Chapter 885 Jiang Qin
At the same time, in Peixian County, which is seventy miles away from Pengcheng, Jiang Qin was patrolling the city with several soldiers.
Chen Deng naturally knew how important Peixian County was to Pengcheng and even Xuzhou, so he specifically placed his confidant Jiang Qin here because he believed in his ability.
And Jiang Qin did live up to Chen Deng's trust and took care of things in Peixian County in an orderly manner.
Unlike Zhou Tai who couldn't learn and didn't want to learn, Jiang Qin was not only brave in battle, but also capable of dismounting and governing the people.
He had his own method, which was to just go down there, listen to other people's problems, and then solve them.
Of course, this is only a primary means of governance. After all, as the chief official, even if you are really at the grassroots level, can you hear the real problems? Even if it is a real problem, does it mean it is the main problem?
But Jiang Qin didn't care about these things. Anyway, as long as he heard or saw them, he would take care of them.
Therefore, since taking charge of Pei County, Jiang Qin has not only been busy with the defense of the city, but also dedicated time to solve the problems of the people one by one.
When he transferred from the Chen Deng shogunate to Peixian County, Chen Deng specifically told Jiang Qin one thing.
That means winning the hearts of Peixian County, and then Peixian County will be impregnable.
And Jiang Qin listened to these words.
Today, Jiang Qin came to inspect the city as usual.
This has become Jiang Qin's daily routine. The purpose of his inspection is not only to see if the officials on the city are slacking off, but also to show some people that as long as he is there, the logistics staff will never dare to do anything. Withholding rations from officials.
Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai are very different.
Zhou Tai respected the scholar-bureaucrats very much and wanted to become one of them, even though he was always ridiculed by the latter for "taking the crown despite being a monkey".
But Jiang Qin was completely different. He valued the officials below him and cherished the brothers who worked with him through life and death. On the contrary, he looked down upon the children of aristocratic families who could seize military glory with their mouths and pens.
It is this difference between the two people that is why there are a large number of descendants of the Xuzhou family serving as officials in Zhou Tai's army, but there are few in Jiang Qin's army. He always has to do everything by himself.
So it’s impossible to say who is more right.
At this moment, Jiang Qin was chatting with a few veterans on the east gate, listening to their participation in the northern defense.
Since the battle in Xuzhou, there has been a shortage of manpower, and some veteran troops who participated in defense tasks during the Han Dynasty have also been reorganized into the army.
Although many of these people are so old that it is difficult to lift a knife, their existence does provide a wealth of experience to newcomers.
For example, the three veterans chatting with Jiang Qin now were all the same group who went north to Youzhou to participate in the garrison of Autumn.
Jiang Qin was very curious about this experience, because he had never been to the north of the Yellow River in his life. The last time he accompanied Chen Deng on his northern expedition to Qingzhou and reached the Gaomi area, it was the northernmost place Jiang Qin had ever been.
The three old soldiers were also talkative, which of course had something to do with the fact that they had repeatedly boasted about this matter. They just talked nonsense with Jiang Qin anyway, and Jiang Qin had never been there anyway.
Jiang Qin couldn't hear the confusion, but he was deep in thought.
He listened to the stories of the veterans and suddenly asked:
"So when I went to Youzhou for defense, I had a narrow escape from death?"
The veteran soldiers were still talking nonsense just now, but after Jiang Qin said this, the three of them fell silent.
They seemed reluctant to recall that memory and just sighed:
"Our lives have always been cheap. Death is not death. What kind of loess can't bury people?"
But Jiang Qin was not satisfied with this answer. He asked the three people again:
"Are those Xianbei people that powerful?"
These words angered the one with the strongest temper among the three veterans, and he just said:
"General, have you ever heard of one Han serving as the Five Barbarians? Those Xianbei people can't be killed even if they line up in front of the Dukes."
This hot-tempered man was called Lao Yang. He wanted to say more, but the companion next to him, Lao Chen, grabbed him directly, and then apologized to Jiang Qin:
"General, Lao Yang has this mouth. Don't blame him. We all know how good you are to us. If you don't really respect us, who will accompany us here to listen to this? Not to mention that you are a general. ? So, we must say whatever we have.”
Jiang Qin was not angry. In fact, he had always been curious about this question:
"To be honest, the reason why my family fell into trouble was because we couldn't afford to pay for the replacement. At that time, many people from our family had gone there before, but never came back. So everyone knew at that time Going north is a dead end. But I was young and didn’t know why everyone was afraid of this, so I thought that Xianbei’s bravery was invincible.”
"But later I felt that this was not the case. Look at the Taishan Army opposite us. I heard that they wiped out the Xianbei, Wuhuan and even Sushen and Goguryeo people just casually. Now these people have joined the Taishan Army in the team, so I thought, Are these barbarians really powerful? If they are really powerful, can they be defeated by the Taishan Army so quickly? But if they are not powerful, why can't I, a big man, even guard against them? A narrow escape.”
Jiang Qin's words were all the truth in his heart. He was really confused. He had never really fought against the Taishan Army, so he could not directly judge the true combat effectiveness of the Taishan Army, so he tried to use this question to understand from the side.
It was the same old Chen who spoke. He sighed and finally began to recall the most painful days in his life.
He said to Jiang Qin:
"General, to be honest, the three of us escaped from Northern Xinjiang."
Jiang Qin was stunned for a moment, but did not interrupt Lao Chen.
Then Lao Chen began to tell the story of the three of them.
At that time, like everyone who wanted to go north for garrison, they all said that they would go to Yuyang for three years and then return home after three years.
But after they trekked all the way to Yuyang, no one cared about them at all, and no one provided them with food or clothing. They just sent them into a wild dock wall and left.
On the first night in the dock, someone in their team froze to death because they couldn't stand the cold. The next winter, more than fifty people in a dock were directly reduced by more than ten people.
But people's adaptation to the environment is far beyond what people think. After surviving this winter, the remaining people were finally able to barely survive in northern Xinjiang.
But what if you survive the winter? They soon encountered the wandering Xianbei Rangers. Although these people did not cause them much casualties, they were trapped inside the wall of the dock.
The time after that was like this. The Xianbei people outside the Great Wall came and went, and came and went. This year's white snow is over, and there will be an even bigger one next year.
Finally, after three years of hard work, they thought they would be able to return home at the end of their term, but when they received an order from the Yuyang Military Mansion, they were asked to garrison in Liucheng further north.
Where is Liucheng? That's already the nest of the Wuhuan people. Wouldn't it be a dead end to go there? So no one wants to go.
At this time, the envoy thoughtfully suggested a way out for them, that is, they could join the wealthy local families in Yuyang as slaves. In this way, their identities would disappear from the books and they would no longer be subject to the labor of the country. .
At this time, these people finally understood the truth behind this, and also understood why they sent garrison troops from Neijun every year, but no soldiers returned from the north every year.
It turns out that these people either died in the cold winter in northern Xinjiang or became the slaves of the powerful.
After telling this story, even Lao Chen, who had always been emotionally stable, couldn't help but ask Jiang Qin:
"General, we are defending the country for the country, why do we end up being slaves of the powerful? These people dig into the corners of the country without being punished. Whose fault is this?"
Even at the end, Lao Chen said something that touched Jiang Qin’s soul:
"The big man I guarded never brought me anything. When the land at home was taken away, I took these old brothers to take it back. When the land in the countryside oppressed us, it was we who used the knives in our hands to fight against it. He was reasonable. We never believed in this big man, let alone died for him."
Jiang Qin hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Then why are you guys here, Old Chen?"
Old Chen looked at Jiang Qin and said seriously: "General, I am from Xuzhou, and my hometown is here. I don't need to go to Yuyang to fight or become a slave of the powerful Yuyang. But here , I have my family, my hometown, and all my memories behind me. I want to protect these, and this is the reason why we fight.”
Jiang Qin was moved. He straightened his back, then bowed deeply to Lao Chen three times, and finally said firmly:
"Old Chen, I, Jiang Qin, am also from Xuzhou, and my family is behind me. And our lord Chen Deng loves the people like his own children and will not recruit people as slaves. He will make us Xuzhou people live a good life. So this time We are not fighting for the dead man, we are fighting for ourselves, for Xuzhou! So please believe me and my lord. "
The three of them, Lao Chen, looked at each other and said in unison:
"Fight to the death for Xuzhou people and Xuzhou soil!"
Jiang Qin patted his chest heavily, taking this as his promise.
While the atmosphere was getting intense, a military official rushed up to the tower, then squeezed through the crowd and appeared next to Jiang Qin.
This person is Xu Miu, the county lieutenant in charge of the defense of Peixian County.
As soon as he arrived, Jiang Qin knew that something must have happened in the city, so he greeted the three old soldiers and walked aside, while Xu Miao hurriedly caught up.
At this time, Xu Moucai whispered:
"General, there's been a murder in the city!"
Jiang Qin frowned and asked:
"Who died? Is it important? I am patrolling the city now."
The meaning of Jiang Qin's words is obvious, that is, at this stage, a mere murder case is really a trivial matter.
Even though he loved the people, he still understood that in such a city where soldiers gathered, it was too normal for a murder to occur.
Of course Xu Mu knew what Jiang Qin meant and replied directly:
"The ones who died were a few social rats in the city. But the officials thought this matter was not simple."
Jiang Qin directly asserted:
"There have been so many people pouring into the city recently, and the city foxes and rats are fighting with each other. Isn't it normal for a few people to die?"
But he didn’t realize that Xu Miao meant exactly this, so he clicked:
"Yes, there has been an influx of people into the city recently."
Now Jiang Qin understood what Xu Miao meant. He pondered for a moment and said to Jiang Fang, the general behind him:
"Take a group of brothers to come with me and have a look."
With that said, Jiang Qin and Xu Mu went down to the city.
……
On the road, Jiang Qin and Xu Miao walked side by side and asked in a low voice:
"Old Xu, do you think this was done by the Taishan Army?"
Xu Miao nodded and said to Jiang Qin:
"During this period, the powerful people from the north of Pei County and the capital of Guizhou swarmed southward into the city. Because these people were scattered and we lacked manpower, we could not determine the identities of these people at all. Later, I arranged them into a unified We live in a neighborhood, and the few dead rats were from that area.”
Then Xu Miao expressed his opinion:
"I know all those social rats. They are all very clever and won't fight bravely on the street. The three who died this time were all in a group and were killed together. These are extraordinary times. , after something like this happened, it’s hard not to think about this.”
Jiang Qin nodded, he understood what Xu Miao meant, and Xu Miao, as a local snake, must know the interpersonal relationships in the city better than Jiang Qin, so Xu Miao must have his reasons for being so suspicious.
Soon, everyone rushed to the scene.
At this moment, more than a dozen Pei County soldiers were surrounding a circle, blocking out the people watching the excitement outside.
After Jiang Qin arrived, he only took one look and told Xu Miu:
"Take all these people and put them all into custody."
Xu Miao was stunned for a moment, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He just asked:
"Send it back to the county temple?"
Jiang Qin walked to a mansion on the street and asked Xu Mu whose house it belonged to. Xu Miao looked at it for a while and said:
"This is from one of Cao Bao's relatives."
Cao Bao was the core of Tao Qian, the former governor of Xuzhou. Although he lost power after Chen Deng came to power, he was still very influential.
But Jiang Qin waved his hand directly:
"Go, vacate this mansion, and keep all the spectators here. Guard them separately!"
Xu Miao didn't hesitate at all, as long as Jiang Qin's order was given.
In this way, the family was kicked out with curses, and the people who were watching the excitement shouted that they were wronged, but were still taken into the house.
After clearing the street, Jiang Qin walked to the scene.
The scene was inside a narrow street wall, inside was a ditch, and the three dead rats were stuffed in the ditch.
The bottom one has been swollen because it was squeezed and stuffed in water.
The air was already filled with a strong rancid smell.
Jiang Qin glanced at it and asked:
"Have you checked the body?"
A man present carefully replied:
"One had a knife in his mouth, one had his throat crushed, and another had his neck broken directly from behind."
Jiang Qin nodded, glanced at Xu Miao beside him, and finally understood why Xu Miao suspected that it was the Taishan Army's meticulous work.
Without him, could such a killing method be used by ordinary people?
Later, Jiang Qin asked them again:
"Can you tell what kind of weapon is used?"
What’s wrong with you?
"Looking at the length of the wound, it's too general to determine which type it is."
Jiang Qin changed the question:
"Is this the result of the weapons in the army?"
Now he shook his head with certainty:
"Definitely not. The wound is very thin, and the weapons in the army are all broad. It is definitely not a weapon in the army."
Jiang Qin nodded, then turned to Xu Miao and said:
"This is done in advance. You take my seal arrow first, pass on my military order, and come down immediately!"
Xu Miao's face flashed with joy, he lowered his head and clasped his fists:
"Here!"