Chapter 124 The Bandit's Den Was Wiped Out in One Go
The four bandits were tied up like dumplings.
The bandit leader was knocked unconscious by Zhao Sanniu with a hoe, and the remaining three men had their thighs bitten and bleeding, and they were so sad that they could not even cry.
During the day, locusts passed through and ate up all the crops on their mountain. When they went down the mountain, they heard that many villages had managed to save some food. They wanted to check out which village had the most food left, and then wait for a few days for the harvest before grabbing the food. After finally determining Dahe Village and memorizing the route, they were about to return home when they met four wild wolves on the way.
The four wolves' green eyes gleamed eerily, and their legs went weak. Fortunately, they had long knives and decided to fight to the death.
But the wild wolves were too cunning. One of them attacked from behind and knocked down two of them. Then chaos broke out and the four people were bitten by four wolves. They could have picked up their long knives to resist, but suddenly a group of villagers came and tied them up without saying a word and stuffed rags into their mouths.
"No one is allowed to spread this word," Li said solemnly. "There can be as many as one or two hundred bandits on a single mountain. If word gets out that these four people were scouting the area and were tied up by Dahe Village, bandits will definitely come to retaliate. We are just ordinary people; we can't afford to offend these people."
Everyone present nodded immediately and fell silent.
It was a long night, and many people didn't sleep well.
The head of the village did not even sleep all night. At the time of Yin, which was around three or four o'clock in the middle of the night, when the whole village was still asleep, he woke up Zhao Da and asked his two sons to escort the four bandits onto the ox cart. He covered each bandit with a wooden basin and piled firewood on top, making them look like ordinary farmers going to the town to sell firewood.
When the ox cart arrived at Ping'an Town, it was still dark and the city gates were not open yet.
After waiting for more than half an hour, the city gate was finally opened. Zhao Da drove the ox cart into the city. The streets were empty and silent, with only the sound of the wheels turning.
There was a locust plague yesterday. Although the locusts did not stay in the county town, the sight of a large group of them flying across the sky was enough to frighten people.
Magistrate Shen inspected various villages, and even helped exterminate locusts in the nearest village. He was a bit overweight, but he lost four or five pounds in the past few days due to exhaustion. Because he was so tired, Magistrate Shen slept until dawn.
Yuan, the clerk, hurried in to report: "Your Excellency, Zhao, the village head of Dahe Village, has arrived."
Magistrate Shen snapped back to reality and quickly put on his official hat: "Quickly, invite the person in."
If it weren't for Zhao Lizheng's advice, their Ping'an Town would have been finished this time. Not only did they not die, but they also got to know the prefect because of this incident, and his political achievements were also recorded in a bright spot.
"Your humble servant greets His Excellency the County Magistrate!" Zhao Lizheng knelt down and saluted. "This humble servant has come to deliver something to His Excellency the County Magistrate."
Magistrate Shen looked at the oxcart that had come in, which was piled high with firewood.
He smiled warmly and said, "Come on, whatever else you want to bring, the county government doesn't need it. Stop kneeling and get up."
Zhao Lizheng walked to the side of the ox cart, took down the dry firewood, and then took down four large wooden basins, revealing four people tied up like dumplings.
"Waaaaah!"
Except for the bandit leader who was knocked unconscious, the other three bandits cried for help.
They were locked up in the duck shed by this damn guy for a whole night. They were tied up and unable to move, and the little ducks even shit on them.
The wounds on their legs were not treated, and the blood kept flowing until they scabbed over. They suspected that they would become crippled.
Magistrate Shen immediately recognized the group as bandits and convened a court session for questioning.
They turned to banditry because the crops failed; they were all just trying to survive. Who would want to risk their life for a living?
Before Magistrate Shen could even use torture to extract a confession, the three men revealed their location on the hilltop, the secret code for entering the mountain, how many able-bodied men, women, and children lived there, and how many heinous acts they had committed over the past year… all these details were revealed.
Magistrate Shen immediately summoned people.
Because of the two matters of digging canals and eliminating locusts, Magistrate Shen selflessly informed the neighboring county. This time, when he borrowed manpower, the magistrate of the neighboring county did not hesitate and each borrowed twenty yamen runners, for a total of eighty yamen runners, who set off in a grand procession into the mountains.
The bandits on this mountain only numbered forty or fifty able-bodied men. Magistrate Shen, seeking stability, gathered eighty men to come together. Eighty men, armed with armor and spears, posed no challenge in dealing with this rabble. Without losing a single soldier, the bandit stronghold was wiped out.
Magistrate Shen beamed from ear to ear: "Village Head Zhao, you are truly my lucky star."
With his achievements in dredging canals, eradicating locusts, and suppressing bandits, his political record is secure, and a promotion next year is within reach.
Dahe Village.
The afternoon sun was very strong.
When Wen brought the lantern seeds she had collected, Cheng Wanwan said, "Mother Dawang, please tell everyone that this is the last time we're collecting lantern seeds. We won't be collecting them this year."
Madam Wen nodded: "Okay, I'll let everyone know in a bit. If I may ask, since you're no longer making ice jelly, what are your plans?"
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "After the autumn harvest is over and autumn officially begins, I'll see what kind of food I can make in autumn, and then I'll try making it in town."
She has reached cooperation with the owners of restaurants, hotels and teahouses in the nearby town, which means she has a sales channel, making it easier to sell food in the future.
However, we still need to study what exactly to sell.
"Sister-in-law, let me say something shameless," Wen said a little embarrassedly. "If you need me in any way, just ask. I'd also like to learn some business skills from you."
Originally, she didn't have much ambition and just lived with her mother-in-law. But these past two days, Dawang has been studying and writing with her, and he's been very enthusiastic. If Cheng Zhao stops teaching in Dahe Village in the future, she's thinking of sending her son to town to study for a few more years. Of course, it's not for the sake of taking the imperial examinations, but because she hopes her son can read and write more, as reading makes people smarter.
But studying costs money, and she couldn't ask her mother-in-law to use the public funds to support her son's studies, otherwise the third wife would have objections.
After spending some time with Wen, Cheng Wanwan had a better understanding of what kind of person he was. Wen was a man of few words, an honest man who got things done, and she didn't mind lending a hand to him.
Cheng Wanwan said, "It depends on what Da Wang Niang is good at, whether it's cooking, embroidery, or even weaving straw mats. As long as she's better than others, she can make money from it."
Mrs. Wen's eyes lit up: "I'm not very good at embroidery, but Xiahua is okay. Tomorrow I'll ask her to bring the embroidered handkerchief over for my sister-in-law to see."
As the two were talking, Mudfish from next door came running over quickly, shouting, "Aunt Zhao, something bad has happened! A lot of people from the Cheng family have come. The patrolmen won't let them in, but they're trying to force their way in..."
Cheng Zhao came out from the inner room.
He stood in front of Cheng Wanwan with a serious face: "Second Aunt, I'll take care of this matter."
He looked into the distance and saw the head of the Cheng family, who was also his sixth great-uncle. Beside the head of the family were his grandparents and many other members of the Cheng family. The Cheng family members charged ahead aggressively, followed by the patrol team from Dahe Village in two columns...
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