Wu Shigong sat in his seat, seemingly unaware of Magistrate Qi's order. He was now deep in thought. Wu Shigong's current mentality was very hesitant, because he felt: "Although he has tried his best to develop after arriving in Qianhu,
Use force to expand our troops. However, our own strength is still too weak."
Wu Shigong now has 400 newly recruited soldiers after he arrived in Qianhu. In addition to having long spears as weapons, they only have more than fifty heavy firecrackers due to the speed of firecracker production.
As for Wu Shigong's cavalry, there were more than 240 people and more than 70 medium-sized muskets. However, it was only after the robbers were eliminated and their horses were seized this time that the horses in the cavalry could reach one person per horse.
In addition, because the number of saddles is insufficient, Wu Shigong can now use up to 200 men and horses.
Of course, we also need to add the few members of the artillery team and the fifty teenagers who are the reserve team.
If Li Lu's information is correct, it is undoubtedly a fantasy to rely on Wu Shigong's 650 to 700 people to deal with tens of thousands of rioters. Even if they are to defend the county, they are still short of manpower.
Therefore, as soon as Wu Shigong got the news, he instinctively wanted to retreat to Qianhusuo Fortress. Although the construction of Qianhusuo Fortress was only rough. However, the outer wall of Qianhusuo Fortress was made of Sanhe soil after all.
The base has reached a height of four feet. Moreover, the rebels can only attack from the direction of the town. It is easier to defend than to defend the county town.
However, it is impossible for Wu Shigong to do this now. It is impossible for him to give up this county. Wu Shigong's responsibility as the Thousand Household Office is originally to keep this county. Although Wu Shigong, the official of Qianhu Office, has been suspended, he still remains in office.
. Therefore, County Magistrate Qi’s order to use Wu Shigong’s troops to defend the county seat was perfectly justified.
And the most important thing is that Wu Shigong doesn't want to, let alone give up the official position of acting as agent for Qianhu now. Not to mention that Wu Shigong spent so much money on the construction of the Qianhu fortress and the expenses on new soldiers.
From the perspective that Wu Shigong wanted to find a refuge that could save his family's lives in the troubled times of the Chongzhen period, Wu Shigong needed this official position of acting as agent for thousands of households.
Besides, after the county was captured by the rebels, could Wu Shigong really rely on his own troops to protect the Qianhusuo Fortress? In the current famine years, in the Qianhusuo Fortress, Wu Shigong’s own storage of 10,000 yuan in the Yicang
The stoney grains were like firelight in the darkness, attracting those random people to swoop over like moths.
In an instant, Wu Shigong made up his mind: he must keep the county seat. But just as he made the decision in his heart, Wu Shigong discovered another problem. That is: in this battle to defend the county seat, County Magistrate Qi should be taken for granted.
A leader. So if he uses his troops indiscriminately, what should he do?
In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, it was a tradition to use civility to control military affairs. Although in peacetime, Qi County Magistrate and Wu Shigong had no overlap in their responsibilities and work. However, as long as there was war, Qi County Magistrate could completely ask Wu Shigong
This Qianhu issued all military orders. This is also the reason why Qi County Magistrate just issued the command to Wu Shigong.
However, Wu Shigong did not want to listen to County Magistrate Qi's order. If he thought about it, he would know that Magistrate Qi would definitely ask Wu Shigong to rush all the soldiers in the Qianhu Fortress to the county seat to participate in the defense.
In this case, what should we do with the Qianhusuo Fortress? Are all Wu Shigong's belongings, as well as the four wives Zhao Ruya and their children, just abandoned in the Qianhusuo Fortress? That is absolutely not possible.
Therefore, Wu Shigong must take back the initiative.
When Wu Shigong was thinking about these issues, Magistrate Qi had already called Wu Shigong several times. Seeing Wu Shigong sitting there as if he was lost in thought, Magistrate Qi had an angry look on his face. He was about to get angry when he saw Magistrate Qi.
Li Lu, who was sitting next to Wu Shigong, quickly nudged Wu Shigong with his elbow to ask Wu Shigong to pay more attention.
Wu Shigong seemed to wake up all of a sudden. He stood up from his chair, raised his hands to County Magistrate Qi, and said: "Your Excellency, the younger one has been suspended from his post. He is no longer a member of a thousand households. So, the younger one has been suspended."
We can't mobilize the soldiers from Qianhu Station. I'll take my leave now." After saying that, Wu Shigong walked out of the lobby without looking back.
Magistrate Qi choked half to death at Wu Shigong's words, and his face turned purple. Magistrate Qi thought in his heart: "Just now I was gloating about Wu Shigong's suspension, and now Wu Shigong has come back with revenge."
But County Magistrate Qi couldn't save his face for a while, and he wanted to use his righteousness to persuade Wu Shigong. After the big case, County Magistrate Qi stood up, raised his hand, and shouted to Wu Shigong: "Wu Qianhu,
Even if I offend you, don’t you think about the safety of the people in the county?”
Wu Shigong stopped, turned around and said, "Then I will remember to burn paper money for them." After saying that, Wu Shigong took another step.
Magistrate Qi was really anxious now, and he shouted: "What should I do?"
Wu Shigong didn't even look back this time. He said leisurely: "I will burn more paper money for you."
Upon seeing the appearance and conversation between County Magistrate Qi and Wu Shigong, the officials and gentry nearby knew that there must be a big conflict between Magistrate Qi and Wu Shigong, even if they did not know what happened.
.
But at this time, how could they let Wu Shigong leave? So, Li Lu and Yao Yuanwai, who were relatively familiar with Wu Shigong, either stopped or pulled Wu Shigong back, and kept Wu Shigong where he was.
He stopped and advised: "The generals will be harmonious. The generals will be harmonious."
County Magistrate Qi didn't care about his shame anymore. He stepped away from the big case, raised his hands and said to Wu Shigong, "What will happen to Wu Qianhu?" Seeing Magistrate Qi's look, he almost shed tears.
Wu Shigong also turned around and asked Magistrate Qi arrogantly: "What should I do with my suspension order?"
Magistrate Qi gritted his teeth and said, "No one in this county has ever received a suspension order from Wu Qianhu. That news must be a misinformation." After saying this, Magistrate Qi threw another bullet at Wu Shigong.
Candied dates, "As long as Wu Qianhu can defend the county seat, I will definitely ask the court for merit and give Wu Qianhu an official title."
Wu Shigong glanced at County Magistrate Qi. Unexpectedly, Magistrate Qi was quite sensible. Wu Shigong then asked: "As for the matter of guarding the county seat, who among us is in charge?"
"This..., of course this is my official." Magistrate Qi would not give in on the principled issue of using civil servants to control military officers.
Wu Shigong didn't expect that the Qi County Magistrate was quite principled. He laughed and then said: "Okay! Then we will all listen to the county magistrate. Then I will ask the county magistrate now: These rebels want to attack
The county seat is here, how should the county master deal with it?"
"Then... of course we have to defend the county seat." Magistrate Qi's voice became smaller and smaller. As he spoke, he looked at Wu Shigong's face, for fear that his words would make Wu Shigong unhappy.
"That's right!" Wu Shigong's answer made Qi County Magistrate stunned for a moment, and then he heard again, "Of course we have to talk about the rules of using civil servants to control military forces. However, civil servants decide whether to fight or not. We military attachés
It’s just a matter of deciding how to fight.”
"Since the county magistrate has made up his mind to defend the county seat, how should we defend it? Then it is up to me, the Lord of Thousand Households, to give the orders."
Wu Shigong's words made everyone on the side look at each other. They all had to admit that what Wu Shigong said was quite reasonable. Besides, after all, in the hearts of everyone around them, they still believed that Wu Qianhu was definitely more capable than County Magistrate Qi.
, to defend this county.
Wu Shigong ignored him and Magistrate Qi, who looked embarrassed, immediately began to make arrangements.
"You guys wait here for a while. I will immediately send someone to inquire about the rebels and call the soldiers from Qianhusuo." After saying this, Wu Shigong hurried out of the lobby.
Wu Shigong's guards were waiting in the courtyard of the county government office. Wu Shigong came out of the lobby and saw Zhang Biao among the guards. He immediately called him over and asked him to lead ten guards on horseback to find out the news.
Wu Shigong wanted to send someone to Qianhusuo Fortress to call for soldiers again. Shumo immediately signed up enthusiastically, wanting to accept this arduous task. Wu Shigong ignored Shumo at all. If Shumo went to call for soldiers, then he would definitely not
Back to the county seat.
Wu Shigong sent another person to Qianhusuo Fortress and asked him to tell Xue Yongli: Let Xue Yongli be responsible for the defense of Qianhusuo Fortress. In addition, he asked Zhou Xun to bring over all the 150 soldiers he had trained. Let these soldiers lead
Bring thirty heavy firecrackers and half of the gunpowder and bullets. Since it was impossible to bring cannons, Wu Shigong asked them to bring the ten three-eye firecrackers.
After making arrangements, Wu Shigong returned to the lobby. Then he arranged for these gentry to report the number of young men in their homes. He also asked them to go home immediately and make arrangements for these young men to gather at the county government within an hour. If these gentry
If the family has weapons, it is best for these strong men to carry weapons. According to the final statistics, more than 700 strong men can be gathered.
Finally, Wu Shigong asked the head of the yamen team: "How many people can you yamen recruit in total?"
The head of the yamen team immediately bent down and replied: "If you go back to Qianhu, our county yamen can make up a total of 20 yamen and more than 70 helpers. There are also a dozen cell leaders. However, the cell leader
The prisoner must be detained and cannot be used."
"Huh?" Wu Shigong frowned and then asked, "How many prisoners are there in the prison?"
"There are probably about twenty more."
"Then kill them all!"
Wu Shigong's words stunned the head of the Yamen team. He quickly looked at County Magistrate Qi. Magistrate Qi had just seen that Wu Shigong's arrangements were in order, and he felt a little calmer.
At this time, the most important thing is to hold on to the county seat and get through this. Wu Shigong has to satisfy Wu Shigong's demands first. Those prisoners are not related to County Magistrate Qi, although their crimes may not lead to death.
But now that they have received such an outcome, it can be regarded as their bad luck.
Therefore, County Magistrate Qi waved his hand to the head of the government office and asked him to follow Wu Shigong's instructions.
But at this moment, an official who was over fifty years old came forward, bowed his hands to Wu Shigong and saluted: "Master Qianhu, although these prisoners have sins, they should still focus on education." The sage said
"..." Then, the official said a lot of words with "It's just a matter of fact". He wanted to persuade Wu Shigong to take back the order just now.
After the official finished speaking, the head of the yamen team introduced in Wu Shigong's ear: This official is the county's priest, named Gong Haoran. For fear that Wu Shigong would get angry on the spot, the head of the yamen team added:
: "Sir, that old master is old, and his brain often cannot turn around."
Unexpectedly, Wu Shigong finished listening to Gong Haoran's words, straightened his clothes, bowed his hand to Gong Haoran and said in return: "Mr. Gong, the student has also read the books of sages for several years. I know that what Mr. Gong said is correct. The student also
I want to ask Mr. Gong for more advice in the future. But, let us live first before talking about all these things, okay?"
After Gong Haoran listened to Wu Shigong's words, although he was a little pedantic, he also knew that Wu Shigong's approach was reasonable. Therefore, he bowed to Wu Shigong again and retreated silently.
Wu Shigong then ordered the officials to take a few government servants and helpers each out of the county to nearby Zhuangzi and folk houses, so that the people outside the city could enter the county as soon as possible.
After arranging all this, Wu Shigong walked out of the lobby. At the door of the lobby, Wu Shigong remembered Gong Haoran's words, and he couldn't help but murmur a few words.
Shu Mo on the side asked curiously: "Master, what exactly are you going to say?"
Wu Shigong ignored Shumo. What he murmured just now was the word "backbone". Wu Shigong sighed in his heart: "Although Gong Haoran is a little pedantic and a little stubborn, what he shows is not the backbone of a scholar.