Chapter 546 Foolish Dreams

"Hmm,"

Ma Jinbao nodded, and sighed in a whisper, "Let's change clothes......"

"Yes."

The servant replied in a low voice, and then, as usual, carefully served his master, unloading his military uniform one by one, changing into a dark civilian robe, and then placing a bronze mirror......

Ma Jinbao approached the mirror and looked at his face fixedly.

In the mirror, his face was haggard, his beard was messy, his eyes were a little dark, his eyes were full of unwillingness, and more reluctance......

After a long time, he sighed lightly and waved his hand silently.

The servant understood, quietly opened the door, beckoned to the door, and another servant in a green coat and a small hat flashed out of the night and walked in without a sound.

Ma Jinbao turned around and sat down, looking at the two servants in front of him, who were not too old.

One of these two people was named Ma Liu, who was a personal servant who took care of his daily life; The other is named Ma Yi, who is the governor of his house.

Both of them are his old Shanxi family, they have followed him from the beginning, and they have been born and died with him for so many years, and they are loyal servants who can trust each other with life and death......

"Ma Yi, this letter, you immediately go to the West Gate to send it to Vice General Cui."

Ma Jinbao picked up a letter that had been prepared long ago from the table and commanded.

"Yes, sir."

The servant named Ma Yi immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"In the chest is a thousand taels of silver,"

Ma Jinbao pointed to a wooden box on the side and said, "When you get there, immediately hand it over to Adjutant Cui and ask him to disperse it to Sergeant Benbiao, and you must stabilize their military hearts!" ”

"Got it, sir!"

"Well, I'm sorry for you this time."

"The old man is serious, the little one must live up to his mission......"

"When you come back, you just need to stay until dawn, and you don't have to ask much about the rest of the matter, and you can find a way to survive,"

Ma Jinbao nodded and said in a deep voice, "Your family has been settled by me, and there is no worry about freezing and hunger...... If you and I still have the fate of master and servant after this battle, you go back to the old mansion in Xi County, and there will settle you. ”

"Master Xie...... Grace! ”

Ma Yi choked up a little.

"Let's go!"

Ma Jinbao waved his hand.

"Yes."

Ma Yi kowtowed again, then got up and quietly exited the door, and after a while, two black-clad and black-pants housekeepers walked in and silently carried the wooden box out......

Looking at their backs, Ma Jinbao stood up again, looked up at the night outside the window, and silently thought in his heart: "One-eyed dragon, you can't die!" ”

"Old man......"

Ma Liu behind him reminded softly.

"Got it,"

Ma Jinbao remained motionless and asked, "Everything, are they all placed?" ”

"Yes, sir,"

Ma Liu said softly, "Each person has a burden, and they are all shared." ”

"Ma Liu, if you can survive this catastrophe this time, you can also go back to your hometown......

"The little one is used to serving the master......"

Ma Liu replied cautiously, "Where the master goes, the little one is." ”

“……”

Ma Jinbao didn't speak again, just smiled miserably, turned around and left.

Ma Liu opened the door first, lit the lantern in front, and the master and servant went down the steps together......

At the foot of the steps, a group of tightly dressed but heavily armed family members were already waiting in the darkness, there were forty or fifty people, each with a small burden tied diagonally behind their backs.

When they saw their master come out, they immediately knelt down on one knee and saluted.

Ma Jinbao didn't say anything, but only took advantage of the light of the lantern to inspect one by one, and from time to time reached out to help them tighten the ties of their burdens......

These people are all old family members, and the baggage they carry is filled with gold and silver, which is the survival capital of his horse Jinbao since then.

Over the years, he has scavenged much more people's fat and ointment than these, but now that he is in danger, in a hurry, those bulky ones have to be discarded.

Ma Jinbao turned around, looked around the courtyard again, then gritted his teeth and waved his hand, and led everyone straight to the back door......

……

It was getting dark, and the generals, staff, and magistrates who had spent the night in panic and anxiety had not been summoned, but they all gathered in the antechamber of the government office.

The generals were naturally dressed in military uniforms, but the staff members were also unusual, and almost all of them wore uniforms.

It seems that these people who can only pretend to be Qiao on weekdays, but they can't offer any strategies, or smell something, and are ready to follow the military gate to break through at any time.

They probably knew that yesterday's battle for the gate was a complete defeat, and almost folded all the elite of Admiral's own standard.

As a result, thousands of troops and horses were pressed into the city, and the plan of fire attack had failed.

Everyone knows that although Admiral Ma has been shouting for coexistence with Yangzhou, but now, there is no food and grass inside and no rescuers outside, and with his consistent temperament, he will never really be trapped and sit still.

At the moment, the main force of the Ming thieves has not yet arrived, the number of people besieging the city is limited, in addition to controlling the water vital points of the west gate, the blockade on the 6 places has not yet been completed, at least it is not a problem to rush out from the north gate......

However, for some reason, the Lord of the Military Gate has not shown up until now, only his personal servant Ma Yi has appeared from time to time and ordered his subordinates to prepare items.

Ma Yi is here, and the Admiral should be there.

There are people who are familiar with Ma Yi, and quietly inquire about the "health of your body" in the military gate, and Ma Yi's answer is "The master thought about the enemy's strategy last night, and talked to a few masters, and he didn't fall asleep until the fourth watch, and he would be sleeping soundly." ”

The prefect of Yangzhou and the county commander of Jiangdu were the most depressed, and they wept and mourned, barely coping with the various demands of the staff and attachés of the Admiral's Mansion—among all the people present, they were the most bitter in their hearts.

According to the convention, everyone else can run, but they can't run, and after the city is broken, they will either commit suicide, or they will only have to "descend thieves......

The Admiral's Yamen had breakfast as usual, and a group of people were chatting and picking their teeth with tea bowls, when suddenly, a faint sound of cannons sounded outside.

The staff and magistrates who had not yet seen Admiral Ma could not help but be in a commotion.

It's all at this time, is it possible that the Lord of the Military Gate still has such a big heart, and he can't sleep when he hears the sound of cannons?

……

At this moment, although the sky is bright, Yangzhou City has become a dead city.

Inside and outside the city, every house is closed, every house is locked, not only is it terrible quiet, even the smoke is difficult to see, on the street, except for the stragglers in twos and threes, it is the people who have been recruited to defend the city.

As long as it was not a matter of burning eyebrows, the people no longer went out into the streets, lest they be looted or even killed by the rebels, and all the street gates were closed, and the rich families not only blocked the gates, but also distributed knives and guns to the servants of the household.

At this time, the green battalion soldiers in the city were already agitated and frenzied to the extreme—the fall of the city was already imminent.

Realizing that the end was approaching, the already pitiful military discipline had long been gone, and even the Zhejiang generals could no longer fully control the troops.

There are constant incidents of looting and killing civilians by the green battalion soldiers on the streets, and clashes with local Cao soldiers are also frequent from time to time.

If it weren't for the fact that there was Ma Jinbao's own pro-military camp in the city that constantly patrolled and suppressed the rebellious soldiers from time to time, I am afraid that there would have been chaos in the city......

In such a tense atmosphere, bad news came, saying that Admiral Ma did not show up until noon, and only sent his personal servants to say "physical discord".

This immediately caused panic among everyone.

After all, he is the only official in charge of Yangzhou City, if he is really "sick", there will only be Yangzhou prefect and the deputy general of the Chinese army below him......