In the evening, the caravan hurriedly and slowly arrived outside Cangshan County.
There is no place in the county that can accommodate so many vehicles and livestock, so the caravan still has to camp outside the city.
However, there were already county police officers and government officials waiting at the city gate. Seeing the caravan arriving at this time, he quickly greeted them with a smile.
Gu Fugui bowed his head and went up to ask about the situation.
It turned out that in the morning, Lei Er and the others had already arrived at the county government office with the captured bandits, and they said that the large force behind them had also captured many notorious wanted criminals. So the detectives were waiting here.
It was just a passing caravan, and it might be hundreds of miles away tomorrow. The county magistrate didn't take it seriously, and was just thinking about how to get the credit for killing the bandits.
But a large number of nearby villagers got the news, and even though they knew that the city gate would be closed after dark, they still rushed into the county town crying.
Some are looking for their family members who were kidnapped by bandits, and more are just to see the bandits vent their anger.
When the county magistrate saw this situation, he had to let others go to greet the caravan first.
The policemen and government officials welcomed Gu Shengnan's master and servant into the county town politely. The bandits who were captured first took the initiative to carry the severed heads of their leaders and followed them obediently.
At first, the government officials thought they were slaves of the caravan. After receiving the bloody heads with a pale face, he motioned for them to wait outside the city.
However, after learning that these hundreds of people were also surrendered bandits, they almost dropped their eyes.
When did the bandits become so obedient?
Doubts turned into doubts, and in the end they still shook their heads and escorted this group of people into the city again.
Ren Ning did not follow.
It was up to Ma Dali and the Gu family to worry about the bandits surrendering. He continued to stare at the female relatives and ashes outside the city.
This is his responsibility.
Seeing that it was getting dark, the door was about to close. Lei Er finally led the twenty-four fortress soldiers out of the city happily.
"Old Ren, look! What did I find?" He raised the big basket in his hand, which was filled with cleanly washed carrots.
Carrots are one of horses' favorite snacks.
Ren Ning quickly called Zhui Feng, took one and fed it to his mount.
"Are these bought or given by fellow villagers?" he asked.
Lei Er chuckled.
"Some of them were found in Jingang Village. I don't know when they rushed up the mountain. They were so exhausted that they couldn't bear to eat them. Of course, it's possible that they couldn't finish them all."
"The others were indeed sent by fellow villagers nearby. When they saw that we had killed such a large group of bandits, they sent a lot of things over."
"I originally wanted to pay. But they were all very grateful and refused to take it. In the end, I had no choice but to take the carrots that these mounts like to eat."
Ren Ning nodded and checked the soldiers who had just returned. He was completely relieved when he saw that neither they nor the horses were seriously injured.
"How's it going inside?"
Lei Er took a carrot, let his red horse Ben Lei take a bite first, then stuffed it into his mouth and started gnawing.
"It's nothing. Cangshan County is very poor, and the county magistrate never expected that someone would bring so many wanted criminals to surrender at once. They probably can't afford so much silver reward, and they are bargaining with Lao Ma and the Gu family."
"I'm too lazy to listen," he said.
Ren Ning nodded, "As long as the county magistrate is willing to pay."
He is now the security commander who sends souls back to their hometowns. He holds Shang Fang's sword in his hand and is not afraid that the local officials will not pay. Unless these petty officials don't want their heads anymore.
It's just that catching bandits and suppressing bandits has always been the responsibility of local officials. The involvement of soldiers from strongholds who protect the country and guard the borders will inevitably make some people's imaginations wander.
Therefore, Lei Er only mentioned the Gu family's caravan to destroy the bandits along the way, and did not mention the existence of the fortress soldiers in the middle.
As long as the local officials honestly pay out the bounty, they will get the benefits they deserve. As for reputation, Ren Ning and the others don't need it yet.
After thoroughly inspecting the fleet, the two sat down to look over the results of the trip.
In principle, everything confiscated in Jingangzhai should be handed over to the court, but the court did not make any effort, so Ren Ning and the others just accepted it all.
There is not much money, but the silk can be sold, but the bulk of it is the brick tea.
Ren Ning picked up a heavy roll of brick tea and tossed it.
There are rules for doing things, and there are moral principles for doing things.
The Gu family's caravan followed the Xiliang trade route, and they knew best how profitable it was to sell iron, salt and tea on the grassland. Not to mention salt and iron, once the court finds out, no one can save their heads.
But they never got a foot in the tea.
Although these brick teas have been used by countless bandits, I believe Gu Shengnan will like them.
Ren Ning smiled.
In fact, he is quite rich now, and he no longer cares about these small amounts of money.
In addition to the 30,000 taels he had originally paid from the Benlu tribe.
Before the death of the three clan leaders, he also gave Ren Ning three thousand taels, and Quan should thank him for his great help to the Kailun clan.
In addition, Ma Dali came to the ring to challenge him, and countless soldiers participated in placing bets, which also had to be divided with him, the winner.
At that time, Ren Ning's odds were one to five.
Gu Datou bet five taels and won twenty-five taels, and he was so happy that his teeth fell out. Little did he know that Ren Ning didn't get a cent, but he got tens of thousands of taels.
Coupled with telescopes, life-chasing powder and various inventions, the fortress also rewarded him with a lot of money in addition to military merit.
Therefore, Ren Ning is now rich, with a total of more than 47,000 taels of silver.
For ordinary people, it is definitely a sum of money that is difficult to earn in several lifetimes.
A night of silence.
Early the next morning, the patrolling soldier came over sweating profusely to remind him.
"Commander, there are countless people outside the carriage ring. At least more than 3,000 people."
Ren Ning hurried out.
The soldier just now was not a scout, but he had good eyesight.
The people in front of him were densely packed, definitely numbering three thousand.
When Golden Finger opened, Ren Ning was startled.
There is greenery in front of you.
Usually the strangers he saw were either red or yellow, but this was the first time he saw bright green among strangers.
When the common people saw Ren Ning and his entourage coming out to greet them, they knew that they were the heroes who had destroyed the bandits, and they all bowed down and bowed down.
Then they put down some of the gifts they had brought and carefully ran to the city gate not far away to line up honestly.
Ren Ning quickly sent someone over to inquire.
It turns out that after hearing the news, these people came all night long to find their relatives kidnapped by the bandits, or to avenge their blood.
Ren Ning didn't feel anything yesterday, but when he saw her now, his face was ashen.
"Three thousand people! Are so many people's relatives really kidnapped or killed by bandits?"
"What do local officials do for food?"
There was silence.
He was surrounded by either fortress soldiers returning home, caravan guards or chariot servants from the Gu family. No one could answer this question.
Lei Er went out to ask about the situation carefully. He didn't look very good when he came back.
It turns out that these people are not only from Cangshan County at the foot, but also from neighboring counties.
In addition, many people have received the news and are coming from all directions. It's just that the distance is too far, and there is no means of transportation, so we haven't arrived yet.
According to them, in addition to the Luoxia Mountains, there are also many bandits and bandits in other mountains. Some of them have been causing trouble for more than ten years, but no government has ever gone to the mountains to suppress the bandits.
Sometimes when the superiors are in a hurry, the officials and policemen simply kill some people and take their heads back for business.
At this time, I heard that someone had killed hundreds of bandits. Some people wanted to come over to see if they could find their female relatives. Others just wanted to come over and take a bite or two to vent their anger.
Hold!
A bunch of fortress soldiers were furious after hearing this.
Ren Ning had not wanted to enter the city before, but now he raised his head coldly.
He looked at the words Cangshan County on the city wall in front of him and said, "Let's go in and visit these county officials."
