When snowflakes began to fall in the sky the next morning, Luochuan and his party of five thousand Lijun Qingqi left the camp and headed east toward Tongcang City.
The snow was heavy at the beginning, but became smaller as they went east, so Luo Chuan and his party could still rest as planned in a merchant city in the north of Yongchang County called Pingyang.
Pingyang Town is located between Tongcang City and Liangcang City. It is closer to Tongcang City. It is small in area but has well-developed roads. It is the first place where most merchants from Lijun choose to settle after leaving the mountains. It is also the north and south of Yongchang County. It is an important transit place for merchants. Therefore, although this city has a small population, almost every house has a shop front. The larger places can open inns and restaurants, and the smaller places can even just open a window on the wall facing the street. A small stall was set up to sell some tea and the like.
In the original government system of Yongchang County, Pingyang Town was originally a small town under the jurisdiction of Tongcang City. However, because of its prosperous trade and extremely high taxes, the Yongchang Prefecture appointed a city shepherd to assist the Tongcang County Prefecture in the daily management of this place. affairs.
By the time Zhao Wuji's army left Tianmen Mountain and marched eastward to this place, the original defenders of Pingyang City had already fled and followed the defeated Yongchang regular army to Tongcang City, leaving only the people in the city who had not yet reacted. The wealthy merchants and the fat-headed city shepherd had no time to leave as they guarded their respective glory and wealth.
Zhao Wuji only sent a thousand elite troops to capture this wealthy city. The unlucky city shepherd was sneaked out by one of Shen Cheng's subordinates, the military marshal, and beheaded without saying a word. His head is still hanging in the city today. above the door.
It was already late when Luo Chuan and his party arrived here, but he still ordered five thousand light horses to ride through the city, entering through the west gate and exiting through the east gate. The roar of horse hooves spread throughout the city. When the army camped outside the city, he Only then did he bring five hundred blood cavalry with him to re-enter the city with the current defenders of Pingyang, all the way to the Chengmu Mansion.
The Chengmu Mansion is located in the center of the small town. It occupies a very large area and the interior is luxurious, almost to the point where the door is inlaid with gold and the eaves are painted with silver. When Luochuan walks inside, he can still feel the wealth and nobility of this courtyard when it was prosperous. It is probably full of luxury. There were rich people chatting and laughing, but now the building is deserted. Only the soldiers and cavalry in the courtyard are all wearing armor and fighting in a solemn manner, which is incompatible with the original elegant atmosphere of the courtyard.
Luo Chuan and his party walked through corridors and finally came to a garden with open terrain.
The waterside pavilion in the middle pavilion is very grand. The banquet has been prepared in the huge pavilion in the middle. The banquet can start just waiting for Luo Chuan and others to take their seats.
Luo Chuan strode in and took the first place. Si Qi and Yin Huayu stood behind him. The only ones who could be seated were the young female Taoist, Luo Changgong and other five military commanders from Lijun Qingqi. Even the current defenders of Pingyang City The military commanders could only stand aside.
The banquet table was so huge that the dishes could not cover the entire table.
Luo Chuan didn't care at all. He just felt that the banquet table was empty, so he asked Si Qi and Hua Yu to sit next to the young female road. He also asked the city defender Marquis to sit at the bottom of Meng Xiaocheng. It still seemed very empty. "Marquis Li Jun , what is the situation in Pingyang City today?"
The city guard who had just been given a seat seemed to be a middle-aged man who was not very good at speaking. Hearing this, he immediately stood up and saluted, "Returning to the governor, Pingyang City has now implemented military control in accordance with General Zhao's order. Merchants and common people have their own affairs." Close the door and have nothing to do now.”
"Is this true for all the small towns under our control in the northern part of Yongchang County?" Luo Chuan asked.
"That's all the case," the middle-aged man said.
Luo Chuan nodded and asked, "Except for small towns like Pingyang that already have city walls and garrisons, what about other villages and towns?"
"Returning to the prefect, General Zhao ordered the cavalry to send orders to all villages and towns. Now most of the villages and towns in the northern part of Yongchang County should be in a state of self-imposed lockdown. Merchants and people from all over the country will leave the cities and towns without authorization from the captain or above. All the offenders will be dealt with carefully and can be killed on the spot," the middle-aged man answered honestly.
"What's the response from the public if you deal with this like this?" Luo Chuan saw that everyone at the table was not moving their chopsticks, so he took the lead and reached out to pick up a piece of steamed meat and put it into his mouth.
The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and then slowly replied, "It is already a severe winter and people rarely go out. Pingyang City is a slight exception. After all, there are still some businessmen who are going back and forth who are trapped in the city and cannot leave for a while. There will be some resentment."
"Marquis Li Jun sat down to talk." Luo Chuan did not comment on the meaning of the middle-aged man's words, but just motioned for everyone to eat, "I heard that most of the wealthy businessmen in the northern part of Yongchang County live in Pingyang. I went to the city to see the high-rise courtyards earlier. There are indeed a lot of them. Rich families have many soldiers to guard their homes. Will it be a bit stressful if General Zhao only gives you a thousand men to guard this city?"
"Don't worry, Lord Prefect. When the army entered the city, they had already wiped out the rich people in the city.
Everyone is scared to death. How can they have the guts to cause trouble for their subordinates? What's more, Tongcang City is less than a hundred miles away from Pingyang. If something happens to Pingyang, the army will arrive in an instant, so there won't be any trouble." His stern face Kong Shang had a look of disdain, "The wealthy households in Pingyang City are now very obedient. Not only do they not dare to do anything disobedient, they also send people to send some money and food to work for the army from time to time. I'm afraid that one day they will be like this city shepherd." The owner of the mansion was also beheaded and hung on the top of the city. "
Luo Chuan smiled slightly and said, "Now that the situation has not been completely calmed down, it is inconvenient for the Taishou Mansion to send people to take over the cities in northern Yongchang. Implementing military control is also a last resort. The merchants and people are afraid of you these days, and the officials who will take over this place in the future will save effort." "One point, but the proportion must be measured properly. I want stability in the current season." He took another bite of food and asked casually, "Pingyang City is quite wealthy. Is there anyone who looted people's property on the day Gan Yuan's army broke through the city?" "
The middle-aged man said solemnly, "The prefect has clearly learned that the Ganyuan Army is very strict in military management. Before the expedition, General Zhao had given an order to the entire army. During and after the war, Li County's military regulations will be the first priority. Anyone who violates the rules will be killed! So Pingyang After the city was broken, Gan Yuan's army did not commit any crimes, and the money, grain, and property in Pingyang's city treasuries, officials, and government treasuries were all sealed up, and the treasury could only be unsealed and opened when the prefect's palace sent officials!"
"Very good!" Luo Chuan looked quite satisfied and praised with a smile, "If Uncle Zhao manages the army like this, my Lijun officers will be of great use. I tell your soldiers that they cannot take away money, food and property from ordinary people's homes. After the war, they were able to accept the money, grain and property that the prefect’s palace had given them openly, but the prefect of Li County couldn’t treat them badly!”
The middle-aged man saluted and thanked him.
Luo Chuan seemed to be in a good mood and raised his hand and pointed in the west direction of the city and said, "When I entered the city earlier, I was a little unhappy when I saw the word 'Pingyang' written on the city wall. Tomorrow you will send someone to erase it. It’s settled, from today on, this city will no longer be called Pingyang, but changed to ‘Shunping’!”
When the middle-aged man heard this, he immediately stood up and gave another military salute, "I obey the order!"
Luo Chuan smiled, as if he was already drunk, "Shunping will be the starting city for me to leave the mountains and go to the world of Zhongzhou. I hope that they can all go smoothly and safely. At the same time, I also hope that everyone in Shunping will be safe." Smart people can set an example for the people of Yongchang, Anling and even more cities in the future. If they are compliant, they will be safe. This is what I mean...!"
