Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 676 Pengzhou Guest

At this time, Yang Yuan was personally interrogating the captured bandits.

When the bandits heard that this general was the newly appointed General Manager of Tongchuan Road, they were immediately scared out of their wits.

Who could have thought that just for robbing two beauties, they ended up robbing the Lord of Tongchuan.

Although it is a laborious task to capture bandits, this deal is not worth it for the government.

But if they really touched this pacification envoy, the Tongchuan Road government would have to bring them to justice one by one no matter how great the cost.

Yang Yuan was the governor of Lu, which was equivalent to the top military and political leader of a province.

For a moment, all the captured bandits secretly hated the village chief: You went there in person to scout the place, but you didn't even find out the man's identity, and you dared to rob him?

Little did they know that this Guanzhai leader, under the guise of stepping on the plate, was actually taking two of his trusted followers to the town outside the mountain to have fun.

This time he discovered that a group of soldiers were escorting a distinguished person, and there were two most beautiful women beside the distinguished person, whom he just discovered along the way.

As soon as they knew that Yang Yuan was the most important official in Tongchuan, the bandits immediately cried and complained about their misfortunes.

The tone was similar to that of the prostitutes, with a divorced father, a sick mother, an underage sister, and a scumbag...

In short, if you have fallen to this point, it is either because of someone else's involvement or because of someone else's harm.

These bandits spoke in the same tone.

The reasons these people gave for becoming bandits might not be without truth, but Yang Yuan knew that even if the misery they described was all true, the evil they had done was already ten times greater than the harm they had ever suffered.

Even if some of them had indeed once been covered in human skin, they are now a group of beasts who have lost their humanity. It would be strange that Yang Yuan would be moved by them.

However, Liu Yanran had never experienced these things since childhood, so she was moved when she heard it.

Yang Yuan was too lazy to listen to their pity. What he wanted to know was how many bandits there were, where their stronghold was, and the scope of their crimes. He also wanted to understand the situation from their perspective.

This place already belongs to the Tongchuan Road. It will be his future territory and people under his rule, so naturally he needs to understand it from all angles.

At this time, three cavalrymen returned. Yang Yuan was slightly surprised to hear that they were people from the Wu family in Pengzhou who wanted to see him.

After a brief thought, he ordered the officer, "Gan Jinjun, take them to the side to continue the interrogation. I don't want to listen to their nonsense. Ask them directly!"

General Gan Zheng agreed and waved his hand to order the soldiers to pull the bandits aside.

Only then did Yang Yuan order the cavalryman to bring the head of the Wu family over.

There are now two major Wu clans in Sichuan. One is the local Wu clan, namely the Pengzhou Wu clan.

This branch of the Wu family rose in Shu during the late Tang Dynasty. At its peak, it was one of the seven most prominent families in Shu.

Since the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Pengzhou Wu family began to decline. Now they are only a famous family in Pengzhou and are no longer ranked among the top in the whole of Shu.

Another surname, Wu, is the Wu military group in Lizhou West Road.

There is no relationship between the two Wu families. In fact, the ancestors of the three giants of the Western Army stationed in Sichuan are not from Sichuan, but all from Gansu.

Just like Yang Yuan is now in charge of Tongchuan, his surname is Yang.

Yang Zheng of Lizhou Central Road also has the surname Yang, but these two Marshal Yangs are naturally unrelated.

Wu Yuan hurried to Yang Yuan's carriage alone. There were several people standing in front of the carriage, but from their clothes and demeanor, one could tell at a glance that Yang Yuan was the host.

So without the soldier's introduction, Wu Yuan leaned forward and bowed, saying respectfully: "Pengzhou Wu Yuan, greetings to General Yang!"

At this time, Liu Yanran had already taken Duozi into the car.

Yang Yuan nodded slightly: "Get up, I am on my way to take up my post, and I didn't expect to meet you, a gentleman from Tongchuan. It's fate."

Wu Yuan was delighted when he heard this.

No matter how high-ranking an official you are, if you want to have full control over the local area, you have to win over the local gentry to use them.

However, if he waits for this provincial governor to choose the target to win over, his Wu family may not be ranked at the top.

The lower your ranking, the less say you will have in front of this provincial governor.

The later you are won over, the less benefit you will get from this provincial governor. In the end, the best outcome may be to keep peace and keep everything the same.

However, he was now at the junction of Kuizhou Road and Tongchuan Road. He would soon enter Tongchuan Road and would be the first person to come into contact with the future Lord of Tongchuan.

As long as the Wu family holds on to Yang Yuan, why worry that they won’t be able to prosper?
As for the fact that Yang Yuan disgraced the imperial court and lost his chance to become prime minister, so what?

For the Wu family, the county magistrate is not as good as the current manager, and it would be better if Yang Yuan could continue working in Tongchuan.

Wu Yuan said immediately: "I have long heard of your great reputation. You are able to win the top three prizes in literature and the great victory in Lingbi in martial arts. You can unite the four seas to submit, and you have a keen eye for solving cases.

The commander-in-chief is so wise and brave, and he will be the ruler of Tongchuan from now on, which is a blessing for the people of Tongchuan. After hearing this, the common people were so happy that they couldn't eat or sleep well.

I was originally doing business in Xiangyang, so I hurriedly left everything behind and rushed back, hoping to personally welcome Marshal Yang and listen to his teachings. I didn't expect to have the good fortune to meet the Marshal here.

If I hadn't met the Marshal, I would have met this group of bandits and I would have lost my life. The Marshal is truly my lifesaver, please accept my three bows!"

After Wu Yuan finished speaking, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times respectfully.

The corners of Yang Yuan's lips twitched slightly.

This guy is the head of a wealthy family in Bashu after all, and his flattery is... so blatant?
This time, Yang Yuan personally stepped forward and helped Wu Yuan up.

After all... no matter how many holes there are, flattery never gets worn out, and it does sound really comfortable and flattering.

Only then did Wu Yuan have the opportunity to take a closer look at Yang Yuan's appearance.

He has an upright figure, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Although he looks young, there is a kind of awe-inspiring demeanor in his glance that looks down on everything.

Wu Yuan couldn't help but become more convinced.

Duozi gently lifted a corner of the curtain and curiously peeked in. Wu Yuan's eyes suddenly swept over, and Duozi hurriedly lowered the curtain.

But Wu Yuan had a sharp eye. Although Duozi lowered the curtain quickly, he still caught a glimpse of her face.

Although it was only for a moment, I felt the beautiful light shining on me and my eyes suddenly seemed bright.

Huh? This person should be the Concubine Liu who made General Yang so obsessed that he was willing to offend the emperor in order to take her into his bedroom, right?
She is indeed a most beautiful woman in the world, making it hard for people to control themselves at first sight. It is no wonder that Marshal Yang is in his prime.

Wu Yuan didn't dare to look any longer and quickly looked away.

Yang Yuan asked about the situation of the Wu family, and Wu Yuan answered every question. Yang Yuan nodded secretly after listening.

A lean camel is bigger than a horse. This man can be used for his own purposes. Maybe he can even be worth a fortune in horse bones.

Wu Yuan, who had been treated as a horse bone, felt flattered when he saw Yang Yuan's gentle tone.

He only thought in his heart that this thigh was the hope for the resurgence of my Wu family, and he must hold on to it tightly.

Wine, sex, money and power, whatever you like, I will give you, so I won’t be afraid of not being able to hug your big thick legs.

Each of them had their own requests, and they were very happy to meet each other.

After a while, Gan Jinjun had thoroughly interrogated the bandits, found out their details, and rushed to report to Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan heard that their stronghold was in a mountain four hills away, and there were only about thirty old, weak, sick and disabled people left in the mountain, so he said, "Eliminate all the evil, send a group of people to destroy the stronghold and bring all the people out."

General Gan Zheng agreed, ordered two well-behaved and obedient bandits to lead the way, and sent one hundred and fifty people to follow them into the mountains.

Yang Yuan and others waited here and dug a deep pit to bury the headless corpses to prevent them from rotting and spreading the disease.

Yang Yuan and Wu Yuan had a very pleasant conversation, so Yang Yuan invited Wu Yuan to join him.

"I've heard people say that the road to Sichuan is difficult, more difficult than climbing to the sky. Since I came to Sichuan, I've found that the mountains and rivers are steep and unique, and they are indeed worthy of their reputation.

Since I have entered Tongchuan, I am also interested in learning about the geography, customs and people along the way. What I have learned from books is always shallow. "

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Now that I have met you, we might as well go together. It would also be nice to hear a more detailed introduction from you, a native of this place."

Wu Yuan was overjoyed and agreed without hesitation.

The bandits' lair is not far away, but there are mountains all around, and if you don't know where they are, there is nowhere to search for them.

Now that we have the bandits leading the way, it will be easy to clear them out.

When the team that was sent out came back, the stronghold had been completely cleared out.

There weren't many valuable things in the mountain stronghold, and Yang Yuan was too lazy to ask the soldiers to hand over the spoils, so he just considered it as compensation for their hard work in crossing the mountains and hills.

Among those brought back were some women, all of whom were captured from nearby townspeople.

Wu Yuan was a man who knew how to behave himself. He immediately ordered his followers to escort these women and send them back to their families, and then he would return to the Wu family on his own.

He didn't dare to waste Yang Yuan's time, so he continued on the road with Yang Yuan.

In Yang Yuan's team, apart from Wu Yuan and a dozen followers, there was a group of bandits tied together with long ropes.

Since Yang Yuan said he wanted to understand the geography of the mountains and rivers under his jurisdiction, Wu Yuan led Yang Yuan from Quzhou, Pengshan, and Liangshan all the way to Pengzhou.

Although it was a small detour, it was all the territory under Yang Yuan's rule. He wanted to learn more about it, so it was not rash.

Along the way, Yang Yuan did not alarm the local authorities, and his guards did not even raise any flags.

Some local government officials were more alert and, upon seeing such a powerful force, they had to come and investigate.

Yang Yuan's people simply replied that it was a military action, and the local government did not know about it, so they evaded the question.

Wu Yuan thought to himself that this was probably the same as a secret visit. If anyone bumped into this provincial governor at this time, the result would be disastrous.

Going further ahead is the area of ​​Pengzhou. Many officials from nearby prefectures and counties have dealings with the Wu family, and some are even relatives.

A few people quietly disappeared from Wu Yuan's entourage. These people had naturally run out to deliver the message in advance, in order to prevent any of his relatives or friends from being rash and becoming fuel for Marshal Yang's three major fires after taking office.

Yang Yuan naturally noticed this, but pretended not to know.

If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. As long as it is not too excessive, he will not be overly demanding.

After receiving Wu Yuan's warning, all the local officials pretended not to know that General Yang was passing through their borders. However, the public security and sanitation in their counties and prefectures had obviously improved. There were no beggars or hooligans to be seen, and it seemed as if people did not pick up things on the road.

Yang Yuan and his companions were not in a hurry. They traveled no more than forty or fifty miles a day, and stayed at every post station they visited.

Because they had left the border area between the two routes, even if there were bandits, they were smaller in scale and no longer robbed the government troops.

Wu Yuan was well-informed and had a thorough understanding of the terrain and conditions of Shu, including its mountains and rivers, cities and towns, villages, roads and checkpoints.

Yang Yuan traveled with him all the way and obtained a lot of valuable information that was rarely reported in the intelligence materials of the "Tongzhou Society".

Wu Yuan greeted all the officials who had close relations with the Wu family, and the Wu Mansion in Pengzhou was naturally the first to send people back to make arrangements.

Just look at this. His daughter Wu Meizhen originally went to visit her maternal uncle's house, but as soon as she arrived in Gongzhou (Chongqing), she was brought back by people sent by the Wu family.

Mei Zhen didn't even have time to say a few words to her uncle.

Mei Zhen was very unhappy when she returned to the Wu Mansion. She was only thirteen years old, but she was very fierce.

Her eyebrows were raised, and her pretty eyes were wide open: "Why did Daddy call me back in such a hurry? Tell me, is it because the Yang family is here to propose marriage again?"

The chief steward smiled apologetically: "The master only told me to ask the young lady to return home quickly, and didn't say anything else..."

Mei Zhen sneered and rolled up his sleeves: "If you don't tell me now, you don't have to tell me in the future, I am Shu Daoshan!"

(End of this chapter)