The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 426 Seeking refuge with Wang Xin
Taiyuan Prefecture, Gang County.

Because the northern mountainous area fell into the hands of the Datong army, Gang County also stationed an additional force to guard against a surprise attack by the Datong army.

Gang County is a relatively prosperous area in the northwest of Taiyuan, located on the edge of a mountainous region. There are many scattered plots of farmland where people work from sunrise to sunset. Although the harvest has been poor in recent years, they still stay in their hometown to make a living.

Plow the land deeper and weed more frequently.

"Hululu."

A family of six sat around the table drinking porridge, the porridge so thin that the rice was barely visible.

After the men in the family finished eating, the women went to help refill their bowls. They noticed that there were significantly more rice grains in the bowls than in the others, but it was only a little more; the porridge was still very thin, and they mostly drank water.

Even with such a simple bowl of porridge, the man could only drink two bowls.

The three children looked at their father pitifully.

The man sighed, picked up his hoe, and left home, saying, "Dad, I'm going to the fields."

The old man only drank half a bowl of porridge.

He was so hungry that he was as thin as a bamboo pole, and the skin on his face was peeling off in layers, making him look like a ghost. He kept his head down without saying a word. After his son left, he went outside to an open space and leaned against a clod of earth, lazily basking in the sun.

If only we could eat our fill just by basking in the sun, how wonderful that would be!

Hearing his grandchildren crying, the old man helplessly closed his eyes to rest, too exhausted even to cry anymore.

Sure enough, the children who had been crying for a while couldn't cry anymore. They quietly huddled in the corner, too exhausted to even speak.

"When will this end?"

Feeling the sun hanging in the sky, the old man appeared calm on the surface, but in his heart he was filled with anticipation.

Still holding onto hope.

When the man arrived at the field, the winter wheat planted in August and September had not yet sprouted. Winter wheat was also planted in Shandong and Henan. With the same effort and land, the harvest was about 30% of that of spring wheat.

Despite the fact that this method was twice as efficient and yielded half the results, the people did not complain.

What does it matter if it takes a little more effort to get an extra bite of food?

They live in a mountainous area, where the harvest is even smaller. They usually plant soybeans for crop rotation, but due to the severe disasters in the past two years, they have replanted winter wheat. The men carefully weeded, leaving no weeds behind.

"Old Liu."

A group of people walked out from outside the paddy field ridge, and the man's face changed upon hearing the sound.

“You have been in arrears on taxes for more than a year, and we have already notified you.” The leader was a local gentry, accompanied by his henchmen.

"master."

The man knelt down with his head down, without the slightest hesitation, "Our area is suffering from disaster, and the lord knows us inside and out. It's not that we're unwilling to pay, it's just that we have no way to pay. Nowadays, natural disasters are not only unavoidable, but the cost is increasing every year. There's no reason for this."

"Fuck you."

A burly man kicked him hard, knocking him to the ground. "What kind of dog are you? Do you think you're worthy to reason with a master like me?"

"Eh!"

The local gentry stopped his men and said in a gentle tone, "I cannot tolerate any leniency based on the imperial court's regulations. To tell you the truth, the soldiers have come to deal with those of you who have been delaying payment."

The man was beaten but dared not fight back.

He can be beaten without any consequences, but if he dares to fight back, he will be immediately dragged to the yamen and imprisoned.

Once you're in jail, you're practically stepping into the gates of hell.

The jailers won't release someone unless they squeeze every last penny out of the family.

"Sir, it's not that I refuse to pay." The man knelt on the ground again, knowing full well that the hope was slim and that the village chief was a ruthless man who would devour people without spitting out the bones, but he could only hope that the other party would give him a way out.

"Alas." The local gentry sighed and lamented, "I know your difficulties, but the imperial court knows who you are. It's not that I haven't pleaded with the county magistrate on your behalf, but you don't understand the ways of officialdom at all, and no matter who pleads, it won't make a difference."

There were other homes to visit, and the local gentry warned, “If you don’t deliver the owed grain to me by tomorrow, don’t say I didn’t warn you. When the soldiers come, they will not only tear down the walls and drag the women away, but you men might not even be able to save your lives.”

The man looked utterly desperate.

As if remembering something, and grasping at a straw, he tentatively asked, "I heard from the merchant caravans in Datong that the taxes set by the imperial court are actually not high. If the government wants to collect miscellaneous taxes, they should bring the Great Zhou Law to the table; otherwise, they can be ignored?"

"Nonsense."

The local gentry, as if a cat whose tail had been stepped on, bristled and pointed at the man, saying fiercely, "Stubborn fool, you've even learned to talk nonsense! Give him a good beating!"

The thugs behind him swarmed forward like wolves.

They punched and kicked him viciously, and in no time, the man was exhausted.

"Is he dead?"

The local gentry asked with a gloomy face.

"died."

Upon hearing his subordinate's reply, the local gentry didn't even look at the house, and said, "Confiscate this property."

"Why has the Commander-in-Chief come in person?"

The garrison commander of Gang County came out of the city to greet him. Upon seeing General Jiang Heng, he quickly went up to pay his respects.

It's all over Taiyuan lately.

Admiral Zhou Wen is nearing the end of his career, and the most promising candidate to replace him is Jiang Heng. The garrison commander has heard this and is smiling broadly.

"What's going on here?"

"what?"

"This is outrageous."

Jiang Heng said impatiently.

It was freezing cold. Even though we were sitting in the thick sedan chair with a stove under our feet, it was still very cold. It wasn't as comfortable as staying at home.

Having figured out the general's purpose, the garrison commander asked in surprise, "Everyone is doing the same thing, so why are you targeting me? Who wants to harm me?"

"No."

Jiang Heng shook his head. "I guess the admiral doesn't want me to have an easy time."

"The admiral has gone too far." The garrison commander, indignant, cursed, "He doesn't even know if he'll survive after returning to the capital, yet he still has time to worry about the commander-in-chief. He deserves this calamity."

"Anyway."

Jiang Heng interrupted the garrison commander's flattery. He was initially excited, but after hearing it for a while, he got bored and ordered, "Be more discreet lately. Everyone is taking advantage of the natural disaster to seize land. We shouldn't cause trouble for the higher-ups."

"Please rest assured, Commander." The garrison commander assured him.

Come here.

Jiang Heng arrived in the county town and spent several nights indulging in pleasure with local officials before finally returning home satisfied on the fifth day.

With the emperor far away, they had an even better time playing in the countryside.

Mother and daughter worked together.

Then there were the twins, who weren't very good at taking care of people, but it was a novelty.

If it weren't for the worry that the snow would block the roads and prevent him from getting back, Jiang Heng planned to stay for a few more days. On the morning of the second day, he got dressed with the help of a pair of twins and left satisfied.

"Swish swish."

We passed through a grove of trees.

The muddy ground in the forest was suddenly torn up, or more reinforcements rushed in from the depths of the forest. Before they could even count the number of people, they were all shocked and fired their crossbows.

Although the crossbow bolts were small, the dense barrage turned the group into pincushions.

Because the arrows were not powerful enough, many people survived despite being hit by several arrows, lying on the ground groaning in pain.

The group that attacked headed straight for the sedan chair.

"Jiang Heng!"

"Come out, I've been waiting for you for six days."

Wu Liang cursed angrily.

The brothers have suffered enough this time. Everyone is trying their best to hold on. Han Tian stayed in the wild for six days. Everyone was numb from the cold, and two of the brothers even suffered frostbite, but no one gave up.

"You and you guys are?"

Jiang Heng emerged shakily, staring at the group of people in terror.
-
"Oh no."

Someone ran back to Gang County wailing and howling. The news that the general had been kidnapped quickly shocked Gang County.

"What did you say?"

The county magistrate was dumbfounded and repeatedly asked questions in disbelief.

The general didn't come alone; he was accompanied by fifty or sixty servants and more than two hundred personal guards, all of whom were the general's elite retainers. How could so many people not be able to protect a general? On second thought, if even a general with military power couldn't protect him, how could he possibly escape if those bandits set their sights on him?
Upon realizing what had happened, the county magistrate was horrified.

"You, you must quickly send troops to rescue General Jiang."

Upon seeing the garrison commander arrive, the county magistrate quickly spoke.

The guard gave a bitter smile.

“My lord, the kind of people we have are only good at bullying ordinary people. But those thieves are ruthless enough to kidnap a general and defeat elite guards.”

The county magistrate was speechless.

The group of people felt panicked, fearing that they had been targeted by the thieves.

"Go and inform Taiyuan City immediately."

Someone reminds me.

Neither the county magistrate nor the garrison commander dared to delay, and sent someone to Taiyuan Prefecture to deliver the message.

The messenger was not afraid; he did not believe that these villains would have any designs on him and were not worth it.

Hurry up and ride at full speed.

The message was quickly sent to Taiyuan.

"The imperial court has agreed to replace Zhou Wen with Jiang Heng." Tao Yi placed the official document that the imperial court had just sent on the table and gestured for Gu Chen, the ambassador of the Taiyuan Prefecture Agricultural Reclamation Circuit, to read it.

Gu Chen dared not refuse, and stepped forward to slowly pick up the official documents on the table, as if they weighed a ton.

After reading it, I realized it was indeed true.

The governor was not lying. Gu Chen said helplessly, "My younger brother's decision to seek refuge with Wang Xin in Daizhou was a last resort, to protect the family."

"There's no need to say more about this."

Tao Yi waved his hand, "The generals of all the armies have been contacted and are just waiting for the official document from the court. Zhou Wen is nothing but a stray dog ​​waiting to die, nothing to be surprised about. As for Wang Xin..."

With a cold snort, Tao Yi continued, "You have seen the support from the local gentry; they are truly united in their efforts. Once the armies have recovered, it will be time for Xuanfu in Shanxi to join forces and cut off the trade routes to Datong."

Gu Chen had no doubts.

The strength of the Taiyuan army was hard for people to believe, but with the cooperation of the Xuanfu army, the defensive strategy, the support of the imperial court, and the strong financial assistance from the local government, they were able to achieve their goals.

No matter how you look at it, the initiative has returned to Taiyuan.

Taiyuan doesn't need to cause any trouble. Just prevent caravans trading with Datong from passing through Shanxi. Then, if Xuanfu blocks them, Datong will be blocked.

My younger brother works in the military governor's office, and I have been passing on a lot of information.

However, he also had a clearer understanding of the strength of the Datong Military Governor's Office. Although morale was good, the lack of foundation was a fatal flaw. It relied too much on trade routes. If the trade routes were cut off, Datong would not be able to hold out for even a month.

With such unique advantages, how could the Taiyuan army not even last a month?
"The court did not intend to exterminate Wang Xin. The Datong Army was restored to its former state, and Wang Xin returned to the Datong Western Army and continued to serve as its military governor. This shows that the court did not intend to treat him unfairly."

Tao Yi said earnestly to Gu Chen.

He couldn't meet Wang Xin in person, and he was afraid that many things would be distorted during the transmission process. He needed a trustworthy intermediary who could directly convey his messages to Wang Xin.

Gu Chen had no doubts.

If the imperial court intends to promote Wang Xin or promise him greater power, then this is a false edict.

On the contrary, the current imperial decree shows that the court truly intends to appoint Wang Xin as the military governor of Datong West Army. The original number of troops in Datong West Army was only 10,000, and its territory was only in western Datong.

If Wang Xin accepts, then his threat will immediately decrease and return to a level acceptable to the court, which is the only way to ensure long-term stability.

"I will certainly convey Your Excellency's good intentions."

Gu Chen didn't finish his sentence.

Hurried footsteps came from outside, and a person came in and whispered a few words in Tao Yi's ear.

Gu Chen didn't hear clearly, but he saw Tao Yi's face suddenly turn pale.

"what!"

Tao Yi stood up in surprise. The man glanced at Gu Chen, then lowered his head and remained silent.

"Get out of here."

Tao Yi regained his composure and said dejectedly.

After the man left, the room returned to silence. Gu Chen, unsure of what had happened, waited anxiously, speculating as he went.

"You should go back too."

Tao Yi was disheartened.

Such a drastic change made Gu Chen even more curious. There was no secret that could be kept from anyone in the yamen, so he hurried back to his duty room, and sure enough, it was true.

General Jiang Heng was kidnapped by a group of bandits.

Gu Chen didn't understand.

General.

He was accompanied by two hundred personal guards.

They were kidnapped halfway there.

Although he understood each word individually, he couldn't understand them when put together. After a moment of silence, Gu Chen returned home and summoned the old servant to bring back some news from Datong.

The general has been kidnapped.

Taiyuan seemed to be in an uproar.

"Hahaha!"

Zhou Wen, leaning against a tree, his face ashen and needing assistance to walk just moments before, snarled, "I've even made arrangements for my funeral. I've entrusted my family to Wang Xin, hahaha!"

Zhou Wen looked at Jia Huan with admiration and exclaimed, "Your brother-in-law is truly remarkable."

Jia Huan kept his head down.

Always remain humble.

Another remarkable talent.

How did Wang Xin manage to cultivate so many talented individuals?
Zhou Wen knew he couldn't compare to Wang Xin and was completely convinced. He also had a destination in mind and no longer hesitated. "Go back and tell the commander to take over Shanxi as soon as possible. The last blow hasn't been recovered from yet, and after this blow, I'm afraid the morale of the Taiyuan army will be completely shattered."

The Taiyuan Army was not a unified entity.

He gained military power and control of the entire Taiyuan army through Zhang Jifu and his position.

Jiang Heng relied on his own prestige and the support of the new court.

Now that Jiang Heng is gone, Zhou Wen really can't think of any other general in the Taiyuan army who can command respect. As long as he is still in the position of admiral, without Jiang Heng's restraint, the Taiyuan army won't be able to cause any trouble in the short term.

"Please rest assured, Admiral, I will definitely bring back the message to the General without missing a single word."

Jia Huan knelt on one knee.

Zhou Wen was very satisfied with Jia Huan's attitude.

I am nothing more than a defeated foe, a homeless dog.

Compared to the attitudes of Shanxi and the new dynasty, Zhou Wen felt better about joining Wang Xin's service, given the courteous treatment he received from the Datong Military Governor's Office.

Only three days have passed.

News of the public trial of Jiang Heng, the garrison commander of Taiyuan, in Datong spread quickly.

Numerous pieces of evidence were released.

Murder, robbery, rape, theft, and embezzlement were all proven. The people spontaneously captured him and handed him over to the higher-level military governor's office. The military governor's office dared not handle the case and wanted to send him to the imperial court.

The people held them back, holding up the Great Zhou Law and demanding that the Jiedushi (military governor) comply with all their demands.

Thus, a public trial was held.

They were skinned and dismembered, and displayed to the public for a month.

"stop!"

Wei Zhao rushed to Datong in a disheveled state. He didn't have time to go to the yamen (government office) and went to the execution ground himself. He publicly displayed the official seal and proclaimed, "I am the newly appointed Censor of Datong. No one is allowed to kill anyone without my permission!"

Jiang Heng must not be killed.

If he dies, no one will be able to gather the Taiyuan army, and then defeat will be inevitable.

Wei Zhao went all out.

"Either kill me first!" Wei Zhao climbed onto the execution platform and shouted with courage.

Jiang Heng, whose face was ashen, burst into tears when he saw his saviors.

(End of this chapter)