Once Lin Hu died, the two hundred soldiers from the Shenshu Camp he brought with him were left leaderless.
Some of these people had committed crimes together with Lin Hu, while some were innocent. Qi Xu naturally did not intend to kill them all.
"Two hundred miles north of Qingtan County, there is a village called Wangjia. The village is nestled in the mountains, and the only wooden bridge leading out of the village was destroyed by the dragon's tail. It is in urgent need of repair."
Qi Xu no longer looked at the unsightly head, turned around and said, "The people from the Shenshu Camp came at the right time. Since they came here under the name of disaster relief, they should at least be assigned to do something practical."
Jeju and Jeongju suffered such a great disaster.
There were countless casualties, including many local officials.
The officials who were still alive and had connections fled long before the imperial court sent troops to blockade the two states. Some of them guarded the food and kept themselves safe behind closed doors. The rest of the officials remained at their posts and weathered the crisis together with the people.
During this early period, Qi Xu had a lot of dealings with these officials who were still performing their duties conscientiously.
Among them was the commander of the Jizhou Guard, Liu, who had been worried about the construction of the Wangjia Village Bridge in the past two days. Now that the ready-made manpower had been delivered, he would surely be willing to cooperate and make the best use of these people.
"Master, the remaining two thousand soldiers are short..."
Shadow One, who had been following Qi Xu, emerged from the shadows.
What he said were the remaining troops from the two thousand households who were currently rushing here from Yuhe County.
Two thousand people are not as easy to deal with as two hundred people.
The number of people they brought from Jeju, added up openly and covertly, was far more than two thousand, but if they really fought head-on with the enemy, it would inevitably attract more attention from the capital.
Qi Xu wasn't too bothered by this matter.
He has no plans to leave Jeju for the time being.
"Jeju and Jeongju are both major grain-producing states like Hanju. They were severely affected by the disaster this time, and many places are waiting for disaster relief. If we can provide timely support, perhaps we can recover some of the losses."
"What's the difference between two thousand people and two hundred people in the face of a disaster of this magnitude?"
"Since they are here to provide disaster relief, then let's help them first, and we can discuss other things later."
As for waiting until the disaster relief in Jeju is completed...
Aren’t there Dingzhou, Hanzhou, and more than a dozen other states that were also affected by the natural disaster?
…
"Captain Lu, Qingtan County is ahead."
Accompanying the deputy commander of the Shenshu Camp, Lin Hu, who led his men to Jeju this time, was a captain from the Jingxi Camp, whose surname was Lu.
The soldiers under his command were not as well-trained as those in the Shenshu Camp, and their horses were naturally not as fast as those in the Shenshu Camp.
More than 50% of Jeju's official road was destroyed by the dragon's tail. The road had to stop and go along the way, and it took a day to reach the vicinity of Qingtan County.
"King You is in Qingtan County?"
"Yes, the people sent back by Commander Lin told us that King You has been staying here for many days."
After the soldier finished his report, he hesitated for a moment, and then continued: "However, there has been no news since last night. According to legend, Commander Lin should have captured King You by now..."
This is not normal.
Captain Lu frowned and ordered, "Rest where you are."
"First send someone into the city to investigate what's going on."
Two scouts were quickly selected from the team and sneaked into Qingtan County.
The team was stationed less than thirty miles away from Qingtan County. However, two full hours had passed and the scouts sent into the county had not returned yet.
Captain Lu's expression tensed up, "Not good."
This mission seems to be more difficult than I imagined.
It was thought that King You would rather request to depose the crown prince in order to protect himself, and would never dare to think of resisting the people coming from the capital.
Unexpectedly, this "soft bone" that everyone thought was a piece of cake was actually a "hard bone" that was difficult to chew.
Lin Hu and his two hundred soldiers from the Shenshu Camp had been in the city for almost a day and had not yet come out. They were most likely being controlled by King You's men.
The same was probably true for the two scouts who were sent into the city more than two hours ago.
Captain Lu thought for a moment with a sullen face, and suddenly tightened his hands at his side, and decided: "Surround Qingtan County and capture King You."
"Captain?" The soldier under Captain Lu was stunned for a moment, and carefully advised: "Two hundred people from the Shenshu Camp were killed in it, should we..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Captain Lu in a stern voice: "No more waiting."
"Send someone to inform the troops stationed at the Jeju border to come to support us. Our people, take action immediately!"
"Your Majesty only allows King You to have 500 personal soldiers in his fiefdom. Tan, Qian, and Yi are home to many aristocratic families, and the situation has always been complicated. Even if King You dares to secretly recruit personal soldiers behind your Majesty's back, he can only double the number at most."
"We have a total of 2,000 soldiers. Even if we can't capture him, we can trap him in Qingtan County and make him unable to escape!"
Captain Lu couldn't help but sound a little excited.
In this operation, he was Lin Hu's deputy, but Lin Hu was trapped by King You due to carelessness and missed this opportunity to make merit. If he could capture King You himself, he would be able to show his face in front of His Majesty, and Lin Hu would not be able to take away his credit.
After all, I have to save him now!
Captain Lu had no idea that while he was still on guard against people who might steal the credit, he had already fallen into the sword.
And he himself would soon be there too.
…
"Master, the soldiers from the capital have surrounded Qingtan County. Many people are trapped in the city."
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Qi Xu frowned.
It was now evening, and the city gates were about to close, and it was time for people from nearby villages and towns to leave the city.
If we surround the county town at this time, it will probably cause panic among the people.
The people under Emperor Xiaoming are really careless when it comes to doing things!
"First, let the people near the city gate disperse and take shelter in the houses nearby. Do not come out for the time being. Tell Magistrate Lu to stay in the city to comfort the people."
As Qi Xu spoke, he put on his coat, picked up his sword, and walked out.
"Yingyi, follow me up the city wall."
As the county with the largest population and the largest area in Jeju, the county seat of Qingtan County is particularly luxurious and is not inferior to the provincial capital.
Standing on the top of the city wall and looking down, he saw that the soldiers had blocked the city gate tightly.
Seeing him appear, Lu Qianhu, holding a broadsword, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Prince You, I am here by His Majesty's order to escort you back to the capital. Please cooperate."
"I came here to provide disaster relief. Although the disaster has ended, the people here are still suffering. My mission has not been completed. How can I leave?"
"Is Your Majesty Prince You going to disobey the Holy Order?"
Captain Lu frowned and said the same words as Lin Hu said before.
As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't wait for King You on the top of the city to respond.
A sharp arrow pierced his chest.
His body suddenly fell down.
Killed with one arrow!
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