The Great Tang General

"What if we don't give it?"

Li Xuan stared at Xie Bian.

He could see that this was a dandy young man, and Xuanze Township was in a mess because of such boys.

The so-called village chief is not even an official, yet he dares to show off so much.

"Hehe...Xuanze Township's surname is Xie. He disappeared here. No one can find him alive, and no one can find his body after he died."

Xie Bian threatened Li Xuan.

In fact, he already had the intention to kill and silence the witness.

"Clap clap..."

Li Xuan clapped his hands, unable to tolerate Xie Bian's disregard for human life.

As Li Xuan clapped his hands, the guards behind him immediately pulled out swords from their packages.

Among them, several soldiers took out crossbows from their backpacks and quickly strung the crossbows in one go.

The sudden change scared Xie Bian out of his wits. When he saw the crossbow pointed at him, he subconsciously hid behind a servant.

Did we encounter a bandit?

It’s bad enough that he carries a sword, but he also carries a crossbow. What is he trying to do?
The group of blue-clothed servants who followed their master's arrogance were frightened and turned pale, unconsciously crowding back.

Although they were numerous, they were intimidated by the tiger-like eyes of the imperial guards.

He is used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, so how can he have the courage?

"What do you want to do? We are many in number, we are not afraid of you."

Xie Bian also regarded Li Xuan and others as bandits, hiding behind the servants and speaking in a timid manner.

The legs of the servant who was used as a shield by him were trembling.

"We have crossbows, what good are more people?"

Seeing that Xie Bian didn't know what to do, Li Xuan teased him.

"The crossbow only has one shot. My men are all death warriors. I advise you to put down your weapons. Otherwise, when the soldiers arrive, you will be killed."

Xie Bian encouraged himself. He had more than forty men, so there was no reason for him to be afraid of Li Xuan's twenty men.

Moreover, there were only a dozen or so Li Xuan men armed with swords, sabers, and crossbows.

"Look over there..."

Li Xuan pointed behind Xie Bian.

"We are all adults, stop playing this kind of trick..."

Xie Bian thought that Li Xuan tricked him into turning around so that he could gain the upper hand.

He won't fall for this!
"Dalang..."

A servant cried out softly, his tone filled with fear.

"what!"

Xie Bian was impatient.

He had already determined that Li Xuan and his gang were notorious bandits, and wanted to delay time until reinforcements arrived so that he would be more confident in capturing them.

Another servant in blue pushed Xie Bian.

Realizing something was wrong, Xie Bian turned around slightly.

At this moment, his eyes widened instantly, as if he had seen the most horrible thing. Every hair on his body stood up.

In the early morning of winter, I was sweating profusely.

At least a hundred men in black appeared behind Xie Bian, with their swords unsheathed, and they surrounded this side in a fan shape.

When these men in black ran, they were like tigers pouncing on their prey, exuding an iron-blooded aura.

Xie Bian's servants felt their scalps tingling, and a bone-chilling chill ran from their tail vertebrae to their foreheads.

Some servants were so frightened that they dropped their swords and sticks. They were nothing like the "death squad" that Xie Bian mentioned.

"My goodness, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."

No matter how scared he was, Xie Bian had to ask for peace with Li Xuan.

When they outnumbered Li Xuan's group, Xie Bian's bones immediately became soft.

He was afraid that these men in black would rush over and chop them into meat paste.

Xie Bian never thought deeply about Li Xuan's identity.

Because throughout history, there has never been an emperor who went on a secret visit.

The so-called incognito visits only exist in novels.

When he didn't have this concept, Xie Bian naturally wouldn't think of the emperor.

On the contrary, more than a hundred years ago, there appeared "outlaw heroes" who looted the countryside.

Xie Bian thought Li Xuan was this kind of person.

"Who has more people now?"

Li Xuan asked Xie Bian.

The inner guards were less than twenty steps away from Xie Bian and his servants, and were getting closer.

"There are many good men."

Xie Bian said with patience.

"Catch him!"

Li Xuan didn't waste any more time and decided to take down Xie Bian first.

The inner guards gradually approached, and finally one of the servants mustered up the courage to shout, "Protect Dalang..."

"Pfft!"

As soon as he raised the knife, an internal guard rushed to him and hacked him to death with one blow.

The other slaves immediately knelt on the ground and shouted, "Please spare my lives, sir."

Killing people over a disagreement, isn't that just a bandit?

"My dear, I am from the Xie family of Huaiyin. I was blind and didn't recognize the great man. Please forgive me. My father will pay for my life..."

Seeing his servant lying in a pool of blood, Xie Bian knew that this gang of bandits would kill without blinking an eye. He no longer had any illusions. Under such oppression, he almost couldn't breathe.

While he was begging for mercy, the guards came forward and held him down.

"You are not worthy of my jade. I don't want the people's blood and flesh..."

Li Xuan said disdainfully.

"How can a hero let me go..."

As arrogant as Xie Bian's expression just now was, his expression now was as pitiful.

"Just wait and see the good show!"

After saying that, he turned and went back to the courtyard.

Facing the gleaming blade, Xie Bian could only lie on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

"Why don't you just take that bully to the county government office and question the county magistrate?"

Zhang Xun asked Li Xuan for instructions.

"If something like this happens, will the county magistrate not come?"

Li Xuan said slowly.

Zhang Xun understood.

In his heart, an arrogant person like Xie Bian deserves no regret even if he is cut into pieces.

The son of a village chief, a tiny boy, dared to act so tyrannically.

Zhang Xun also served as a county magistrate. He had seen arrogant people, but he had never seen one so rampant.

"Tell the spies to keep an eye out for any disturbances. If they see soldiers from Huaiyin County, the cavalry will attack immediately."

Li Xuan gave instructions to Liao Zhengrong.

Last night, Li Xuan issued an order for the cavalry to enter Hongze Township.

The Jinyiwei directly controlled any checkpoints along the roads that the cavalry passed.

All soldiers, constables, and Jinyiwei in Huaiyin County were arrested.

The cavalry is now stationed outside Hongze Township and can gallop to Qingyunli in an instant.

"As ordered!"

After receiving the order, Liao Zhengrong instructed an internal guard.

The so-called "spies" of the Xie family in Xuanze Township were nothing compared to the specially trained Jinyiwei.

At this moment, the farm families where Li Xuan and others lived were at a loss.

Obviously, in their eyes, businessmen have also become "thieves".

But it seemed wrong, because these "thieves" were too polite, and they were extremely poor, so it was impossible for them to be robbed with such a large force.

However, I felt very happy when I saw Xie Bian and a group of evil slaves being punished.

Zhang Erhe was confused. Since the internal guards had killed people, he couldn't tell whether Li Xuan and his gang were officials or thieves.

After a while, Niu Shi, the host where Li Xuan was staying, came running back carrying a hoe.

He heard that something big happened in his hometown.

Fearing that his wife and children might be harmed, he approached the inner guards fearlessly.

Li Xuan ordered the inner guards to let Niu Shi in.

"My dear, my family is very poor, and the only money we have comes from you. Please let us go!"

Niu Shi bravely begged Li Xuan for mercy.

"Don't worry, Mr. Niu. I won't make things difficult for you. I'm here to make the decision for you."

Li Xuan helped Niu Shi up.

"Do you think a hero wants to rob the rich and give to the poor, to enforce justice? Then you should leave quickly. Xie Chang already knows that you have captured his son. He is asking the county magistrate for help and has summoned many tenants to distribute swords."

In any case, Niu Shi persuaded Li Xuan to leave here quickly.

He regarded Li Xuan as a righteous bandit.

If Niu Shiwan had not seen the big man in black outside the door and the servant of the Xie family lying in a pool of blood, he would not have believed that Li Xuan was a robber.

Because he had a very good impression of Li Xuan last night.

He felt that Li Xuan's etiquette and attitude towards others were like that of a legendary gentleman.

"I am waiting for them too, Mr. Niu, just wait and see..."

Li Xuan said, jokingly: "We haven't had breakfast yet!"

Niu Shi was anxious, but he didn't dare to ask for too much.

He could only ask his wife to serve the cooked corn.

……

Huaiyin County.

When County Magistrate Song Pengcheng was preparing to go out for fun with a few friends, the housekeeper sent by Xuanze Township Chief Xie Chang arrived at the county government office.

Hearing that Xie wanted to see him about something extremely urgent, Song Pengcheng felt disappointed and summoned Xie's housekeeper into the hall.

"What do you want to call me for?"

Song Pengcheng put on airs and spoke impatiently.

"Your Excellency, a group of bandits broke into Xuanze Township and kidnapped my husband and more than 40 servants. They also killed people with extremely brutal methods. Please send people to suppress them immediately!"

Butler Xie said anxiously.

"Are you sure? More than 40 slaves were kidnapped. How many thieves are there?"

Song Pengcheng was startled and very surprised.

For a long time, Huaiyin has only had petty thefts and gangs of thieves, which are rare.

Not to mention the thief who was able to subdue dozens of servants. Was Xie kidding him?
"It is absolutely true. There are more than a hundred thieves. They are dressed in black and hold sharp blades. They disguised themselves as merchants to find out the truth about Xuanze Township. When my husband led the servants to drive them away, the main force of the thieves suddenly rushed out. My Xie family is short of manpower and unable to resist."

"Ah Lang suspected that the thieves wanted to extort money from my family..."

Xie's housekeeper gestured with his hands, and his words were very convincing. After Xie Bian was arrested, Xie Chang sent people to observe nearby, and the internal guards turned a blind eye, giving them room to play with their imagination.

"After An Lushan was defeated, some of his defeated soldiers did move south, but they were destroyed long ago. If that was true, where did these bandits come from?"

Song Pengcheng had doubts.

These are troubled times.

In the direction of Zhongli County, the emperor was inspecting there.

Although there was news that the emperor would not come to Huaiyin, the prefect warned him not to do anything too much in the near future just in case.

"Please send troops immediately. The bandits are brutal and have killed many people. If you don't send troops, our Xie family will be gone. Ah Lang said that if he can save the Xie family, he will give you a large sum of money to thank you."

Butler Xie said impatiently.

He was afraid that if he delayed too long, Xie Bian’s life would be in danger.

"If the Ming government can wipe out more than a hundred thieves, it will be a great achievement and will definitely lead to great success in the future."

Seeing Song Pengcheng hesitating, Xie's housekeeper spoke again.

"Snapped!"

"Thieves are indeed lawless! As long as I am here, there cannot be a single thief in Huaiyin..."

Song Pengcheng's eyes lit up, he slammed the table and stood up, speaking righteously.

"Ming Fu is wise."

Butler Xie bowed.

Immediately, Song Pengcheng summoned the county magistrate and the county lieutenant to the hall.

As the "thieves" were numerous and powerful, Song Pengcheng had to mobilize the entire county.

"Liu County Captain, you must quickly gather the county soldiers and assemble them outside the city."

"County Magistrate Wang, order your officials to contact the various wealthy families in Huaiyin and order them to send their slaves to Xuanze Township."

"Captain Zhao, you must bring all the county's constables and the county soldiers together."

"Oh, right, notify Captain Zhang and ask for help from Captain Zhang's Jinyiwei, just in case..."

Song Pengcheng's arrangements were very grand.

As Li Xuan expected, the entire Huaiyin County abandoned its faith and became disunited. All the "public officials" and "big families" merged into one, forming a community of interests and becoming a solid block.

Tens of thousands of people in the county were treated like slaves and became their beasts of burden.

After the meeting, Song Pengcheng rode on his horse and led hundreds of men and horses to Qingyangli in Xuanze Township.

At sunset in the afternoon, Song Pengcheng and other officials rushed to Qingyangli with their troops.

Troops from various powerful forces also arrived one after another and surrounded the entire Qingyangli.

Looking around, there were county soldiers wearing leather armor, constables wearing cloth armor, and Huaiyin Jinyiwei wearing different clothes.

There were blue-clothed wicked slaves of the powerful tyrants, who surrounded their masters who were riding on horses.

There is also Xie Chang, the head of the Xie family, who forced some tenant farmers to go into battle, ready to fight the robbers at any time to rescue his beloved son.

"The thieves are rampant. After committing the crime, they even stayed in Qingyang."

Song Pengcheng had actually made preparations for the thief to escape, but he didn't expect that he was still here.

"Mingshou, this is God's will. After destroying this gang of thieves, the governor will report the credit to the court, and your promotion is just around the corner."

County Lieutenant Liu complimented Song Pengcheng.

"Haha... I can get whatever I want in Huaiyin. If I go to Chang'an, I will be restricted. This is not what I want."

Song Pengcheng has been immersed in this life of decadence and luxury and cannot extricate himself.

It is hell for common people but paradise for people like him.

"Ming Fu, Xie Bian is still in the hands of the robbers. He is the only son of Xie Chang. If he died in the hands of the robbers, it would be difficult to explain to Xie Chang."

At this time, County Magistrate Wang reminded Song Pengcheng.

"Send someone to tell the robber leader to hand over Xie Bian. I will give them a lenient sentence. Otherwise, this day next year will be their death day."

Song Pengcheng thought about it and gave instructions to County Lieutenant Liu.

As an outsider serving as a county magistrate, he could not fall out with the local powerful families, otherwise he would not be able to move forward.

"Yes……"

After receiving the order, County Lieutenant Liu ordered a county soldier to spread the word to the "thieves".

"Listen, thieves. You have no way to retreat. Release Mr. Xie immediately..."

The county guards did not dare to get close and could only shout from a distance.

These words made Xie Bian stand up again. He shouted, "Let me go now, or you will die without a burial place."

"Shut up! If we have to fight to the death, I will definitely kill you first!"

Li Xuan said sternly.

"How dare you..."

Xie Bian thought that Li Xuan was still stubborn even when he was about to die.

This bunch of stupid thieves, even though they have the upper hand, don't even run away and dare to act wildly in their territory.

"Bang bang bang..."

"what……"

Xie Bian wanted to say more, but at the signal of Li Xuan, the internal guards punched and kicked Xie Bian, making him scream in pain.

"The bandits are resisting stubbornly. We can't let them go. We should just kill them. They won't dare to do anything to Xie Bian."

Seeing that the "thieves" were reluctant to surrender, Song Pengcheng lost his patience. He gave an order and all forces prepared to attack and wipe out the thieves.

"Rumble..."

At this moment, a deafening sound of horse hooves, like a war drum, came from afar.

This made the county soldiers, Jinyiwei, and constables who were ready to follow orders to eliminate the thieves stop in their tracks.

They looked around in confusion...

Even officials such as Song Pengcheng were somewhat surprised.

Why is there such a sound of horse hooves?
As the sound of horse hooves got closer, a cavalryman appeared in their sight not far away.

Thousands of uniform Tang Dynasty Ming Guang armors were galloping across the plains, covering the entire sky and earth.

The fluttering Xuanlong flag of the Tang Dynasty and the double-headed tiger flag of the Tiance Guard made this army even more intimidating.

This is the Iron Cavalry!

Like a torrent of steel, it rolled in amid the shouts of men and the neighs of horses...

"Escort..."

"Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

After the steel torrent entered Qingyangli, the teams separated.

All the "Huaiyin Allied Forces" were under the hooves of the Tiance Guards.

"Escort..."

One after another, shouts gathered...

"These are cavalrymen, fully armed cavalrymen. How could Huainan Province have such troops?"

"Are they here to eliminate the robbers as well?"

"The tassels on their helmets are not red, but feathers. They seem to be... the emperor's imperial guards..."

"Why shouldn't the Emperor's Imperial Guards participate in suppressing bandits?"

The noble men of Huaiyin turned pale.

They were also officials, but faced with the imperial guards everywhere, they were either guilty or afraid.

The sudden appearance of the imperial guards confused them.

Everyone knows that the emperor is on a southern tour.

The appearance of the imperial guards in Huaiyin is not difficult to explain.

I just don't understand why he suddenly appeared in this remote village.

"It must be the Supreme One who ordered the Imperial Army to hunt down the bandits. Come with me to welcome the Imperial Army."

Song Pengcheng gave an explanation that he thought was reasonable.

The reason why there were so many thieves in Huaiyin County was that they were discovered by the imperial guards when the emperor was on a southern tour and were pursued here.

The Imperial Guards were the most capable and battle-hardened troops in the Tang Dynasty, especially the Tian Ce Guard and Shen Ce Guard since their reform.

The Huaiyin magistrate took the county magistrate, county lieutenant and other officials to welcome the imperial guards.

But the imperial guards' horses kept rolling, with no intention of stopping at all.

Until one of the imperial guards approached the area where the county soldiers were.

The county soldiers were trembling with fear.

"Put down your weapons, or I will kill you without mercy..."

The leading commander of the imperial guards stopped his horse, shouted loudly, and pointed his gun at the county soldiers.

"Kill without mercy..."

The imperial guards did not charge forward directly. Instead, the imperial guards of this battalion reined in their horses and shouted in unison.

The murderous aura rose into the sky and attacked these corrupt county soldiers.

The county soldiers were so frightened that they quickly dropped their swords.

Although there were quite a few county soldiers, constables, and Jinyiwei, the two sides were not on the same level in all aspects.

If a real fight breaks out, facing the Tian Ce Guards who are armed to the teeth and riding good horses, they may not be able to kill a single one.

The Tiance Guard Cavalry ordered a team of cavalry to penetrate among the county soldiers.

As the cavalry passed by, the county soldiers felt as if a huge hand was strangling their throats, which made the pressure even greater.

"General, you misunderstood. I am the Huaiyin magistrate. We are also here to eliminate the robbers!"

Song Pengcheng came to a lieutenant general of the imperial guards and spoke cautiously.

The commander of this imperial army was Zhang Hui, the son of Zhang Wenyan, who was once Li Xuan's confidant. He worked hard for Li Xuan in animal husbandry for more than ten years, enabling Li Xuan to firmly control the national horse affairs.

Zhang Wenyan was very unlucky. He died of illness when Li Xuan succeeded in usurping the throne, so Li Xuan could only favor his son.

"Snapped……"

"You are such a bold official, you are so arrogant..."

Zhang Hui whipped Song Pengcheng to the ground and cursed him angrily.

Song Pengcheng was whipped and grimaced in pain, but he did not dare to resist.

His face was full of confusion, and fear surged in his heart.

Even the constables under his command dared not say a word.

The county lieutenant, county magistrate, police chief and other officials were also trembling with fear.

I don't understand why the imperial guards are so fierce.

“Get out of the way…”

The armed imperial guards quickly took control of the entire Qingyunli.

The various forces in Huaiyin were divided.

Even the county soldiers did not dare to resist, let alone the powerful servants.

As for the tenant farmers in Xuanze Township, they were forced to do so and were simply making do with it.

Zhang Hui led a team of imperial guards to the wooden door of Niu Shi's house, dismounted, and bowed to Li Xuan who was standing in front of the door: "Greetings to the Supreme..."

"Greetings to the Supreme..."

Not only the Tian Ce guards who dismounted behind Zhang Hui, but also the Tian Ce guards on horseback from all parties shouted in unison.

The sound resounded through the sky.

It shocked everyone in Qingyang.

(End of this chapter)