Xu Ying gathered more than 4,000 young men in just a few days, of which more than 1,000 were the families of the gentry and merchants in the city. He believed in the gentry and merchants more than the green battalion soldiers and the government officers.

It's one thing for young people to be summoned, but it's another thing to be able to fight.

He personally sat on the city tower, staring at the young men to practice, few people would put the cannons cast in the twenty-first year of Daoguang, and the few old soldiers in the garrison camp would put them but they couldn't put them accurately, and more than a dozen small cannons became a pile of decorations, which made him anxious, and he endured until it was dark and closed the city gate before returning to the state office.

"Dong Weng, the gunner is not easy to find for a while, and it is useless for you to be in a hurry." Master Yang cautiously comforted.

"If it's hard to find, you have to find it, if you can't find it, let those old soldiers lead the young man to practice every day, don't be reluctant to gunpowder, put a few more cannons and it will naturally be released, and you will have an accurate head."

"If you don't know if you let Huzi practice with them early in the morning, Huzi is smart, no matter what you learn, you will be able to learn it."

"It's okay, you go back and talk to Huzi."

Master Yang responded, and said cautiously: "Dong Weng, the Hai'an inspection inspector is here, and he didn't dare to go up to report when he saw that you were busy on the city tower." ”

"What did he come back for?" Xu Ying put down the teacup and asked.

Master Yang accepted Fang Shi's one hundred taels of silver, so he naturally wanted to help say a few good words, and said with a look of righteous indignation: "Didn't you let him go to Hai'an to hold a group practice and persuade him to donate money." He set up a regimental drill, summoned more than 40 young men to practice every day, and persuaded the local gentry to donate some money and food, but was robbed halfway to the state city! ”

Xu Ying was taken aback: "Who is so bold as being robbed?" ”

"Dong Weng is angry, it was not the thieves who robbed the money and food, but Han Zhixing!"

"Han Zhixing!"

"Didn't the salt merchant surnamed Xu run away, Han Zhixing saw that Fang Shimei personally transported the money and grain, so he used this as an excuse to ask those villagers under his command to rob Fang Shimei of the five thousand taels of silver and five hundred stone rice that Fang Shimei had raised with great difficulty, and said that if there was no money and food, those villagers would mutiniate if they didn't do it, so they could only make this decision."

"The surname Xu ran away, isn't there still Zhang Guangcheng and Li Changjing?"

"Dong Weng, he clearly did it on purpose," Master Yang looked back, and continued: "Fang Shimei is outside, you can see how bold Han Zhixing is." ”

"Let Fang Shimei in."

"Yes."

……

As soon as Fang Shimei walked into the signing room, he fell to his knees with a puff and cried with tears and snot.

"Master Xu, you have to make the decision for the lower officials! Han Zhixing was lawless, he not only beat the young man who transported money and grain, but even dared to beat the lower officials. There are many others, and there are shotguns, and the lower officials didn't stop them desperately......"

"Not only did he rob money and food, but he also fought a lot?"

"Look, if you don't have a big fight, your subordinates can do this?" Fang Shimei wiped away his tears, turned around and pointed outside, and said, "Of those young men who Xia Guan finally gathered, one of them was all beaten by his subordinates, and two of them had their arms discounted by his subordinates. ”

This kind of thing is indispensable, even if Fang Shimei is forced to go back to persuade those gentry, those gentry will not contribute money and food again, thinking of this, Xu Ying gritted his teeth and said: "You go back first, this official will give you an explanation sooner or later!" ”

"The lower officials are incompetent, the lower officials are incompetent, and the lower officials are ......"

"Okay, okay, you're still an official of the imperial court, and you're not afraid of making people laugh when you cry, go back to Hai'an early, don't be embarrassed in the city!"

Fang Shimei was relieved, but he didn't just leave, he retreated to the door and asked nervously: "Master Xu, there is a sentence that the lower officials don't know whether to say or not?" ”

"Say it quickly."

"Master Xu, the lower officials have inquired about Han Zhixing's details, and he ...... There are people above him, and it's okay for the lower officials to be wronged, if you offend him because of the lower officials, you can't draw it. ”

"Someone above him?" Xu Ying asked coldly.

"There are really people above him, and many people in the state know about this."

"Who are they?"

"There are two people who know the officials alone, one is Yang Futai, and the other is Qi Suzao Qi Domain, if it weren't for Yang Futai and Qi Domain, he could come to Taizhou to take office as soon as he arrived in the province?"

"Hahahaha, Yang Futai, Qi Fantai, he really found two good backers!"

"Master Xu, this is really not hearsay, the lower officials will never say half a lie."

Xu Ying slammed the case and said coldly: "Yang Wending was greedy for life and afraid of death, so he ran to Zhenjiang early regardless of Jiang Ning's safety." He thought that it would be okay to run to Zhenjiang, even if the bandits were not killed, the emperor would punish him. As for Lord Qi, he is a loyal minister and a cadre, but unfortunately he met Lu Jianying, who was greedy for life and afraid of death and incompetent, and was already martyred in Jiangning City. ”

"Ah, Lord Qi has been martyred!"

"You just know it, don't talk nonsense to others, if it spreads and shakes the hearts of the army and the people, don't blame the official for being ruthless."

"The lower officials know, and the lower officials will never talk nonsense."

Sending Fang Shimei away, Xu Ying was thinking about how to clean up Han Xiufeng's thorny head, Huzi stumbled into the signing room, and as soon as he came in, he said eagerly: "Master, it's not good, Mr. Hu was beaten by the surname Han!" ”

"What?"

"Dong Weng, Dong Weng, incompetent in his later life, and ...... in his later life"

As soon as Xu Ying stood up, several family members carried Hu Yaobai in, looking at Hu Yaobai's bloody buttocks, Xu Ying trembled with anger.

Master Yang was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Huzi, don't hurry up and find the doctor." ”

"Oh, the little one, go now."

Xu Ying calmed down, and was about to ask what was going on, Hu Yaobai held up a letter in severe pain: "Dong Weng, this is Han Xiufeng's letter to you, where is he playing late life, he is obviously disrespectful to the order, he doesn't even pay attention to Dong Weng......"

After listening to Hu Yaobai's crying, Xu Ying said with a gloomy face: "Mr. Hu, let you be wronged, go back to the room to recuperate first, and the official will visit later." ”

"Dong Weng, late born ......"

"Let's go back to the room first, this board, this official won't let you suffer in vain!" Xu Ying gritted her teeth, sat down and opened Han Xiufeng's letter.

Master Yang helped send Hu Yaobai away, leaned over and asked, "Dong Weng, what did he say?" ”

He said that Yaobai's words were disrespectful and the following offenses were just to use Yaobai's ass to establish a prestige, so that he could lead the township to rush to Yangzhou. He also admitted the matter of money and grain, saying that without money and food, there was no way to let the villagers use their lives, so he could only make this decision. Xu Ying put down the letter, and said with a gloomy face: "What else do you say that if the army of thieves and bandits is really besieging Taizhou, there are more than a dozen small cannons that are no different from nothing, rather than erecting them on the city wall, it is better to give them to him with the gunners, so that he can take the cannons to Jiangdu to intercept them." ”

"How dare he open his mouth!"

"But when I think about it, those dozen or so cannons are not very useful to keep."

Master Yang asked in a low voice, "Then to give or not to give?" ”

"Give! As long as he can block the bandits, even if he can only block it for ten days and a half months, let alone fight Yaobai's fifty big boards, let alone ask for more than a dozen small cannons, even if he wants to dismantle the state government, Xu Ying will not have a word! ”

"But will he stop it, what if he is also a greedy person who is afraid of death, and runs away when he sees the bandits?"

"It's come to this, I can only believe it." Xu Ying let out a long sigh and said helplessly: "Yaobai just said very clearly, the more than 400 townships under his command can be used very well. In the huge Taizhou, there is no one to use except him and the more than 400 villagers under him. For him, a nine-product inspection who was born as a donor, my dignified Qing army chief arrest Tongzhi has nothing to do, it's ridiculous, sad, and sad to think about! ”

"You can only bet, bet that he is a loyal minister?" Master Yang asked subconsciously.

"I can only gamble." Xu Ying's whole portrait suddenly aged ten years old, and he looked up to the sky and sighed: "The people who escaped from Jiangning said that Qi Suzao left a sentence before he died, 'The officials don't do their best, the soldiers don't need to die, the rich are stingy, the poor are stingy, although the city is big, it can't be protected', just the so-called intentional thief can't return to heaven!" It is up to people to do things, and it is up to heaven to do things, what can be done, what should be done, and even what can't be done and shouldn't be done, and whether this city can be held depends on the will of God. ”

"But he, Han Xiufeng, first robbed money and grain, and then beat Yaobai, Dong Weng, if you don't do anything, don't say anything, where is your majesty, and how can you defend this city?"

"Let the people below not chew their tongues, as long as it doesn't spread out, how will the people in the city know." Xu Ying thought for a while and said coldly: "Isn't he Qi Suzao's person, prepare a letter to tell him the news that Qi Suzao has been martyred, and write Qi Suzao's last words." Tell him that in the entire Yangzhou Mansion and even the entire Liangjiang, the only one who can avenge Qi Suzao now is him Han Xiufeng! ”

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