"As long as there are not many soldiers, Qishan's North Road army can relieve the siege of Taizhou!"

"Exactly."

"What if the bandits run around like they did before?" Li Changjing thought about it and asked.

Han Xiufeng touched the corners of his mouth and analyzed: "If the thieves want money, they will definitely go to Suzhou and Hangzhou; Even if you go to the north, it is to rush to Yangzhou and Qingjiangpu to the capital. What is there in Taizhou, Taizhou only has salt, and salt cannot be eaten as a meal. ”

"So this city can be defended?" Zhang Guangcheng looked at the two and asked.

"It's still the same sentence, whether you can defend it, especially whether you can hold it, you have to find out where the bandits are and where the reinforcements are!"

"I patronized and asked my cousin in Yangzhou to inquire about Jiangning, but I forgot to ask him to inquire about the reinforcements."

"It's too late to inquire."

"Okay, I'll let Zhang Si go ashore here and let him go to Yangzhou quickly."

……

Han Xiufeng waited for him to finish explaining to Zhang Si, and when Zhang Si climbed ashore, he pointed to Old Ghost Xu's charter and said, "I thought Old Ghost Xu had some tricks, but it turned out to be a strong man for each Jia." ”

"Exempt from servitude?" Zhang Guangcheng asked subconsciously.

"Hmm." Han Xiufeng nodded.

"Where does the food come from?"

"Where else can you come from besides persuading the gentry to donate," Han Xiufeng closed the charter of Old Ghost Xu, and said with a wry smile: "I said how dare the person surnamed Xu take this errand, it turns out that Old Ghost Xu has already thought about letting him bring those few officials transferred from Xinghua to force donations." Moreover, the bandits will soon come to the city of Yangzhou, and we will not be able to train this countryman for a few days, and when they enter the city, they will eat the food in the city, in other words, he doesn't need to raise much food. ”

"It's enough to raise food for ten days." Zhang Guangcheng groaned.

"yes, so it's not a hard errand." Han Xiufeng thought for a while, and then said: "Two, since we have to make preparations with both hands, then this Xiangyong still has to take it seriously to compile. I went to Hai'an, Qutang and Baimi to say that it should not be difficult to let the three regiments of villagers who were practicing move to Jiangyan, and the top priority was how to recruit the four hundred assigned by Xu Laogui. ”

"Then do as Old Ghost Xu said, and let each Jia produce a young man!"

"That's quick, Brother Li, or you will go ashore later, and from here you will summon the township covenant, Baozheng, and Jiachang all the way, and hand over this matter to you, and by the way, gather the gentry, and talk to them well, so that they can donate some food and salary."

"What about you?"

"I will go back to Hai'an to hand over to Fang Shimei, and after the handover, I will lead the township to Jiangyan." Han Xiufeng paused, and then said: "Second young master, when you go ashore in Jiangyan, first find a good place to camp, and then gather the gentry to persuade them to donate food and salary." Isn't it possible to donate a top wear in two folds now, and make it clear to them that as long as you donate a top and donate some money and food, you can get an errand in the township Yong camp. ”

Zhang Guangcheng asked in surprise: "Brother Han, do you mean to let those gentry lead the troops?" ”

"I can't take care of so much, the enemy is now, as long as they want, they can lead the troops, they can come to the countryside to be brave on errands, or they can run regimental training by themselves, and if they can pull a group of young and strong people, they are supervisors, and if they can pull a battalion of young people, they are battalion officers. Didn't Old Ghost Xu want to persuade him to donate money, let's help him persuade him! Didn't Old Ghost Xu want to defend the city bravely, let alone four or five hundred, even if it was four or five thousand, I could help him find it! ”

"But will this be a big tail? Brother Han, think about it, if those squires all turned into officials, and they could summon dozens or even hundreds of young men when they went out and shouted, would they listen to anything in the yamen in the future, and would they still take us officials seriously? ”

"That's for the future, even if one day, what does it matter to us!"

"Brother Li, Brother Han is right, there are priorities, now it is important to train the township bravery, and it is important to defend the city."

"Okay, anyway, I've been dismissed, not to mention that I may not be able to open a reinstatement, even if I can find a reinstatement, I can't be an official in Taizhou," Thinking that the Taiping bandits were about to hit Yangzhou, Li Changjing couldn't help but smile again: "Even if I make myself an official in Taizhou, I won't do it again." ”

"Then it's settled, boatman, dock!"

"Brother Han, Guangcheng, then I'll take my family ashore first, and we'll see you in Jiang Yan."

"Brother Lao Li, we are waiting for your good news."

……

Seeing Li Changjing away, Han Xiufeng held the canopy to look at the west, and then lifted the curtain and got into the cabin again.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he sat down, Zhang Guangcheng frowned and said, "Brother Han, Li Changjing was not very easy to say just now, this surname is not quite right. As the saying goes, the people don't fight with the officials, but he actually went out to fight with us, and he was not even afraid of death! ”

"Actually, I think it's strange too, I think he may not be just a small salt merchant, nor is he just a smuggler of salt."

"Fortunately, he colluded with Yizhen's gang of private tyrants, and it is not difficult to find out his details, I explained to Zhang Si, as soon as Zhang Si arrived in Yangzhou, he went to investigate with my cousin Guangsheng."

"It's best to figure it out, make it clear that we at least have a bottom in our hearts, and we won't be calculated by him like this time." Han Xiufeng nodded.

Compared with Xu Lequn, Zhang Guangcheng hated Xu Ying even more, and said coldly: "Just like what Li Changjing just said, the surname Xu just fanned the wind and lit a fire, and the real hateful thing is the old ghost Xu." You think he is really dying for the court, but in fact he is gambling on his future. not only gambled the lives of the whole family, but also pulled other people's whole families to gamble together, in the final analysis, it was all for himself! ”

"Also, if he is really a loyal minister, as the chief arrester of the Qing army in Yangzhou Prefecture, why didn't he summon the green battalion soldiers, government servants and young men in Taizhou to aid Yangzhou? He was worried that I would not be saved if I died, and he was not on his own! ”

"Brother Han, we can all think of Xiang Rong and Qi Shan's reinforcements, and he can think of it like Old Ghost Xu!"

"It's really a fan of the authorities, he is cunning and cunning, how could he not have thought that the bandits would attack Yangzhou, if Xiang Rong and Qi Shan knew that Jiangning had fallen, they would definitely rush to help Yangzhou, and they were also on the way to Yangzhou." Han Xiufeng thought about it, and couldn't help but pat his legs and laugh: "This old fox, he is not only guarding the city, but also doing it for the imperial court!" ”

Zhang Guangcheng muttered: "Although it is dangerous, it is worth gambling for him." ”

Han Xiufeng looked at him with a smile and asked, "Shall we also gamble?" ”

"I'm already on the table, and if I don't bet, I have to bet."

"That's all I have left," Han Xiufeng weighed it and said resolutely: "Bet, bet with him, but don't gamble like him." Second young master, you are more familiar than me in the city and outside the city, you think about where it is easier to get out of the city, and you need to leave some villagers outside the city to respond. ”

"Yes, yes, yes, we can't be desperate, if the bandits really kill them, if the city really can't hold it, we will pick up my father and kill them!" Zhang Guangcheng thought for a while, and then said: "Brother Han, just do what you just said, whether it is a village warrior or a group practice, as long as those gentry are willing, they can train as much as they want, and only when there are more people can we have a chance of winning!" ”