Yinshan Record

Chapter 344 Wen Ning's Plea for Help; Wang Jian's Request for Assistance
What Wang Jian was holding in his hand was the last official document he received from Wenning County.

In the official document, the magistrate of Wenning County almost desperately pleaded with the Censorate to send troops immediately, otherwise he would not be able to defend Wenning County, which only had earthen walls.

"...I, with a heart full of sorrow and tears, report to the Censorate that since the day before yesterday, ignorant villagers have been swarming outside the city, claiming to worship Heaven, while isolating themselves from the outside world. They are forging weapons day and night outside the city, and people say that there are demons coming and going among them. Their leader, Li Hong, claims to be the reincarnation of Laozi..."

"...The patrolmen and others retreated three steps, and I searched the yamen, finding only a dozen or so old, sick, and unemployed men. I and the county clerk, Tian, ​​patrolled the city day and night, daring not to miss a single detail. At night, I saw lights stretching to the horizon outside the city, and the sound of horns was incessant. However, if anything goes wrong, I fear that if the rioters rise up, the city will fall. I would not regret dying, but I fear that the great bandits will rise up with rebellious intentions..."

Su Che quickly skimmed through the document, the contents of which contained the most common characteristics of schizophrenia in the officialdom of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Wenning County was besieged by rioters, but the rioters were only forging weapons and carrying out some collective activities outside the city. The leader of the organization was named Li Hong, so Wenning County was still peaceful at the moment.

There "seemingly" supernatural beings among the rioters in Wenning County, but overall they are still within a controllable range.

The rebels outside Wenning County were numerous and powerful, and their rebellious intentions were almost certain, but they never attacked the city.

The patrolmen and yamen runners of Wenning County had basically all dispersed. The county magistrate searched the entire county and found only a dozen or so who were willing to continue serving the imperial court. He and Registrar Tian led these dozen or so old, weak, sick and disabled people to firmly defend Wenning County.

Wenning County is calling for reinforcements, not for the sake of the county magistrate himself, but because they are worried about the spillover effects if Wenning County is captured.

After reading it, Su Che came to only one conclusion.

Either the person writing the official documents has gone mad, or the person reading them has gone mad, or everyone has gone mad.

Of course, the people present are all experienced individuals who can see through appearances to the essence of things. They do not need the confirmation of the Imperial Guards, nor do they need to personally go and confirm it with their supernatural powers.

After reading the text just once, everyone had the same thought.

Wenning County is finished.

The reason why the Imperial Censorate was able to receive such an official document from Wenning County at this time was simply because the "demons" who organized the rioters to besiege the city were still carrying out internal reorganization.

Even if the demons came prepared, they still had to reorganize the people who had gathered from all around.

Even if you can cut down trees to make weapons and raise poles to make flags, you still need to obey orders and have orderly command in order to form a team.

Since these sorcerers can concoct talismanic water to win people's hearts, once they have completed their adjustments, it's only a matter of time before Wenning County is taken down.

Perhaps before the county town falls, these demons will attack the city walls a few more times in batches to practice their skills. If Wenning County is lucky enough, they might even receive a report of victory from Wenning County after a while.

If these sorcerers had some intelligence, then Magistrate Wenning might have been able to lead the dozen or so old, weak, sick, and disabled men he mentioned to repel the rebels' "attacks" a few times before he died for his country.

"We must not allow Wenning County to be lost."

Wang Jian stood at the edge of the hall, his brows furrowed and his teeth clenched around his lower lip.

If the rioters had only surrounded Wenning County, then it could still be called a popular uprising.

After all, there was no killing of officials or rebellion.

However, if they were to capture Wenning County, they would be nothing less than complete rebels.

At that time, in addition to failing to effectively assist the Prince of Wuling, Wang Jian was also accused of mishandling the situation and causing a rebellion. Even if Xiong Shou and Li Yizhen wanted to exonerate him, they probably wouldn't be able to explain it to the imperial court.

Although the Langya Wang clan was the most powerful clan in the Liang Dynasty, it was not all-powerful.

Su Che, Li Yizhen, and Xiong Shou exchanged glances and found that the others tacitly kept silent.

With the Prince of Wuling no longer present, Wang Jian, as the Chief Clerk, is the highest-ranking official in Cizhou. However, Xiong Shou and Li Yizhen, the two Imperial Censors of Youzhou, are both imperial envoys of the court, with the emperor standing behind them. Unless the court explicitly issues an edict ordering them to obey Wang Jian's orders, these two are merely imperial envoys on official business, and it is not Wang Jian's place to command them.

The Imperial Guards and the Night Watch were similar; both were agencies dispatched by the imperial court and were only responsible to the court. The Censorate could command local officials throughout Cizhou, but it had no jurisdiction over the Imperial Guards.

Therefore, the Wenning County incident may have been a cruel test for Wang Jian's life. If he could get through it, he might not be promoted or ennobled, but at least he would be able to live a peaceful life as an official.

If one cannot overcome this obstacle, it would be tantamount to facing the end of one's political career in the prime of life.

"We two are under imperial command, and such matters of state and military importance are beyond the scope of our official duties. Please, Chief Secretary Wang, consider this carefully." Upon seeing Wang Jian's expression, Xiong Shou's friendly attitude towards Su Che naturally vanished.

His voice was dark and cold, and his tone was heavy.

Su Che listened quietly from the side, and did not feel that Xiong Shou was showing favoritism.

The court both guarded against and employed the censors who traveled to seclusion within the Censorate.

Unprepared? Most of the people in the Censorate are at least sixth-rank cultivators, veteran cultivators of the Rejuvenation Realm. If these people form cliques and engage in corrupt practices in officialdom, the damage they cause is incalculable.

But no, there's no need. There are so many powerful demons and monsters in the world. Without the help of these cultivators, would the emperor have to go out and subdue demons and monsters every day?

Therefore, while the Great Liang provided the Imperial Censorate with a life of luxury, it also established many rules. One of these rules was that the Imperial Censors of You could investigate local malpractices and corrupt officials, but they were strictly forbidden from associating with local officials and from interfering in local affairs outside of the court's explicit orders.

In fact, Wang Jian didn't want to invite these two gentlemen either.

Chief Secretary Wang was well-versed in the history of the court and knew the authority and responsibilities of the Imperial Censor of Youzhou, so he came in to see someone else this time.

"This humble official certainly wouldn't dare to ask the two imperial envoys for help, but the matter of Wenning County involves a sorcerer, so this humble official would like to ask Junior Judge Su to make a trip to the south. However, I'm afraid it might affect the two imperial envoys' investigation of this case, so..."

Su Che looked at Wang Jian and thought, "You Langya Wang clan are really too ambitious. They had already surrounded my Imperial Guard headquarters and specifically asked me to go to the North, and now you actually have the nerve to ask me to go and help you."

That's some serious shamelessness.

"Alas, since this involves the disappearance of the Prince of Wuling, I will stay here and await the instructions of the two imperial envoys to conduct a thorough investigation, which will also help to preserve my innocence."

As Su Che spoke, he slowly tapped the web of his hand with his folding fan.

Looking at this young Su, Wang Jianjian thought that if the two imperial envoys hadn't been there, he would have laughed at him, asking if Su's innocence needed to be preserved.

How many troops are still in Taichung today?

Li Yizhen suddenly asked a question.

As the chief secretary, Wang Jian was quite adept at government affairs and immediately replied.

"When Yu Xingtai was in office, there were about 5,000 soldiers and 200 horses. After Yu Xingtai left office, there were about 4,000 soldiers left."

It's inappropriate to describe the military system of the Great Liang Dynasty as one where generals commanded troops, because they were all private soldiers.

The imperial court had a central army, but that was in Jiankang. The local troops either came from local powerful families or were private recruits hired by officials themselves.

The most powerful force in Cizhou today is the private army that Wang Jian brought with him, the black-clad cavalry that surrounded the Imperial Guard's office.

Apart from that, the troops on the surface were all generals from various military units under the Cizhou Xingtai. These people were originally from prominent families in Cizhou, holding official titles, but in reality, they were stationed in several places.

Some of them gained Yu Ze's favor and became close to the powerful Yu family of Yingchuan. When Yu Ze left, they followed him.

This military system may seem absurd, but it is a reality in the Great Liang Dynasty today.

The situation was similar in the north. When Wei Huaiwen launched his northern expedition, both sides had a variety of large and small clans that had brought out their troops.

When the incident occurred at Xuanshan, the imperial court dispatched Feng Xingbu with Wuyundu to suppress it, while the local forces in Cizhou provided 3,000 troops to cooperate.

Each of these three thousand men was led by a military commander, and these military commanders were all from hereditary martial families.

Although Wang Jian was an ordinary person, he was well aware of the state of the military and naturally had a grasp of the relevant situation.

"How does the Chief Secretary intend to handle this matter?"

Li Yizhen seemed much more enthusiastic than Xiong Shou.

(End of this chapter)