I have a fortune book

Chapter 218 Hypocrisy or pure person, close the south gate
Ning Zhuo, the county magistrate of Hougang County, could not resist the raging public opinion at all, so he was forced to act as the leader and lead the team to surrender.

This is contrary to his loyalty to the imperial court, and even more against the will of the family. When necessary, he abandons most of the people and preserves the territory and soldiers.

After this period of famine, Lu Ding will go back and take over Biancheng County, which is the promise of the overlord of Dingxi.

Ordinary people may think it is absurd, but in the view of Wangning's family in Biancheng County, it is reasonable.

If they get to the level of Lu Ding, they will go south to seize the rich land first, instead of going north to collect a burden.

Those in power in Biancheng County only need to control the hungry people in the county, so as not to turn them into refugees and attack the rich Pinghe County for food.

When Lu Ding goes north in the future, he will reward his meritorious deeds.

Whichever family power controls the territory, has more soldiers and horses, and makes a greater contribution to the stability of the overall situation, whichever family can occupy more positions in the new dynasty.

As the largest prefect family in Biancheng County, the Ning family is naturally the most concerned about this. They not only hold the dominance of Longbei City, the county seat, but also control two counties out of the five counties.

Hougang was originally the place where the Ning family felt most at ease, because Ning Zhuo, the orthodox county magistrate, was there, and his family had a name and soldiers, so it could be said that it was unbreakable.

The Wang family of another prefect in the county and other county magnates can only share half of Longbei City together, and the other three counties are mostly shared by several families.

It's a pity that the elders of the Ning family never expected that, as a direct son who received an elite education, this family's most outstanding junior in recent years would actually have a "conscience".

After the famine completely broke out, Ning Zhuo not only did not recruit soldiers to strengthen his power, but instead embezzled military rations to help the victims.

When all the cities dare not let go, Hougang City allows homeless refugees to enter the city, and at least stutters every day.

Under such circumstances, even with some food support provided by the Ning family, it would not be able to last for too long.

Previously, Ning Zhuo and a group of refugees were still looking forward to the summer harvest, but they never expected that the Ning family and other big families would join forces to harvest the wheat in advance.

Everyone knows that this year's drought has severely reduced production, and these big families naturally know that food must not be left outside.

Hougang City did not receive a few acres of summer grain, and the order of people's hearts carefully maintained by Ning Zhuo completely collapsed. The nearly [-] disaster victims who gathered were like a powder keg every day, which would explode at any time.

At this time, even Ning Zhuo's accumulated prestige could not appease the hundred thousand refugees.

On the verge of starvation, no matter how much it is said, it is false. Right now, only food is true.

Therefore, no matter what Ning Zhuo was thinking, he had no choice but to surrender because of public opinion.

Banners are flying, horseshoes are like thunder, and the sound of war drums resounds throughout the world. It has been a long time since such a strong army has appeared.

The pitch-black Xuanjia, the shiny blade, was very cold.

The cavalry was like the wind, and the infantry was like the sea, pushing towards Hougang City neatly like a line of iron walls.

The extremely domineering military spirit, like a gust of wind and rain, wiped away the resentment, wickedness, and surging robbery around Hougang City.

The [-] hungry people pouring out of the city were originally red-eyed wolves, but they calmed down instantly in front of the sharp blades of the [-] crouching demon army.

That's right, in order to control the situation in the first place, the one who rushed to the front was the Demon Subduing Army.

They moved like thunder, and with unparalleled speed, they controlled the most important places in the city, and then rushed into the crowd to form a human wall, which was as quiet as a mountain, blocking the impact of the waves of hungry people.

Of course, there will inevitably be violent suppression in the middle, but as long as too many lives are not caused, it will be fine.

When Zhou Bai arrived, what he saw was a pixiu phantom made of military aura, holding his head proudly, sitting in the sky above Hougang City.

Under the shock of the three thousand crouching demon army, one hundred thousand hungry people were like shivering chickens. They had never seen such a terrifying army.

The average person has more than a great body forging, with majestic energy and blood, and the heat wave is rolling, not to mention the murderous aura that seems to be real on their bodies, which firmly suppresses their hunger impulse.

And what kind of monster is that on the top of the head, why does it appear here...

So even though the grain truck was right in front of us, Hougang City, a volcano that was about to erupt, was forcibly cooled by force.

Zhou Bai rode on Xiaojing, surrounded by Gao Hu, Jiao Tu, Lou Jinpeng and other generals and guards, and slowly came to the front of the welcoming team.

There are only a few officials, more than ten generals, and a row of thin and weak soldiers with weapons laid out.

The entire Hougang City was maintained by them before, which caused a strange look in Zhou Bai's eyes.

He is very clear about the horror of human nature in the famine era, and he also knows what it means to have a hundred thousand hungry people in a city, otherwise he will let the Demon Subduing Army take control of the situation.

It can only be said that Ning Zhuo, the magistrate of Hougang County, may still have some ability.

In fact, Zhou Bai was a little disdainful when he heard what the soldiers in Shazhou City had done and what Ning Zhuo had done, because in his opinion, this was the "Holy Mother".

In troubled times and the end of the world, the heart attack of the Virgin Mary will not only fail to save people, but will cause even greater losses.

Just like the situation in Hougang City, if Zhou Bai hadn't come, a riot of [-] hungry people would have turned the city into ruins in the end.

There were countless casualties, and the tragedy of cannibalism was almost predictable.

And this situation can obviously be avoided, as long as Ning Zhuo chooses to sacrifice a very small number of weak people.

"Ning Zhuo, the county magistrate of Hougang, led the subjects of Hougang to surrender to the governor of Anbei."

Ning Zhuo was wearing the somewhat messy Daxu official robe, trying to maintain the last bit of decency according to the formal etiquette.

"Magistrate Ning, please stand up."

Even though Zhou Bai felt that Ning Zhuo's previous actions were a bit hypocritical and pedantic, he still dismounted, took over the letter of surrender and the list of official seals, and completed the surrender process.

There are one county and four counties behind, and he wants to set up Ning Zhuo as a signboard.

The last trace of reluctance in Ning Zhuo's heart dissipated, and his heart was replaced by a sigh of relief. The life and death of 10 people weighed on him every day, and he was almost out of breath.

Before Zhou Bai could arrange for Ning Zhuo, he himself took the initiative to ask, "Commander, can you let me participate in the relief and relief? The grassroots are familiar with the conditions of the people, and maybe I can help."

The former county magistrate, with a very upright position, actually claimed to be a grassroots citizen after surrendering, without the arrogance of various status blessings.

With Ning Zhuo's sincere request, others may think that this is a newly demoted official who is eager to perform meritorious service.

But Zhou Bai could tell that the former county magistrate definitely didn't mean that. He couldn't pretend to be concerned about the hungry people at that time.

Zhou Bai suddenly felt a little dazed, maybe this is not the Hypocritical Virgin, but a pure person?

"You are still the magistrate of Hougang County for the time being, let's see how the follow-up is done."

After leaving such a sentence, and a group of alternate officials brought from the Governor's Mansion, Zhou Bai strode into the city, and then he had to consider where to attack.

Taking Shazhou City can still be concealed, but taking Hougang can't hide the arrival of the Anbei Army no matter what.

The whole county was shaken, the horses were everywhere, and the pigeons were all over the sky.

No one expected that the first ones to conquer them were not the grassland tribes in the north, nor Lu Ding in the south, but the Anbei Governor's Mansion across Baishazhou.

And before they could react, they had captured Hougang and gained a foothold in Border Town County.

Various forces, big and small, have different thoughts on this. Some are panicked and afraid of losing their current positions; , It's war or surrender.

……

In Longbei City, just after hearing the news of Hou Gang's sudden change, representatives of the major forces immediately gathered in the county hall.

The county magistrate abandoned his official position and returned to the court. No one can unify the big and small forces in the county city, and no one can sit at the head of the yamen hall.

Even Ning Cheng, the most powerful patriarch of the Ning family, can only add a seat next to the main seat, so he can barely be regarded as the person presiding over the meeting.

In the past, because of the Ning family's advantage in the county, he was able to control the situation every time they gathered to discuss matters, but today is different, the Wang family joined forces with several other county powers to attack.

"What does the Ning family mean? Ning Zhuo surrendered without any resistance. Could it be that the Ning family has already climbed to the top of Anbei's governor?"

"That's right, Patriarch Ning, your Ning family is in charge of Shazhou City and Hougang County. If you lose it quietly, where will the safety of the whole county be at stake?"

"The Anbei Army has gained a foothold, but it is really like a tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable."

The successive questions made Ning Cheng look gloomy, and he had scolded Ning Zhuo countless times in his heart.

But right now he can't tear down the stage after all: "Ning Zhuo must have thought carefully about what he did. In his eyes, he should not be able to stop An Beijun."

"Under Ruinan in January, is it possible that the strength of our border town is stronger than that of Ruinan County?"

Wang Yi, the Patriarch of the Wang family, sneered and said, "That's not necessarily the case, at least my family's Erlang on the Great Wall are all first-class strong soldiers."

"You can still afford to support them now? The [-] frontier troops have been abolished for half a year, and now there are still [-]?" Ning Cheng refused to give up half a cent, and said ironically.

Seeing that the two families were about to confront each other, Zhu Weng, the good old governor of Longbei City, stood up and changed the subject: "3 people died of starvation last month. Guaranteed, the autumn harvest is hopeless."

"Master Jun Cheng wants to vote?" Wang Yi's voice could not hear any emotion.

Zhu Weng kept his mouth shut and didn't answer, he just looked at Ning Cheng, he knew that he had the right to speak only when he had soldiers in the border town.

The reason why the Ning and Wang families are called prefects in this small county is because they have served in the frontier army for generations, and their relationship is intricate.

Ning Cheng thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Let's see if you vote or not. Lu Ding's conditions are very generous. I heard that although Ruinan Jiedushi is not dead, there is no preferential treatment."

What he thought in his heart was that Ning Zhuo had surrendered anyway, and his eggs were placed in two baskets, so he didn't have to worry about the catastrophe of Ning's family being wiped out.

"Decree the door to guard, and at the same time send a message to Pinghe..."

Unlike other counties that are located in the very center of the county, Longbei City, the county seat of Biancheng County, is located at the northernmost end of the county.

Use a county government to guard the northern border of the border city and prevent the Jin Kingdom or grassland tribes from going south.

The five counties, including Hougang County, are distributed in a fan shape, and the southernmost point is Menju County, which is also Menju Pass, adjacent to Pinghe County.

Therefore, after obtaining the stronghold of Hougang, the next primary goal of the Anbei Army is Longbei City and Menjuguan. If they take the south and the north, they can reach the whole county.

After walking a few times around the starving camps, making many "food" promises, and racking up his reputation a few times, Zhou Bai didn't care about the relief for the people any more.

In the dilapidated county government in the center of Hougang County, Zhou Bai convened a military meeting to make adjustments to the attack on temples in Biancheng County.

The civil servants and military generals in Hougang County know Biancheng County better than Shazhou City. After several descriptions, the generals of Anbei Army have a good idea.

The Great Wall and Longbei City are the most powerful and have the most soldiers and horses. Basically, the foundations of all major forces are there.

There are more than [-] soldiers in the county, of which [-] are elite frontier troops, who are in the hands of the Ning family and the Wang family respectively.

The other is Menjuguan, with [-] elite soldiers, blocking the traffic arteries of Pinghe County and Biancheng County.

When Biancheng County was not yet developed, Menjuguan was like Cangshan Mountain, which was the dividing line between grassland and farming civilization, and it was the barrier that Pinghe County relied on to prevent the invasion from the north, but now it has become the foundation for Biancheng County to stand on its own.

With the door closed, Anbei will have the strategic initiative against the Lu family.

Zhou Bai wanted to go out from the border town to fight Pinghe, go south from the land, or stick to the border town and hold back part of Lu Ding's troops, it was all up to him to choose.

"Don't worry about the soldiers and horses of the counties. The serious county soldiers have already been replaced by the private soldiers of the county tycoons, and they will not easily consume and harass us..."

"The famine in the border town has been famine for a long time. Even if there are strong soldiers, I'm afraid they won't be able to maintain their energy."

"Subordinates suggest that the troops should be divided up, one division will go south, and the main force will go straight to Longbei..."

Lou Jinpeng pointed to the map of Ning Zhuo's confession and talked eloquently. Zhou Yuan was not around, so he usually took the strategic command.

Zhou Bai silently listened to Lou Jinpeng's report, and after all the generals had made similar suggestions, he made a summary and gave an order.

"Decree that Jiao Tu will lead [-] soldiers from the government, and [-] Fumo soldiers, to attack Menjuguan, and not allow Pinghe's soldiers to step into the border town."

"He Zhiwu led [-] cavalry to cruise the entire county, blockade the counties, and force them to surrender if they can."

"Except for Xu Yun's [-] militiamen staying behind at Hougang, the rest of the main force will go north with me and go straight to Longbei."

"The last general obeys!" After the military order was issued, all the generals responded without any objection.

Even though the army going north plus the militia was less than [-], the accumulation of consecutive victories made them accustomed to winning more with less.

An acquired martial artist is a middle-level backbone in any army, but in the Anbei Army, he is often only a low-level officer. It is very common for corporal leaders to have this level.

With such a quality of soldiers, why be afraid of the army in the border towns scattered in the sand.

On August 22, the Anbei Army, which had been resting for a day, split up and fought out.

Before Zhou Bai left, he went to the hungry civilian camp that had all been relocated outside the city. Although it was not well-organized, there was no tyranny or oppression in it.

The steaming porridge sheds melted away the heroism of some reckless heroes.

Ning Zhuo led a group of cadres to distribute food in an orderly manner, assign tasks, and build roads and cities in exchange for work.

According to him, the hungry people have been hungry for too long and need to spend a few more days here.

In addition, the county is still undecided at this time. Even if there is food relief, [-] hungry people will be sent back to the countryside, which may cause unnecessary hidden dangers.

On August 26th, Zhou Bai led the main force to the city of Longbei, and was not intercepted by county soldiers from other counties, but encountered a few groups of hungry and dizzy refugee troops who wanted to rob the grain carts.

On the same day, the monk Feijian who accompanied Jiaotu to the south sent a message, and the gate was closed, and the south gate was closed.

The county guard of Menju County was bought by Lu Ding, tried to resist, and was beheaded, and two other county noble families were slaughtered...

(End of this chapter)