mtlumby2d Chapter 724 Head of the Three Provinces of Yan, Yu, and Xu
Chapter 724 Head of the Three Provinces of Yan, Yu, and Xu
The government is relatively fair in its work; if you do a good job, you can receive a reward, and if you do a bad job, you will naturally be punished.
The magistrate of Kunyang County failed to capture Sun Lang, which led to the interception of Wuyang County. Having caused such a big disaster, he certainly couldn't just punish himself with three cups of wine; he had to find a way to shift the blame and settle the matter.
Then Zhou Sanpi, who had instigated the trouble, was unlucky and died suddenly, taking the blame for the two county magistrates. But Zhou Sanpi's head alone was not enough. After killing Zhou Sanpi, the two county magistrates hurriedly wrote a report of apology and sent it to the prefect of Yingchuan County overnight. They also suggested that the prefect join forces with the prefects of Runan and Chenliu counties in the surrounding area to jointly suppress Sun Lang.
It is worth mentioning that, in order to evade responsibility, the two exaggerated Sun Lang's strength by more than ten times, saying that Sun Lang had more than two thousand soldiers and that the number was growing at a terrifying rate every day. They said that troops had to be dispatched as soon as possible to encircle and suppress him, otherwise Sun Lang would have more than ten thousand soldiers.
To have over ten thousand troops in the heart of Cao Wei territory is a terrifying thought.
Gao Rou, the governor of Yingchuan Commandery under Cao Wei, was recently promoted and appointed by Cao Pi as Imperial Censor. He had already packed his bags and was preparing to go to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury. However, before he could even set off, he received reports of apologies from the magistrates of Kunyang and Wuyang counties.
Upon receiving the report, Gao Rou was so angry that she cursed on the spot, "Couldn't this piece of junk have come two days later? If it had come two more days later, I would have left."
But he can't leave now. The new prefect hasn't arrived yet. He is still the prefect of Yingchuan and must shoulder the responsibilities of the prefect.
Even if a new prefect arrives, he cannot leave. Sun Lang has been causing trouble during his tenure, and he must deal with Sun Lang personally. Otherwise, if Sun Lang continues to cause harm, it will give the court the impression of incompetence and affect his career development. If he then leaves, the impact will be even worse.
As the governor of Yingchuan, it was wrong of you to allow Sun Lang to plunder within your territory. Instead of suppressing him, you turned around and ran away. What is the court supposed to do with you? Are you just here to eat?
Gao Rou was ambitious in his official career and wanted to continue to rise in rank and become one of the Three Dukes. How could he dare to leave such a big stain on his resume?
Upon receiving the news, Gao Rou immediately wrote to the court to report the situation and then rushed to Runan to see the governor of Runan Prefecture.
Sun Lang has committed such a serious crime that he can no longer stay in Yingchuan. He must have fled to Runan. We must ask the governor of Runan for help with this matter.
As it turned out, Gao Rou was right. After plundering Wuyang, Sun Lang decisively fled, passing through Xiping County in Runan Prefecture and entering Wufang County.
Sun Lang was naturally not foolish enough to enter the county town. Instead, he found a remote village to temporarily set up camp, intending to lie low for a while before making any moves.
Sun Lang didn't sit idle after arriving in the village; instead, he actively helped the villagers repair bridges and pave roads, striving to integrate himself with the locals.
At that moment, Sun Lang was working hard on the roof, while Sun Yuan stood on a ladder and handed him straw, complaining as he did so: "Brother, we're bandits, how come we're doing this kind of thing? I've never even done any work for my own family, but I'm running around doing work for strangers. Do you think that's appropriate?"
In his view, eating meat and drinking wine in large quantities was in line with the identity of a bandit. However, what Sun Lang was doing now clearly violated the fine traditions of bandits, and his brothers were very unhappy. Wouldn't it be better to sleep a little longer?
Sun Lang slapped his head with straw and cursed, "I'm a Han soldier now, not a bandit. We Han soldiers are disciplined, we rely on the masses, and we are one with the masses."
"We had no choice but to become outlaws back then. Now that we have the chance to reform, we naturally want to go straight. Otherwise, do you want to be a bandit for the rest of your life? Do you want your children to become bandits too? Do you want your descendants to be forever scorned by others?"
Sun Yuan quickly shook his head and said, "Of course I don't want to. If my son dares to become a bandit, I'll beat him to death."
Sun Lang continued to slap his head and scolded, "That settles it now. And you keep saying that Lin Mahu bullies you. Don't you want to be like Lin Mahu and become a captain in the army? I don't need to tell you the difference between a captain and a bandit, do I?"
Sun Yuan's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "Is that okay?"
Sun Lang laughed and said, "Of course we can. As long as we hold out until His Majesty succeeds in his northern expedition, His Majesty will definitely reward us according to our merits. At that time, becoming a captain will be a piece of cake. Once you become a captain, what kind of scene will it be when you go to judge your enemy Lin Mahu in armor or official uniform?"
"Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince and Marquis Shence have established Xinghan University. Once His Majesty's Northern Expedition is successful, I will use my connections to send your son to university. After he graduates, he can take the exams and enter the government. If he is capable, he might even become a prefect or governor. In that case, our Sun family will truly rise to prominence, and we will have something to show for our ancestors a hundred years from now. That is a hopeful life, do you understand?"
Sun Yuan was persuaded and said excitedly, "Brother, I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you say. From now on, I'll listen to everything you say. What should we do next?"
By following Sun Lang, he could not only become an official after Liu Bei's Northern Expedition succeeded, but also provide his son with the best education. This temptation was enough to make him risk his life.
After all, who the hell would choose to be a bandit when given the chance to become an official?
Sun Lang pondered, "I'll lie low for now and wait until the messenger who went to contact my superior returns."
Sun Yuan asked in surprise, "You have a boss?"
Sun Lang laughed and scolded, "Nonsense, I'm a member of the imperial court now. How can I fight alone like before? We have a unified command in Yuzhou. As for my superior's name and location, I can't tell you for now. Just remember that from now on we're not fighting alone."
After saying that, he looked up towards Xudu, squinted his eyes and muttered to himself, "Li Gousheng, you can't just abandon me."
His superior was named Li Gousheng. Although his name was not very impressive, he was a very capable person. He was said to be the ace scout in the Han army and had made great contributions in a series of battles in which Guan Xing attacked the Wu army. Therefore, Guan Xing entrusted him with an important task this time, making him the overall person in charge of the three provinces of Yan, Yu and Xu.
In other words, all the special forces members operating in the three prefectures of Yan, Yu, and Xu were under Li Gousheng's command. As for the organizational structure of the special forces members and the methods of communication between them, Guan Xing personally devised them, and Sun Lang was very confident in this.
……
Xuchang was originally just an ordinary small county town, but ever since Emperor Liu Xie of Han escaped from the clutches of Li Jue and Guo Si and fled back to Luoyang, where he was taken to Xuchang by Cao Cao, this former small county town has become the capital of the Han Dynasty. It was here that Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and unified the Central Plains.
From this perspective, Xuchang was the place where Cao Cao rose to power and the birthplace of Cao Wei. Therefore, although the capital of Cao Wei had been moved away from Xuchang, Xuchang remained a secondary capital of Cao Wei, with 30,000 troops stationed there year-round, commanded by Xiahou Chong, the eldest son of Xiahou Dun.
On the main street of Xudu City, Li Gousheng was leisurely driving an oxcart. His public identity in Xudu was that of a medicinal herb merchant, and the cart was naturally carrying various kinds of medicinal herbs.
Li Gousheng walked across two streets and stopped in front of a newly opened pharmacy. He swung his towel around his neck, walked into the pharmacy, and shouted, "Boss Zhou, your medicinal herbs have arrived. Where should I unload them?"
Before he could finish speaking, he stepped over the threshold and found that there were no customers in the pharmacy, only the owner busy at work.
"Just take care of the backyard." The boss shouted, then quickly walked up to Li Gousheng and whispered, "Boss, Sun Lang sent a letter. He pulled off a heist in Wuyang, which made him famous but also exposed his identity. He's asking what you want to do next."