Chapter 796 The Tough Bandits

Yesterday, Song Nan and Wang Shouren agreed that they would leave the capital at staggered the time. If they left together, they might cause too much thought, so Wang Shouren set out yesterday evening. At this moment, he was afraid that he had already left the capital. In fact, Song Nan was also worried that his departure from Beijing would attract the attention of many people in the capital, especially King Ning, who is still in the capital. If he is smelled by his dog's nose, I'm afraid King Ning will immediately realize something.

So Song Nan chose to set out in the early morning, which coincided with Jiang Bin's Yangwei camp on duty at the gate of Yongdingmen during the New Year. The departure of these 500 people should not be known to outsiders unless the king of Ning is uncertain or sends people to stare at Song Nan every day, but this is impossible. Who in the capital has the ability to send people to keep an eye on the commander of Jinyiwei? Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, was not stupid enough to do so. In addition, it is the annual leave, so Song Nan doesn't have to appear in the court, but the timing is also appropriate.

The capital is only six or seven days away from Jiangxi at a normal speed. The official road south of the capital is flat, accompanied by well-equipped brocade cavalry guards. The man and Ma Jian moved quickly and caught up with Wang Shouren's car in Baoding Prefecture in the afternoon. In order to save time, Wang Shouren abandoned the car as soon as possible. Changing horses, he took all his followers lightly and followed the guards cavalry day and night. It only took four days and three nights to arrive in Jiangxi through the four provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Anhui.

Naturally, the brigade did not dare to be too arrogant. Wang Shouren suggested that he take a detour to the edge of Raozhou Prefecture and reach Ganzhou Prefecture under the jurisdiction of Jianchang Prefecture, which is under the jurisdiction of Wang Shouren. If you take a shortcut directly, you must cross Nanchang Prefecture. If you have to pass through the sphere of influence of Ning Wangfu, it is easy to expose the target and leak information.

Although one of the purposes of Song Nan's trip is to rectify the government office of Nanchang Jinyiwei Qianhu, Song Nan also understands that going to Gannan first is the most important thing. At this time, we must not startle the grass. So he followed Wang Shouren's advice and walked around the eastern edge of Jiangxi for a day and a night. On the evening of the eighth day of the first lunar month, everyone finally arrived outside Ganzhou, the southern governance of Ganzhou.

After running around for a few days, even the Jinyi guards were tired. Song Nan's legs were sore and numb, and his buttocks hurt on the horse's back. Wang Shouren was old and his body was not very good, and his face was pale, as if he had a serious illness. Song Nan secretly admired Wang Shouren's endurance and galloped all the way. He didn't see Wang Shouren complain. Before taking a breath after the net profit of Ganzhou, he had summoned the main officials of Gannan to come to the governor's office for a meeting.

Song Nan and his entourage were arranged to rest in the barracks at the east gate of Ganzhou. Song Nan also simply took a hot bath and took a short break. That night, they were invited to go to the governor's office for discussion. The meeting was held in a small hall in the back hall of the governor's office. When Song Nan arrived, there were already six or seven officials present. The Taishi chair is empty, and that is Song Nan's position.

Wang Shouren changed into a thin black cotton robe and looked much better. He greeted Song Nan in front of the hall in person. The officials on the seat did not know what kind of person he was. When Song Nan sat down, Wang Shouren introduced Song Nan's identity, several officials whose buttocks had just fallen off were frightened and stammed and hurriedly got up to salute again. . A black-bearded military officer stared and shouted, "My God, the Duke of Zhen came in person. If you can see the Duke of Zhen in this life, you will not live in vain."

Song Nan rolled his eyes and said, "Are I old?" With a smile and humility, the officials were shocked and incoherent. Wang Shouren smiled and introduced Song Nan one by one.

"This is General Wang Mian, the general of Gannan."

Song Nan smiled and nodded. The black bearded military officer was so powerful that he was actually such a literary name. At this moment, he was staring at Song Nan with his eyes and giggle.

"This is the guerrilla general Cai Meng, this is Li Guangtai, the commander of Ganzhou Wei, this is Zhao Zi and Zhao Qianhu, and this is Ma Jiuping, the governor of Ganzhou..."

After the introduction of six or seven officials, they are all military and political leaders in Ganzhou and even southern Jiangxi. Song Nan looked at Wang Shouren suspiciously. Wang Shouren was so shrewd. Now he whispered in Song Nan's ear: "Don't worry, the Duke. These people have nothing to do with King Ning. They are under the jurisdiction of my southern Jiangxi jurisdiction. If you don't hold it, what kind of governor of Gannan is there?

Song Nan nodded slightly. What he was most worried about was that the news of his coming to Gannan was leaked out. Wang Shouren was obviously aware of this. The people he called may have been carefully considered, but unfortunately, he couldn't believe any of these people. Who knows how deep they disguised.

After everyone sat down again, Wang Shouren said, "Your Excellency, the Duke of Zhen came to Ganzhou in person and brought the elite guards of Jinyiwei. Its purpose is to help us eliminate the bandits in southern Jiangxi. Since Shouren was ordered to governor Gannan, the suppression of bandits has suffered many times. I am very ashamed, but now the Duke of Zhen is sitting. Town, this matter should be done overnight, and you don't have to be punished by the court for banditry.

The generals arched their hands one after another and said, "The Duke of Labor Town came to Jiangxi to suppress bandits. We are ashamed."

Wang Shouren turned to Song Nan and said, "The Duke of Zhen came in person, and all the military affairs here were upheld by the Duke of Zhen. The Duke of the State had anything he wanted to ask, but he could order it, and I will wait to do it."

Song Nan smiled and waved his hand and said, "The suppression of bandits is still dominated by you. I'm just here to help."

Wang Mian said loudly, "Don't be polite, Duke of Zhen. I have long regarded the Duke as the god of the Ming army, and it's an honor for me to work under the Duke of the Duke."

"Yes, yes, the Duke of Zhen has just recovered the Hetao, made an unprecedented achievement in the Ming Dynasty, and drove the Tatrons to the north of Yinshan Mountain. Isn't it a piece of cake to eliminate the bandits now? But please tell me." Everyone echoed.

Song Nan coughed and said, "Well, since you praise me, of course I won't let you go. It's pretentious to shirk again. To be honest, this time I came to Ganzhou as a personal act, just because Mr. Yang Ming said that the officers and soldiers in southern Jiangxi were rampant and helpless. I felt a little curious. It is said that Yang Qing, Li Fu, Wang Ru and others, the leader of the bandits in southern Jiangxi, led only hundreds of bandits. Are these hundreds of people completely capable? Why did the repeated extermination fail to work?

Everyone was a little embarrassed, coughing and hiding their unwillingness to speak.

Song Nan said, "I'm not blaming you. I'm just understanding the enemy's situation. Who will talk about it?"

Wang Mian got up and arched his hand and said, "Let's talk about the humble position, what the Duke of Zhen said is very well. I have more than one hundred soldiers and horses in southern Jiangxi, and nearly 8,000 soldiers and horses. Although the state governments are scattered, every time I suppress bandits, 3,000 to 5,000 troops are more than dozens of times, but they have failed to work. It really doesn't make sense."

Song Nan nodded and said, "There must be a reason. Tell me the reason."

Wang Mian said, "It's not a subservient to pass the responsibility. There are less than 300 bandits gathered by Yang Qing, Li Fu and Wang Ruxiao, but they are not ordinary bandits. Although they are not capable of heaven and earth, they are well-catching. Their nest is on Sanbo Mountain in Anji, southeast of Ganzhou. The mountains are high, densely, the peaks and the valleys are deep, and the radius occupies hundreds of miles. It is bordered by Changning County in the east and Anyuan County in the north, which is convenient for bandits to move from the terrain. Although thousands of officers and soldiers are large, it is not enough to look at all in this mountain.

Song Nan nodded slowly and said, "This is a troublesome thing, but after all, there are traces to follow. Can't you touch their traces?"

Wang Mian said, "That's not. We also have our way, but when we got the exact news several times to wipe them out, these dog thieves disappeared without a trace as if they had ventilated ears, and always returned without success. And it's not that I destroyed my prestige. Although these bandits are thieves, they are well-armed. In addition to the neat swords and crossbows, they still have 70 or 80 firearms in their hands. If there is a small group of fighting, the officers and soldiers are not enemies.

Song Nan was shocked and said, "Fire? How can they have a fire?"

Wang Mian turned his head and said to another general, "General Cai, you have seen this with your own eyes. Tell the Duke of Zhen."

The guerrilla general Cai Meng hurriedly got up and saluted and said, "Yes, my lord, last autumn, I led a thousand soldiers and horses to block the gang of gangs in the Yanziyan area of Sanbo Mountain, 20 miles south of Anyuan, but they suffered great losses. They were condescending on Yanziyan and shot with fire. In only half an hour, the officers and soldiers were killed and injured 70. Yuren, who were deadlocked for half a day, could not attack. By the time I ordered rescuers to arrive, these bandits had actually climbed over the cliff. The humble and incompetent made them run away from under their eyes.

Song Nan sighed. It seems that what Wang Shouren said is true. Why did the bandits come from the sharp sword? I'm afraid it's the supply of Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning. Seeing Cai Meng's face depressed, Song Nan comforted: "The firearms are really fierce. It's natural that you don't have to fight hard. If there are 70 or 80 firearms, I'm afraid half of your soldiers and horses will be killed in battle to get close. The mountain bandits are familiar with the terrain, and it is unrealistic to trap them.

Cai Meng held his fist and said, "Thank you for your generosity. I am deeply ashamed of this matter. If you catch these gang of bandits, you will definitely take them alive."

Song Nan laughed and said, "That's not true. My purpose here is to catch the bandits alive. Isn't it contrary to my idea if you want to kill them alive?"

"Catch alive?" The generals opened their mouths and thought, "This prince is talking about a fool's dream. Although you led hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses across the northwest and fought against the turtans, it is sometimes easier for the army to fight than to suppress bandits in the mountains. It is as difficult as catching a group of cunning bandits alive in the mountains. Even if you are the god of arms of the Ming Dynasty, I'm afraid this matter is just talk about.