Qing Yao

Chapter 395 is pretty generous, isn't it?

The clerk's grasp of people's hearts and analysis of the situation were quite accurate. His extremely sincere words swayed the hearts of all the salt bandit leaders.
As Chen Zhijie said, the salt bandits of Black Rock Village would definitely be treated well if they surrendered now, because they had already demonstrated their strength and value. Zhao An also needed them as "horse bones" to further induce the other salt bandits to surrender, thereby achieving the goal of subduing the enemy without fighting.

Even if they don't offer any special privileges like bestowing titles and privileges upon their wives and children, giving them a legitimate government job is a certainty.

If we don't surrender, there's no other way but to wait for death.

Xie Hongwu naturally understood the intricacies of the matter, and stared intently at Chen Zhijie, trying to detect a trace of deceit in the other's calm eyes.

But he failed.

The young clerk's eyes were not only calm, but also sincere.

Unlike his brother Xie Hongyi, who joined the White Lotus Sect, became a disciple of its leader Liu Zhixie, and vowed to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and establish a new world under Maitreya, Xie Hongwu did not believe in the White Lotus Sect's seductive lies. Therefore, he deliberately kept his distance from his brother and another bandit leader, Yang Biao. His reason for staying at Black Rock was simply out of brotherly affection.

It was neither Xie Hongwu's original intention to fight the government to the bitter end until both sides were destroyed, nor was it the original intention of the leaders in the hall who made their fortune by selling salt.

If I were to die in this godforsaken place, not only would I not see my parents, wife, and children before I die, but I would also be reluctant to give up the family business I've worked so hard to build.

The silence in the hall continued. The leaders who had been the most vocal earlier had fallen silent, exchanging complicated glances or unconsciously grinding their toes on the ground.

These people couldn't openly express their opinions, since the Xie brothers had the most men in the village. If Xie Hongwu refused to surrender, they might be killed by him if they made a statement now.

The pressure naturally fell on Xie Hongwu, the de facto leader of the stronghold.

Chen Zhijie was in no hurry to persuade him further. His meaning was already very clear, and saying anything more now would not only be of no use, but might even have the opposite effect.

Haste makes waste; whether to surrender or not is a decision the bandits themselves need to make.

After a long silence, Xie Hongwu suddenly reached out and pulled the dagger from the table, then shouted, "Fine, since Lord Zhao wants me to do some good deeds, then I will! Collecting the corpses and treating the wounded are all fine with me, but you must also return the bodies of my brothers intact!"

"A word is settled!"

Chen Zhijie cupped his hands in greeting, a great weight lifted from his heart, knowing that the most crucial step had been taken.

"In half an hour, each of us will send one hundred men to meet in the canyon. No weapons are allowed."

Xie Hongwu set rules for the handover.

"it is good!"

Although Xie Hongwu did not explicitly express his surrender, Chen Zhijie was already satisfied, knowing that the "seed" he had planted in the heart of the salt bandit leader would soon sprout and take root. Therefore, he said no more and calmly left the council hall under the complex gazes of the bandits.

Upon returning to the Qing army camp, Chen Zhijie immediately recounted the negotiation results and his efforts to persuade the salt bandits to surrender, without daring to conceal anything.

He then knelt down and said, "Without your permission, I promised the thief that I would be given a proper birth. Please punish me!"

"Zhijie, what crime have you committed? Even a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. Moreover, if you can successfully persuade the rebels to surrender, you will be doing me a great favor and making a great contribution to the court. You have only merit and no crime!" Zhao An smiled and personally helped Chen Zhijie up from his kneeling position. He ordered Lao Song to draft a memorial in his name to recommend Chen Zhijie to the court for the rank of seventh grade, and to fill the vacancy in Anhui Province later.

It was said to be a petition to the imperial court, but in reality it was just a notification to the Ministry of Personnel.

A seventh-rank official, let alone acting governor, could even be guaranteed a position as a provincial governor.

The Ministry of Personnel was controlled by Heshen's faction. "Reporting" was just a formality. Who would dare to mess with a favorite of Heshen who had been promoted by him?

He also ordered Chen Zhijie to temporarily serve at the military headquarters, with his salary paid at the level of a seventh-rank candidate county magistrate, and to be directly responsible for the handover.

As agreed by both parties, Chen Zhijie led one hundred unarmed Fubiao soldiers to the canyon to collect and treat the bodies of dozens of dead salt bandits, and returned the bodies of those dead.

Throughout the process, the two sides kept a distance from each other and were vigilant, but there was no tense atmosphere.

In the following days, Black Rock Village was like a cauldron about to boil over; the surface was calm, but the inside was churning with conflicting opinions, whether to surrender or not.

The Qing army did not stop building fortifications because the salt bandits might surrender. The trenches and walls became denser day by day, and the patrols continued day and night, completely severing all contact between Black Rock Village and the outside world.

Unwilling to give up, Xie Hongwu organized several small-scale probing breakouts during this period, but they were all driven back by the well-prepared government troops with crossbows and muskets. The few corpses left behind were all sent back by the Qing army, and the wounded were given simple treatment by the Qing army and then sent back on stretchers.

These events, coupled with Zhao An's promise as the top military and political leader in Anhui, caused the seeds that Chen Zhijie had previously sown in the hearts of the salt bandit leaders to sprout rapidly.

With the grain reserves in Heiyan Village dwindling day by day, Xie Hongwu had no choice but to strictly control the rations. The days of drinking wine from large bowls and eating large chunks of meat were gone forever.

The lack of food best reflects reality, and panic spread like a plague among the salt bandits.

The first to take action was Chen Si, the head of the salt merchants in Huaiyuan County. On a foggy morning, he led a dozen of his men down a cliff with ropes and ran towards the Qing army camp.

After their weapons were confiscated, Chen Si and the others were not tortured as they had imagined, nor were they killed by the Qing army as promised. Instead, they were given a good meal first.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhao An came over to visit them. He comforted them with gentle words and reiterated the principle of "those who are coerced will not be questioned, the ringleaders will be punished, and those who come to surrender on their own initiative will be pardoned for their previous crimes." He then ordered on the spot that travel expenses be given to Chen Si and the others, that those who wished to go home be released immediately, and that those who wished to stay and serve be incorporated into the Fu Biao Auxiliary Army Battalion, and that they would be promoted and rewarded for their future merits.

Surprisingly, Chen Si and the others all chose to stay and serve the Qing army, each one practically vowing to fight to the death with their former comrades.

Such actions stemmed from concerns that the government might renege on its promises and settle scores with them later. To avoid being purged, they had no choice but to use the blood of their comrades to prove their genuine remorse and trustworthiness.

Zhao An was well aware of this and was willing to give these people a chance. Although he was determined to eliminate Xie and Yang and completely eradicate the White Lotus Sect in Anhui, he still wanted to make good use of the group of desperados under the two bandits, since these desperados were naturally indifferent to the Qing government.

He said to Lao Song, "The way to control them is to use both kindness and severity, to make them fearful and grateful. In time, these desperados will not only be grateful to me, but will also fear my methods. In this way, they will surely become a sharp knife in my hand, and I can send them to the Forbidden City to broaden their horizons."

After saying that, as if thinking of something, he patted Old Song on the shoulder with a touch of crude amusement: "When the time comes, the Emperor's woman will be mine, and the Emperor Emeritus's woman will be yours. We'll share the hardships and the joys, isn't that fair!"

(End of this chapter)