Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 124 I want to control the troops, my own troops
Yingzhou.

The seat of government was Liucheng, the governor's office of Yingzhou.

"Alas...where is the demoted General Xue now?"

Zhang Jian, the governor of Yingzhou, was unhappy.

He was the great-grandson of the retired emperor, and more or less a maternal relative, and had been enjoying himself in Yingzhou.

However, the dignitaries in the court seemed to treat Yingzhou as a trash can.

Any unfortunate person who has lost his power is thrown here.

This has had a huge impact on the fragile local officialdom ecology.

What made him even more upset was that His Highness Li Ming, who was notorious if not famous, was actually trying to snatch the trash can... no, the dominance of Yingzhou!
He also proclaimed himself the "Jiedushi of Liaodong".

You ate too much Bingsushan and your brain is frozen, right?

The forces in Liaodong are much more troublesome than those two hundred Turkic barbarians in Jiucheng Palace!

"According to the distance traveled, General Xue Wanche should have reached Pingzhou." Deputy General Xue Rengui answered without even looking at the map.

Although Xue Rengui was a descendant of Xue Andu, the King of Hedong in the Northern Wei Dynasty, his family had fallen into decline by his generation. He started out as a small soldier and climbed up step by step to the position of Cavalry General based on his military exploits.

Therefore, he had no good feelings towards a certain Jiedushi who was "airdropped" only thanks to the grace of his father.

The messenger came to report:
"Report! An envoy from Pingzhou has arrived!"

"Oh?" Zhang Jian and Xue Rengui looked at each other.

General Xue Wanche was in a hurry to get on the road.

"welcome."

But when something happened, they were dumbfounded.

The visitor was wearing a red round-collared robe of a civil servant, but his body was covered in mud. He was gasping for air and seemed to be in a very urgent situation.

"This official is..."

"I am the former general of the Right Gate Guard, Wei Daijia!" Wei Daijia clasped his fists in front of the audience without even having time to drink a sip of water.

The next day, he and Hou Junji split their troops into two groups.

Hou Junji was stationed in Pingzhou. As the Minister of Personnel, he temporarily replaced Liu Xin, who committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and launched a prefecture-wide search for Li Ming.

He went straight to Yingzhou to seek help.

"It turned out to be Envoy Wei!"

Zhang Jian had also received the court's notification about the Liaodong Jiedushi and his entourage. Knowing that Wei Daijia was the dove that came to occupy his nest, his attitude was inevitably stiff.

"May I ask what you are doing, sir?"

"His Highness Li Ming, the fourteenth son of the Emperor and the governor of Liaodong, has been captured by bandits from Pingzhou. Please ask the governor of Yingzhou to send troops to rescue him!"

Wei Daijia's words made Zhang Jian almost jump up from his seat.

Although I am unhappy with Li Ming, it would be a headache if this guy is gone.

Zhang Jian said without hesitation:
"I will send the officials from Liucheng to Lulong County to assist in the search."

Wei Daijia took a step forward and was almost face to face with Zhang Jian:

"What I'm talking about is sending troops!"

Xue Rengui clenched his fists and rushed over.

Zhang Jian waved his hand to signal his men to calm down, and replied without giving in:
"The troops under heaven belong to your majesty, not your Highness. To mobilize troops across states, you must have a tiger token.

"Envoy Wei is also a general, don't you understand this?"

Wei Daijia's eyes widened with anger.

…………

Hou Junji deeply experienced the pain of "government orders not being able to leave the provincial capital."

As the Minister of Personnel, he was acting as the Inspector, but he was unable to mobilize the officials under him.

They even asked the whole city to post missing person notices for Li Ming and four other children, but they just keep shirking their responsibilities!

There are three types of people in Pingzhou Prefecture:

One type is Liu Xin’s old subordinates, who are extremely rigid.

The first category is Murong Yan's people. Although they work hard to suppress the bandits, they pretend to obey the Marquis's orders but secretly disobey them and report everything to Murong Yan. They cannot be trusted at all.

The third category has the largest number of people, and is a combination of the above two types - they are both traitors and slackers.

"Liu Xin's hanging was quite easy, leaving the whole mess to us..."

Hou Junji was upset.

Five days have passed since the accident.

If anything happens to His Highness Li Ming, he should not be an official anymore.

Just go to Yanshan and become a bandit.

"An urgent letter to His Majesty will arrive in two days."

Hou Junji subconsciously touched his cheek. It seemed that he still felt a dull pain from the punch he received from the emperor that day at Jiucheng Palace.

When His Majesty finds out that they lost Li Ming, I wonder how angry he will be...

"Report." The clerk came to pass on the message:

"A man was stopped at the city gate."

Hou Junji narrowed his eyes:
"You're reporting this kind of trivial matter to me?"

The clerk was so frightened that his face turned pale and he said tremblingly:

"That guy's diploma is incomplete, and he has a rude attitude. He said his name is Xue Xue Xue Wan Che..."

"That guy is here?" Hou Junji said in surprise:
"Let him in!"

The clerk looked embarrassed: "But the city gate officer said that the procedures are incomplete, unless the governor comes in person..."

"Ah, you bunch of rigid bastards..." Hou Junji, who was used to big storms, was also a little upset:

"I'm going, I'm going!"

In this environment where there are no good people around, every extra helper is a good helper.

He acted decisively, leaving the provincial government in two steps at a time, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the city gate.

…………

"Tsk tsk, he's riding so fast in the city. Pingzhou is really a lawless place..."

Li Ming looked at the dust rising outside the provincial government and couldn't help shaking his head.

In order to get some official grain for the village, he, Fang Yize and the other three, as well as Aunt Wu, sneaked back to Lulong County.

He is a professional when it comes to grain.

Because the information prepared by Fang Xuanling recorded in detail the locations of various Changping warehouses in Pingzhou.

The Changping Warehouse was used to stabilize local grain prices, buy low and sell high, but the Changping Warehouse in Pingzhou became a complete decoration.

They were not dealing with the market, but just moving grain back and forth between Lulong County and Linyu County according to custom.

It seems that the purpose of setting it up is not to stabilize prices, but to find a reason to hire a group of clerks and regularly produce a bunch of meaningless account books and forms every month.

This provides a loophole to exploit.

Today is the day for transporting grain.

The Red Turban Army set up an ambush along the way and robbed the petty official from Linyu who was collecting grain.

They didn't rob him of his money or his life, they just stole his official documents.

The clerk was stunned as he looked at the bandits' jubilant backs.

This is a monthly routine. What’s the point of it being snatched away by illiterate bandits who don’t even read it?

It is very useful.

Li Ming added a few notes to the location of the Linyu granary recorded in the official document, and then sent it back to Lulong for them.

"The government has to deliver grain to the granary in Linyu every month. Will they deliver it if the address changes?" Aunt Wu felt that this method was not very reliable.

"Don't worry." Li Ming has great confidence in the Pingzhou officials:
"According to the rigid and pedantic nature of Lulong County, they would send official documents to Bohai even if the address was in the sea."

As he spoke, he glanced at the state capital.

I saw an acquaintance at the gate of the mansion.

It was the servant who was chasing after him that night in Murong Mansion.

The fellow has now changed into Tang army uniform and is wearing Tang armor openly.

The group immediately fell silent, lowered their heads and hurried out of the market.

"Put the revised account book on the clerk's desk and wait for these rigid officials to deliver the food to your doorstep."

Chang Sunyan repeatedly explained:
"The Stabilization Office is on the second floor, the fifth room on the left."

In order to obtain the certificate, he had to get a thorough understanding of the structure of the supervision market.

"I understand. No need to repeat it so many times."

Aunt Wu was skeptical about this idea.

But he still followed the plan, pretending to be a passerby, strolled to the gate of the prison, and disappeared in a flash.

The only outsider left, leaving only the four children guarding outside.

Yuchi Xunyu asked:
"How is it? Is the state capital safe?"

One of the reasons why they got together as a group of four this time was to explore the situation in the county.

If it is safe, we will directly ask people from the county government to escort them out of Pingzhou.

But now it seems...

Li Ming sighed: "I have been penetrated by Murong Yan like a sieve."

Fang Yize lamented:
"Do I have to be a bandit for the rest of my life?"

"We are the rebels, not the bandits. And what's wrong with being the rebels? We are free."

Aunt Wu's sudden appearance startled the four people.

"Ahem." Li Ming coughed dryly: "So fast?"

Aunt Wu was a little confused:
"Don't you think the atmosphere in the county is weird?"

"what happened?"

"I always feel that the streets are too quiet. Whether it's the county government or the prison market, most of the guards have disappeared, and even the city gate guards are missing a few people."

Li Ming and the other three looked at each other.

When it comes to vigilance against government troops, bandits are more professional.

"Wouldn't it be better to have fewer guards? It would make it more convenient to get food." Yuchi Xunyu rubbed his hands heartlessly.

"Oh, that's right." Aunt Wu laughed dryly, but she still couldn't feel at ease. She looked back at the yamen from time to time.

“I always feel like they are…”

"what are you doing?"

"Nothing... Let's go, let's get to the place first."

…………

Suburbs of Lulong County.

The provincial government's grain transport team was driving a team of mules and horses, circling around the mountain roads.

"Is the Changping Warehouse in Linyu County heading this way?" The escorting guard was a little puzzled.

He retrace his steps once a month, but today something seemed wrong.

The leading transfer warehouse officer clapped the documents in his hand impatiently:

"That's what Linyu wrote in their request. Maybe they have built a new granary.

"Ten miles out of the city, up the mountain, turn left, turn left, and then turn left again, just follow the path you take."

Turn left, turn left, and then turn left again. It seems like a circle... The guards didn't dare to say anything and followed the grain team in circles.

As they were turning around, a group of people suddenly emerged from the forest.

"Bandits?!" Everyone immediately became nervous.

But this group of bandits were very strange, each of them had an awkward smile on their face.

"Hey, hey~" The first one was a young lady wearing a red headscarf, forcing a grin:
"We are from Linyu County. We will send the food back for you."

Cang Cao was a little embarrassed: "But..."

"This is an official document!" Aunt Wu immediately handed over the document with the seal of Linyu County.

Cang Cao unfolded it and took a look, his brows immediately relaxed:

"We only recognize official documents, not people. Since the procedures are complete, I'll trouble you all.

"Remember to return the mule cart to us next month."

After saying that, he grabbed the confused guard and turned away.

After they were out of the bandits' sight, the guards could no longer bear it:
"Are those people really the slaves of Linyu County? Why aren't they wearing their uniforms?"

Cang Cao glanced at him:
"Only one tael of silver a month, what are you doing?"

"Ah?" The guard was surprised.

My own practice is still shallow...

…………

"I actually...got it so easily?"

The accompanying Red Turban Army was dumbfounded.

So much food for free, enough to feed the whole village for a long time!

The government even kindly gave away a mule!
Just take it back without a fight?
They suddenly felt uneasy, as if they were getting paid for nothing.

"You..." Aunt Wu didn't know what to say. After a long pause, she finally said:
"How clever..."

"It's a small matter." Li Ming said that basic exercises are not important.

They have all been grassroots civil servants, and he knows the mentality of the grain transport clerks very well.

This is deep in the mountains and old forests, not an official road that is convenient for the government troops to provide support.

If you are robbed by bandits, you may die if you resist, and you will be blamed if you don't resist.

But if the official documents were forged and the grain was falsely collected.

At most, it would be considered as lax review and half a year's salary would be deducted.

Since the bandits have given him so much face, there is no reason for Cang Cao not to cooperate.

The officials in Pingzhou are just stupid, not foolish. They can handle matters involving their lives clearly.

The corners of Aunt Wu's mouth twitched, and she inexplicably felt a sense of relief, "Fortunately, this little guy is on our side. Even if he is a jerk, he is our jerk."

"Don't be in a daze, transport it back to the village, everyone is starving."

…………

However, as we approached Zhangjia Village, the atmosphere became a little weird.

"Be careful, something is wrong." Aunt Wu said in a low voice.

This time, even Li Ming and the others noticed something strange.

The sun is still high now, why are there no sounds of birds or animals in the mountains?
"You, go to the village and check the situation."

Aunt Wu sent a bandit away.

After a while, the man's shrill howl was heard.

"Leader!"

Everyone's heart sank, and they picked up their weapons and ran over.

As soon as we arrived at the village entrance, we saw an extremely miserable scene.

The low house, which looked like a tomb, was completely blackened by smoke, with flames still remaining in the corners.

Between the houses, human-shaped charcoal bodies of various sizes were lying in all directions.

It's not charcoal, it's a person!

They are the villagers of Zhangjia Village, together with the Red Scarf Army who stayed here.

A piece of black charcoal in the shape of a mother moved, and a child came out.

She stared at Aunt Wu and her group and had forgotten to cry.

"This... this is..." Aunt Wu murmured numbly.

"Yuck!" Chang Sun Yan vomited, spitting out all the acid in his stomach.

Others weren't much better than him.

Li Ming looked at the tragic scene solemnly.

"The whole village is slaughtered..."

Sure enough, something happened in Lulong County.

Combined with the fact that the servants of Murong Mansion were wearing Tang army uniforms and the inexplicable mobilization of Tang army in the city.

He had the worst guess -

The government troops joined forces with Murong Yan.

Taking advantage of Liu Xin's death, Murong Yan took control of the state capital.

Murong Yan’s next step is extremely clear.

It can be seen from the burning of Zhangjia Village that——

Catch all these kids who know the secret, along with the bandits who gather in the mountains, in one fell swoop!
The local tyrant wants to control every corner of Pingzhou!

"What should I do? What should I do... Evil..."

Smelling the burnt smell in the air, Li Ming couldn't help but vomit.

But now is not the time to be at a loss.

He forced himself to think calmly.

My current situation is extremely bad.

The whereabouts of his two capable helpers were unknown, and he was trapped in Pingzhou, unable to get out.

And the local emperor Murong Yan is mobilizing the entire Pingzhou's forces to wipe him out!
How can one person fight against the power of the entire state...

Li Ming's mind raced, but he calmed down completely and glanced around calmly.

The Red Scarf bandits were all shocked and saddened.

But the flames of hatred clearly burned in their eyes.

Hatred is the best seed.

“No, I am not alone, and Murong Yan does not control the power of the entire Pingzhou.

"Violence can only be countered by violence, I need an army of my own.

"All soldiers must obey my orders."

(End of this chapter)