The stewards were all dumbfounded. The Luo family probably thought that because of their humble background, even if they became gentlemen, their heads would be ruthless and ruthless. Luo Tianqiu would not let Naizu secretly instigate a fight when he was fighting for land.
He has done the things of his rivals more than once. As for setting up a private court, lynching, torture and detaining a few mud-legged people is really nothing. Dozens of miles away, who doesn't know that the Luo family's interrogation office is the "Palace of the King of Hell" and the "Second Yamen"
”.
"Sir! Isn't this too advantageous for them?" Fan Guiguo, the steward of the West Branch Hospital, started to eat. "Is this going to damage the prestige of our Luo family..."
"Let him go if I ask you to, whether you are the master or I am the master."
"I don't dare, I don't dare, I don't dare," Luo Jin saw Luo Tianqiu's expressionless face and knew that the calmer he spoke, the more likely he was to have an attack at any time. He hurriedly crawled to let him go.
After a while, about a hundred people were released from the interrogation center - there were too many people. Luo Tianqiu remained silent. He knew that many of them were captured privately by his subordinates. His capable stewards and followers were here.
Everyone in this area is lawless, there are some who lend money privately, some who gather for gambling, and some who take charge of lawsuits... all of them are bad. Luo Tianqiu has always adhered to the idea of eating meat for himself and letting others drink soup. As long as they don't make trouble
When someone's life comes, he just goes with them. Sometimes when the matter goes to the government, he will personally deliver the letter and the warrant to protect the slaves. In the past, he didn't think it was anything: a few idiots were afraid that they would cause trouble.
?He has taken care of all the officials. He has no money and no power, and he can't win a lawsuit for a hundred years. Even if there is a famine, he is not afraid. He has more than a hundred servants alone.
There is also the Xiangyong of Sanliang City. He can suppress small-scale attacks by himself. If he closes the gate of a large-scale town, the mud-legged people cannot attack at all, and they will be destroyed by the officers and soldiers in a short time.
But now this group of Australians came. He had heard a lot about the Australians from the county, and knew that they were neither soft nor hard, and that without oil or salt, they could attack a city with ease, and they were particularly good at "attracting traitors."
The Luo family has built up countless grudges in the surrounding area over the years. It would be troublesome if a few unscrupulous traitors appeared to incite the Australians to attack Sanliang City.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but show an unhappy look. He even felt that the foundation under his feet was shaking. However, at this time, he could not have an attack even if it was inconvenient. After all, his family has been doing this for a hundred years, and there must be its owner.
Servant. Luo Tianqiu is still very clear about this.
Thinking of this, he hated the thief even more. The thief was like a fierce hurricane, blowing the high-rise building built by his family for generations to the point of collapse. And the people in this building may have had different ideas and slightly fluctuated.
They will run away one by one.
Seeing that everyone had almost left, several servants were cleaning up. Suddenly there was a loud shouting and yelling outside, which everyone was puzzled by. They could only hear the roar of the servant leader Luo Baiwei, and a woman's voice.
:
"...Why do you arrest people..."
Luo Tianqiu was about to ask someone to ask, when suddenly the gate of the west side courtyard opened and a large group of people poured in. More than twenty servants, all armed with swords, guns and sticks, stared at them eagerly. There were also people leading horses and carrying burdens.
The four or five people who were escorted in had their clothes torn, and some had blood on their faces.
The leader of these people is an old man in his fifties. He is not tall or strong, but he has a strong appearance. Although he is pushed and pushed by others, his feet are extremely stable. At first glance, he is a martial arts practitioner. But his face is sallow and angry.
He was panting and seemed to be ill.
Supporting him was a young woman with a handsome appearance. She was wearing a tight-fitting jacket and narrow skirt that ordinary women would not wear. Several pieces of her clothes had been torn off, revealing the close-fitting jacket underneath, which was densely covered with stitches. Luo
Tianqiu knows that for women who walk long distances, their close-fitting jackets and trousers are sewn shut with needlework to prevent being raped on the road. The other men and women are also dressed in shorts and look lean. And look at the horses they carry.
, there are many guys with swords and guns, Luo Tianqiu already understands - this is a group of people who are just trying to sell their solutions.
Luo Baiwei probably didn't expect to see the master in the west courtyard, so he couldn't help being stunned. He quickly knelt down to say hello.
"What's going on with these people?"
"Reply to the master!" Luo Baiwei stood up and said, "This group came to town to race horses and sell their horses! They lived in an inn. They got sick two months ago and spent all their money, so they used
I pledged my horses and luggage and borrowed four taels of silver from the money shop, promising to pay it back in two months, but I haven't paid back a penny yet..."
"You're talking nonsense!" the young woman said angrily, "The capital has been paid off long ago. You have to calculate the interest today and the next. We give you the money from performing arts every day, but you always say it's not enough, but it keeps getting more and more...
"
"You still dare to be so stubborn!" Luo Baiwei yelled angrily. His forehead was black and blue, probably because he had suffered a loss. "Watch me strip you naked and ask you carefully!"
She was probably frightened by the words "stripped naked and asked". The woman's tone softened, but she was still dissatisfied: "The sky is bright and the sun is clear, the universe is bright, you insult people's innocence! The government can tolerate you, but God cannot tolerate you!"
Luo Baiwei couldn't scold Luo Tianqiu because his master was present. He just told Luo Tianqiu that since they couldn't pay off the interest, they would take the horses and luggage as pledge. Unexpectedly, this group of buskers refused and actually wanted to secretly go to Luo Tianqiu early this morning.
He slipped away and was discovered by Xiang Yong who was guarding the gate of the village. After a fight, both sides captured them all.
"... He ran away secretly if he didn't pay back the money he owed. If he couldn't escape, he would beat them up! That's why the young man took them all and brought them here to teach them some rules!" Luo Baiwei expressed his merit.
Luo Tianqiu knew that the truth behind this was nothing more than the money shop's tricks to exploit and bully outsiders. Not to mention, this Mongolian horse alone, although it is not a sacred horse, is still worth sixty or seventy taels in this land of Guangdong.
This kind of exploitation, exploitation, and plundering of money is not surprising, and he has never asked about it. However, he has already shown great mercy today, so there is no need to show mercy again.
"Let him go," Luo Tianqiu said expressionlessly.
"Master -" Luo Baiwei glanced at Luo Tianqiu and knew that the master did not want to say it a second time, so he quickly made a gesture and asked someone to loosen the captors.
Luo Baiwei was unwilling to let it end like this: "Ma must stay."
"Horses are people's bread and butter, so just give them back." Luo Tianqiu said, "Since the principal has been paid off, the interest will be forgotten!"
All the servants were dumbfounded for a moment, wondering if this old man had taken the wrong medicine, and he was so merciful today - you must know that back then he personally went to seize the land and seal the doors, and arrested the whole families of several tenants who refused to pay the rent.
In the detention center, they were tortured and beaten to death and maimed several people. Why did you suddenly change your gender today?
At the moment of surprise, the woman suddenly let out a scream. The old man who had been tied up all this time was loosened and suddenly fainted.
"Dad——", "Master——"
Several men and women swarmed on the fainted old man, crying and shouting.
"Bastard!" Luo Baiwei was furious and wanted to hit someone again.
"Slow down!" Luo Tianqiu stopped him and looked at these people thoughtfully.
After Luo Tianqiu came out of the West Branch Hospital, he went to the city's team training office to check Xiang Yong's weapons and training. If Daming had a "special activity for grassroots team training construction evaluation", Sanliang City would definitely win the first place in Dongguan County
title.
In accordance with the "Notice on Strengthening Team Training Construction in the Province" issued by the Zhaoqing Governor's Yamen, the "Several Guidance Opinions on the Construction of Team Training in the Province" issued by the Provincial Governor's Yamen and the "Outline of Team Training Construction in Our County" issued by the County Yamen
Based on the guiding spirit of these three documents, Sanliang City’s team training construction can be said to be at the forefront of the county.
Of course, there are no documents with these three names in this time and space, but there are still proclamations and Zazis with similar contents. The Zazis sent from the governor's yamen elaborated on how each village should organize group training: each household's
All males between the ages of 16 and 60 must be registered, and one of the three males will be selected to participate in standing military training. Families with a small number of males can recommend one males from several families. The commander must play the role of "pioneer model", that is to say,
Each Jia leader must serve as a "training leader" and personally lead the brave men to fight. Each village and town must set up a public office, and the local gentry will serve as the head of the public office and regiment. The village warriors must drill every day, patrol during the day, and stand guard at night, monitoring the surrounding rivers and
The roads are strictly monitored. At the same time, communication signals between villages are stipulated. One blast is to alert each village of suspicious gunfire, two blasts indicate that thieves are about to arrive, and three blasts indicate that the enemy has arrived.
All villages along the coast and rivers must build fortifications, and the drawings and standards of the fortifications have also been distributed to various offices. Generally speaking, deep ditches and high embankments are required. The ditch must be 12 feet deep and 20 feet wide. The embankment must be 30 feet high, wherever possible.
, a bamboo fence must be installed on its embankment. The bamboo fence must be at least 6 feet high and the top must be sharpened. If a wall is to be built, the wall height must not be less than 12 feet and the thickness must not be less than 12 inches. A suspension bridge must be erected over the ditch.
It is convenient for people to come and go. If you build a fence or wall, you must build a gate that can be guarded for entry and exit, etc. All details are available.
The tuanlian government in Sanliang City has 300 trained village warriors. Together with the servants of various big families in the town, there are more than 500 people who can fight at any time. These people train every day and earn one or two silver a month.
Fei, although he has never seen a battle, his morale is very high.
In addition to this group of people, if necessary, if all the men in the city between 16 and 60 years old are armed, hundreds of people can guard the stronghold. As for weapons such as swords, guns, bows and arrows, the office has a lot of reserves, and the blacksmith shop can continue to build them.
.
Sanliang City bought a few cannons from the county. Later, Luo Tianqiu felt that the cannons in the county were of poor quality and expensive, so he simply bought iron materials and asked the town's blacksmiths to cast the cannons themselves. Some of them also made four
Fifty artillery pieces, large and small, were placed on the walls of various villages. Many single-eyed muskets and three-eyed muskets were also made. This place is close to Macau, and Luo Tianqiu also obtained several Portuguese matchlock guns from Guangzhou.
It's just that there is no armor - this thing is a prohibited item, and even the Luo family doesn't have the guts to hide it privately. If it is cotton armor, it is really impossible to wear it in Guangdong most of the time. But Luo Tianqiu doesn't care whether there is armor or not.
The terrain here is complex and full of water, so it is inconvenient to wear armor to fight.
As for trenches, fences, and walls, Sanliang City has already prepared them, repairing and strengthening them from time to time, and collecting money from the whole town to build four strong watchtowers. The base of the watchtowers is made entirely of stones to prevent holes from being dug, and the upper floors are made of blue.
Bricks, except for a little wood on the top, are all made of stone masonry. The watchtower has a well and stores food, weapons and gunpowder. It can not only watch and bombard the attacking pirates and bandits from a high position, but also protect the town if it is breached.
People went in to take cover and continued to hold on.
Luo Tianqiu came forward to form a joint security alliance with several nearby villages, saying that if one place was warned, reinforcements would come from all places. Because Sanliang City had strong soldiers and horses, the nearby villages were willing to form a good relationship with him. Therefore, more than a dozen surrounding villages joined forces with him.
Sanliang City conducts "joint protection". If something happens, thousands of people from each village can be gathered.
Although this arrangement is not impregnable, it is still considered one of the best in Dongguan County. He talked with the gentry who served as committee members in the office, and also met with the leaders of the village warriors and the nephews of each family.
He gave some words of encouragement. Finally, he met with Luo Heying alone and told him that he would go to the county tomorrow to lead the village heroes. When Luo Heying heard about such a good thing, he thanked and thanked the clan leader repeatedly.
Basket of flattery.
Although it seems that there is nothing in Sanliang City that worries him. The only thing that worries Luo Tianqiu is that there are not many people who can lead Xiangyong to fight. The government has hired people like Xiangyong's coach, but this coach suddenly disappeared last month
He died of a sudden illness. No one has come to replace him. There are a few sons of various gentry families who are brave enough to dance with guns and sticks, but they have not experienced any real battles - just being able to fight is not enough to lead the village warriors.
Fighting. As for the leaders of Xiangyong, most of them are servants of various families, and they may not have much real ability. Without an experienced martial artist with actual combat experience in the lead, he really feels uneasy.
"We offered eighteen taels of silver a month, but a lot of people came here," Yuan Kaibang, a squire from this town who is the team training committee member of the office, sighed, "I can't even try my archery skills. Everyone is a bastard."
Eaten trash.”
Yuan Kaibang was also a martial arts scholar - but the martial arts examination in the late Ming Dynasty was a mere formality, with a lot of prestige. Even the martial arts examination people were not taken seriously. Generally, the children of large and powerful squire families spent a few dollars to become a martial arts scholar.
, it is not difficult to gain fame such as martial arts.
His reputation is not in vain. At least he has received instruction from a famous master in his sword skills since he was a child, and he is quite skilled in wielding it. He also has a courageous spirit and is not afraid of death. In a conflict with a small group of water bandits a few years ago, he killed three people with his own hands.
After that, he became famous. Therefore, Yuan Kaibang was quite proud of himself and called himself the "Great Wall" of Sanliang City. He was so domineering in the town that even the Luo family had to be a little polite to him.
Luo Heying often had conflicts with these two men in the league training bureau. Luo Tianqiu recommended him to the county league training bureau. Even if he promoted him, he also meant separating these two enemies to prevent the friction from getting worse.
To be a Xiangyong instructor, one must not only be able to lead Xiangyong to fight, but also must have high martial arts skills and know how to use various weapons. The most important thing is waist sword kung fu and rifle shooting ability. Xiangyong generally does not need to fight in formations, and the most important thing is small groups.
Melee fighting and guarding the stockade. Among them, guarding the stockade is the most important, and bows and arrows are the primary weapons of the village warriors.
However, ordinary martial arts masters are good at wielding knives and guns, but their skills in rifle shooting are not good enough. Even escort masters who are skilled in actual combat martial arts, due to the nature of escorts, mostly use small bows, small arrows and slingshots with little lethality.
, there are very few people who are skilled in infantry's strong bows. I have been recruiting for several months in the office, but I still haven't found a suitable one.
"Is anyone still there?"
"I'll stay at the inn and wait for you to make a decision." Yuan Kaibang blinked his little eyes, "Shibo, you said that now is the time to employ people, so even if it's not suitable for you, you can keep me for a while."
Luo Tianqiu said: "As long as there are real talents, we will retain a few. Each person will earn eight taels per month, and the food and accommodation will be provided by the public company."
"Okay, that's what we'll do."
"Okay, okay." The other members of the League Training Bureau also echoed. The members of the League Training Bureau are all wealthy squires in this town. They have been following the Luo family for a long time. Luo Tianqiu will do whatever he says, especially now that the invasion of the Kun thieves is imminent.
, everyone expected Luo Tianqiu to be the "mainstay", so they all agreed to his request.
Luo Tianqiu then discussed the expenses of the office with several committee members. Now they support many village warriors, make and buy weapons and gunpowder, and build various fortifications. The expenses are huge. The regiment training money collected by the county belongs to the village and town.
There was not much left. For this reason, Luo Tianqiu proposed to collect an additional group training fee.
All the committee members looked at each other. The county's burden of levying three cents of silver per acre was already huge. If they had to levy money and food again, everyone felt very sad. However, no one dared to come out to refute Luo Tianqiu's intention.
Seeing the faces of everyone with coptis in their mouths but not daring to express their sorrow, Luo Tianqiu sneered and said: "Who do you think this money is for? Who gets this Sanliang City? We have to sacrifice our lives for the village heroes.
, how can we go to war and have no money to feed us?"
"One tael a month is not too little."
"One tael a month requires you to carry a sword and go into battle, are you willing?" Luo Tianqiu said, "If there is peace and quiet, one tael a month. When the Kun thieves really come, no one may be willing to fight if you pay ten taels of silver.
You mud-legged fellows have a miserable life. You all have families and businesses. Once the stronghold is destroyed, you will all be reduced to ashes. Which calculation is it?"
Everyone dared not say anything. Of course, this is true. But since last year, various large households have been "persuaded" again and again. Several large households are worried about money and their money is getting tighter and tighter. This is why Luo Luo
Tianqiu simply didn't mention any "encourage" and simply asked for more money and grain to be collected from each acre of land.
In the end, the big households agreed: for every acre of land in Sanliang City, the regiment money would be levied according to the standard of 80 cash for the upper class, 40 cash for the middle class, and 20 cash for the lower class.