The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 209: Catching thieves requires evidence, while suppressing rebellions only requires coordinates.

"According to intelligence, there are three local powerful families in Long'an Prefecture who were originally chieftains. They are deeply rooted and should not be underestimated."

"One is the Wang family of Pingwu, another is the Xue family of Huya, and the last one is the Li family of Jiangyou."

"Among them, the Xue family of Huya has always been at odds with the Wang and Li families."

"During the Jiajing era, Xue Zhaoqian, the then Pacification Commissioner of the Xue clan, murdered the Deputy Commissioner Li Fan and his son, as well as the entire family of Assistant Commissioner Wang Hua, due to personal grudges, and launched a rebellion."

Inside the Long'an Prefecture government office, Zhao Sheng was giving Jiang Han a detailed report on the intelligence his subordinates had gathered.

"Although the imperial court later quelled the rebellion and implemented the policy of replacing the chieftains with centrally appointed officials throughout Long'an Prefecture, and these three chieftains were all demoted, the feud was completely severed."

"Over the years, this Xue family still retains the customs of the barbarians, and most of their followers are Baicao Bian (Qiang people), who are unruly and undisciplined."

“They controlled the Songpan supply route, making a fortune, and often defied the government.”

Zhao Sheng paused for a moment, then continued his explanation:
"The Wang and Li families, on the other hand, were both of Han Chinese origin."

"Among them, the Wang family of Pingwu was extremely loyal to the Ming court and had a good reputation in Long'an Prefecture."

"Both the Wang and Li families have a tradition of passing down poetry and books, and many of their sons have entered officialdom through studying."

"While safeguarding their territory, they also did not forget to improve people's livelihoods and develop local culture and education."

"Among them, Wang Xi, the ancestor of the Wang family, was the most famous."

According to records, Wang Xi made three achievements during his tenure: first, he "opened up the southeastern fortresses and repaired roads, facilitating travel between Longzhou and the interior";

"Secondly, 'encourage the people to cultivate the land, and the people will then enjoy abundant harvests.'"

Thirdly, "to promote education in the prefecture, we hired the eminent scholar Mr. Lu Zhuowu to cultivate talent."

“Even the largest temple in our Pingwu County, Bao'en Temple, was personally built under the supervision of this Wang ancestor in the fourth year of the Zhengtong era.”

As Zhao Sheng spoke, he would glance at Jiang Han at the head of the table from time to time, and cautiously add:

"The soldiers below are not willing to act rashly, so they have specially sent a letter to you for instructions."

"General, please tell me, what are the procedures below?"

"Is it the old custom to confiscate their property and exterminate their entire clan?"

"still."

Jiang Han frowned and quickly interrupted Zhao Sheng:
"Don't touch it for now, just keep a close watch on it."

His fingers tapped lightly on the table as he fell into deep thought.

These chieftains each have their own responsibilities and spheres of influence in Long'an Prefecture, so it is not easy for them to act rashly.

According to intelligence, both the Wang and Li families enjoyed considerable prestige in the local area and were deeply loved by the people.

More importantly, both families have a tradition of studying poetry and literature, so there must be many capable members in their clans.

For Jiang Han, who is currently facing a severe shortage of governance talent, this is undoubtedly an excellent talent market.

He had even planned that once the situation stabilized, he would prepare generous gifts and personally visit the Wang and Li families.

Let's see if we can poach some talent to work for us.

The other tiger-toothed Xue family member, though unruly, controlled an extremely important trade route—the Songpan supply route.

Thinking of this, Jiang Han looked up at Zhao Sheng:
"The Songpan supply route controlled by the Xue family of Tiger Fang should be an official road, right?"

"Since it's an official road, everyone can walk on it."

"Have you sent anyone to inspect the area? Can we send troops to occupy this trade route?"

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Han's eyes.

"If we can control the supply route to Songpan, we can trade with the tribes in the snowy region in the future and exchange them for warhorses and cattle."

"It could even serve as a springboard to open up a road that leads directly to Qinghai and Xining!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng quickly responded:

"Reporting to the Commander, a few days ago, Lieutenant General Li Laowai led a team to Songpan Garrison to inspect the fortifications."

"But he had only led his troops a short distance from Huangyang Pass when his soldiers began to feel dizzy, lightheaded, and short of breath."

"Left with no other choice, Lieutenant General Li had to retreat."

After listening, Jiang Han nodded in understanding.

He knew this was a typical case of altitude sickness.

Songpanwei is very close to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an altitude of over two thousand meters.

The soldiers under his command were mostly soldiers who had fought their way from Shaanxi.

The Guanzhong Plain has an elevation of only a few hundred meters, and even the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi has an average elevation of only a little over a thousand meters.

It's perfectly normal to experience altitude sickness when suddenly entering a high-altitude area.

Presumably, the Baicao Fan under the command of the Tiger Tooth Xue clan are Qiang people who have lived in the Songpanwei area for many years and have long been adapted to the high-altitude environment.

Therefore, he was able to firmly control the supply route in Songpan and make a fortune.

Jiang Han sighed. Judging from this, it seemed that the Xue clan chieftain was not easy to deal with in the short term.

Just as Jiang Han was considering whether to send someone to contact this Xue family member, sound out their intentions, and express goodwill, someone took the initiative to attack him.

"Report——!"

A messenger, looking flustered, rushed into the hall.

"General! A large crowd of people has appeared outside Pingwu County and is making a fuss around the East Gate!"

"A rough estimate suggests there are at least four or five hundred people!"

Jiang Han frowned and said in a deep voice:
"What happened? Tell me in detail!"

The messenger, panting heavily, hurriedly said:
"Reporting to the commander, these people are all villagers from several villages around Pingwu County."

"They...they see that we haven't distributed the land yet, and they're afraid that we'll swallow all the land and then resell it to them at high rents."

"So they all gathered together, wanting an explanation!"

Jiang Han and Zhao Sheng exchanged a glance, their expressions instantly turning serious.

Previously, when they held a public trial and announced the "Three Agreements of Long'an," these farmers were all overjoyed and deeply grateful.

Now, less than a month has passed, so why has he suddenly changed his mind? You should know that Jiang Han's team responsible for measuring the fields is still traveling around, distinguishing the grades of the fields, just so that the land can be distributed to the farmers more fairly.

The people must have seen these things, so why did they suddenly start making a fuss?
Both of them realized that someone was definitely up to no good in the dark.

Jiang Han asked in a deep voice:
"Is there a leader or someone to guide the team?"

The messenger shook his head:
"They all seem to be local farmers. They all have the same story: they came here on their own initiative to seek justice because they were worried about unfair treatment by the government."

"Moreover, it wasn't just Pingwu County; Commander Shao from Jiangyou County also sent word that a large number of farmers had rebelled there as well!"

Jiang Han nodded coldly after hearing this.

What utter nonsense about spontaneity!

If no one secretly acted as a go-between, how could four or five hundred people have gathered under the city wall at the same time?

Without saying a word, he immediately got up and, with Zhao Sheng and two squads of personal guards, hurriedly headed to the East Gate of Pingwu.

"Fellow villagers, I, Jiang Han, will never break my promise to distribute the land!"

"My men are currently surveying the land and classifying its grades. At the latest, within a month, we will be able to rent these 10,000 mu of land to you clearly and transparently!"

Outside Yinghui Gate, Jiang Han, holding a tin megaphone, was shouting at the top of his lungs to explain to the surrounding crowd.

"Don't worry, just wait for my good news!"

Even though Jiang Han's voice was hoarse from shouting, the people remained unmoved and refused to leave.

"You fart!

“I’ve heard all that you people are rebels from other provinces. How could you be so kind as to rent our land to us at such a low price?”

"You definitely want to seize all the land so you can raise an army to rebel against the imperial court! Folks, don't be fooled by them!"

"Hmph, a bunch of traitors and rebels, everyone has the right to kill them!"

"You're moving so slowly, what if it delays spring planting? In my opinion, it would be better for us to choose the land ourselves and then report it to the government ourselves!"

Amid the crowd, protests rose and fell, interspersed with deliberately incited insults.

Jiang Han hadn't said anything yet, but his personal guards couldn't hold back any longer.

Their faces were grim, and their right hands unconsciously reached for the hilts of their swords, poised to strike.

They were just waiting for Jiang Han's order to rush out and slaughter these ungrateful scoundrels.

Jiang Han seemed to sense something, and quickly turned around and stopped them, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.

These people are clearly being used as pawns; he can't easily go on a killing spree.

Perhaps, if he slaughters the people today, the whole prefecture and even the whole province will know about it in a few days.

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. It's not too late to settle scores after we find the person behind it all.

Seeing that the commander-in-chief made no comment, the guards could only suppress their anger, loosen their grip on their swords, and instead stare intently at the crowd below, trying to see who was spouting such nonsense.

After calming his personal guards, Jiang Han patiently began to soothe the people outside the city.

Finally, after more than an hour of persuasion, he managed to convince the people to leave.

Watching the crowd slowly disperse, Jiang Han's expression darkened. He then waved to summon his personal guard captain, Feng Chengxuan:

"Did you see everything clearly?"

"Who were those people stirring up trouble in the crowd just now?"

Feng Chengxuan nodded with a resentful expression:

"The brothers' eyes gleamed; they remembered it all!"

Jiang Han nodded and instructed him:

"Very well, first take those few who were mixing in with the crowd and making a fuss!"

"Then find a few clever scouts to follow these people from a distance and see where they came from!"

Feng Chengxuan clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, immediately changed his clothes, and led his men to follow.

He acted swiftly, and that very evening, he hurriedly returned with the message to report to Jiang Han.

"General, everything has been investigated!"

“Some of these people do indeed come from the surrounding villages.”

"But most of them came from a village called 'Mupi Township'."

He changed the subject, a hint of guilt on his face, and said in a low voice:

"But those few who were mixed in with the crowd and making a fuss were not caught."

“These guys were very cautious. They blended into the crowd and changed their clothes. The brothers only managed to catch a few decoys.”

"After interrogation, it was found that these stand-ins were just random passersby hired on the spot, and no useful evidence was found."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han waved his hand dismissively.

"It doesn't matter."

"Mupi Township is the territory of the Wang clan chieftain of Pingwu. As long as we find that place, we'll be fine."

He stood up abruptly, his face grim:
"Go and relay my orders!"

"Immediately dispatch two thousand troops out of the city and march on Mupi Township!"

Feng Chengxuan was stunned on the spot:
"General, shouldn't we look for some evidence first?"

"Are we just going to lead the troops directly to interrogate them like this?"

Jiang Han snorted coldly, picked up the cloth armor beside him, and was about to walk out the door:
"Assault? Assault what?"

"This is a deliberate rebellion!"

He doesn't have the time or inclination to look for any evidence.

Catching thieves requires evidence, but suppressing a rebellion only requires coordinates.

　I'll update this chapter first. I'm going out for dinner tonight, and I'll continue writing after I get back.

　　Once I finish coding, I'll update it together tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)