I want to ruin the country

On the second day of the public trial, Senglinqin discussed with Ma Chun, Zhao Long and Hebie the matter of dividing the troops into four groups.

They can lead the troops to suppress the bandits on their own, which is what they have always dreamed of. It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox!

Everyone agreed in unison.

Senglin personally ordered Hebie to lead 10,000 troops eastward to wipe out the bandits in the Yimeng Mountains.

Let Ma Chun lead 10,000 troops from here south through Shandong into northern Jiangsu.

Let Zhao Long lead 10,000 troops to Henan.

He himself led 20,000 troops to Taihang Mountains.

The Taihang Mountains stretch across the two provinces of Zhili and Shanxi. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, making the conditions for suppressing bandits extremely difficult.

Moreover, there are more bandits in Taihang Mountains than in their three provinces combined.

Senglinqin left the most difficult task to himself, and the three people were very moved.

Herbie said,

"General, I request to go to Taihang Mountain!"

Senglinqin looked at Hebie who was still lying on the couch and said,

"There's no need to argue. Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. Everyone just needs to remember that we must never underestimate the enemy.

There are talented people among the bandits, be careful of falling into their traps!"

"Follow the Marshal's orders"

Senglinqin also instructed,

"After this battle, our reputation has spread, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

The upside is that some bandits might flee at the first sign of trouble, but the downside is that it's like fish swimming in the sea and birds flying into the mountains, making it doubly difficult to clear them out later!"

"My subordinate understands!"

"The Emperor has repeatedly instructed us that it is a good thing for soldiers to fight bravely and fearlessly, but as generals, we cannot treat the lives of our soldiers as a joke.

Fight smartly, don't use brute force, and make full use of the advantages of firearms.

In the battle to eliminate Liu Heita, apart from the soldiers who were lost on the first night due to underestimating the enemy, only a few dozen soldiers actually died on the battlefield.

So, everyone should use their brains more and cherish the lives of the soldiers!"

All three responded that they understood!

Finally, Senglinqin said,

"Everyone, you all know what the Emperor has instructed me to do. No matter how great your achievements are, do not violate the Three Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention.

Our emperor is sometimes very magnanimous, and he may not even care if you bump into him or offend him.

But when it comes to matters of principle, he will be very serious, even harsh!

The emperor often says that the people are his bread and butter, and whoever touches the interests of the people will be his mortal enemy!

You have violated military law. I will definitely not be able to protect you, and I will definitely be the first to bear the brunt of the consequences.

Our emperor is so shrewd, he has calculated everything, big and small. For the sake of everyone's heads, you must not be clever!"

Everyone who has reached their current position must be a smart person, and everyone knows what the emperor likes!

"Please rest assured, Marshal. I will never betray the trust of you and the Emperor!"

After the discussion, everyone moved their camps and set up camp.

Just talking about the Hebie route, their goal was to head east.

There are still more than a dozen bandit gangs of varying sizes in the Yimeng Mountains.

One of the largest bandit groups is in Qingzhou, with about two thousand people.

Hebie felt that it was an exaggeration for his ten thousand men to besiege two thousand people.

He decided to divide his forces again.

He led 5,000 men to Qingzhou and asked his deputy general Liu Yunlong to lead 5,000 men to wipe out more than a dozen gangs of bandits in the Yimeng Mountains.

Liu Yunlong gladly accepted the order.

He was the one who directly commanded the elimination of Liu Heita. It can be said that he had considerable confidence in dealing with bandits.

Liu Heita, the most difficult to deal with, was vulnerable to attack. Compared with other bandits, they did not have the strong defense of Liu Heita, nor were their soldiers as well-trained as his.

His first target was the bandit group led by Wang Fuchang, to which Qiao Mantun belonged.

They arrived at the foot of the bandit mountain in one day. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Yunlong asked everyone to set up camp.

Unexpectedly, as soon as we stopped, three people came to ask for a meeting.

The three people who came were Ding Laoshi, Qiao Si and Qiao Mantun.

It turned out that Ding Laoshi stayed at his sister's house for one night, and the next day he and his brother-in-law Qiao Si came to the mountain to find Qiao Mantun.

Qiao Si's home was about seventy or eighty miles away from the mountain, and it took them most of the day to reach the mountain.

Qiao Mantun was very reluctant when his father and uncle came.

Because not many people knew that he was a bandit.

He also felt ashamed.

But my father and the others are here, and I have to see them.

I had to sneak out and meet him at a tavern at the foot of the mountain.

After the greetings, Qiao Mantun asked,

"Dad, uncle, why are you here? Where is my mother? Did something happen to her?"

Mr. Ding was immediately displeased when he heard this.

"Pooh, pooh, pooh, what happened? Why don't you say a few nice words?"

"What good could come from you two coming to see me? My mother isn't here, so can you blame me for thinking too much?"

"Okay, okay, I don't want you to do that, but this time I have something good to offer you!"

Qiao Mantun was very puzzled. What good news was there? Was he here to talk to me about a wife?

Impossible, who would want to be with a bandit if they were a girl from a good family?

Qiao Si said,

"It's a good thing. We're here to persuade you to surrender to the authorities!"

Mantun was anxious.

"Ah, being a bandit is a capital crime. What are you doing? Are you trying to sacrifice your own family for the sake of justice?"

Ding Laoshi slapped him on the head.

"You bastard, what's the point of killing your own relatives for the sake of justice? If I kill you, who will beat my sister and throw the flag and pot?"

"Then why are you trying to persuade me to turn myself in?"

Ding Laoshi didn't waste any more time talking to him and told him the whole story.

"Well, is it a good thing?"

Qiao Mantun was stunned, then slapped his thigh.

"No wonder our boss has been so worried these past two days. It might be because of this!"

Ding said honestly,

"There's been such a big fuss about Liu Heita, your boss must have heard about it. Is he scared?"

Qiao Mantun said,

"Almost. Liu Heita was strong and powerful, but it was captured in one day. What's the point of me going there?"

Qiao Si asked,

"Then hurry up, don't wait for the government troops to arrive, it will be too late if you lose your head!"

"Uncle, are you really going to let bygones be bygones?"

"Bullshit, I, your uncle, can fool you, of course it's true!"

"You said there would be a reward for meritorious service?"

"Anyway, that's what the governor said, and that's what the court's notice also says!"

Qiao Mantun nodded.

"It's good that it's true. I want to make this money!"

Ding Laoshi was very happy.

"Good nephew, if you have the guts, do you want to persuade your boss to surrender?"

"Correct!"

"Uncle supports you!"

Qiao Si asked,

"Can your boss agree to this? Don't let him harm you anymore!"

Qiao Mantun said,

"I don't think so. He's not a bad person!"

Faced with a dead end, the three men whispered in the tavern to discuss what to do.

At this moment, I heard people shouting and horses neighing outside. It turned out that Liu Yunlong had arrived.

Ding Laoshi slammed the table.

"My son, the government troops are here, and your chance to make a contribution has also come. I want to go see the general and see what he says."

"Okay, let's go."

When Liu Yunlong heard that a bandit had come to surrender, he immediately called him over.

When I saw there were two old men, I wondered, why are they still bandits at such an old age?