Chapter 54, After the dust settles

  The large group of people turned back to the north side of the forest, and Zu Zhao divided the troops into two groups. He first let Zu Li and Zu Ke lead a team to escort the wounded to Lingzhi County for settlement. Tian Xuan took off his official seal and handed it over to two captives to follow Zu Li, Zu Ke and others back to the city, so that they could call out the city gate at the city gate.

  Then, Zu Zhao arranged the remaining team to concentrate the captured thieves one by one, while searching for missing wounded soldiers and thieves on the barren land, or collecting lost weapons and horses. The entire aftermath lasted for nearly half a day, during which several wounded soldiers and horses were found back, and some of the dead Hu people's mounts, weapons and other objects were also seized.

  Under Tian Xian's escort, Zu Zhao and others took the captured bandits to Lingzhi County.

  Before, Zu Li and others opened the city gate and waited in front of the gate to respond. At this time, it was already deep at night, and the guards on the city wall had been alerted that there were thieves invading the border, and more people had been dispatched to guard against them. Tens of steps away, archers stood guard behind the battlements, while the rest of the soldiers were also tense and gathered in front of the gate. Even though the Zu family's children and the captured soldiers who returned earlier repeatedly told them that the thieves had been repelled, they still couldn't dispel everyone's doubts.

  Until Zuo Zhao and Tian Xuan arrived with the second team, seeing so many well-equipped Zuo family children, those who didn't know thought they were officials from the nearby Lulong Pass, which was somewhat comforting.

  After entering the city, Tian Xian sent someone to arrange a place for him and asked each inn and hotel in the county seat to vacate as many empty rooms as possible.

  The team of over a hundred people was soon assigned to nearby inns for lodging, and another batch of wine and food was prepared to entertain them. As for the wounded, they were concentrated in one place, and doctors, pharmacists, and Taoist priests were summoned to come and treat them. In this operation, a total of thirty-eight bandits were captured. Except for those who were seriously injured or unimportant and were sent to the county prison by the capture officials for overnight interrogation, the remaining five or six main suspects were immediately taken to the county government office and handed over to County Magistrate Wang for personal interrogation.

  Zu Zhao first treated his wound in the inn, then ate some hot food and went to visit the injured brothers in the gathering house. He simply said a few comforting words. Zu Ji was still unconscious due to excessive blood loss, but after medical diagnosis, there was no risk of life-threatening injury, only needing more care afterwards. After leaving the wounded's house, he and others like Zu Fan and Zu Ling went to the county government office. No matter what, this matter is directly related to the Zu family and the Zu family's efforts to eliminate the bandits, so it's necessary to figure out the reason behind it.

  Han Dang was already a prisoner waiting for punishment and naturally did not follow them.

  There were already people from the county government waiting outside the building, and they immediately led Zuo Zhao and others to the county government.

  When they arrived at the county government office, the courtyard was already brightly lit, and from time to time, they could still hear the bandits' mournful cries of interrogation, as well as the officials' stern voices of questioning. After a round of announcements, Tian Xian hurried down from the main hall to the front yard, first receiving Zu Zhao and others in a small hall on one side of the public hall, inviting everyone to sit for a moment, and specially offering tea.

  Tian Xuan said to Zu Zhao and others: "Since it's a public trial, there are rules to follow. Please ask Master Zu and the others to wait for a moment. After County Magistrate has finished questioning, I will naturally meet with Master Zu."

  Although Zu Zhaoming was depressed in his heart, after all, the Zu family had been working hard from start to finish, and so many of their clan's children had been lost. Now they couldn't even get first-hand information, which was really unsatisfactory. However, for Tian Xian's sake, he didn't complain for the time being, and patiently waited in the small hall.

  Excluding the time spent resting at the inn, another hour or so passed before the trial began. From time to time, the sound of torture being used on the prisoners could be heard, as well as their pitiful pleas for mercy. In the small hall, three or four pots of tea were exchanged, and even Zushao felt a little sleepy. It wasn't just him; even his uncles, Zulian, Zuli, and Zukui, were yawning constantly. The all-night battle had consumed not only their physical strength but also their mental energy.

  It's fortunate that Zufan is still safe and sound, sitting down calmly with a serious expression. As expected of someone from the government office, he has long been accustomed to the procedures for handling matters within the government.

  County Magistrate Wang had finished his interrogation and was now walking slowly to the small hall, accompanied by several of his officials. County Magistrate Wang was short and stout, his official robes were already misshapen at the waist. At this moment, he was carefully wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, while cautiously nodding slightly to the Zou family members.

  "Zugongzi, this is Wang Jun of our county," Tian Xian immediately introduced from behind.

  Zu Zhao and others stood up, each bowing with their fists clasped together in respect.

  Wang Xianjun didn't rush to say anything, but instead looked exhausted and slowly walked over to a chair in front of him and sat down, letting out a long sigh.

  "The former Japanese official had already received the official letter from Chen County, and this matter is not trivial. The official has already ordered the whole county to strengthen its defenses and dispatched the county lieutenant to rush to the prefectural government to report. Unexpectedly, Zǔ Gōngzǐ and others arrived here yesterday, which was beyond my expectation." Wang County's words were spoken with a tone of resentment, and there was certainly some hidden blame in them.

  Zu Zhaoming's expression didn't change, since he initiated this siege action ahead of time, it was only natural that he would know that there would be many tedious formalities to go through afterwards. What's important is to disrupt the bandits' conspiracy, and in comparison, whether it's the government or his family, they will all distinguish between what's light and what's heavy. At this moment, after hearing Wang Xiangjun's teasing words, he did have a few doubts in his heart, and wouldn't it be that after interrogating those bandits for over an hour, there were no gains at all?

  "This incident happened suddenly, and I was also forced to do so. May I ask, County Master, did these thieves confess during the interrogation just now?" He maintained his elegant demeanor, first apologizing, then immediately asking about the matter at hand.

  "The culprits have been caught, how dare they not confess? Hmph, these petty thieves and bandits colluded with the barbarians, intending to ambush the official road nearby, taking advantage of the opportunity to raid the merchant caravan. They are just ordinary robbers." Wang Xianjun said disdainfully.

  "Does County Master Wang think this is just an ordinary thief?" Zu Ke's temper flared up, and he found County Master Wang's words extremely amusing.

  "Now that winter has arrived, it's normal for bandits to appear frequently. Moreover, both our counties are border areas, and in the past, there have been cases of Han people colluding with Hu bandits to do evil deeds. It's just that this time the scale is slightly larger." Wang County Jun said to Zu Ke with a very displeased tone, emphasizing with a dark face.

  "Your Excellency, the Hu cavalry we encountered this time are not ordinary Hu bandits. The usual Hu bandits that appear on the border and rob travelers are just common herders, but the Hu bandits that clashed with us this time were well-organized in their advance and retreat, and their offense and defense were measured. This is definitely not the work of ordinary small thieves. I'm afraid there must be other ulterior motives behind this matter. I hope Your Excellency will investigate clearly." Zu Ling stepped forward and said righteously.

  "The Huns are good at archery and horseback riding, what's so strange about that?" Wang Xianjun said nonchalantly, with a tone of understatement.

  "A mere hundred or so petty thieves, and yet you're worried to this extent? Isn't that laughable? In the past, our county has prepared for bandits entering in winter, and we've even experienced nearly a thousand bandits coming to attack. Didn't we still triumph over them in the end?" The county's chief clerk chimed in, his tone laced with sarcasm.

  Zu Zhao sneered, the bandit gang of nearly a thousand people could be considered a rebellion. Not to mention that a small border county like Xu Wucheng could defend its city walls, even if official troops were dispatched, it would take a long time to quell the uprising. Moreover, although he was not from Lingzhi County, Xu Wucheng and Lingzhi County shared borders, and if such a big disturbance occurred in the neighboring county, Xu Wucheng would inevitably receive news of it. However, in his memory, the most severe case of banditry had only involved three or four hundred mountain bandits and refugees causing trouble, and it was only by joining forces with Lingzhi County that they were able to put down the disturbance.

  It's not hard to see that Wang Xianjun is almost a boastful person, deliberately exaggerating his words and falsely reporting his military achievements. At this moment, the reason why he appears so light and casual may be that he has a side of underestimating the enemy, but more likely, he wants to take all the credit for himself. Therefore, he shows an attitude of not caring at all, just wanting to get rid of the people from his ancestral home as soon as possible.

  For him, he never thought of taking advantage of this matter to gain a reward, but only hoped to alert the government, and for this year's winter recruitment to get an excuse. However, one step back, he didn't need to calculate these things in front of Wang County Lord, this place is not Xu Wujun, if he wants to recruit soldiers, he should also win over the county lord of this county.

  At this time, Tian Xian's face was very difficult to look at, and he said to Wang County: "Your Honor, this time I happened to meet with Zong Gongzi, and we jointly pursued the thief. I think there is indeed another hidden reason for this matter. Isn't it true that most of those involved in the case are Tiandao disciples, and they are also from outside counties? Even if you don't care about the Hu people, the ambition of Tiandao is really not to be taken lightly."

  Wang Xianjun said in a cold and impatient tone, "On the left, it's 'Taiping Dao', on the right, it's 'Taiping Dao'. This matter has been discussed for nearly half a year. If Taiping Dao wanted to cause trouble, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until today? I've said before that you all don't understand. The prosperity of Taiping Dao is actually a good thing. It gives the common people something to think about and will make them more obedient."

  Zu Ke shouted loudly: "My family has lost dozens of men in this battle, and you come to tell me that this case is just an ordinary theft!"

  He was overbearing and confrontational, with a look of anger in his eyes that suggested he was on the verge of resorting to violence.

  The New Year is coming, haha! I wish all readers a happy and peaceful journey home for the holiday. I hope this book can accompany some of you who are still on your way back home, have a smooth trip, and everything goes well. Happy New Year to everyone in advance!!!!!!!!!!

  As usual, asking for a red ticket and collection. Haha, hurry up and snow, hurry up and snow!!!!!!