Qing Yao

Chapter 382 Will You Come With Me or Not!
General Yongqing of Jiangning "exceptionally" dispatched troops to escort his family to Anqing. Zhao An knew without anyone's analysis that it must be the result of rumors about his own background.

The effect of positive energy.

He just didn't expect that General Jiangning, who was nominally the most powerful person in Liangjiang, would also believe this rumor.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the old master must have had many romantic affairs during his six trips to the south of the Yangtze River. Otherwise, there would be no reason for these bigwigs in the two rivers region to fall into the trap one after another.

Of course, this is also largely due to the fact that his rise to power was too rapid and the favor he received was too bizarre.

Well, it's like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai – one was willing to hit, and the other was willing to be hit; it was a perfect match.

I wonder what the Governor-General, who holds the real power in Liangjiang, thinks.

The current Governor-General of Liangjiang is Sun Shiyi, Lou's mentor and a former Grand Secretary in the Grand Council. If even Sun Shiyi can't figure out the truth of the rumors about Zhao An's background, this scheme can really continue indefinitely.

They could even go to the capital, but the old master has become senile.

It would be best if he were dead, since there would be no way to verify anything.

However, Zhao An had no intention of arguing with Jiaqing at the old man's funeral about who was the old man's best son, or whether the Qing dynasty's throne should be inherited by the fifteenth prince or by the nineteenth prince. At this moment, he was focused on quelling the salt bandits in northern Anhui.

To quell external threats, one must first secure internal stability.

If the salt bandits in northern Anhui are not completely eliminated, the White Lotus Rebellion will surely cause trouble in northern Anhui, which would contradict Zhao An's grand plan to build Anhui into a base for combating debt collection.

If southern Anhui was Zhao An's money bag, then northern Anhui was his source of soldiers.

How can a region that's a major source of recruits be in chaos?
A memorial has already been submitted to the imperial court, which, in accordance with the previously established tone, portrays Xie and Yang as another powerful group within the White Lotus Sect. Xie Hongyi is Song Jiang, and Yang Biao is Wu Yong, both being the senior disciples of the sect leader Liu Zhixie.

The memorial exaggerated the power of Xie and Yang, claiming that they had gathered 20,000 to 30,000 followers, including 3,000 to 4,000 core members, who were roaming the mountains and forests, robbing merchants and inciting the people. Fortunately, timely precautions were taken, otherwise they would have surely attacked and seized the prefectures and counties.

This exaggeration serves the interests of multiple parties. It is true that Zhao An benefits, but the Green Standard Army generals and local officials who follow the encirclement and suppression can also get a share of the spoils.

If we were to tell the truth, there were only two or three thousand salt merchants, then the credit would be greatly diminished, and it would be utterly insignificant.

The salt bandits are certainly aware that a large number of Green Standard Army soldiers are gathering in the Fengyang area, but due to Zhao An's excellent secrecy, they are currently unaware that this large-scale gathering of Green Standard Army soldiers in Anhui is aimed at them. Even if they did know, they probably wouldn't take it seriously, given that the Green Standard Army has suffered several defeats at their hands.

In order to mislead the salt bandits, Zhao An ordered An Deshun, the magistrate of Fengyang, to send someone to "negotiate" and demand that the salt bandits release Baili Yunlong, who had been detained. In this way, Fengyang could maintain a peaceful coexistence with the salt bandits.

To make the story seem more believable, An Deshun even wrote a private letter to the two leaders of the salt bandits, subtly indicating that they were detaining the acting governor's men, and that the acting governor was now demanding their release from Fengyang, putting Fengyang under a lot of pressure.

In plain language, it means the province and the city want the person. If you don't hand the person over, the city will be in a very passive position, and it will be difficult for me, the acting prefect, to carry out my duties.

The messenger was a low-ranking official, and various clues indicated that this official was most likely an informant for the salt bandits in the prefectural city.

Zhao An was full of confidence in eliminating these salt bandits.

No matter how fierce the salt bandits were, they were still desperate salt merchants. Unlike the rebel army, they did not have a program or any ambition. Even if their leaders believed in the White Lotus Sect, their organizational structure was still a "black and evil" force. Zhao An, on the other hand, mobilized resources from the entire province and even outside the province to launch a comprehensive attack. Under such heavy blows, the salt bandits were destined to be powerless to resist.

There is no doubt about this. No matter how corrupt the officialdom is, as long as officials reach a unified understanding and take a firm stance, the power of mobilization can crush those salt smugglers.

Xie and Yang are not Huang Chao.

Intelligence is paramount in suppressing bandits.

Based on past failures in suppressing bandits, Zhao An believed that the key to the salt bandits' repeated success in eradicating them lay in their deeply entrenched network of relationships in the local area.

In some places, local militia members, yamen runners, soldiers, and even some low-ranking officials became informants for salt bandits, either for personal gain or under threat.

Often, before the government troops could even move, word had already reached the bandits' hideouts. Coupled with the public's sympathy for the salt bandits, targeted crackdowns were rarely effective.

Knowing this well, Zhao An took the practice of "employing people from other places" to the extreme and strictly implemented it.

The officials and patrolmen of County A will be transferred to County B, then the personnel of County B will be transferred to County C, and finally the personnel of County C will be transferred to County D.
Along with these armed yamen runners and patrolmen, low-level officials with direct interests in salt were mobilized. The yamen also monitored officials who might be colluding with salt bandits through self-inspection, using this temporary method to cut off the salt bandits' access to intelligence through official channels.

The decision to "employ people from other places" was issued in the form of an official document from the Provincial Administration Commission. Of course, it was not explicitly stated that it was to deal with salt bandits, but rather that it was a self-inspection and self-management of county-level governments under the pretext of rectifying officialdom.

The county magistrate, as the official in charge of the seal, does not need to be transferred. Firstly, the transfer of county magistrates is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, and the provincial governor only has the right to make suggestions. Secondly, county magistrates are officials who are appointed on a temporary basis, and their term of office is usually only three or four years. Even if they have any vested interests with salt bandits during their term of office, the involvement will not be too deep.

This includes the assistant officials, namely the county magistrate and the registrar.

After all, Xie and Yang had been in power in northern Anhui for over twenty years, during which time countless local officials had come and gone.

The key personnel to be mobilized are the inspectors with anti-smuggling duties and the tax officials who have certain management authority over the salt industry.

Zhou Zhengye, the patrol inspector of Lingbi County, was the first person to be transferred. Without any report or clues, it was clear that he had business dealings with salt bandits, because the illegal salt trade in Lingbi County was so rampant that even legitimate salt merchants could not sell their salt normally in the county.

Soon, An Deshun, the acting prefect of Fengyang, issued a transfer order that moved Zhou Zhengye from Lingbi to Huaiyuan County.

As a low-level official, Zhou Zhengye was certainly unaware of the major events in the province. Although he was puzzled when he received the transfer order, he dared not disobey and had no choice but to pack his things and hurriedly go to Huaiyuan County to take up his post.

Little did they know that no sooner had they left than a team of elite soldiers dispatched from Anqing Fubiao took over the Lingbi Patrol Office and disarmed and controlled the patrolmen.

A dozen or so staff members sent by Fengyang Prefecture quickly moved in. Without saying a word, under the pretext of "rectifying internal affairs," they not only separated and investigated the patrol soldiers, but also gathered all the baojia, post station soldiers, and even the white-collar workers of the yamen in Lingbi County and reorganized them, completely destroying the original government system of Lingbi County.

The county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and the registrar all remained silent in response.

Because they had just been summoned to the prefectural city for a meeting a few days ago.

The meeting was chaired by the Assistant Magistrate, but the speaker was none other than the Acting Governor Zhao, a second-rank official.

During the meeting, Lord Zhao slammed his fist on the table several times and even smashed a teacup.

The central message is simple: "Either go with Lord Zhao, or Lord Zhao will ask you to leave!"

(End of this chapter)