Qing Yao

Chapter 383 I'd rather believe it exists than not.

Local officials are faced with a choice between a promising official career and a small amount of private, illicit income.

This was the choice given by Zhao An on behalf of the imperial court; there was no room for negotiation.

"I don't care what you did in the past, but now I only have one sentence: if anyone dares to collude with bandits and ruin my important business for a little bit of gold and silver, I will risk losing my official hat and rank to let you know that the law is merciless!"

After saying this, Zhao An left the meeting room without looking back, stepping on the broken porcelain on the ground, leaving behind a group of officials who looked at each other with trepidation in their hearts.

It must be said that this greeting meeting was very well conducted and the effect was very obvious.

Zhao An's high-pressure tactics instilled fear in all officials of Fengyang Prefecture. Those who were required to cooperate cooperated, those who were required to confess confessed, and those who were required to make self-criticisms made self-criticisms. No one dared to outwardly comply but inwardly defy him.

Because Lord Zhao is truly capable of killing.

In coordination with this, Tongzhi An Deshun dispatched personnel from relevant institutions in Fengyang Prefecture to work with the provincial governor's office to form "working groups" and stationed them in the counties under his jurisdiction.

The day after the "work group" arrived in Lingbi County, several village chiefs who had close ties with salt dealers mysteriously disappeared, neither alive nor dead.

When the family came to report the incident to the authorities, they were told that the person was studying relevant laws and regulations of the imperial court and the province in the county.

The family's request to meet was denied on the grounds of confidentiality.

There was no learning involved; what existed was the severe torture and in-depth investigation of these village chiefs.

At the same time, a group of officials and soldiers with no connection to the local area were brought in. In just a few days, the information network that the salt bandits had been operating in Lingbi County for many years was almost uprooted overnight. Not only were dozens of salt bandits operating in the county directly arrested, but hundreds of their informants were also taken into custody.

Similar scenarios were playing out simultaneously in prefectures and counties in northern Anhui where salt bandits were frequently active. This cross-regional, lightning-fast personnel reshuffle and sweeping arrests can be seen as a rehearsal for a military operation, and its significance is no less than that of a direct military strike.

If the "four main points and six corners" were the encirclement and suppression strategy, and the "combination of military, political, and civil affairs" was the specific tactic, then clearing out the salt bandits' peripheral intelligence network was the basic support provided for the success of the strategy and tactics.

Salt bandits were not an organization that ruled over mountains and dominated a region. They were distributed throughout northern Anhui, and some were local tyrants.

Only when something major happens would the salt bandits gather to deal with government troops under the leadership of their two chiefs, Xie and Yang. When things were peaceful, they would divide the area and engage in the illegal sale of salt.

Their main occupation was salt trading; their side job was banditry, which involved resisting arrest by government troops.

Therefore, eliminating the salt bandits' intelligence network was actually a strike on the periphery of the salt bandits, forcing the salt bandits scattered in various places to gather together out of fear and "resist stubbornly," thereby achieving the goal of encircling and annihilating them.

In terms of personnel, although the transfers were all to low-level officials, these people were in very critical positions. Although the scope was small, it precisely hit the weak point of the salt bandit intelligence network.

In a short time, salt bandit leaders in various places either found their men mysteriously disappearing or suddenly becoming deaf or blind, their once reliable communication channels completely cut off, while they were completely unaware of the government's movements.

The smarter ones have already packed their belongings and run away, while the less clever ones are still standing there, wondering what will happen.

One day, a group of burly men armed with knives and guns suddenly appeared at a market in a township in Dingyuan County. They forcibly sold the salt they had brought to the market at high prices, and those who refused to buy or hesitated were punched and kicked.

Not only that, they also went door to door in the town, kicking down doors and demanding food, and taking away any chickens or ducks they saw.

When they left, they claimed to be Xie Laoda's men, saying they were only borrowing some grain from the villagers because of the intense pressure from the government. Similar incidents were happening all over northern Anhui, the only differences being what they stole and the methods of bullying, but without exception, they all called themselves salt bandits.

If a discerning observer carefully observes, they will find that these bandits act with considerable discipline, cooperate seamlessly with each other, and have a clear route when they retreat, which is far beyond the capabilities of a disorganized mob of thugs.

Because they were soldiers selected from the Anhui Green Standard Army who were imposters.

The news spread quickly, and the notorious reputation of the salt bandits for their brutality spread rapidly throughout the countryside. People who had previously felt some sympathy for the salt bandits, or at least fear and unwillingness to cooperate, now felt only fear towards them.

When the government troops arrived after receiving the news, pretending to pursue the salt bandits, the people were all moved to tears, and the number of people who offered clues increased significantly.

Zhao An's insidious tactic of framing others not only completely ruined the reputation that Xie and Yang had painstakingly built, but also gradually won over the hearts of the people from the salt bandits.

Some small bandit gangs on the outskirts were inexplicably framed and attacked by local militias organized by angry villagers, or easily wiped out by government troops who came after hearing the news.

Given the highly mobile nature of the salt bandits and the fact that they might flee to neighboring Jiangsu and Henan provinces to avoid trouble if the pressure in Anhui became too great, Zhao An's focus shifted to "tightening the fence" and catching them like turtles in a jar.

Upon receiving Zhao Anyi's official document requesting assistance as acting governor, Sun Shiyi, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, immediately dispatched troop mobilization orders to the three prefectures in northern Jiangsu and sent a battalion of his own troops to Fengyang to participate in the battle.

While Professor Lou's help certainly played a part, it was also related to the Governor-General's Office's close attention to the salt bandits in northern Anhui.

Xie and Yang, the two traitors, had long been on the Governor-General's wanted blacklist.

In Yangzhou, the Lianghuai Salt Commissioner, Akdang'a, had been waiting for the past few days. The envoy he had sent to Anqing had brought back Zhao An's request for the Salt Commissioner to "coordinate" the issue of 100,000 salt permits. This "living god of wealth" neither refused nor agreed.

The reason is that Lord A is waiting for a reply.

A reply from his uncle Changfu, who served as the Superintendent of the Guangdong Customs.

Better safe than sorry. Although the Yangzhou officialdom is currently buzzing with rumors that Zhao Youlu is the emperor's illegitimate son, and Lord A also thinks it's probably true, there's still a little worry in his heart: what if it's not true?
Wouldn't that mean I'd be tricked and lose hundreds of thousands of taels of silver?

Uncle Changfu had accompanied the emperor on four southern tours when he worked in the Imperial Household Department in his early years, and knew a lot about royal secrets, so he should be able to deduce the truth of Zhao Youlu's matter.

After much anticipation, a reply finally arrived from Guangdong.

"Sir, a letter from Uncle Guangdong!"

Upon hearing the butler's voice, Akdana, who was working, jumped up and quickly snatched the letter from the butler's hand, his fingers even trembling as he opened the envelope.

Whether it's true or false, it's all in the letter.

With an intense longing for the truth, the man eagerly began reading the letter as soon as he took it out, only to be stunned in place after finishing it.

His face showed neither the excitement of knowing the truth nor the anger of being deceived; he just stared blankly.

Uncle Changfu said he couldn't be sure if the matter was true or false, but advised his nephew to err on the side of caution.

(End of this chapter)