Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 378: To Go or Not*
"Based on what we have learned, we cannot rule out this possibility," Meng Changqing said. "I have killed a group of strong men before, so it is normal for them to plot to kill me."

"Then according to your Excellency, what should we do?"

"In the final analysis, there are only two choices in this matter: go up the mountain or not." While Meng Changqing was telling Yang Zheng, he was also sorting out his thoughts. "Going up the mountain is very risky. Even if I send out all the yamen runners, I am not completely sure that I can eradicate the root of the problem."

Yang Zheng continued, "If this is a conspiracy set up by that family in conjunction with the people on the mountain, no matter how many people we go, we will never come back."

"exactly."

"What the adults mean is that we should not go up the mountain."

Meng Changqing was silent for a while before he said with certainty: "Not going up the mountain."

"It's not worth taking such a big risk for his family's food."

"But if it's not a bureau, wouldn't we have lost a good opportunity? Your Excellency is hesitant because you regret having such an opportunity." Yang Zheng suggested, "Why don't you ask General Wei for help and ask him to send troops up the mountain?"

Meng Changqing did not follow the other party's line of thought, but said: "If this family colluded with the people in the mountain to set up a trap, it is really puzzling. Why would they take such a big risk when we finally have peace? Even if we listened to him, went up the mountain, and were killed, what benefits would this family get?"

"Occupy the county government? Take over Beishan County?" Yang Zheng guessed along the lines of thought.

"What are their chances of success?"

Yang Zheng thought for a moment, "It's impossible to succeed. The group of people on the mountain have limited combat power. We can't do anything to them. It's just that due to the terrain, they will lose their advantage once they come down the mountain. The county government is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and there are sufficient weapons. There is also gunpowder outside the county.

As long as there are two groups of people left in the government office, there will be no chance for those people to succeed."

"Do they know?" Meng Changqing asked.

"what?"

Meng Changqing said, "Do they know that it's impossible to succeed?" Without waiting for Yang Zheng to reply, she continued, "They don't know the preparations made by the county government, but they should also know that it's impossible for a few hundred people to completely control ten thousand people. If one person reports to the guards on the wall, it will only take a moment to clear them out."

"Your Excellency means that it is unlikely that they will join forces with the people on the mountain to set up a trap?"

"Yes."

Yang Zheng became excited, "Then we must seize this opportunity and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop!"

Every time she heard about going up the mountain, Meng Changqing always felt uneasy. She was very familiar with this feeling. When she was a child, she would have this feeling before being framed or assassinated. As she grew up, this feeling appeared less and less.

Now that the uneasy premonition reappeared, she was willing to trust her feelings.

Yang Zheng could see that compared to his own excitement, Meng Changqing was very calm, so calm that he seemed to have no intention of going up the mountain at all. He found it very strange. In his impression, Meng Changqing had always been a resourceful and warlike person. Why would he retreat now?
He had previously suggested asking General Wei for help, but Lord Meng did not respond.

If you are not afraid of insufficient manpower, then what are you afraid of?

"Sir." Seeing that Meng Changqing had not spoken for a long time, Yang Zheng called her.

Meng Changqing looked up, saw Yang Zheng's expression, and smiled awkwardly, "To be honest, I have a bad feeling about going up the mountain.

If I were to give you reasons for not going up the mountain, I could find many, but to be honest, it’s just because I don’t feel very good.

As an official, it is ridiculous to say such things, but Brother Yang, I treat you as a friend."

Yang Zheng quickly said: "I understand.

There are many veterans in the army who also have this feeling before going out to fight the enemy. Often the situation will develop according to their premonition. The so-called premonition is the continuous accumulation of experience. When it accumulates to a certain level, even if the brain does not think of the abnormality, the heart will notice it. The subordinate believes in the premonition of the adults.

As the Lord said, it is not worth it for the brothers to take risks just to feed the family."

At this moment, Meng Changqing suddenly realized that Yang Zheng was an extraordinary person.

When did he master the technique of passing steps?
"Then, sir, what follow-up arrangements do you have for the small village?" Yang Zheng asked.

Meng Changqing did not answer, but asked: "What do you think is the appropriate arrangement?"

Yang Zheng was stunned. Thinking of his concurrent post as the county lieutenant, he immediately broke out in a sweat. “I think we should let the two shifts of yamen runners guarding the dangerous mountain stay in the small village.

If the bandits came down the mountain just to steal food, there is a high chance that they will come back next time.

Let the brothers from the two groups form small teams of two or three people and disperse them to different households. Each team will be on the whistle, and if they encounter anything unusual, they will blow the whistle in response.

Prepare fireworks for Qian Deming and Sun Dayu. If robbers come again, light the fireworks to notify them and we can rush over immediately."

After listening to him, Meng Changqing said that his arrangement was very appropriate and asked him to get started.

After Yang Zheng walked out of the door, he quickly went to the North Wall Market to get fireworks. Halfway there, he suddenly stopped.

It is thought that General Wei's term as prefect will expire in August next year.

If it is really as he said, and he asks General Wei to send troops to suppress the bandits, it would be fine if they are wiped out, but if he is not careful, it would be a failure for General Wei and may very likely affect his promotion.

Only then did he understand why Lord Meng seemed not to hear him when he proposed this idea.

Yang Zheng sighed, thinking that his cultivation was not good enough.

Everything was arranged according to Yang Zheng, and no one stepped out to stop it during the process.

In the small village, other villagers were also afraid that their families would be the next to be robbed of their food. When they learned about the county government's arrangement, they generally agreed with it, but they were a little worried in their hearts, fearing that it would be difficult to serve the yamen runners who would live in their homes.

But after two or three days of contact, I no longer had such concerns. The yamen runners provided their own meals, brought their own bedding, and even had firewood for heating the kang delivered by someone special.

The yamen runners stayed in the village for about ten days.

Qian Deming lived in great anxiety, hoping that the bandits would come every day, but they never came.

Yang Zheng was the same. He went to the small village almost every day and several times a day. In addition to guarding the village, he also went to check for traces left by the bandits last time.

It was obvious that they were in great torment during this period, and several of them even had blisters on their mouths from anxiety.

Later, Sun Dayu realized something was wrong. "With so many of us here, even if the bandits wanted to come down, they would be too scared to do so."

"Yes!" Yang Zheng reacted at this time. Although their blatant stationing here could protect the villagers from being robbed, it lost the opportunity to lure and capture the bandits.

After that, they changed their strategy.

Ten days later, it was the end of October.

That night, Meng Changqing was sleeping in the house when she suddenly heard two loud bangs outside. She rushed out of the house without even bothering to put on her clothes and shoes. After going out, she looked in the sky to the south and saw the fireworks that had not yet completely dissipated.