I

In front of him were a bunch of people tied up, with six prisoners kneeling on their knees.

Zhao Han ignored Xiang Yong, looked at the gentry, and sneered: "Not bad, he also wears silk clothes to attack at night."

"Your Majesty, spare your life, Your Majesty, spare your life!" Zhong Xingpu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly.

Historically, this guy became a Jinshi in the 16th year of Chongzhen. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, he first surrendered to Li Chuang, then to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and finally became the governor of Shandong in the Qing Dynasty.

The bones don't look very hard.

Zhao Han seemed to be talking to himself or talking to Zhong Xingpu: "What's the point of killing the peasants? Even if you want to attack at night, you should kill the soldiers I sent."

There was no torture or even interrogation at all. Zhong Xingpu began to confess: "The king's rebel army has strict military discipline and is not easy to mess with at first glance. They also sent sentries. We were afraid that if we failed to attack at night, we would be surrounded by soldiers... "

"So, you just attack the villages along the river, kill a few farmers and then run away?" Zhao Han was extremely angry.

Zhong Xingpu said: "It was Hu Zhengsong's idea. He said to kill more farmers, so that the farmers would be frightened and those who were still alive would not dare to divide their fields."

Zhao Han asked: "Who is Hu Zhengsong?"

Zhong Xingpu betrayed his teammates without any psychological burden: "Hu Zhengsong's hometown is in Baishui Village, Luling County, and his family's farmland has also been divided. He also wanted to lead troops to attack the villages and towns in Luling County at night, but the distance was too far, and the others were afraid that they would not be able to return. Come on, just cross the river and kill a few of them."

"Does Hu Zhengsong still have family members in Luling County?" Zhao Han asked.

"Yes," Zhong Xingpu replied, "His father, his mother, and his two nephews all stayed in Luling County, and each of them also left twenty acres of land."

"This is the landowner who volunteered his land," Zhao Han said to the people around him. "Immediately send an order to Baishui Village and send all the boys in the Hu family who are over twelve years old to burn lime in the mountains. The female relatives are in the town. They will be sent to reeducation through labor, and the children will be raised in almshouses!”

Zhong Xingpu became more and more frightened when he heard this. He trembled all over and kowtowed crazily: "Your Majesty, spare your life, Your Majesty, spare your life!"

Zhao Han asked: "How many soldiers are there in Jishui County?"

Zhong Xingpu said: "There are more than a thousand brave people in the village, all of whom are domestic slaves and sons of good families."

"How long have you been practicing?" Zhao Han asked again.

"These thousands of local warriors were recruited one after another," Zhong Xingpu replied. "Some have been practicing for two months, and some have only been practicing for a few days."

Zhao Han asked again: "Who is the leader?"

Zhong Xingpu said: "Zhou Ruixu, he was a doctor in the Literature and Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel last year. This spring Ding You went home to mourn."

"Who is Zhou Mengyang?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhong Xingpu replied: "It was his great uncle who died of illness last year."

Li Banghua recommended several talents to Zhao Han, including Zhou Mengyang. This person was an expert on water conservancy. In view of the mess of water conservancy across the country, he specially compiled a "Preparation for the Ministry of Water Conservancy", which became a must-have book for water conservancy officials in the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Zhou Mengyang died of illness, and his grandnephew took the lead in fighting against Zhao Han.

Zhao Han waved his hand: "Take these people back to Jishui for public trial."

"Your Majesty, have mercy on me, Your Majesty, have mercy on me!" Zhong Xingpu was dragged out. He was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder burst, and tears and mucus burst out from his nose.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Keep this person here."

Zhong Xingpu was paralyzed on the ground, his crotch was already wet, like a dog, lying there looking at Zhao Han.

Zhao Han smelled the smell of urine, frowned and said, "Take him out and watch!"

There was only one person left in the house.

Huang Yao knelt down and said, "Chief Commander, I have neglected my duty. Please be punished."

Zhao Han asked: "Where did you fail in your duty?"

Huang Yao replied: "More people should be sent to guard the riverside."

"It's not your fault," Zhao Han shook his head and said, "The entire Jishui river bank is very long, and you can't defend it with a small number of people. Go back and tell Chen Maosheng and Xiao Huan to form the Jishui Farmers' Association as soon as possible. Launch the Jishui Farmers Association Local farmers send people from every household to keep watch on the riverside. No matter day or night, even children can keep watch on the riverside. We have to rely on the people, who are the foundation."

"My subordinates have remembered it," Huang Yao said.

Zhao Han frowned and said: "Stand up, don't kneel down all the time. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. Why are you kneeling down? By the way, leave five hundred people in Jishui, and the rest will follow me to attack the city."

"Siege the city?" Huang Yao asked doubtfully.

Zhao Han stood up suddenly: "Killing hundreds of farmers, is this matter just revealed?"

Two days later, Zhao Han personally led more than 2,000 soldiers and took a boat to the outside of Jishui County on the other side. The navy of Gujian Mountain also completely blocked the dock.

The county magistrate Feng Zhang was so frightened that he almost surrendered.

But this guy can't make the decision. The people who are in charge of affairs now are the gentry with their country warriors.

As soon as Zhao Han landed, a large group of people came.

"Mr. Zhao, you have to make the decision for us!" Countless people knelt in front of Zhao Han, and more and more people came to kneel.

Zhao Han turned around and asked Zhong Xingpu: "What's going on?"

Zhong Xingpu bent down and answered: "Dozens of gentry fled to Jishui County with their whole families, taking with them money, food and valuables. It is not safe outside the city, so we must live in the city. There are definitely not enough houses in the city..."

If there are not enough houses in the city, then drive ordinary people out of the city and temporarily rent their houses for a few months!

These are ordinary residents in the city. They were living a normal life, but suddenly they were homeless.

Zhao Han said to Huang Yao: "In residential areas far away from the city, we knock on doors and ask refugees to share a house with them. The rent is sufficient, and we will pay for the rent. Anyone who makes trouble will be arrested."

Huang Yao immediately led his troops into action. In fact, it was the missionary officers who accompanied the army who really did the work.

On top of the city tower, the gentry and country warriors were observing the enemy's situation.

Zhou Ruixu asked in confusion: "What are the thieves doing?"

Li Chun'an looked at it for a while, then sighed and said, "We are relocating the people."

Everyone was speechless, and those who still had some conscience felt their faces flushed with shame.

The people these rebels were settling were the very people they had driven out of the city. But that's not the case. There are dozens of gentry, all big landowners, with a large family and countless money, food and goods.

If the people are not driven out of the city, where will they live?

Many gentry still feel aggrieved. They used to live in luxurious houses, but now they can only live in ordinary houses. Moreover, in order to store the food brought, many houses were full, and two or three people had to live in one house. What a miserable life it was.

Zhou Ruibao was confused at this moment. He was really a good official. In order to help the victims in Sichuan, he threw away all his hats.

It was not his idea to raid and massacre the tenants at night. In the excitement of the crowd, Zhou Ruibao could only follow the crowd, but when he really killed people, he completely lost his mind and killed many farmers with his own hands.

After returning to the city after the killing, Zhou Ruibao calmed down again and had trouble sleeping for several nights.

He was so tormented inside that he became haggard and his whole body lost weight. Now that the thieves are arrogating the common people, Zhou Ruibao's outlook suddenly explodes and he doesn't know what's going on in this world.

Hu Zhengsong looked ferocious as he held the hilt of his sword and said, "Brother Zhou, the bandits dare to split up and disperse into the streets and alleys. Why not take the opportunity to go out of the city and make a surprise attack?"

Zhou Ruixu shook his head and said: "Defending the city is the top priority. We have enough money and food to last until the governor leads troops to rescue."

Although there was some chaos outside the city, it was quickly suppressed by the soldiers.

With the persuasion of the missionary and sufficient rent, the residents outside the city were willing to vacate their houses so that the refugees in the city could live with them.

Everything turned out to be in order. Many of the refugees who had houses to live in spontaneously took refuge in Zhao Han, armed with simple weapons and planning to assist in the siege. They have no other reason than to fight into the city, take back their houses, and kill those bastards!

Seeing the people voluntarily surrendering to the army, Zhou Ruibao was completely disheartened. He could no longer figure out what he was doing these days.

After returning home in despair, it was an ordinary small courtyard that was now occupied by Zhou Ruibao.

The rooms in the east chamber are all piled with money, food and goods, which are the savings of several generations of the Zhou family. There are still a few close servants who have not gone out to defend the city. They are all guarding the house and the courtyard at the moment.

"Bao'er, are the thieves really going to attack the city?" Mother Zhou came to the courtyard with the support of her maid, with a look of horror on her face.

Zhou Ruibao comforted her: "Don't panic, mother, the thieves can't get in."

After talking for a while, Zhou Ruibao returned to the bedroom, retired the maid and the boy, and sat alone in a daze.

Zhou Ruibao murmured to himself: "Confucius said to be benevolent, and Mencius said to be righteous. Only the righteousness is fulfilled, so benevolence is the best. What have you learned from reading the books of sages? From now on, I will have no regrets."

This is Wen Tianxiang's "Jue Ming Ci".

Zhou Ruibao smiled sadly: "Is it true that I am not ashamed? I am not ashamed that I am?"

Zhou Ruibao felt that the mob was wrong and should not rob the landlord's property. At the same time, I also felt that the gentry was wrong and should not occupy residents' houses. He regretted even more that he attacked and massacred farmers at night, and even killed Red Eye himself. After that, he spent all the time in torment.

Nothing is right, but what is right?

Zhou Ruibao suddenly studied ink and picked up a pen, and wrote a suicide note, mainly instructing his brother to take care of his family.

Then he took off his belt and hung himself from the beam.

Since the collapse of the Three Views, Zhou Ruibao has long been dead, and the people who lived before were nothing but walking corpses.

The next day, outside the city.

Zhao Han used semi-coercive means to persuade residents closer to the city wall. After compensating them with money and food, he asked the residents to move out and then demolished their houses.

Seeing the rebels demolishing the houses, obviously preparing to attack the city, the gentry and country warriors in the city were even more frightened.

However, they still did not dare to go out of the city to attack and kill. They only dropped rolling stones and logs to delay the rebels' demolition of houses.

The gentry quarreled in a group. Some said they would hold on, some said they would attack at night, and some said they would go out directly. There were too many people leading them, and no one could control the situation. They even argued over which section of the city wall to defend - Zhao Hanwei was short of three and wanted to defend the missing section of the city wall.

night.

Li Musheng tried hard to persuade: "Brother, this county town cannot be defended anymore. Once the rebels finish demolishing the houses below the city, they will build siege equipment. I'm afraid Governor Li's reinforcements won't arrive until next year. What can our country warriors do?" ? Open the door and dedicate the city. My uncle is a high-ranking official who rebels against thieves. It seems that these rebels can achieve success. If we all become thieves, we will have no shortage of glory and wealth from now on."

"Your father is the head of the Literary and Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs," Li Chun'an sneered, "How dare you be a thief in such an important position?"

Li Musheng said in a low voice: "This is the life of the whole clan. I can only...I can only feel sorry for my father." Suddenly, Li Musheng became excited again, "I sent a slave to the capital last year, and also wrote a letter requesting Jiangxi to inspect the censor. , but the court didn’t take Zhao Thief seriously. If the court had taken it seriously earlier, how could Zhao Thief be so big?"

Li Chun'an said sarcastically: "You don't want a father, but I still want a father. My father is the Prime Minister of Dali Temple!"

Li Musheng said sarcastically: "You only have father in your eyes, but no mother and grandmother? Once the rebels break through the city, their whole family will surely die, and the entire clan will be destroyed! Can these village warriors defend the city? The rebels have not yet attacked, one by one. We were scared to death. Besides, during the night raid on the villages, our boat ran away and was washed downstream by the river. Not a single farmer was killed. There was no blood on our hands, we had done a great job in dedicating the city, and our uncle was a rebel. This high-ranking thief official will definitely be reused by Zhao thief in the future!"

"I'll think about it again." Li Chun'an was also confused as to whether he should have his biological father, or his mother and grandmother. Of course, there is also his own life.

"What else are you thinking about?" Li Mu asked anxiously, "If you delay any longer, the rebels will attack the city, and then the whole family will be wiped out!"

Li Chun'an's head hurt when he was told that. He hesitated for a long time and stamped his feet: "That's it, that's it!"

For the sake of your people, dad, you go to hell.