In the open space outside the hall, there were all kinds of things used by the Horse Gang leader, such as clothes, chairs, bed boards, bedding, and letters in the box. Of course, the important letters were all kept.
Several soldiers held torches and set these things on fire. More than a dozen surrendered Horse Gang members, including Foal, all stood in the open space and watched all this.
"You all see clearly. Today we're burning the clothes and belongings of the Horse Gang leader. When we catch him, we'll burn him. Anyone who goes against the imperial court as a Horse Gang won't have a good end."
A young general scolded loudly, intending to deter these Horse Gang members.
After his subordinates deterred these Horse Gang members, Lao Guo showed up. He looked at the Horse Gang members and said, "Being a Horse Gang won't have a good end. You used to be a Horse Gang member, but you haven't done anything evil. You must turn over a new leaf and start anew. I'll give you three choices. First, you can join our army and wipe out the Horse Gang with our soldiers. You'll be rewarded if you make a contribution; second, you can go home and farm, and live an honest life; third, you can persuade your companions to surrender. It'll be a great contribution if you can persuade even one of them to surrender.
Think it over! "After that, he looked at these Horse Gang members and waited for their choice.
"General, I want to go home and farm."
"General, I want to go home and farm, too."
"Me too."
"I want to go home and farm."
More than a dozen Horse Gang members answered one after another, but their answer was the same. They all wanted to go home and farm. None of them chose to join the army, and none of them wanted to persuade the Horse Gang to surrender.
"Haha! Good! All of you want to go home and farm. None of you want to persuade your companions to surrender. You'll be rewarded with money. "
Lao Guo began to tempt them with promises.
Foal answered in a hurry, "General, please forgive me. I've been feeding the horses here all the time. I don't know if the Horse Gang members have other places to live. How can I persuade them to surrender when I can't find them? What's more, I'm just a horse feeder. All my acquaintances are here, and I haven't talked much with other companions."
"Haha! You can't find them, and you can't talk to them. Your reason is quite reasonable. Fine! I'm convinced. What about you? Is it the same? "
Lao Guo asked with a smile.
"General, this lowly one is with the Foal. We are also here to feed the horses. I don't know where else to stay."
"I'm also a horse feeder."
"This lowly one is disabled and is not welcomed. I don't know where else to live."
Everyone gave the same answer. Most of them really didn't know. They were responsible for feeding the horses, so they knew the situation within a radius of more than ten miles. They didn't know anything further than that.
Lao Guo nodded and said, "Since you're all poor people who were caught by the Horse Gang, I won't make things difficult for you. Give each of you two kilograms of jerky and a handful of copper coins. You can all go home now!"
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and ordered the mounted gangsters to collect the money and meat and leave quickly.
"Thank you, General. Thank you."
The bandits all expressed their gratitude to Lao Guo. Then they lined up and left with the dried meat and copper coins.
Looking at the back of Foal and the others, Lao Guo's eyes were full of expectation. If they could really send back the information, they would know every move of the Horse Gang.
After they left, Big Colt also left in casual clothes. He had to follow Foal all the way to find Foal. However, he couldn't follow too closely, or he would be in trouble if he was discovered.
And he didn't need to worry about losing track of Foal, because he would leave marks along the way. As long as he could find the marks, he would be able to find Foal's trace and then the nest of the Horse Gang.
In the beginning, these mounted gangsters were a little scared when they left, fearing that the soldiers would come after them. But after a few miles, they found that the soldiers didn't come after them, so they were completely relieved.
At a fork in the road, a dozen of them stopped.
"Why did the soldiers let us go? Isn't it better to take our heads to the imperial court for a reward?"
The one-eyed mounted gangster said with confusion.
"Are they up to something? But we have nothing to gain! We're going home to farm. What can they get? "
A mounted gangster said.
"Yes, yes, yes. Anyway, we're going home to farm. Who cares what they're up to? Maybe they really think that we're innocent and let us go? "
The young mounted gangster said quickly.
The one-eyed gangster looked at them fiercely and asked, "Do you really plan to go home to farm?"
"What else can we do? The soldiers' encirclement is getting more and more serious. If we continue to stay in the mountains, we'll lose our lives sooner or later. It's better to go back to farm! Maybe we can save our lives. "
"Yes! Yes! The soldiers are determined to eliminate us this time. Staying in the mountains is a dead end. When we go back, we'll just find a job to pass the time! "
A few mounted gangsters said.
The one-eyed gangster thought carefully. It seemed to be the case. After the soldiers let them go, everyone went home to farm. In this way, the soldiers didn't get anything. It seemed that they really didn't have any ulterior motives.
"Go back to farm? Hmph, don't you see what the land outside has become? Even if you go back, there's no land to farm. You'll only starve to death."
The one-eyed gangster said.
"We still have to go back and take a look first. If we can't farm, we'll think of other ways. There's always a way to survive."
The young mounted gangster said.
The one-eyed gangster said, "There's no need to go back and take a look. I'm very clear about the situation of the surrounding land. Even if we plant a year's worth of food, we won't be able to harvest much. Moreover, we can't hide the fact that we've been mounted gangsters. When the time comes, if something happens in your village and someone's things are stolen, you'll be the first to be suspected. You won't be able to raise your heads for the rest of your life when you go back. Once you've been a mounted gangster, you'll be a mounted gangster for the rest of your life. When you go back, you'll be implicated. "
These words really shocked all the mounted gangsters. They naturally understood this truth. Those who had been thieves would be discriminated against for the rest of their lives. If something happened, they would be the first to be suspected. This was simply not a life for humans. This was also the fundamental reason why those who had done bad things would continue to do bad things after being released. It was because it was very difficult for them to be accepted by this society. Even if they did good things, it was very difficult for them to be accepted. No one dared to patronize them when they did business, for fear of being cheated.
"Aiya! It's true! Then what should we do? The world is so big. Is there no place for us to stay? "
A mounted gangster said helplessly.
"Then what should we do? Is there really no place for us to stay? "
Another mounted gangster said.
The one-eyed man said, "There's only one way out for you, and that is to follow me. Although the soldiers suppress us day and night, as long as the leader is still around, we still have hope. The leader will lead us on a path of freedom. We have to believe in the leader. By the way, the leader once told me that if the soldiers encircle us too much, he will lead us away from Qiwu Mountain and go to the mountains thousands of miles away to continue our freedom."
These words really did move a few mounted gangsters. These people were eager to try. They were already used to a life of eating and drinking. If they went back to farming, they would definitely have to live a hard life. This was very difficult for them to accept. However, if they could really go to the mountains thousands of miles away, it seemed to be a good way out.
As for being far away from their hometown and relatives, they couldn't think so much. Since they joined the mounted gangster group, they had already cut off contact with their relatives in their hometown. They had almost no feelings for their hometown.
"Can we really leave here? If so, I won't go back. I'll follow the leader to another place and continue our freedom. "
Foal said happily.
The one-eyed man said complacently, "Would I lie to you? Of course it's true. If you all follow me, I guarantee that you'll have a good life in the future. "
"Well, I'm willing to continue following the leader."
"Me too. Let's go to another place and continue our freedom."
The mounted gangsters were all persuaded. They were very worried about their real life. They were worried that they would not be recognized by their hometown people and would not be able to raise their heads for the rest of their lives. However, if they followed the leader to another place to develop their career, they might be able to live a happy life.
"Good, that's great. Brothers, if you follow the leader, you'll definitely have a good life in the future. Let's go and find the leader."
The one-eyed man said happily.
If he went back alone to see the leader, he was worried that he would be suspected. However, if he went back with a large group, everyone could verify each other's words and naturally prove his innocence. Moreover, these people had always been under his command and were his subordinates. If he didn't bring these guys back, wouldn't he become a commander without an army?
The one-eyed man basically knew all the lairs in Qiwu Mountain. He was the leader's brother when he first started and was also the leader's confidant. Naturally, he knew everything. At this moment, since the battle at Old White City had failed, most of the lairs must have been exposed. After all, there were many captured horse gangsters. These horse gangsters would not keep their mouths shut and would definitely reveal the location of these lairs. The main camp was leaked by the captured horse gangsters.
However, One-eye was not an ordinary person. He knew of several abandoned hidden lairs. These lairs were built by their leader when they first started the rebellion. Later, they were abandoned. Only a few people knew about these lairs. Therefore, it was impossible for the captured ordinary horse bandits to give out these places. At this moment, the leader of the horse bandits who had nowhere to hide must have led the surviving horse bandits to these secret lairs. All he needed to do was to search them one by one.
Just as the one-eyed man led the mounted gangsters to find the leader, the two thousand soldiers had already taken over many lairs of horse gangsters and seized some loot.
Since the horse gangsters had received the news in advance, they all retreated. What's more, they took away the best and most valuable things, leaving the soldiers with some worthless things. Nevertheless, it was a total victory. Therefore, the soldiers were very happy. According to the previous plan, they selectively destroyed many lairs of horse gangsters and then concentrated their forces in two more important lairs, waiting for Lao Guo's next order.
All the lairs were successfully destroyed. Though they did not eliminate the remaining force of the horse gangsters, Lao Guo was still happy to hear the news. As long as these lairs were destroyed and several key points in Qiwu Mountain were occupied, the rest of the horse gangsters could be well deterred.
Now, the most important thing in front of them was to figure out where the Horse Gang was hiding. Secondly, they had to figure out how many men the Horse Gang had left. Thirdly, they had to figure out what the Horse Gang's next plan was.
Except for the destroyed lairs of the horse gangsters, the remaining three lairs were roughly in a triangle shape. The distance between two lairs was about 30 miles. With the cooperation of these three lairs, they could completely control most of Qiwu Mountain and make it difficult for the horse gangsters to move in this area.
Lao Guo immediately thought of a problem. If the horse gangsters were driven to desperation, they might leave Qiwu Mountain and develop in other places. In that case, they would bring disaster to other places. He had to try his best to prevent such a thing from happening and try his best to eliminate the horse gangsters in Summer Province.
Most of the thousands of letters were worthless and had been burned. But there were hundreds of valuable letters left. These letters were between some people in Summer Province and the leader of the horse gangsters. As long as the handwriting was compared, the writer could be found out and brought to justice.
Judging from the contents of the correspondence, many of these people were indeed related to the officials of the Summer State. Some of them even directly wrote out the positions of some officials. However, the person who wrote the letter was not an official, but a confidant of an official. He also spoke in a more obscure manner, as if to prevent this from happening.
"County Magistrate Cui? Is he Cui Dahai of Dejing County?"
Seeing a letter mentioning County Magistrate Cui, Ang Lee immediately thought of Cui Dahai, the county magistrate of Dejing County, who was also the Fatty Cui that he tricked. This guy was obviously not a good person. It never occurred to him that he really colluded with the horse gangsters. So, was it possible that Fatty Cui leaked his whereabouts? The intercepted letters did not mention this, but Ang Lee had already guessed it.
"The county magistrate of Dejing County? It's very possible. There are only four counties in Summer Province, and the only county magistrate surnamed Cui is Cui Dahai of Dejing County. I didn't expect that the county magistrate colluded with the horse gangsters. "
Lao Guo looked very angry. The county magistrate was not a small official. If such a high official had dealings with the horse gangsters, it would be too easy for the horse gangsters to get some information.
"I met Cui Dahai when I went to Dejing County this time. He is a big fat man. It is very likely that Fatty Cui leaked my whereabouts. This guy is really bad. He must be severely punished."
Ang Lee said angrily.
Lao Guo nodded and said, "Cui Dahai alone can't make any trouble. Judging from these letters, there are indeed many people who collude with the horse gangsters! I'm afraid that too many people are involved. As a general, I can't suppress them. "
Hearing Lao Guo's words, Ang Lee said with a smile, "Lao Guo, I can't suppress them either. Let's find out who sent these letters first. Then, when I return to the capital, I'll directly hand these letters to His Majesty and let him deal with them himself. Let's see who dares to be presumptuous then. "
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