During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there were a large number of bandits in the surrounding mountainous areas of Changning County. Because they were located at the junction of the three provinces and were all high mountains, it was very difficult to suppress bandits.

This year, a new county magistrate came to Changning County, and everyone called him County Magistrate Wu. This county magistrate Wu was a soldier, and because of his military merits, he was appointed as the county magistrate. Although Wu County Magistrate was a soldier, he was actually a clerical position in the army, which could be said to be both civil and military.

The imperial court sent Wu county magistrate to serve as county magistrate in the hope of using his talent to exterminate the bandits here as soon as possible and restore peace to the people.

As soon as he took office, Wu County Magistrate organized yamen to go to the mountains to suppress bandits. Wu County magistrate's group of people searched for bandits in the vast forest, like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In some quiet places by the roadside of the mountains, you can see piles of white bones. When the county magistrate saw the white bones, he gritted his teeth and said, "I will destroy this bandit and hate the people."

After searching the mountain for a long time, the weather was hot, and the yamen were hungry and thirsty. Suddenly, county magistrate Wu saw a thatched hut at the foot of the mountain, which was emitting bursts of cooking smoke. He wanted to go and ask for a bowl of water to drink.

When everyone came to the thatched hut, an old man walked out. His face was thin and his eyes bright. County Magistrate Wu was surprised why the old man lived here alone in the mountains.

When the old man saw the arrival of the yamen, he was not surprised. From time to time, he started chatting with the yamen. The old man said, "It is also very hard for the official to suppress bandits.

County Magistrate Wu replied, "We have to return to the county yamen when we apply today. It's too late. There are many inconveniences in this deep mountain."

When County Magistrate Wu was leading the yamen back, he met a mountain dweller on the way out of the mountain and went forward to ask about the bandits. When talking about meeting an old man in the mountains, the mountain dweller was surprised and said, "That is a bandit. Why don't you arrest the bandits when you encounter them?" He told county magistrate Wu that the hut thatched was the lookout and contact point for the bandits.

Hearing this, County Magistrate Wu hurriedly brought people back to the thatched hut, but the building was empty, and the old man may have gone back to report the news.

County Magistrate Wu was filled with remorse.

This year, county magistrate Wu was well prepared and brought dozens of yamen to the mountains to suppress bandits again. This time, County Magistrate Wu came directly to the thatched hut and surrounded it first.

Just as County Magistrate Wu was about to order the siege, an old woman came out at this time, and County Magistrate Wu was also dumbfounded, but after all, he learned the lesson from the last time and asked, "Why does this sister-in-law live here alone, not afraid of bandits on the mountain?"

The old woman said, "Her son was captured by bandits. She came looking for her son. She walked into the mountains and saw an empty thatched hut here, so she stayed for a while.

County Magistrate Wu felt pity in his heart, comforted a few words, and took out a few taels of silver to give to the old woman, but the old woman politely declined.

The old woman said: "The official is a good person, so I will rest in this thatched hut for one night, and I will go looking for it with you tomorrow."

County Magistrate Wu said, "To tell the truth, we are going back to Youshi."

County Magistrate Wu led the yamen back to the county seat. The more he thought about it, the more wrong he became. He ordered people to quickly return to the hut thatched to see if the old woman was still there.

The yamen who came back reported that the hut thatched was indeed empty.

On the way back, he met a villager, and the mountain villager said, "That old woman is a bandit, and her means are vicious. She didn't start with your tea today, so you are lucky."

County Magistrate Wu was filled with remorse.

From autumn to winter, reports have been received this year. There have been dozens of cases in which innocent people have been looted and killed.

And the imperial court ordered the county magistrate to exterminate the bandits, otherwise the official position would not be guaranteed.

Under pressure, county magistrate Wu made full preparations and led the yamen to the mountains. This time, they came to the thatched hut again. They couldn't help breaking open the door and rushing in, but the hut thatched was empty.

County Magistrate Wu guessed that the bandits' lookout platform here should have been abandoned, so they could only go forward and continue searching for the mountain.

When they came to the top of a mountain, they saw a young girl herding cattle.

County Magistrate Wu felt very strange, why is there still someone herding cattle in this deep mountain and wild ridge?

County Magistrate Wu went forward and asked, why is it that you are not afraid of bandits when you are herding cattle here alone?

The girl cried, "I was herding cattle in the village, but this cow sneaked out and ran all the way here. I came here looking for cattle, and now I don't know the way down the mountain."

When will the official go down the mountain? Can you take us down the mountain together?

County Magistrate Wu deliberately said, "We'll go down the mountain later. You wait here first. It's inconvenient for us to take you with our side to suppress bandits."

After saying this, County Magistrate Wu walked forward, and when he reached a place where the girl could not be seen, County Magistrate Wu ordered the yamen to hide.

He also sent someone to secretly watch the girl and follow her quietly until the girl returned to her residence.

Under the orders of the county magistrate, dozens of yamen pounced forward, and after several fights, dozens of bandits were all captured.

The old man, the old woman, was among the bandits, and so was the girl.

When county magistrate Wu saw the girl, he knew she must be a bandit spy. A detail about the girl exposed himself. The girl was wearing leather boots, how could a poor child who herded cattle wear these boots?

Therefore, County Magistrate Wu concluded that this must be a bandit's spy, which made County Magistrate Wu think that a girl was pitiful and would not be associated with bandits.

After catching these bandits, under the interrogation of the county yamen, county magistrate Wu learned that these bandits were ordinary people in the vicinity, but the official corruption and exorbitant taxes were too much, so they could not live any longer, so they could only fall into the grass and become bandits. It was a helpless move, and some of them all went to the mountains to become bandits.

But they really shouldn't rob and kill innocent people, they are all pitiful people.

After Wu County Magistrate learned of this situation, he resolutely resigned and returned to his hometown.

Postscript, the legend of this county magistrate is Wu Chengen, who wrote the three dozen white bones spirits of Journey to the West based on his real experience.

In life, one should not make mistakes because of your own experiences. One should be kind-hearted, and those who harm others will eventually harm them.