The style is the uniform of the green battalion, but the material is the fine cloth of the Jiangnan weaving mill, the feet are cloth shoes, and the legs are wrapped in the convenient leggings of the British and Chinese army. The cool hat on his head was also wrapped in tung oilcloth made in Yangjiang, and everyone was carrying an oilcloth bag cross-body, which was loaded with musket ammunition, Xie Dingbei's mouth was slurking. This "city ding" of the Hengzhou City Guard Association is much more glamorous and neat than the ordinary green battalion soldiers.

This is just what he was wearing, he took the musket held by one person, weighed the weight, broke the faucet with great skill, flicked the trigger, and looked carefully at the barrel that was tightly held by the copper hoop, Xie Dingbei confirmed that this was not a self-made Minyong musket in Hunan, but a musket made by the Yinghua folk iron workshop last year. In the past, some scholars in China exposed in the newspaper that businessmen were smuggling muskets to the Tatar Qing, and it should be these replacement products.

The British and Chinese army changed into Yongli-style muskets, more than 20,000 of these muskets are no longer useful, even the internal guards and the people in the territory are unwilling to use them, but they can be sold to the north, but they are much stronger than the bird guns in the hands of the Qing soldiers and even the Hunan people's self-made muskets, and a pair of five or six taels of silver is also a big business of more than 100,000 taels of silver.

This is in the wasteland outside Zhanyue Gate in the north of Hengzhou Fucheng, Xie Dingbei and Jiang Dedao and other battalion lieutenant generals are "reviewing" Hengzhou City Ding. Although Xie Jiang and the others were all dressed as civilians, these two or three hundred city soldiers held their heads high, did not squint, and did not dare to slack off at all. These dozens of people said that they were the guards of the Qingtian Company, and they came here to rectify the city defense. With this name, they don't dare to slack off. After all, his salary is from the Hengzhou City Guard, and Qingtian Company is the big proprietor of the City Guard.

In addition to this name, people with a little insight have also spread the identity of these people on another level, Qingtian Siwei? Is it the current or the previous one? The former Qingtian Siwei, that is the current Anglo-Chinese army!

After the Yizhang War last year, the northern court abandoned Hengzhou Mansion, and the prefect and Hengyang Zhixian all ran away. Originally, the people of Hengzhou were waiting to welcome the "Wang Division" in the south, but they didn't want the British and Chinese troops to stop in Leiyang. The people in the city either fled north or returned south, and the rest of the people were in a panic, but they ushered in the Qingtian Company.

In the past six months or so, Hengzhou seems to have become a paradise, and without seeing the government, it relies on the autonomy of various clubs pulled up by Qingtian Company. The merchants of the Qing court in the north and the Yinghua in the south did a lot of business here, and now it is said that the capital city of Hengzhou is even more lively than before. Most of them were former Hunan Minyong, and they could also earn one or two taels of silver a month on this errand, and they brought some rice and grain, thinking that it would be best to continue this peace.

But recently, there have been rumors that the northern court is coming back, and they are talking about it, and they don't know how to deal with it. In my heart, the previous year Qianyao stirred them up in Hunan and sold their lives, and even burned and buried the pension silver afterwards, plus the British and Chinese army in the south was one as ten, and won all battles, this trade-off, three-year-old children know which side to choose.

But most of them are countrymen, who know the general trend of the world, they feel that the court in the north is the emperor after all, but there is only one king in the south, and the emperor is bigger than the king. And the north has ruled the world for decades, the Kangxi Emperor on the dragon chair seems to be immortal, the ancestors were the emperors who "ate bran and drank thin" when they were young, and now the ancestors are old and dead, and the Kangxi Emperor is still sitting steadily, so what Yinghua Heavenly King can really defeat the Kangxi Emperor?

The northern court, as well as the name of Emperor Kangxi, has been deeply imprinted in their minds since they were children, and the prestige is too heavy, and they don't have the courage to ask these city soldiers to openly serve Yinghua.

So, the vast majority of people think, how good is it to just stay out of the matter and only deal with thieves and thieves?

It's a pity that the times are pushing people, and the important members of the "Qingtian Siwei" appeared, and they can only accept the "review" as subordinates.

Looking at the messy posture of these city soldiers, and seeing the hesitant looks on their faces, Xie Dingbei felt something, and turned his eyes to the "management team" of this city soldier, a short and sturdy man who was about the same age as him.

"Zhang Zhennan, the North Sentinel Team of Hengzhou City, has seen an adult!"

The man trotted all the way over and signed up, Xie Dingbeile, I Dingbei, you Zhennan, we are really a couple. Seeing this Zhennan's eyebrows and posture, his heart suddenly moved.

"You...... That's how you treat Shangguan? ”

Xie Dingbei's chin was raised to one side, his gaze swept obliquely into the air from Zhennan's cool hat, his waist was straightened, his left hand was behind his back, and his right hand was void and he made a flirtatious gesture. That Zhang Zhennan almost reacted intuitively, his waist softened suddenly, and he patted his sleeve, and a neat and neat beating Qian Please An Li was unfolded, until his knee hit the ground, and then he woke up.

"It used to be the city guard, or where was it from Tangkou?"

Xie Dingbei winked at Jiang Dedao next to him, which meant to say, look, let's take out a green battalion as an official! Jiang Dedao was so flattered by his boss's flattering eyes that he turned his stomach, although he was a subordinate, he was also the mentor of the Heavenly Punishment Society in the camp. Xie Dingbei, a member of the Holy Martial Arts Association, was his boss during the war, but Ping said that he always flicked his tail in front of him, which made him very annoyed.

"The small one was originally the general manager of the city guard camp, and the big one was ...... Big ......"

That Zhang Zhennan didn't know if he was frightened, or if he didn't figure out which side this Shangguan was, so he stammered.

"You used to call me sir, but now...... It's a different name. ”

Xie Dingbei really has a heart, he used to be a general of the Huguang Army, and now he is the commander of the rear battalion of the Huben Army, no matter which identity he is, he has full official authority in front of this guy.

However, he doesn't want to take this title anymore, and the Anglo-Chinese army is now directly called by rank or military position, for example, the lower levels in the army call him Commander Xie, and the direct subordinates are directly called Commander. The word "adult" has been used as a bad name for Tartar, and no one uses it anymore.

"If there is a great army from the north, what are you going to do with yourselves?"

Xie Dingbei helped Zhang Zhennan up and asked again.

"Only...... No, only the order of the official! ”

Zhang Zhennan said vaguely, and the city soldiers also bowed their heads.

"When the Qing soldiers come, not only will you not be able to keep your jobs, but even the guys who eat will be difficult to keep!"

Xie Dingbei began to intimidate them, nagging for a while, spraying Zhang Zhennan's face full of spittle, and the city soldiers turned pale before they stopped.

"Don't talk about it, now I'll see you guys."

Then entered the actual combat link of the review, looking at this group of city soldiers who were born in the people, they were in a hurry to load and raise their guns, and they turned their heads one by one to raise their guns to shoot, and the spears on the original guns were also thrown away by them, which was useless and sinking. Most of them didn't have hand-to-hand weapons, a few had waist knives around their waists, and some were carrying pig-killing knives. Xie Ding, Beijiang Qiudao and the others only felt miserable, and it was ugly to see.

Hengzhou prefect Yamen, Xie Dingbei handed over to Luo Heng: "Meng Tong has not decided whether he wants Hengzhou or not, just let me put a nail here to see the situation first, and talk to Meng Tong when I go back." ”

Luo Heng frowned: "Let's pinch the matter of Chengding, it's hard to hide the Tatar's fine work, I don't know if Yanxin will make a move." ”

Xie Dingbei sneered: "How dare that guy come to seize Hengzhou......"

After Yinzhen's army marched north, Yanxin, the rebellious general who stayed in Changsha, had insufficient troops, so he retreated to Changsha and held on. In addition, Kangxi wanted to play fishing, and wanted to push the Tiger Ben Army to control Meng Kui to occupy Hengzhou, so that he could be separated from Li Xian, so he never had any idea about Hengzhou.

Now, although the Qing court has shown signs of making a move, the Yinzhen army has not yet come, up to Li Xi and down to Xie Dingbei, and does not feel that Yanxin has the courage and strength to seize Hengzhou.

In view of the fact that the Qing court was ready to move in Hunan, Li Xi arranged the plan of the Yulin army on the one hand, and on the other hand, issued instructions to Meng Kui of the Tiger Ben army to choose a place to hold and dispose of the camera. To Hengzhou in the north and Chenzhou in the south, Meng Kui decided by himself. For this reason, Meng Kui began to assess the situation in Hengzhou, and the purpose of sending Xie Ding to the north was precisely this.

From the perspective of Qingtian Company, Luo Heng naturally hoped that Meng Kui could move north as soon as possible and take Hengzhou. He came to Hengzhou to contact local dignitaries and stabilize people's hearts. But Meng Kui was doing something more important, and the expansion and reorganization of the Tiger Ben Army had not yet been completed, and he was unwilling to make a big move in advance in Hengzhou, which disrupted his rules.

This delicate situation made Luo Heng a little nerve-wracking, if only those city leaders could be reliable.

"Director Luo, my personal opinion ......"

Xie Dingbei had a bright smile on his face, and he was hesitating about how to pour this basin of cold water to be the most gentle, so that this old man of Li Shi's descendants would not be annoyed. It's okay for these city soldiers to catch bandits, and it is too unreliable to expect them to resist the army based on the city.

Before the words could be spoken, a burst of gunshots came, at first Xie Dingbei thought that Jiang Qiudao and others were testing the gun or something, but the gunshots continued, and after a while, it changed from a dozen to dozens, and finally hundreds of them, or from the West Gate.

Xie Dingbei and Luo Heng looked at each other in shock, Yanxin is really here!?

"Greetings brothers, close the line! Escort Luo Sidong to retreat! ”

Xie Dingbei reacted quickly, and felt that Hengzhou should not be able to hold it, and it was too late to run away now. He came to Hengzhou just to check the situation, and there were only thirty or forty soldiers under him, but there was no way to resist the Qing army.

"Also...... There is also the priest Xu, who is outside the west of the city! ”

Luo Heng naturally wanted to run, but he also brought a Xu Lingti to Hengzhou before, it was an important person, so he couldn't lose it.

"Why is that god stick there!?"

Xie Dingbei groaned secretly, it seemed that there was no way to run first...... When Xie Dingbei arrived outside the west gate, not only gunshots, but even small cannons roared, but when he looked carefully, he was puzzled. I saw a figure in the distance outside the city, and the smoke of gunpowder was rising, but I didn't see the two armies fighting, what was going on?

"I don't know ...... under the job"

After Xie Dingbei left, Jiang Qiudao scattered his subordinates to the city, followed them to survey the city defense, and inspected the riverside by himself, coming later than Xie Dingbei.

"Gather your subordinates ......"

Xie Dingbei waved his hand, but froze in mid-air, they came dressed as merchant guards, but they didn't bring any drums and trumpets.

"But this city is very lively, and his spirit is very high."

Although the situation was chaotic, they did not see the city in front of them retreating, Xie Dingbei and Jiang Qiudao were relieved and surprised.

"Hit! Hit hard! Be sure to overwhelm their movements! ”

Outside the west gate, hundreds of people gathered in several piles, and they were busy firing guns. Most of them were dressed as city soldiers, and there were a few men in ordinary clothes inside, who were Jiang Qiudao's subordinates. The ridges stretched to the west, and more than a hundred paces away was a forest, and there were also clusters of gunsmoke rising, and lead shooting from afar, occasionally splashing a few bloody flowers in the crowd.

"Second brother, beckon them to mount their guns on the dirt slope in front! Afraid of what? Tell them that the guns in the hands of the Tartars are far worse than theirs! If you hit this distance, you should be bitten by a mosquito! ”

"Fei Xiaoqi, drag the injured ones out, take the cloth and plug their mouths, and let them stop calling! It's just a little skin, and our army doesn't scream as loudly as they break their legs and arms! ”

"Wei Huzi! Huang Mazi hasn't brought the wing commander here, you can go again! ”

A man who looked like an official was looking in all directions, dancing and directing.

"Hou Shangguan! Our brother is here again, you see how you want to arrange it! ”

A city soldier shouted at the man.

"Go south! Occupy those rooms and hit those grandchildren from the side! ”

The man surnamed Hou had an arrangement in an instant, and the gang of city soldiers obediently took the order and left.

"Kill those old sycophants of Bao Qingxie!"

"We Hengzhou people are not easy to bully!"

The citykeepers shouted excitedly.

(To be continued)