official go over and take a look!"

Li Xiong originally thought that Cao Yong had been involved in the fight against bandits with his identity as Shoudao, just to grab the credit. Although he was upset from the bottom of his heart, he also knew that even if he didn't come to give the credit, there would be other people coming.

There was a gentleman here to prove that the credit was real. If he went to the capital to get some money, his grade would be unprepared to be upgraded again.

Nowadays, in a prosperous era, beheading more than a hundred is a great contribution.

Li Xiong thought about it and stopped greedy and said to Cao Yong: "Since the prince's orders, let's go and take a look. The emperor is the most kind. Even if he is ignorant, he is still very kind to heaven. Besides, this year is Jiazi's longevity, which is the joy of all people in the world."

In the depression in the back mountain, officers and soldiers had surrounded the remaining bandits. The old, young, women and children were inside, and the young and strong men were outside, holding sticks, swords and guns in their hands to confront the officers and soldiers.

The purpose of surrounding three is missing one is just to lead these people here. The terrain in the middle is low, and the officers and soldiers surrounded them with bows and arrows, waiting for the orders from the superiors to kill and make contributions.

The two guerrillas who led the team were already impatient and were about to send someone to urge him, when they saw Li Xiong and Cao Yong bringing people over, they hurriedly stepped forward to greet him: "I have met the military gate and met Cao's prince!"

Li Xiong just looked at Cao Yong and did not speak, but he made up his mind. Even if he wanted to "pass the burden", he would have to take the big part of the credit. He couldn't let Cao Yong take it first. That would be boring. However, he had to push him to the front stage, so that there would be big things to bear if there was any fault.

Cao Yong was not a fool, how could he allow him to remove himself and said to Li Xiong: "Li Junmen, this is what he wants..." He said this, but he pondered without saying a word.

Li Xiong laughed twice and said, "Of course we have to 't caress', otherwise how can we show the kindness of Long Live His Holiness." At this point, he pointed to Liu Guotai who followed him and ordered, "You, your boy, hurry up and call me, and put down the sticks and come over if you are dead, otherwise... hum..."

After hearing this, Liu Guotai was like being granted a general amnesty. Since he had used his place, it seemed that his life was saved. Therefore, he immediately wiped his forehead and sweated coldly, and stepped forward and said loudly: "Dear fellow villagers, we gather here, which is already incompatible with the national laws. Now, the court has grace to allow us to come out and be good people. How can we not cry out for such merit! Let's put a stick and bring our children and grandchildren out..."

Before he finished speaking, a young and strong man said angrily: "It turns out that it was Liu Laoer, you bastard, who sold your brothers for wealth! You are so familiar with the green camp officials. You are so careless, be careful that God has eyes..."

There were two young and strong men next to him who were about to curse, and then they saw two quick arrows shooting, one running to his throat and the other running to his chest, and piercing the man who had just scolded him.

The man groaned, fell to the ground, and died immediately.

It turned out that the crowd was extremely quiet, and no one said anything for a while.

Li Xiong asked with a dark face, "Who is the one who deserves his hands? Why don't you get out of here!"

But there were two generals, holding a bow in their hands and lowering their heads. One was taller and the other was slightly lower, both of whom were in their twenties.

Li Xiong shouted: "Drag on and open your eyes to these two stinky brats who don't understand the rules for twenty whips."

The two generals were panicked and looked at the guerrilla behind Li Xiong. They had long received the order of this guerrilla. If someone stood up, they would shoot and kill him immediately. The purpose was just to cause conflict, so that they would not be confined by the word "foot" and seek more credit. Why are they "not understanding the rules" now?

There was a man who always wanted to ask questions, but was stared fiercely by the guerrillas, and then shut up honestly. He thought to himself that it was just twenty whips, and the military gates had always been kind enough to be kind to them. They were punished in front of everyone, so there was a reason to do so.

However, the punishments in the army were all removed from the armor. When the whip came down, it really hurt. Even the two young men couldn't help but scream. In an instant, they heard the call of the two of them all over the room.

Cao Yong didn't know Li Xiong's artificial intentions, but just looked into the crowd. He estimated that there were one or two hundred people. Except for the dozens of them next to him, most of them were women and children. Looking at the officers and soldiers, there was deep fear and indescribable resentment.

Cao Yong felt so upset that he couldn't breathe. What is the difference between these so-called bandits and the people at the foot of the mountain? At first, they were just a sedate of the people. They fled to the mountains for various reasons. How many people were really guilty of the most serious crimes?

In a blink of an eye, the whip was finished, and the two hands were taken to Li Xiong again.

Li Xiong snorted disdainfully and said, "Coward, you still have face to shout! These are considered light, and you will commit crimes again next time, and act according to military law."

The two had no choice but to endure the pain and thank the military gate for their kindness, but in their hearts they cursed the guerrilla who was passing them on.

Li Xiong and the other two thanked Wanen, Fang raised his arms and pointed at them and said, "I remember you two, the sharpshooter in the mark..." Speaking of this, he pointed to the tall one and said, "Your name is Lu...Lu Wu!" He pointed to the short one again: "Your name is Shi Liao! Is this town admitting it wrong?"

The two men never expected that the military gate would remember their names, and they were all full of gratitude and could not speak.

Li Xiong smiled and said, "You two are from the same village, and they are hunters, aren't they?"

Lu Wu and Shi Liao clasped their fists and replied: "The price is originally a hunter in Dengzhou, and what the military gate said is exactly!"

Li Xiong nodded and said to the military officials following him: "I've finished the punishment and reward it. The one who just counts on their beheading sheet. In addition, I'll give you another twenty taels of silver!" As he spoke, he used a color.

The man was his confidant, so he naturally knew his intention. He took two silver ingots as big as a palm and sent them to Lu Wu and Shi Liao.

Lu Wu and Shi Liao were dreaming, with a confused expression, and they couldn't help but thank them without any worries when holding the money.

Cao Yong seemed to have some realization and looked at Li Xiong. This is a character.

Li Xiong took two steps forward and said loudly: "The Holy Lord is in the court, and the world is peaceful. How can you let me gather in the deep mountains and harm the place? Now, the heavens are so kind, the Holy Lord is kind and willing to give you kindness, which is really fortunate! In addition to Li Xiong in this town, there is still Lord Cao who guards Dongyan today. Those who are willing to serve the people will send back documents and place them in their hometowns; those who are willing to make a fortune and seek wealth can enter the army of this town!"

Although the people who were forced to go to the mountains and become bandits by the world have no good impression of the people in the government, Cao Yong had a high reputation because of the suppression of food prices last year. They occasionally went down the mountains and heard about it and knew that they were a good official.

The righteous "Li Junmen" also made everyone less hostile through one punishment and one reward just now.

I saw a young and strong man in the depression and asked hesitantly: "I am also a hunter, can I eat military food?"

Li Xiong nodded very simply: "It was natural then! It was easy to make a fortune. Whether you can get promoted or make money depends on your real ability!"

Except for a few dead brothers who refused to surrender and were shot to death, the other young and strong men all put down their weapons. For the sake of credit, some people pointed to the two women in the crowd and the two children around them, saying, "Report to the officials, they are the big grandma, the third grandma..." After saying this, they forgot to change their words: "No, it is the old man Qin and the old man Zhang Laosan, and the two young man Zhang Laosan's little boy Zhang Laosan!"

The young woman accused of being the "old Qin woman" immediately knelt on the ground and cried and said, "I am wronged, I am wronged! Two officials, who were good wives, went back to her parents' home with her husband the winter of the previous year, and were seen by bandits on the way. Not only was her husband killed, I was also forced to go up the mountain and became a wife with my enemies. Although I could not keep my chastity, I felt extremely ashamed. If I had not been to avenge my husband, I would not have survived until now." Then, I said that today she tried her best, tampered with food, wine and food, and helped the government to suppress bandits.

The pear blossoms were raining, but Li Xiong was itchy. He thought to himself that he could not blame this boss Qin for killing someone and taking his wife. How could such a beautiful woman be blessed to enjoy?

Cao Yong heard the woman's robbery mentioned by the woman, and wasn't it the winter of the previous year when the old man Qiu's son was killed and his wife disappeared? He looked at the woman carefully. Although he was crying, his face was not sad. He thought he was ruthless to the bandit husband of Boss Qin. So he asked, "Who are you named? Who are you?"

When Cao Yong spoke, Li Xiong was a little unhappy. What does this mean? Could it be that he was just looking at this little lady?

The woman kneeling on the ground and crying was Tian Xiuxiu. Although the officers and soldiers were coming in a fierce manner today, they shot and killed many people as soon as they came up, which made people panic. But seeing that Liu Guotai was safe and sound, the two officials in front of him were all in righteousness, so they felt relieved. They opened their cherry lips and replied: "My family, Qiu Tian, ​​was originally from Zhaojiazhuang, a neighboring county. They married the Qiu family in Balizhuang, Nanshan Township four years ago and were named Qiu Dabao."

This was a match. Cao Yong sighed in his heart when he remembered the old man Qiu who was still waiting for the case to be closed.

Seeing that Cao Yong was not responding, Li Xiong asked, "Mr., how should Qiu Tian deal with this?"

Cao Yong replied: "If the identity of this woman is true, then there is a case involving Daotai Mansion. When I first took office last year, I took the case from an old man named Qiu and said that his son was killed and his daughter-in-law was looted, which was consistent with what she said. If there were no other arrangements in the military gate, I would like to take this woman to Mengyin County to confront Mr. Qiu and settle the case."

Li Xiong smiled and said, "Since this is the case, the town is completely speechless. Please arrange it all for the prince."

As soon as Li Xiong said this, he saw the guerrilla behind him whispering: "Military Sect, according to previous news, this eldest son Qin has a son!"

After hearing this, Li Xiong stopped smiling and looked at Tian and said, "Where is the son of the bandit leader Qin Bajia? Why don't you tell me the truth!"

Tian was so scared that he was trembling all over and said in a low voice, "Let Zhang take it away!" At this point, the tears became more and more severe, but he felt really distressed. He was pregnant for ten months and was in a family relationship with his mother and son, but he didn't know if he could meet again in this life.
Chapter completed!