Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 19 Killing the Thief

Yan Yi's words stirred up a storm in the hearts of Cao Qiu and others.

Taxation during this era was extremely heavy. Fiscal deficits caused by war, land annexation, and disasters were passed on to the people by those in power through various taxes.

Historically, when Sun Quan ruled Jiangdong, he levied dozens of taxes, including land tax, tax on land use, tax on land use, tax on land use, tax on household income, tax on salt and iron, tax on alcohol, and tax on market value. Sometimes, even rice had to be taxed.

Lu Xun once advised Sun Quan to reduce taxes, but Sun Quan refused on the grounds that troubled times required a large number of troops.

Although Yan Baihu had the salt profits to share the financial pressure, the taxes collected were extremely heavy as he had to support 10,000 soldiers with only one county.

Cao Qiu was aware of Yan Baihu's financial situation and was worried. He gritted his teeth and advised, "Young Master, I'm afraid the Marshal won't agree to this."

But he soon stopped talking, because when the refugees in the audience heard that Yan Yi was going to reduce taxes, their excitement spread quickly like a prairie fire.

Almost all the refugees knelt down, weeping with gratitude and praising loudly. The scene was extremely shocking.

"I have made up my mind, no need to persuade me any more!"

Yan Yi said this with a resolute look, strode down the stairs, and personally helped the refugees up one by one.

“The people’s hearts are like a mirror, so magnificent!”

Standing in front of the recruiting platform, Fan Yan and the others were so excited that a thought came to their mind: let alone recruiting only 400 soldiers, even recruiting thousands of people would probably be easy.

Just as the appeal and recruitment were in full swing, Si Qing, Xu Sheng and ten others were galloping on horseback a few miles away.

Except for Zhao Hu, Xu Sheng and the other three can ride horses.

In order to capture Zhu Gui as quickly as possible, Si Qing took four horses and gave them to Xu Sheng and his four companions. Ten people and ten horses, under the guidance of Zhao Cuo, headed straight for Yunchao Mountain.

Yunchao Mountain is the Jingai Mountain in later generations. It is three hundred meters high, with deep forests and numerous peaks.

The ruins of Gucheng still exist in Shannan. During the Warring States Period, the Chu State established Gucheng County here.

After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, he renamed Gucheng to Wucheng.

Several decades later, the Han Empire moved the county seat to the inner city built by Xiang Yu, more than ten miles away, which is now the seat of Wucheng County. Gucheng was then abandoned.

The ten riders stopped on a hillside outside the ruins of Gucheng. Zhao Cuo pointed at the ruined wall and said, "That Zhu Gui has made a lot of money by doing dirty things. We've been wanting to take him down for a while. Yesterday at 3 p.m., he was sneaking into the mountains. My two brothers saw him and secretly followed him. Unexpectedly, he had accomplices. Two more showed up along the way, and all three of them entered Gucheng together. Seeing no chance to take action, my two brothers didn't follow him. They told me about this when they came back for a drink."

Si Qing nodded and asked everyone to tie up the horses in the nearby woods. The ten men drew their swords, looked around, walked lightly to the foot of the eight or nine meter high wall, and headed towards the west gate.

After entering the city gate, I saw only broken walls and overgrown weeds everywhere. It was so quiet that it seemed like a ghost town.

Everyone searched carefully, but didn't see a single person.

A cavalryman said, "There are no signs of a fire. They must have left last night."

"Ordinary people wouldn't come to a place like this. There's something strange about Zhu Gui." Si Qing looked around and looked at Zhao Cuo: "Is there any place nearby where people can live?"

Zhao Cuo thought for a moment and said, "There's an abandoned mountain god temple on the hillside north of the city. The house is still well-preserved. People who go into the mountains to hunt sometimes stop there to rest."

Si Qing said without hesitation: "Let's go up and take a look!"

After they left the north gate and walked for a while, they saw a mountain path. The weeds on both sides of the path were tilted and there were obvious signs of being trampled on.

"The footprints are fresh and messy, no fewer than ten people," Xu Sheng said after squatting by the road and observing for a moment. "Hunters wouldn't come in such large numbers," Zhao Cuo's eyes widened. "They're probably bandits from the mountains."

"I'll go up and take a look first. You guys go wait for me there."

Si Qing pointed to a valley a hundred steps away, then walked up the mountain alone.

A moment later, he appeared in front of everyone with a serious expression and ordered the five cavalrymen, "Follow me!" Then he looked at Zhao Cuo and said, "The four of you wait here."

Xu Sheng couldn't help but ask, "Lord Si, are there any thieves?"

Si Qing hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Xu Sheng gripped the long sword tightly in his hand and said in a deep voice, "I wish to go with Si Jun."

"I'll go too!" Zhao Cuo said eagerly.

Si Qing hesitated and said, "There are over thirty bandits. They are already packing up and will leave soon. I am doing my duty, so why risk it?"

When they heard that there were more than thirty people, except Xu Sheng and Zhao Cuo who remained calm, everyone else showed a hint of fear.

Xu Sheng said firmly, "I came here with Lord Si. If I abandon my loyalty in times of danger and save myself, wouldn't I be worse than a woman? Please let me go with you. Even if it means losing my life, I won't hesitate!"

Zhao Cuo said excitedly: "Well said, how can a real man abandon his integrity and cherish his life!"

Si Qing was also a straightforward person. He glanced at Xu Sheng and Zhao Cuo with admiration and said, "Since that's the case, let's go together! I just observed that the thieves in the temple are relatively scattered. Once we get up the mountain, I will give you my orders. First, shoot down the few people at the door. Then, when they're off guard, rush in together. Don't let them gather together."

Everyone nodded and followed Si Qing. Shen Lian and Zhang Ying looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and followed.

Si Qing did not take the mountain road, but led everyone around to a remote forest on the left side of the road, and then slowly climbed up the mountain.

After climbing for about a quarter of an hour, they heard faint voices and a woman's painful and suppressed moans from the front.

"We're almost leaving, and Captain Ma is still thinking about this kind of thing."

"He's in a bad mood. He's going back after just a few days of being out. He wants to enjoy this delicate little girl one last time before killing her."

Hearing the voices, everyone held their breath and moved with extreme caution.

The location chosen by Si Qing was excellent. Not only was it one or two feet higher than the foundation of the ancestral hall, it was also surrounded by trees. If one didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to notice that there was someone here.

Si Qing stuck his head out, took a quick look, then immediately retracted it, took his bow from his back, and instructed the five cavalrymen, "There are three of us at the gate. I'll shoot at the left, you two shoot at the middle, and the rest of you shoot at the right."

The cavalrymen nodded and took up their bows.

Si Qing counted to three, and the six people jumped out together, pulled the bowstrings, and shot down the three people who were caught off guard at the door of the ancestral hall.

"rush!"

Si Qing shouted softly and rushed out first, followed closely by Xu Sheng.

Ten people rushed into the hall one after another, only to see seven thieves in the front yard. Four of them were walking towards the hall with long knives in their hands, and the other three were holding bags in their hands and looking around in confusion.

Si Qing and Xu Sheng walked forward side by side, hacking at anyone they saw. In an instant, they had each knocked down two people. They ignored the three unarmed and frightened thieves and rushed straight to the backyard.

(End of this chapter)