Sanliang City is not as prosperous as the nearby counties, and even compared to other cities and towns in the county, it is only at a medium level. However, it is much more prosperous than some prefectures and counties in remote areas on the border of the interior.
Today is not a market day, there are no traders on the threshing floor, only a few idlers are chatting and watching the excitement. Seeing the boat enter the pond, everyone is whispering.
Mr. Luo on the ship is the number one gentry in this town, his name is Luo Tianqiu. Luo Tianqiu was a civil servant in the last years of Wanli. Not only was he famous, his family was also an old family in the local area. Not only did he have a large clan population, he was also a scholar
There have been quite a few. Mr. Luo's grandfather was also elected and served as a state and county official for several terms. As a result, the family accumulated tens of thousands of money and kept many servants and thugs. Sanliang City is not so much the country of the Ming Dynasty as it is the country of the Ming Dynasty.
It is like a fiefdom of the Luo family.
The Luo family's sedan car was already waiting at the pier. Mr. Luo came back from his trip today. After getting off the boat, he always stood on the revetment for a while, looked around, and then stamped his feet to loosen up his muscles. However, today he was not so interested and got directly into the sedan chair.
gone.
The sedan was carried through Yahang Street - the earliest trading house on this street was Yahang opened by the Luo family. The Luo family made their fortune by relying on the violent monopoly of mats here by their ancestors. After four generations of hard work, finally
From a small country boy, he became a well-known local figure.
This Yaxing house was renovated when Luo Tianqiu's father was still alive. It was high-rise and very majestic. However, after decades, the gold-lettered signboard above became a little dim in the sun, and Luo Tianqiu thought: it should be re-done.
Gold!
The Luo family's mansion is located in the northwest corner of Sanliang City. It is a large area of crowded houses that looks forbidding. There are not only residences, but also special "Cangfang Courtyard", "Rent Courtyard", "Steward's Courtyard" and "Steward's Courtyard".
"Qunfang Courtyard". Among them, the Warehouse Courtyard specializes in storing various goods and daily necessities. The Rental Courtyard specializes in collecting rent, weighing, and storing grain, indigo, mats, and various agricultural products; the Steward's Courtyard is responsible for managing various industries under the name of Luo Zhai; the Qunfang Courtyard
The courtyard is where the servants, servants, servants and clerks of Luo Zhai live. There are hundreds of houses.
There is a large open space paved with stone slabs in front of the blue brick door wall. At this time, there are dozens of housekeepers, stewards, and attendants standing, all in green clothes and hats, neatly dressed. As soon as the sedan chair landed,
When the leading butler shouted, "I welcome you back to your home," all the deacons knelt down and kowtowed.
Luo Tianqiu didn't even glance at the attentive greetings of his servants. His face looked a little haggard. During the three or four days in Dongguan, he was feasting, entertaining, making noises every day, and he had to go around visiting guests and giving gifts. It was really hard on his body and bones.
He climbed into the inner chamber, used a two-person carriage, and was carried to the inner chamber by the bearers.
Luo Tianqiu went to the county this time to compete for the position of deputy general manager of the Dongguan County League Training Bureau. The head of the league training bureau is always the county magistrate, and the two deputy league generals are actually the principal personnel of the league training bureau. And the league training bureau
The income makes many people salivate: Dongguan County started to levy an additional three cents of silver per mu as league training funds on land tax last year. The county's hundreds of thousands of acres of land were acquired, which cost tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition to earning money, the team training bureau can also use the name of running a team to "raise donations". In fact, it is no different from recruiting hardcore players. In short: the income is huge.
The normal use of regiment training money is to recruit and train regiment warriors, purchase weapons, and build fortifications. In fact, two-thirds of it is embezzled by officials at all levels and the gentry responsible for running the regiment. Therefore, the deputy regiment commander has always been a powerful gentry in the county.
The object of their covetousness. In the past, the Luo family could not compete for this position, but now the head of the family died suddenly, leaving only an underage son. This vacancy immediately attracted the attention of many people.
In order to compete for this position, Luo Tianqiu immediately took a large amount of money to the county town to do activities as soon as he received the news. After some private entertainment transactions, Luo Tianqiu finally competed for the deputy league president of the Dongguan County League Training Bureau.
Logically speaking, the deputy regiment commander should lead the thousands of brave men recruited from the county to be ready for war at any time, but Luo Tianqiu and the other deputy regiment commander Song Yasi are both from country gentry, let alone commanding the country warriors to fight.
Even wielding swords and guns is not enough. They can't compete for power. Moreover, they have no concept of leaving their hometown to fight for the people of the county. After gaining power, the two of them agreed to do their own thing.
He sent his nephew to act in the county. Luo Tianqiu planned to send one of his nephews, Luo Heying, to be the "acting deputy regiment chief".
Luo Tianqiu had been in the county for three or four days and heard a lot of bad news - Liu Xiang, who had been stirring up trouble in the Pearl River, was gone, and the bandits who claimed to be Australians came and were still at the mouth of the Pearl River with another group of seafarers.
The bandits won a battle. Taking advantage of the situation, they went to Humen again and defeated the officers and soldiers of Humen. Now they are occupying Humen and will probably move up the river in a few days to plunder.
Pirates and bandits harassed and looted along the Pearl River in the past. That's why Sanliang City became so heavily guarded. But this time it was the "Kon Bandits" with strong boats and powerful guns who were famous in the local area.
It is already known to everyone, and there are legends everywhere about how their ships are as fast as lightning and how their cannons are indestructible. The capture of Humen shocked Luo Tianqiu even more - Dongguan County Magistrate Fan Wencai recently expanded.
The various forts in Humen and Sanliang City also provided a lot of civilians, money and food. When Luo Tianqiu personally escorted the civilians to Humen, he went to the construction site and saw the various arrangements of the officers and soldiers in Humen. At that time, he believed that no ship could survive like this.
Under the intensive bombardment of Hongyi artillery, they sailed into the Pearl River unharmed.
Although Fan Wencai kept silent about the Battle of Humen, he knew how terrifying the scene was because every time he mentioned Kun Thief, his face turned pale. Fan Wencai was obviously uneasy when talking to him in the county town.
He repeatedly inquired about the defense of Sanliang City? Is it close to the main channel of the Pearl River? Can large ships approach Sanliang City and other details. Luo Tianqiu wondered if the county magistrate wanted to abandon the city and escape, right? Who is the Kun thief?
, can you scare Magistrate Fan like this?
I spent some money and learned from one of Fan Wencai's servants that the Kun bandits' artillery fire was extremely fierce. Several forts in Humen were blown to pieces by the Kun bandits' cannons in less than half a day. The two thousand officers and soldiers were as useless as local chickens and wooden dogs.
It was defeated after it was half effective.
"I didn't expect the Kun thieves to be so rampant!" Luo Tianqiu secretly hated it. Of course, he was also very scared in his heart. Although Sanliang City also has a village wall and two watchtowers surrounding the entire town, its defense mainly relies on the natural terrain:
The river is as dense as a maze, and foreign ships unfamiliar with the waterway environment will get lost and sometimes even run aground. A few years ago, he started to build bamboo fences along the river bank - this simple facility can effectively prevent small boats from driving.
Water bandits who penetrate deep into shallow rivers land.
This level of defense facilities is definitely no match for Australian artillery. Luo Tianqiu thought, fortunately, Sanliang City has a good location - not only is the water network complex, but the river depth is generally very shallow, and ships that are too heavy and too large cannot enter.
.
Big ships can't get in, and cannons can't get in either. Even if the thieves come, they can only be small groups of bandits sitting on sampans and small boats. There won't be many people, let alone heavy cannons and a lot of baggage. As long as there are
It seems that you can still fight against the Kun thieves locally.
With this in mind, Luo Tianqiu went to the upper room, where the maids were waiting for him to change clothes and wash up. When his wife heard that he had not had lunch when he came back, she personally took the maids to see him with their food boxes. She saw him dismissing the servants.
He went out and sat in the Taishi's chair with a tired look on his face without saying a word. Feeling a little worried, he sat at his table and said:
"Didn't things go smoothly when I went to the county this time? Isn't five hundred taels of silver enough to satisfy Master Fan's appetite?"
"Things are going very well," Luo Tianqiu said, "Master Fan has appointed me as the deputy general manager of the league training bureau, and I will be here soon. But now that Liu Xiang is gone, Kun Thief is here again."
Bones!"
The eldest grandma didn't know who the bandit was, so she said: "The bandits on the sea, come and go. It has been like this since the Year of Tianqi. Our place is far away from the waterway, the defense is tight, and there is no one to act as an internal response. The pirates
Even if we can enter the inland river, we will definitely not dare to attack rashly. It’s just that I have been living in fear these days. The thought of you going to be the deputy regiment commander and sending troops to fight makes me very scared."
"It doesn't matter, I don't need to go to the war in person - I plan to let He Ying go to the county to be the deputy regiment commander. He is a Wu scholar. It's good to go to the county to gain experience. Maybe he can get a good start."
"The kid He Ying is fine. He is just allowed to wield swords and guns like this. How will he explain to your sister-in-law Ninth if something happens?"
"Since you want to fight for wealth with swords and guns, you can't be afraid of death." Luo Tianqiu twisted his beard and said, "If the thieves come here in Sanliang City, all the young men will go into battle, even me, the head of the family, is no exception.
, when the time comes, it won’t all depend on destiny.”
"Oh, it would be great if everything is safe and sound." The eldest grandma is in her forties, which is already close to her old age in this time and space. She has lived a pampered life all her life, so she feels very worried about the increasingly chaotic world outside.
Worrying, "In recent years, there have been pirates and pirates all day long, and the weather is not good. Even the tenants have started to cause trouble. Everyone comes to complain and beg for relief! How can we live like this? I am not ruthless.
If you clean up these idiots, you won't be able to survive this day!"
"No matter how chaotic the world is, as long as we make sure that Sanliang City is not in the way - we can live our lives as usual." Luo Tianqiu said, "The tenants should give them a step first, and just give them some reductions - even if they start a war, they still point
They worked hard and sacrificed their lives..."
"Those who are unwilling to contribute will have their land sealed off and their houses will be sealed. Let's see who among these mud-legged people dares not to work hard!"