Chapter 1109: The Four Great Bandits’ Current Situation, Fighting against Bandits in Jeju Prefecture

"The pearls, agates, and jades that the lord brought back are not included, only the gold and silver, a total of 560,000 strings of cash!"

Qiao Lie spent an entire afternoon calculating Su Mingzhe's income from this trip by using an abacus.

This means that everyone who went out brought back five thousand strings of gold and silver.

All the chiefs and leaders showed joyful expressions. With so much money, Liangshan's plan of storing grain could continue to be implemented.

Su Mingzhe first smiled along with everyone, then said lightly:
"Military Advisor, remit this gold and silver into the general account and use it to purchase food, horses, and weapons as soon as possible! Keep those pearls, agates, and jades, and find a chance to exchange them for gold and silver in Bianliang, and then use them!"

"My lord is wise!"

When everyone saw that Su Mingzhe did not take a single cent from it, they couldn't help but admire him.

As a person with lofty aspirations, how could it be possible not to like such a leader who is indifferent to money and material things and has lofty aspirations?
After everyone gathered together.

When Su Mingzhe returned to the backyard, the girls were also very happy.

At least this time the man didn't bring sisters to everyone.

When the girls were happy, they accompanied the men in something foolish.

On the second day.

Su Mingzhe forced himself to stay awake, pushed aside the arms and legs that were wrapped around him, and came to the gathering hall to discuss matters with the chiefs and leaders.

Like Su Mingzhe, everyone didn’t sleep well last night.

However, unlike Su Mingzhe who fell into the arms of a gentle woman, the chiefs and leaders mainly held a large-scale celebratory banquet and drank until midnight, so they were unable to get a good rest.

Su Mingzhe sat down with everyone else, took a sip of tea, and then asked slowly:

"Brother Zhu Gui, you said yesterday that the imperial court has increased the lacquer tax in various places in Jiangnan?"

"Not bad!"

When Zhu Gui talked about this, a hint of resentment appeared on his face:

"Originally, someone proposed to increase the population tax in the four routes of Beijing, Jingdong and Xixi, but it was rejected. Later, someone proposed to increase the lacquer tax in the southern routes!"

Qiao Lie was born in the south, and after hearing this, he showed hatred:

"The imperial court first set up a flower and stone tax in the south, and then a transport tax. Now the dog emperor, in order to enjoy his own pleasure, has created a lacquer tax. The imperial court really treats the southern people as barbarians and squeezes them to death!"

Su Mingzhe didn't focus on this, but smiled slightly and said:

"In this case, it is possible that Fang La of the Manichaeism will be forced to rebel ahead of time!"

When everyone heard this, they were shocked!
rebel!

This word is so refreshing for everyone!
Once Fang La rebels, the court's attention will definitely be diverted, and Liangshan will then be able to develop at a faster pace.

Su Mingzhe asked again:

"What's the current situation of Tian Hu and Wang Qing?"

Zhu Gui quickly reported:
"There was little rain in Hebei in the first half of the year, so I'm afraid the fields will have reduced production. Tian Hu will probably attack the state capital in the second half of the year to get through this drought! As for Wang Qing, he is still keen on selling illegal salt, so there is not much movement!"

"Wang Qing is too timid. As long as he doesn't have to make money, he probably won't have the heart to rebel!"

"After the drought, there is a high probability of a locust plague. Our Jingdong Road will definitely not have an easy time!"

Su Mingzhe discussed it with everyone, and finally told everyone to keep a low profile, continue to save money, and develop quietly.

Everyone knows the principle of shooting the first bird.

Stealing Liang Zhongshu's birthday gift would at most lead to a siege by the state government.

If you dare to raise the banner of rebellion, the imperial army will arrive in an instant.

Liangshan has not yet developed to the point where it can directly face the imperial army.

Fast forward to July.

The news that the second batch of birthday gift transported by Liang Zhongshu was looted by seven or eight thieves selling dates reached the city of Bianliang.

Cai Jing was angry and sent an imperial edict to Jeju, ordering the governor of Jeju to solve the case within a time limit and recover the lost birthday gift of 100,000 yuan.

The governor of Jizhou received the imperial decree with a gloomy face. When he returned to the back house, he angrily cursed: "This damn thief, couldn't you commit the crime in Dongping Prefecture or Daming Prefecture?"

His wife saw that her husband was angry and asked the reason. She said indifferently:
"Why are you so confused, my husband? If the Grand Master can push the case onto you, can't you continue to push it down?"

The prefect's wife's words awakened the man from his dream.

"Well... Madam, what you said makes sense, it makes sense!"

The governor of Jizhou immediately issued a warrant and ordered someone to send it to Yuncheng County, ordering the Yuncheng County Magistrate Shi Wenbin to catch the thief within ten days and recover the 100,000 birthday gift, otherwise he would bear the consequences!

Poor Yuncheng County magistrate Shi Wenbin, disaster struck him and he could only put the blame on the people below.

After receiving the order, the bailiff Song Jiang, the captain Lei Heng, and Zhu Tong looked at each other in bewilderment, but they could only take people to search everywhere for information.

Fortunately, these three people are all veterans in handling cases.

Based on some clues, they soon found the hotel where Chao Gai and others had stayed while pretending to be date vendors.

After questioning, the three people unanimously concluded that the crime was committed by a local.

Bai Sheng, the White Rat among the eight criminals, did not listen to Chao Gai at all. After getting more than 10,000 strings of cash, he immediately went to find women and go to the gambling house to gamble.

But Bai Sheng was unlucky and was so angry about losing that he didn't care about anything and finally revealed his tracks.

After Lei Heng captured Bai Sheng, he excitedly brought him back to the county government office and whipped him for two days.

Bai Sheng could not bear the punishment and confessed his accomplices including Chao Gai.

"broken!"

When the three heard that the main culprit in the robbery of the birthday gift was Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, they immediately felt that they were in great trouble.

Chao Gai has always valued righteousness over money. He is famous in Yuncheng, Jizhou, and even in the entire Jingdong Road.

All three of them had a close relationship with Chao Gai.

At this point, naturally no one wanted to capture Chao Gai.

In desperation, the three of them began to procrastinate.

Seeing the opportunity, Song Jiang ran to Dongxi Village overnight to inform the others.

Afterwards, Zhu Tong released the water to make way.

In the end, Lei Heng pretended to be blind and did not recognize Chao Gai.

Just like that, Chao Gai and Wu Yong found the three Ruan brothers who had not received the news yet, and fled directly into the 800-li Liangshan Water Margin.

The news was reported back to Yuncheng County.

When Shi Wenbin heard that the bandits had escaped, he was helpless and could only write a document, describing the details and asking the state government to send a large army to Liangshan to suppress the bandits:
"Next year, my three-year term will be up, and I will use my connections to transfer out of Jeju!"

When the governor of Jeju received the letter from Shi Wenbin, he learned that the thief had actually joined the Liangshan bandits. He was so angry that he smashed a lot of porcelain.

However, the culprit has been identified.

The matter of encircling and suppressing the Liangshan bandits must be put on the agenda.

I remember that last year the Military Commander mentioned the need to train the navy.

The governor of Jeju took it for granted that after a year had passed and the navy had been trained for a year, there should be some results.

Therefore, the governor of Jeju Prefecture summoned the military commander and ordered him to suppress the bandits in Liangshan.

The soldier had no way to avoid or escape, so he could only plead:
"Sir Governor, since the battle last year, the Liangshan bandits have been recruiting soldiers and horses, and their momentum is quite strong. I beg you to let the militia lead the troops and go to the battle together!"

Huang An, who had been silent and pretending to be dead, turned pale when he heard that the military commander was trying to kill him.
I thank you all my family!
The governor of Jeju looked at Huang An, remembering that he had disobeyed orders by breaking his leg last year, and nodded in agreement with the military commander's proposal:

"Huang An, in this battle, you must fully cooperate with the commander-in-chief's deployment and must not act on your own. If you fail to follow the commander's orders, I will definitely exile you to Shamen Island!"

"The last general takes command!"

Huang An agreed with a bitter face.

The military commander found someone to take the blame for him and immediately went back to gather the troops. He also sent people to collect thousands of small boats near the water, and then he approached Liangshan cautiously.

(End of this chapter)