Wu Mingjin lost color for a moment and was very moved in his heart. He knew that because of his eagerness for public justice and his love for justice, Wu Mingjin would often lead his tribe and villagers to fight out bandits in the local area. He had already lost several nephews and nephews from close branches, but he did not expect this.
This time even one of his sons died.
"Old sir, please express your condolences. After the thief retreats, the student should report to the superior and ask for compensation and honors for your noble son." Huang Dahu has no fame, but he has a son who is a scholar, and Wu Daling intends to promote him, so he calls him on weekdays.
Say "Old Sir".
"The dogs were born to pacify the country. I, the Huang family, have been favored by the country, and I should serve the imperial court and defend my hometown with my own body. I am not greedy for this honor." Huang Shoutong did not want to talk more about his sons - although he had three
My son, even though he was born as a commoner and had no fame, the pain of losing a son was still heartbreaking.
"Shou Tong is here to alert the Ming government." He said straight to the point, "The pirates this time are not as good as usual, and I will be in big trouble!"
"Why did the old gentleman say this?" Wu Mingjin was shocked. He knew that the old man was calm and tenacious and was not a big talker.
Huang Shoutong then recounted what happened yesterday when his son led a dozen or so warriors to ambush three pirate spies near Bairentou Beach. Although he did not participate, the description of the escaped warriors surprised him.
The round bow and arrow attack only knocked down one of them. Although there is an old saying that three arrows are worth a sword, and the bow used by Xiang Yong was not good, the opponent was unarmored. The two big men were hit by seven or eight arrows, but they were still able to charge forward and kill several people in a row. In the end
He also killed his son.
He closed his eyes and remembered the tragic situation after Xiang Yong brought his son's body back. Half of his cheek was almost broken, and one eye was missing. He listened to Xiang Yong's description of the whole process. He had been hit by several arrows and beaten by Xiang Yong.
, his son, who had been fond of dancing with guns and sticks since he was a child, was killed in just one round in his hands. Such figures are rare warriors even in the army.
He was not too worried about his personal martial prowess. But another thing that Xiang Yong brought back made him very worried.
"The pirates' firearms are very powerful. One of them used a small handgun to kill several people without even containing any medicine. Ming Mansion, please take a look -" He handed over a cloth bag in his arms and Wu Mingjin opened it.
At first glance, there is a piece of black-blue iron inside. It looks very small and looks like a gun used by a red-haired man. However, the appearance is simple, with no unnecessary lines and no place to hold the match rope.
"Is this a gun?"
"Exactly." Seeing Wu Daling's confused look, Huang Shoutong said that Xiang Yong picked it up when he returned to the battlefield afterwards, and it was probably lost by the pirates in the melee.
"This, is what Xiang Yong said credible?" Wu Daling still didn't believe it. He was a scholar, but in the past twenty years, scholars and officials have been talking about weapons and war. Although all kinds of firearms have not been seen in real form, the drawings are still the same.
I have seen it in books. This thing has nothing to do with any musket, except that it also has a muzzle and a trigger.
"It's credible. This gun doesn't need to be loaded. It can be fired by pulling the trigger." Huang Shoutong said with a twist of his beard. "After I got it back, I tried firing a shot. It was quite powerful. It can also penetrate a thick wooden cannon five feet away."
.But it will not fire when fired again. It is thought that multiple molecules of medicine are pre-stored in this gun, and the trigger trigger fires one portion at a time."
"That must be a very powerful thing." Wu Mingjin looked at the small dark blue object in front of him, worried. If the pirates had many such firecrackers, how could the bows and arrows of the brave people in the field resist it?
It seems that relying on artillery to defend the city is the best strategy.
"I came to the county this time, firstly to warn the people, and secondly to ask the Ming government to allocate some equipment."
He is now the head of the six-village joint protection group. He has hundreds of men under his command, but there is a shortage of weapons. Except for the big and small bosses and some servants who have swords and guns, the average village warrior only has wooden sticks. Lingao originally lacks iron weapons, and weapons are even more
Young, the swords and guns used by his servants were left behind by their ancestors many years ago. Although there are many bows and arrows, the climate in Hainan is not conducive to bows and arrows, and they are not suitable for use.
Wu Mingjin couldn't refuse, so he gave him twenty waist knives from the arsenal, ten cards for playing cards, forty tiger forks, and five iron guns. He also gave him some gunpowder and iron bars - there were some iron cannons in Huangjiazhai.
Guns, but gunpowder are prohibited by the government, making it difficult to purchase.
Huang Shoutong was about to say goodbye and go to rest when his subordinate came to report that the spies who had gone out for reconnaissance in the morning had returned. Since the pirates landed, the county has sent a group of spies to investigate the situation every day. These people are all from the local area and are familiar with the terrain and paths.
The people in the city did not dare to open the door, so they put down the prepared large baskets and pulled people up to the city. The spies went out every day without any harm, but they came back today in great panic. When the people in the city saw them like this, they started talking.
One after another.
"What, road construction?" Wu Daling asked in surprise.
"Yes, Master." The spy knelt on the ground and glanced at the Master secretly.
"It was built from Bopu to Bairentou Beach. There are signs along the way. The pirates piled dirt into the road. It has been built for almost five or six miles."
"Five or six miles away, did you read that correctly?!" Huang Shoutong rushed forward and asked.
"You read that right." The spy took a fearful look at this well-known figure in Lingao.
Huang Shoutong was very surprised. He turned around and handed over his hands and reported: "Ming Mansion, our village warriors went to fight yesterday, but there was no road along the way..."
Wu Mingjin nodded and said in a deep voice: "The road construction is indeed based on what we see, and there is no exaggeration. If there is even the slightest lie, I will not forgive you!"
The spy kowtowed repeatedly: "I don't dare to deceive the master. The road has indeed been built for five or six miles." He also said that the pirates had sorcery. Many of their cars could travel without wheels, and they had huge iron arms that could be used.
The giant shovel digs the soil, and the hill-like soil can be dug out and carried easily...
It's magic again! Wu Daling doesn't believe in the theory of strange power and chaos, but the pirates are getting more and more things beyond his understanding, and their abilities are getting bigger and bigger, which really worries him. Let's talk about road construction, the county's construction
It's not that he hasn't thought about bridge repairs and road repairs, but he always has to deal with various things. Either he lacks money and cannot recruit migrant workers, or the landlords on the land are noisy and refuse to give up the land. Even if everything goes well,
He didn't even have the ability to build a road of five or six miles in two days - it was just a road made of piles of dirt. What kind of people are these pirates?
However, the problem at this time is not the road, but why the pirates built the road. Since they are bandits, they cannot be doing it to accumulate merit; they intend to rob, and doing so is unnecessary. Besides, what is there to rob in Bairentou Beach? There are only a few masons, and most of them have fled now.
In hesitation, he quickly ordered the county government officials, Liu Dalin and hundreds of households who came for reinforcements to be invited, and everyone discussed countermeasures together. After hearing the situation of the spies and Huang Dahu, the officials and gentry in the hall remained silent. Originally they thought the pirates had landed. , no matter how bad it can be, the most it can do is plunder the people and burn down a few villages and markets. Since the Song Dynasty, this county has never been conquered either by civilian riots or pirate plunder. Some people are even glad that these pirates The landing was after the Mid-Autumn Festival. If it had been before the beginning of winter when autumn grains were available, the losses would have been much more severe. However, bad news came one after another in the past few days. First, the spies reported that the other party had set up a camp in Bopu and unloaded the goods on the shore day and night. Then Huangjiazhai Township, which has always been known for its bravery and daring in battle, was defeated. Now the pirates are actually building roads again. No one can figure out what this group of thugs want to do.
Wu Mingjin looked at Liu Dalin, who was a senior counselor: "What do you think, sir?"
Liu Jinshi put his hand on his forehead and said after a long while: "Ming Mansion, this matter is very dangerous."
Wu Daling and Wu Ya who were present were both surprised. Wu Daling hurriedly held up his hands and said, "Please teach me, sir."
"I'm afraid the Konfa pirates' intention is to attack the city!"
"How can I see it?"
"Most bandits and pirates are lightly armed and plunder, so why do they need to build roads? If they build roads, the only solution is that they intend to attack the city. Dalin believes that the pirates must carry siege equipment, which is very heavy, and it would be easy to build roads without building roads. It cannot be transported to the city."
How big and heavy are the siege equipment that need to be transported to the city by building roads? Everyone above and below was silent. Wu Mingjin said in a trembling voice: "Could it be the Hongyi cannon..."
"Other than that, it's hard for him to think about it."
Hainan is close to Guangdong and Macau, and red-haired barbarian ships often passed by. The imperial court bought cannons from the red-haired barbarians in Guangzhou, which was also heard in official circles. Wu Mingjin knew that this cannon was very heavy, but its power was amazing, and the court used it. In the defense of Liaodong, the siege of Guangning last year relied on this cannon to hold on; it can be called a weapon in the army.
If such a thing were to be brought to the city now - Wu Daling couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.
"What can we do? This county is just a small town." Wu Ya had already screamed in shock. In fact, the implication of his words was that the officials and gentry present all understood that there was nothing worthy about the small border town of Lingao. Such a thing that mobilizes troops and mobilizes people? What evil has Lingao done to attract a deadly weapon like the Hongyi cannon?
At this time, they did not know that they were facing something more evil than the Hongyi Cannon, just as the storytellers in the Baijia Bookstore in Laigao City later said: "What a tragedy!"
Everyone turned their attention to Sun Baihu, who was wearing a mandarin duck standing coat. This hereditary Baihu thought it was a good job. When he got off the horse in the city, he received a reward of ten taels of silver, which was the reward given to soldiers by the county. He plundered half of it again. These two days of food and wine were much more comfortable than the half-dead days in the guardhouse. As for the pirates attacking the city, he felt that this was impossible.
Seeing everyone in the hall looking at him, he couldn't help but panic. He knew that although he had the title of hereditary hundred households, he was actually a small landowner. He brought thirty big soldiers and spent more time holding a hoe than holding a sword and gun.
The only thing that has some power is the Folan cannon. How can he come up with countermeasures? Besides, the pirates are really going to bring the Hongyi cannon, and it's too late for him to escape. He knows that nothing he can say is good, so he might as well
Pretending to be calm and silent.
Magistrate Wu secretly cursed Sun Baihu as a waste, but he didn't really expect the guardsmen to do anything. I'm afraid General Tang would have to send troops for this matter.
"The only plan at the moment is to attack and harass." Liu Dalin said, "Thieves building roads cannot gather together all the time. We send more local warriors, promising heavy rewards, or attacking with bows and arrows, or taking advantage of the opportunity to set fire to them.
Harassing them day and night will make it impossible for them to live peacefully. They will definitely prevent them from building roads."