When Jiang Wan handed a list to Magistrate Cheng, he was so stunned he couldn't come back to his senses.
"Wan Wan, what did you say this is?"
Jiang Wan said lightly, "It's the list of refugees who sneaked into the city. Uncle Yan and his people investigated correctly. There are only fifteen of them. Just take the list and arrest them. I've written down the addresses clearly, and they are absolutely correct."
Magistrate Cheng swallowed with difficulty. "This list, may I ask how you obtained it?"
Jiang Wan touched her chin. "Heaven's secrets are not to be revealed. Uncle Cheng, my helpers don't want me to disclose too much. Just go and arrest them."
Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Magistrate Cheng did not press further. Time was pressing, and they had to apprehend these people quickly to prevent them from causing further trouble in the city.
Initially, Magistrate Cheng had some doubts about the list. After all, overnight, they hadn't even figured out a countermeasure, and the list was already compiled. It was indeed too fast.
But as the people on the list began to be apprehended one by one, Magistrate Cheng had to admit that there were indeed people with such extraordinary abilities in this world.
After all fifteen people were captured, Magistrate Cheng personally led the interrogation.
The results were astonishing.
These people were actually bandits from other prefectures! Moreover, they not only had people inside the city but also a large group of reinforcements ambushing outside the city.
The fifteen people who infiltrated were excellent swimmers. They had been hiding in the city for some time after swimming across the river.
And their objective was even more shocking.
They intended to create chaos within the county town, incite the citizens to storm the yamen, and then take the opportunity to kill all the officials in Yao County, control Yao County, and seize all the citizens and supplies in the entire county.
They wanted to become kings in this chaotic world!
What was even more frightening was that this plan had a high probability of success.
This was because Magistrate Cheng and his men had very few usable personnel. If they really managed to incite the citizens, Magistrate Cheng and his men would be in a very passive position. These people would seize the opportunity to rush out, kill all the officials under the guise of eliminating harm for the people, and then let the group outside the city enter the city. These unarmed citizens in the city would then be at their mercy.
Magistrate Cheng and the others were so scared their backs were drenched after hearing the confessions of those refugees.
If Jiang Wan had not timely discovered the problem with the people inciting the citizens, and if Yan Li and his disciple had not provided clues in time, they might not have seen the sun the next morning.
Several officials from Yao County came to thank the three of them.
Jiang Wan asked, "Uncle Cheng, what are your plans next? There is still a large group of them ambushing outside the city. If these people are not dealt with, they might sneak in and cause trouble again someday. Therefore, we must catch them all while they are unaware! This will also serve to deter some of those refugees."
Magistrate Cheng and the other officials hesitated.
They truly had no manpower.
The city guards were only good at intimidating the citizens, but if they were asked to suppress bandits, it would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
According to the bandits who were captured, there were nearly two hundred people ambushing outside the city.
An official said, "In my opinion, since they can't get into the city from outside, as long as we send more people to guard both ends of the river, there won't be any danger. When they can't wait any longer outside, they will naturally leave."
The others felt the same way.
They really didn't want any more trouble. If the city gates were closed, the bandits couldn't get in. Outside, there was no food. How long could the bandits hold out?
Jiang Wan couldn't help but shake her head after hearing their words. "My lords, don't forget that the citizens caused a commotion yesterday due to the shortage of firewood. If we use delaying tactics against the bandits, how can we be sure that the bandits are not using the same method against us?"
After speaking, she turned to Magistrate Cheng and asked, "Uncle Cheng, what is your opinion?"
Magistrate Cheng was indecisive.
He wanted to take a gamble, but he had no manpower. What could he use to gamble?
Jiang Wan said, "We can completely outsmart them."
Yan Li, who had been silent all along, became interested. "How can we outsmart them?"
The intelligence and thinking displayed by this little girl were not at all what a six-year-old girl could possess, so he was very eager to see what good ideas she could come up with.
Jiang Wan, however, kept him in suspense. "This matter must be discussed with my second brother. He is quite skilled in this regard."
So, Magistrate Cheng immediately sent someone to summon Er Lang.
After Er Lang arrived and heard the entire process of the incident, he quickly came up with an idea.
"Those people don't know that their comrades have been captured yet. We can take advantage of this moment to create a false impression, making them believe that their people have successfully created chaos in the city. Then, we will voluntarily open the city gates and let their people in..."
An official couldn't help but interrupt, "If they come in, won't we be in even more danger?"
Er Lang said confidently, "Not at all. My lords, the area around our county's city gates is actually a very good place to set up ambushes and checkpoints..."
Er Lang felt that words alone were not enough to express his thoughts, so he turned around and searched for some items.
He first placed a paperweight on the table, then placed several teacups, and carefully explained, "This paperweight is equivalent to our Yao County's city gate. These teacups are the shops that are first seen upon entering the city."
"From here to here, this area can be blocked with something. This way, when the bandits enter the city, they will naturally run towards the other direction that has no obstacles. And the second floors of these two shops here are directly facing them. Our people can be ambushed on these floors and shoot and throw at them. If their aim is good, they can eliminate most of their forces here."
Someone immediately asked, "What about the remaining part?"
Er Lang then placed another teacup behind them. "Then we will lure the enemy deeper and lead them into this alley. This alley is a dead end, about a hundred meters long. On both sides are the back alleys of two wealthy households. These two households have built extremely high courtyard walls due to some business friction, making it impossible for ordinary people to climb over."
"We only need to wait for them to be led into the alley, and then release poisonous smoke from the alley to capture them all."
After hearing this, several officials felt that this plan was quite feasible.
But they were still a little worried. "What if there are any stragglers who don't enter the alley? These people are vicious bandits. If they manage to rush into the crowd of citizens, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Er Lang smiled confidently, "Don't we still have us strong men? The route I've set up, they have no way to turn back, nor any other way to escape. They either enter the alley or continue forward. At that time, I will lead our men to wait at this spot for those stragglers who refuse to enter the alley!"