Well, the great cause of greening the motherland has finally been completed, and I will resume updating twice a day starting tomorrow. Today is the last day of this month, so if you still have monthly tickets, don't forget to vote for them, so that they don't expire. I just want to say: Please vote for me!
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After lunch was ready, everyone squatted under a tree to eat and rested for a while, then they saw Niu Wanshan hurried back.
"Sir, something happened. We caught a bandit. He said that the bandits on Jinggang Mountain used an insider to break through Ling County last night. The bandit leader is Gu Xiancheng..."
"What, Gu Xiancheng?" Upon hearing this name, four words immediately appeared in Qin Mu's mind: Immortal cockroach.
This guy is really haunting, and he even ran to Jinggang Mountain. What is going on? Qin Mu suddenly felt extremely absurd.
It was as if I had become Chiang Kai-shek, and Gu Xiancheng had become Mao; I had become a reactionary, and this guy had become the embodiment of justice... Stop, stop, what a mess.
Niu Wanshan had naturally heard of Gu Xiancheng. After all, the rebellion in southern Jiangxi was very serious. He clasped his fists and replied, "Yes, sir. I have interrogated many people. The leader of this group of bandits is Gu Xiancheng. There were not many champions in Ling County. After careful planning, Gu Xiancheng used internal support to capture Ling County in one fell swoop. The county magistrate Xie Zhaoxiang was executed."
"Now, what is the situation in Ling County?"
"After Gu Xiancheng occupied Ling County, he showed no intention of withdrawing. He is opening the warehouse to distribute grain and recruiting soldiers." Niu Wanshan ordered the soldiers behind him: "Quick, bring that thug up."
This was a man in his thirties, with bruises all over his face. He must have been severely beaten by Niu Wanshan and his men. When he was brought to Qin Mu, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: "Sir, please spare my life. I was a good citizen. I was forced to do this. Please spare my life..."
"If you want to live, tell me the truth about what happened on the mountain." Qin Mu said expressionlessly.
"Sir, I am only responsible for keeping watch..."
"Stop talking nonsense. What's your name? How many of you are there? How many of you are going to attack Ling County? How many of you are left on the mountain? Where is your mountain stronghold?"
"Please spare my life, sir. My name is Mo Er. Our stronghold is in Old Eagle Forest in Wangyangjie. There are more than 200 people in total. Most of them followed the leader down the mountain yesterday. There are still more than 30 people in Shandong..."
Qin Mu took the small road in order to get back to Changsha as soon as possible, but he didn't expect to encounter such a thing in Jinggang Mountain. Jiangxi is mountainous. There are many small bandits in the territory. The southern part of Jiangxi controlled by Qin Mu is not so bad. For example, Ji'an, Linjiang, Nanchang, and Raozhou, Qin Mu has not yet carried out actual military occupation;
The military forces of these prefectures were extremely weak. With low combat power and the turbulent situation in the world, few local officials were willing to eliminate the banditry in their territories.
Even if they sent troops to suppress bandits, their real purpose was not to suppress bandits. Most of the time, they would impose various levies in the name of suppressing bandits, and then send troops to make a show of it. The ultimate goal of the officials was to enrich themselves through these actions. In their hearts, the officials only wanted to keep the prefectures and counties intact.
The encounter with bandits in Jinggang Mountain did serve as a wake-up call to Qin Mu, and it also provided him with a good excuse to actually occupy the various prefectures in Jiangxi from a military perspective.
Chiang Kai-shek used the name of "suppressing bandits" to weaken and subdue warlords in various provinces one by one. Although Chiang Kai-shek lost the mainland in the end, it was fate and time. It does not mean that his early use of "suppressing bandits" to subdue warlords in various provinces was useless. Chiang Kai-shek was unlucky. The outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War made it impossible for him to concentrate on "suppressing bandits". In addition, he met an opponent who was more powerful than him.
Qin Mu thought deeply for a while, then told Yan Gaofei, "Send my order back to Ganzhou immediately, and let Sima An coordinate the deployment. Ganzhou's 30,000 troops will be dispatched in turns to wipe out the bandits in Jiangxi. The prefectures and big cities will send 3,000 to 2,000 troops, and the small counties will send 1,000 or a few hundred troops, depending on the situation. This can be considered as a real combat training. Send a message to Xiang Liancheng, wherever our army goes, the three major disciplines and eight points of attention must be brought to the land. Anyone who dares to disturb the people without reason will be executed."
"Yes, sir."
Yan Gaofei was about to leave when Qin Mu said, "Come with me."
After taking Yan Gaofei into the woods alone, Qin Mu said softly: "This large-scale anti-bandit campaign is first and foremost to eliminate the bandit troubles in Jiangxi so that the people can work in peace. Secondly, it is to occupy the entire territory of Jiangxi militarily. How to take the opportunity to weaken and annex the garrisons of various prefectures, all of these must be considered at the same time;
Furthermore, we should also use the opportunity of suppressing bandits to weaken or even uproot those landlords and officials who are rampant in the countryside and hated by the people. Let Sima An and Xiang Liancheng figure out how to do it. You bachelor families should also fully cooperate with this action.
You have to be extremely careful about this matter. If you are not absolutely sure, it is better not to take action. I have made it clear in advance. If anyone leaks the news, don't blame me for holding him accountable."
"My Lord, I understand. I will go back to Ganzhou in person. Do you have any other instructions?"
"I don't have time to stay in Jinggang Mountain and fight Gu Xiancheng, but Gu Xiancheng is like a ghost that won't go away. He will jump out from time to time to make trouble. It's really annoying. Let Cui Feng lead the army in person. This time, we must completely destroy Gu Xiancheng no matter what. I really don't want to hear this name again."
Indeed, for Qin Mu, Gu Xiancheng was like an annoying fly. He was too good at causing trouble, and if he was not careful, he might become a serious threat. It was time to spend a lot of effort to deal with this fly. But it would take some time for Cui Feng to lead the troops. Now that Gu Xiancheng had attacked Ling County, he couldn't just ignore it.
***
On Gaoling Mountain, a large flag with the Chinese character Gu fluttered in the wind. Under the flag, Gu Xiancheng touched the scar on his cheek, kicked over the thug who was trying to get information, and cursed loudly, "Damn it, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Your Majesty, I just heard that it was Qin Mu who came. Please spare my life."
"Damn it, Qin Mu can't fly up to the sky. Keep going to find out, quickly, or I will chop you off."
"Yes, yes, my lord. I will go right away."
Watching the little minions tumbling down the mountain, Gu Xiancheng suddenly laughed up to the sky: "Qin Mu, you really don't take the road to heaven, but you come to hell. This time, I will not only peel off your skin and pull out your tendons, but also write the three words "Gu Xiancheng" backwards."
Hundreds of bandits on the mountain listened to Gu Xiancheng's bold words and had different thoughts. It turned out that their mountain king was not Gu Xiancheng, but a man named Huang Datou. Gu Xiancheng fled to Jinggang Mountain with a dozen people and was taken in by Huang Datou. However, Huang Datou disappeared mysteriously a month ago, and no one saw him alive or dead. Gu Xiancheng successfully replaced Huang Datou as the leader of this group of bandits.
This time, under Gu Xiancheng's planning, they captured Ling County in one fell swoop, which greatly increased his prestige among the bandits. At the same time, he recruited two or three hundred people in Ling County, which greatly increased his momentum.
But when they heard that it was Qin Mu who had brought the troops personally and took advantage of the fact that they were out in full force to destroy their lair in the Eagle Forest in Wangyangjie in one fell swoop, the bandits were still in a panic.
As the saying goes, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. The name Qin Mu was too shocking to the bandits in Jiangxi. Not many people dared to challenge Qin Mu head-on.
Gu Xiancheng seemed to have seen through his men's thoughts. He shouted arrogantly, "What are you afraid of? Qin Mu is also a human being. He only has 200 men around him. We have the best time and place. It's not difficult to deal with him. He is hiding now. It's obvious that he is afraid. Think about it, if we can capture Qin Mu alive, how much benefit will it bring..."
Indeed, if Qin Mu could be captured alive, the benefits would be self-evident.
The problem is that after Qin Mu's two hundred troops destroyed their lair in one fell swoop, they mysteriously disappeared in the vast mountains of Jinggang Mountain.
Originally, the enemy was in the light and we were in the dark, but in this case, it became the enemy in the dark and we were in the light. Gu Xiancheng sent people to search everywhere, but there was no clue so far, and Qin Mu's two hundred people disappeared like air.
His words just now were more to encourage his men. After the opponent mysteriously disappeared, he was still unsure.
However, Qin Mu came to Jinggang Mountain with two hundred troops this time. Gu Xianchengran believed that this was an opportunity sent to him by God. If he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult for him to take revenge in his lifetime.
Just as Gu Xiancheng was trying to boost morale, a large flag with the word "Qin" on it suddenly floated out of the dense forest opposite Gaoling Mountain. The flag was mysterious and coldly black, and it appeared in everyone's sight without any warning, causing the hundreds of bandits on the mountain to pause.
.(To be continued..)
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