Halfway through the Wuzhou paper-wrapped chicken, Xu Xu came over in a hurry. Xie Erren asked for the chairs and bowls and chopsticks, and asked for a few more dishes.
"No need to add more vegetables," Xu Xu waved his hand, "These many vegetables are enough to eat, just bring me a bowl of rice."
Seeing that Xu Xu's face was not good, Xie Erren seemed to be worried, and asked: "Old Xu, why are you here so late? Is something wrong?"
"Yes." Xu Xu picked up the bowl and chopsticks, took a big mouthful of rice in his mouth, and whispered while eating, "I just received a telegram from Zhu Mingxia. The scale of the commotion in Bapaiyao has begun to expand. Some Ming troops
The settlement collapsed. Some Yao people's armed forces are gathering and are likely to besiege county towns in various places."
"This is a big deal!" Xie Erren was surprised. Not long after the county towns were taken over, they were basically empty. Some counties didn't even have the National Army. Except for local armed forces such as the local Minzhuang,
It can be said to be an empty city.
The withdrawal of the Ming army's Dongxishan anti-Yao generals and the central garrison made the Bapaiyao riot less restrained than in history, so the scale of the outbreak was larger and the scope wider. Many Ming army guards who surrendered in Zhaoqing in the previous stage
All the garrison stations were besieged, and many villages had fallen.
"...In a word, the Yao rebellion this time is more violent and wider than in history. Zhu Mingxia wants me to tell you to pay attention to the city defense and surrounding security work - in history, Yao people's armed forces have attacked Wuzhou many times, and once broke through...
…”
Xie Erren's hands felt cold after hearing this, and his original ambitions were reduced by more than half. He thought that this was probably the so-called butterfly effect. He hurriedly asked: "Wuzhou is a frontline city, are there any reinforcements?"
"Zhu Mingxia now wants to take back Zhu Quanxing's Third Battalion. Considering the importance of Wuzhou, he didn't do so." Xu Xu said, "The Third Battalion will still stay in Wuzhou, you can rest assured..."
"How can I rest assured!" Xie Erren was a little annoyed, "How many people are there in the third battalion? How can we take care of the 9 counties and 1 prefecture of Wuzhou Prefecture! You know, there are only a hundred big soldiers in the city of Wuzhou Prefecture.
!”
"Does it all depend on your ability? Speaking of people, there is no shortage of them anywhere?" Xu Xu smiled, pulled off a chicken thigh from the paper-wrapped chicken and ate it, "The National Army in each county will expand... Listen
It said that it has received approval to allow county and city administrative leaders to expand the militia on the spot, and is also preparing to increase the quota of 5,000 Nanyang rifles."
"That's pretty much it, but I haven't seen the Nationalist Army yet."
"They have already arrived in Zhaoqing and will definitely arrive in Wuzhou tomorrow and the day after tomorrow - the Xijiang waterway is still very smooth now," Xu Xu said.
Hearing that the Nationalist Army was about to arrive, Xie Erren was a little relieved. After all, the company with the more money belonged to the third battalion. Although he could use it, he couldn't control it. Zhu Quanxing could transfer it with a single order. Compared with it, it was still a national army.
The military can reassure him even more.
"Will the attack on Guangxi be stopped now?"
"The official order hasn't been issued yet, but it will definitely stop." Xu Xu said, "We only have these troops, and I will go back to Zhaoqing soon."
"Now the old bear can feel comfortable for a few more days."
"Old Xiong is still feeling comfortable. I think Chongzhen will soon make him look better - maybe he will commit suicide out of fear of crime."
Hearing that Xu Xu was leaving, Xie Erren felt a faint feeling of loneliness in his heart.
After sending away the permit, Xie Erren looked at the map of Wuzhou again in the lobby. His situation was really not good. If the Yao chaos spread to both sides of the Xijiang River, the traffic lines behind him would be in danger. Arrive.
At that time, I was alone in front of the enemy...
"This is really not good."
Xie Erren began to feel guilty. Looking at the situation, he really couldn't be encouraged.
The city wall must be repaired as soon as possible! He thought, no matter what, as long as the city wall is there, there will be great security. After all, with the level of the medieval army, it is still very difficult to capture a city like Wuzhou.
That night Xie Erren slept in the back office of the magistrate's office. Thinking that he had moved into his house not long after the previous owner of the office committed suicide made Xie Erren somewhat uncomfortable. But he had been tired for a day,
I fell asleep without thinking much.
I had no dreams all night, and when I woke up in the morning, I just felt energetic and full of vitality. I felt like I wanted to show off my skills.
After washing up, I ate breakfast in a hurry and went to the second hall of the government office where Quan Chong's office was located. Zhao Fengdang was already waiting in the lobby. There was an old man next to him, who was a local scholar.
This scholar is in his fifties. He collects rent from some fields outside the city and has some properties in the city. He has never paid much attention to his official career. After entering school, he had no intention of taking the imperial examination. After spending his days leisurely at home, he went out to travel around the mountains and rivers.
, not only traveled all over Guangdong and Guangxi, but also visited many barren places that the locals regarded as intimidating - not to mention the distant Langzhai Yaodong in Guangdong and Guangxi. He also visited. He was very familiar with the geography of the places he passed.
, I am very interested in the customs, customs and products, and I am quite famous in the local area.
His surname is He, and his real name is Shouren, but because he gave himself the nickname "Dongli", over time, people in and outside the city called him He Dongli.
He Xiucai was not disgusted with the Australians - he not only went to Guangzhou, but also to Hainan and even to Lingao. He witnessed the stability and prosperity under the Senate and had a great impression of the Australians. So this time
When the army came to Wuzhou, he had always had a negative attitude towards resistance: firstly, there was a huge disparity in strength between the two and they would definitely lose the battle; secondly, he did not see the need to resist. It was not that he had no feelings for Ming, but his feelings were not yet there.
So deep that he is willing to destroy his family and sacrifice his life.
After Xie Erren entered the city, he wanted to find a suitable guide to familiarize himself with the local customs and customs. Zhao Toyota checked the "Wuzhou Basic Information Handbook" issued and recommended He Xiucai.
He Xiucai did not shirk and came as soon as he was invited. He was not as coy and pretentious as some literati in order to show that they were "forced to submit themselves to be thieves", nor was he as eager as some people to "follow the dragon."
"Ji", his attitude was very calm and peaceful. After a few words, Xie Erren had a great impression of him. Now he asked him to be his guide to tour the whole city of Wuzhou.
Naturally, He Dongli had no need to refuse. Xie Erren immediately asked Zhao Toyota to stay behind in the Yamen and ordered a team of guards to accompany him.
The order on the streets has improved compared to yesterday. The refugees have formed a team and are being led by the militiamen to clear away the corpses and ruins. The newly formed militiamen, led by the soldiers of the Fubo Army, although their military appearance and conduct are
Generally speaking, he still has some energy and energy. Xie Erren was a little less worried last night.
When the cadre leading the team saw him coming, he immediately came up to report. Xie Erren waved his hand: "Don't worry, you work first."
There are also traces of the existence of the propaganda team. The walls have been painted with lime water and twisted slogans, such as "Military and civilian cooperation, expel the Ming invaders";
"Kill the people of Wuzhou and be willing to be the filial sons and grandsons of the pseudo-Mingtu Emperor"... Some places have also posted posters and notices. If you look closely, you can see that the ink on the notices and the paste on the back are not dry yet - they were probably put up all morning.
This work efficiency can be considered very good. Xie Erren nodded secretly - Zhao Toyota was worthy of being brought up by me, and the publicity work is in place.
Wuzhou's government office is located in the south of the city, not far from the small south gate. Only when Xie Erren came out of the government office did he notice that the Wuzhou government office was adjacent to the Cangwu County government office to the north, and the south and west sides of the government office were close to each other.
The city wall is located in the corner of Wuzhou. Outside the city wall to the west is the surging Guijiang River.
Because he asked to go to the city gate first to take a look, He Dongli first led him to the small south gate closest to the government office. Because the city tower was named "Dezheng", it was also called Dezheng Gate.
During the siege, both the large and small south gates were attacked by artillery fire, so parts of both yamen were damaged by the shells falling into the city, but the damage was not serious. In comparison, the Dezhengmen gate tower was very seriously damaged.
The artillery fire almost completely destroyed the tower, leaving only a pile of ruins. At this moment, the soldiers were supervising the captive labor team to dismantle the remaining wreckage and recycle some building materials.
He Dongli said that the small south gate was opened when Wuzhou City was rebuilt in the twelfth year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Before the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the city wall only had four gates, but it was only in the Ming Dynasty that there were five city gates. They are the east gate,
The west gate, the big south gate, the small south gate and the north gate. According to the names of the towers built on the city gates, they are also called Yangming Gate, Nanxun Gate, Xijiang Gate, Dezheng Gate and Dayun Gate.
During the Hongwu period, under the abbot of Zhu Yuanzhang, there was a climax of infrastructure construction. Almost all government offices and city walls in all prefectures, states, and counties across the country were built during this period. In particular, the pattern of city walls in each city has basically been maintained.
Almost all of the Ming and Qing city walls preserved into the 21st century can be traced back to the Hongwu Dynasty.
However, the newly built Wuzhou City in the Ming Dynasty was not too large in area. Although the area was expanded compared to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the perimeter of the Wuzhou City Wall was only 2.8 kilometers, which was not too large among the cities in the Ming Dynasty. It was even smaller.
It is not as good as some important cities. This is obviously not commensurate with its important commercial status, so the urban area of Wuzhou has long been extended to the banks of the Guijiang River and the Xijiang River outside the city. There will be floating bridges on the Guijiang River and the Xijiang River.
It is the reflection of transportation demand after the expansion of urban areas.
Standing on the small south gate city wall, you can see a wall surrounding the city. He Dongli said that this is also called the Dragon Barrier. It is more than two feet wide and more than two feet deep. There are wooden fences inside and outside the city wall.
——But probably because of the passage of time, many places have been lost, and willows are still planted on the edge.
"These were built by Lord Han Yonghan in the early years of Chenghua when he was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. The city wall of Wuzhou was also repaired by him."
"Is this the Han Yong who broke the Dateng Gorge?" Xie Erren only learned about this person when he was training on historical knowledge before taking office.
"Exactly."
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 340