Seeing that the bandit soldiers had temporarily retreated, Su Tao said that he wanted to visit the soldiers. Jia Cong hurriedly smiled and said: "At this point, you are always going to see the soldiers, and you are not allowing them to eat? How about we come up with some good food?"
Some reward money. It’s been a tiring day for everyone.” He winked at Su Tao.
Although Su Tao didn't know what he meant, he agreed. Liu Xiaoqi then said: "The four city gates are closed, and the people don't dare to go out. I guess the restaurants have prepared a lot of food. Sir, let's go buy some.
Come? It will be a good story if the magistrate buys groceries for the soldiers in person."
Jia Cong hurriedly said: "Okay! If you can arrange a play in the future, just ask the city gate to deliver food!" Su Tao wanted to say, "What a good story this is." But after hearing the two of them singing in harmony, I'm afraid there was some other reason, so he had to
Press it down for now.
Jia Cong then ordered Liu Xiaoqi to accompany him to buy groceries, and he personally escorted the two of them down the city gate tower. When they got downstairs, he complained in a low voice: "My dear senior brother! Why do you always visit the soldiers? These are all
General Qi's soldiers are not yours. If he hadn't hired them to transport rice and paid him a thousand and a half silver last time, the custodian would have escaped long ago. They only work for you because of your generosity. You still want to win over
Is his military morale bad?"
Su Tao hurriedly said: "How could I mean this!"
"I know you don't, General Qi doesn't know. Didn't you notice the look in his eyes just now?" Su Tao was startled, he really didn't pay attention. Jia Cong curled his lips, "I'm not a soldier of Nanchang Prefecture. These common people don't agree with me."
They have nothing to do with each other. After all, we are employers, so we just need to pay them."
Su Tao thought he had missed something on General Qi's expression, so he gave up and sighed: "They are also soldiers of the imperial court."
"Okay, I'm daydreaming again." Jia Cong said helplessly, "In the future, you will always pay attention to the compulsory education school so that the soldiers twenty years from now can be more sensible." He looked at Liu Xiaoqi and said,
Liu Xiaoqi persuaded Su Tao to leave. Jia Cong breathed a sigh of relief: General Qi looked as usual just now, but he was just telling a lie to coax Su Tao, for fear of an assassin.
The two of them passed by the little boss just now, Liu Xiaoqi said hello to him, and the little boss nodded. At this moment, there were still new wealthy people coming to the nursing home, and the little boss said again, "General Li's reinforcements will be
We have arrived, and the advance camp has entered the city." Liu Xiaoqi supported Su Tao and passed by a middle-aged man. The man was a little lame, and behind him was a young man in his twenties, who followed Su Tao with his eyes.
After walking around for a long time, the man clasped his fists towards the little leader and said, "Master, I am an old friend of General Yang Guotai. My surname is Du. I would like to see General Yang." The little leader hurriedly sent someone to deliver a message. The young man kept staring at Su Tao and saw him.
Neither Liu Xiaoqi nor Liu Xiaoqi responded, with confusion on their faces.
Not long after, Yang Guotai came downstairs and came to greet him. Du, whose face was originally dark, turned black and red when he saw Yang Guotai. He clasped his fists in shame and said, "Brother, I can't help you."
Yang Guotai also clasped his fists in return and thought for a moment: "This is not the place to talk." Then he led him to a secluded place and asked, "What's going on?"
The man surnamed Du smiled bitterly: "Do you believe me when I say that it's just empty words and white teeth that make people go astray?"
It turned out that this man's name was Du Min'an. When he was young, he and Yang Guotai were picked up by Shi Xiangyun's father in the rebellious army. They were both named together. After General Shi's death, this man still served in the army. Later, he was excluded and framed, and fell into the trap.
The horse was injured and lame, and retreated into the market, just like an ordinary old soldier. Many years later, he reunited with Yang Guotai, who was already a green forest owl. Seeing that Du Min'an was living in hardship, he generously donated money to help. His son worshiped Yang Guotai, and he lived and breathed it all.
If he had to become his disciple, he would rather become a thief. Yang Guotai originally refused, but he went out to do some business and went back to visit the Du family. Du Min'an had already joined the "old master"'s gang, and the whole family was dragged into trouble. Du Min'an thought
Anyway, he has fallen into the trap of thieves, so it would be a good idea to let his children learn some martial arts. He asked Yang Guotai, "I am useless, otherwise I will teach him myself." Yang Guotai understood his intention and accepted his son as his disciple.
Later, the superiors sent Yang Guotai to Jiangxi to take care of Changfeng Tower, and the Du family moved here. Yang Guotai used the pseudonym Yang Tugen to wander around the city, and often went out to do errands; the Du family lived next door to him. Yang Guotai lived alone, and there was no
As a family member, Du's wife occasionally helped him sew and mend. A few years ago, Yang Guotai was ordered to hide in the prefect's Yamen and work as a disciple. He knew that his boss was not a good person, and it would be okay for him to get in front of the prefect for no reason.
It was a good thing. If something unexpected happened in the future, he would be an abandoned pawn by throwing it away. So he deliberately cut off contact with the Du family and continued to teach Du Min'an's son martial arts behind others' backs.
A few days ago, Du Min'an was ordered to go out to do some work, and his mother and son were the only ones left at home. On the night when Jia Cong and others arrived at Nanchang Mansion, a thief broke into Du's house and almost raped Du's wife. His son happened to be absent because of something going on outside.
At home, when she came back and saw her mother being humiliated, she was furious. She asked the thief what he looked like. Du's wife thought about it and found that although the man was masked, he looked like Yang Guotai. The mother and son searched carefully in the house and found a man.
Du's wife recognized it immediately. During the New Year, she made two identical clothes for Yang Guotai and Du Min'an. This button was the one on top, and Du Min'an's one was worn by him when he went to work in other places.
The boy immediately wanted to go to Yang Guotai to question him, but his mother stopped him. Du's wife was afraid that the child was no match for the master, so she asked him to wait until Du Minan came back. The boy agreed, but had other plans in his heart.
Then there was the boy who ran to the government office with a poisoned dart to cause trouble and asked Zhenming to take it. The child grew up crying and laughing vividly in his mind, which made Yang Guotai very sad. He was originally a disciple, interrogating criminals.
He was not under his control, and he fully believed that the boy had been ordered by his boss to harm him, so he never went to the cell to see him, and the master and apprentice never saw him again.
It wasn't until Du Min'an came back yesterday and asked his wife's neighbor and boss that he found out about this. Du Min'an had known Yang Guotai for decades and knew his character well. He immediately understood that his son had been provoked - he had lost a button on his own clothes.
The superiors also told him that Yang Guotai had betrayed his employer and joined the new magistrate. Du Min'an then guessed that his employer wanted to use his son's identity to catch Yang Guotai off guard so that he could kill him and silence him. Now that things didn't work out, he couldn't think of a way to save his son. Du Min'an didn't know how he felt.
Today, bandits are attacking the city. I heard that General Yang, who has fought in northern Xinjiang, is leading troops to resist the enemy at the west gate of the city. If others don't know, how can Du Min'an not know? He is worried that the bandits will come in and disturb his family, and he is also worried that his son is in prison.
I didn't know what to do, and I was too embarrassed to come to Yang Guotai. He was so worried that he was irritated, and someone came to look for him. It was the young man who was with him right now.
This man's surname was Li, and he went on an errand with Du Min'an this time. Everyone else called him Li Erlang. Although Li Erlang didn't talk much, he had a clear mind. He advised Du Min'an: "Prefect Su used thunderous means, and my boss
We are retreating steadily, and I see no hope. As the saying goes, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Now Yang Tugen is facing the enemy at the west gate. You and he are old acquaintances, why not take the opportunity to go and help. One way or another, you brothers will be freed.
Secondly, I took refuge with Magistrate Su, and I would have a better future in the future, which is better than being a thief all my life. As for the cases we committed in the past... Yang Guotai was able to assassinate the old emperor without incident, so what are our ideas?
The worst that can happen is that in the future, his merits will be replaced by his crimes." Du Min'an was originally a general of the imperial court, but he had no choice but to become a thief. Hearing that Yang Guotai had taken refuge with the prefect, he secretly thought about it. After hearing what he said, he immediately agreed. The two of them came to the city gate.
Looking for Yang Guotai.
Yang Guotai sighed after hearing this: "So that's the whole story. It's also my fault. I just ignored myself and didn't ask the child why."
He led them to see Zhenming Jia Cong and others, and then quietly pulled Jia Cong to explain the misunderstanding between him and his apprentice. Jia Cong glanced at Yang Guotai, and Yang Guotai glanced back. Jia Cong then said to Du Min'an:
"I can't guarantee that all the things you did in the past can be completely wiped out. It's okay to discount the merits anyway."
Du Min'an cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Mr. Jia."
Jia Cong smiled and said: "I don't have an official position yet, so I can't be called 'sir'."
Then Li Erlang said: "Prefect Su has a clear reputation, why didn't he come to defend the city? Is he also a coward who ran away from the battle?"
Jia Cong hurriedly said: "Don't say this, otherwise you will have to make a fuss if it reaches his ears." Nai crossed his hands and said, "What is he, a civil servant, doing here? He doesn't know how to send troops, and he doesn't know how to form an array.
He knew how to form a formation, but we had to spend a lot of effort to coax him away. He had different political and military backgrounds, but he had the highest official rank. What if he was confused and a layman took charge of an expert? Wouldn't this city full of people and tens of thousands of robes be in trouble?
"
Li Erlang's eyes jumped: "Do we have tens of thousands of soldiers in our city?"
Jia Cong said: "Including General Qi's soldiers from our Taiwan government, there are already tens of thousands, and now we have added those who came to report the news. Even counting the old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers, the number is almost fifteen thousand." He snapped.
He high-fived and said excitedly, "General Yang, the bandits suffered heavy casualties today, their morale is low and they are tired. Should we go to rob the camp tonight?"
Yang Guotai thought for a moment and then looked up at Zhenming. Zhenming said: "I'm just a Taoist priest. How can I know about marching and fighting?"
Then he looked at General Qi. General Qi clasped his fists and said, "It's all at the discretion of General Yang."
Jia Cong was admonishing from the side: "We are defenders of the city, we are not that tired. Their attackers must be half dead from exhaustion. Pao Ze died again and was hit by artillery fire, which makes people more and more panicked. Rob their camp and protect them."
Run away like shit!"
Yang Guotai said with a smile: "That's nonsense. How can I not get tired from defending the city?" Jia Cong curled his lips. Yang Guotai thought for a long time and looked at Du Min'an, "What do you think?"
Du Min'an clasped his fists: "Brother Yang, I have no place to use my strength! I will lead others!"
Jia Cong blinked and whispered: "I want to get some military merit by the way. Military merit is rare these days. If you don't go overseas, you have no chance to earn it."
Yang Guotai's eyes moved slightly and he said falsely: "Let me think about it again."
Jia Cong turned to Du Min'an and mouthed silently, "There is a way!" He then chuckled and started to leave. Yang Guotai asked him what he was doing, and he said: "Anyway, there are so many capable people here like you, so there is nothing wrong with me."
I'll go back and see my wife...well, I'll go back and see the old man." Then he left.
Yang Guotai then decided to rob the camp and took the city gate and the map of the western suburbs to study. He asked Du Min'an: "How many people do you want? General Li's people in the camp are tired and need to rest. There are still three thousand food guards and soldiers in the city.
Eight thousand Taiwanese special battalion soldiers."
Du Min'an thought about it and asked: "I heard that the Taiwan government is rich and its soldiers can be equal to ten. I just wonder if they will listen to me."
Yang Guotai said: "No problem, I have the final say."
Du Min'an clasped his fists and said, "I want five thousand Taiwanese soldiers." Yang Guotai nodded in agreement, and he and General Qi pointed at the map to figure out the route.
Li Erlang didn't know how to march and fight, so he sat around for a long time. Suddenly he remembered something and pulled Du Min'an: "Uncle Du, now you can be considered to have taken refuge with Mr. Su... Aunt Du is still worried. My nephew will go back for you.
Are you going to send a letter home?"
Du Min'an said: "That's fine. Tell her that the misunderstanding has been resolved. Haosheng is waiting at home." Li Erlang clasped his fists and left. As soon as he left, Zhenming said he would go downstairs for a walk and left.
Yang Guotai and others discussed for a while, and some government servants came to deliver the meal with gongs and drums. Magistrate Su invited everyone to eat. Su Tao himself did not come - he wanted to come, but let Jia Cong, Liu Xiaoqi and others work together in a roundabout way.
After the meal, Li Erlang came back and said that he had reported a letter to Mrs. Du. Du Min'an thanked him, and several people discussed the matter of robbing the camp for a long time.
After everything was settled, Yang Guotai ordered General Cheng from the Taiwan government to come over and asked him for five thousand troops. General Cheng was not very old, and his face seemed to be wearing a mask, showing no emotion or anger.
When Yang Guotai told them to rob the camp, he immediately accepted the order with clasped fists. Then he was asked to give the men to Du Min'an, but he flatly refused. He said: "My soldiers can't be taken by others."
Yang Guotai said with a sullen face: "This is a military order."
General Cheng said coldly: "I lead the troops into battle, and the merits of the battle can be passed on to others."
Du Min'an blushed and coughed twice: "General, I haven't led an army in many years, so let General Cheng go."
Yang Guotai was furious and slapped the case: "Military orders are like mountains and must not be violated." General Cheng turned a deaf ear.
General Qi on the side hurriedly stepped forward to break up the fight. After talking for a long time, Yang Guotai got a little better, but General Cheng still had an iron face and said nothing. Yang Guotai was so angry that he smashed the teapot on the desk. The quarrel continued for a long time.
Du Min'an finally failed to get the military power. He decided to have General Cheng lead 5,000 troops to the outskirts at the fifth watch to rob the camp. Yang Guotai originally asked him to rob the camp at the fourth watch, but he insisted that the fifth watch was the best time to rob the camp.
At the right time, the two quarreled for a long time. In the end, it was General Cheng who had the final say.
Yang Guotai looked at him solemnly and said: "The hair on your mouth has not grown all the way, do you know how to fight? You were not born when I was shaving my beard in Northern Xinjiang."
General Cheng said calmly: "It's useless to talk more. It will be clear in a few hours. I don't want the military merits, whoever wants them can take them."
Yang Guotai hummed: "Do you dare to issue a military order?"
"No need." General Cheng said, "Only those who have no ability can use military orders to strengthen their courage." He walked away with a puff of his sleeves. Yang Guotai was so angry that his teeth itched.
That night, Yang Guotai and others were going to rest at the city gate tower. Since Du Minan had a family and he was not needed for the robbery tonight, Yang Guotai asked him to go back and see his wife. He was fine, and Li Erlang naturally became more and more worried.
It was okay, so I followed them. Anyway, Yang Guotai was sure to introduce them to Mr. Su.
After working hard all day during the day, everyone was tired. That night, the soldiers guarding the city had a good sleep. The bandits outside the city stayed up all night, and no robbers came until dawn.