Chapter 111: A mob
The county magistrate asked: "Qin Yao, when are you going to set out to capture the bandit leader?"
If it was just to chop off the bandit leader's head, Qin Yao could set off at any time, but as an ordinary citizen, she had suffered from the horse bandits for a long time!
"May I ask, sir, do you only want the bandit leader or do you want to root out this gang of horse bandits and put an end to their troubles forever?"
Facing Qin Yao's question, the county magistrate paused for a moment before asking, "If we want to eradicate the roots, what ingenious plan do you have?"
Good idea?
Qin Yao lowered her head and smiled faintly. When she raised her head again, her eyes were full of murderous intent. "I don't have any clever plans, I only have martial arts skills. I will break it with violence!"
This time, if she had the chance, she would deal with the threat of horse bandits in advance, so that she wouldn't have to worry about last year's experience on New Year's Eve.
When the county magistrate heard Qin Yao's arrogant tone, his brows furrowed. "Break it violently. How can you break it alone?"
Even with so many officers and soldiers, they were unable to eliminate those elusive horse bandits.
The horse bandits used the mountain terrain to hide their tracks. Even if they occasionally showed up, it was only a small group. The bandit leader could not be brought to justice, and the small bandits kept coming. How to get rid of them?
At the beginning of the year, the prefecture military camp was also alarmed, but after all, it was not within the jurisdiction of the other party. Moreover, there was an unclear division of interests between the prefecture and the county, and between civil and military officials.
As long as the situation does not become extreme and public grievances do not reach their peak, he, as the county magistrate of Kaiyang County, will be powerless.
And what about those merchants who were robbed?
Putting pressure on the government failed, so they have formed a partnership with the escort agency. This escort agency prospers when there are bandits, and dies when there are no bandits. The more bandits there are within the scope of business, the more profit they make, and they have secretly developed a tacit understanding.
In the end, there was no other choice but to see that these horse bandits were becoming more and more arrogant, so they came up with the idea of issuing a reward notice, hoping that experts from the public would come forward to solve the problem.
I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but after the reward announcement was issued, no one dared to come forward to claim the reward.
The government office could only wait for the ink to fade and then paste a new one on, waiting for a slim hope.
It was not until early in the morning that Qin Yao took down the reward notice without hesitation!
Now, she said she wanted to wipe out the roots of the problem. The county magistrate was overwhelmed, but his expression was very serious. He just wanted to hear whether the method she said was reliable or not.
In the end, they told him to break it with violence?
Just her?
Qin Yao smiled contemptuously and looked around. There were only five or six officers and soldiers present, and the rest were either guarding the city gates or taking naps in the empty cells.
She asked loudly, "Is there no man of courage in this county who is willing to go with me to kill that abominable bandit?"
Several officers and soldiers showed displeasure on their faces, but they were also angry at Qin Yao's underestimation, and sneered:
"There are only a hundred horse bandits, and the officers and soldiers in the whole county only have thirty-six people. If there is no support from the prefecture, it is tantamount to hitting a rock with an egg!"
"They are just a bunch of rabble." Qin Yao retorted: "What's there to be afraid of a hundred rabble? First capture the leader of the bandits. Without a leader, they can't unite and will naturally flee in all directions. The thirty-six officials are fully equipped with weapons and protective gear. It won't be difficult to defeat them one by one."
How come they think this is feasible?
But if you think about it calmly, it is still very difficult. One of them said seriously:
"The leader of the thieves won't show up easily, and he is protected by the three Heavenly Kings. We can't get close to him at all. It's not easy to take his head off."
Qin Yao held up the bounty notice in her hand and said, "I have accepted the bounty. You just need to cooperate with me to encircle and stop the fleeing bandits."
Qin Yao thought quickly and added, "Once I succeed, I will send out a signal. When you see the signal, all of you will move out. We will kill all these damn bandits in one fell swoop!"
With weapons and armor, I wouldn't say I can defeat three people at once, but I can definitely defeat two.
What did those horse bandits have?
Except for the famous ones who had horses and good swords, the rest were just a pile of broken copper and iron. Some of them were not good enough and just used sickles, hoes and mallets. Once their willpower was broken, they were no match for the officers and soldiers.
"You have more people, and once you act, you will be exposed. The bandits will know and move away in advance, so I will lead the charge alone to capture the enemy leader first, and then we will cooperate inside and outside. We should try to eliminate the trouble once and for all. What do you think, County Magistrate?"
Qin Yao asked politely.
The county magistrate hesitated for a moment, then stood up and pointed to the armchair next to him, "Please sit down first. I will be right back."
He wanted to go see the county magistrate to see what he thought.
After all, he is an outsider, and he has only been in office for a year, and he still has two years before he leaves. He must make a balance between achievement and stability.
By eliminating the Ma bandits, we have both political achievements and the support of the people.
But at the same time, it also cut off the financial resources of many people and blocked the interests of many people. It is said that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. I am afraid that the remaining two years will be difficult.
If we only kill the bandit leader, we will have the support of the people and the favor of the local tyrants. There will be room for maneuver in the remaining two years.
Qin Yao looked at the county magistrate's hurriedly leaving back, sneered that it was really interesting, and sat down on the chair.
The legal advisor then left, leaving only a few officers and soldiers in the hall, staring at Qin Yao.
They were also very nervous. They wanted to get rid of the disaster and become heroes, but they were also afraid of losing their heroic spirits. It was a conflicting feeling.
Qin Yao waited quietly, without any emotion in her heart.
Anyway, she is just an ordinary citizen and she won't suffer any loss.
If she can't eradicate the evil this time, she will just have some minor troubles in the future.
But for the people of Kaiyang County, those days were difficult.
Qin Yao waited for a full hour before the county magistrate and the legal advisor came back.
Qin Yao stood up, clasped her fists and bowed, then looked up at the two of them, waiting for a reply.
The county magistrate spoke first and asked, "What do you need? The Lord has ordered that if you can really capture the bandit leader, all the officers and soldiers in the county will fully cooperate with you to wipe out the horse bandits!"
The master then said, "We should act as soon as possible, otherwise the bandits will get the news and go back to the deep mountains. Then we won't be able to catch them at all."
Qin Yao raised her eyebrows and understood. It was a conservative way to play. First look at the winning chances, then bet on whichever side had a greater chance of winning. There was really no risk at all.
There is also the hidden meaning of the master's words, that is, we must act quickly, because someone inside will pass on the message.
Qin Yao nodded. She understood everything and confirmed again: "If I bring back the thief's head, I will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, right?"
The two of them nodded at the same time, and Qin Yao felt relieved. She opened the portrait and looked at it again. All she could see was that of a ferocious man, and she didn't know if he could match the real person.
Holding up the portrait, he asked the painter carefully, "Is this person in the portrait?"
The master coughed twice and said uncomfortably, "About 60 to 70 percent similar."
In fact, none of them had ever seen what the bandit leader looked like. They drew his portrait based on the descriptions of the captured minions.
Qin Yao: "."
Forget it, for the sake of one hundred taels, I'll chop off a few more heads and report back, there will always be one that is correct!
(End of this chapter)