"It's easy to talk about rewarding money." Wu Xian Ling smiled bitterly, compared to the fifty taels of silver sent, these thirty stone rice are really nothing, "Zanfu has worked hard." ”

"It's about the safety of the city, and it's hard to say it. It's just that Li Qianhu is very good, and he said all the good things about his duties, so he was willing to allocate thirty people. Those gunpowder leads, just don't use them, if you use them, you have to pay him back twice. "Wu Ya is nearly forty years old, he is a fat man, he is well maintained, and he looks much younger than the county order. He was born in a miscellaneous background, and he didn't have as many ideas as people on the right path, and his life was free.

"It's no wonder that he is," Wu Ling lowered his head and sighed, "The matter of the guard is well known to everyone in the court. Does he have any available soldiers? Even if there were, they were just some old, weak, sick and disabled people who couldn't escape. ”

"That's what the Ming Mansion said." Wu Ya nodded and said, as he was talking, the disciple came, the county's master book and instructor came, and the canon's history was leading people to patrol, and he couldn't come for a while, so the priest went to invite the gentry. In the Ming Dynasty, the gentry were very powerful, and the local gentry could often interfere in local administration, so whenever there was a major event in the county, it was always good to invite the gentry to discuss.

The so-called gentry is a complex class, starting from the ministers of the imperial court, the feudal officials, the family members of the eunuchs, the powerful landlords, and the officials who have returned to their hometowns for various reasons such as Ding Wei, dismissal, and Zhishi; There is a name but not a person who has not been a scholar. can be included. Due to various relationships, they have quite close ties with the provincial feudal officials and the imperial court, and they even have direct access to the inner court of the palace with their hands and eyes. The seventh, eighth, and nineth-grade officials of the state and county yamen can act as masters in front of the common people, but they will be greatly discounted in front of these squires.

Because Lingao is a small border county, there are few gentry, and some places are remote, and those who can't be reached by pirates won't come. Some of them set up their own villages to recruit villagers, and at this time they have to sit in the town to guard the palace, so it is naturally inconvenient to come. That is, there are several gentlemen in the county town and the surrounding areas, they have related interests, and they naturally want to come.

Seeing that everyone was almost here, Wu Mingjin asked the master next to him in a low voice: "Hasn't Mr. Liu arrived yet?" ”

"Back to the master, Sect Feng will pick it up in person, and it will be there in a while."

He nodded, and took a look at all the gentry in the flower hall. Although there were already more than a dozen people sitting in the flower hall, some were arrogant, some were submissive, and some were pretending to be deep and silent.

"Fathers and elders," Wu Mingjin was not polite, and directly turned the conversation to the topic, "The current situation: the pirates are dominant. The giant ship is full of fast ships, and tomorrow it will go up the river and sweep all the way, and the situation is critical! Wu Zanfu risked his death to go out of the city today to ask for help, and tomorrow he can go to the guard post with thirty soldiers, but the soldiers of the guard post can not be relied on because of their strength! ”

These words were said so loudly that people could not help but stir up when they heard them. Wu Ya knew that this was just a common knock on the mountain and the tiger, exaggerating the situation to 120,000 points, and the purpose was nothing more than to force these gentry to donate food and silver. As an old county magistrate in this county, he knows very well that the finances of the court are now extremely corrupt. Lingao suffered another typhoon and flood last year, and most of the autumn grain was lost, but the three salaries collected by the imperial court were unavoidable, and the county was already very embarrassed, and even the food and salaries of the people and archers were owed for several months. Now it is necessary to prevent pirates from attacking the city, asking for reinforcements, and recruiting people, all of which have to cost money.

Seeing that this group of people were all uneasy, Wu Daling said slowly: "This official is here to protect the land. The city survives and survives, the city dies and dies. You are either the grace of the country, or for the gentry of the city, or for the right way of Kejia, and it is your duty to defend the city. Please work together with your own officials to defend this city, repel the attack of pirates, and keep the officials and gentry of the city safe and sound. I don't know if you have a claim? ”

Everyone hurriedly got up and said, "Lord Yuanwei's horse head!" ”

Wu Mingjin saw that the atmosphere was good, so he said his plan: "Although this county is a small city, the circumference is more than 600 zhang, and now there are only more than 100 soldiers and people in the city, and there are only more than 100 people in the city. I want to recruit 200 strong men to defend the city. ”

(Note: There are four gates in Lingao County in the Ming Dynasty, but the north gate is blocked for a long time, which is a characteristic of the city of the Ming Dynasty in Hainan. ）

A gentleman said: "The Ming Mansion is so loyal, it is really a blessing for the officials and gentlemen of the whole city." But now the pirates are only in Bopu, and they have not gone deep into the county, and they have recruited people, is it shocking? ”

Another one was also busy saying: "It is a good policy to recruit the people to strengthen the defense, but after the typhoon and flood last year, the people's livelihood withered, if it is not a critical moment, do not come out with this policy to disturb the people!" ”

These slippery gentry all had a look of embarrassment. They complained of hardship, it was nothing more than the heavy distribution of the imperial court, and last year it was another disaster, and many tenants starved to death and fled......

There are also people who say that the patrol ship of General Qiongya will arrive at Bopu on three days, and once the official army arrives, even if the pirates do not escape, General Tang has the responsibility to defend the land, and he will raise the troops of Baisha Water Village to crusade.

Wu Mingjin's face became more and more ugly, and he suddenly heard someone outside the door: "The city is in danger, and you are still stingy with a few money!" As he spoke, Sect Feng brought two relatives and carried a middle-aged man in with a rattan chair. The people hurriedly got up to salute and were very respectful. Even Wu Ling stepped forward and said: "Old man."

This middle-aged man who has been paralyzed for many years is Liu Dalin, who is famous in the history of Lingao, whose name is Meng Liang. In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, this is the first Jinshi since the Tang Dynasty. However, he was paralyzed after Dengke, so he did not become a leader.

He was only in his early forties at this time, in the prime of life, and although his body was paralyzed and difficult to walk, he was still quite enthusiastic about the place. His home is in the west gate of the county seat, and as soon as he heard Wu Ling's invitation, he came without shirking.

Wu Mingjin said: "What is the old man's good plan here? ”

Liu Dalin said: "Minzhuang is to be recruited. If the thief doesn't move now, won't he move tomorrow? How can the thieves go out just to occupy a shop? Bopu is only thirty miles away from here, and the thieves arrive at noon, and when the soldiers come to the city, the jade is burned, and your net worth is still saved? ”

He tilted his body, and the servants beside him hurriedly helped him move: "Now that the military equipment is decadent, do you still count on General Tang's men and horses?!" Didn't you hear the spies' report, the pirates all come and go in big iron ships, and they don't need to sail and oars? Baisha Water Village is pouring into the nest, what can it do? ”

When everyone heard this, their faces turned gray again. A gentry whispered: "Officers and soldiers are useless, what can we do if we recruit some people?" ”

"Since ancient times, there have been many things where officers and soldiers are not as brave as the township and the people are strong! The former is just begging for food and money to make a living, while the latter is defending the township. Can Ann be compared? Liu Jinshi talked eloquently, "Today's plan, it is better to seek others than to seek yourself." He bowed his hand to Wu Mingjin and said, "Ming Mansion, Da Lin thinks: it is just one thing to recruit the township to defend the emperor. As he spoke, he said a few countermeasures that he had worked hard to meditate on during the day:

1. Send people to the villages, maps, and capitals, and tell the local gentlemen to recruit the villagers, build soil fences, and plan for self-defense.

2. Where the rural bazaars are small and unable to be defended, or where the large number of pirates may pass through, the people, property, grain, rice, chickens, ducks, and livestock will be moved into the county seat.

3. Check the household registration and strictly enforce the curfew to prevent thieves and spies from infiltrating the city.

Fourth, send spies to monitor the movements of the Bopu pirates day and night.

Fifth, send a man who dares to fight, and bring dozens of villagers to the main roads outside the city, and if there are thieves who plunder and leave alone, they can be captured and killed. The thieves have no food for a long time, and they naturally retreat.

Sixth, recruit more people, and do not abandon the outside of the city, and each of the three city gates should set up a village to facilitate the defense.

After that, he said: "Da Lin is willing to offer thirty stones of grain!" ”

The only Jinshi in this county said this, and the others had to say everything, so they all had to say this, and they all said this, and that five taels. After a while, he raised three hundred stone of grain and one hundred taels of silver. Wu Mingjin saw that Liu Jinshi was so anxious for justice and righteousness, and offered advice and donated food, so he hurriedly said countless compliments, and asked him to stay in the yazhong as a staff officer. Here, the gentlemen went to raise money and rice, not to mention.

Wu Ya arranged the men of the villagers who entered the city from sixteen to sixty, one for every ten people, assigned four gates, repaired the city walls, and transported bricks, stones, and stalks. The students of the county school, responsible for the section guarding the city wall, the students are all young and strong people, the fire of the young has not faded, or the loyalty and patriotism of the head, the ambition to defend the township, the situation is critical at the moment, all of them are wearing the old armor taken out of the county arsenal, the top is embroidered iron helmets, and they are carrying rusty swords in the city shouting orders, all of them are majestic. It's just that the swords, guns, and spears taken out of the county arsenal are all rotten, and the blacksmiths and carpenters are temporarily called to repair them.

There are two tiger guns in the four upper plains in the city, all of which were made during the Zhengde period, fortunately, the Wanli years have been played to explain that the cannon can still sound. Even a civil official like Wu Mingjin knows that this thing is a bold man, and he can't count on it.

The officials discussed that at this time, there were many people who had taken refuge in the city, and the slightest carelessness would lead to a civil uprising. He ordered the teachings and teachings of the Lord Bo and County to open a porridge shed in front of the Confucian Temple, and boiled dry grass tea for drinking. Originally, Wu Daling also wanted to kill a person Liwei, but was dissuaded by Liu Jinshi, saying that it was not appropriate to kill people at this time, lest Liwei fail to provoke a civil uprising, but the board was beaten more diligently, and the crackling sound of bamboo and meat and the screams of upside-down friezes and eggs could be heard all over the street begging for mercy. The common people were silent in the cold wind of the autumn night.

At this time, in the north of the city, in a narrow alley behind the county office, some houses were lit up with faint lights. There was silence in the courtyard. There is a lantern at the mouth of the well, and next to the lantern are several iron boxes. A man and a woman sat on the bluestone strip of the well platform, staring blankly at a tall kapok plant by the well platform, and did not squeak for a long time. The autumn night was already cold, and they were all dressed in felt.

The man fastened the boxes with a piece of rope, put them down one by one, and when the boxes were in the water, he shook the buckles away, and only heard a sound in the well, and then disappeared.

The woman stood aside, shook her long skirt, and finally spoke, "Is it safe here?" When I think about it, I feel terrified—this is the ...... of generations of our family."

The middle-aged man sneered, bent down and moved the lantern, and said in a low voice: "The thief is to break the city, and it is not a matter of day and night to dig up this well, it is extremely deep below, and there is no such grab button, unless it is a fairy, it can be scooped up." ”

He thought for a moment, unloaded the iron piece of the grab buckle and hid it under the kapok tree, and rolled the rope up. He said to the woman: "You will take the head of the family back to your mother's house early tomorrow morning, and I will stay in the city with Cheng Xuan." ”

"What about you?"

"Afraid? With brothers to maintain, it is not difficult to escape even if the city is broken. Cheng Xuan is a student of the county school and can't go. Master Wu has already seen that our family is not pleasing to the eye, if Cheng Xuan runs away, he will definitely find this reason to get rid of his fame. ”

He stood up and clapped his hands: "Just now I asked the Lai brothers to send money to Wu Ling." I also donated 20 taels, and I personally gave another 10 taels ......"

"Thirty taels?!" The woman exclaimed, and her distress was palpable.

"Hehe, don't worry, madam." The man had a determined look on his face, "If the city is not broken, look at the face of these thirty taels, the autumn grain package of the county Guodu this year can fall into my hands again, and the profit will be great." If the city is broken......" he smiled, "I have dozens of brothers in my hands, and it won't be difficult to get out again." ”

He looked at the starless night sky: "Hmph, am I the ordinary person who is panicking?" ”