Nanming Engineer

Chapter 154 Give a way out
Wang Huan stopped for a while at the gate of the Xingyuan of the General Army, and waited for the guards to clean up the lobby where the tables and chairs had been turned over, and then walked in with Meng Zhiyu.

The lobby is tall and spacious, with six thick wooden pillars surrounded by one person supporting the roof that is two to three feet high. A large armchair is placed in the middle, surrounded by rows of official hat chairs. There is a flat blue brick floor underground. This house The decoration is more than twice as grand as that of the Fengjie County Government.

Meng Zhiyu was like a mountain villager who had just entered the city. He looked around and touched here and there with his eyes wide open. His mouth was filled with praise and indescribable envy. The expression on his face seemed to say, this is what it means to be an official. , this is where scholars should live.

Wang Huan was also quite satisfied, and simply said to Meng Zhiyu: "Lord Magistrate, since this room is spacious, why don't we bring the wine and meat from the county government here, how about we have a good time here?"

Meng Zhiyu was overjoyed: "How dare you disobey my orders!"

After repeated instructions, he called several white servants to go to the county government office to bring food and wine. The guards found a large round table from the backyard and placed it in the lobby. They removed the desks and used the lobby as a canteen. Sit down and start eating.

The soldiers in the military camp also received food and meat from the county, and the Huotoujun in the army cooked the food and had dinner by the hour.

On the wine table, Meng Zhiyu and Wang Huan drank a few cups, and their tongues grew louder. Under Wang Huan's intentional rhetoric, they poured out their sufferings for more than a year, and Fengjie's customs , taxation, food production, and the details of Zeng Ying he knew, all trembled clearly. He could see that Wang Huan was different from Tan Wen. Wang Huan was an outsider. If you are unreliable, you will have a chance. As long as you rely on this big tree, the position of the county magistrate will no longer be as pitiful as before.

Wang Huan also learned about the background of this foreign county magistrate while talking. Meng Zhiyu, like most low-level intellectuals in Ming Dynasty, has a commonality of cynicalism. , but also has the desire to revitalize the country, is a bit pedantic, and also has some talents. As long as those who make good use of them are cultivated well, they will be a good official in the future.

One of the two wanted to take refuge, the other wanted to win over, they hit it off, and they met each other for a long time, and they reached a tacit alliance after a cup of tea. Wang Huan easily let the county magistrate into his system.

While chatting and laughing, suddenly there was a noise at the door, Ma Xintian and Zu Bian led the soldiers and escorted a few people with gray heads and dusty heads in.

As soon as he entered the door, Zu Bian yelled away: "My lord, these people were all gathered in one place, and I was asked to wait a while to find them. After a while, I finally found them at the house of the Prime Minister of Niao County."

"Oh?" Wang Huan narrowed his eyes.

"My lord, these people are the family members of Tan's family. The Tan brothers will count them as the masters. The officials heard that after Tan Wen was defeated by the lord, the Tan family was like a frightened bird. They were afraid that the lord would come and take away his family's power. , and unwilling to let it go, so they discussed it every day, and they didn’t even come to the Yamen.” Meng Zhiyu had already regarded Wang Huan’s matter as his own, and was no longer as worried as he was at the city gate, so he immediately pointed out the matter to the hall. A few people's thoughts.

Fengjie county magistrate, county magistrate, master secretary and others were pushed down by the ancestors one by one under the steps in front of the hall, their faces full of horror, and when they found Meng Zhiyu standing next to Wang Huan whispering, they became even more frightened. Said that the timid county magistrate had already taken refuge in Wang Huan.

"Huh? Then tell yourself, what are you discussing when you get together?" Wang Huan picked up the cup, leaned on the back of the chair, and slowly asked several county leaders.

Several Tan family leaders looked at each other in blank dismay, of course they dared not admit that they were discussing how they pretended to surrender and secretly planned to collude with Zeng Ying to counterattack, but they just knelt and kowtowed to explain that they were afraid, so they dared not show up.

"Afraid? What are you afraid of?" Wang Huan took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "Is this general so scary? I didn't even kill Tan Wen. You have no ghosts in your hearts. How could I kill you?"

This time the few people didn't even dare to speak, they just kowtowed, their foreheads were red and swollen.

"Well, since you are afraid, I will arrange a safe place. There is no danger there. As long as you keep yourselves, there is nothing to be afraid of." Wang Huanshao said: "Mengzhi County, do you have a list of family members named Fengjie Tan? ?”

Meng Zhiyu thought for a while and said, "It's not difficult. The family tree of the Tan family is in his ancestral hall. I'll send someone to fetch it right away."

Wang Huan praised Meng Zhiyu for his effective work, smiled and said to the kowtowers: "Early tomorrow morning, you will move your family, move to Shizhu, and disperse among the chief tribes. No matter how many of you there are, if tomorrow morning , the people whose names are on the family tree and those who stay in Fengjie County will be killed."

He smiled and said: "When you arrive at Shizhu, you can dig or farm, but you must not leave Shizhu. Someone will watch you. After a few years, if you have no intentions, then consider whether to give you freedom."

"But you can also try to organize a riot, because I will put you back tonight. There are thousands of men in your clan, and you have a lot of weapons. You can try to beat my Kuizhou soldiers back .”

"But before doing this, you'd better think about what the consequences of doing this are. In addition, your strength, compared with Tan Wen's [-] soldiers, is stronger or weaker. You can weigh it yourself. Now, you can gone."

After saying these words, he waved his hand and signaled Zu Bian to let them out.

Several Tan family leaders raised their heads in surprise, as if they didn't quite believe it, and knelt on the ground without moving for a long time.It wasn't until a person came up from the ancestors and kicked him that he got up in a panic and rolled out.

As soon as the people left, Wang Huan put down the wine glass in his hand. The tired look he had just now disappeared, his eyes were shining brightly, and he sat upright. There was no trace of the comfortable look he had just drinking wine with side dishes. .

"Meng Zhi County, take people to the ancestral hall to get the roster immediately, and find out where everyone on it is, whether they are officials in the county, what they do for a living, and report back to me tomorrow morning!"

Meng Zhiyujiu woke up immediately, stood up in a cold sweat and agreed, then ran out with her official robes.

"Ma Xintian, you lead four centurions and guard the four city gates. It is strictly forbidden for anyone to enter or leave. Anyone who violates the rules will be killed without mercy!"

"Zu Bian, you lead the rest of the troops to rest in the camp and wait for orders. You must not take off your armor, and you are always ready to suppress the rebellion!"

He paused, and finally looked at Ma Wannian, who was eager to try, and said in a deep voice: "Ma Wannian, you are patrolling the city with a centurion, and no one is allowed to go out on the street after dark. Detained in the barracks, those who resisted were killed!"

Everyone listened quietly to his arrangement, and finally responded in unison: "No!"

Wang Huan's complexion was iron, and he watched everyone leave. He stood on the steps in front of the hall for a long time, and said softly to himself: "I hope the Tan family will have self-knowledge, and don't let me increase the number of evil..."

(End of this chapter)