After listening to Sun Xianlu's speech, Ding Chao and Tan Zong both realized that they had encountered a big fish this time, and if this group of strongmen was destroyed, they could not only ensure the security of the entire southern area of Jinan Prefecture, but also made a great contribution and accumulated a lot of political achievements for themselves.

However, Jiang Haidong told the two that if they just want to hold the village, the troops in Beiya Village are enough now, but if they want to exterminate Crouching Tiger Mountain and even the strongman cottage of Mount Tai, it will not be enough, and they must ask the regiment headquarters for help and support.

Ding Chao and Tan Zong also agreed with Jiang Haidong's suggestion, after all, the people's army in the village only has 1 platoon, although there are more than 100 militiamen, but their confidence in the militia is obviously insufficient, so everyone immediately sent people to Jinan City to report to the Jinan government and the regiment headquarters, and on the other hand, Sun Xianlu's family was temporarily controlled, after all, they could not fully trust him now.

The Jinan government also attached great importance to it after receiving the notice, because at this time the Jinan government had just received a notice from the Qingdao Executive Yuan, asking them to prevent the invasion of bandits and strongmen, and now they have actually encountered such a large group of strongmen, of course, they cannot be taken lightly, because Jinan Mansion belongs to a regiment of defense areas, so the matter of exterminating this group of strongmen will be handed over to a regiment to be responsible, and the Jinan government requires that the safety of Beiya Village must be guaranteed.

After receiving the order from the division headquarters, Luo Yue did not dare to slack off, and immediately rushed to Beiya Village in person to learn about the detailed situation. After all, the notice received was relatively simple, and many details were not clear.

Ding Chao and Tan Zong also told Luo Yue in detail about the situation to the best of their knowledge, but just last night, a few old people came to ask the township government for the money and materials that the strongmen asked for, and they didn't want to offend these strongmen, so as not to rank the village, this situation also made Ding Chao and Tan Zong a little surprised, but fortunately, they also practiced at the grassroots level for a while, and they didn't rush to do it, but only said that they had to think about it again and pacify them temporarily.

Jiang Haidong, on the other hand, reported the situation of the militia like Luo Yue, and the attitude of the militia was more resolute than that of the villagers; first, they were young and vigorous, and they did not want the fruits of their hard work to be given to the robbers in vain; second, they often trained with the People's Army, and they had a certain understanding of the People's Army's combat achievements and combat effectiveness, and they also had considerable self-confidence, so they all hoped that under the leadership of the People's Army, they would eliminate this group of strongmen and bandits, and they would never have to pay tribute to him in the future.

Then Ding Chao said: "Head Luo, what do you think we should do?"

Luo Yue said: "This bandit must be eliminated, only in this way can we ensure the peace of this area once and for all, and always ensure the safety of this area, the people are timid and afraid, hoping to break the fortune and avoid disasters, this mood is also understandable, but this requires you to do the work patiently, not in a hurry, in addition, as long as we take the victory of the bandits, it will also enhance their confidence." ”

Ding Chao nodded, and said: "However, our army has not built a village wall, and if we fight, I am afraid that there will be accidental injuries." If any villager is harmed, it will also damage our prestige. ”

Luo Yue said: "Don't worry, we will consider the safety of the villagers, so the battlefield will not be set in Beiya Village, our tactics will be to directly attack Wohu Mountain, together with the sub-village of Jiuru Mountain and the main village of Mount Tai, we will completely eliminate this bandit." ”

Jiang Haidong said: "But we basically don't know about the situation in Wohu Mountain now, we only know that their cottage is in Wohu Mountain, and we don't know anything about the terrain, topography, roads, etc., even Sun Xianlu has never been there, and every time the bandits send people to pick it up from outside the village." Not to mention the main village of Jiuru Mountain and Mount Tai, if you start scouting now, is it a little too late. The bandits only gave us 10 days, and today is the fourth day. ”

Luo Yue said: "I have a way, didn't they ask for something from the village? It is better to pretend to agree, and take advantage of the bandits to get food and materials, and wipe them all out, and strive to catch more live mouths, so that we can understand the situation of Wohu Mountain from the mouths of the captives, and even the situation of Jiuru Mountain and Mount Tai, so that we can save a lot of effort." ”

When everyone heard this, they all felt that Luo Yue's plan was feasible, and Luo Yue said: "But to implement this plan, we need Sun Xianlu's cooperation, after all, we need him to come forward and connect with the bandits, do you think he is reliable?"

Ding Chao shook his head and said, "This is not clear. ”

Tan Zongdao: "I think it's okay, his wife and children are in our hands, so I'm not afraid that he won't do it according to our arrangement." ”

Luo Yue thought for a while, nodded as well, and said, "Okay, now that Sun Xianlu is there, bring him here, I still have something to ask him." ”

Ding Chao said: "After asking him yesterday, we temporarily imprisoned their family in the township government. Then he hurriedly ordered someone to bring Sun Xianlu here.

Although he was only imprisoned for one day, Sun Xianlu's family spent this day in a state of shock and fear, and now they were called again, and they didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse, so their hearts were "thumping".

When I came to the room, I saw that there was another person in the room, although he was not very old, he was sitting on the main seat, and Ding Chao, Tan Shou, and Jiang Haidong's demeanor was very respectful, it seemed that this was a senior official of overseas Chinese, so he knelt down unconsciously, kowtowed to Luo Yue, and said, "I've seen adults." ”

Luo Yue said: "Sun Xianlu, you stand up first, sit down and talk, we don't want to kowtow here." ”

Sun Xianlu listened, and then got up from the ground and sat down on a bench.

Only then did Luo Yue say: "The incidents of your previous contact with the bandits were all done during the original Qing court's rule, and they have nothing to do with the rule of our government; and this time you only spoke for the bandits, and did not do anything that harmed the government and the interests of the masses, so we will not pursue it, you can rest assured, we can lift the ban on your family in a while, and let you go home." ”

Sun Xianlu's heart couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and he hurriedly thanked Luo Yue again.

Luo Yue said: "But we have learned that this bandit has endangered this area for more than ten years, the previous Qing court was corrupt and incompetent, could not protect the people, maintain local order, and also made the people suffer a lot, but now it is managed by the East China government, we will never tolerate robbers and bandits to continue to be rampant like this, so we must eliminate this bandits, return local stability, and return the peaceful life of the people in this area." But we need your help now. ”

Sun Xianlu was stunned for a moment and said, "I don't know what the villain can do?"

Luo Yue said: "It's very simple, you immediately send a message to this bandit, telling them that the village has agreed to their request and made an appointment to get food and supplies." When the time comes, when the bandits come, we still need you to come forward to contact them, and we will take the opportunity to catch all the bandits who will get food and supplies in the future. ”

When Sun Xianlu heard this, he couldn't help but be taken aback, of course he understood Luo Yue's intentions, this was tantamount to letting himself buy the bandits of Crouching Tiger Mountain. Although Sun Xianlu has served as an intermediary in the past few years and has also gained a lot of benefits, he also knows that this group of people kills people without blinking, and if he buys them, he will definitely be retaliated against, and I am afraid that he will be wiped out. It's just that I don't have the heart to agree, but I can't get through this hurdle in front of me, don't look at what Luo Yue said just now that he won't pursue himself, and said that he would let his family go, but as long as he doesn't agree, I'm afraid that what Luo Yue promised just now won't be there, anyway, whether he can let go of himself or not, it's just a matter of the other party's words, so Sun Xianlu's heart is also in a dilemma and hesitating.

Seeing that Sun Xianlu was stunned for a long time and couldn't say a word, Tan Zong couldn't help but be a little impatient, and said, "What's the matter, don't you want to help us do things?

Sun Xianlu couldn't help but shudder, so frightened that he hurriedly stood up, and said repeatedly: "The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare." ”

Luo Yue said: "Sun Xianlu, I understand your concerns, you are worried that after helping us, you will be retaliated against by bandits, right." ”

Sun Xianlu listened, nodded desperately, and said: "The villain is not afraid of anything, it's just that the villain still has a wife and children, and the bandits are all murderous without blinking, and the villain is really worried." ”

Luo Yue said with a smile: "You can rest assured, this time we are going to completely eliminate this gang of bandits, not only Crouching Tiger Mountain, but also Jiuru Mountain and Mount Tai, so no one will retaliate against you at all, what else is there to worry about." If you are still not at ease, then after the end of this crackdown on bandits, we will arrange for you to live in Jinan City or Qingdao, and because you have assisted us in suppressing bandits, you can arrange for you to work in government agencies and leave here forever, so that you don't have to worry about retaliation. ”

Tan Zong immediately said: "Listen to Chu, all the back roads are ready for you, and you can also work in the government organs, that is, you can go into the public to do things and eat imperial food, what else do you have to worry about, just say a word if you don't do it, be happy." ”

Tan Zong has been at the grassroots level for a long time, and knows that the people's minds can't change in a short period of time, and they can't understand some new concepts, so he tries to use words that they can understand, and Luo Yue didn't correct it.

At this point, Sun Xianlu couldn't help but say "no", and what Tan Zong said just now "enter the public gate and eat the emperor's grain" really made Sun Xianlu a little tempted, although he has been in contact with the strongman and the village in recent years, and has also gained a lot of benefits, but he also knows that this is not a long-term strategy, maybe that day he will be convicted by the government of "befriending bandits", and he will be confiscated into the army at the light and beheaded at the worst. And this time, I helped overseas Chinese, and I could go to Qingdao to "enter the public gate and eat imperial grain", which is not a small temptation.

Of course, Sun Xianlu also knows that he is not going to be an official, but an official, he is a little self-aware, and knows that he is not an official, but it is not bad to be an official, after all, in Sun Xianlu's eyes, the servants who come to the village every year to urge the payment of taxes are people who have a lot of cattle, and from then on they can jump out of the countryside and become a city person, and their children may have a good future in the future, if they stay in the village, they will just plant for a lifetime, so Sun Xianlu gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, the villain is willing." ”