The name of the prefect of Jiaxing is Yang Ru. He was indeed a county magistrate as Ma Huzi said, and he was a county magistrate with a civil servant background.
However, he was a candidate for the exam by himself. Being able to get to where he is today, in addition to his personal ability, he also spent a lot of money.
With his background coupled with his financial resources, being able to become a prefect is already an incredible feat.
Therefore, Magistrate Yang just wanted to make a good fortune while in office, and then return to his hometown to retire in peace.
Being a magistrate in Jiaxing has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it is close to the prosperous Songjiang and Shanghai, and Jiaxing's business also benefits a lot.
Of course, Prefect Yang can make money more easily here.
Even if it only provides raw materials such as silk floss and grain to Shanghai, it still allows the people of Jiaxing Prefecture to live a good life.
Magistrate Yang is a good official. He usually does not make money from the people, he only makes money from merchants.
Of course it would be good if the people had enough to eat, but they didn't have much cash.
By guarding the canal, commerce and trade are developed, so Jiaxing Prefecture does not have to worry about not being able to collect taxes.
Therefore, Yang Ru, the prefect, did quite well. Moreover, his political performance and official reputation were not bad.
But the one disadvantage is that it is too close to Huai Haijun. Yang Ru is always worried, fearing that Huai Haijun will fall out with the court one day and come to kill him.
He Guiqing, the governor of Zhejiang, attached great importance to the defense of Jiaxing and sent a staff general with three thousand green battalions to assist in the defense of Jiaxing.
In addition to the regiment training organized by Jiaxing Prefecture, there are more than 4,000 defenders in the prefecture alone. The remaining counties mainly organize their own regiment training.
Yang Ru placed all his troops in the city.
In the afternoon of this day, after taking a lunch break, Yang Ru was enjoying writing in the mansion. The daily life of this magistrate Yang was still very serious.
Suddenly, an official from outside came to report. Magistrate Yang was interrupted and frowned.
"Sir, a merchant ship has arrived to report that the gunboats of the Huai Navy are heading south from the canal with a large number of troop transports."
"What..." Magistrate Yang's hand shook, and a large drop of ink fell on the fine rice paper, which spread instantly.
This kind of Qi-nurturing skill has not yet been mastered!
"Do you have any military orders from the governor?" Magistrate Yang simply threw the brush on the pen holder.
This incident was a bit sudden, and Huai Haijun did not announce anything to the public.
And just two days ago, the Huai Navy sent troops to sea to help the foreigners fight. Everyone knows this.
Seven or eight thousand soldiers went to sea on foreign ships. Some people said that Dong Shuheng was preparing to follow the example of the bearded man and go overseas for development.
There are also legends that the imperial court wanted to make Dong Shuheng a king overseas.
Anyway, many people in the southeast have their eyes fixed on Huai Haijun, and gossip about Huai Haijun has never stopped.
The yamen officer reported: "Replying to your lord, there are no military orders from above."
"What should we do?" Magistrate Yang didn't know how to deal with it. If he acted too tough towards Huai Haijun and really provoked a dispute, then he would be the guilty one.
But you can't just let the other party come and go at will within your own jurisdiction.
Even the imperial army cannot cross the border casually without a military order from above.
Others may not know the strength of Huai Haijun, but Yang Ru does.
Changmao, which had been raging for several years, was unable to find the imperial army. However, under Huai Haijun, it was beaten to pieces within a few days and the bandit capital was destroyed.
What does this mean? It couldn’t be simpler.
Just like children playing chess with animals, the wolf is afraid of the leopard and the leopard is afraid of the tiger. So what will happen if the wolf encounters the tiger?
"Hurry up and tell General Duan to close the city gate tightly. You must not take a tough attitude towards the Huai Navy. You must give good advice."
Duan Quan came from a martial arts background, and he had a solid background to be able to serve as a general in a prosperous place like Zhejiang.
The Duan family is a big local businessman in Zhejiang. The sons of merchants lead the army, so they can take more care of the family business.
So after Duan Quan passed the martial arts examination, his family used money to send him to the position of general.
The Duan family also has a cooperative relationship with Huai Haijun.
Now Hu Guangyong, the famous little god of wealth in Shanghai, is from Zhejiang, which makes Huai Haijun and Zhejiang businessmen cooperate closely.
Everyone has the same goal, which is to join forces to defraud foreigners of their money.
However, the family's support for Duan Quan is obviously less now. Huai Haijun's business protection policy means that businessmen no longer have to worry about the safety of doing business.
When doing business in Huaihaihai territory, as long as you abide by the laws of Huaihaigu, you can "do whatever you want."
But this time when he was stationed in Jiaxing, the family still greeted Duan Quan.
There are thousands of ways to go in officialdom, but the first one is to be wise and wise.
Don't conflict with Huai Haijun. The Duan family is worried that this nephew's behavior will affect the cooperative relationship between the Duan family and Huai Haijun.
After all, everyone now knows that the relationship between Huai Haijun and the imperial court is tense.
In the eyes of this businessman, he actually prefers Huai Haijun.
The merchants did not fully believe Huai Haijun's claim that the local government was governed entirely by law, but at present, Huai Haijun was still trustworthy. As long as the due taxes were paid, Huai Haijun still treated them as human beings.
Although the imperial court also had laws, it was a joke in the eyes of local officials. No one took the laws seriously.
In the eyes of the imperial court, businessmen are like fat pigs and can be killed for eating meat at any time. Even if you have a background, you are at best a lackey, and the lackey may be cooked one day.
Duan Quan was also very nervous when he arrived in Jiaxing. He was guarding the gateway to Zhejiang.
Even if Magistrate Yang didn't tell him this, he would never provoke Huai Haijun.
But it’s not enough to be an ostrich with the city gates closed.
That abominable Huai Navy fleet actually stopped at the canal dock outside Jiaxing Prefecture.
What is this for? Do you want me to treat them to wine?
Magistrate Yang stood on the city gate, looking down at the Huai Navy fleet in the distance.
The first ones were two steamships, with their metallic shells and black muzzles.
As soon as Magistrate Yang saw it, his heart palpitated!
Anyway, he has already sent someone to report to the governor. The only thing left is how to send these Huaihai navy away, or spend time with them.
While Magistrate Yang was lost in thought, General Duan beside him exclaimed in surprise: "The people on the boat have come down!"
Sure enough, a group of people got off the boat, about four to five hundred people.
After these people got off the boat, they began to form a team.
Those colorful military uniforms look like they belong to the Huai Navy.
Looking at the speed of the whole team and the neat marching queue, it is indeed an elite division.
"Huai Haijun is calling!" The unknown soldier shouted. Prefect Yang and General Duan were both startled.
General Duan knew that his subordinates were all afraid of Huai Haijun, which was the result of his bad reputation.
General Duan Shen quickly went down to comfort his men. Otherwise, if any timid person accidentally pulled the gun in his hand, he would be in trouble.
"Everyone put down the muskets and bows and arrows!" In order to prevent the fire from happening, Duan Shenjiang thought of a way.
"Old Yang, it's me, open the city gate quickly." A loud gong's voice rang out from a few hundred meters away. The sound could be heard far away.
Magistrate Yang was a little dim-sighted and could not see the person in the distance clearly, but he felt that the voice was very familiar.
That sound came from the leader of the Huai Navy soldiers.
The man was tall and extremely strong.
The other party calls me "Lao Yang"? I'm a fucking civil servant. When did I have old friends in the military?
Magistrate Yang was confused in his heart.
After a while, the team arrived at the bottom of the city.
Only then did Governor Yang see Ma Liankui wearing an officer's uniform.
This Ma Liankui had changed his skin, his braids and beard were gone, but Magistrate Yang still recognized him.
"Oh, it's General Ma! Why did you vote for the Huaihai Navy?"
"Huh? Mr. Yang, what you said sounds a bit wrong. You sound like I am a thief. Aren't our Huaihai Navy troops of the imperial court?" Ma Liankui's face dropped at the gate.
Old man Yang Ru, by closing the city gate tightly, isn't he treating me like a thief?
Thinking, thinking...
Ma Liankui was in a bad mood.
"Yang Ru, you old man, what do you mean when you stand on the tower and talk to me condescendingly? Are you going to start a war with our Huaihai Navy?"
In the past, Ma Liankui, a small general, would not have dared to talk to civilian officials like this.
However, after being trained in the Huaihai Navy for so long, I no longer have the idea of civilian being superior and military inferior being inferior in my heart.
Besides, he is now the general of the Huai Navy. The reputation of the Huai Navy is earned. Wherever he goes, he is not superior to others?
These civil servants in the imperial court have long been placed at the lower end of the contempt chain.
Of course Ma Liankui didn't give him face.
Lao Ma felt very happy to criticize a civil servant like this.
After he finished speaking, he was waiting for Yang Ru to confront him.
"Oh, General Ma misunderstood. The gates of Jiaxing are closed. That's because there have been bandits in Zhejiang recently. The governor ordered martial law, and I have to comply with it."
Hey, this old man Yang actually endured it. But what he said was all fucking nonsense.
"The bandits? Where are they? Brother, I came with my soldiers. Let me help Brother Yang eliminate them."
"There's no need to bother General Ma. Why did General Ma come to Jiaxing?" After going around for a long time, Yang Ru finally asked the right point.
"Oh, our Governor Dong sent me, my younger brother, to Hangzhou to support Governor He in suppressing bandits." Ma Liankui said randomly.
Anyway, there was no telegram in Zhejiang, so Yang Ru couldn't send a telegram to He Guiqing for confirmation.
"Why don't you invite your brothers in for a drink when you meet an old friend? We went through life and death together back then, and you, a scholar, don't have any etiquette."
"General Ma, if you say anything, Yang will naturally act like a landlord."
"General Ma has entered the city, how about we get together for a while? I will naturally send people to reward the soldiers outside the city with wine and meat, how about that?" Yang Ru naturally would not let the soldiers of the Huai Navy enter the city.
"Master Yang, if you are worried, how about I take the five hundred people behind me into the city?"
"Brother Ma, what are you talking about? How can I be worried? How about you bring 50 people into the city? The place where I live is really too small!"
"No, 300 people."
"100 people, no more."
"There are 200 people, are you guarding against thieves?"
"Okay, there are only two hundred people. Please ask me to let the rest of the soldiers wait on the boat for a while."
The corners of Ma Liankui's mouth turned up slightly under the cover of the brim of his hat.
Humph! Old guy, he only has a few tricks to use here and there.
Ma Liankui knew that Old Man Yang would definitely bargain with him, so he brought 500 people with him. In fact, he originally planned to bring 200 people into the city.
With just these two hundred people, he was sure to completely control Magistrate Yang and the others.
ps: I have to move things into the quarantine area in the morning. After settling down, I can start typing with peace of mind. Chapter 1 will be a little later at noon. I will start planning a new schedule tomorrow and see if I can do three updates. I will type 10,000 words a day. For