Guang Shiheng's figure drifted away in the distance of the official road. Only after he was sure that he could no longer see him clearly, Yang Erming turned around and walked into the city. He didn't even sit in the official sedan, and was carried by several sedan bearers.
The sedan followed behind, looking quite worried along the way and not talking to other officials.
Before Guang Shiheng parted ways, he repeatedly emphasized two things to Yang Erming. One was not to associate with Ruan Dacheng, and the other was to guard against bandits. The second point probably put a lot of pressure on Yang Erming's psychology.
A fourteen-year-old boy is responsible for the wealth and lives of the people in the entire county. Pang Yu can raise the issue and leave it to him, but this junior high school student has no room for shirk.
According to the information revealed by Guang Shiheng, if the bandits capture the city, they may not necessarily kill all the people in the city, but the magistrate will definitely not survive. Even if the bandits are not killed, the court will not let the magistrate go. Therefore, the pressure on Yang Erming is actually much greater than that on Pang.
rain.
They were silent all the way. When they arrived at the entrance of Nanxunmen, they found a thick smoke coming from the east. Everyone stopped and started talking, not knowing where the fire broke out.
Yang Erming stopped and looked in the direction, looked for Pang Yu behind him and asked, "Is Zhuang Ban practicing city defense skills on the south city wall?"
Pang Yu quickly responded with a guilty conscience, "It's between Nanxun Gate and Xiangyang Gate. The households here are not as dense as those on Zilai Street. It's also behind Zhidu Temple, so it won't disturb the people."
Yang Erming nodded and said, "Then I will go with you to have a look."
After saying that, he asked the other officials to go back to the Yamen, and planned to take only the secret servants and two low-ranking officials to go with Pang Yu.
Pang Yu asked as he walked, "Do you want to see from the city wall or from below?"
Yang Erming was stunned for a moment and said, "What's the difference between them?"
"If the rogues are attacking the city from outside, looking from the bottom of the city wall, you can guess what methods they will use from the perspective of the rogues.
Viewed from the top of the city wall, it is our defensive perspective, which is to see how to prevent the siege of the rogue bandits."
Mr. Sun and Yang Erming whispered for a moment, and then Yang Erming said to Pang Yu, "Let's take a look from under the city wall first."
Several people walked east along the city wall, and soon came to Zhilai Nunnery. The wall of this nunnery was some distance away from the city wall, which was enough for a strong group to practice siege tactics.
At this time, many people gathered in front of Zhidu Temple, pointing at the city wall. Yang Erming followed their gazes and saw where the thick smoke came from.
Pang Yu didn't know why this happened. Facing Yang Erming's questioning look, he could only say perfunctorily, "Maybe we will practice fire attack today."
Yang Erming was doubtful, and several people bypassed Zhidu Temple and came to the city wall. They saw a fire burning under the city wall, with thick smoke billowing up. Seven or eight people around were bringing firewood from all over to add to the fire.
There was so much smoke above that it was impossible to see the situation at the top of the city. Several other people were carrying bamboo ladders and preparing to set up the battlements.
When Pang Yu saw that it was Wang Zenglu's second team, he hurriedly pulled Wang Zenglu over and asked, "What's going on with this fire?"
Wang Zenglu's face was covered in black and gray. After seeing Pang Yu, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Sir, you said that we regard ourselves as rogues and can attack the city in any way we want. What we are thinking of is a fire attack."
Pang Yu's forehead was also sweating a little, but he did say these words, and he quickly lowered his voice and shouted, "You are so angry that people around you come to see you and think there is a fire here. How can people make a living with peace of mind."
Pang Yu winked as he spoke. Wang Zenglu saw the magistrate behind him from the corner of his eye and stammered, "Then... my subordinates will put out the fire immediately."
Yang Erming's voice sounded, "Tell me why this man set the fire."
Wang Zenglu was speechless, and Pang Yu turned to Yang Erming and said, "It was my humble position that arranged for them to practice fire attacks. They lit fires under the city wall, mixed hay and wet grass, and added some animal excrement to make a pungent thick smell."
The smoke blocks the sight of the defenders at the top of the city and makes it difficult to look out, making it much easier to attack the city."
Yang Erming lost his temper and said, "Then how to crack this method?"
Pang Yu's mind raced and he casually made up, "Wear wet wipes over your nose to secure the city wall, and then use explosive thunder to throw fire points intensively. This can not only extinguish the fire, but also prevent the bandits from digging into the city wall. However, the explosive thunder cannot be practiced because it will kill people."
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"Also remember to throw heavy objects. There must be more stones on the city wall. Don't use small stones. They must be heavy."
Yang Erming looked at Pang Yu and said seriously, "Don't be soft-hearted. This city wall is the life of millions of people and must not be broken by rogue bandits."
"I have taken note of it, sir, please rest assured.
It's just that the Zhuang Ban was created, and the equipment is a bit crude. I visited Tongcheng's blacksmith shops, but no one knew how to make armor. If there are some armors, the Zhuang Ban will be more confident in defending the city. I wonder if you can ask Anqing Mansion to help find them."
Mr. Sun didn't wait for Yang Erming to speak and answered first, "Pang Bantou, you must not consult Anqing Mansion about armor. This is a weapon of the military state. The imperial court never allows private citizens to build it without authorization. Even if someone in Anqing Mansion can do it, the government office will never do it."
Maybe someone will be sent here."
Pang Yu turned to Mr. Sun and said, "To defend the city and fight, it is nothing more than having strong armor and strong soldiers. Especially since we are only guarding the city wall. The soldiers do not need to travel long distances. They can wear strong armor and be sharp. If you have a suit of armor, your courage will come out."
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Rogue bandits are just the opposite. They come from afar. In order to avoid being pursued by the government and the army, they pay attention to flexibility and convenience, and they must not have much heavy armor.
The subordinates thought, whether on the city wall or in the streets, we should balance the heavy with the light. If the city defense is to be strong, armor is indispensable.
The imperial court does not allow civilians to make armor, but the imperial court allows various places to defend the city, and armor is what it should be."
Mr. Sun didn't expect Pang Yu to say such a thing, and he couldn't think of how to argue.
Pang Yu has also thought of many ways recently. Judging from the scattered information, his imaginary enemy bandits should be mainly light troops.
Judging from the needs of Tongcheng at this time, the main purpose is to defend the county town. Of course, heavy infantry is more targeted, which also reassures Pang Yu. The only difficulty is the armor. The price is second, and the most important thing is that no blacksmith shop in Tongcheng knows how to do it.
Do.
This is not a problem that can be solved by drawing a sketch. If he cannot get technical support from outside, Pang Yu can only place a heavy order and let the blacksmith shop come up with ideas for research.
However, this method is estimated to take a long time, and the quality is difficult to guarantee.
Yang Erming frowned and said, he didn't know much about armor. The focus of national defense in the Ming Dynasty was in the north, and military investment was also concentrated in northern border defense. The south lacked demand and investment in this area, so market resources would not be allocated to ordnance. Blacksmith Shop
He mainly makes farm tools, cooking utensils and other daily necessities, but he knows nothing about ordnance.
Yang Erming hesitated for a moment and hesitated several times. Mr. Sun kept winking at Yang Erming.
"This matter is subject to my discretion."
Yang Erming finally said, "As for guarding against thieves, what difficulties does Bantou Pang have?"
Hearing Yang Erming's tone, Pang Yu thought that the armor matter was probably over and he had to rely on himself. At this time, Wang Zenglu and others had put out the fire, and grass ashes were flying around. Pang Yu quickly asked Yang Erming to retreat outside the main gate of Zhidu Temple.
"There is indeed one more thing. Most of the Zhuangban yamen officers come from the countryside. If we want them to be determined to defend the city, their families need to be evacuated into the city before the rogues arrive..." "I can make the decision on this matter, just lead them into the city.
If there is insufficient accommodation, I can accommodate them in the back hall."
Yang Erming looked at the thick smoke with a solemn expression, "Pang Bantou must work harder to make Zhuangban and Kuaiban the mainstay of Tongcheng."
..."In addition to what I just mentioned, there is one more thing that needs to be changed in the plan for the fast class."
Pang Yu looked at Jiang Fan, Ruan Jin, He Xianya and other Kuaiban leaders across from him in the gatehouse of Ye's old house, "Ma Kuai will be assigned along the official road, southwest to Qianshan County, southeast to Luzhou Prefecture.
As soon as there is news about rogue bandits, we must report it as soon as possible, so that we can have time to prepare, so that the people around the official road can evacuate, and the strong family members have time to enter the city.
Once there is a police presence, the quick team will strictly inspect the city gates and inside the city, especially out-of-town workers, servants, wandering monks, and anyone with a non-local accent, all will be arrested first."
Jiang Fan hurriedly buried his head in memorizing, and Pang Yu had to stop and wait for them. Jiang Fan, Ruan Jin, and others could not write much, and they could not take notes during the meeting. Even if Pang Yu could write, they could not read, which was equivalent to useless.
Pang Yu felt that if the scale were a little bigger, he would have to assign a scribe to each of these captains.
After Jiang Fan and Ruan Jin finished recording, Pang Yu raised his head and asked, "Is there anything else you have to do today?"
He Xianya bowed and said, "Boss, our new casino has been decorated and is open for business today. Shopkeeper Liu asked if you would like to go."
Pang Yu's new gambling stall opened on South Street. He Xianya got the position of deputy captain of the Nancheng team last time. He mainly communicates with Liu Ruogu on weekdays. The new gambling stall is not far from the Ye family's old house.
Pang Yu stood up excitedly and said, "Of course I want to go. I always want to play a few games at the gambling stall improved by my team leader. There are just four of them here. Let's all go together and teach you how to play the jackpot that I improved.
"
A group of people in Kuaiban were all born in the market, and they all had a lot of interest in gambling. Penghepai was the predecessor of mahjong in later generations, and it was popular in the late Ming Dynasty. They were a little excited after hearing this, and followed Pang Yu out one after another.
As soon as I walked out of Zhaobi, I saw a lot of people gathering on the street.
Pang Yu was startled, not knowing what had happened, so he quickly calmed down and took a look.
I saw a ragged figure striding towards the gate, carrying a man with a large bundle of flowers on his shoulders, and seven or eight crying people, including men, women, old and young, following behind.
The figure strode up to Pang Yu and threw the man on his shoulders to the ground with a bang. The man standing there was gray and haggard, but his eyes were firm. He glanced at the captains of the fast class behind him and said to
Pang Yu, who was in a daze, said loudly, "Report to the squad leader, Yao Dongshan has captured the fugitive for you!"