The Horse Bandit Leader was still dreaming that he would have a better future after arriving at Hedong. Unexpectedly, he was surrounded by soldiers before he could even see the Yellow River. Moreover, it was a sudden siege without any warning. He did not have any time to prepare and was scared silly.
When he came to his senses, he heard Foal and Fatty loudly persuading him to surrender. This shocked him. It turned out that there was a mole. No wonder he was suddenly surrounded.
"Leader, you are surrounded. Why don't you surrender now? Surrender and you will be spared from death."
"Brothers, more than a hundred of us have surrendered. Don't resist and surrender now!"
Foal and Fatty loudly urged them to surrender.
Before the Horse Bandit Leader could respond, the exhausted Horse Bandits around him had all put down their weapons. No one was a fool. Everyone could see that if they did not surrender, they would die. Under such circumstances, surrender was the only way out.
"You …"
The Horse Bandit Leader was shocked. He also dismounted and surrendered. He was a coward. He did not want to die and wanted to live a few more years.
"Everyone listen up. Raise your hands high and line up. Hurry up."
A lieutenant ordered.
The last hundred over Horse Bandits were easily captured. None of them managed to escape. All of them were captured by the soldiers.
At this point, the plan to eliminate the Horse Bandits in Summer Province was completed. It could be said that it was carried out perfectly.
As the Horse Bandit Leader, he naturally had to be given special treatment. The other Horse Bandits were locked up to rest. Only the Horse Bandit Leader was brought here.
The Horse Bandit Leader who usually acted like a tyrant could only obediently kneel and answer. He seemed to be in dire straits.
"How can you let the Head Bandit Leader keep kneeling? Get up and talk! "
Ang Lee said with a smile and signaled his subordinates to let the Horse Bandit Leader get up.
"Do you want to die or live?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Live, of course I want to live."
The Horse Bandit Leader said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That's good. Then I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. You must seize it! As long as you can redeem yourself, not only can you keep your life, but you can also reduce your punishment. "
"Yes, I'm more than willing."
The bandit leader said happily.
"Come, take a look. Who sent these letters to you? Do you still remember them?"
Ang Lee took out a few letters that he had found in the Horse Gang's lair and showed them to the Horse Gang Leader.
"I remember, of course I remember. However, some people are anonymous. I really don't know what their real identities are! I can only make wild guesses, but I can't come to a conclusion. Naturally, I don't dare to speak recklessly. "
The bandit leader said.
"Then how much can you be sure of?"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
"Ninety percent, at least ninety percent of them know. This lowly one can write down the names of all these people. I can also testify in court and help the Imperial Court dig out the vermin."
The bandit leader said.
In order to save his own life, he did not care about morality. As long as it was beneficial to him, he dared to do anything. He was willing to betray any friend.
"What an untrustworthy person! However, he can be considered to be very sensible. He is quite useful to us. We can use him to dig out the many vermin in the Summer Region. It can also be considered to be a peaceful place. "
Lao Guo said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That's right! These vermin have contributed a lot to the Horse Gang's arrogance in the Summer Region. Without these vermin, how could they have intercepted so many treasures? These vermin must be punished. None of them can be spared. Absolutely none of them can be spared. "
Lao Guo said angrily.
"Yes, General, you're absolutely right. These vermin can't be spared. I'll do my best to cooperate with you and dig out all the vermin in the Summer Region."
The bandit leader instantly turned into a small person and said timidly.
"Well, you can leave now!"
Since the bandit leader was so obedient, there was no need to continue interrogating him.
"Assistant Minister Li, could this bandit leader be a fake one? Why do I always feel that he is a fake? "
After the bandit leader was taken into custody, Lao Guo said doubtfully.
"Fake? I don't think it's fake. It's just that this bandit leader is too weak, so Lao Guo got an illusion. Not all bandits are ferocious. Some of them are timid and weak, and this bandit is one of them."
Ang Lee said.
Lao Guo nodded and said, "I also know it's true. But this bandit leader is too timid and weak. Even his words are trembling. How could such a person be a bandit leader for such a long time? How could so many bandits obey him?"
Obviously, the group of mounted gangsters was a valiant group. In such a group, violence was the most effective way to rule. A tyrannical leader could better unite the mounted gangsters. A weak person would find it difficult to gain a foothold in the group of mounted gangsters, let alone a leader.
However, this was the general situation. Some leaders could get to a high position simply because they started early. At the beginning, they were already leading the group. Later, as more and more people joined them, their positions were gradually raised. In fact, it was not necessary for them to have any leadership ability. Once the group grew bigger, such an idiot would be exposed. But it was not difficult to be a bandit leader. Managing hundreds or thousands of bandits and living a life of robbery did not require a high leadership ability. As long as the initial small leaders supported him, his position would always be secure, and no one could shake his position.
"I'll leave most of the bandits to you. As for the bandit leader and several small leaders, I'm going to take them back to the capital. After all, they are all witnesses. It's not easy to convict the vermin in the Summer Region without letters."
Ang Lee said.
Lao Guo nodded and said, "No problem. These bandits will be temporarily arranged to work in the quarry near the military camp. They will work for 10 hours a day, 4 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the afternoon. They can eat horse stew every day and sleep for 8 hours every night. As long as they behave well and don't make trouble, the guards won't beat or scold them."
Ang Lee was very satisfied with Lao Guo's arrangement. It was a good way to make the best use of these bandits. Instead of killing them, it was better to use their labor to create economic value for the imperial court of the Tang dynasty.
"Well, that's it. I'll go back to the capital tomorrow morning. I'll leave the surrendered bandits to you."
Ang Lee said.
After a little preparation, Ang Lee left the Lushui River Valley with the bandit leader, One-eye, and a few other small leaders. They went to the Horse Gang's lair first to meet Lao Chen there, and then they could go back home.
This time, not only did they wipe out all the bandits, but they also seized a lot of gold and silver. With such a large amount of treasures, they should not only take most of them to the imperial court, but also leave some of them as rewards for the soldiers who participated in wiping out the bandits to encourage them to continue working for the imperial court.
After arriving at the Horse Gang's lair, Ang Lee first sent a telegram to the imperial court, telling them about the situation here. He also said that he would return to the capital in two days at most.
When he set out, Ang Lee didn't inform any of the officials in the Summer Region. Only Lao Guo came to see him off with some soldiers and horses.
"Lao Guo, you don't have to see me off. Go back quickly! After all, the bandits are ferocious. This time, we caught 500 of them. You must manage them separately. Don't put them all in the same place to prevent them from rebelling. "
Before he left, Ang Lee warned Lao Guo.
Lao Guo nodded and said, "Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I know how to deal with these bandits. I'll be fine. "
"Don't talk so much. It's time to go. Go back and have a rest, Lao Guo!"
Lao Chen was a little impatient and said with a smile.
"Well, I'm going back. Have a safe trip."
Lao Guo replied with a smile.
This time, Ang Lee didn't take many guards with him to the north, only a few hundred. Lao Chen came later, so he only brought a little more than a thousand people. However, one carriage was not enough. It took three trains to transport all the people and materials.
"Hanlu, take a look at this."
Ang Lee casually took out some treasures from the Horse Gang's lair and gently put them on Li Hanlu's hand.
"Are these the treasures seized from the Horse Gang? The quality looks very good! "
Li Hanlu said.
"Here, put them on your neck and let me have a good look."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"It's not suitable for me to wear jewelry seized from the Horse Gang."
Li Hanlu refused.
"You can just treat it as if I bought it."
"How can I do that? You bought it and you took it from the Horse Gang. It's not the same, okay?"
"What's the difference? Isn't it good to have it for free?"
"No."
"What's wrong with it? There are no marks on it. Who would know it was seized from the Horse Gang? Just take it as I bought it for you. "
"No, that's too insincere. If you want to buy it, you have to pay for it."
Seeing Li Hanlu's temper, Ang Lee said with a smile, "Okay! Where did you learn this from? You've learned to be unruly and have a temper. "
"I've always had a temper. I just didn't know how to use it before."
Li Hanlu glanced at Ang Lee with a smile.
"Well, I'll buy you one when we get back to the capital. I'll pay for it."
Ang Lee said helplessly.
She was born with a temper. Ang Lee didn't know if it was true. However, even if she wasn't born with this skill, after being spoiled for a long time, she would have a temper. This was completely a problem of being spoiled.
Ang Lee had already sent the basic situation in Summer Province to the imperial court when he set off. This information spread in the capital at the fastest speed. It even made the headlines of the Tang dynasty and became a very important news. Although it was not a big deal to eliminate more than a thousand Horse Gang, it was a great thing that there were no casualties among the officers and soldiers. It was a great thing to win the final victory.
In addition, what attracted more attention was that the Horse Gang Leader and others were going to be escorted to the capital, along with the letters of all the people who had dealings with the Horse Gang in Summer Province. These letters were material evidence, and the Horse Gang Leader and his related Horse Gang subordinates were witnesses. With these two things, the related vermin in Summer Province would be finished. None of them could escape.
The local officials could sit firmly in their positions and cover the sky with one hand. Generally, they couldn't get away from the background of the imperial court. Wang, Provincial Governor of Summer Province, was not only born in the prominent Langya Wang Clan, but also had a background in the imperial court. Every year, he would take out a part of the money he plundered to show filial piety to his background as an official in the imperial court.
And this time, his background naturally quickly got the news that the Horse Gang Leader was about to enter the capital. Once the witness and material evidence were confirmed, it would be difficult to recover.
Although this background didn't know whether the Provincial Governor of Summer Province had colluded with the Horse Gang, the political sense developed by many years of being an official told him that the highest official in Summer Province must have colluded with the Horse Gang. Otherwise, Ang Lee wouldn't have made such a big deal and actually brought the Horse Gang and the letters to the capital. If it was an ordinary small official, he could directly deal with it in Summer Province. There was no need to go through so much trouble.
In such a situation, in order to not get himself into trouble, the best way was to distance himself from all relations with the Provincial Governor of Summer Province. But once some relations were confirmed, it wasn't so easy to distance himself. Once he was bitten, it would be more troublesome.
Sending someone to assassinate the leader of the Horse Gang or robbing the letter from the leader of the Horse Gang seemed to be a very good idea. However, Li An and Elder Chen were personally escorting the letter with more than a thousand guards. To assassinate the leader of the Horse Gang was more difficult than ascending to the sky. As for the secret letter to the Horse Gang, it was not even clear where it was hidden, let alone robbing it.
In this way, it seemed that there was only one way left to distance himself from the Horse Gang. That was to make the Provincial Governor of Summer Province shut his mouth forever. As long as the Provincial Governor of Summer Province and other local officials shut their mouths forever, these people behind the scenes would be safe and sound.
When Ang Lee returned to the capital, some of the killers sent by the imperial court officials had already gone to Summer Province by car. Their task was to wait for the next instruction. As long as the imperial court finally convicted the Provincial Governor of Summer Province and other people, they would immediately take action and kill all the Provincial Governor of Summer Province, so as to protect the higher-ranking officials from being implicated.
After two whole days, Ang Lee and his soldiers and horses escorted the Horse Gang Leader and others into Chang 'an, which they had left for a long time. As soon as they entered the suburbs, they felt the unconcealable prosperity.
Because the suburbs were not so prosperous when the railway was first designed, the construction of various supporting facilities was not perfect. At first, because there were no railings, many people who rushed into the railway were killed or injured. Later, railings were finally installed. But the people had a need to pass through, so they began to build passing culverts and overpasses that could allow people and carriages to pass through. However, the number of construction was seriously insufficient, which caused the people on both sides of the railway to be greatly hindered. The passing culverts were often congested.
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