On November 7, the 13th year of Yuanping in the Han Empire, the governor of Ganzhou, Lei Sitong, inspected Pingxi County. That night, in Pingxi City, Lei Sitong was assassinated by the Shatu people, and the whole Ganzhou was shocked!
This was the first time in the decades since the seven Shatu tribes submitted to the Han Empire that a provincial governor-level official in the Han Empire was assassinated by the Shatu people. Ganzhou was originally a border state, and the assassination of the governor of a border state like Ganzhou by a foreign race had a greater impact than the Ye family case.
Of course, the assassination attempt was not successful. There were three assassins who tried to assassinate Lei Sitong. They were killed on the spot. None of them escaped and all were caught red-handed.
According to the news from the Governor's Mansion, the guards around Lei Sitong and Liu Yucheng, the governor of Pingxi County, led a team to encircle and suppress the assassin's accomplices. They found that the three assassins who assassinated Lei Sitong were mixed in a caravan from the seven Shatu tribes. After a battle, most of the people in that Shatu caravan were killed. Among the few captured Shatu people, it was not only confirmed that the assassins came from the seven Shatu tribes, but it was also discovered that many people in that caravan were members of the Black Wind Bandits.
The Black Wind Bandits, who once ravaged the northwest, killed countless people, and made countless merchants shudder at the mention of them, all came from the seven tribes of Shatu and were Shatu people in disguise.
When this news came out, countless people were shocked.
Faced with the assassination attempt by the Shatu people, Lei Sitong, nicknamed Lei Lao Hu, naturally would not give up. As the saying goes, you cannot touch a tiger's butt. This time, the Shatu people did not want to touch his butt, but wanted to chop off his head. Lei Sitong was naturally furious.
On the night of November 7, Lei Sitong mobilized the Pingxi City garrison and his personal guards to search the Shatu gathering area in Pingxi City and arrest the "assassin's accomplices". During this search, the Pingxi City garrison and Lei Sitong's personal guard camp, who received Lei Sitong's order, went on a killing spree in the Shatu gathering area, directly killing more than a hundred Shatu people who dared to resist. Those Shatu people who were used to being arrogant and domineering in Pingxi City on weekdays, always thinking that they could make the Han people in Pingxi City bow their heads by making trouble and being tyrannical, finally tasted the swords and spears of the Han Empire for the first time. That night, in the basement of several Shatu warehouses in the Shatu gathering area in Pingxi City, the Pingxi City garrison and Lei Sitong's personal guard camp discovered a large number of weapons and arrows hidden by the Shatu people...
Early in the morning of November 8, the people of Pingxi County who wanted to enter the city early in the morning suddenly discovered that there were dozens of wooden frames on the towers of each city gate. Inside those dozens of wooden frames were the heads of the Shatu people.
In Pingxi City, many people found that the atmosphere of the whole city seemed to have changed when they got up. The streets of Pingxi City were full of patrolling soldiers and constables. The news that the governor had been assassinated last night spread throughout Pingxi City in an instant. Not only that, Lei Sitong also placed the weapons, bows, crossbows and arrows seized from the Shatu people in the square at the gate of the county governor's mansion for the people of the entire Pingxi City to visit.
For the ordinary people in Pingxi City, although they hated the Shatu people, they just hated them, and most of them didn't think too much about it. But on this morning, when the people in the city saw the various weapons collected by the Shatu people piled up in front of the gate of the County Governor's Mansion, all the people in Pingxi City were shocked and woke up all of a sudden.
There were 5,000 to 6,000 swords, hundreds of bows and crossbows, tens of thousands of arrows, and a large number of other armors and weapons. These weapons were enough to arm two battalions of elite soldiers. What did the Shatu people in Pingxi City want to do by hoarding so many swords and weapons? If these things were purchased by the Shatu Seven Tribes, why didn't they deliver them to the Shatu Seven Tribes, but secretly hoarded them in Pingxi City
Anyone with a bit of common sense would probably think about this question carefully.
It was on this day that an order from Lei Sitong, the governor of Ganzhou who was in Pingxi City, spread to all counties in Ganzhou.
—From now on, in all counties of Ganzhou, if there are Shatu merchant caravans entering the city, the entry fee of all Shatu people will be tripled. At the same time, the city defense passes of each city must strictly inspect the goods transported by the Shatu people. If the Shatu merchant caravans are found carrying swords and weapons, they will be confiscated.
—From now on, in the cities of all counties in Ganzhou, it is strictly forbidden for Shatu people to openly carry swords and other weapons in public places. If a Shatu person is found openly carrying weapons in the city, anyone can kill him on the spot. There is a reward of 500 taels of silver for killing a Shatu person carrying weapons in the city. If any local officials dare to condone and shelter the Shatu people from committing lawless acts, they will be dismissed from office and imprisoned for the crime of treason, and their properties will be confiscated and their families will be exterminated. They will be interrogated personally by the governor.
—From now on, in all counties of Ganzhou, any Shatu people who dare to gather in large numbers to cause trouble, besiege local government offices and military camps, and obstruct local yamen runners and soldiers from performing their duties will be killed on the spot and will not be tolerated. If Shatu people violate the laws of the Han Empire, they will be severely punished and will not be let off arbitrarily. The military governors and criminal arrest offices of all localities have the exclusive power to suppress and arrest Shatu rioters and can make their own decisions without reporting to higher authorities.
—After receiving the above ban, all states and counties must post it on the bulletin board for one month to make sure the people in all states and counties are aware of it.
Naturally, the first city to post the governor's bans was Pingxi City. As soon as these bans were announced, the people of Pingxi City were excited and rushed to tell each other. No matter they were military or civilians, everyone felt that the governor's bans against the Shatu people were very pleasing to the people. They allowed the people in the city to hold their heads high in front of the Shatu people and no longer have to endure their bullying. In an instant, Lei Lao Hu was directly transformed into Lei Qingtian in the mouths of the people of Pingxi City, and his reputation reached a peak in an instant.
The situation in Pingxi City was similar in other cities of Ganzhou. People from all over the country were proud and told each other the news. The Shatu people, who had been arrogant and domineering in various places before, suddenly became dispirited and no longer had the arrogance they once had.
Of course, for the Governor, this alone is far from enough.
Just as the people of Pingxi County saw the notice and rushed to tell each other, Lei Sitong was in the study room of Guanyuan and spoke loudly to a clerk with him, "Do you need me to teach you how to write this memorial... Let's say that I was besieged by hundreds of Shatu assassins from the seven Shatu tribes, and I was left with dozens of wounds. I almost died, and finally I fought hard to kill those assassins. Then I found out that those assassins were all from the seven Shatu tribes. The seven Shatu tribes wanted to assassinate me, so they were eyeing Ganzhou and had bad intentions. Now the situation in Ganzhou is extremely critical, but the military preparations are insufficient, the city checkpoints are not well repaired, and the armor and weapons of soldiers in various places are old. Please ask the court to allocate 30 to 50 million taels of silver for military supplies, so that I can deal with the seven Shatu tribes to protect the territory of the Han Empire. Anyway, no matter how serious the situation is, you can write it. Don't you know how to do it..."
The civil servant in the study broke out in a cold sweat, "Then the Prime Minister... The Prime Minister..."
"Lin Qingtian is nothing. The governor of a state in the imperial court was assassinated by the Shatu people. The evidence is solid, the suspect has been caught red-handed, the confession and the body are all there. What is there to be afraid of? Whoever wants to see the heads of the Shatu assassins, I will pickle those heads with lime and send them to him, and let him put them in front of the ancestral tablets..." Lei Sitong cursed, "What's wrong with me issuing a few orders against the Shatu people in Ganzhou? The Shatu people are not his fathers. If he dares to stand up and speak for the Shatu people at this time, he will be drowned by the saliva of the world. Even if he is the prime minister, do you really think it's fun to be called a traitor by the whole world and be the godson of the Shatu people?"
“Yes, yes, yes, your humble servant,… Your humble servant knows how to write it…” The official nodded while wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Then write it quickly, seal it, and send it out via the military's express mail..."
"Yes!" The official bowed and left.
After seeing the civil servant leave, Lei Sitong turned around and instantly put on a friendly smile. He looked at Yan Liqiang who was also in the study and said, "Liqiang, how do you think about this?"
Yan Liqiang also laughed, "Congratulations, congratulations, Uncle Lei has gained both fame and fortune this time. I just heard that the people in Pingxi City who saw the notice have begun to call Uncle Lei the Lord of Justice. Uncle Lei's bans today are very pleasing to the people and have done immeasurable good deeds. The people of Ganzhou have been looking forward to such a day..."
"Hahaha, if you encounter such a thing in the future, just come find me!" Lei Sitong laughed and stroked his beard. "It's just that there were too few assassins last night, and I wasn't able to kill them all. I've been thinking about how to deal with those Shatu people, but unfortunately I couldn't find a reason all of a sudden. I didn't expect them to come to my door this time, giving me a chance. Speaking of which, I have to thank you!"
"I just did what I should do!" Yan Liqiang smiled modestly. He took advantage of this incident to dig a big hole for the Shatu people. With the help of Lei Sitong, he minimized the destructive power that the Shatu people could bring in the future. Yan Liqiang was prepared for a rainy day and breathed a long sigh of relief. He felt that it was all worth it. This time, the killing plan against him turned out to be like this. I guess neither Lin Qingtian nor the seven Shatu tribes had expected this result.
They can decide to start, but they cannot decide the result...
"The Shatu people suffered such a big loss this time. I don't think they will let it go. Their target is you, Li Qiang. Li Qiang, do you need experts to protect you? If so, I will find some experts for you, so as to prevent those Shatu people from taking advantage of you!" Lei Sitong looked at Yan Liqiang twice, restrained his smile and said seriously.
"We'll talk about the expert guards later. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Uncle Lei. But this incident has touched me a little. After I finish what I'm going to do in the next two days, I'm going to find a place to practice in seclusion for a while. Improving my strength is the most fundamental solution..."
"Not bad, not bad!" Lei Sitong nodded, "It's just that the salt matter we discussed..."
"Uncle Lei, how about we set a time limit of half a year? Within half a year, Uncle Lei will take care of the affairs of the salt field, and then I will finish my retreat and take over the salt field!"
"Half a year..." Lei Sitong pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, "About that. To take over a few large salt fields, it will indeed take at least four or five months. Half a year is not too long. Then we'll make it a deal..."
"good!"
(End of this chapter)