The heavens set sail from the courtyard

Chapter 386
On the seventh day of June, the gate of heaven is open and it is advisable to travel.

Hu Dahai was riding on horseback, looking at Wang Gang next to him, full of complaints but nowhere to go.

Behind the two are a group of Yamen servants from Jiujiang County Yamen, about three to forty people.

Wang Gang found Hu Dahai suddenly this morning, and asked him to gather his men to take a tour of Jiujiang in the afternoon.

Wang Gang is Hu Dahai's direct superior, and his request is not too much, and he has no reason to refuse.

What surprised Hu Dahai was that Wang Gang didn't stop in the county town, but ran out of the city with three No. 40 people.

There is no improvement in the wilderness outside the city. Hu Dahai proposed to Wang Gang to go to the largest flower boat in the county together, but Wang Gang refused.

Hu Dahai could only go out of the city with Wang Gang full of complaints.

"My lord, we can't go any further. There are a lot of bandits in this area." Hu Dahai finally couldn't help seeing Wang Gang walking further and further away.

"Jiangxi is full of bandits. I have heard about it for a long time. Are there bandits outside Jiujiang County?" Wang Gang asked doubtfully.

Hu Dahai said solemnly: "There is a three-headed mountain outside Jiujiang County. There is a group of bandits entrenched on the mountain. The leader Wang Ermazi is brutal. He always robs businesses. .”

Wang Gang became interested and asked, "Why did you return without success? Could it be that Wang Ermazi has a lot of people under his command?"

Hu Dahai shook his head and said, "That's not true. Wang Ermazi's group defended the mountain to the death, and the mountain is densely covered with traps. Every time they besieged us, we lost a lot."

Wang Gang asked: "The bandits are hiding in the mountains, and the water and food are all transported down the mountains. As long as they cut off their food roads and starve them for three to five seven days, they will naturally be defeated."

Hu Dahai laughed and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Sheng to know the art of war."

"Know a thing or two." Wang Gang said proudly: "To tell you the truth, my biggest mission in Jiujiang this time is to exterminate bandits. I came out this time to find out about the situation."

Upon hearing this, Hu Dahai's eyes flashed a glimmer of unknown meaning.

"Master Sheng, Mr. Hu has dealt with those bandits, and he also understands these desperadoes. It is difficult to eliminate Wang Ermazi just by relying on people like us in the yamen, let alone Jiujiang County, where there are many other Bandits are stronger than Wang Ermazi, but not weaker."

Wang Gang proudly said: "I have received the government's decree, allowing me to recruit soldiers and train the militia."

Hu Dahai was surprised and said: "It turns out that your lord has the right to recruit soldiers."

Since the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, military generals have been strictly controlled, and military power is strictly guarded against death. Not many generals have soldiers in their hands, let alone civil servants.

No wonder Hu Dahai was surprised that Wang Gang, a mere seventh-rank magistrate, had the right to recruit troops.

"Actually, the imperial court has always wanted to solve the banditry problem in Jiangxi. Unfortunately, the imperial court also has the imperial court's difficulties. Therefore, the officials allowed me to recruit soldiers locally, but we have to solve the food and wages by ourselves."

Hu Dahai suddenly realized.

It is a matter of course for the soldiers to eat food, and the imperial court recruited soldiers to solve the problem of food for the soldiers, but as Wang Gang said, he even asked the county to pay for his recruitment of the militia.

Where does this money come from?
"Master Sheng is new here, so he doesn't know much about Jiujiang." Hu Dahai said, "Jiujiang is a well-known impoverished county in Jiangxi, and it is difficult to make ends meet, let alone pay for the army."

Wang Gang didn't care and said: "These are just trivial matters. Once the bandits are cleared and the Jiangxi trade route is opened, there will naturally be no shortage of taxes."

Hu Dahai smiled wryly and said: "Mr. Sheng has made the problem simple. From recruiting to combat, a soldier needs a lot of food supplies, ordnance for daily training, and daily expenses, all of which need money."

Wang Gang frowned and said, "No matter how poor Jiujiang County is, if you recruit a thousand soldiers, there should be food and pay for three months!"

Hu Dahai explained: "Don't talk about March, even half a month can't get it out."

Wang Gang's face was serious, and he seemed a little unhappy.

Hu Dahai added: "The county magistrates have always been in Jiujiang County for three years, waiting for the assessment by the Ministry of Officials. They will either be promoted step by step or transferred to other places. Few people will really care about the lives of the people in Jiujiang."

Wang Gang heard what Hu Dahai meant. He wanted Wang Gang to be a county magistrate for three years in a daze, with mixed qualifications, and leave when the deadline came.

"I am determined to plead for the people, so I don't care about the well-being of the people." Wang Gang said sternly, "Master Hu, when you return to the city today, start preparing to recruit soldiers. Within a month, I want to see a thousand soldiers."

Hu Dahai was a little embarrassed, and wanted to persuade him again, but Wang Gang didn't give him a chance at all, flattered him, and walked away.

"My lord, wait for me." Hu Dahai quickly chased after him.

The two of them rode horses, and their speed was naturally extremely fast, but they had to rely on two legs to chase after those yamen servants.

Wang Gang was riding, walking further and further away, Hu Dahai shouted and chased after him.

"My lord, I can't go any further, the front is within the range of Three Heads Mountain."

Wang Gang didn't seem to hear, and continued to move forward, but Hu Dahai pulled the horse's head and stopped.

Seeing Wang Gang disappear in front of him, Hu Dahai's expression changed a few times, as if he was considering whether to follow.

Not far ahead is the sphere of influence of Three Heads Mountain, and it is very likely that they will meet Wang Ermazi's group.

"Master Hu, help, there is a tiger!" Wang Gang's voice suddenly came from the front, which surprised Hu Dahai.

The so-called big bug is a tiger, even an experienced hunter has to run away when encountering a big bug.

"Hurry up and protect your lord." Without hesitation, Hu Dahai greeted the yamen servant and rushed forward.

When he caught up with Wang Gang, he saw Wang Gang confronting the tiger with one knife.

The tiger's eyes are piercing, and it walks vigorously. Its fur is shiny, with dark brown stripes on a honey-yellow background, thick, soft, and smooth, about a foot long.

Wang Gang was standing opposite the tiger with a steel knife. The horse under him had already fallen to the ground, with a ferocious bite mark on its neck.

When Hu Dahai saw the tiger, he felt a little apprehensive, and the group of yamen servants backed away in fright.

Suddenly, the tiger rushed towards Wang Gang fiercely, opening its foul-smelling mouth wide, revealing ferocious sharp teeth.

Wang Gang turned over, dodged the tiger's pounce, and drew a line on the tiger's belly with the long knife.

The tiger's skin was rough and fleshy, and Wang Gang's hand was not a magic weapon, but a common steel knife in a yamen, so he only made a shallow cut in the tiger's stomach.

Although the mouth is shallow, it has successfully aroused the tiger's viciousness.

Wang Gang rolled over and distanced himself from the tiger, but invisibly approached Hu Dahai.

Hu Dahai was so frightened that he was about to turn his horse's head and escape, but Wang Gang had already climbed on the horse.

"Master Hu, run quickly." Wang Gang sat directly behind Hu Dahai and called out.

The tiger rushed over again behind him, Hu Dahai subconsciously wanted to drive the horse away, but it was still a step too late, the tiger had already jumped on the horse and knocked the horse over.

Hu Dahai and Wang Gang fell down in response, and they rolled together, quite embarrassed.

The tiger killed Da Ma with one bite, and then looked fiercely at Wang Gang and Hu Dahai.

"Come and save me." Hu Dahai couldn't tell what he was frightened, and only hoped that the yamen servants he brought would come to rescue him.

It's a pity that the yamen servants were already panicked by the tiger. Not only did no one come to rescue them, but they ran away in all directions.

Hu Dahai looked at the fleeing people, he was so angry that he wanted to go back and deal with them.

It's a pity that the tiger didn't know what Hu Dahai was thinking, so it rushed towards them again.

Wang Gang stood up straight from the ground like a carp, with the steel knife in his hand dancing airtightly, quite powerful, he really frightened the tiger, so he didn't dare to go forward, and ran towards Hu Dahai instead.

"Why are you chasing me?" Hu Dahai was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, and backed away scrambling.

The tiger had four legs, one step faster than Hu Dahai, and grabbed him with one paw.

"what!"

One person and one tiger rolled on the ground, stirring up dust all over the sky. When Wang Gang saw it clearly, Hu Dahai's body was bloody and bloody. There was not a good piece of meat bitten by the fierce tiger. It seemed that he would not survive.

The tiger rushed towards Wang Gang again, this time Wang Gang didn't run away, but stood in place, waiting for the tiger to pounce, the steel knife in his hand turned into a cold light, and directly plunged into the tiger's mouth.

This knife was clean and neat, completely different from just now.

The tiger howled, fell to the ground, pulled out a few times, and gradually lost its sound.

Wang Gang walked towards Hu Dahai slowly and found that he was not dead yet.

"Master Sheng, save me."

Wang Gang raised his eyebrows, rolled his eyes, and ran to Hu Dahai's side pretending to be.

"Master Hu, hold on, I'll send you back to the county for treatment."

Wang Gang picked up Hu Dahai and walked towards the county seat. On the way, he met escaped servants. Wang Gang asked them to help carry Hu Dahai, and they returned to Jiujiang County together.

The yamen servant sent Hu Dahai to a familiar hospital, and the doctor gave emergency rescue for half an hour, during which time Hu Dahai's wailing continued.

Niu Wenjin, the county magistrate, and Hu Dahai's father-in-law Du Yuanwai rushed over after hearing the sound.

"We went out to investigate in the city, and encountered a fierce tiger during the trip. Mr. Hu was seriously injured in order to save me. I feel guilty!" Wang Gang said tearfully to Du Yuanwai.

(End of this chapter)