"Ladies and gentlemen, there are a few words, and the lower officials don't know whether to say it or not." Similar words came out of Lu Jin's mouth, but this time he was facing not only Hua Qianfeng, but also several officials with the highest official positions and the greatest power in Hangzhou and even Zhejiang.

Sitting in the middle, his face was a little cold, just in the prime of his life, Huang Qinru, the political envoy of Zhejiang Chengxuan, was sitting on his left hand, looking more elegant, but he was in charge of the large and small prison cases on the ground in Zhejiang, as well as He Huizhou, the procurator of important positions such as Minzhuang and the Inspection Department, and the one sitting on the right was Song Jianfei, the commander of Zhejiang with a red face and a military uniform!

What Lu Zhen is facing at this time is the leader of the three major military and political affairs departments in Zhejiang now, unless the imperial court appoints a high-ranking official to serve as the governor of Zhejiang at this time, otherwise they are the people with the highest status and the greatest power here.

Hua Qianfeng went and returned just now, and told the three of them that there were some different opinions from his subordinates who needed to be reported to a few people, and Song Jianfei seemed a little unimpressed, and he was also in a hurry to send people to search for those Japanese robbers near Ningbo Mansion. It was Huang and He who felt the need to listen to different opinions that allowed Lu Zhen to come in and speak.

And after seeing that Lu Jian was such a young official, Song Jianfei's brows were even more furrowed: "Lu Tongju, now that the military situation is urgent, I don't have time to listen to what polite words you say here." If you have any opinions, just say it. ”

"Yes, Lu Tongju, today's military situation is like fire, don't be too disciplined, it doesn't hurt to say it directly." He Huizhou also smiled at Lu Jin. He still has a good impression of Lu Jin, if it weren't for this person's timely action in the matter of Chang Wenyu before, I am afraid that he will have to bear a lot of responsibility as a prosecutor.

Lu Zhen clenched his fists at this time: "In this way, the lower official will say it directly." Just now, the prefect also mentioned our arrangement to the lower officials, and on the surface, there is really no problem. However, have you ever thought about it, but there is still a difference between the Japanese and the thieves we are facing this time and those who only know how to loot places in the past. The way they took Ningbo alone was something that ordinary grass cowards could do. ”

"What do you want to say?" Song Jianfei frowned again.

"What the lower officials mean is that we must not underestimate them, whether it is their means or their goals." Lu Zhen paused for a moment and said, "Judging from the information I got before, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Longshan Institute were killed by a surprise attack by more than a hundred Japanese people, which is very interesting. We have also paid attention to the Japanese in the coastal areas of Zhejiang in the past, and it is impossible for them to gather so many real Japanese people. Therefore, in the opinion of the following officials, there was more than one group of Japanese invaders who attacked Ningbo this time. ”

"What does that mean?" Song Jianfei picked up the teacup in his hand and drank the remnants of tea inside: "Do you want to say that they have a lot of troops?" ”

"This is only one aspect, and the most important thing is, if it is really two or more Japanese groups that have joined forces to make such a disturbance, will they take such a big risk just to rescue the chief of one of the Japanese bandits?" Lu Zhen put forward his opinion with a solemn expression.

This time, Song Jianfei's expression finally became solemn: "You mean, these wouldn't stop capturing Ningbo?" ”

"The officials are not sure of this, but judging from the current military situation, we must be careful to guard against them not only attacking Ningbo, but will once again repeat their old tricks to attack and harass other state capitals in Zhejiang, and even plunder." Lu Zhen said, and glanced at Huang Qinru again: "My lord, what the lower officials are most worried about is that they will even set the final goal in Hangzhou!" ”

"It can't be!" All three officials denied it almost at the same time. Then, He Huizhou said: "After all, Lu Tong sentenced you to have only been in Hangzhou for a long time, and you don't know enough about some things. This Hangzhou city is different from Ningbo, not to mention only a few hundred Japanese robbers, even if an army of 100,000 comes to attack, don't think about breaking the city! ”

Song Jianfei also nodded in agreement, but his tone was better than just now: "You said that he would fight Jiaxing, Shaoxing and other places, I can still agree with the idea, but if they want to attack me in Hangzhou, this is too unrealistic." ”

Lu Zhen did not change his opinion because of this, and continued: "Maybe it's just a momentary worry about the officials, but some things still have to be said. Although Hangzhou is a fortified city, this is only a prerequisite for the enemy's strong attack, what if they use extraordinary means? For example, if you break it into pieces again, sneak into the territory of our Hangzhou Mansion early, kill and plunder everywhere, and lead our defenders out to search. At the same time, let some of the Japanese accomplices disguise themselves as ordinary people to infiltrate the city, and find an opportunity to cooperate with the outside world...... Ningbo City was captured by thousands of Japanese invaders because of this, so it was necessary to guard against it. ”

Lu Jin's reminder really made everyone's expressions become solemn. The three officials made eye contact with each other for a moment, and then nodded unconsciously. Huang Qinru even said: "Song Dusi, in fact, they don't need to do anything in my Hangzhou, our garrison in the city is planning to divide a part and rush to the vicinity of Ningbo?" If it is really as Lu Tong said, I am afraid that the garrison in the city will be even thinner. ”

Before Song Jianfei nodded, He Huizhou had already followed: "And if they really burn, kill, plunder, and kill the people of Hangzhou like they did near Ningbo City, I'm afraid that the responsibility of us officials is not light." ”

Song Jianfei was silent for a moment, and finally nodded and admitted: "Yes, this is indeed my negligence, I only thought about exterminating the Japanese invaders, but I forgot to protect myself." If it weren't for Lu Tongju's timely reminder, they might have really fallen into their way. As he spoke, he bowed to Lu Jin.

Lu Jin hurriedly stood up and returned the salute. The other party's official position is much higher than his own, and of course he doesn't dare to hold it up. But he continued: "So the lower officials think that in addition to sending troops to Ningbo to help exterminate the Japanese invaders, we also have to put a greater heart on self-preservation." Whether it is to keep Hangzhou from repeating the mistakes of Ningbo, or to protect the lives of the people of Hangzhou. ”

"Hmm...... This garrison force, I still have enough to draw in the Zhejiang Metropolitan Division. However, when it comes to protecting the people outside the city, it is a little difficult. Song Jianfei said with some embarrassment.

He is not shirking his responsibilities by saying this, but there are real difficulties. In addition to a few major county towns under Hangzhou Prefecture, there are countless villages and towns scattered in the countryside, if these places have to send troops to guard and protect, not to mention that he Song Jianfei can only mobilize more than 20,000 people, even ten times more, I am afraid it will not be enough.

In this regard, Huang Qinru immediately had an idea: "So far, the only way to temporarily take these people into Hangzhou City or other nearby counties is to take refuge temporarily." It's a bit of a waste of money to do that, but it's better than letting them be killed by the pirates. ”

"Your Excellency is wise!" Lu Zhen hurriedly praised, this is also the only solution he can come up with. Originally, I was worried that this stupid method would be rejected by them, but now that the political envoys have opened their mouths, it is naturally no longer a problem.

"It's just that it's not easy for so many people to move into the city." He Huizhou frowned a little embarrassed: "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the people outside don't know about Ningbo, how can they listen?" ”

"This can only rely on the government to come forward and make it clear to them. I think the people always know what is important. Compared to his own life, this journey is nothing. Lu Jin hurriedly spoke.

"What do you two adults think?" Huang Qinru looked at the two colleagues and asked.

"I just had to give it a try. However, there must not be many people we can draw, and the three of us must sit in Hangzhou to think that everything is perfect, this errand to persuade the people to come to the city......" He Huizhou kept rolling his eyes on Lu Zhen as he spoke.

Lu Zhen still didn't understand what he meant. In fact, he had already planned to come forward on his own after he had this idea. After all, some officials at this time always held their own shelves, and they were also unclear when explaining the intentions of the government to the people, which could easily arouse the suspicion of the people. And this time there was really no room for hesitation, so no official could be more suitable than himself to persuade the people outside the city to avoid Hangzhou.

Without any embarrassment or hesitation, Lu Zhen got up again and clenched his fists: "If a few adults can trust the lower officials, the people outside Hangzhou will be responsible for persuading them to enter the city!" ”

"Okay, Lu Tong is really a person who is loyal to the country, and this official admires it!" Huang Qinru immediately praised it, and at the same time, he handed over this errand to Lu Jin.

The other two had no better choice for this arrangement, and they both glanced at Lu Zhen approvingly. This young official is not only sober and thoughtful, but also brave enough to do things, so that the subordinates really make them feel very happy.

Song Jianfei thought for a while, and then said: "That's it, there are really not many soldiers and horses that my subordinates can draw, so I will give you 200 people as guards, so as to win the trust of the people, and if you really match the Japanese Kou, you can also take care of them." ”

"Thank you, sir." Lu Zhen thanked again, with 200 officers and soldiers, he finally felt more at ease. Otherwise, if you only take those errands or guards from the prefect's yamen out, it will be really difficult to deal with if you really encounter the Japanese invaders.

When the matter was decided, Lu Zhen did not stay any longer, and hurriedly returned to the mansion, and dispatched some capable men to go out of the city with him. And when he gathered all those errand soldiers, there were already two teams of morale-filled officers and soldiers waiting outside the yamen.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen hurriedly went out and said a few polite words to the two hundred households who led the team, and then took everyone out of the city. As for the original decision to go to Suzhou, I can only postpone it for a few days for the time being, and wait for this matter.

And when he led people to rush out of the city, the city of Hangzhou was already looking like a mountain rain was coming, and the people's faces were no longer happy before, and they were all preoccupied, and they didn't know what the next situation would be.

Among these people with worried faces, there were a few figures with a bit of excitement in their eyes, especially when they saw Lu Zhen leave the city, there was even a trace of killing intent in their eyes!