"Six hundred people! What does he eat?" asked Panda. She knew that Yangshan was similar to some counties in Hainan, with barren land and sparse population. Even bandits cannot gather too many people: one or two hundred people is a very big gang. Because they could not afford to support too many people, most of the bandits lived scattered and farmed, and only gathered together when necessary. Sun Dabiao gathered 600 people at once, and the food, drink, and urination of these people would become a big problem.
"Ask the villages to pay him grain." Luo Yiming said unwillingly, "Many villages refused to pay their reasonable burden. The bandits didn't dare to let go when they came to collect grain, so they paid it obediently..."
"That's because the bandits can kill people and burn down the house at will, but we can't." A voice came from outside the door, "In the end, they have no authority!"
Pinda was startled, and when he looked up, it was You Ciren. His arm was still bandaged, but he looked much better than when he was first injured.
"Lao You, why are you here?" Luo Yiming frowned and said, "Your injury is not healed yet, so you shouldn't move too much - be careful if your arm doesn't recover well!"
"I'm already on a splint, how can I move?" You Ciren disagreed, "The doctor also said I can move around."
"Okay, one more person will help you a lot. You can also come to the meeting. Everyone will come up with ideas." Pinda didn't take it seriously.
Zhen Huan said: "We have destroyed Sun Dabiao, and we will naturally have authority in Yangshan County. It is not surprising that local power fluctuates. This was also the case when we recruited various societies in Taiwan. We defeated the strongest and most powerful If you jump, the rest of the community will just be patient."
Both Zhenhuan and Pinda had experience in suppressing bandits and "Xuanfu". What you say naturally carries weight. In fact, neither Luo nor Youyou objected to "establishing prestige", but they had some doubts about how they wanted to "establish prestige" with only such a number of troops on their side.
"It's not that I disagree, but should we change our goal?" Luo Yiming said, "Sun Dabiao has 600 people. We have more than 200 people in total, and we still have to leave people to defend the city..."
"Although Sun Dabiao has many people, he is a makeshift mob. It is not difficult to defeat him - it is rare to kill him or capture him alive." You Ciren said, "As long as he runs out with his henchmen, it won't take long for him to be killed again." Can pull a team together.”
"You're right. It's meaningless to behead ordinary minions. The key is to get rid of the thieves." Pinda agreed, "Sun Dabiao and Zhang Tianbo are two of the three hegemons in Yangshan, and they are responsible for this riot. We must capture at least one of the main culprits in order to fully demonstrate our authority in Yangshan!"
"To catch Sun Dabiao, the only way is to catch him by surprise." Zhen Huan said.
After discussion at the meeting, it was decided to first attack Sun Dabiao, firstly to establish his authority, and secondly to take down Dawangwei and regain control of Yao District.
"We have a small number of people, and now all the forces in the county are looking down on us, and they can use their tactics to get rid of us." You Ciren suggested, "It is better to show weakness appropriately to deepen this impression and paralyze the bandits in the county."
He suggested that the first is to withdraw all grain collection teams and stop collecting "reasonable burdens", showing the cowardice of the county.
"...the new county magistrate is a woman - this news will spread throughout the county in a short time. According to the indigenous concept, women must be timid and weak. Being sent to be the county magistrate is a sign of the elders' ignorance. . So withdrawing the task force is very much in line with their mindset. It allows them to further despise us."
Fenda smiled and said: "I never thought I could be of such use! Keep talking."
You Ciren smiled: "We have withdrawn all the food collection teams. The field hospital will leave in a few days - we will take this opportunity to pack luggage and transport the wounded in a big way, pretending that we are running away!"
"I'm afraid there will be a sensation in the county now."
"Of course it will cause a sensation." You Ciren has been thinking about this strategy for a long time. "There are probably some of these gangsters who are ambushing outside the county, watching our every move, and there are probably their spies in the county. Our actions are used by Sun Dabiao. You’ll know in a day or two.”
"Let him become careless and we'll catch him unawares." Zhen Huan already understood what he meant. Most of the battles of the Li Miao Company were surprise attacks in the mountains, and the harsh terrain was their advantage.
"That's right." You Ciren said, "We have few people, and the National Army's combat effectiveness is very poor, so they stay in the city. The battle will be carried out by the mountain company - we attack Dalangwei at night!"
"What to do with the informants outside the city? They will definitely find out once we are dispatched here. Our large team is not as fast as a single person - maybe they have other ways to contact us: such as setting off fireworks to warn others."
"The Li Miao Company can board the ship first and make a defensive posture - the formation company commander and the others were only temporarily transferred here. Isn't it normal for them to return to the army now?"
"And disembark halfway?"
"That's right." You Ciren nodded, "No matter how many spies the bandits have, they can't spread them all along the river. Let alone at night."
"That's a good note." Luo Yiming praised, "Captain Zhen, is your team okay with carrying out a surprise attack at night?"
"Night attacks, mountain warfare, and close combat are the strengths of our mountain company." Zhen Huan said, "Pinda, what do you think of this plan?"
"The plan is very good." Pinda didn't know much about war, but she felt that this plan had the possibility of success. After all, the three people here all had actual combat experience. "I don't know much about war. Since everyone thinks it is good, then It definitely works—just do it!”
After the plan was agreed upon, everyone's mood was high. Then some details were discussed and implemented one by one.
"How much do we know about the situation in Dalangwei now? Do we need to conduct reconnaissance in advance?" Zhen Huan said, "Now long-distance reconnaissance is uninterrupted, but we don't know the situation inside Dalangwei."
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to send people in." Luo Yiming frowned, "Sun Dabiao is very careful now. Although Dalangwei's once-every-five-day market is open again, he is very strict in checking, and strangers with outsider accents often They will be questioned repeatedly... Although they are now inconvenient to kill people in order to attract merchants, it will be difficult to escape if they are bitten, which will delay the matter. We sent several scouts there, but we were unable to enter the core of Sun Dabiao's garrison. area."
"If we can know exactly where Sun Dabiao lives, we can kill him directly with a black tiger during the assault." Zhen Huan said regretfully.
After the fire, Dalangwei was already in ruins, and it was impossible to estimate Sun Dabiao's specific location.
Pinda thought over and over again and said, "I think we still have to do reconnaissance. Since we can't get in, we'll pull people out."
"You mean?"
"Where is Zhang Tianbo, one of the Three Hegemons of Yangshan, now?"
"It's unclear. He ran away after his attempt to act as a spy failed - we speculate that he should be hiding with Sun Dabiao or Feng Haijiao. But there is no definite evidence."
"I have read Yangshan's information. Zhang Tianbo, Sun Dabiao, and Feng Haijiao were brothers who were worshippers, and they actively participated in the Dalangwei incident. He must be very familiar with Sun Dabiao's situation. If he can be caught, he will be very familiar with Sun Dabiao's situation. We’ll know everything!”
"But where can we find him in such a huge crowd?" Luo Yiming said, "We really want to catch Zhang Tianbo, but this guy is very cunning. After escaping from the county seat, he disappeared without a trace."
"It's up to everyone to think of a solution." Pinda said, "He's not a Monkey King. He may not have jumped out of a rock. There should be some relatives and friends in the county - Yangshan is not a big place. Let's look for it. Look, maybe there will be some clues.”
This is not a brilliant plan, but these days they are either immersed in frustration or busy cleaning up the mess and stabilizing the situation. No one has thought about how to fight back. At this moment, Pinda's words made everyone suddenly realize.
"That's right, Zhang Tianbo didn't just jump out of a rock. He is also a man of old and young. He can't wipe his butt clean. There must be a place where his family members are hidden!" Luo Yiming waved his hands excitedly. He said, "If we find this kid's family, we will naturally arrest him!"
"As long as we catch him, even if he doesn't know the inside story of Sun Dabiao, at least we can push him out and chop off his head, destroying this Yangshan tyrant! The majesty of killing bandits."
"Zhang Tianbo had a master who was originally the county's police chief named Li Shuangkuai." Luo Yiming said, "This old man retired several years ago and lives in Zhuangzi outside the city - he should be with Li Shuangkuai." Shuangkuai is the closest outsider. I heard that Zhang Tianbo visits him every year. By the way, County Magistrate Wang also used Li Shuangkuai when he recruited Zhang Tianbo. Even if he didn't know the specific whereabouts of Li Shuangkuai, at least he did. We have a lot of information that we don’t know about—maybe Zhang Tianbo’s family members are hiding in his village!”
"But after Zhang Tianbo betrays him, will Li Shuangkuai still stay at home?" Pinda said.
This made everyone less excited. You Ciren thought for a while and said, "At least give it a try! Li Shuang is almost in his early sixties, and it is impossible for him to follow the bandits everywhere. He insists that he has no apparent relationship with the bandits, and he is a wealthy man. , so it is impossible to fall into the water and become a bandit - nine times out of ten, he will still be hiding in his own village."
"We can go and inquire quietly first." Luo Yiming said, "I will send a few capable men to inquire. If it is confirmed that he is in Zhuangzi, I will 'invite' him."
"This old man Li Shuangkuai is not a good guy," You Ciren said. "According to the information we collected, he has been a policeman in Yangshan for more than 20 years and has sheltered many bandits who robbed local merchants. The big thief made an ill-gotten fortune. It can be said that he has a lot of blood debt. However, most of his victims were foreign merchants. Most of the local people knew little about his evil deeds and were deceived by him. They thought he was still a criminal. A 'duty' catcher."
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 446
