() Changli is just an ordinary county town. Unlike Funing, there is a guard station next to it. Before the Jianlu came to attack, the troops from the guard station had already entered Funing to assist in the defense.
Changli County Magistrate Zuo Yingxuan, who was elected from Yuci, Shaanxi Province, took up the post of county magistrate in the crisis. He took office only three days ago. When the news of the fall of Yongping City reached Changli, people were panicked.
Zuo Yingxuan made a decisive decision and issued a notice to appease the people. He organized the people and the stragglers who had evacuated here from Lulong, as well as the few soldiers in the city to defend the city.
In the county government hall, Zuo Yingxuan, wearing a seventh-grade green robe official uniform, is sitting at the top.
The guard Shi Guozhu holds a waist knife in his hand and stands upright in the upper left corner.
There were no government servants in the hall, only a group of old and strong country gentlemen standing on both sides.
Some of these squires were residents of the city, and some had fled to the city for refuge. What they had in common was that they were rich, powerful, and prestigious. Zuo Yingxuan knew that whether Changli could be defended at least depended on whether these people could put in a lot of effort.
"Fellow fellows," Zuo Yingxuan's loud voice sounded in the county government hall. As soon as the squires below heard the county magistrate's speech, they stopped whispering and looked at Zuo Yingxuan, listening to what he said.
"The captives ravaged the capital, burning, killing, and looting, and committed all kinds of evil. You must have heard of this?" Zuo Yingxuan asked the squire below.
The squires nodded in agreement. Not to mention that Jianlu was actually cruel in nature. The amplification effect of the spread of words alone could scare a group of people to death. Therefore, the people outside the city, regardless of whether they had money or not, had fled into the city.
Here comes.
"I was ordered in the moment of danger, and I will not come to Changli for fear of death. Don't worry, I will never abandon you and run away, nor will I betray you to go to the Jianlu in exchange for your own safety." Zuo Yingxuan said while looking down.
The expressions on everyone's faces.
As soon as the squires heard the county magistrate's statement, they were relieved after seeing the notice before.
Zuo Yingxuan saw the changes in their demeanor, and then stated his request: "I have begun to organize the people, break up the troops, and local soldiers and government officials defend the city. However, the mobilization is not enough, and many people have not responded yet.
, various materials are not sufficient. Therefore, I hope that you can work together with the imperial court and my officials to fight against Jianlu and defend Changli."
The squires in the hall were afraid that the government would not resist. Now that the county magistrate had made a statement and the request was reasonable, they expressed their support one after another.
One of them, a strong and powerful man in scholar's attire, stood up and raised his fist to the left and said: "The student is an outstanding member of Anshan. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child. He has little family wealth. He is willing to serve the county as a dog and horse."
Lao, fight against the invaders and protect the country and the people!"
"Okay, okay." Zuo Yingxuan praised him repeatedly when he saw it.
With someone as an example, other squires also donated money and materials to do their part to defend the city against the invaders.
Zuo Yingxuan stood up from his chair, bowed his hands to the squires below, and then said: "You squires have generously helped me. I would like to thank you on behalf of the court and the people of Changli."
"Don't dare to take it, don't dare to take it."
"Your Majesty, you don't have to be like this. It's our responsibility to protect our hometown."
"The county magistrate is not allowed to kill the common people."
"..."
The squires returned the favor one after another, and the atmosphere was harmonious and warm.
Zuo Yingxuan stopped sitting and stood up, saying: "Everyone, countrymen, please be quiet."
When the county government hall became quiet, Zuo Yingxuan asked: "If you fellow countrymen no longer have any problems, I will start assigning tasks."
The lobby was quiet for a while, no one had any questions. Zuo Yingxuan nodded with satisfaction and was ready to speak.
Unexpectedly, at this time, on the left side of the lobby, behind the crowd, a person whispered: "County, County Lord, can we in Changli County defend so many Tatars?"
It was a quiet time in the county government hall, so even though the man spoke in a low voice, he could still be heard clearly by everyone in the hall.
Immediately, everyone in the hall automatically made way, exposing the speaker to the magistrate's sight.
Wanjie also turned around and took a look. He recognized this person and shouted: "He Liu, after all, you have traveled all over the world. Now you are fighting for a piece of family property, but you are so scared that you speak so quietly, like a girl."
Wanjie didn't know, but it was because He Liu walked around a lot and heard how powerful Jianlu was. He also saw that Changli was just a county town, and there were not many weak soldiers, not to mention strong soldiers. The largest number of people
The soldiers were still stragglers who had gathered up the front line and retreated, feeling really confused.
Hearing what Wanjie said, other people accused He Liu one after another, saying that He Liu was annoyed and replied loudly with his chest raised: "I, He Liu, am not a coward. I am standing here today just to respond to the call of the imperial court and to fight against the enemy."
Jianlu, please do your best. It is only because of the serious situation that we ask this question, not because we are afraid of Jianlu."
Guard Shi Guozhu didn't say anything and just stood on the lower side of the magistrate like a wooden pillar.
Now seeing the quarrel in the hall, he turned his head to look at Zuo Yingxuan, and then shouted to the hall: "Quiet, quiet."
Now that the guards were shouting and He Liu had expressed his stance, everyone no longer dwelled on the matter and turned around together, looking to the left to choose.
Zuo Yingxuan smiled and said to everyone: "We in the North are all martial-arts people, and the Tatars do not just bully the land if they want to. Don't forget, there is a precedent in Changli."
As soon as the people below heard what the county magistrate said, several squires who had lived in the local area for a long time recalled the past.
However, before they could say anything, Zuo Yingxuan spoke again: "Although I have just arrived in Changli, I heard that in the first year of Longqing, Mongol Ada Khan invaded the capital, and the army besieged Changli for four days, but still failed.
Things today are so similar to those of the past. Will we be unable to do what our ancestors were able to do?"
"Yes, it must be possible."
"Don't talk about the four days, even the five, six, seven and eight days, just stick to it."
"The county magistrate is right, as the waves of the Yangtze River push back and forth, we must be able to defend it better."
"..."
People who had heard about the great anti-Tatar event that year all agreed with Zuo Yingxuan's words. Those who had not heard about it quickly asked those who knew about it.
After a while, everyone's confidence skyrocketed. What our ancestors could do back then, we can do now too.
As soon as Zuo Yingxuan saw the morale of his subordinates, he took the opportunity to say: "In this way, I will mobilize the Changli County area, and all the squires will go back and take charge of one area. If there are not enough soldiers, we will form a strong people to fill them. If there are not enough civilian men, strong women will be needed."
"If there are not enough rolling logs and stones, each family can donate what they can, and send people out of the city to collect them. The specific matters will be assigned to you by the garrison."
Everyone below said there was no problem and looked at the guard Shi Guozhu.
Shi Guozhu looked at Zuo Yingxuan, saw him nodding, and called everyone to a table nearby. On the table was a map of Changli County. Red lines had been drawn on it to mark various areas.
It can be seen from these preparations that Zuo Yingxuan and Shi Guozhu have already discussed it.
Zuo Yingxuan did not follow him. He watched Shi Guozhu carefully assigning tasks there, stroking his long beard with one hand and thinking about his own thoughts.
In the current situation, it is obvious that the enemy is strong and we are weak. But no matter what, Changli must be defended.
People from villages and towns near Changli have taken refuge in Changli to avoid military disasters. The personnel should be relatively sufficient, but the food supply will be correspondingly difficult. This must be controlled from the beginning.
If the Jianlu invaders attack Changli, now that the people's support is available, there should be no problem in defending it in the early stage, but as time goes by, the food problem will become more prominent.
I hope that after hearing the news, the imperial court can send troops and horses to rescue as soon as possible.
Not long after, the squires received their respective tasks from the county government and went back to take action separately.
The entire Changli County, under the leadership of these squires, was mobilized.
Rolling logs and stones were collected one after another and piled up and down the city wall. Residents near the city wall took the initiative to move out one after another, allowing the soldiers and civilians guarding the city to have a nearby place to rest. The people in the city took them over and lived in their own homes.
The men in their prime were all organized into teams, led by prestigious squires, and stationed on the city wall in separate groups.
Old, weak men and strong women carried supplies and provided logistical assistance.
The specific situation inside Changli City cannot be seen from outside Changli City. At this time, the entire population of Changli City has actually been mobilized, and everyone is doing their part to resist the captors and protect their family.
Guard Shi Guozhu was stationed on the city wall and stayed there day and night. County magistrate Zuo Yingxuan led a team of government officials to inspect various parts of the city to offer comfort and encouragement.
On this day, Zuo Yingxuan was patrolling the city, when he suddenly reported that the Jianlu Brigade was coming to Changli.
So Zuo Yingxuan hurriedly took the government officials to the city wall to observe the enemy's situation.