As long as it is the year of the township examination and the general examination, the Binxing ceremony will be held, and it is led by the local respected gentry, and the only difference between this year and previous years is that it is several months in advance.

Because the Yimao Branch Township Test in August this year had both liberal arts and martial arts, Du Xingyuan, the prefect of Chóng Qìng, and Xiangqing, the magistrate of Ba County, divided into two groups early in the morning, one led the local gentry, local students, and businessmen from the eight provinces to worship at the Confucian Temple, and the other led the local gentry, local martial artists, and some businessmen from the eight provinces to worship at the Wumiao. After the worship, he rushed to Dongchuan Academy, met with Cao Shuzhong, the Taoist platform, and Duan Dazhang, the outgoing political envoy of Gansu, and then sat down to discuss Binxing matters.

Han Xiufeng didn't want and didn't want to join in the excitement, so he simply invited He Yong, the general manager of Zuoying Qianqian in Chóng Qìng Town, and Guan Ban's first uncle to come over to help take care of foreign guns and gunpowder leads, and then took Chen Hu, Ge Erxiao, and Chen Bupanic and other brothers who came to Ba County for the first time to go shopping.

Ba County is not big, it is not small, and it is a mountain city built on the mountain. Walk and rest, find a teahouse when you are thirsty and sit down to drink a bowl of tea, meet a neighbor you recognize, stop for a while, and unknowingly go shopping for a day.

When night fell, I returned to my new home behind the Huguang Hall, and I was surprised to find that there was a table of wine in the main hall, He Yong, Guan Bantou, Du San, and Pan Er were sitting in the Zuohua Hall playing cards while waiting for them to come back to eat.

"It's so rich, you can tell at a glance that it wasn't made by my sister-in-law." Han Xiufeng looked at the table full of wine and food and said.

"How can the family do this, it was sent by the chief of Huguang." Guan Bantou put down the card and got up with a smile.

"Jiang Zonghai sent it?"

"Today, the businessmen of the eight provinces hosted a banquet at the Huguang Guild Hall for Lord Cao, Lord Duan, Du Futai, Jiang Tongzhi, Wang Shi of the Approval Institute, the county lord and the gentry and students who participated in the Binxing ceremony. Thirty-six tables were set up, and even the husbands of the tea gang and the Sichuan gang were invited! ”

"So, the hall at the door is full of friends at this time, and it's very lively."

"Fourth brother, you came back from the back, if you come back from the front, you will know how lively it is." Pan Er smiled and said, "They also just opened the banquet over there, and Uncle Wang came back before the banquet, and hurried over when he saw that you were not there." ”

"Did Uncle Wang say anything?"

"Said," without waiting for Pan Er to speak, Du San said with a fluttering eyebrow: "This time, the businessmen of the eight provinces have made a lot of blood, not only pledged more than 8,000 taels of silver at the Binxing meeting to fund the Wensheng martial arts students who are taking the exam this year. He also promised that no matter which student was given insurance in the future, he would have to discuss with the local gentry first. He even plans to compile the student status with the local gentry in case anyone borrows his or her nationality to take the exam, and the number of places in Chamba County and even Chóng Qìng Prefecture is in place. ”

"Unsurprisingly, they just don't want others to take advantage of it." Han Xiufeng thought for a while, sat down and said: "Liangjiang, Huguang, Liangguang have long hair, Guizhou has bandits, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and other provinces students may not be able to pass the exam this year, it is said that Hunan and Guangxi have stopped a subject, although it is said that there will be a supplementary subject in the future, but it has been three years and three years, and those students have a few more three years to wait." ”

Chen Hu reacted and couldn't help laughing: "Fourth Master, are you saying that those merchants from the eight provinces don't want Wensheng Wusheng from other provinces to come to Sichuan to take the exam?" ”

"Do you still need to ask, there are so many places in total, if all the scholars and martial artists from Hunan, Hubei and other places go to Sichuan to take the exam, it will be more difficult for their children to gain fame than now." Han Xiufeng beckoned everyone to sit and asked with a smile, "What else did Uncle Wang say?" ”

Uncle Wang said that today's Binxing meeting not only discussed how to fund this year's civil and military students, but also discussed how to recruit regiments to bravely prevent and block bandits in the afternoon. At the beginning, he planned to recruit 2,000 regiments from the street regiments, fang regiments, Xiang regiments and township regiments in Ba County, Jiangbei, Bishan and Jiangjin to help Qijiang. Later, Lord Cao said that it was better to blindly prevent and blockade than to enter and suppress, anyway, even if there was a war, it had to be fought in Guizhou, and the war could not spread to our eastern Sichuan, Lord Duan, Master Gong and the two Master Wu felt that it made sense, and finally agreed to recruit and train 4,000 villagers, send 3,000 to Guizhou to help the officers and soldiers quell the chaos, and leave 1,000 to garrison Qijiang to ensure that nothing goes wrong. ”

"How much does it cost to recruit 4,000 villagers?"

Du San said with a smile: "Food and salary are not a thing, Uncle Wang said that even the charter has been drawn up, Ba County Baojia Bureau assists 20,000 taels every year, Qijiang assists 20,000 taels every year, Jiangbei, Bishan, Jiangjin, Tongliang County, Hezhou, Changshou, Yongchuan and other prefectures and counties each cooperate with 4,000 taels. Alternate Tongzhi, that is, Qian Houde, who had just been acting as the Tongzhi of the Jiangbei Department last year, was appointed as the chief grain station, Wu Kuixiang Wu Lao and Chóng Qìng Town Youying guerrilla Yang Biao assisted in the camp affairs, and Huguang Ke Changjiang Zonghai and Wu Junxiang Wu were stationed in Ba County and Qijiang respectively to assist in the transfer of ordnance and food. ”

Han Xiufeng muttered: "Ba County is the richest, and Qijiang is the most critical, so these two counties have more points, and the other dozen prefectures and counties have fewer scattered halls, adding up to 90,000 taels a year, if you don't count the procurement of ordnance, it is enough to raise 4,000 soldiers." ”

"Fourth brother, this table is not so delicious." Pan Er couldn't help but smile: "Brother Du just now only talked about the two masters of the general grain station and the assistant camp affairs, and he didn't say anything about the camp officer. ”

"Who's the battalion officer?" Han Xiufeng asked subconsciously.

"You, except for you, Baturu, who was ordered to help with the regimental training, look at the entire Sichuan East Province who is qualified to be the officer of this battalion." Pan Er smiled and said, "There are many people in the Zhentai Yamen who want to be this battalion officer, but they have never been in battle, how dare Lord Cao and Lord Duan let them lead the troops." ”

Zhou Shansong, the manager of the Provincial Department of Torture, said with a smile: "Zhixing, this is what everyone expects." When Lao Wang said that Lord Duan proposed that you be in charge of the 'Yuyong Battalion', the local gentry such as Lord Cao, Du Futai, County Lord and Master Gong, as well as the guest chiefs of the eight provinces such as Jiang Zonghai and Guan Yunzhong, had no objection, and they all said that you were the only one who was selected as the camp officer. ”

"They really look down on me."

"You can't lead troops to fight and can do Baturu, not to mention that you were ordered to return to your hometown to help organize regimental training."

Thinking that there were soldiers to lead and that he could show his strength, Chen Hu said excitedly: "Fourth master, this is a good thing, isn't it just to lead troops to fight, and we haven't led soldiers to fight." Besides, that's 4,000 soldiers, more than when we were in Gu'an! ”

"Yes, Fourth Master, this is really a great thing!" Ge Erxiao was also excited.

For Han Xiufeng, this is also expected.

After all, the selection of battalion officers must first consider what the emperor will think after he knows, compared to the tens of thousands of long hairs, four thousand township warriors do not seem to be much, but on the side of the imperial court, there are a lot of four thousand township braves, and there are not so many soldiers under the general soldiers of Chóng Qìng Town.

Let Han Xiufeng be a battalion officer is different, first, there is an edict to help organize group training, second, to "know the roots", and more importantly, this battalion officer will do it for two or three years at most, and when the mourning system is completed, he will "step down", and there will be no big deal. Thinking of this, Han Xiufeng couldn't help but smile and said, "I haven't agreed yet." ”

"Four babies, this is a real entrusted responsibility, why don't you agree?" Guan asked eagerly.

"Because they have made their name too loud, they are preparing to build it, so they have thought about what to call it 'Yuyong Battalion', and when they are ready to build, they will become 'Yuyong' or even 'Yujun'!"

"Second brother, what's wrong with the name 'Yuyong Battalion'?" Du San asked rhetorically, and said vigorously: "When Xiang Shuai was in Hubei, he recruited fellow villagers to build a 'Sichuan Yong Battalion', and I was the general manager of the 'Sichuan Yong Battalion' for a few days at that time, but later the food and salary could not be paid, so I had to be dismissed and dismissed. ”

"What Xiang Shuai can do doesn't mean that I can do it too, people are afraid of being famous, pigs are afraid of being strong, anyway, I don't think it's appropriate to call it 'Yuyong Battalion'."

"What's that called?"

"Eat first, and we'll talk about other things."

……

Wine is good wine, and food is even better food.

But because everyone was worried that Han Xiufeng was unwilling to take on this errand, they didn't eat very happily at a meal. Just when He Yong and others were changing the law to persuade each other, Cao Shuzhong's family sent an invitation, saying that he had invited him to the Provincial Affairs Bureau to discuss important matters.

Han Xiufeng realized that the time for a showdown had come, weighed it again, and led Chen Hu and Ge Erxiao to the Provincial Department overnight. Following the Cao family to the second hall, not only Duan Dazhang was there, but also Du Xingyuan, the prefect of Chóng Qìng, and the Wu family brothers were also there.

After sitting down and greetings, Cao Shuzhong arched his hand and said: "Zhixing, you must have heard about recruiting young people to raise food and salaries to help Qijiang, in front of your uncle, Cao Mou has a reluctant request, I want to ask you to be the battalion officer of the 'Yuyong Battalion', I don't know what you think?" ”

"Brother Zhixing, leading the troops to fight is not for anything else, we really can't think of a more suitable person except you!" The bandits have already begun to attack Qijiang, and Wu Junxiang is really anxious.

Han Xiufeng turned sideways to look at Duan Dazhang, who was silent, and said apologetically: "The matter of commanding the 'Yuyong Battalion' is not trivial, and Shu Xiufeng does not dare to obey his fate." If you just plan to let Xiufeng lead regiments from all over the country to rush to Qijiang to deal with the blockage, Xiufeng is willing to do his best. ”

"What's the difference?" Wu Junxiang asked puzzled.

"It's a big difference!" Han Xiufeng arched his hand and said bluntly: "First, Xiufeng is only ordered to help organize group training, not to train Xiangyong. Second, if this 'Yuyong Battalion' is really to be built, should you listen to the dispatch of Titai at that time? As far as I know, the imperial court not only ordered the Sichuan Governor Wanfu to lead troops to Guizhou to quell the rebellion, but also ordered all the officers and soldiers in Guizhou to be brought under the command of Wanfu. ”

Cao Shuzhong reacted suddenly, thinking that the four thousand villagers who had been trained by the prefectures and counties of Chóng Qìng Prefecture had been snatched away by Wanfu, wouldn't it be a wedding dress for someone else. At that time, there will be no credit at all, if Changmao really goes up the river, he can't transfer the four thousand township Yong back to prevent blockage.

Thinking of this, Cao Shuzhong turned around and said, "Brother Zhuoyun, Zhixing's worries are not unreasonable, it seems that we are not considering. ”

Duan Dazhang nodded slightly, put down the teacup and asked, "Zhixing, then what do you think is the most appropriate name?" ”

Xiufeng thought that he didn't want a name, so he summoned Ba County, Jiangbei, Bishan, Jiangjin and other places to train and gallop to help Qijiang. The regimental training is not a brave battalion, let alone a green battalion or the Eight Banners, if the battle is won, there will be an attack, and if the battle is lost, it is difficult for others to say anything. What's more important is that these 4,000 brave men will not be transferred back and forth by a piece of paper, no matter if they encounter long-haired western criminals or traitors in the future, you and Du Futai will be able to deal with it calmly, and there will be no soldiers available. ”

"So there is no need to go into the crackdown, as long as you hold the Qijiang River and use these 4,000 brave men as my guerrilla division in eastern Sichuan?"

"Lord Cao, Xiufeng thinks that Guizhou still has to go, firstly, the soldiers who do not experience the battle formation are useless no matter how they practice, and secondly, there are so many places at the junction of Qijiang and Tongzi, and there are many four thousand townsmen, but it is obviously far from enough to be stationed in every place, it will only be impossible to prevent it, and it will even give the bandits a chance to break through."

"And what are you going to do?" Wu Junxiang asked eagerly.

Han Xiufeng said without thinking: "We are different from Wanfu, he has the emperor's order, to lead all the officers and soldiers in Guizhou to suppress the thieves and quell the chaos, the bandits will not be able to collect troops for a day if they are not exterminated, if the bandits are allowed to enter Hunan, Yunnan or Sichuan, he will definitely be reprimanded by the emperor or even dismissed."

Lord Cao, you and Du Futai are just responsible for defending the territory, I, Han Xiufeng and Brother Wu, just want to keep our hometown safe, the bandits in Guizhou have nothing to do with us, as long as we make sure that those bandits will not infiltrate the prefectures and counties in eastern Sichuan. Therefore, Xiufeng thought that as long as he sent 3,000 Xiangyong to help the new Tongzi Zhixian to defend Tongzi County, and at the same time help clear the bandits in Tongzi, the remaining 1,000 Xiangyong would be stationed at several key passes at the junction of Qijiang and Tongzi to prevent the remaining bandits from entering Qijiang. ”

Thinking of the terrain of Guizhou, this bandit is really not so easy to level, and if it is not good, it will do more mistakes, Cao Shuzhong muttered: "The soldiers are out, but only go to Tongzi, this is also a way." Moreover, the Songkan waterway is navigable, and the food and salary needed to suppress the thieves can be transported by Qijiang ship to Tongzi Songkan Wharf for landing, and it is not so troublesome to transfer. ”

Duan Dazhang felt that it was not enough to be safe, so he crossed his arms and asked: "Zhixing, if the bandits in Zunyi and other places become more and more intense, and the bandits are getting bigger and bigger, can three or four thousand soldiers be able to defend Tongzi?" ”

"It depends on how big those bandits can be, if they are like Changmao, they can easily reach tens of thousands, even if they can hold Tongzi County, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not invade my eastern Sichuan." Han Xiufeng thought for a while, and then said: "If you want to be safe, then go two hundred miles further south to help the officials and troops of Guizhou to defend Loushan Pass, as long as you can hold Loushan Pass, as long as you can help Guizhou exterminate the bandits north of Loushan Pass, I can sit back and relax." ”

Cao Shuzhong's eyes lit up: "Zhixing, as far as I know, a large number of bandits have either gone south or east, those who went east went to Tongren, Sinan, Shiqian, Meitan, Weng'an and other places, and those who went south went to Kaiyang and other prefectures and counties on the periphery of Guiyang. Although Qianbei is the nest of thieves, there are not many thieves, and it is not impossible to seize Loushan Pass and block the bandits south of Loushan Pass! ”

It is an important pass on the Sichuan-Guizhou traffic artery, known as the first dangerous point in northern Guizhou, known as "a husband is a pass, ten thousand people are not open". As long as we can seize the Loushan Pass and hold the Loushan Pass, it is not only a great achievement, but also a guarantee of the safety of eastern Sichuan.

Han Xiufeng realized that he still wanted to fight for military merits, and muttered: "If Xiufeng is not mistaken, Loushan Pass is more than 160 miles away from Songkan, there is no waterway to go, and the ordnance and food are all dependent on people, horses and camels, and there are thieves and thieves in Tongzi, who can guarantee that the grain road will not be broken." ”

Du Xingyuan, the prefect of Chóng Qìng, also felt that this was an opportunity to make a contribution, and couldn't help but arch his hand: "Lord Cao, Lord Duan, in the opinion of the following officials, the post shop in Tongzi was destroyed by bandits, we can help rebuild, thieves are everywhere, and the remaining bandits are rampant, we can help suppress them!" As for the transfer of grain and salary, it is not a big deal, isn't it just more than 160 miles, and it is only three or four days by foot. Xia Guan is convinced that with the power of the 14 prefectures and counties of the Chóng Qìng Prefecture, he will definitely be able to return Tongzi to a bright future! ”