The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 023 Occupation

After the county prison was taken over, all the prisoners were released.

Among them were not only villagers from Liwang Village, but also many ordinary people who had been imprisoned for failing to pay their taxes. These people suffered greatly in prison, especially several young men from Liwang Village, who endured severe hardship. Two of them were released unsteady on their feet, covered in injuries, and looked utterly miserable.

"Brother Shouyi!"

Upon seeing Li Wanqing, everyone was both surprised and overjoyed, and couldn't help but shed tears. They never imagined that Li Wanqing could rescue them from prison in such a way.

There was no time to comfort them. Zhou Lun put Li Shoutian in charge of taking care of these people, providing them with food and bandaging their wounds, while also locking the prisoners in the empty dungeon one by one.

"Brother, we can't rest now!" Zhou Lun said to Li Wanqing seriously.

Li Wanqing nodded; he understood Zhou Lun's meaning. They had accomplished such a great feat in the county town, not only taking over the county jail but also capturing the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, and the clerk.

Two quarters of an hour have passed since Zhou Lun led his men to make their move. It's impossible that the government hasn't reacted yet, especially since the police station isn't far from here.

The people have been rescued, and a group of prisoners have been captured, but the story doesn't end there.

They had to face a counterattack from the government. They knew that the county town alone had hundreds of yamen runners and soldiers, and even more if you included the unofficial laborers. If the government organized a counterattack, they would inevitably face a fierce battle. At this moment, Zhou Lun dared not be careless, and Li Wanqing was well aware of this as well.

"Strike first, or suffer the consequences!" Li Wanqing said in a deep voice. "We can't just sit here and wait for the government officials to arrive. We have to attack immediately! Second brother, the key right now is to take the police station and the city gate. Once we capture those two places, we'll have room to maneuver!"

"Brother is right!" Zhou Lun nodded in response, telling Li Wanqing that he planned to take his men to the police station first to take a look before deciding on the next step.

Li Wanqing agreed and said he wanted to go with Zhou Lun. However, Zhou Lun did not agree, since Li Wanqing was injured and his arm was weak, so he could not draw the bow.

Moreover, with Fan Zhengren and the other two officials all here, someone needs to stay behind at the county prison to provide support. If Zhou Lun's situation at the police station becomes unfavorable, he can retreat and use the county prison as a base to hold out. In addition, with Fan Zhengren and the others as bargaining chips, there is still a chance to negotiate an escape.

After persuading Li Wanqing to stay, Zhou Lun, along with Wang Tieniu and half of the able-bodied men, took their weapons and left the county prison.

When I got outside, the once bustling street was now deserted, not a single pedestrian in sight, and even the nearby shops were all closed.

After all, everyone witnessed the bloody scene that just happened at the county prison gate. Seeing such a major incident, ordinary people would have been terrified and run away as fast as they could. Who would dare to stay on the street?

Zhou Lun glanced left and right, and without stopping, led his men toward the police station.

Before long, when they arrived at the police station, they couldn't see a single constable or yamen runner. The police station gate was wide open, and the gatekeeper was nowhere to be seen. Seeing this, Zhou Lun was slightly taken aback and stopped in his tracks.

He dared not make any rash moves, worried that there might be an ambush at the police station, so he led his men cautiously closer to carefully observe the movements inside.

But the facts told Zhou Lun that he was wrong.

It took Zhou Lun quite a while to confirm that there were no ambushes in the police station before he led his men inside. Upon entering and conducting a thorough search, they discovered that the place was completely deserted; not a soul remained, not even a hair.

"What the hell! Where are they? Where did they all go? Did they all run away in fear when they heard we were coming?" Wang Tieniu shouted in frustration.

There wasn't a soul in sight at the police station. Did they come for nothing?

Just as he was wondering, Zhou Lun had a sudden thought. Wang Tieniu's words reminded him: Could it be that this simpleton actually guessed right?

"Walk!"

"Where to?"

"The city gate!"

Since there was no one at the police station, Zhou Lun did not hesitate and turned to leave, leading Wang Tieniu and the others directly to the nearest city gate.

Before they even reached the city gate, after running just two streets, they saw a large group of people rushing towards it. Upon seeing Zhou Lun and his group approaching with their weapons, these people were all terrified, avoiding them at all costs, and some even knelt down on their knees because their legs went weak.

Zhou Lun ignored them and continued leading his men forward.

When they arrived at the city gate, good heavens! All the gate guards and officials had vanished without a trace, and no one knew where they had gone. Even the gate bolts were lying to one side. A crowd of ordinary people were frantically running out of the city gate, but there wasn't a single person in soldier's or yamen runner's uniform in sight.

"Haha! Hahaha!"

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Lun couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He never expected things to turn out this way. He was worried that the government would retaliate, and he had even prepared for a major battle using the county prison as a base, including taking Fan Zhengren and others as hostages to leave the city.

But the current situation is completely unexpected. After the incident at the county prison, the constables, soldiers, yamen runners and servants in the city all ran away after hearing the news. They never thought of rescuing Fan Zhengren and the others from Zhou Lun and his group, let alone wiping them out.

But it’s normal if you think about it carefully.

In the Ming Dynasty at present, apart from the officials and clerks with some status, the ordinary yamen runners and soldiers also had a hard time. The few soldiers in the county town were mostly old, weak, sick and disabled, and they only received a few taels of silver in salary throughout the year. They might not even be able to get paid in full. Their combat effectiveness was extremely poor, and they were just for show.

The officials in the yamen were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. Zhou Lun and his gang fought like ten men against one at the county jail gate, killing and capturing the county magistrate Fan Zhengren, the county assistant Zhang Xiuguo, and the clerk Shi Teng. Even the head constable Dong Jincheng was taken down. With the officials in their hands and the county jail overrun, why would they fight to the death against such ruthless and desperate criminals? Terrified, it would be strange if they didn't run away.

Not only did the police officers run away, but even the gatekeepers who were guarding the city gates all fled.

When Zhou Lun arrived at the county government office, he found it empty.

Upon learning the news, the registrar and the instructor had no intention of organizing a counterattack. Taking advantage of the gap before Zhou Lun and his men arrived, they quickly changed into ordinary people's clothes, and with the escort of their confidants and stewards, they took their wives and children and fled over walls and alleys. They wished they had two more legs, and they disappeared without a trace.

With the higher-ups fleeing, the lower-ranking officials fared even worse, some running away and others hiding. Apart from a few unlucky souls who were caught by Zhou Lun after he arrived, all the others vanished without a trace.

When Zhou Lun returned to the county prison and told Li Wanqing about the situation in the city, Li Wanqing was stunned. Then he and Zhou Lun burst into laughter.

The situation was even better than they had imagined. The county's "three bigwigs" had become their prisoners, the government had completely given up resistance, and the soldiers and yamen runners had all fled. Now, wasn't it as if they were in charge of the county?

Since that's the case, Li Wanqing has no intention of leaving the county for the time being; he plans to take charge of the county for a while.

Li Wanqing immediately made a decision, ordering Li Shoutian and Wang Tieniu to take men to the city gates and close all four gates to prevent people from entering or leaving. Once the city gates were under control, other matters could be handled.

However, there is a shortage of manpower at the moment. The people brought into the city, including Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun, are only in their early twenties. The prisoners here need to be guarded, and people also need to be arranged at the four city gates.

At this moment, several young men from Liwang Village, who had just been rescued, offered to help. They had suffered greatly in prison these past few days and were burning with resentment. The death of their clan elder had only fueled their hatred for the government. Apart from the two who were seriously injured, the others were eager to join Li Wanqing in his cause.

Not only them, but all the others rescued from prison were the same, eager to follow Li Wanqing. Seeing this, Zhou Lun felt that morale was good. There were more than twenty people in total. If he mixed the people he brought with him and these people together, he would have enough manpower.

Thus, Li Wanqing gladly accepted them into his ranks, distributed weapons to them, and temporarily incorporated them into his team.

Li Shoutian and Wang Tieniu led their men to secure the city gates, while a few others guarded the county jail. Li Wanqing and Zhou Lun led the remaining men to escort Fan Zhengren, Zhang Xiuguo, and Shi Teng to the county government office. By noon, the entire county was basically under their control, the city gates were closed, and the chaotic situation was largely under control.

The main hall of the county government office.

Li Wanqing sat in the main seat.

This position originally belonged to County Magistrate Fan Zhengren, but now Fan Zhengren is a prisoner, locked up in the next room with his two brothers, Zhang Xiuguo and Shi Teng.

Sitting in his chair, Li Wanqing pondered deeply, his right hand resting on the chair back, his fingers tapping lightly as he considered the current situation.

After a moment, Li Wanqing looked at Zhou Lun, who was making his move, and said, "Second brother, I'm a bit confused right now. Do you have any ideas on what to do next?"

The original plan was simply to rescue people, but by a twist of fate, they have taken over the county town, far exceeding their initial intentions.

Now that he had the county seat in hand, Li Wanqing was at a loss as to what to do next.

After all, he had never experienced or even imagined such a thing before. Just now, Li Shoutian came back to report that the city gates were under control and asked him for instructions on the next step, but Li Wanqing had no idea what to do next. He was also conflicted.

"Brother!" Zhou Lun clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "That depends on what you plan to do next."

Li Wanqing frowned slightly and retorted, "Second brother, speak your mind. You know I'm a rough man, but we're sworn brothers, so speak freely!"

"Alright! Since that's the case, I'll speak on behalf of our elder brother!" Zhou Lun nodded with a smile and immediately began to speak...