Five to six hundred mounted gangsters had gathered in the ravine and were conserving their strength. Most of the mounted gangsters were casually sitting on the ground to rest while the higher ranked mounted gangster leaders were sitting around eating and drinking. They had brought good wine and good meat with them when they set out. Now, they were eating first so that they would have more strength when they were full.
The leader tore off a large piece of mutton with his mouth and chewed it. The rest of the leaders did the same. They were used to eating and drinking like a thief. Therefore, their table manners were always so ugly, as if they were hungry ghosts.
"Brothers, eat more. It's better to work when you're full."
The Horse Gang leader said rudely as he ate the mutton.
"Big Brother, it's so satisfying to be able to vent our anger this time. We'll definitely kill them all later."
"Of course. We can't leave anyone alive. No, not even a corpse. We have to make the imperial court feel that these soldiers were buried by the yellow sand and not annihilated by us."
"Yes! As long as we can annihilate all the soldiers, we can completely prevent the news from leaking out. Our plan will definitely succeed. "
"The imperial court paid such a high price, but not only did they fail to annihilate us, but they also suffered heavy losses. The old Emperor will definitely think that this is God's will. It's possible that he won't care about this place in the future."
"Big Brother, if the old Emperor doesn't care about this place in the future, then we might as well call ourselves Emperors in the Summer Province. In the future, when Big Brother becomes Emperor, we'll all be Great Generals. How refreshing that is!"
"That's right. This place isn't the territory of the Central Plains people. Our ancestors have lived here for a long time. It's not impossible to build a country here!"
"Yes, yes, yes. Our Big Brother can be the Emperor. We'll all be Great Generals."
The group leaders began to talk excitedly.
The Horse Gang leader said with a smile, "Brothers, you flatter us. Being a bullsh * t Emperor is so tiring! I've heard that the old emperor has to go through all sorts of memorials every day. Wherever there's a natural disaster, there's no food to eat. Wherever there's a disaster, he has to take care of it. It's really annoying. It's more comfortable to be the leader. If we need anything, we can just get it from the merchants. Every day, we can drink happily with our brothers.
"Big Brother is right! Why do you want to be a bullsh * t emperor? You should just stay in the mountains and be carefree. "
"We brothers can have whatever we want. Even the Emperor doesn't have as much freedom as we do. After we deal with these soldiers and shift the blame to the villainous Heavens, this will still be our world."
"Our brothers have had a hard time during this period of time. When the imperial court's soldiers leave, we must snatch a few big ones and have some fun."
The group leaders said.
The leader of the Horse Gang took a sip of wine and said, "Brothers, listen to me. It's really tiring to rob people all the time, and it's easy to be surrounded and suppressed by the imperial court. Now that we brothers have made a name for ourselves, we can consider collecting tolls from the merchants in the future. As long as the merchants are willing to fork out ten percent of their profits as tolls, we won't rob them anymore. In this way, everyone will be happy."
Wouldn't that be a good thing? "Obviously, after so many years of enjoyment, the Horse Gang leader had become addicted to pleasure and lacked the aggressive spirit. In his opinion, if they could obtain wealth comfortably, they wouldn't have to resort to robbing. This way, they could live a more stable life.
Directly robbing and collecting tolls were two completely different behaviors. Robbing would inevitably cause casualties and deal a greater blow to the imperial court's prestige. On the other hand, collecting tolls wouldn't cause casualties and deal a smaller blow to the imperial court's prestige. It wouldn't be easy to be surrounded and suppressed by the imperial court. In this way, they could live a comfortable life.
After all, whether they were willing or not, the merchants had already paid the tolls. Then, what else could the imperial court say? Would the merchants be so thick-skinned as to complain to the imperial court and tell the imperial court officials that the Horse Gang in the Summer Province had gone too far by always collecting tolls? They didn't want to pay the tolls and the imperial court should quickly send troops to deal with these Horse Gang! That was too thick-skinned!
Although there were people collecting tolls in their own territory and this was also under the control of the imperial court, such small matters were usually handled by the county yamen. However, the county yamen was too weak and couldn't deal with the Horse Gang. Therefore, generally, such matters wouldn't be taken seriously by the officials. In the ancient dynasties, such matters were too frequent. It was almost a common occurrence. Which village didn't have a few ruffians? Collecting protection fees was a common thing. The imperial court's attitude was that they could deal with the soft persimmons, but if they couldn't, then they could only let it be.
The reason why these matters couldn't be dealt with in ancient times was because of the problem of cost. In ancient societies where the economy and technology weren't developed enough, the imperial court's funds and personnel were only so much. If this problem was solved, that problem couldn't be solved. If there was a natural disaster or a war, the national treasury might not be able to support it, let alone solve some troublesome trivial matters for ordinary people.
To give the simplest example, within a feudal dynasty, there might be tens of thousands of mountain bandits and bandit forces of various sizes. The large forces could reach thousands of people, and the small ones might only have a dozen people. This didn't include the ruffians in the villages and counties. With so many bandit forces, it was difficult for the imperial court to eradicate them.
If the imperial court really intended to wipe out these bandit forces, it was bound to dispatch a large number of troops. Based on the bandits' familiarity with the terrain, if the imperial court wanted to wipe out these bandits, it would need at least five to ten times the number of troops. Otherwise, it wouldn't have any effect at all. In this way, even if all the troops of the entire empire were mobilized to fight against the bandits, it wouldn't be enough. In all the feudal dynasties, they faced the threat of external enemies from the periphery, especially the strong enemies in the north, which had always been the nightmare of the Central Plains.
Under such circumstances, the imperial court naturally couldn't focus its main energy on the bandits that weren't very harmful. Its main energy would be focused on developing the economy and defending against external enemies. As for the bandits that were harmful to one side, they would selectively wipe them out. Those that were serious would be wiped out, but those that weren't very harmful and were more difficult to wipe out could not be cared so much.
For example, the Horse Gang in Xia Province of the Tang dynasty didn't attract the attention of the imperial court in the beginning. It was only later that the frequency of their robberies increased, which seriously endangered the normal economic development of Xia Province. Only then did the imperial court pay attention to them and send a large number of troops to wipe them out. If the Horse Gang could be more restrained and rob less frequently, they might be able to successfully avoid the attack of the imperial court.
The reason why Shuibo Liangshan was besieged by the imperial court of the Song Dynasty was because it developed too quickly in the later period, which attracted the attention of the imperial court. If they didn't carry out the besiegement, this place would develop into an empire, which would be troublesome.
Ordinary bandits, Horse Gang, and Great Bandits were all forces with a small number of people and didn't pose much threat to the imperial court. Occasionally, they would rob merchants, which didn't seem to be very harmful. In the case of the difficulty of wiping them out, the imperial court naturally didn't want to spend a large amount of money to manage them.
"Big Brother, isn't it too little to take only 10% of the profits? At least 30% of the profits should be taken."
"Take half when we meet. No matter what, we should take half!"
"Half isn't enough. 70%. We should take at least 70%. Let these profiteers earn less and have enough to eat."
A few of the gang leaders were very greedy. They felt that they should take more money so that they could live better and more comfortable lives. If they took too little at once, they would naturally be very dissatisfied.
The Horse Gang leader quickly waved his hand and said, "Brothers, don't be too greedy. 10% doesn't seem like much, but the merchants won't feel the pinch and will be more willing to obey us. When the time comes, all the merchants passing by the Summer Prefecture will give us 10% of the profits. Brothers, think about it, this income isn't low! This is lying down and collecting money! "
"Haha! Big Brother has also learned how to be a profiteer. Isn't this just small profits but quick turnover? "
"Small profits but quick turnover. This idea isn't bad! If every merchant passing by is willing to pay, then it will indeed be a lot. Let's listen to Big Brother. Whatever Big Brother says, we will do it in the future. "
"These profiteers are all sensible people. If they take the initiative to hand over 10% of the profits, they won't be robbed. They will understand and will definitely be willing."
"Big Brother, what awaits us in the future will be good days!"
The gang leaders seemed very optimistic, as if everything would develop according to their expectations.
The leader of the Horse Gang said with a smile, "Brothers, the days ahead will be better. However, we must fight this battle well. We must not leave anyone alive. If one or two escape and leak the news, the consequences will be unimaginable! In this way, what awaits us won't be good days, but a disaster. "
Obviously, if this was done by the Horse Gang, the imperial court would definitely not let it go. However, if they encountered a sandstorm and were buried by the yellow sand, then it would have nothing to do with them. At most, at the beginning, they would first go to other places to lie low. When the wind and waves calmed down, they would come back.
"Big Brother, don't worry. We have so many people. Our men are on every road outside. Even if these soldiers grow wings, they won't be able to escape. Tonight, they will definitely be wiped out by us. Not a single one will be left."
"Big Brother, leave this matter to us brothers. Don't worry! There won't be any accidents. "
"Big Brother, when we charge in later, we will leave a dozen brothers at each city gate. It will be enough to block these soldiers. None of them will be able to escape."
The gang leaders answered confidently.
The Horse Gang leader said with relief, "With so many good brothers helping me, what regrets do I have in life? In the future, if there is wealth, we brothers will enjoy it together. I won't treat any of you unfairly. "
These words were very touching. However, there was a famous saying that brothers were used to betray each other. In times of danger, whether the brothers' feelings could withstand the test was a big question mark.
There were too many such things in history. Not all promises made to brothers could be fulfilled. There were even more cases of brothers being cheated.
For example, after the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, in order to let his children and grandchildren be emperors, he actually burned all the brothers who had followed him through life and death. It was really ruthless, so ruthless that it made people's hair stand on end.
The founding emperor of the Great Han Dynasty was the same. He also wiped out all the brothers who had followed him through life and death. A large group of people, such as Han Xin and Peng Yue, were killed by him. His former brothers had become stumbling blocks. Why should he keep them alive if he didn't execute them?
The Great Song Dynasty was not too bad. Song Taizu was not willing to kill a large group of brothers who followed him, but he took away their military power and let them go back home to be Lords of Peace. This was very humane and did not hurt the feelings of the brothers.
The Tang Dynasty was much better. As long as they did not make mistakes, all the brothers who had performed meritorious deeds were kept alive. Most of them were in high positions and even had military power. It was a relatively liberal dynasty.
At this moment, the bandit leader was probably speaking the truth because he was just a bandit. He didn't have the ambition to rule the world, nor did he have the leisure to govern the country. What he liked to do the most was to eat, drink, and have fun with his brothers. Everyone was happy together. There was no reason for him to kill his brothers.
Encouraged by the leader, the leaders of the Horse Gang became more excited. They all rubbed their hands and were ready to raid the ruins of Old White Town in the middle of the night.
While the Horse Gang was busy preparing, the soldiers and soldiers were also busy. In a valley 30 miles to the east of Xia Zhou City, Lao Guo finally met up with the three troops under his command. After they met up, there was no time for discussion and deployment. After a few simple words, the troops began to march quickly. They had to arrive near the ruins of Old White Town before midnight, so that they could have a better chance of wiping out the Horse Gang.
Because the journey was really long, and it was at night when the light was not very good, the pressure of marching was still very high. The soldiers did not deliberately slow down, but once they exceeded the safe speed, it was very easy for dangerous situations to occur.
In the course of the rapid march, many soldiers had fallen off their horses. It did not matter if they were slightly injured because they could continue to ride, but those who were seriously injured had to stay.
They were left behind. But Lao Guo had brought 800 soldiers and horses, so it did not matter if a small part of them were left behind, as long as the main force could reach the battlefield. In order to reach the destination in time, no one would take care of these left behind soldiers. They had to take care of themselves. If they were bitten by wolves, it would be their bad luck.
Of course, as long as the soldiers were not seriously injured, they would not be bitten to death by wolves. After all, the soldiers were wearing heavy armor, armed with swords and arrows, so they could protect themselves.
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