Traveling through ancient times.

Chapter 164 Dead End

Zhou Qi knew clearly in his heart that the Viper Gang would never assassinate these family heads.

Because the people who surrendered to these family heads are the real bosses behind the Viper Gang.

These families were stakes they had placed in the local area to extort money from. Getting rid of these family heads would mean cutting off their own source of income.

Someone must have framed me.

But there is no evidence at the moment...

The newly appointed lawyer said: It is obvious that this letter was deliberately sent to the Viper Gang. If that is the case, why don’t we create evidence pointing to Tianshui?

It is indeed easy to be caught by relying on civilian forces, and even if counterattacked, it cannot be made public.

But what the above means now is that when necessary, the soldiers of Zezhou can be mobilized to suppress the rebellion by force.

No matter how powerful Jiang Yizhou and Tianshui are, do they dare to confront the state apparatus head-on?

Zhou Qi listened to his master's detailed explanation and felt it made sense.

Because when he came, he also vaguely heard instructions from above that if he could get rid of this thorn, promotion and wealth would be just around the corner.

Furthermore, from his own heart, he was also very disgusted by such a woman making a fuss there, which was against the moral code.

Zhou Qi discussed the matter in detail with his advisor and confirmed some details with his superiors, then prepared to contact a group of fierce bandits in Mangshan.

The bandits in Mangshan were refugees who gathered there many years ago, robbing passing caravans and bullying men and women.

All young and beautiful women were abducted into the mountains. Over the past few decades, the number of people there has not decreased but increased.

At first, these people robbed all merchants, big or small. Later, they were strangled by the government several times and learned their lesson.

Those large caravans, flying the banners of certain aristocratic families, or under the banners of certain escort agencies that have sworn ties to them, can move freely there.

Ordinary merchants suffered a lot. Robbery was a small matter, but if they were not careful, their lives could be in danger.

However, when ordinary people file a complaint with the government, the matter is generally left unresolved.

The government seems to turn a blind eye to the bandits here.

Everyone nearby knew that it was a bandit's den, and there was no point in reporting it to the police, so they understood something.

However, it is an important road between three states and counties. Not only does it save distance, but the road conditions are also better.

Therefore, these people had no choice but to bow to reality and develop a rule in private that no matter how big or small the merchants were, they would consciously give some money when they passed by here, calling it protection money.

One of Zhou Qi's classmates had served as a county magistrate there for several years, so he knew the ins and outs of the matter.

Now is the time to use them, so he sent a letter of divorce to the people in Mangshan.

Just wait for them to come, then he will have the opportunity to legitimately ask the army to suppress them.

...When Jiang Yizhou got the news, he felt very bad.

To call these people termites is to glorify them. No wonder this country is vast and rich in resources, but the people at the bottom cannot get enough food. It is all because of the collusion between these bad guys.

Go to hell!

Jiang Yizhou had already killed a county magistrate before, so what harm would it cause to him killing another one?

So he took Qi Hao and Liao Qi with him to sneak into the county government office at night and killed the acting county magistrate Zhou Qi, his legal advisor, and their confidants.

There was still a piece of letter paper from the Viper Gang left behind.

She just didn't believe it. If she killed every bad guy who came, would there be an endless amount of bad guys in this world to kill? !

Several important figures died in Jiang'an County before the New Year, and another group died after the New Year.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the upper echelons of Jiang'an County became extremely tense.

But for people at the bottom of society, the world seems to have become fresher.

Those wealthy families suddenly became well-behaved, and behaved themselves. They did not bully men and women or do evil, nor did they seize property by trickery.

But the people above were angry.

At Lord Wang's residence, Master Kang was furious.

Give the order, since Tianshui and the head of the Jiang family are so stubborn, just use force.

——Bandits were rampant in Jiang'an County, so the border guards of Zezhou were ordered to withdraw and take over the defense of Jiang'an County.

They originally wanted to use the Mangshan bandits to attack Tianshui, and then send troops to suppress them with justification.

But the people of Mangshan are not stupid. They have just received the "mission" - this is the "tacit understanding" between them and the government.

The government turns a blind eye to them, and they need to do something for the government when necessary.

In the past, those aristocratic families were very good at suppressing emerging merchants or taking revenge on certain people, and they completed it smoothly.

But this time the mission was to destroy a farm.

If it were an ordinary farm, with their men and horses, they could flatten it with one attack.

But they had long heard of this Tianshui farm. It was said that the woman who was the head of the family was extremely powerful. She had three heads and six arms, was as black as charcoal, and was a smelly female demon.

They suddenly felt a little insecure: once they left Mangshan and their home turf, what if they failed to flatten the farm and the government instead regarded them as tokens of their allegiance?

While he was hesitating, he received the news that County Magistrate Zhou, who had delivered the message to him, had been assassinated.

They were even more afraid to move.

The real bandits in Mangshan did not move, but Lord Wang and Master Kang said that bandits were rampant in Zezhou, and that meant bandits were rampant.

…………

Du Heng, the border defense commander of Zezhou, received the imperial edict, looked at the order, and angrily punched the table, leaving a dent instantly.

Damn, those people are really too much.

At present, the barbarians are harassing the border more and more. Because of the reduction in defense and withholding of military pay over the years, coupled with the fact that their border defense line is too long and the other side is all cavalry with strong mobility, their defense seems very passive.

Often when they received news of barbarians robbing villages and rushed over, the barbarians had already robbed money, killed people, and disappeared.

He had just returned when he received news of another village being massacred... He was already extremely anxious.

And now, this bullshit imperial edict actually says that the two countries are at peace and that so many soldiers should not be stationed at the border, making the relationship between the two countries tense.

He also said that they have been eating for free all these years and wasting military pay...

To hell with peace, to hell with eating free food. If they weren't still guarding here, the northwest gate would have been broken open long ago and they would have marched straight in.

Now, these idiots actually asked him to lead the army to completely wipe out the bandits.

Damn it, isn’t it the responsibility of the local government officials that those bandits are rampant?

They're actually going to air down the border defense?!

Those barbarians have been ready to make a move for a long time. If we relax our guard here, the gates will be wide open and they will be able to enter without any trouble.

Who the hell came up with this idea?

Du Heng almost went berserk because of this imperial edict, but as the saying goes, it is difficult to disobey the emperor's order. If he did not carry it out, it would be considered disobeying the emperor's order. Not only would he be beheaded, but his family members detained in Kyoto would also be implicated.

He was so troubled that he was about to collapse.

But the scene in the court was quite different.

Because Du Heng had not taken any action for a long time, the memorials from the ministers piled up on the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

They all overwhelmingly advocate peace on the border and prosperity for the country and the people.

Those soldiers stationed on the border have nothing to do and waste a lot of military funds every year.

At present, a large group of bandits have appeared in Ezhou. They are rampant in the countryside, attacking government offices, killing officials, and even many wealthy families have been wiped out.

The crimes are so heinous that they cannot be listed in any number.

It is just right to let these soldiers who have nothing to do to suppress the bandits, killing two birds with one stone.

Then the second and third imperial edicts were delivered to Du Heng one after another.