Nowadays, the information communication channels between the court and the local government are not perfect, especially in the rebellious places, almost all intelligence information is provided by Chen Xi. On the southwest battlefield, Chen Xi has reached a one-man point. Not to mention that Zhang Yong and Liu Jin have not come, even if these two eunuchs of the military inspectors arrived, they would not have any constraints on Chen Xi.

When Chen Xi looked carefully, Hu Qing, the county magistrate of the tunnel, knelt on the ground and didn't dare to move for a moment, for fear of leaving a bad impression on Chen Xi.

Chen Xidao: "Magistrate Hu, get up and talk. You still have the opportunity to make up for your merits and help me recover the county town of the tunnel. If you have any other intentions, I will never give up... As for the question of whether you are loyal or traitor, I will not be busy with the final conclusion. You need to show your performance and correct your name..."

Chen Xi was not in a hurry to draw a conclusion to officials like Hu Qing and Zhang Yaoming who left the city and fled. Their merits and demerits will depend on their overall performance in this counter-rebellion war.

Although Hu Qing and Zhang Yaoming had few soldiers, most of them were locals and familiar with the surrounding terrain. Chen Xi planned to organize these people into the army separately to serve as guides and convey information. In order to avoid being held accountable, Hu Qing and Zhang Yaoming would urge their subordinates to avoid Chen Xi's troubles.

Hu Qing got up from the ground with difficulty, his body shaking. Seeing this, Zhang Yaoming hurriedly helped him.

For these civil servants who lost the city, the days after the rebellion were too difficult. While worried about being chased by the rebels, they were afraid of being held accountable by the court. They waited for reinforcements but were not heard from them. The troops stationed in the city, either the inspection department or the temporary civilians organized, could play a very limited role.

Now they are waiting for the moon to finally come to Chen Xi, but Chen Xi shows a stance of not hasty decisions, and they want to help them with the bandits and then declare to the court. In this way, they can only bow down and cater to Chen Xi, and work hard to clear their crimes.

Hu Qing bowed and said, "Sir, there are more than 3,000 people in Miao Village that are besieging Tongxian County, ten times more than me, not because the officials are not trying their best..."

Chen Xi narrowed his eyes and looked at Hu Qing and asked, "Magistrate Hu, don't say anything randomly. Do you count clearly that the number of rebels is three thousand? There is no error in this number?"

Hu Qing was anxious and blushed and decided: "Although the Xiaguan didn't go to the city to count it personally, he combined all aspects of information and this number would never be fake..."

He could not count it himself and could guarantee that there would be no falsehood. Zhang Yaoming was very familiar with this. When he met Chen Xi and was asked about the number of rebels in Jingzhou City, he insisted that there were 5,000. After attacking the city, he suddenly discovered that the rebels were less than 1,000, with only four or five hundred people.

Regarding this situation, Zhang Yaoming could only explain that most of the rebels had left the city to plunder and did not stay in the city, or because Chen Xi led his army to come, he was frightened by the news, leaving only some elderly, weak, sick and disabled people to garrison.

Chen Xi raised his face and said, "Do you dare to issue a military order? If the number reported is deviated, a military stick will be light at that time, and you may not necessarily be imprisoned..."

Hu Qing didn't expect that Chen Xi was so serious. Now he dared not promise. In fact, he showed his loyalty to the emperor and the country in front of Shen Xi. If the number of people said was less, he would not be embarrassed, and he might be punished. Even if he did not bear the responsibility of defeat, the crime of dereliction of duty and lack of war would be inevitable.

Hu Qing gritted his teeth and replied: "Shangshu Chen, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. How can the subordinate officials guarantee how many rebels are in the county town of Tongdao at this time?"

Zhang Yaoming rolled his eyes and shouted: "I don't know how many rebels there are, so don't talk nonsense. Do you think you can speak nonsense in front of Shen Shangshu? Now, Shangshu Shen is not going to punish you. Let's be honest, otherwise don't blame me for not being able to protect you!"

Hu Qing looked up at Zhang Yaoming.

In the Ming Dynasty, the magistrate was a fifth-rank civil servant, and his status was much higher than that of the magistrate. Hu Qing now faced two superior officials at the same time, and they were both civil servants. One of them was the Zuodu Censor and the Minister of War, and he could go directly to Tianting.

After the rebellion, Hu Qing met a civil servant with a higher rank than his for the first time. As for the generals, he had nothing to be afraid of. In the Ming Dynasty, no military general dared to kill civil servants, but now it was different when he met a civil servant boss. Especially Chen Xi is now holding the title of the left censor and the Minister of War, holding the flag of the king's life. It is too easy to kill him.

Hu Qing quickly explained: "Sir Shangshu, the officials cannot judge how many people there are in the county town of the tunnel at this time, about... maybe a thousand people!"

Chen Xi sneered: "I used to insist on three thousand people, but now I talk about the number of thousands of people. What is the number of thousands?"

Hu Qing was a little timid and was stunned for a while before answering: "I don't know!"

Chen Xi looked at Zhang Yaoming, his eyes as if he was saying, "You guys are really a virtue, and they speak so unpredictable. Can you just be an official and run around your mouth?"

Zhang Yaoming lowered his head in shame, not wanting to look at Chen Xi at all.

Chen Xi looked at the guards next to him and ordered: "The army is about to set off. Now please ask County Magistrate Hu to rest in the carriage and take good care of County Magistrate Hu along the way. If there is any mistake, you are asking!"

Even if the guards were slow, they could understand what this meant. Chen Xi asked them to take good care of Hu Qing until the county town of the Restoration Pass.

It seems that Chen Xi has no intention of reusing Hu Qing.

After all, even if a county magistrate escaped at the last minute, he would not have direct responsibility for the loss of the city, but not living with the city would be a big crime.

Unfortunately, in the Ming Dynasty, civil officials and military generals did not have the courage to be buried with the city after it fell. In the peaceful years, it was really hard to find a few people who sacrificed their lives for the country.

...

...

After the troops were slightly rectified, Chen Xi left the camp and got on the carriage.

Although the road to Tongxian County is not easy to walk, fortunately there is a canal water connecting north and south. After boarding the boat at the east pier of the city, you can move upstream and drive directly to the county town.

Therefore, Shenxi mainly uses boats as its car, and does not prepare to ride a horse and bump.

The canal water, also known as the ancient Xu River, is the main tributary of the Yuan River. It originates from Liping, Guizhou, flows through the passage, Jingzhou, Huitong, Hongjiang, and injects into the Yuan River at the mouth of the Hongjiang River. From Jingzhou to the south, the terrain on both sides of the canal water is complex. Due to the barren land, the Han people rarely come to expand and reclamation. Since ancient times, it has been a gathering place for ethnic minorities.

There are Dong and Miao villages around the Qushui River. As for the specific locations of these villages hidden among the mountains and ridges, Chen Xi does not want to investigate, nor does he want to spend any effort on them. If Chen Xi thought about drawing a village in one place, he might not be able to reach Guilin Prefecture for ten years.

Many of the mountain villages where ethnic minorities live are built on cliffs, with only cableways as access roads. Chenxi does not think that he has the ability of ethnic minorities to travel through mountains and rivers as if walking on flat ground. Even if there is, he does not bother with it. As a civilized man, he knows the background of the great era and the integration of ethnic groups in the south is a major trend. He does not want to intensify ethnic conflicts, but tries to maintain a good situation of peace and stability.

As the governor of the two provinces, the Han people were his people, and the aliens were also people under his rule. The two were not divided into importance.
Chapter completed!