Thief Emperor

Chapter 158 Rules and the Magistrate

After the sky was fully light, Shan County had basically been recovered.

The people in Shan County felt neither happy nor sad about the arrival of the government troops.

For these people, it doesn't matter who comes. They all pay taxes and grain. There is no difference.

When Qiu Dian first started the rebellion, he said he wanted to equalize the rich and the poor. However, after he started the rebellion, the soldiers under his command still robbed the people's money and did evil things as usual.

This is the issue of the operating costs of a regime.

No matter what kind of regime it is, if you want it to run normally and smoothly, you must invest resources, even if it is just the embryonic form of a regime like Qiu Dian.

He must have resources to ensure that all components of the regime can make profits, or at least have basic salary income, so that the regime can be maintained.

However, Qiu Dian's rebellion was too hasty, and there was no time to perfect various systems. Therefore, in the initial period of time, the rebels plundered the people.

If Qiu Dian's regime had lasted longer, he would have collected taxes from the people just like the imperial court, the only difference being the amount.

Because there were no civilians involved, there was no street fighting in Shan County. Before noon, Li Yun's troops had completely occupied the entire county. Except for some fleeing rebels, there was no other resistance force inside or outside the city.

After occupying Shan County, Li Yun, as usual, ordered people to buy pigs, cattle and sheep and kill them as rewards for the troops.

It is worth mentioning that cattle are not difficult to buy.

Killing cows is illegal, but cows are not immortal species, so they will grow old. It is very normal to buy old cows and kill them.

Moreover, at this time, the government of Shan County had long ceased to exist, so it was no problem for Chief Li to buy or even kill the cows, let alone buy them.

After a busy whole day, Li finally entered the county government office and was able to have a good rest.

At this moment, the sun had already set. Li Yun, who was sweating all over, took a cold shower and finally cooled down. He changed his clothes and just walked out when he saw Li Zheng coming towards him: "Second brother, the casualties are almost counted. We have more than a hundred injured and twenty-one killed in battle."

"We killed about 100 to 200 enemies, captured nearly 300, and the rest of the rebels escaped."

Li Zheng looked at Li Yun and asked, "Second brother, do you want to recruit these surrendered prisoners?"

"Being not."

Li stretched and said, "Let's lock them up first. We will rest in Shan County for a while. This time, let the brothers come into the city to rest. There is no need to stay outside the city."

“The weather is really too hot.”

Li Yun exhaled a breath of hot air and continued, "You must control your subordinates well and not bully or rob the people in the city."

He thought for a moment and continued, "Call all the generals and officers in the army to my tent and I will talk to them in person."

Although he was born a bandit, Li Yun attached great importance to discipline.

He knew very well that if his team wanted to grow bigger and achieve great things, discipline issues must be addressed.

Those who have accomplished great things throughout history, at least in the start-up phase, have kept their team pure. If they do not restrain their subordinates and indulge them in doing whatever they want, even if Li really achieves some success in the future, he will ultimately be just a larger Qiu Dian.

Li Zheng blinked, then quickly nodded and called in all the generals above the rank of battalion commander in the army.

The generals under Li Yun's command were different from the official system of the imperial court. Five people formed a small team, and twenty-five people formed a large team.

It is similar to the imperial court at the top, managing brigade commanders of a hundred people, as well as colonels and captains.

But now Li Yun himself is only a captain, and the captains are Li Zheng and Zhou Liang. Chen Da, Deng Yang and others are only brigade commanders.

Soon, about thirty or forty team leaders were called to the open space in front of Li Yun's tent. It was already dark and much cooler now. Everyone gathered together. Most of them knew each other and were laughing and joking.

When Li Yun, dressed in gray, walked in front of the crowd, everyone immediately shut up and dared not speak.

Li Yun was the person they respected the most, partly because Li could feed them enough food, even meat, and paid them a salary.

More importantly, most of these captains were born as bandits in the anti-theft team. Most of them had been beaten by Li Yun, or at least had witnessed Li Yun's thundering methods and seen him fighting on the battlefield.

Deep down, they had a certain awe for Li Yun, and this awe was destined to accompany them for the rest of their lives.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Li Yun cleared his throat and continued, "Everyone, this is the second city we have captured besides Linshui. Linshui City was the front line at the time, and the people were relocated, so I didn't say much to you."

"There are still many people in Shan County, so let's talk about some ugly things first."

Li Yun said in a deep voice: "I know that most of those sitting here came down from the mountain. Those who have been able to follow me all the way here have made a lot of contributions during this period of time. Everyone can walk in broad daylight."

"You are no longer bandits!"

Li Yun shouted and said, "I won't say any more nonsense. I'll just set a few rules."

"During this period of time when we are stationed in Shan County, you can walk around the city and take a look when you have free time on weekdays, but you have to pay for buying food and eating."

"If you hurt someone, you must pay for your crime. If you kill someone, you must pay for your life."

"do you understand?"

Everyone nodded and said loudly: "Understood!"

"When you go back, you must control your subordinates. If your subordinates commit crimes, you captains will be implicated as well." "Okay."

Li Yun waved his hand and said, "The meat should be almost ready, let's go eat."

Thirty or forty people then stood up from the ground, clasped their fists to Li Yun, and ran away laughing.

Li Yun looked back at Li Zheng, touched his chin and said, "In our army, there must be someone responsible for military discipline. Skinny Monkey, you are in the army, take people on patrol when you have nothing to do. If anyone violates the discipline, arrest them immediately and deal with them severely."

Li Zheng scratched his head and said, "Second brother, this is not necessary..."

"Many of them are brothers who have shared life and death together. If the management is too strict, they may feel resentful."

"If everyone in the army thinks so."

Mr. Li exhaled a breath of foul air: "After the matter in Yuezhou is over, we will disband on the spot and return to Cangshan or Lingyang Mountain to be our own bandits."

"Don't, don't."

Li Zheng waved his hands quickly and said with a smile: "Don't be angry, second brother, can't I do it?"

"Starting tomorrow, I will lead the patrol and will strictly follow Second Brother's instructions!"

Li Yun said "hmm" and continued, "For the meritorious service in capturing Shan County this time, in addition to the reward for the head, each person will be given two strings of cash as a reward."

Li Zheng exclaimed, "Ah!" and looked at Li Yun: "Second brother, this money..."

"I checked at the county government office today. The rebels have collected a lot of stuff during this period. There's enough to distribute."

"Don't be stingy."

Mr. Li glanced at the embarrassed Li Zheng and said unhappily, "Money is only considered money if it is distributed and used. Otherwise, what's the point of us keeping these gold, silver, copper and iron?"

Li Zheng sighed and then nodded in agreement.

…………

Another six or seven days passed, and under Li Yun's management, Shan County had restored basic order. The people who had previously stayed indoors now dared to go out and walk on the streets.

Even on the streets, small vendors have reappeared.

Because Li Yun never harmed the common people, his reputation spread by word of mouth among the people of Shan County. In addition, some people had been to Qingyang and knew about Li Yun's deeds in suppressing bandits. For a time, Qingyang Li Zhao became famous again.

At this time, two groups of people came to Shan County.

One of the groups of people was my fifth uncle Qin An, who came from Lingyang Mountain, and the young man Meng Hai.

Qin An is in his forties and is a doctor with quite good medical skills.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to become the fifth in command in Cangshan Dazhai, a den of bandits, relying solely on his medical skills.

Meng Hai, who was born in Hexi Village, has been exposed to many things in Shiwangzhai in the past six months and is now able to help Li Yun with things.

Li Yun personally received the two and arranged accommodation for them. Qin An had already traveled around Shan County, and after seeing Li Yun, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

"After the village chief came down the mountain, he was like a tiger returning to the mountains or a dragon swimming in the sea."

Li Yun smiled and said, "It was just a coincidence. Uncle Wu, please don't say such cheesy words."

"Just telling the truth."

Qin An smiled and said, "He is completely different from the previous village chief. What does the village chief want me to do?"

"Become a doctor accompanying the army and work as my clerk at the same time, uncle, would you like to do it?"

"The village chief ordered me to do so, so of course there is no problem."

Qin An looked back at Meng Hai who had followed him all the way and said with a smile, "Why did the village chief call him here?"

"Run some errands."

Li Yun smiled and was about to continue talking when Li Zheng trotted over. When he got close, he first called out "Fifth Uncle" and then said to Li Yun, "Second Brother, a middle-aged man came from outside the city with two servants. He said he wanted to see you, Second Brother."

Li Yun was stunned for a moment and asked, "Who is it?"

"He said he was the magistrate of Shan County..."

Li Yun was a little surprised: "This person is not dead?"

Shan County was the place where Qiu Dian's uprising first broke out. Li Yun thought that the officials here had been killed by Qiu Dian long ago.

"It seems not."

Mr. Li became interested and nodded with a smile.

"Then let him come in and see me."

(End of this chapter)