Ge Liang, the head of Lingtou Township, recalled what happened back then: he was asked to suppress bandits, but he had no ability to do so.
It is said that there were more than twenty bandits, all with fine horses and weapons, who occupied the hilltops in the area under his jurisdiction.
They frequently descended the mountain to burn, kill, and plunder, committing all sorts of atrocities.
This caused the villagers immense suffering, leading them to file complaints with various parties.
He dared not go to suppress the bandits, nor did he dare let others know that he was not interfering. He sent people to pretend to go several times, but the yamen runners and soldiers were often defeated and returned home.
When the county magistrate learned of this, he was forced to lead men to suppress the bandits.
He had no choice but to go along to suppress the bandits.
To everyone's surprise, after he followed, the bandit suppression went very smoothly, and the bandits fled at the mere sight of him.
He felt he was very capable, and that even the bandits were afraid of him.
Who knew that when he led his men in pursuit, his vanguard squad was completely surrounded and wiped out by the enemy.
The other side only killed his followers and the soldiers who accompanied him, but did not kill him.
They made a deal with him: he would provide them with a hiding place and a legitimate identity, and in return, he would share some of the benefits they received.
If possible, they can live; if not, they will die.
Ge Liang agreed; he didn't want to die.
It is said that if you master both literary and martial arts, you can sell your goods to the emperor.
He studied both literature and martial arts from a young age, and excelled in both at the academy, but in the end, he still couldn't take another step forward.
It's very difficult to pass the imperial examination by simply studying hard; one needs to read extensively and travel widely, which requires extensive study tours. Where would he get the money to travel and study?
Another point is to know the examiner's preferences, which is difficult for him to find out or what he finds out may be incorrect.
He wasted many years of his life, finally managing to become the township head with great difficulty. He didn't want to die!
The bandits put on a show for him. He escaped in a sorry state, informing his superior that the bandits had killed his squad members and that he had only managed to escape by risking his life.
But he already knew where the other party was hiding and urgently needed to lead his men to wipe them out before they left.
When he led the main force there, the bandits were indeed there, and he led his men to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
In fact, only he knew that these bandits were not real, but rather some thugs recruited by the bandits, who were usually led by an unimportant member of the bandits.
These thugs called this man "boss" and often committed evil deeds under the guise of bandits.
Ge Liang rushed in, first killing the leader, and then interrogating the local thugs. None of them knew that the real bandits had not been caught.
From then on, his village was truly peaceful. But who knew that not long after, bandits began to cause trouble in other towns and villages. The county magistrate sent people to suppress the bandits again, but each time he was unsuccessful. On the contrary, the number of bandits increased.
Later, when chaos broke out, his village was not spared either, and he joined the bandits.
Fortunately, Chenxi quelled the chaos and became the township head again.
He thought that with Shenxi dead, he could use the bandits' power to take over Shenxi's forces.
Unexpectedly, his efforts failed. He used the bandits, but the bandits also used him. Once he was exposed, he lost his usefulness and was abandoned by the bandits.
He also misjudged the hearts of the people, thinking that giving them small favors would make them work for him.
But once hatred for the bandits takes hold, those small favors are not enough to offset the deep-seated hatred.
This is the human heart; he realized it too late.
With his spirits broken and the wound large, despite being bandaged, he was still in excruciating pain, and suddenly he lost all his energy.
Shenxi slept soundly until dawn, feeling very energetic. After all, his body had been trained and was much stronger than before.
Shenxi needs to practice martial arts after getting up. There are no facilities like those in the county, no large training ground, but Zheng Hongfang thoughtfully arranged for Shenxi's accommodation to have a small training ground.
Shenxi practiced in the training ground for a while until he was covered in sweat, then he stopped.
When Xing Xiuyan saw that Chenxi had finished practicing, she fetched water for Chenxi to wash up, then brought her a change of clothes and helped her change.
Then the food was served, light and simple, all of which were Shenxi's favorites. Shenxi was very satisfied. It seemed that Zheng Hongfang was quite considerate. This was the kind of thoughtfulness that only someone who had followed her out into the world from the very beginning would have.
After finishing her meal, she rested for a while, and no one bothered her.
When she arrived at the conference hall, Qi Xiuwen and Zheng Hongfang were already waiting for her.
Qi Xiuwen felt extremely uncomfortable; he was responsible for this mess.
Shenxi did not blame him; everyone makes mistakes, but there will still be punishment.
Shen Xi sat at the head of the table. She did not give any instructions, but nodded to Qi Xiuwen and Zheng Hongfang, indicating that they could begin.
The interrogation was effortless. Ge Liang had long lost his spirit and confessed to everything he was asked. Ge Santong was even more cowardly; upon seeing Chen Xi, he immediately kowtowed loudly, pleading, "Commander, have mercy!"
Chen Xi snorted. Before she could ask, Ge Santong told her everything. The two women he had taken in were originally prostitutes who had come here because they couldn't make it elsewhere.
Zheng Hongfang took notes, then brought up the two women as well. Without any additional statements, he took them away.
Ge Santian and Ge Dashan didn't get much information out of them; they basically just took some money and didn't do anything too bad.
However, some things came out of Ge Sishu's mouth. Ge Sishu was also a scholar, but he couldn't get anything done. In the end, he could only rely on Ge Liang to do some work. This time, he also became a company commander.
He hadn't committed any crimes or embezzled any money, but he had done some practical work. He kept a special ledger that recorded all the affairs and financial transactions of all the staff members, big and small, regardless of whether they were good or bad.
Chenxi ordered his men to hurry and fetch the account books.
Taking this opportunity, Chenxi asked, "Since you know about these people's evil deeds, why didn't you report them to your superiors?"
Ge Sishu kowtowed and said, "I anonymously reported to the higher authorities, but I have not received a reply. I also gave the information to Ge Liang. Ge Liang investigated thoroughly but could not find me and wronged some people."
Unexpectedly, a bad bamboo produces a good shoot; after interrogating these people, apart from Ge Sishu, none of them were clean.
After Ge Sishu was taken away, Shenxi asked, "Xiuwen, Hongfang, what do you think of Ge Sishu?"
Qi Xiuwen replied, "Judging from his confession alone, this person is not bad; he is intelligent yet upright."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "But this is only based on the statements. We still need to thoroughly investigate what the person is really like."
Shen Xi smiled slightly: "A thorough investigation is definitely in the works."
From Ge Sishu's eyes, Shenxi could read his mind. He was not a bad person, but he was also someone with his own ulterior motives.
As long as you don't have bad intentions, just be loyal to her.
Then Shenxi said to Qi Xiuwen, "Xiuwen, I'm leaving the interrogation of those bandits to you. If there are no new discoveries, behead them all."
The crimes of these bandits are obvious and there's nothing to consider.
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