Changsheng: My experience in patrolling the liver

Chapter 95: Collapse of Order
When Xiao Jingchuan in the county magistrate's mansion heard this, he was almost scared to death.

The coalition forces of the six counties might be better, but the 50,000 border guards were really too cruel.

That is the regular army of the imperial court, a truly battle-hardened army!

It is no exaggeration to say that these 50,000 border guards are enough to match 200,000 ordinary county soldiers!

Using it on him even feels like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken.

This time, what can he use to resist?

Finished!

Completely finished!

Xiao Jingchuan sat on the bench, looking a little lost.

"Sir, as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood." County Chancellor Ji Xuechang kept persuading.

"I know," Xiao Jingchuan sighed.

After learning the news, he had no intention of resisting the imperial court's 100,000 strong troops. With the troops he had, it was like hitting a rock with an egg.

And once all the military forces he has accumulated over the years are exhausted, he will really be left with nothing.

There was no need to think too much, as the only thing left for him now was the last way out.

The next day, Lu Zheng found Song Changming.

"Last night, Brother Gu found me and told me that things were going to change in Donglai County." Lu Zheng told him about the 100,000-strong coalition army of the imperial court.

Song Changming's face also became more serious, and he said, "The county governor will definitely not be able to bear it this time."

"Yeah." Lu Zheng nodded and continued.

"Brother Gu also said that the county governor will definitely flee with his troops, and then the court will send a new county governor to take office. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be a major purge against the remnants of the Xiao family, so we should be careful."

Song Changming frowned.

Normally, he was not a member of the county magistrate's office, but just a small patrol guard of the General Security Bureau. He had no family power behind him and his identity was insignificant.

He is just a senior cadre at the grassroots level. Logically, this kind of purge should not fall on him.

If the new county magistrate wants to maintain the normal operation of the entire Donglai County, it is impossible for him to directly subvert the entire grassroots official framework.

The only thing that made Song Changming a little worried was his private relationship with Xiao Shuyun. He wondered if it would be brought up to make a fuss.

However, even if this matter is mentioned, it will not attract much attention.

After all, Xiao Shuyun is just a girl, she has no official position, and her status in the Xiao family is not very high.

He has established friendships with too many people over the years, and it is impossible for the new county magistrate to trace them all one by one.

If Song Changming wants to get rid of this trouble at that time, he just needs to spend some money to bribe the higher-ups.

He has been an official for so many years that he has some understanding of the pros and cons and knows how to do things in a way that saves trouble.

"What plans does Lord Gu and the Gu family behind him have?" Song Changming couldn't help but ask.

As Xiao Jingchuan's aide, Gu Wenhui holds an important position in the county magistrate's office. Naturally, it is impossible for him to stay, otherwise he would be the number one target of purge by the new county magistrate.

The Gu family behind it has close ties with the Xiao family and is likely to be dealt with by the new county magistrate.

He deduced that Gu Wenhui would either leave with Xiao Jingchuan, or take the Gu family and leave Donglai County on his own.

There is absolutely no reason to stay anyway.

"Brother Gu left last night, and the entire Gu family left Donglai County several days ago. They also sold their properties and land in a low-key manner, leaving nothing behind." Lu Zheng shook his head.

When Song Changming heard this, he was silent for a moment.

I have to say that this Gu Wenhui is really something. He had already made plans and preparations early on.

As a local tyrant, the Gu family has a lot of assets in Donglai County, and it is impossible to clear them out in a short period of time.

He must have been looking for a buyer long time ago and had made full preparations for today's evacuation.

He had long anticipated what would happen to the county magistrate and the Xiao family today.

And to make the rising local tyrants like these make up their minds to cut off all their roots and relocate their entire families, that requires tremendous courage and determination.

"Changming, I plan to go find Brother Gu to go with me." Lu Zheng said at the end, then suddenly changed the subject and announced his decision.

That day, Gu Wenhui had tried to recruit him and Song Changming, believing that both of them were talented and capable generals. However, the situation in Donglai County had not changed at that time, so neither of them had made a decision.

Lu Zheng could actually stay and continue to serve as his chief patrol officer.

But after a long conversation with Gu Wenhui before his departure last night, he was moved and decided to give up his current official position and follow Gu Wenhui.

Lu Zheng found Song Changming today and told him his decision. In fact, he also wanted to ask Song Changming about his plans.

After all, Gu Wenhui recruited both of them at the same time.

In the entire General Security Department, they are the only two people that Gu Wenhui has taken a fancy to.

Song Changming shook his head and said, "I plan to stay."

Unless he couldn't stay in Donglai County any longer, he didn't want to move. Firstly, the outside world was in chaos, and leaving Donglai County and moving to an unfamiliar place might not be safe.

Second, the two elderly people in the family are too old to stand the hard work outside, so it would be best for them to stay in the county town.

As for joining Gu Wenhui, it was not even within his current consideration.

He didn't even know what the other party was really going to do, so it was impossible for him to just follow them without knowing what was going on.

Compared to the friendship between Lu Zheng and Gu Wenhui, he was a complete stranger to the other party. They had only had a drink together and did not know each other well, and there was no trust at all.

"Okay." Lu Zheng nodded, without further persuasion or questions.

He is not a talkative person, nor is he a qualified lobbyist.

"Take care after this farewell." Song Changming said.

"Take care." Lu Zheng nodded, turned around and left.

Song Changming watched Lu Zheng leave, shaking his head and sighing that another familiar friend had left.

Before it was Xiao Shuyun, now it is Lu Zheng, and I’m afraid that many familiar people will leave in the future.

Life is like this, no party will last forever.

He has a long life, which also means he is destined to face more separations, even separations of life and death.

"It's good this way. You can adapt to it sooner rather than later. Once you get used to it, it will be fine."

Thinking of this, Song Changming did as usual. After finishing his errands, he would go home on time and spend more time with his parents at home when he had free time.

The next day, Lu Zheng was nowhere to be seen in the headquarters.

When Xie Shihuan learned about this, he was furious.

In fact, he received Lu Zheng’s resignation letter yesterday, but he did not accept it and even scolded Lu Zheng.

Who would have thought that Lu Zheng was so rebellious and just left today? How could Xie Shihuan not be angry?

He then found each patrol captain and had private conversations with them.

The content of the conversations was the same, revealing that the county magistrate was going to leave Donglai County and start a new business. As one of Xiao Jingchuan's trusted confidants, he began to lobby every patrol captain to follow him and go with the county magistrate to join in the great cause.

This also includes Song Changming.

Even because of Song Changming's personal bravery and great potential, he lobbied for him for the longest time.

But unfortunately, when the Xiao family was at its peak, Song Changming was unwilling to serve as an official in the county governor's office, let alone now.

Xie Shihuan was ultimately unable to convince Song Changming, which made him very disappointed.

Lu Zheng and Song Changming, two of the headquarters' greatest talents, were not recruited by Xiao Jingchuan.

This is undoubtedly a great pity.

Of course, Song Changming did not say anything final, which made Xie Shihuan feel that if Xiao Jingchuan made a comeback in the future, he would go to see him.

"Changming, that day will not be too far away. I will wait for you then." Xie Shihuan looked at Song Changming deeply, patted his shoulder, and finally said.

After that, a few days later, the 100,000 soldiers organized by the imperial court were getting closer and closer.

County Magistrate Xiao Jingchuan finally couldn't wait and set off!
He took away everything he could, emptied the county governor's warehouse, the military's weapons and equipment warehouse, and even the granary in the city.

Finally, he took away a large number of talented officials under his command, as well as more than 50,000 troops, and left the city under the cover of night, heading west in a mighty procession.

It was not until dawn that the remaining people reacted and were stunned to see the deserted Xiao Mansion and the unguarded County Magistrate's Mansion.

Those who should have left have left, and those who stayed either didn't want to leave or were looked down upon by the county magistrate.

"What should we do?" Zhou Sixin, Song Changming, and several other patrol captains who stayed behind looked at Xie Shihuan who had also disappeared, and were speechless.

There were a total of twenty patrol teams at the headquarters, but only seven were left.

The remaining thirteen patrol teams, including the thirteen patrol captains, were taken away by Xie Shihuan.

The entire General Security Department suddenly became deserted.

"To be honest, it's a bit sudden," Song Changming murmured.

It would be fine if Xie Shihuan was gone from Donglai County, but now the county governor was gone, and even the entire county governor's office was emptied out.

Without a leader, the remaining officials found it difficult to maintain order in the county.

Before the new county magistrate takes over, it is undoubtedly foreseeable that the entire Donglai County will fall into even greater chaos and turmoil.

"The patrol department in the city has reported that at least half of the patrol guards have been taken away. The patrol department in Yong'an Street is completely empty, with only three or two patrol guards and some night watchmen left."

"That's too extreme." Zhou Sixin shook his head.

Soon, the news that the county magistrate had abandoned the city and fled spread among the people in the city, causing an uproar. People of all kinds began to make a commotion in the city, and more and more looting and smashing incidents occurred in various urban areas.

The county magistrate's office has been completely paralyzed, the patrol department is understaffed, and the remaining patrol guards are unable to control the situation.

(End of this chapter)