Under his uncle's "teaching", Yang Erche was very honest as an official and never deducted the food and salary of his subordinates. Not only did he not deduct the food and salary of his subordinates, but sometimes he even used his own money to help when subordinates were in urgent need. Not only did several of his subordinates
The ten soldiers were grateful to him, and he made many "brothers" in the camp. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for him in battle. On weekdays, they were willing to spend money to flatter their superiors. Over the past few years, he had become the most praised person in the camp.
He is a capable officer. If the Australians hadn't come here to attack him, he would have been promoted to the post of commander-in-chief.
With love, everything is easy to handle. The artillery, blunderbuss, gunpowder and other weapons in the Zhaoqing camp were brought home one after another by him like ants moving. Later, he became bolder and even
He took back some of the armor that was strictly prohibited by the imperial court from being privately owned by private individuals.
Mr. Yang is not idle here either, building a stronghold, engaging in joint security, and making weapons. Sihui is not a peaceful place at first, and the custom of setting up a stronghold to practice bravery is very strong. Mr. Yang has good equipment for the local braves and has a military attaché.
He is his nephew, and the big families in the neighboring villages all fawn over him and push him to be the leader of the joint protection of the neighboring villages, making him the hegemon of the four associations.
During the battle of Zhu Mingxia's attack on Zhaoqing, Yang Er's men and horses had not yet fought against the Kun thieves, but the mortars on the artillery boat fired at them, and they retreated in confusion, killing dozens of people and running away. Yang Er's men
Che saw the power of the Kun thieves and no longer dared to fight with his old capital. He knew that Zhaoqing was in danger, so he took advantage of the chaos of the battle and led his troops to contain many defeated soldiers and robbed several houses in the city.
The big shop owners fled back to Sihui with their belongings and weapons.
Although he was embarrassed to have to leave his helmet and armor when he came back, he brought back more than 200 elite soldiers, dozens of sets of armor and many weapons, and the Yang family's local bravery suddenly gained momentum.
It is true that the momentum has been great, but the more than two hundred "elite soldiers" who have been added for nothing can not be passed off by giving them a bowl of rice. Although the Qiu Ba people are now "grateful" to Yang Erche, they have not received military pay for several months.
It would not be unusual for him to fall out and slaughter the Yangjiazhuang.
Yang Erche was quite nervous and quickly consulted his uncle.
Yang Juren was a scholar who read poetry and books, and he knew very well that in these troubled times, there was a soldier, the Caotou King. He scattered invitations everywhere, and held a meeting with the gentry, wealthy households and elders of the clan in his village to discuss "countermeasures".
In troubled times, people are in panic. Naturally, everyone wants someone who is willing to step forward. What's more, Yang Jinghui has a reputation as a civil servant. As soon as the invitation came out, more than a dozen indigenous villages in the hometown sent people.
Yang Jinghui asked Yang Erche to lead the local warriors to "be equipped with armor" and lined up in front of the village. He also displayed the cannons that his nephew had brought from Zhaoqing one by one. After a show of force, Yang Jinghui became the leader without any suspense.
He was the leader of the township's regiment training bureau. Each village allocated money and food. After all, not only was it more than enough to raise troops, but he also made a lot of money.
"Uncle is really a master!" Yang Erche was convinced.
"Haha," Yang Jinghui twirled his beard and smiled, "Since ancient times, if there is food, there will be soldiers, and if there is soldiers, there will be food. If there was peace, these soldiers would be a scourge, but now they are capital. As long as we use this capital well, not only can we protect
If we gain peace in this area, we can double the profit! As long as we adapt to the current situation and earn more property to guard this three-acre land, no matter who becomes the emperor in the future, this good property will never be able to escape."
Yang Jinghui's calculation was not bad, and he had figured out the basic rules of dynasty changes. Soon, with the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, the social order in the county began to be chaotic: bandits were rampant, Yao people were causing chaos, and natives and guests were fighting each other.
There was a lot of trouble at that time. Yang Jinghui took advantage of this chaos to "create heroes". Yang Erche, his nephew, followed his wishes and "conquered the east and west". First, he destroyed the village that had competed with Yangjiazhuang for water, and killed hundreds of people.
Villager No. 10 swallowed all the property and houses in his pocket. Then he beat several neighboring villages that "disobeyed orders" and forced them to pay money and food. As for the villages that originally competed with Yangjiazhuang for land and mountain fields
, now also very "aware", obediently handed over the land deed.
Although local villages of some size all have Xiangyong trained in them, their numbers are small and their weapons cannot compare with those of Yangjiazhuang Xiangyong, not to mention that they still have a core of more than 200 soldiers and various firearms.
Every battle is won, and every village is invincible.
In this series of "conquests from east to west", Yangjiazhuang Xiangyong also eliminated a number of small groups of local bandits who were causing trouble, annexed and expanded their power, and also captured a mountain stronghold. Yang Jinghui felt that his home in Zhuangzi on the plains was not very safe.
He planned to use this as his nest to build a new village.
Within a month, Yangjiazhuang became "famous", especially when Yang Erche and his group of braves arrived in Shijian Town and forced the merchants in the town to give out hundreds of taels of silver, hundreds of bolts of cloth, and hundreds of shi of grain.
After he came to "reward" many young people, many "heroes" in the county came to vote for him, and Yangjiazhai Village Yong expanded to more than 800 people, becoming a big force in the county.
However, the good times did not last long. Not long after, the county magistrate appointed by the thieves led the national army to the county seat and raised the banner of "Great Song Dynasty". The official roads and waterways from the county to the capital were restored to traffic, and the patrols of the Senate
and gunboats patrolled around, and social order improved. The county director of the thieves also sent old government officials to the countryside to inform the villages, asking them to "organize and train militia, each guarding his own village, and not crossing the border to cause trouble."
Villages and towns that suffered from the disasters of Yangjiazhuang sent people to the Australian Yamen to complain. Not long after, the Australian County Yamen sent people to send invitations, asking Yang Jinghui to "come to the county to report."
Yang Jinghui knew that in the current situation, it was impossible to "go to the Yamen to talk". It was impossible in this life. He could only rely on strength to establish himself and force the thief to admit the fait accompli.
Although the Kun thieves have powerful firearms and the strongest ships and cannons in the world, the place is not close to the sea and is mountainous, so the cannons that can be transported here will not be much bigger. What's more, the Kun thieves who came to take office with the county magistrate are not much more than a hundred soldiers.
Ten people - no matter how powerful they are, they can't be divided into two and become an army. These number 100 people are very tight just to protect the county and keep the roads open. So he is not afraid of the "suppression" of the bandits.
", so he followed Master Bi's idea and made a "drag" decision, and wrote a humble and sincere note. The content was nothing more than that his family has always been a "good citizen". Although he has practiced some group bravery, it is not for troubled times.
Self-protection in China. He has no second thoughts about the Song Dynasty. As for the villages coming to sue him, it is purely slander - the matter of Chen Guzi and rotten sesame seeds has been entangled for several generations. They will all take revenge for personal gain. The specific reason is temporarily unknown.
He couldn't explain clearly for a while. Finally, he said that he was not in good health and could not walk long distances. He could only ask the county magistrate to be generous and spare him from having to go to the government office. If he had any orders, he could just send a letter and he would definitely do it.
After finishing writing, he asked Master Bi's son Bi Xuansheng to send it to him. Although Bi Xuansheng was as incompetent in reading as his father, he was more talkative than his father. He was naughty by nature and could listen to people's opinions.
I'm young, I don't think it would be difficult for Kun Thief to come.
In addition to the invitation, two more gifts were prepared. One was pigs, sheep, wine, cloth, etc., to "reward the brothers." The other was three hundred taels of silver and a set of gold-headed noodles - this was for the county director.
of.
Bi Xuansheng went to the county, but when he came back he didn't bring back any letters, only gifts. Along with him was an old government servant retained by the county. He bowed and said, "I have no choice but to send someone to the peak."
The county magistrate who spoke of the Australian has already said: Not only is he required to come to the Yamen within a time limit, but he is also required to immediately hand over his armor and all firearms, and is only allowed to keep the basic swords, guns, bows and arrows, and the number of brave men in the village must not exceed 200. Otherwise, it will be
"Illegal armed forces".
Yang Jinghui naturally refused to hand over this capital. Furthermore, the Australians were weak in the Four Conferences, and they were unable to attack them even if they wanted to, so they simply ignored them and waited to see what would happen.
Sure enough, the arrival of the county director did not immediately reverse the chaotic situation in the county. Although the melee between the native guest villages was temporarily subdued, the defeated rebels combined with the bandits to continue causing chaos. Just as the thief "Director" of Sihui County
"While we were busy rebuilding institutions, establishing militia, contacting four townships, and trying to restore social order, envoys carrying Xiong Wencan's handwriting sneaked in from Guangxi. Most of these envoys were locals, relying on local social relations to move in and out of various large houses.
The Jin gentry encouraged them to "serve the imperial court" and promised that the imperial court would come back and give them various benefits.
Yang Jinghui, a "powerful person" in the county, naturally received the treatment of a visit from the envoy. Yang Juren did not believe too much in this promise - after all, his nephew saw how Mr. Xiong escaped from Zhaoqing with oil on his soles, and he also saw
The power of the Kun bandit's artillery bombardment could not be exceeded. If the Ming Dynasty wanted to fight back, it would have to accumulate troops for at least three to five years - it may not be possible to win.
However, even if the Ming Dynasty cannot be defeated, it does not mean that the Kun thief will be able to secure his position. Even if he can finally secure his position, it will probably take several years of chaos. Yang Juren got a lot of information from relatives and friends who fled and knew that Xijiang
There are bandits on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the Yao people in the mountains are also causing trouble. Even the situation in this county is not necessarily much better.
Taking advantage of this mess and the capital in hand, he can still make a good profit! Yang Juren made up his mind and told the envoy that he was willing to "serve the imperial court and ruin his life", and only asked Mr. Xiong to give him a name.
The messenger immediately said: Mr. Xiong doesn't have much else here, but he has a lot of arrows. At the same time, he also hinted that if he could kill a few prominent fake Kuns in the county or go one step further and regain the county seat - even if it was only for one day, Xiong
The master will also ask for merit for him. Based on his reputation for promoting people, he will definitely be directly awarded an official position.
After all, it was the Ming Dynasty's three hundred years of accumulated prestige. Yang Jinghui could not help but be confused after hearing this prospect, especially the four words "conferring official positions", which were particularly touching. He immediately promised that he would do a great job and "live up to his expectations."
Lord Xiong’s hope”——
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 379