Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

Chapter 165 Shuzhou

Half a month later in Meizhou, at night, two small oil lamps were lit in the public housing of the government office.

Song Lan, wearing his official robe, sat alone at the table, staring blankly at the cold food with lifeless eyes.

After finishing his cases every day, he only has free time at night to worry about his wife and children. At this moment, there is a hurried knock on the door.

He opened the door and saw it was his long-servant. "What's going on?"

"Sir, there is a letter from the capital." The attendant handed over the letter and said.

Song Lan opened the letter quickly with trembling hands, as if he was afraid of missing something. He read every word carefully, and finally a hint of joy appeared between his brows. The long-servant looked at his expression and asked him.

"Master, what does the letter say?"

Song Lan was a little excited. "The court has already sent people to Shuzhou to rescue my wife and children. It was Marquis Dingbei who went there personally."

"Really? That's great, sir." The servant said happily.

Song Lan was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He bowed towards the direction of the capital.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

It took another ten days for Xiao Yan's troops to arrive at Changchuan County, Shuzhou.

At night, the sky was raining and snowing, and it was extremely cold. The city was shrouded in fog, and the streets were deserted with closed doors.

Dozens of cavalrymen appeared at the city gate. Normally, there were almost no large numbers of people entering or leaving Changchuan County. This scene was too large, so several city guards stopped them vigilantly.

But looking at the extraordinary momentum of the people and horses, each of them carrying a sharp weapon, they did not look like ordinary people, and he felt a little timid.

The chief soldier asked, "Who are you?"

Yang Zhounan didn't say anything, but took out the document from his arms and handed it to him. When the leader soldier took it and looked at it, his face suddenly changed and he panicked.

He handed the document back respectfully and quickly asked the other soldiers to move aside.

It was warm in the public housing in the backyard of the yamen. A slightly plump old man in a green robe was sitting at the dining table, and two graceful women were feeding him wine and meat.

It was Cao Yuejin, the magistrate of Changchuan.

County Magistrate Tian next to him poured him some wine, but before Cao Yuejin could drink it, he heard an urgent knock on the door.

County Magistrate Tian went to open the door and saw that it was the chief clerk, Pan Shun. He asked him, "What are you so flustered about? Can't you see that the master is having dinner?"

Pan Shun's face was filled with anxiety. "Someone from the capital has arrived and is already in the court. Tell the Lord to go and greet him."

"What's the matter?" Cao Yuejin smiled and drank the wine handed to him by the beauty, "Explain clearly."

Pan Shun said, "Marquis Dingbei has arrived. He has just arrived."

"Marquis Dingbei?" Cao Yuejin was stunned for a moment. "Which Marquis Dingbei?"

County Magistrate Tian's eyes turned, as if he suddenly woke up, staring at Cao Yuejin and was about to speak, but Cao Yuejin suddenly understood at this time, stood up and walked to the door.

"Is it, is it the Marquis Dingbei who campaigned in the northwest?"

Pan Shun nodded vigorously. County Magistrate Tian asked suspiciously, "Why would he come to a small place like ours? Could it be..."

Cao Yuejin also figured it out, and immediately straightened his appearance and trotted out to the court.

As soon as I entered the court, I saw that the corridors on both sides of the courtyard were full of guards with swords. Three tall and big men stood under the eaves, all with knives hanging on their waists. One of them had his hands behind his back and faced outside the courtyard.

Seeing this scene, Cao Yuejin couldn't help but feel timid. He walked forward quickly and greeted them with a smile.

"I didn't know the Marquis of Dingbei was coming. I failed to greet you. I hope the Marquis will forgive me."

Xiao Yan turned around upon hearing the voice and looked down at him. "It's alright. Does Magistrate Cao know why I'm here?"

Cao Yuejin pondered the matter secretly and said cautiously, "I wonder if the Marquis is here for Lord Song's wife and children?"

Xiao Yan took out the manifesto and handed it to Cao Yuejin according to the regulations. "The court has appointed me as an imperial envoy this time to join forces with you in Changchuan County to suppress the bandits and rescue the hostages."

After reading it, Cao Yuejin handed the manifesto back and said flatteringly.

"Bandits are rampant here, and we are also troubled. Now that the Marquis has personally dispatched, I will definitely cooperate with you and obey your orders."

County Magistrate Tian observed the other's expression and continued, "You all have come a long way to get here, and you must be exhausted. I will make arrangements for you. Let's have dinner first."

After dinner, Xiao Yan was not idle either. He called a meeting of officials from the yamen and asked Cao Yuejin to report the situation of the bandits.

Cao Yuejin said, "The bandits in Changchuan County are in Changyun Mountain. They are mainly composed of three groups led by Peng Bing, Jie Caizhen, and Ge Hongzhi. There are probably three or four hundred of them. Some of them are local residents who have turned into bandits."

"Successive county magistrates have also launched campaigns to suppress the bandits when they took office, but the mountain roads are rugged and the terrain is complex, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, the bandits have been entrenched here for many years, so the government's campaigns have been greatly hindered, and most of them have returned empty-handed."

Xiao Yan asked, "Do they have any firearms?"

"Yes," Cao Yuejin explained, "Before I arrived here, the bandits had already obtained some firearms from the defeated soldiers of previous years, including fire bombs, but the number should not be large."

Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then asked, "How many troops are available in the county?"

"Although Changchuan County is not small, it is a remote and poor place." Cao Yuejin said, "The county has available archers. Including the militia, there are at least two to three thousand of them."

He described in detail the various entrances to Changyun Mountain, and continued talking until the next moment.

Cao Yuejin wanted to move out the main hall for Xiao Yan to live in, but Xiao Yan refused and lived in the side courtyard instead. There were guards on duty at the gate.

Yang Zhounan walked down the corridor and said, "This County Magistrate Cao keeps saying that we live in a poor and remote area, but his dinner is all about delicious fish and meat, premium wine, and his courtyard is full of valuable flowers and plants. His furniture is all worth a lot of money. I am a second-rank county magistrate, but I am not as well off as he, a seventh-rank county magistrate."

"The emperor is far away, and it's hard not to be rich." Xiao Yan said, "Tomorrow we will first test the strength of the people and select a group of elite soldiers to see first."

Yang Zhounan said, "You said this county has thousands of soldiers available, along with firearms and ammunition. How could it take so long to capture a mere three or four hundred bandits?"

Su Chengfeng followed behind and continued, "Didn't the magistrate say that the terrain is difficult to attack and easy to defend? Besides, they have firearms. They have been entrenched in the mountains for years and already have a large scale and defense line. There are also many caves in the mountains. They are very familiar with the terrain, so it won't be easy to take them down."

"Having said that, generally speaking, the county magistrate here still lacks that determination," said Yang Zhounan.

"They can make what they deserve and enjoy what they deserve. At most, they can serve for a few years and then be transferred to another position. There's no need to risk their lives and property."

Xiao Yan entered the room, and the other two entered the next room.

Yang Zhounan sat at the table and poured tea. Su Chengfeng put down the knife and looked around the room.

"You sleep on the bed, I sleep on the couch."

Hearing this, Yang Zhounan glanced at the bed and said, "It's very cold in this room. There's no heating like in the capital. You'll freeze to death sleeping on the couch. This bed is so wide, it can easily accommodate three people."

Su Chengfeng sighed, took his clothes and went to take a shower. When Yang Zhounan came back after showering, he saw him lying on the couch in the outer room wrapped in a thin quilt, like a fat caterpillar.