"Report to the captain, this guy is dishonest." The gangster said to the little captain who came over.
Hearing the word captain, Wang Wu knew that this person should be the leader of Hutou Village, and hurriedly smiled and said: "Brother Captain, we will also be people of Hutou Village in the future. We will all be brothers in the future. Can you tell me, Where is this taking us?”
The squad leader said: "Go to the county seat."
"ah!"
Wang Wu was stunned, thinking that he heard wrongly, and asked again, "Where are you going?"
The team leader smiled and said: "You are Wang Wu, right? You are also the leader of the horse thieves who are rampant in Lingqiu and Guangling counties. Can't you see that this road leads to Lingqiu County?"
"But..." Wang Wu didn't want to believe it. He hesitated and asked tentatively, "Could it be a mistake?"
The squad leader shook his head and said: "It's true, you are all wanted criminals by the government, so naturally you will be sent to the government."
Wang Wu looked panicked and said: "No, that's not the case. There must be a mistake. Last night, you people from Hutou Village promised us to allow us to join Hutou Village, and you also asked the captain to ask. It must be a mistake. ”
"I don't know about other things, but the order I received is to escort you to the county seat and hand it over to the government." After the team leader finished speaking, he turned around and left.
"No, you can't do this. You in Hutou Village have to be loyal." Wang Wu shouted loudly, but unfortunately no one paid him any attention.
In desperation, he grabbed the rope with both hands and refused to move forward.
Not only him, but also Ma Chenghu behind him, and several other Zhuang Ding who heard the conversation between the team leader and Wang Wu, all stopped walking forward and grabbed the rope to stay still.
Many villagers shouted: "I won't go to the county seat. If you have the ability, you people from Hutou Village will kill me now. I won't go to the county seat anyway."
None of them has ever had blood on their hands. If they fall into the hands of the government, they will only end up with one fate, and that is to be tortured, taken to the market entrance and beheaded.
Seeing this, the bandits watching on the side directly picked up the ends of the spears in their hands and stabbed them. Some people also raised knives and scabbards to beat the troublemaking villagers.
The escorted Zhuang Ding's wrists were tied to death with hemp ropes, and they were strung together with ropes. They wanted to resist but were unable to move. They wanted to hide, but if one person moved, the others would follow suit. You pull me, and I'll pull you. , no one can escape.
Soon, these dishonest villagers were beaten until they were howling like ghosts, especially Wang Wu, who was the first to cause trouble. He was given special treatment and beaten particularly hard.
Ma Chenghu, who was next to him, tried to grab the weapon in the hand of the bandit, but one of his arms was broken. The pain made him sweat dripping down, and his face turned pale.
The scene gradually calmed down, and all the villagers squatted on the ground, not daring to resist.
A gangster on the side scolded: "Be honest, if you dare to cause trouble again, be careful with your heads."
If it weren't for the order from above that these people be escorted to the government, these villagers would have been hacked to death or stabbed to death with spears by the escorting bandits just because they dared to resist, instead of being beaten like this.
Wang Wu buried his head with a fierce look in his eyes, regretting that he had not resisted and ended up like this.
If he had known this, he would have led the villagers to resist. Even if he was killed in the end, he would have killed a few bandits from Hutou Village to support him.
The team leader who escorted Zhuang Ding to the county seat came to Zhao Yutu and said, "Mr. Zhao, the matter has been resolved, let's get on the road!"
Zhao Yutu nodded and rode ahead.
This time, he was the one to contact Guo Binchang. The reason for this arrangement was entirely because he himself was a Tongsheng and was considered a scholar. It was more convenient for him to contact Guo Binchang, and it was easier for him to be accepted by civil servants like Guo Binchang who came from the imperial examination.
The east gate of Lingqiu is wide open, and there are not many pedestrians on the road. The soldiers guarding the gate lazily lean against the gate wall, basking in the sun.
As Zhao Yutu's group approached, they attracted the attention of the city gate official, and he drove away all the lazy soldiers.
A team of dozens of people suddenly approached the city gate. As a city gate official, he couldn't help but be careless, especially since many of the people in the team were armed with weapons and wearing cotton armor. At first glance, they were difficult to deal with.
"Stop!" The city gate officer stopped Zhao Yutu and others who were walking to the city gate.
The soldiers guarding the city gate also raised their weapons in defense.
"Hush!"
Zhao Yutu reined in the reins, cupped his hands, and said: "Several military masters, we are from the Dongshan Iron Field. We have captured a few important criminals wanted by the government and are about to send them to the Yamen. I would like to ask the military masters to be accommodating."
The city gate officer looked behind Zhao Yutu and took a breath when he saw the big men holding weapons and wearing cotton armor.
The cotton armor on these Dongshan iron field people is at least 90% new, and everyone wears armor. Not only are they equipped with spears and waist knives, but many of them also have blunderbuss in their hands. Their armor is better than that of those guarding the camp. The soldiers in the camp are so much better, even the general's servants may not be able to compare with them.
At this moment, the city gate officer felt someone tugging at his clothes around his waist. He turned around and saw a soldier standing next to him.
The soldier whispered: "Sir, the man tied up in front seems to be the night owl Zhang Yuan. He was wanted for more than half a year and has not been caught. There is still a portrait of him at the city gate."
"Really? Let me take a look." The city gate officer walked towards the team behind Zhao Yutu.
When he came closer, he pointed at one of the men whom the soldiers around him thought was Zhang Yuan, and asked, "Are you Zhang Yuan, the night owl?"
"Bah!" The man raised his head and spat, "I can't change my name in business, but I don't want to change my surname. Zhang Yuan, the night owl, is me."
"Hey, you are really the murderer." The city gate official said, "Sixteen members of Min Xiucai's family were killed. Three murderers, two of whom have been beheaded. Now that you, the main murderer, have also been caught, Min Xiucai and his family can An Xin is reincarnated."
Zhang Yuan snorted coldly and said: "Humph, so what, I will still be a good man twenty years later."
The city gate officer ignored him and looked at the other people tied up with ropes.
In his mind, since these people were tied up and escorted into the city like Zhang Yuan, they were all wanted criminals by the government.
The wanted criminals were all rewarded with silver. Thinking of this, the city gate official felt happy, but he didn't expect that he could still make a fortune.
Thinking of this, he stepped back and said to Zhao Yutu who was riding a horse: "Okay, leave these people to me. You can go back."
"Sir, we can't let them go. These people are not from the iron field at all. They are bandits from Hutou Village." Wang Wu suddenly shouted loudly in the team.
When the bandit on the side heard this, he picked up the fire gun in his hand and stabbed it, beating Wang Wu's head to pieces and bleeding.
But Wang Wu didn't care about this at all and still shouted: "Sir, they are bandits from Hutou Village. We cannot let them go. These people are bandits. Your opportunity has come to make a contribution."
"Haha, even if I die, I will still support you." Wang Wu laughed crazily.
When he arrived at the county seat, he knew he couldn't run away. Before he died, he roped in the people from Hutou Village to support him.
Along the way, he noticed that the middle-aged man on horseback was treated respectfully by the bandit captain who escorted them. He must be an important figure in Hutou Village.
Since he can no longer survive, an important figure from Hutou Village should be buried with him.
