Chapter 260 The Headless Gang
Meng Xingyuan led 5,000 soldiers to Guandu Prefecture. They were originally scheduled to arrive in about six or seven days, but many soldiers fell ill from exhaustion along the way. They traveled and stopped frequently, and it took them a full nine days to reach their destination.
This was the result of Meng Xingyuan's encouragement and inspiration throughout the process, thanks to his literary talent.
When Meng Xingyuan first saw the five thousand soldiers, he knew that they, like him, were mostly destined to die at the hands of the bandits of Guandu Prefecture.
After walking for two or three days, recalling the past and thinking of his family, his desire to survive grew stronger and stronger.
He felt he had lost out. He had worked diligently his whole life, never accepting a single penny of bribes while in office. The Meng family's wealth was accumulated little by little through his monthly salary and business dealings.
As a result, half of the family fortune was given to his eldest daughter as a dowry. When the Prince of Anshun's mansion was seized, it was confiscated by the emperor and put into the national treasury. He planned to leave the other half to his remaining children, but if he really died this time, his disabled wife might not be able to protect the remaining family fortune.
Xi Yao will have a hard time in the palace without money to bribe officials. Qing Yu is not yet nine years old and has no one to help her; she will surely suffer endless hardships in the future.
And then there's my eldest daughter, Lingge, who's always been decisive. I wonder if she's listened to me. Is she hiding outside alone or with the King of the Northern Frontier? Either way, she can't do without money.
He still had many things he couldn't let go of, and he was unwilling to die like this.
He was like that, and so were the five thousand soldiers behind him.
Who doesn't have parents, wife, and children behind them?
Although he and his army did appear old, weak, and battered, with their combined strength and the support of the local government, they might not be without a chance of victory.
Anyway, rather than dying half-dead and sending themselves to their deaths, they might as well go all out and do something spectacular. If they fail, they'll still die, but if they succeed, they'll all be heroes.
Although Meng Xingyuan had no martial prowess, as the top civil official in the court, his eloquence and silver tongue were his specialties.
After days of encouragement and persuasion from him, the army, at first glance, already looked quite respectable in terms of morale.
Meng Xingyuan knew that the emperor had sent him to suppress the bandits in order to lure out the King of the Northern Frontier.
But he never expected the King of the Northern Frontier to come and save him; in fact, he was even somewhat afraid.
When he was at his lowest point in the Anshun Prince's Mansion, he severed ties with the Northern Frontier Prince to protect himself. He was the one who was unrighteous. If the Northern Frontier Prince were to risk danger to rescue him, he would have no face to face him.
Moreover, if the King of the Northern Frontier really comes, then he has fallen into the Emperor's trap.
The consequences would be even more unimaginable.
Meng Xingyuan led his troops to the residence of the local prefect.
Logically, with so many people arriving here, the prefect of Guandu Prefecture should have already heard the news and come to greet them. However, even after they found the gate of the mansion, not a single person came out to welcome them.
He sent someone in to deliver the message, only to find that it was an empty mansion with no one inside.
On the contrary, the streets were bustling with people, no less lively than the capital, and some people even had their purses hanging directly from their waists. It did not look like a place where bandits roamed and ravaged the people.
Meng Xingyuan was surprised and wanted to ask a commoner.
But as soon as the people saw his official robes, they looked at him with disdain and left quickly.
They had almost run out of food along the way.
Without the help of the government, they didn't even have dinner. Fortunately, the empty mansion was big enough, so Meng Xingyuan simply arranged for all the soldiers to stay there.
After cooking the last bit of dry rations into a thin porridge, barely enough to fill him up, Meng Xingyuan selected two relatively clever soldiers to disguise themselves as businessmen and go to find out what was going on.
Half an hour later, Meng Xingyuan received some startling news.
This place was indeed plagued by bandits before, but they were all small gangs and had not yet gained any real power. However, a few months ago, a formidable figure suddenly appeared. This man was tall and strong, with the strength of an ox. When he killed someone, his eyes glowed red, which was quite terrifying. He single-handedly destroyed several bandit dens and quickly became the leader of the largest bandit gang in the area.
Anyone who refused to submit to him, or who was too cruel and tyrannical, died at his hands. Gradually, all the bandits in Guandu Prefecture joined his cause, forming a large gang of more than 10,000 people.
They even gave it a very imposing name: the Headless Gang.
Strangely, this man's Beheading Gang did not rob or plunder the people. Instead, they specifically opposed the government. Not only did they raid the prefect's mansion where they stayed, but they also raided the government offices of several nearby towns. The soldiers either ran away or fled. If they were caught by the Beheading Gang, they would be beheaded.
It is said that at the entrance to the mountain forest leading to the Headless Gang, dozens of heads are hanging from a row of large trees, all of which are the corpses of soldiers and officers from this area or nearby.
The most frightening thing is that I heard the Headless Gang already knows about the arrival of the Beijing government troops and that they will take action tonight to take the heads of the Beijing government troops.
Upon hearing this, Meng Xingyuan broke out in a cold sweat, especially around his neck, where he felt a chilling sensation, as if a knife were already at his throat.
The two soldiers who brought back the message were so frightened that their limbs trembled.
"Lord Meng, let's escape quickly, or it will be too late if we wait until nightfall."
"Yes, if the local soldiers can escape, why can't we? It's bad enough to die, but to be mutilated beyond recognition, with our heads hanging from tree trunks, exposed to the wind and sun—just thinking about it is terrifying..."
"Escape?" Meng Xingyuan frowned. "Where can we escape to? Even if we manage to escape, what will happen to our families left in the capital? The bandits are so cruel, yet we only care about saving our own lives. How can the Emperor forgive us?"
Although the Decapitation Gang did not harm ordinary people, their massacre of government officials and soldiers was an even greater crime in the eyes of the Emperor.
The situation here is not entirely the same as described in the imperial edict, but the edict clearly states that they were ordered to suppress the bandits. Therefore, if they flee without authorization before eliminating the bandits, it would be considered disobeying the imperial edict.
Disobeying the imperial decree would result in the extermination of nine generations of one's family.
The two soldiers turned ashen-faced and were terrified.
If you can't escape and you can't fight back, are you just supposed to wash your neck and wait for someone to chop off your head?
"Does Your Excellency have any ideas?"
Meng Xingyuan had originally intended to use the power of the government to fight the bandits to the death, but now the government had been dealt with by the bandits before him, and he was helpless.
Sending 5,000 wounded and weak soldiers to fight against more than 10,000 strong and healthy bandits is tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.
But now that they've learned this news, they can no longer just sit here and wait to die. The bandits came prepared, making the disparity in strength between the two sides even greater.
Even fighting a losing battle is better than sitting and waiting to die.
Thinking of this, Meng Xingyuan asked, "Have you found out where the Headless Gang's entrance is?"
The two soldiers nodded slightly.
This is no secret; after all, everyone in this place knows that dozens of human heads are hanging there.
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