The private armed forces of the manor houses of the lords and gentry outside the city all swept away the snow in front of their houses and built high walls to defend against bandits. They had no intention of taking care of the affairs of the county.
Tang Yin just idealized that if the county was in trouble, people from outside the city should come to the rescue.
That night Prince Xing's Mansion held an emergency meeting with the state government, and Tang Yin went to discuss countermeasures. When he returned to the city, the scout informed him that a bandit camp had been built outside the city.
"How does this look like they just plundered and then left? Looking at this posture, it seems that they must capture the city... It's really unbelievable..."
Zhang Zuo came to inquire about the situation outside the city, but when he learned about the movements of the traitors, he seemed extremely puzzled.
Tang Yin said: "The number of bandits outside the city should not be large at the moment. If we don't take the initiative to fight against them now, it will be difficult to fight outside the city later."
Zhang Zuo persuaded: "Mr. Tang, it is more important to defend the city now, but we cannot put the nobles of the palace in danger... I am here to inform you that unless His Highness approves,... don't even think about taking the initiative to fight."
Zhang Zuo originally supported the palace in playing a key role in suppressing bandits, but now he has lost his courage.
Who knew that the thieves were more formal than the officers and soldiers? When they arrived in Anlu Prefecture, instead of busy looting and playing hide-and-seek with the officers and soldiers, they actually set up a camp outside the city gate?
What kind of style of play is this?
Are you really not afraid that officers and soldiers will rush out to fight them?
But the situation in front of me is...
Everyone in the city, from the Prefectural Government Office to Prince Xing's Mansion, had given up the idea of sending troops. Even if Tang Yin himself had some thoughts of fighting the bandits, he could only recognize the reality and give priority to defense issues.
…
…
On the first day when the bandits arrived outside Anlu Prefecture, people in the city were in panic. Before nightfall, officials came out to block off the main streets and complete preparations before the curfew.
Zhu Hao took advantage of the chaos before curfew to return home.
At this moment, Zhu Niang was instructing the reinforcement of the door panels, and piled a lot of stones at the moon gate connecting the front shop and the back yard. This was to prepare the guards to rely on the gate for defense after the thieves entered the city.
If things go wrong, retreat to the backyard, block the moon gate with a stone, and rely on a high wall to resist.
If the thieves just walked into the city and left, they would definitely rob whichever house was weakly defended.
But if bandits invade the city, occupy the city, and have to fight against the officers and soldiers who come to suppress it... Basically, it is the same for every family, "rain and dew are all shared", and everyone suffers together.
"Xiao Hao, don't go back to the palace tomorrow, stay at home. Mother doesn't want you to take risks at this time." Seeing her son, Mother Zhu felt a sense of warmth and relief that the family was finally in order, and she was afraid of losing him.
Zhu Hao said: "Mom, what should we do with our business outside the city?"
Zhu Niang sighed, and Aunt Li next to her comforted her: "I made an agreement with Lao Ma earlier to move in everything that can be carried into the city before the thieves come, but now there are people guarding the ferry outside the city.
, if the bandits break through the camp guarded by soldiers and horses of the inspection department and rush into the ferry market, they can use boats to carry people and goods to the river... The bandits have no boats, so they should be helpless, right?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "This is a good idea."
"Xiao Hao, can you still laugh at this time?"
Looking at her son's cheerful smile, Zhu Niang felt that the tension in her heart was relieved for some reason, but her words still contained a hint of complaint.
Zhu Hao suppressed his smile and said, "Mom, didn't you hear that the Zhu family came to the city? Are they okay if they stay outside the city?"
Zhu Niang explained: "The walls of Zhujiazhuangzi are very high, and there are blockhouses built at several village gates. The guards generally carry knives, and there are several bows and crossbows. If you add strong men from the tenant families, you can pull them up in a short time."
Two or three hundred armed men are not the same as ordinary gentry families. I believe that even if the bandits want to rob, they will only pick soft persimmons. The risk of robbing the Zhu family is too great."
"Um."
Zhu Hao thought for a while, and it seemed to make sense.
After all, the Zhu family was a military family. It had the hereditary position of guarding thousands of households, and was qualified to raise guards with swords and crossbows. It was incomparable to ordinary gentry families.
"Mom, there is only a curfew in the city now. I will go back to the palace tomorrow morning. You don't have to worry. The palace is much safer than home. There are many guards in the palace. This time they did not go out of the city to fight. Even if the thieves entered the city and wanted to capture Prince Xing's mansion...
I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.”
Zhu Hao explained the reason why he would live in Prince Xing's Mansion next.
Zhu Niang thought for a moment, and although she was reluctant to be separated from her son in times of crisis, thinking that the royal palace might be able to save her son if the city was destroyed, the mother no longer had the extravagant desire to have her family reunited at such a time.
…
…
Nothing happened that night.
Early the next morning, there were no people on the street, and every household was reinforcing its doors and windows. When Zhu Hao followed Yu San and others to Prince Xing's Mansion, he heard clanking sounds along the way.
Zhu Hao asked: "Little Third Brother, have you settled down at home?"
Yu San smiled and said: "Everyone in the family has entered the city now. It's good now. The house I raised money to buy is finally in use. Unlike those who took refuge in the city, they didn't even have a place to live. This
If there is a plague... more people will probably die than the thieves and bandits will kill."
Zhu Hao was a little impressed by San.
The words are rough and the reasoning is not rough.
At this time, a large number of people who came to the city to seek refuge were gathered in the city, and eating, drinking, and diarrhea became a problem. Can the government ensure that the people gathered would not be affected by the plague?
It is the beginning of spring and the weather is getting warmer. However, there are occasional cold spells in spring. When people go to the city, they don’t have a roof to cover their heads. When they get sick or hungry, someone needs to be responsible for everything.
All the way to the west gate of the palace.
The open space to the west of the palace, except for the theater and its surroundings, has become a centralized settlement point for refugees. Men, women, old and young are densely packed, and the palace has sent a large number of manpower to maintain order.
Yuan Zonggao did one thing well, that is, he took an active part in the refugee rescue work with the compassionate attitude that the royal palace should have.
Entering the palace, you can see strangers everywhere. They are all the eunuchs, school captains and village heads of the Wangzhuang outside the city, companions and even ordinary tenants, temporarily settled in the outer courtyard of the palace.
…
…
The morning class was temporarily suspended due to Fan Yikuan's unwellness, and another instructor, Tang Yin, shouldered the important task of guarding the city.
Zhu Hao and Jinghong stayed in their dormitories, Jinghong lay down and read, Zhu Hao buried himself in writing, and they were in peace.
Near noon, Zhu Hao collected the manuscript papers and prepared to leave the palace.
"where did you go?"
Jinghong asked curiously, "It's so chaotic outside and very dangerous... It's better for you to wait until the bandits are defeated before going out."
Zhu Hao said: "I want to find Mr. Tang."
Jinghong asked curiously: "Isn't he guarding the city?"
"Just go to the city wall to find him... I have told Lu Dianzhan that he will send someone to take me there..."
After saying that, Zhu Hao went out.
Under the guidance of the company guards, Zhu Hao and several palace servants headed east of the city.
Even the guard usually laughs and laughs without a formal expression and always likes to make fun of people. At this time, when faced with the crisis, he was wearing a stoic look and his eyes were sharp and firm, giving people a sense of oppression. Zhu Hao was a little uncomfortable with it.
When they arrived at the gate in the east of the city, the guards even took the servants to the nearby kitchen to light a fire and cook for the brothers who were patrolling the city. Zhu Hao let Lu Song take over, and the two went up to the city tower together.
"Mr. Tang, didn't you sleep well last night?"
On the second floor of the city gate building, Zhu Hao asked suspiciously as soon as he saw Tang Yin.
Tang Yin raised his head and glanced at Zhu Hao. His eyes were bloodshot. There was no one around except Lu Song. He had nothing to hide. He closed a military terrain map in front of him and sighed: "The bandits have set up camp and are making trouble."
The commotion is not small, and now two more groups of bandits have been added outside the city...
"The sentinel came to report that the main forces of the three groups of bandits have arrived outside the city and set up camp. They cooperated extremely well, stationed all the way outside the east gate, ready to respond to the officers and soldiers leaving the city at any time, and left some of the other two groups as forecast teams.
The rest were broken into pieces and plundered throughout Changshou County."
Zhu Hao asked: "Then why don't you decisively go out of the city and fight with them? They blocked the east gate, so the other gates should have unobstructed access, right?"
Tang Yin shook his head and did not answer.
Next to him, Lu Song said: "Master Zhu, the current situation in the city is that in addition to the temporarily recruited civilians, there are also officials from the state and county yamen and a small number of troops from the inspection department...
"The commander of the Anlu Guards sent word to the Yamen, asking all counties to strictly guard the city and not rush into the city, and act according to the opportunity. It takes time to assemble the troops at the guard station, and we cannot take every precaution into consideration..."
Zhu Hao suddenly realized: "That means that neither the government nor the military will send troops. With the power of the palace alone, there is no way to fight against the bandits outside?"
"Um."
Lu Song nodded.
While they were talking, the sound of boots hitting the ground came from the stairs. It was Luo An who came back from inspecting the city defense. He was a little surprised to see Zhu Hao there too: "Master Zhu is here?"
In the past, Luo An would not have taken Zhu Hao seriously at all.
The situation is very different now. Zhu Hao is a disciple of Tang Yin and has passed the county examination. He is about to become a student. At his age, it is almost certain that he will be a candidate for the imperial examination and be a Jinshi. A leap in social status is just around the corner. Plus Zhu
Hao and the prince were both teachers and friends, and they had an irreversible relationship. Luo An unconsciously felt a sense of awe.
"Mr. Tang, as you expected, bandits are now plundering various manors outside the city. Even the main members of the wealthy gentry who have gone to the city to avoid trouble are now going to the government office to find Kuang Zhizhou, clamoring to send troops to quell the chaos as soon as possible...
"
Luo An and Tang Yin didn't have much friendship at first, but the two of them went to Jiangnan together before. Luo An got to know Tang Yin better along the way, and gradually became convinced of Tang Yin's talent and knowledge, and was willing to make this friend.
What's more important is that Tang Yin is now the nominal commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the palace.
Tang Yin said angrily: "When this group of people gathered in the state government to discuss sending troops, they all shied away. No one was willing to contribute money or food, and I didn't even let them send troops...
"Now that the thieves are approaching the city and their fundamental interests have been touched, they begin to urge the government to send troops? The opportunity to fight has been lost. The thieves are now encamped and have defenses. How easy is it to send troops to annihilate them again?"
Luo An sighed: "That's true, but now the palace is in Wangzhuang outside the city, and I'm afraid that a lot of supplies will be robbed by bandits... Our people outside the city have basically moved to the city, and every Wangzhuang is undefended.
.”
Lu Song had always stayed in the palace and had never been stationed at Wangzhuang outside the city. He didn't know much about the situation outside, so he immediately asked: "Hasn't the grain stored in each village been transported to the city?"
Luo An said: "There are always things that are unlucky. Don't even think about those heavy belongings. The same goes for these thieves. They are actually arrayed outside the city like this. Who is the official and who is the bandit?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "He is both an official and a thief."
Several people turned their attention to Zhu Hao at the same time. They had just ignored Zhu Hao's presence when they were discussing things.
Lu Song and Tang Yin suddenly realized that Zhu Hao was definitely not here for condolences, but for something. They had long known how capable Zhu Hao was, and maybe they really had a strategy to defeat the enemy?
"how do I say this?"
Luo An didn't know much about Zhu Hao's abilities and asked curiously.
Zhu Hao said: "Luo Dianzhan, why do you think these three groups of thieves can gather together, with clear division of labor among each other, some defending, some robbing, and their troops are more organized than the officers and soldiers? They dare to cross the province to invade, and they are so powerful.
The officers and soldiers are heavily guarding but they can't do anything, but why? Are they just a group of ordinary thieves?"