Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

The next day, people from behind also arrived near Rangcheng one after another. Li Tai also entered the city and took over all the city defense matters.

When the people inside and outside Rangcheng saw so many people arriving, they couldn't help but marvel at the power of the new envoy. As for the powerful Jingzhou subordinates who had met with him in the military camp yesterday, they immediately understood the source of Li Tai's confidence. If they have such a huge power, of course they will have revenge, and I am afraid they will be even more arrogant than Li Tai!

Although Wang Sizheng didn't stay in Jingzhou for a long time, he still did some things, such as repairing the city of Jingzhou. The layout of various areas in the city is also quite regular, which is worthy of the work of a tower defense master.

The space in the city is not small, and before Li Tai arrived, Quan Zhongzun had ordered people to clear an area so that the troops Li Tai brought could move in directly.

The reason why Li Tai stayed in the military camp outside the city last night was because he was worried about the mixed situation here or what kind of accident might happen. Living outside the city would at least make it easier to run. He can send his men to kidnap people on the way, but who knows if there will be other lao Liu ambushing in the dark, preparing to attack him.

Although he took over the city that Wang Sizheng presided over for repairs, Li Tai was not grateful to him because this guy almost emptied the Jingzhou treasury when he left. It is estimated that even if there were some things left at that time, they would have been stolen by the people who stayed behind.

So when Cui Qian went into the city to take stock of all the treasuries, he found that there were no more than ten carts loaded in all the treasuries, and most of them were scraps from old mashed grains. As for the warehousing revenue and expenditure account books, the records are even more messy and unorganized.

However, Li Tai didn't care about this. He didn't expect Jingzhou's huge savings when he came south this time. He brought a huge amount of money, food, and abundant weapons. As for other lack of supplies, he could buy or borrow them. no need to worry.

He did not order the old accounts to be checked, but only ordered his staff to clean the warehouses to store the money and grain he had brought. Of course, he had to use his own people as guards.

When those state officials saw how he handled it, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and painted a portrait of Li Tai in their hearts, thinking that the new envoy was a bold and powerful person who was broad-minded and informal in his work.

But in fact, in Li Tai's view, it is useless to pursue these past events. As long as people and things are still on this land, he can always get them all back through other means. When he really says it, it's time to start setting rules.

While the people following the arrival of the new envoy in Jingzhou City were still busy settling in and taking over various affairs, the human situation around Rangcheng was once again in turmoil. The three officials who came out to welcome the new envoy yesterday and left first were all missing. Return to your home base.

Nowadays, Jingzhou is already in a state of turmoil and discomfort due to Li Taiqiang's entry. When the powerful barbarian chiefs heard about this incident, they became even more nervous and made many speculations.

The most suspicious person among them is naturally the new envoy. After all, the three of them each lead a different number of followers, and they are very familiar with the situation. Even if they are robbed by bandits, they can flexibly escape. Now, it disappeared without a trace, and the three groups of people did the same. The one who did it was definitely not an ordinary force.

Although they didn't know why Li Tai did this, after all, although Li Tai's performance at the party yesterday was a bit strong and he seemed dictatorial when he attacked Xiangyang, he was friendly in other aspects. Especially his bold and generous methods were memorable...

But apart from the new envoy, they couldn't think of anyone else who was more suspicious. There are disputes and conflicts among the villagers, but taking people away directly and silently is not their usual method of fighting among the villagers!

As the news spread and suspicions grew, many powerful barbarian chiefs either looked for various excuses or simply returned to their headquarters quietly, not daring to stay around Jingzhou City any longer.

When Li Tai saw that many local officials had left the state capital for excuses, he knew in his heart that the matter had probably spread.

Of course, he would not give these people much time to discuss the connection, so he led a heavily armed escort convoy to leave the state city and go to the home closest to the city where the three captives were based.

One of the three captives was named Huang Fulong, who served as the governor of Xinye County and the garrison commander of Dongqiu. He was a barbarian chieftain in Kuanshui. The Dongqiu garrison where he was located was the garrison on the mound to the east of the city. It was less than a mile away from the city and could be reached just outside the city.

At this time, in the Dongqiu garrison, Huang Fulong's clan members were all anxious and in chaos because of the disappearance of their leader. At the same time, there were many leaders from other departments who came to the garrison after hearing the news. They came here to inquire about the inside story and wait and see the situation.

But before they could come up with a clue, soldiers came to report that the new envoy directly led his troops to surround the fort.

After hearing the words, everyone climbed up to the top of the fort wall and looked out. They saw that the city gate was wide open, and the people who had just settled in the city were marching out of the fort in a steady stream, looking menacing and sharpening their knives. , was suddenly frightened to the point of freezing his hands and feet: "Oh no, this Northern captive is really going to kill all of us Mianbei people..."

"H-how dare he? Aren't you afraid of Liang Ren..."

Some people were still waiting to argue and get bolder, but they suddenly remembered that last night the new envoy had vowed to send troops to attack Xiangyang. How could he not dare to attack the Liang people because he was afraid of them?

They were panicking here, but the troops outside the city made new moves. A group of soldiers wielded tools to dig trenches under the mounds, and piled the excavated soil into an earthen platform, which was soon destroyed. The earth platform was piled up to a height of more than ten feet, and the top was several feet in diameter.

In the eyes of the people in the garrison who were frightened and vigilant, Li Tai, wearing fine armor, walked slowly onto the stage with several personal soldiers in front and behind him, and shouted loudly towards the garrison: "Dongqiu Garrison Commander Huang Dudu and others disappeared last night. I know you suspect me. I am a newcomer in the town. You did not suspect me because you did not know, so I did not punish you, but this matter must be thoroughly investigated!

From today on, whether officials or common people in the territory, if they can report clues to the officials and verify them, they will be rewarded with ten pieces of silk. If you can rescue the missing and escort them home, you will be rewarded with ten pounds of gold!"

With his order, the soldiers below carried the silk as rewards and piled them on the high platform. Thousands of pieces of silk filled the high platform. There were also thirty gold cakes weighing one pound divided into three piles, representing the three missing masters.

The powerful people in the garrison had seen Li Tai spend hundreds of pounds of gold yesterday. Although they were also surprised this time, they were not shocked much.

But the other people in the garrison were dumbfounded when they saw so much wealth piled on the high platform. They were worried about the chief's safety before, but now they were thinking about how much materials they could buy with so much money.

"Please, may I ask the envoy, what is considered a reliable clue? The red horse that the lord rode yesterday had white spots on its left belly, and many people saw it. Is this reliable?"

A barbarian soldier in the garrison hesitated and couldn't help shouting loudly.

After hearing this, Li Tai pointed at him and shouted loudly: "Go out of the garrison to receive the reward!"

While speaking, he ordered the personal soldiers on the high platform to carry ten pieces of silk and send them down. When the barbarian soldier heard this, he couldn't help but shout excitedly, and immediately squeezed down the garrison city wall. The other barbarian soldiers didn't have time to care about anything else. They racked their brains to think about the so-called clues and shouted loudly, fearing that others would get the reward first.

But at this moment, the crowd was noisy, and it was completely unclear what they were shouting.

So Li Tai waved his hand and used drums to suppress the noise, and then shouted again: "Although you are eager to rescue the general, nothing will be accomplished if the crowd is out of control! I will not ask about your clan's affairs, quickly nominate a leader to come out of the fort to see me and discuss the rescue!"

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the fortress was restrained. Not long after, the fortress gate opened, and a middle-aged barbarian who looked a bit like Huang Fulong came out. There were several other powerful people in the territory with him, but they all looked embarrassed.

"I am Huang Fuhu, the blood brother of Governor Huang. I pay my respects to the envoy and beg you to rescue my brother!"

The barbarian walked to the bottom of the high platform and bowed to Li Tai.

Li Tai walked down the platform slowly, looked down at Huang Fuhu and said: "Although your brother's life is important, my innocence is equally important! Whoever took advantage of my entry to commit such evil deeds must be intending to disrupt my control of state affairs! This platform is used to offer rewards and to eliminate evil. If I know who in the state is harboring evil intentions and doing evil, blood will be shed on this platform!" When he said the last sentence, he turned his sight to other powerful people behind him. Although these people were afraid of Li Tai's strong troops, they had a clear conscience if it was just this matter, so they bowed their heads and said: "The envoy's decision is wise, and we are looking forward to catching the thieves as soon as possible!" "Not only should we have expectations, but we should also implement actions. Although I am the town master, it is just an empty title. You have lived in the village for a long time and are familiar with the local conditions. You are the real masters of this village and have a greater responsibility to clean up the village!" Li Tai heard this and scolded again, then he said in a thoughtful manner: "I know that you are busy with your official and family affairs, and I don't think you have much spare time to spend on this matter. Forcibly delegating will inevitably make the masses embarrassed. I am in charge now. The reward for you, the local scholars, is not the same as that for the masses. If you can find the missing person, regardless of life or death, you will be rewarded with 3,000 pieces of silk, 50 jin of gold. The officials will pay half of the reward, and the households will pay half. "

When several people heard this, they became excited again, and one of them couldn't help but exclaimed: "Are you serious, envoy?"

"Is it that the deep affection of my disciples to rescue Governor Huang and others, and my eagerness to restore my innocence, are not worth this mere wealth?"

After hearing this, Li Tai stared with displeasure, and then lowered his head to look at the barbarian Huang Fuhu and asked: "What do you think?"

"It's worth it, it's worth it!"

Huang Fuhu had never seen such a generous state official. Although he felt frightened when he heard the amount of wealth, facing Li Tai's stare and the eager onlookers, he didn't dare to say that he was reluctant to pay the reward to rescue his brother, so he could only bite the bullet and answer.

"I am busy with state affairs now, and I don't have time to look at this matter for long. You three parties involved should not stay out of this matter. Each of you should send a family servant to guard the rewards on the high platform here, collect opinions from the crowd, and pay as soon as you see the results. I believe that you will handle things more sincerely than others, so I will not let the state officials supervise here. When the rewards are used up, you can ask the state government to make up for it. If you don't investigate it thoroughly, you will never give up!" Hearing what Li Tai said, Huang Fuhu, who was still a little entangled and embarrassed, nodded repeatedly and said: "Please rest assured, envoy, I will work hard to collect information and restore your innocence!" Li Tai was very satisfied with Huang Fuhu's statement, and turned his eyes to the other tyrants who were already ready to fight, and said solemnly: "This matter really needs to be done with care, but don't forget to attack Xiangyang in ten days. If you delay the military schedule, the state government will never let you off easily!"