At the south gate of Dongguan County, in a tea stall next to Guanxiang Avenue at the South Gate, Shi Guoan was leisurely drinking morning tea.

Just when the Guangfu Army rushed into the Xin'an County Ya, he also slipped through the back door. I returned to my residence and simply packed up some softness, and went out of the city through the north gate before the blockade of the Liberation Army. The county magistrate is an official of the imperial court, and he is naturally responsible for guarding the land, and he is a headhunter who does not enter the stream, but there is no need to be martyred.

After leaving the city, he didn't stop long and went straight to Dongguan. The head catcher of the Dongguan County Ya is a brother with him, and now he can only go to the latter first, and reporting to the Dongguan County Ya is also a good excuse to cover up his unauthorized departure from his post.

In an unaware gentry, he borrowed a mule for urgent official reasons, and traveled all the way, and finally rushed to Dongguan City in the dark.

Hua Yanjie, the magistrate of Dongguan, was also shocked when he heard Shi Guoan's report, four years ago, the Tiandihui rebelled and once captured the county seat, although He Liu was finally defeated and died, but the rest of the troops were still raging in Guangxi and Hunan. Now that there are two devils occupying Xin'an, Dongguan may be their next target.

"Can you see that? Is it really a two-devil? Hua Yanjie asked Shi Guoan, who was standing at the bottom, sharply.

"The villain is true, and he doesn't dare to deceive the adult. Although those thieves have short hair and wear Western clothes, they are similar to Yangyi, but their faces are no different from those of our Qing Dynasty, and they must be traitors who have taken refuge in Yangyi. Shi Guoan replied affirmatively. I have made up my mind that if those two devils come to attack Dongguan, they will run to Guangzhou again.

"Where is Lord Huang of Guixian County now?" Hua Yanjie and Huang Guangzhou also have several relationships, and they can't help but worry about the situation of their colleagues.

After Lord Huang instructed the villain to come and report the news, he went to gather the people to prepare for the enemy, and the villain was also dead for life, so he escaped from the pursuit of the two devils and escaped from the city. Lord Huang must still be dealing with those two devils in the city. "It's just a nice thing to say. Shi Guoan's implication is that Huang Guangzhou has fallen to the enemy nine times out of ten.

Hua Yanjie naturally didn't believe Shi Guoan's statement that he had died nine times in his life, and even suspected that he had escaped from the battle, but now that the enemy is present, everything should not be investigated deeply. What you want to know is already known, and there is nothing to do with Shi Guoan. "Go down first! This official will pass you on if you have something to inquire about. Then he discussed with the officials and gentry of the county about defending the city.

In the next few days, the county was facing a great enemy, and several gates were closed, leaving only the Ying'en Gate in the east for people to enter and exit. Minzhuang and the township warriors convened by the townships all went to the city to defend the palace, and sent an urgent letter to the Guangzhou government according to the rules, as for what role it can have, it is not up to Hua Yanjie to manage. He also wanted to ask for help from the surrounding state capitals, but the nearest garrison was in Chaozhou, and the other party might not be willing to come.

After another ten days, the legendary two devils did not call, but there were sporadic news from Xin'an. It is said that this group of two devils called themselves the Liberation Army, with more than 1,000 people, and a foreign gun and cannon. Most of the officials in Xin'an County were forced to obey the thieves, and the children were also cut. The thieves plundered the four towns, asked for food, and slaughtered the whole village if they didn't obey. It is also said that the thieves built a large number of buildings in the south of Xin'an City, and it is said that they wanted to dig up the treasures buried there by the former Song Shaodi, so as to recruit troops and buy horses; Some people say that this gang of thieves built a palace there and prepared to establish a puppet dynasty. There are all kinds of rumors, and so on. After some time, just when everyone thought that the gang of thieves was going to make a move, the news came that they were fighting the British. The officials and people of Dongguan County all thought that this group of two devils and foreign devils were in the same group, and the fight between them made many people fall through their glasses. Hua Yanjie doesn't know much about the inside story, but these two dog-eat-dog are no better, it's best to have heavy casualties on both sides, and finally recover Xin'an without much effort, so it's not an idle matter to add an official to a knight.

The next development of events caused more people to fall through their glasses, and the thieves defeated the British again and again, not only defeating nearly 1,000 land divisions from Guangzhou, but also defeating more than 10,000 land and water troops who had ruled the imperial army in the north a month later, and even losing Hong Kong Island, which had been ceded out. In everyone's cognition, the second devil and the foreign devil are the relationship between the apprentice and the master, and this apprentice is more powerful than the master? The remnants of the British retreated to Guangzhou, hid in the city and never dared to show their heads again, and the slowly relieved hearts of the Dongguan gentry were brought up again. From Xin'an to Guangzhou by land, you must pass through Dongguan, how should you deal with yourself at that time? Is it the surrender of Kaesong? Or do you hold on to the city? The other party is a tiger and wolf army that defeated more than 10,000 foreign soldiers! It's okay for the people in the city to let them deal with the thieves who are also farmers, but to deal with this thief, most of them may flee from the wind. As for ordinary people, there is nothing to worry about. Short-haired bandits, oh! No, even if they want to extort money and grain, it is the landlords who are unlucky, and what does it have to do with the poor. In the past few months, traders who have traveled back and forth between the two counties have brought back all kinds of rumors, and the Guangfu Army has cleaned up the localities, not only helping the strong and helping the weak, but also focusing on cracking down on human trafficking. Moreover, those who served as soldiers and workers for them could receive white rice and silver from white flowers, which made the people in neighboring counties who did not have enough food very red. Many people began to look forward to when the Liberation Army would be able to fight in Dongguan and live such a good life.

In this turmoil, Shi Guoan became a superfluous person. The senior brother found him a place to live and settle down, but when he left Xin'an, he had no income, although he still had dozens of taels of silver on his body, but it was not a way to sit and eat empty. Although the senior brother is a head catcher, he can't put himself in the fast class, it costs money. Who knows when the thieves will come to Dongguan, there is really no need to spend this unjust money. So in the past few months, he can only rely on standing on the platform for others to help, mixing a few taels of silver to make up for one or two.

There was nowhere to go today, Shi Guoan drank morning tea at the tea stall through noon, and the stall owner didn't dare to drive him. And the former Xin'an catcher, who was depressed, was regretting it, knowing that he should have stayed in the city at that time. What is a thief? The governor of Bai Gui is not afraid, what is he afraid of as a little head catcher. I haven't seen Master Fang, Xiong Dianshi, and now I have a good time; What is it to cut braids? It's better to cut it, and it's uncomfortable to have such long hair in this summer.

Just as he was feeling sorry for himself, the crowd on the street suddenly ran up, and some people were shouting, and the closed compartment, which had been quiet just now, immediately became like a boiling pot. Looking at the scene in front of him, how similar it was to the situation a few months ago, Shi Guoan secretly thought: It won't be such a coincidence, right? As soon as I thought of the Liberation Army, the Liberation Army called. He jumped out into the street in a few steps and grabbed a man who was running towards the city, "What's the matter?" ”

The man yelled while struggling desperately, "You scumbag, don't hold me if you want to die, the short-haired bandit has already arrived in Liaobu, beware of eating guns in the way!" ”

Shi Guoan let go of the man and ran towards the city. Although he already has a plan to join the Liberation Army, it is just an idea for the time being, and when the matter comes, he still has to discuss it with his senior brother.

In the first month, the county government has been sending people to monitor the border between the two counties and report the situation in Xin'an to the county. Although some chaotic news shocked the county every day, it also gave the county government time to give warning, but the Guangfu Army has been tossing in Xin'an, and after a month, everyone can't help but relax. After the Liberation Army started a war with the British, the watchmen also began to fish for three days and dry their nets for two days. That's why two companies of the Liberation Army have been in Dongguan for a day, and the county government has not yet received a report. And the gentry of all townships have reached a tacit agreement with the Guangfu Army that the well water does not interfere with the river water, and more things are better than less things, and no one reported to the county government, so that the Guangfu Army only received the news when they arrived in the former county.

Not long after, Hua Yanjie also received a report that the forwards of two bandits had arrived in Liaobu, with a number of five or six hundred, and they could rush to the county seat at any time. Huazhi County hurriedly ordered the closure of the four gates, the whole city, and all non-residents of the county were arrested, in case the bandits should open the city. Then, on the one hand, he convened the officials and officials to discuss the matter, and on the other hand, he issued a document to urgently transfer the township warriors from Shilong and other places to enter the city to assist in the defense.

When the officials in the yamen came to the county to catch the head, Shi Guoan was also discussing the feasibility of surrendering with his senior brother. Hearing the junior brother say something rebellious, Zhao Zhutou was not surprised at all. He knows what his junior brother has been going on in the past few months, but he can't help it. The energy is limited, and there is only so much that can be helped, as for what to do when the Liberation Army is in the city, he has not thought about it. It's just that he is different from Shi Guoan, he has an old mother, a wife, and a young son in the family, so he always has to think twice about doing things. In the end, I had to warn my junior brother to wait for the opportunity to move and first find out the intentions of the Guangfu Army. If the Guangfu army attacks the city, it will persuade the magistrate to open the city, and if the magistrate wants to do the foolish and filial things, for the sake of the people of the city, he must do extraordinary things.

The two brothers discussed and stopped, and the officials also came to the door. Zhao Zhutou instructed his family to keep an eye on the door, and then took his junior brother out of the door. At this time, there was chaos on the streets, the rich and wealthy businessmen who had fled were in a mess because of the closure of the four gates, and the fast and strong classes were arresting outsiders, and there were not a few people who took the opportunity to extort money. Shi Guoan saw it and scolded hatefully: "I don't know what is dead or alive, when the Guangfu Army enters the city, there will be good fruits for you to eat!" ”

At this time, Huazhi County had already brought people to the city gate tower at the south gate. Although the Liberation Army has not yet arrived, the residents of Guanxiang have already fled to the sky. The Guangfu Army claims that Qiu has no crimes, but the guns have no eyes, and there is no place to reason with the guns when they start fighting for a while. The strong class in the county, plus the family members in several official gentry mansions, finally managed to make up 300 people. A batch of broadswords and spears were found in the county arsenal, shotguns and guns armed everyone, and two cannons cast during the Qianlong period were also carried out. It's just that all of these people are trembling, and their morale is completely lost. After waiting for more than an hour, He Renshan, the official gentry of Shilong, came to support with five hundred villagers, which made everyone's tense nerves relax. Before everyone could be happy for too long, a red flag appeared on Dabanling Mountain outside the city.

Because the troops had to take care of Ma Zhong and draw maps, the speed of the march was not fast, and they stopped and stopped all the way, and even two infantry companies conducted a small offensive and defensive exercise on a small hillside. This is to familiarize ourselves with the terrain of Dongguan as much as possible, and also to publicize to more ordinary people that the Liberation Army is coming. Although most of the common people saw that the troops of the Liberation Army were hiding far away, when the troops began to exercise, there were still many idlers standing far away to watch, which was a rare diorama.

At 6 o'clock in the afternoon, the troops finally arrived at the foot of Dabanling Mountain outside the south gate of Dongguan City, and Chen Weifu ordered the troops to camp on the spot, while he himself took the officers to the high place to observe the scene at the head of Dongguan City. Through the binoculars, you can see that the city gate tower is overcrowded, among which a few red tasseled hats are particularly conspicuous, and the rest are dressed as civilians with various weapons in their hands. The fourth company commander looked at the dense crowd of human heads and said with a smile: "With so many people huddled together, their command will be over with one shot, and the infantry can take down the city gate with one charge." ”

"We're not here to fight." Chen Weifu dispelled the tempting thoughts of the fourth company commander in one sentence, "We don't have the ability to digest more territory. ”

"Our main task now is to consolidate the three counties in our hands." Yang Bo added on the side that he came with the Marine Company. Considering that the largest number of armed forces in the vicinity of Guangzhou are not the Qing army or the British army, but the tens of thousands of militia groups in various places. Moreover, after the uprising of the Red Turban Army by He Liu a few years ago, the militia in Dongguan has developed greatly, like Jiang Lixiang casually mobilized 2,000 people, and the main enemies of the Guangfu Army in Guangdong in the future are likely to be these people. Therefore, Yang Bo wanted to observe the former's combat effectiveness, morale and combat methods closely, but unfortunately the Humen militia failed to let him stay the same.

"The main thing is that we can't make our own weapons," the commander of the seventh company said with annoyance, "If we can make our own weapons, we can explode troops, and exploding soldiers can push all the way ......" Several militants couldn't help but start yy.