Ma Zikun followed the best route into the mountains drawn on the paper given by the third in command and surrounded several mountain strongholds one after another, capturing nearly three thousand bandits.
This does not include the bandits who fought to the death.
The Black Wind Village, which was the first target of the bandit suppression army, was in a worse situation than the other village villages. Without food, some people were unable to implement their ideas even if they had them.
The first and second in command of the Black Wind Village swore to live and die with the village, and died on the day when the anti-bandit army officially attacked the mountain. The third in command disappeared long ago.
Most of the bandits in the mountain stronghold were killed or captured. The remaining bandits were leaderless and surrendered not long after.
Today, Black Wind Village is just a soulless shell.
The prisons in Luyang were overcrowded, and the bandits who had entered earlier complained that the cells were crowded and that they were not treated like human beings.
There are still bandits in the Luyang Mountains that have not been apprehended. If things continue like this, the cells will be overcrowded sooner or later. Yan Cheng and Ma Zikun suggested: "Why not let them make the best use of their resources?"
Qi Su was there too. His idea was straightforward: to kill if possible, but the court still had to abide by the law when doing things.
Hearing this, I asked curiously, "How do you make the best use of things?"
"Luyang is such a big place, there are always places that need people. We can build roads, repair dams, or reclaim wasteland. We can give them something to do."
"What if they take the opportunity to escape?" Qi Su felt that this method was unreliable.
"So we need to select bandits who still have some humanity, let them atone for their crimes through meritorious service and receive reduced sentences through labor. We must not release those bandits who have killed people without scruples."
"That's a solution."
Ma Zikun nodded and thought silently for a while, considering the pros and cons of doing so.
The benefits are multifaceted. It not only solves the problem of overcrowding in prisons, but also promotes the construction of infrastructure in Luyang...
The disadvantage is that if they are not properly guarded, the wild bandits will take the opportunity to escape and cause trouble for them.
Overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
So Ma Zikun decided to make good use of the bandits, but this required writing a charter first and discussing the details with the officials below.
Yan Cheng only put forward an idea and did not participate in the subsequent specific matters.
After all, he is not an official yet. The reason he can express his ideas freely and have others take them seriously is all thanks to Ma Zikun's trust in him.
Ma Zikun had nothing to do here, so he planned to visit Shikou Village under the jurisdiction of Huixian County. He heard that the unique Yongshan orchid grew there.
My mother and sisters at home all like flowers. We don’t have the Yongshan orchid variety at home, but maybe they would like it.
Yan Cheng's idea was beautiful, but the purpose of this trip was ultimately unsuccessful.
The guards from the mansion came on horseback, blocking their way and bringing Yan Cheng a mixed bag of news.
"Master, a letter has arrived from the capital at full speed, saying that the old lady is dying."
The good news is that the person who looked down on him the most in the Yan family is no longer around, and he can live more comfortably in the Yan family.
The bad news is that his father may be very sad, after all, his biological mother is gone.
No matter what, Yan Cheng must set off for the capital as soon as possible.
It seems that he is destined to have no chance with the Yongshan orchid.
Yan Cheng lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the misty Yongshan ahead. He sighed and asked the coachman to turn the carriage around and head to Huixian where they were temporarily staying.
*
Old Madam Yan was so seriously ill that there was no sign of illness at all. Suddenly one day she was bedridden.
It is said that even the imperial physician was helpless and could not diagnose her illness, and now she has reached the end of her life.
The old lady herself was clearly aware that her end was approaching. After waking up from her coma, she expressed her wish to see her descendants one last time before she died.
The only two members of the Yan family who are not in the capital at the moment are Yan Zhuo and Yan Cheng from the eldest wife's house.
Yan Zhuo is preparing for this year's provincial examination in his ancestral home, Wuding Prefecture. If Madam Yan becomes ill, he will have to observe mourning and will miss this year's provincial examination.
Fortunately, he is still young, and after the mourning period, he will be able to take part in the provincial examination in two years. He will be only nineteen years old at that time.
What Old Lady Yan really wanted to see was her bloodline descendants, and Yan Cheng made it clear how much weight he held in the old lady's heart.
Maybe the old lady didn't even want to see him, the man who occupied the Yan family's resources, before she died.
But as Yan Guangyi's adopted son, he had to make this trip.
Lu Xia did not go out with Yan Cheng today. After hearing the news that Old Madam Yan was seriously ill, he knew that Yan Cheng had to go to the capital, so he immediately asked all the guards and servants in the mansion to pack up.
Others packed up the other things, but Lu Xia didn't trust others to touch Yan Cheng's things, so he packed them himself. He had only packed up half of the house when the cook came to ask him what to do with the other two.
At first, Lu Xia didn't realize who those two were. It was only after the cook reminded him that he remembered that there were two troublemakers locked up in the woodshed.
The third in command and his guards have been locked up in the woodshed these days. Their injuries are getting better day by day. In order to prevent them from escaping, the meals they are given daily are spiked with ingredients.
"Don't worry about them for now. You guys take care of your own business. When the young master comes back, I'll ask him how to deal with them." Lu Xia said carefully.
Lu Xia thought it was just a small episode, but before half an hour had passed, the soprano voice penetrated through the layers of high walls and reached his ears, almost startling him so much that he dropped the vase in his hand and broke it.
"What's going on?"
After carefully putting away the vase that had escaped the disaster, he ran out, asking questions as he ran until he arrived at the deserted woodshed.
Neither the guards nor the people who should have been in the woodshed were there.
Lu Xia: "Where are they?"
His eyelids were twitching violently. He took a deep breath and looked carefully at the woodshed. He found signs of a fight inside and guessed that someone had kidnapped the third in command and his guards.
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