Chapter 46 Three strategies for defending the city
As soon as Yi Haoran walked out of the door, he saw a row of people kneeling in the courtyard.
Although they are all common people without fame and fame, they are actually "reputable" people among the common people: most of them are prosperous merchants in the city, and there are also some "old and virtuous" elderly people.
The leader is Mr. Qiao, the head of the Rice and Grain Guild.
Mr. Qiao, who was usually a pampered man with the air of a doughy rich man, was actually wearing a commoner, kneeling at the foot of the stone steps like a mourning concubine. As soon as he saw him coming out, he immediately started to howl at the top of his lungs.
"Master Yi, you have to save all the people in this city..."
With his name, a group of people kneeling behind him began to howl, making Yi Haoran's yard feel like they were doing nothing.
Yi Haoran quickly bowed and clasped his fists and said: "I don't dare to take it! I don't dare to take it! You fellow villagers, please stand up and talk. I can't afford it, I can't afford it!" He was secretly wondering: It seems that most of the people who come are local merchants.
, there are also a few generals, although they are not "gentry", they are also well-established people in the city and can talk to the county government. Why do they come to him and cry like this?
In the governor-general's shogunate, he was originally just a "lounger". In terms of status, he could not even compare to Mr. Qingke, who made Lord Xiong laugh during meals. It was because of the training of new troops that he became a leader in the shogunate.
"Red Man" seems to mean the "Martial Team" of the shogunate. However, just because he has the word "武", most of the people who come to make friends with him are Qiuba and local civil servants from all walks of life. The big local gentry rarely come to socialize with him
.
Now that this group of "public opinion representatives" are coming to him, it goes without saying that they must be defending the city.
However, Master Qiao refused to get up and continued shouting on the ground: "Master Yi, you have to save all the people in Wuzhou City..."
"What's going on? Please get up, Mr. Qiao, and speak. As long as I, Yi, can help, I will do my best." Yi Haoran saw the rich man bursting into tears. It was obviously not all fake, and his heart tightened: Could it be?
The guest army was plundering the city again? Although the city was in chaos, the general order was still maintained. Xiong Wencan's supervisors and servants were still patrolling the streets.
Seeing that the fire was almost done, Mr. Qiao got up, wiped his tears and said, "Mr. Yi! Ever since Inspector Xiong brought the Guangdong officials and generals to this county, everyone in Wuzhou has done their best to repay their efforts. They rewarded them with wine and meat.
Silver; the food and grass needed by the army has never been properly arranged. Even though this villain is just a rice dealer, he has contributed 500 taels of silver and 500 shi rice. There are still 3000 shi rice to purchase.
I have been paid to serve as military food, but so far I have only been given one-third of the food payment - even the little one dare not say 'no'."
As soon as he said this, everyone following him sighed. Some said that soldiers came to the store to get things and never gave them money, and they did not dare to ask for them. Some cried and complained that the government was levying this and that, and they bought what they did not have.
They have to send it, and they dare not be short of it; some people even cried out that some soldiers forced women to "wash their clothes" and didn't even finish sending their own maids.
"Exempt".
The "crying" one after another from this group made Yi Haoran extremely annoyed - he knew a lot about these bad things. Of course, the "village sages" said this just to say that they were "worthy" of the government officers and soldiers.
The next requirements will pave the way.
He hurriedly said loudly: "Master Xiong also knows these things. It's just that the military situation is urgent and he can't pay attention to military discipline for a while. Brothers are working hard on expeditions and have a career of licking blood with the tip of a knife, so they can't help but be a little disturbed. I would like to ask you all for your kindness.
Be considerate." After that, he whispered to Master Qiao: "What's the important matter?"
"Today, Mr. Chang from the Governor's Yamen sent people everywhere to send messages, saying that Governor Xiong will entertain businessmen in the city tonight and discuss the city's plans together."
Yi Haoran nodded and said: "I heard about this."
"If it is to defend the city, the young men will naturally go there. But there is news from inside that Mr. Chang has offered three poisonous tactics to Governor Xiong - these three poisonous tactics can certainly hurt the thieves, but they are also harmful to the people in the city.
As far as the common people are concerned, this is a desperate strategy that will injure the enemy five hundred and damage oneself three thousand!"
Yi Haoran was shocked: the plan to burn the city has always been a secret, and not many people knew about it. Although most of the gentry in the city had escaped from the city, either far away to Nanning, Guilin and other places, or hiding in the cottage, but the most talented people in the city were
There are still many people with such honors. A fire will definitely burn many people to death. Although it can be framed by the thieves and passed on to the wolf soldiers if a quarrel breaks out, it will not be easy to deal with it if someone really takes the opportunity to cause a riot.
He quickly said: "How can this happen..."
At this point, he realized that he had let it slip. Master Qiao hadn't said it yet!
Sure enough, he saw a flash of light in Mr. Qiao's eyes which were full of tears.
It’s broken! The old fox found out!
Yi Haoran hurriedly said: "Mr. Chang is a kind man and will not do any cruel tricks. This is a rumor..."
When he said this, he felt like his face was burning.
Mr. Qiao said: "It is said that Mr. Chang proposed to Xiong Zhitai: confiscate the grain stored by the people in the city, organize all the strong men in the city into brave teams, and expel the old, weak, women and children from the city - these three strategies are considered inappropriate by the villain.
!”
Upon hearing that there was no plan to burn the city, Yi Haoran couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that these three plans might be true.
As long as the city is not burned down, some vitality can be left in Wuzhou. Although it is cruel to expel women and children from the city, it at least gives them a way to survive. The thieves are known as "kind" and will not massacre the people.
relief.
However, since he was a "fellow citizen", he had to be comforted to some extent.
Before he could speak, Mr. Qiao said again: "If the stored grain is taken away, the people in the city will lose their hearts. Although it is possible for Ding Zhuang to be included in the defense of the city, most of them are people who have not been in battle. If they go into battle, they will just fill in the ravines.
If you drive the women, children, old and weak out of the city, how can the strong men in the city be willing to risk their lives to defend the city?"
"What Mr. Qiao said is absolutely true, but it is just a rumor after all." Yi Haoran thought to himself that you can't provide evidence anyway. As long as you insist that it is a rumor, Mr. Qiao can't say anything.
"Master Yi, why do you still say it's a rumor?" Master Qiao said, "Now the soldiers have taken to the streets and are searching for food from house to house - they say they are searching for food, but they are taking the opportunity to plunder!"
As if to confirm what he said, a shrill scream suddenly came from a distance, and then suddenly stopped. Everyone trembled in shock.
"Master Yi! Now that the bandits have not entered the city, Wuzhou will turn into a hell on earth."
Yi Haoran's eyes almost burst into flames. He didn't expect that things would develop to this point. He shouted loudly: "Jiang Suo!"
Jiang Suo responded.
"Hurry up and take the brothers here to the streets to suppress them! Don't allow rioters to loot!" He shouted loudly, "The governor's arrow is in the study. You can take it!"
After giving the order, he turned to Mr. Qiao and said, "I don't know about this yet. As for the soldiers outside looting, I don't know if they were ordered by Shangfeng. You guys, please be patient. I'll go to the governor's office right away."
See Governor Xiong! I must ask for an explanation."
"Thank you, Mr. Yi." A group of people were about to kneel down again, but Yi Haoran no longer wanted to deal with them. He waved his hands repeatedly and asked others to prepare their horses.
Seeing Yi Haoran leading a dozen servants and soldiers and galloping away, the "village sages" who came to "cry and complain" also hurriedly went home - they didn't know what the family would become. Only Mr. Qiao
Luo Yangming, who was mixed in with the crowd, was not in a hurry.
"Brother, you are right." Mr. Qiao's face showed a mixture of fear and cruelty, "These officials are really not fun! They have red faces and black hearts!"
Luo Yangming was happy and worried at the same time. He was happy that Mr. Qiao completely believed his words, but he was worried that there was really not much time left for him. He made a worried expression and said: "As of now, I don't know..."
"He is unkind and I am unjust." Mr. Qiao said, "It's no big deal if an Australian becomes the emperor."
"It doesn't matter whether an Australian comes to be the emperor or not, the current situation..."
"Go back with me. We'll discuss it again!"
Yi Haoran rushed to the governor's office on horseback. The order on the street was indeed a lot of chaos. There were many rioters along the street, some carrying them on their shoulders and some holding them in their waists. There were bags of food and various kinds of soft goods. There were also bags of food.
Some soldiers pulled the woman's hair and dragged the beaten and bruised woman away.
On normal days, Yi Haoran would have to scold and stop him, but at this time he didn't care much. He ran to the Yamen in one breath, jumped off the horse, threw down the reins, and rushed in.
He was a "red man" in the shogunate. None of the servants and soldiers stopped him. Yi Haoran broke into the signing room at the back in one breath. However, he did not see the governor. He only saw Chang Qingyun drinking tea in the flower hall outside with an expression on his face.
calm.
Yi Haoran couldn't care less about being polite and asked:
"Where is Master Xiong? I want to meet him immediately."
"Master Xiong is not in good health and is resting." Chang Qingyun said, "Brother, if anything happens, you can tell me the same thing."
Chang Qingyun has always been at odds with Yi Haoran, but Chang Qingyun's status in the shogunate is much higher than that of Yi Haoran. If you want to see Xiong Wencan, you really have to pass him.
Yi Haoran had no choice but to suppress his urgency and asked: "I'm going to invite the big names in the city to a banquet tonight to discuss the plan to defend the city. Is that okay?"
"It's true."
"He said that three city defense strategies will be announced at the banquet, and the general manager of the big households will be asked to follow them as a whole..."
"This is also the case."
"In this way, it is true to collect all the grain stored in the city, drive all the strong men into soldiers, and drive out the women, children, old and weak people from the city!"
Chang Qingyun was startled, then nodded again: "This is true."
"So, the plan proposed by Master Chang of Enping County is no longer needed?"
Chang Qingyun put down the tea cup and said: "Master Yi, these three strategies are all strategies to defend the city. Aren't they in line with your wishes?"
Yi Haoran was startled. This is indeed true. Only those who defend the city will use these three strategies. Otherwise, if it is burned down, why bother with all this effort?
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 320
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