Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 210: Lord Xuande is the best
In mid-May, nearly a hundred powerful families in Xuzhou started a riot, but the Qingzhou army was even faster in preparing its troops to quell the rebellion.

Since the uprising, the manors of powerful families have been attacked every day. In less than half a month, a total of 22 powerful families in Xia Pi County and Donghai County have been wiped out.

The nobles and powerful families who did not participate in the rebellion were deeply shocked that such a massive rebellion was suppressed so quickly.

The Qingzhou army seemed to have been prepared. Siege rams were hidden in many of their camps. When they encountered a rebellion, they would simply push out the battering rams, break through the walls and kill their way into the manors of the wealthy families.

Many rebellious clan leaders never figured out until their death why Liu Bei's soldiers reacted so quickly. Liu Xuande was clearly not in Xuzhou, so why could he command the soldiers at will? They could only set off with deep doubts.

When Sun Ce led his army from Pei State to Langya County to fight the rebels, Chen Deng in Xia Pi County also received the appointment documents. He was secretly delighted and immediately handed over the final matters of quelling the rebellion in the county to Taishi Ci, and hurried to Guangling County with his entourage.

Although Guangling Prefect Zhao Yu was well-known in Xuzhou for his virtue, Chen Deng knew very well that he had no adaptability and was indecisive. It was impossible for him to handle these military affairs.

Fearing that the situation in Guangling might get out of control, Chen Deng took an official ship downstream to Xutai County, then changed to a horse-drawn carriage and traveled day and night to Guangling County.

Because he was in such a hurry, he felt dizzy from the bumpy ride. He stopped the carriage and asked weakly, "How long will it take to get to Guangling?"

There were more than 30 people in the entourage, many of whom often traveled between Xia Pi and Guang Ling and were very familiar with the roads. After carefully identifying the direction, the two men bowed and said, "Mr. Chen, it's probably still about 160 miles away. There should be a pavilion not far from here. Why don't you go there to rest for a while? It won't be too late to continue on your journey after you recover."

Rebellions broke out in Guangling County, and Chen Deng had long ago warned his followers not to call him "prefect" and also not to raise flags, as it would be too obvious if they encountered rebels along the way.

Chen Yuanlong didn't want to die on the way to his new post.

After listening to his attendant's suggestion, Chen Deng waved his hand and said, "That's great. Drive the carriage slowly. Your Excellency always says that the body is the foundation of a person. Only by taking good care of oneself can one live long. Today, we will find a pavilion to rest for a night and continue to Guangling County tomorrow."

"You have traveled with me all this way, and I think you must be very tired. When we get to Guangling, each of you will receive an extra 500 coins."

Chen Deng said comfortingly.

When the followers heard this, they were overjoyed and smiled, "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for the generous reward!"

Counting the five hundred coins promised earlier and the remaining five hundred, that would make a total of one thousand coins.

Once I have collected a little more money, I can pay back the horse money, saving the trouble of repaying it to the state department in quarterly installments.

Ever since Lord Xuande came to Xuzhou, some horses have been shipped in from the north, and the price is much cheaper than before. Before, it cost 4,500 coins to buy a horse from a merchant, but now it only costs 3,000 coins to buy one in the state. You can also repay it in quarterly installments based on your personal reputation or by finding someone to guarantee it. After signing the contract and stamping the horse's leg, you only need to pay 500 coins to ride the horse home.

Not only that, the horses can even enjoy free treatment from horse doctors for three years at any pavilion or inn in Qing, Yan and Xu states. This is undoubtedly much more cost-effective than buying horses from merchants.

Lord Xuande's arrival in Xuzhou has made the lives of the knights-errant and the common people much better. We must not allow these troublesome tyrants to disturb the peace.

Many followers in the team couldn't help but yell and curse when they thought of this.

As soon as Xuzhou was cleared of the chaos during the time of Lord Tao, these lawless tyrants jumped out to cause trouble. Lord Xuande should have dismissed you incompetent people to prevent you from becoming officials and causing trouble everywhere.

In just a moment, Chen Deng and the others had already reached the pavilion. Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air and stuck into the ground, shaking. "Who are you? Do you have any proof of passing by here? If not, I advise you to return to your hometown as soon as possible. Lord Xuande's army will be here soon. Don't listen to the words of the powerful and lose your life."

Several guards stood on the meter-high watchtower inside the pavilion, drawing their bows and arrows, staring coldly at the sudden arrival of the troops. One of the guards shouted loudly.

The pavilions were responsible for dealing with thefts and murders in the villages, and were equipped with five weapons, bows and crossbows, halberds and shields, swords, knives and armor. These weapons were more than enough to capture and kill thieves with swords and sabers, shields and armor on normal days. But now, faced with the rebellion of the local tyrants in various counties and villages, although there was a pavilion within a radius of ten miles, there were less than ten people including the pavilion guards and the pavilion chiefs.

Faced with hundreds of powerful troops, they could only block the gate and guard the pavilion from a high place. They had just experienced a fierce battle a few days ago, and even the pavilion chief was unfortunately killed on the spot.

If the Fengxian Camp had not been suppressing the rebels in the nearby village, and if a scout happened to see the smoke of the beacon fire here, they would probably have all died here.

"Don't panic, don't panic. We are county officials who came from Xia Pi to Guang Ling on official business. We naturally have a talisman as proof. You can check it carefully."

The big man with a thick beard who was in the lead rode his horse forward and explained with a bow.

Then he took out the talisman in his arms and raised it, slowly approaching the pavilion, muttering: "Don't shoot arrows, we are the officials and followers, we are all good people, and we have nothing to do with those traitors."

The big man spoke very loudly, and was afraid that the guard standing on the watchtower didn't hear him, so he let go and shot him dead with an arrow.

He was not wearing any armor, so if he was hit by an arrow, he would be seriously injured if not killed.

After throwing the talisman in, the pavilion father inspected it for a long time, bowed to the door and shouted, "Don't blame us, officer. We are doing our duty. The gate of the pavilion is blocked by mud and it can't be cleared for a while. If you want to rest, you might as well take advantage of the light before it gets dark. There is another pavilion twelve miles south. Whether it is guarding the pavilion or having more weapons such as spears, halberds, bows and arrows than here, it is more suitable for resting."

Ting's father shouted helplessly and sighed in his heart.

Pavilions were set up beside the roads, and officials coming and going could stay there with tokens. However, not every pavilion could meet a high-ranking official. Even the patrolmen and village stewards who were in charge of the security of several villages could only be seen once or twice a month.

Even if the head of the village was still there, it would be difficult to afford to offend an official like this who came to take up his post with dozens of followers, but there was really nothing that could be done now.

It would take at least several hours to remove the mud blocking the door. However, after the other party left, there were still some powerful people around who had not been subdued. If the rebels suddenly arrived, there would be no time to block the door, and all the guards would surely die in battle here.

With this in mind, it doesn't matter whether or not you offend the officials on official business. You can't escape death anyway, so you might as well live a little longer and hold them accountable later.

After Mr. Ting finished speaking, many of his followers immediately started to curse angrily.

Damn it, I finally found a place to rest, but I was driven ten miles away.

Chen Deng heard it very clearly when he got off the carriage. He understood the difficulties of the guards. If he had not been left with no other options, he would never have dared to offend the superior official.

He sighed slightly and said, "Please don't make things difficult for the guards. Let's rest outside the pavilion for a while before continuing on our journey."

(End of this chapter)