When Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun and others heard what they said, they were all confused. They quickly asked what was going on: "It's about being cut into pieces again. It depends on what kind of person the emperor is. I Say, what do you mean?"
Li Guo didn't say anything, but Li Laiheng immediately told what happened, roughly speaking it once, and finally said: "If my adoptive father stays, he will probably be killed. Can you please advise my adoptive father?"
"Laiheng, okay!" After hearing this, Li Guo said to him first, "King Chuang is my biological uncle. No matter what, if I can see the fate of the left thief, even if he is killed by the army, go Underground, I can also talk to my uncle, so that my uncle can have fun too!"
Having said this, he turned to look at Gao Yigong and the others and said, "You guys should leave quickly!"
The crowd of people waiting couldn't help but look at each other in shock after hearing what had just been said.
No wonder the number of officers and soldiers suddenly decreased. It turned out that they were transferred by the emperor to rescue people?
But...but how could the emperor be such a good emperor? This shouldn't be the case!
Most people think this way, and for a while, they find it difficult to accept this reality. Even Hao Yaoqi questioned: "It has been so many years since the emperor has been on the throne, how come he has never heard of it being so good before? If it is really so good, why do we, Qin, suffer from disasters for many years, but we have never seen the emperor like this!"
"It's possible that the emperor doesn't know the true situation among the people and was deceived by those treacherous ministers!" Li Guo pondered for a moment and said, "But don't care about this. The most important thing is that I will bet this time to see if it is true. I’ll really cut this little brat to pieces in front of the Zuo thief!”
Having said this, he urged: "Don't delay any longer. Let's go quickly. It's enough for me to bring this little brat to the army!"
Not everyone has this idea and is willing to deliver it to their door themselves. If I could escape, I would naturally choose to escape. Otherwise, after falling into the hands of the government and the army, they would be considered old thieves and might be killed by the court.
Therefore, these seventy people have different choices. Some decided to run away immediately, while others hesitated, feeling as if they were not loyal by leaving. Others expressed that they wanted to stay and follow Li Guo and Li Dingguo to see the leftist thieves taste the loss of their families.
In the end, only four people, Li Guo, Li Dingguo, Li Laiheng and Liu Tichun, stayed. The others were kicked out by Li Guo regardless of whether they wanted to stay or not.
Seeing a large number of people walking away, Li Dingguo, somewhat uneasy about the future, turned to look at Zuo Mengeng. He was fine without looking at him. When he saw it, he immediately covered his mouth and nose and said: "This guy is incontinent." Got it!"
Speaking of which, Zuo Mengeng was blessed by his father and did not suffer many hardships. He was usually served by people and drank here and there. He enjoyed life very much, which also led to him being greedy and fearful. Dead personality.
He originally thought how terrifying it would be to be hacked to death by these bandits. However, later, he heard that his father was caught by the emperor, his buttocks were spanked, and they wanted to take him back and cut him to pieces in front of his father. He thought of the kind of life that could not be achieved without death, and it hurt so much. It would take more than one knife to kill, it would be weird if he didn't lose control!
In fact, at this time, he actually wanted ten thousand thieves to chop him to death. However, it was obvious that these bandits would not chop him down.
Zuo Mengeng is in despair!
…………
In Nanyang City, more than 10,000 officers and soldiers participated in the rescue operation. At this time, Emperor Chongzhen finally did not need to participate in person. After repeated persuasion by Chen Qiyu and others who came after hearing the news, Emperor Chongzhen took a hot bath and changed into a dragon robe.
However, he did not stay in the feudal prince's palace. Instead, he went to the top of Nanyang City, where he could see the rescue progress of the entire Nanyang.
One benefit of the military's involvement in the rescue is that it is very organized. The areas to be rescued are assigned according to the military establishment. With an order, it is like fighting a war. There is a command and everyone is young and strong. Therefore, the rescue efficiency is very high.
From time to time, military generals would report the rescue situation to the city, and the death toll was higher than expected.
This has something to do with the fact that most of them are just bungalows now. If they were replaced by high-rise buildings in later generations, if the houses really collapsed, the death toll would definitely be high.
But even so, Chen Qiyu, who was following Emperor Chongzhen, couldn't help but sigh: "It's all thanks to your majesty's timely assistance to the people. Otherwise, I estimate, at least several times more people would have died."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen not only did not feel proud and happy, but instead sighed and said: "It is because the court did not do a good job that the people despaired of the court, and that is why so many people became thieves!"
Speaking of this, Emperor Chongzhen thought about it and asked Chen Qiyu: "How is the situation with the bandits over there?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qiyu hurriedly replied: "There is no place to detain them for the time being, so the soldiers will guard them in the fields. So far, more than 60,000 people have been arrested, and the sorting is continuing."
At this point, he paused and took a peek at the emperor's face before continuing: "What has been confirmed so far is that among the leaders of the bandits, Liu Zongmin of King Chuang's subordinate has been killed, and the others are..."
After Chen Qiyu reported the names of more than ten people, he said helplessly: "The situation is chaotic. The remaining bandit leaders have not been sorted out yet. They may be hiding among the prisoners or escaping in the wilderness. As long as they are among the prisoners, they will be Liu Guoneng, the general for suppressing thieves, will verify it and he should find it sooner or later. As for those who have not been caught yet, Wei Chen thought... that it would be a bit difficult to apprehend them!"
Emperor Chongzhen was slightly disappointed when he heard that there were not a few names that he had heard in later generations, but that was all. He also heard that, according to Chen Qiyu, it was basically impossible to catch the bandit leaders who were still on the run.
After thinking about it, he told Chen Qiyu: "Forget about the others, just Zuo Mengeng. I already have the portrait. I will distribute it to all the armies, especially the cavalry. We must arrest him!"
In an era without photographs, the only way to identify people was through portraits. However, it goes without saying how unreliable portraits are. If someone runs for his life, he will definitely change his appearance. It will be difficult to catch him!
"Wei Chen obeys the order!" Chen Qiyu knew that Zuo Mengeng was going to be captured and cut into pieces to warn against all thieves who did not take the lives of the people seriously, so he quickly said, "Wei Chen is coming to Nanyang Before, I had already found a painter and asked General Liu Shen to finalize the portrait."
Obviously, Chen Qiyu had already thought of it and was doing it.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen nodded, relatively satisfied.
"Your Majesty, there are so many thieves. I don't know how to deal with them afterwards?" Chen Qiyu, as the governor of the five provinces, was the first person under the emperor to take charge of the suppression of thieves. In addition, he had made a mistake in placing the bandits in the past, which almost caused him to die. Therefore, when he had the opportunity, he asked Emperor Chongzhen for instructions.
Emperor Chongzhen had already considered this. But now, when he looked at the ruins of Nanyang City in front of him, something changed.
I only heard him say to Chen Qiyu: "For the bandits who came from the frontier army, as well as those old thieves, all are sent to Governor Lu. If Dongjiang Town is to be reopened, an army capable of fighting is indispensable. That side is considered to be behind enemy lines. , these bandits are roaming around all year round, so it should be more suitable there, and I believe Governor Lu can suppress them!"
Having said this, Emperor Chongzhen paused, his face became serious, and he said in a stern tone: "If these thieves don't make trouble, we will kill them all. Even if there are some who escape halfway, we will chase them to the end. No way." There is still the possibility of pardon; but if they go, I will pardon their previous crimes and treat them like ordinary soldiers. As long as they perform meritorious service in Dongjiang, I will reward them the same!"
After finishing speaking, he looked at Chen Qiyu and said: "These bandits, regardless of whether they were forced to rebel in the first place? At least one fact is that they have harmed many people. If we kill all the bandits in one breath, Well, if it hurts Tianhe, let’s just do it, I’ll give them a chance to atone for their sins!”
"Your Majesty is wise and lets these bandits fight against Jianlu. No matter who dies, the court will kill two birds with one stone!" After hearing this, Chen Qiyu immediately said with admiration.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen actually did not have this idea, but in the original history, these bandits became the main force in resisting the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and some even paid a huge price for it. No matter what, it has reflected the bloody nature of the Han people.
If in the original history, if these bandits had not resisted the Qing Dynasty, those officials of the original Nanming and the Han people would have been completely humiliated by them.
There was no way to express this reason, and Emperor Chongzhen didn't want to say it either.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with the remaining thieves?" Chen Qiyu asked again when the emperor stopped talking.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at Nanyang City and suddenly asked Chen Qiyu: "Is there any news about the food issue?"
"Your Majesty, there should be news back within the next two days." Upon hearing this, Chen Qiyu hurriedly replied, "There is a war going on here. Even if food comes, he will definitely stay outside the battlefield, but Wei Chen We have sent people to check the situation before, and I believe that the food that has arrived nearby will definitely be transported, and the reason for the other food that has not arrived should also be known!"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this, and then pointed at Nanyang City and said: "Rescuing the people affected by the disaster this time from the ruins is only the first step in disaster relief. I thought that the remaining thieves would be organized to let them If you work for a certain period of time or perform well, you can be pardoned and go home, and even those who have made meritorious services can be rewarded. For example, let them clean up the ruins and help the people of Nanyang rebuild their homes. If they do well, they can Some of them were pardoned on the spot. As for the rest, building roads, bridges, water conservancy projects, etc. all require a lot of manpower."
After hearing this, Chen Qiyu understood why the emperor asked about food first. Only when there is food can these bandits have the physical strength to work.
In this way, all these bandits have been arranged. Those who have the ability to fight will be sent to Dongjiang; those who have no ability to fight will be used as laborers. This differentiated placement method is indeed better than just letting them go to Dongjiang. It would be so much better if we all went home!
Thinking of this, Chen Qiyu respectfully said: "Your Majesty is wise. In this way, I believe that we can solve the problem of these bandits and prevent them from rebelling again!"
Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head after hearing this and said: "The root cause of the rebellion is that they can't see the hope of living, or the oppression is too much. Therefore, the food must be in place. In addition, as long as these bandits work hard, Just don't discriminate or deliberately exploit them. Clear rewards and punishments are also needed."
"Wei Chen understands!" At this time, Chen Qiyu fully realized the emperor's understanding of the bandits causing trouble. From this, he could see that the emperor really wanted to solve the problem of bandits once and for all, so as not to repeat it again.
At the same time, he also knew that he would still have to deal with the final aftermath, so the emperor told him again and again.
Chen Qiyu was thinking about it when suddenly he heard a crazy voice coming from the direction outside the city. After listening for a moment, he could tell that it was Zuo Liangyu's crazy voice. I couldn't help but feel a little strange. This guy had been hanging at the city gate like a dead man. Why did he suddenly start shouting like crazy?
Emperor Chongzhen naturally heard it and was also a little surprised, so he took the lead towards the battlements to see what was going on outside the city.
Zuo Liangyu was seen staring at a group of people on the official road back to the city, shouting in great pain. On the official road, a group of cavalrymen escorted five people back. However, it can be seen that these officers and soldiers seemed to have a good attitude towards four of them, and only one of them was tied up.
Liu Yue, who was already a member of the Imperial Guard, had been by the emperor's side. After seeing the situation outside the city, he said with a little surprise: "Your Majesty, the person who is tied up is Zuo Menggeng, the son of the traitor Zuo Liangyu! "
"Oh!" When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he understood why Zuo Liangyu went crazy.
Chen Qiyu also heard it, and couldn't help but said happily: "It seems that the left thief has done too many evil things. God will not let him go, but he can catch his son. God is really wise!"
Emperor Chongzhen naturally knew that it would be very difficult to catch a specific thief who had been on the run for a day, especially when he had ordered the army to come back for disaster relief. After all, the portrait is inaccurate, and we don’t know where he escaped, so even if the people below were caught, they might have missed it.
Of course he didn't know that he was able to capture Zuo Mengeng not because of God, but because of Emperor Chongzhen himself.
Needless to say, the other people were Li Guo and Li Dingguo. He took the initiative to greet the remaining thieves who were still hunting, and just like that, he returned to Nanyang City.
This cavalry team also won their favor because of their performance.
It was an unexpected surprise for them to come out to surrender so actively, and also brought the thief who the emperor had determined to catch.
Therefore, when they came on the way, Li Dingguo, Liu Tichun and others couldn't help but ask about the emperor. These officers and soldiers were also proud, so they all told them about the emperor.
What these officers and soldiers didn't expect was that after they finished speaking, these bandits fell silent. No one said anything anymore, as if they were very thoughtful. When we got to the foot of Nanyang City, we saw Zuo Liangyu hanging there.
