The sunset in the west reflected half of the sky, and under the golden sunset, Mei Zhihuan and Lu Jinxi arrived with a large team. In addition to the Baoshengbao Township Regiment, there are also many family teams of the big clans.

Mei Zhihuan stepped on the stirrup and dismounted, and smiled at Liu Jun, who was standing there waiting to greet him, "When we came, we were all thinking, when we came, it is estimated that we will not see you kid anymore." It's really unexpected, Liu Jun, you surprised the old man again, I really didn't expect you to win unexpectedly again. ”

"Last time, you took more than 100 villagers who had been trained for more than a month to attack Da-Mazi's gang of more than 50 bandits at night, and the result was an unexpected victory. I still remember that at that time, we couldn't find any trace of Da-Mazi and his gang everywhere, and when we gathered all the teams, someone reported that you had led the team to take the initiative to kill them. At that time, some people said that they must have escaped. ”

Mei Zhihuan looked at Liu Jun with admiration in his eyes, and said slowly, "It's the same this time, when Lu Zhixian knew that I said, after your kid received a distress letter from Zhao Inspector, he and a dozen team members actually went to rescue Zhao Patrol with one hundred and twenty new team members who had just been recruited for only three days without hesitation, and many people said that your kid was crazy, arrogant, and reckless. They all said that your kid is going to die this time, and we can only collect your body here. ”

"Haha, the kid just thinks that he can't see death without help, and besides, the bandits are just a group of rabble." Liu Jun said with a smile.

"Whether it's your luck or your bravery, in short, I'm really happy to see that you're not dead, and you're still standing alive in front of me. When I heard halfway through that your kid not only didn't lose a single hair, but instead defeated several times as many bandits and beheaded dozens of them, to be honest, I was surprised, excited, and proud. Good look, enough seeds, if there are more bloody and courageous young people like you in the Ming Dynasty, why can't you prosper in the world? ”

The group entered the official hall of the yamen and sat down.

Mei Zhihuan's expression became serious, and he knocked on the table.

"Alright, now let's talk about some important things. Jiye, tell me, what is the situation of the thief? ”

Liu Jun got up and reported seriously.

Mei Zhihuan nodded from time to time, listening very seriously, "According to you, are these bandits just bandits, or are they from the fifth battalion of Huizuo from the east?" ”

Liu Jun also carefully examined the corpses of the bandits, as well as the armor and weapons after the war, and even interrogated several injured bandits, so he had already figured out the identity of the thieves who fought with him.

"According to the results I have obtained, these thieves are from Dasu Mountain, Shangcheng County, Gwangju, Henan Province, and they are just a group of displaced people who have gathered in Dasu Mountain. However, the thieves were not only those homeless, but twenty of them were bandits who had been rebelling for many years, and they were not originally in the same group as the group of homeless people in Gwangju. ”

"About a month ago, twenty bandits came to the Dasu Mountain where the group of homeless people was, and they brought a lot of food and money, and finally recruited several groups of homeless people in the Dasu Book under their command. These horse thieves are actually from the old Hui Hui and others in the Huoying Mountains of Luzhou Prefecture to return to the fifth battalion of the left. It is said that during this time, the 5th Battalion of the Hui Left sent a lot of such small groups of elite rogues to Gwangju in Henan, and took grain and silver money to collect those displaced people. ”

The more Mei Zhihuan listened, the worse his face became, and he suddenly heard a dangerous taste. The 5th Battalion finally refused to huddle in the Huoying Mountains of Dabie Shandong anymore, and they began to move. Taking grain and money to absorb displaced people in the Gwangju area of Henan Province, which is close to the north of the Yinghuo Mountains, is a very old-fashioned way of thieves.

This is recruiting cannon fodder, which also means that Lao Hui, the bandit thief, has to make a big move.

First recruiting displaced people in Gwangju, and then letting these displaced people invade Huguang and Hwangju in the west, the movement was very obvious, and they prepared to move westward. Maybe he was going to Xiangyang to join Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, two big thieves, or maybe he was preparing to invade the Qihuang region on a large scale.

The ambush of the Hutou Mountain Inspection Division this time is likely to be just a tentative attack, or just a sentinel battle, but the situation is getting worse and worse, and the Fifth Battalion of Huizuo, which is only separated by a mountain range, may be killed in a big way at any time.

Although Mei Zhihuan has been in charge of the imperial court for many years, he can't control the layout of the imperial court, but he has the responsibility to protect the eastern part of Hubei.

If the old Huihui Fifth Battalion wants to go to Xiangyang to meet Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, it is most convenient to go directly through Eastern Hubei. However, although there is only one Dabie Mountain between Lao Huihui and Eastern Hubei now, this mountain is not so easy to climb, especially if it is a large group of rogues carrying the baggage of the women, children and children of the old camp family.

To the west of the Dabie Mountains, there are numerous passes, guarding the connecting passages with the Nanzhili area in the east and the Henan region in the north. If they can hold these passes, the old return of the fifth battalion of Ma Zuo, although there are many thieves, it is not so easy to attack Qi Huang.

If this line of mountain passes is firmly held, Lao Huihui can only go north into Henan, then west into Nanyang, and then south to Xiangyang to meet with the thieves.

It's not that they don't have the slightest chance, although they can't rely on the local guards and the imperial court's bandit suppression army, but if the gentry and villagers can unite as one, there is still a chance to keep the thieves out. In the field, they may not be as mobile as the thieves, but if they are self-defending, they still have a great chance.

After all, this is to defend their homeland, whether it is an official, a squire, or a merchant farmer, everyone has an unshirkable responsibility.

However, if you want to defend it, you will need to bring in some troops and horses to strengthen these passes in the north. In addition to the five passes in Macheng, the border passes in other counties also had to be transferred to strengthen the defense.

There are 16 inspection divisions in Huangzhou Prefecture, and almost all of them are located at the junction with Henan or Nanzhili, all of which occupy the key passes of Guanjin and will also be the front line to stop the bandits.

Among them, the current inspection of Hutouguan is also in the top priority and is in an extremely important position. This time the thieves attacked, it is estimated that it is also because of the importance of this place. And now, although the Hutou Pass inspection archers have been rescued by Liu Jun, they are also seriously injured. Moreover, there were only twenty archers in the Hutou Pass inspection, and there were too few people, so once the thieves attacked, they couldn't stop it at all.

Mei Zhihuan glanced at Liu Jun again, this young man is good, young but brave, not losing his resourcefulness, fighting against bandits twice, and his performance is remarkable. Especially this time, only with more than 100 recruits dared to come over for reinforcements, this courage, and he also won the battle, then it is not only courage, but ability.

Thinking of this, Mei Zhihuan suddenly had a decision in his heart.

He turned his head and whispered a few words to Lu Jinxi, the county magistrate, and Lu Zhixian couldn't help nodding.

"Announce it now?" Lu Jinxi asked, he was still very cautious about Mei Zhihuan's words. He knew very well that if he wanted to do a good job in Macheng, he had to listen to Mei Zhihuan's words first.

Mei Zhihuan nodded, without further ado.

Lu Jinxi got up, coughed, attracted everyone's attention, and then said loudly, "I am announcing one thing now, seeing the dereliction of duty of Zhao Dagu in the inspection of Hutou Pass, which led to the major loss of the inspection department of Hutou Pass, this official now announces that Zhao Dagu will be temporarily dismissed from the post of inspection of Hutou Pass, waiting for the final disposition from above." During the period between Zhao Dagu's dismissal and the official appointment of the new inspector, Captain Liu Jun of the Nine-headed Bird Team was appointed as the inspector of Hutouguan. ”

Signed, indicating the temporary appointment or acting of an official position. Lu Jinxi's intention was to let Liu Jun temporarily act as the acting inspector of Hutou Pass.

As soon as this appointment was announced, everyone was very surprised.

Zhao Dagu's face was even more swollen and red, but in the end, he just lowered his head and didn't say anything. This time he was indeed derelict in his duties, and after listening to Mei Zhihuan's words before Lu Zhixian announced this order, it was obvious that this dismissal order was actually what Mei Zhihuan meant. In Macheng, Mei Zhihuan is just like the Emperor Taishang, his words are more effective than the orders of the county order, since he wants to exempt himself, he can't object at all.

Liu Jun was also very surprised, acting as the agent of Hutouguan inspection, he really didn't think about it before. He felt a little sorry for this Zhao Inspector, and kindly came to help relieve the siege and rescue, but he robbed other people's official positions. In addition, he still has some doubts in his heart, the inspection is also a nine-grade official, even if it is a nine-grade official, what is an official, Lu Zhi County is a seven-grade county order, does he have the qualifications to remove and appoint a county inspector?

Lu Zhixian announced the order, and no one objected.

In a burst of applause, Liu Jun was so confused that he changed from a deputy of the township warrior team to a court inspector.

Liu Jun cautiously asked Li Chunjiang beside him, "Is this okay?" ”

"What doesn't work?"

"It's just that the inspection is an official of the imperial court, and Lu Zhixian is not qualified to remove the appointment, right?" Liu Jun raised his own questions.

Li Chunjiang chuckled, "You think too much, in fact, this inspection, although he has the title of Congjiupin, he has already become a miscellaneous official." You know the miscellaneous officers, right? ”

Liu Jun nodded, he still knew this. Miscellaneous officials are equivalent to exiles, that is, officials without grades, not among the nine rank officials. For example, in the history of the county, before the Ming Dynasty, there was a county lieutenant in the county office, who was responsible for arresting thieves and public security. However, the Ming Dynasty abolished the official position of county lieutenant, and the original ministry of county lieutenant was responsible for a canonical history, and some parts were attributed to inspection. The classic history is an assistant official, but he has no grade and belongs to a foreign official.

At the beginning, the inspection was the quality officer, and once it was determined that the inspection department was set up in a certain place, the Ministry of Industry was responsible for the construction, the Ministry of Officials was responsible for the selection of officials, and the Ministry of Rites was responsible for casting and sealing, and the division was transferred. However, the inspection department was not determined, and in the future, it was actually not as good as it was at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Hongwu period, the inspection was once the ninth grade, and after 30 years of Hongwu, it was set to be from the ninth grade, and later it was reduced to the list of miscellaneous duties. The inspection department was also transferred from the original subordinate to the local army to the local government.

The officials who served as patrol inspectors also changed from early military officers to county officials or temporary and civil and military officials. The vast majority of the thousands of directors and deputies in the Ming Dynasty are inspected by supervisors, followed by officials, and then civil and military personnel.

The inspection is a three-year term, if you do a good job, you can be promoted to the ninth grade, but it is difficult to get a promotion, and the inspection can be promoted to the county, the county, less than one thousand. Often for many years, he is still an inspector, but he is just transferred back and forth, or transferred to the state government office as an idle petty official.

Most people are reluctant to be inspectors, and they are tired and have no prospects for promotion. Up to now, the appointment of the inspector can even be appointed and dismissed by the county magistrate, which is far inferior to the adjutant officials of the county chief book.

Now Lu Jinxi dismissed Zhao Dagu with one sentence, which is actually a normal process, he only needs to go back and submit another fold to Huangzhou Mansion, waiting for approval. His appointment of Liu Jun as the acting inspector, although it is not in accordance with the rules, but in this situation, it is also an expedient measure to do extraordinary things at an extraordinary time, and it is also effective. If the prefect can approve it, Liu Jun can even directly change from an agent to a real inspection, without going through the Huguang Third Division or a higher-level official department, no need.

"In this eventful season, everyone should do their best, and the more responsible people are, the more responsible they should be. Patrol inspection is just a miscellaneous job that does not enter the stream, and you don't have to worry too much about it, just to make it easier for you to move your headquarters here. From today onwards, your nine-headed bird and horse team will be stationed at Hutou Pass. I heard that you have recruited more than 100 new recruits, so that from today onwards, your Nine-Headed Bird Horse Team will be upgraded to the Nine-Headed Bird Regiment. Mei Zhihuan said earnestly to Liu Jun.

Liu Jun acted as the inspector of Hutou Pass, and he will be stationed at Hutou Pass in the future, and this yamen is his camp official hall. However, Mei Zhihuan transferred Liu Junlai, and it was also because the remaining few archers in Hutou Pass were useless, so he transferred the nine-headed bird over. In the future, although Liu Jun is an inspector, in fact, he can rely on his own nine-headed bird group.

The Nine-Headed Bird Regiment is Liu Jun's private family, and does not account for the number of archers in the Inspection Division.

The archers of the Imperial Court Inspection Department have a rule, and the source of the archers must be the young and strong children of the family who have paid a certain amount of grain in the county, and the salary of the archers is also issued by the county government, and there are only seven taels of food and silver every year. The non-arrangement of the Hydra team members as archers is also to facilitate Liu Jun's work.

Even in the end, Mei Zhihuan simply asked Lu Jinxi to give another order, and now the deputy inspectors, scribes, Xu officials, and archers of Hutou Pass are all cleared and let them go home, and Hutou Pass no longer wants the old people from the original. In the future, Liu Jun will be responsible for the inspection department of Hutou Pass with the nine-headed bird, and as for the salaries and food and silver of the original archers, all of them will be allocated to Liu Jun in the future.

In short, in the future, the yamen of the Hutouguan Inspection Division will still be there, but in fact, it will be garrisoned by the Nine-headed Bird Regiment.

"Do you have any requirements, put them forward, and I will try to satisfy you." Mei Zhihuan asked Liu Jun.

Liu Jun thought about it, now there are more than 200 new and old members of the nine-headed bird, and now they are stationed in Hutouguan, he plans to recruit some more people to form a pattern of one division and three bureaus, in addition to the Central Military Bureau, it is divided into one bureau on the left and right, one of which is a cavalry bureau with three flags and nine horse teams, and an infantry bureau with three flags and nine infantry teams. In addition to the artillery support of the Chinese army, the whole regiment will have eighteen standard combat units.

The team will expand a lot at once, originally he didn't want to expand so fast, but now that he has moved to Hutou Pass, and there is a large number of thieves from the fifth battalion of the left at any time, Liu Jun has to increase his steps.

However, in this case, the team's equipment needs to be purchased along with it. Today's nine-headed bird equipment is all purchased from outside, and it can only rely on Mei Zhihuan. While thinking about how to purchase the required ordnance and gunpowder, Liu Jun was also thinking that he had to start to find a way to prepare for the establishment of his own ordnance gunpowder production and production, and always rely on others, which is not a long-term thing.