Chapter 98 Great Victory
The people were in a state of panic, and no one knew what to do. But one thing is certain, the kings should have already set off back to Xin'an. A few brave ones ran back along the official road for a while, wanting to go home and have a look. Soon they all ran back and brought back a jaw-dropping news: Hangu official road had been dug into a mess, and it was more numerous and deeper than the ravines in front of Fucheng! Only then did the people understand that the kings who had come to select people a few days ago were talking about building roads, but it turned out that they were going to break roads!
There is an idiom called "a group of dragons without a leader". As we know from the text, even a group of dragons will fall into chaos without a leader, let alone thousands of illiterate people who cannot read. The vast majority of the people clamored to go home: there was a hole dug on the official road, couldn't they just crawl through it? So everyone set out on the road again. And then... someone fell into the trap.
It is not easy to dig traps on the official road - pedestrians are trampled and vehicles are rolled over. Over decades or hundreds of years, the dirt road has become very hard, and traps will be easily seen. But it would be much easier to dig a big hole in the road first, and then set a trap at the bottom of the hole: spread out the ragged mats and sprinkle some floating soil on top, and it would be difficult for the gods to distinguish them. Seeing the few men at the bottom of the pit who were screaming and wailing as sharp wooden stakes were pierced through their bodies, the people cried and swarmed back to Luoyang City again. They want the adults in the government to make decisions for themselves.
At noon that day, Qi Xiaoguang saw a huge chaos in the bandit camp opposite. The ant-like crowd was scurrying around like headless flies. He didn't know what was going on. Thinking that although the reinforcements were close at hand, they all stopped moving forward. As a fourth-grade prefect, his words were too light and no one would buy it, so he went to King Shou to find a way. The sun was already faltering in the western sky. Qi Xiaoguang had just returned to Xicheng Tower from Prince Shou's Mansion when he saw thousands of beggar-like guys dragging wooden shovels and hoes (but they couldn't bear to throw them away), regardless of stumbling over the ditch at their feet. The mountains and plains were pouring towards the city wall. It seemed that these were ordinary people. Not only did they not have any clothes, armor, swords or guns, they didn't even bring ladders. It definitely didn't look like they were just here to attack the city. However, he was deceived by thieves in a similar way at Hangu Pass a few days ago. He still remembered the painful lesson and did not dare to be careless at all, so he ordered the defenders to shoot arrows to suppress him.
There were not many arrows fired from the city, and their accuracy was very poor. However, the people neither had wooden shields to protect them nor knew how to find cover. They just ran towards the city on their own, and some were hit by arrows one after another. It wasn't until the dozens of people running at the front were shot down that everyone realized: It turned out that in the eyes of the adults in the city, they couldn't tell which of the good citizens were being coerced, and everyone was all thieves! No one dared to run anymore, lying on the ground crying, hoping that the adults would know that they were really not thieves.
Shooting stopped on the top of the city. Although Qi Xiaoguang couldn't hear what everyone was shouting in the vague noise, he finally saw something was wrong. Two baskets hung down from the wall, and soldiers waved and shouted for people to come over. The prefect wanted to ask questions.
The two braver guys were hung up on the city wall, lying in front of Qi Xiaoguang's feet and talking incoherently. It wasn't until the night completely enveloped the surrounding area that Magistrate Qi finally understood: Most of these people are the common people of Xin'an, thieves. They have already left, and the Hangu Pass Road has been dug up by thieves, making it difficult to pass in a short period of time.
Qi Xiaoguang discussed with the prefect Ding Shichang, the magistrate Mei Tingfang, Xie Yuanbin and Cai Wenying for half a night, but they could not make any decision: whether the thieves had really retreated, or they were setting up an ambush halfway, waiting to catch the pursuing officials. Catch all the troops in one fell swoop, and then take advantage of the situation to break through the city in one fell swoop? The past few days have been enough for the thieves to create a place to station troops on the northern mountain wall! What's more, there is still valley water. As long as a signal is sent from the mountain wall, the thieves may have parked a large number of boats and rafts upstream, and they can easily cut off the pursuit of the pursuers by going down the river.
In the end, everyone came to a consensus: to remain unchanged in response to all changes, to stay put and wait for a while before talking.
Of course, there is something more important: reporting victory!
The officials of Luofu Mansion knew one thing very well: no matter whether the thief really escaped or was deceiving, as long as the officers and soldiers could not escape, Luofu Mansion would still be safe for a long time. During this period, the report of the great victory must be sent to the capital as quickly as possible!
The first is to comfort the Holy Emperor, the second is to block Xiaoxiao's mouth, the third is to keep the black gauze hat on their heads, and the fourth is to boost the morale of the reinforcements from all walks of life, and at the same time "goodwill" and "remind" the "friendly troops" : We have defeated the thieves. You haven’t even arrived on the battlefield. Don’t cause too much trouble around the city!
The officials of the Ming Dynasty may not be able to manage local affairs, and the military generals may not be able to fight, but most of them are self-taught in three things, no matter whether they are civil or military, and all of them have unique skills: party struggle. Gagging, lining your pockets, and self-praise. And reporting victory to the court can often reap three benefits with one stone! Therefore, in a few days, the Holy Emperor on the Dragon Throne will see: Luofu officials are strategizing, Mianchi County Magistrate Fu Yuehui, shouldering the moral responsibility, died to gain precious time to defend the city, Qi Xiaoguang led Xin'an County Magistrate Cai Wenying in At Hangu Pass, the bandits were first defeated and the thieves were defeated, and then they repeatedly used ingenuity and creatively abandoned natural dangers to lure the enemy deeper. The thieves, who were so angry that they committed the taboo of "a general will not raise an army out of anger", went out in force to attack Luoyang. , the well-prepared Luoyang garrison, led by the invincible Sun Fugui, the commander of the Shou King Guards, made a desperate attack and gave this giant bandit a devastating head-on attack, leaving bloody corpses all over the field! Now Luoyang Mansion is not only impregnable, but the morale of the officials, civilians and soldiers is as high as a rainbow, and they are chasing down the remnants of thieves all over the mountains and plains! All the governments in Henan Province are united in fighting against the enemy. After hearing the warning, they rushed to the rescue day and night regardless of the high mountains and dangerous roads and the moon and stars. They have all arrived near Luofu and are about to go to the battlefield to give the thieves a fatal blow! Of course, this is all because the Holy Emperor Demu Tianxia has moved heaven and earth, and the Luo Mansion has only performed its duties as ministers... Behind the memorial is a long list of recommended "meritorious ministers" - the name of Lian Kou Zhizhang They are all among them, but they are a little far behind in the queue, just in front of a few thousand households.
There was also a good news report from Prince Shou's Mansion with almost the same content, which greatly praised the Luoyang local officials headed by Qi Xiaoguang. It's strange that the contents are different - because the two memorials were completed together by officials of the Luo Mansion and Shi Hu Zhiqi, the head of Prince Shou's Mansion, and then reported separately in their respective names. The local official's victory report came from the General Administration Department, while the feudal prince's report came from the inner court. The two sides confirmed each other, and this fictitious victory became a definite fact: anyone who dared to question it would be slandering the imperial family. The feudal lord lied and deceived the emperor! This alone is enough to step into eternal doom! To drive a wedge between the flesh and blood of the Holy Emperor is, at the very least, disrespectful. To say it more seriously, it would definitely not be unjust to set you up as a traitor! Putting the clarification of facts on the line into ideological battles is the most popular game played by the Ming Dynasty officialdom.
I have to say that the memorial was written with great care. First of all, there is the truth: Fu Yuehui is indeed dead, and Hangu Pass did repell Guan Shengyun's several feint attacks at the beginning. These are all facts - well, at least part of the facts. Secondly, the thieves also retreated. Regardless of whether he retreated on his own initiative or had some other deception to set up an ambush for the officers and soldiers, he was retreating anyway! Let me ask, if Luoyang City did not have strong walls to clear the countryside, but the city gates were wide open without any precautions, would the thieves be able to retreat? ! If he retreats, doesn't it mean that the thief's plot has been foiled? Thirdly, the friendly forces have indeed arrived, but the Lord is aware that these tough and tough battles were fought by the Luo Mansion and the Shou Wang Guards themselves! For trivial matters such as chasing down the remnants of the enemy, it's time for the friendly forces to show their skills. You can't go all the way to waste it (Xin'an Mianchi has been in the hands of the thieves for so long anyway, and there probably won't be much left, friendly forces) It doesn’t make any difference whether you go or not)? As for the Lieutenant General Kou who almost killed someone, Wei Jiantai could naturally understand: the memorial did not mention that he and Commander Sun, Guan Peizhong, fought side by side against the enemy. It must not be as simple as doing nothing, he must have gotten into trouble! But our Luofu government is very particular about officialdom, so we will still ask for credit from him. Ranking a little lower, the dignified lieutenant general, even ranked behind the general guerrilla, shows that this guy is quite capable. As for what it is, you can ask him yourself. After asking him, you can ask me again. In short, this is your family matter, and I will definitely give you enough face...
Two things remain. The first thing is that since the Luo Mansion is "pursuing and annihilating the remaining enemies," no matter how perfunctory it is, we still have to know where the rogue bandits have gone. In case the thief is committing fraud and suddenly comes back, the court must prepare for a rainy day. The second thing is that since the thieves were all "bleeding and bleeding" after being killed, some heads must be handed over. But this one is much simpler than the first one: aren't there thousands of "thieves" waiting eagerly outside the city now? Dozens of people were shot to death by bows and arrows on the evening of the previous day. If that's not enough... hmph, those who helped the thieves attack the city were all thieves! Killing hundreds more "as a warning", who can tell what is wrong!
The task of detecting the thief naturally fell on Cai Wenying. Cai Zhixian should be said to have been "a man for three generations": he did not die directly at his post in the county government like Fu Yuehui, and Qi Xiaoguang dragged him back to Luoyang at Hangu Pass, who was determined to risk his life to stop the enemy, and he was a parent official of Xin'an, so this The task of investigation is unavoidable.
The city gate must not be opened. Early the next morning, Cai Wenying and more than twenty Xin'an defenders, who were either greedy for heavy rewards or afraid of having their heads chopped off on the spot, sat in the basket again and were hung from the wall. As soon as Cai Zhixian climbed out of the basket, he was surrounded by people who had been hungry all day and night. Looking at these dove-shaped swan-faced guys crying coldly and hungry, Cai Wenying sighed secretly: all the human-like ones were kidnapped by thieves. A great victory in Luoyang Prefecture requires a leader. The adults in the provincial capital and various prefectures who have obtained copies of the victory report will not be stupid enough to wait for orders from the court, and will issue strict orders to all friendly forces to "accelerate the invasion and suppression". They all need a great victory - and a great victory requires the surrender of their heads!
These are all helpless things. No matter how loudly the slogan of loving the people is shouted, the future will never be changed by a seventh-grade county magistrate with a guilty body. As for food, don't even think about it - you were helping the thieves attack the city the day before yesterday, how can you still expect the government to distribute steamed buns to you! Don't talk nonsense about being coerced. Who are you? It's your duty to die for the court. Why not die? !
Under Cai Wenying's sharp scolding and the beatings of officers and soldiers with guns, clubs and scabbards, thousands of people turned back helplessly and embarked on the Hangu Pass Road home. Just in case, the gully outside the city cannot be filled in for the time being, but repairing the official road first to make it passable is necessary to detect the thieves. However, building roads is much more laborious than breaking them. The thieves not only set traps at the bottom of some pits, but even worse, they dumped all the excavated earth into the valley water beside the road! If you want to fill those big holes, you have to take more soil from the north mountain wall! The front of the construction is so narrow that no matter how many people there are, they all have to stare at the work from behind and cannot use their strength. It was not until the next day that after more than 20 people were killed or injured, the official road could barely pass for less than three miles. Cai Wenying had no choice but to send someone to report back to Luoyang and drop some mixed noodle buns from the top of the city. Otherwise, all the people on the dozens of miles of road would be lost. The big hole can only be filled with the corpses of thousands of starving ghosts.
Fortunately, the thieves only destroyed the official road more thoroughly for about twenty miles to the east. The closer they got to Hangu Pass, the easier the road construction work became. The people who were eager to return home were thinking about home and worked harder. On the sixth day, Cai Wenying finally returned to the Xin'an County Government Office. Well, to be precise, it was the ruins of the County Government Office - Guan Shengyun set a fire before leaving, and the Government Office Office had been burned to the ground.
The people who went through all kinds of hardships finally returned home. However, this is not the end of their tragic experience - their real nightmare has just begun! On the second day after returning home, several "reinforcements" from outside the government stepped on the official roads built by the people themselves and entered Xin'an County one after another...
Afterwards, Cai Wenying choked and said only one sentence to Qi Xiaoguang: "Sir, I really know what Shura Field is like - Xin'an is it."
