Mayor Pang looked at Mei Changyuan and Han Baihang eagerly. Mei Changyuan was naturally helpless. The only people he, the county magistrate, could take orders from were dozens of people from the police station. They usually caught people who were lazy and cheated.
It was definitely impossible to ask them to suppress the bandits. He could only look at Han Baihang and said anxiously: "Captain Han, the officers and soldiers have the unshirkable responsibility to suppress the bandits. What countermeasures do you have." In his mind, Han Baihang was conserving his strength and refused to work hard to suppress the bandits. Before that,
Almost all the successive officers and soldiers of the army were laborers.
"Don't worry, county magistrate, Baihang has already prepared countermeasures to suppress the bandits." Han Baihang reassured Mei Changyuan first, then looked at Mayor Pang with a straight face, and said solemnly: "Mayor Pang, frankly speaking
There is no need for rescue in Yong'an Town. The bandits are so fierce this time that we are unable to take care of the surrounding towns, so we can only abandon the small and protect the big, and make the preservation of Yongcheng the first priority."
As soon as these words came out, Mayor Pang immediately stamped his feet anxiously. He only said that Han Baihang was unwilling to contribute, and shouted with wide eyes: "Captain Han, if the army can save Yong'an Town, I am willing to pay five thousand oceans in military expenses. You
But you must never leave it alone."
Han Baihang looked at him calmly, shook his head and said: "This is not a matter of military expenditures, and I am not refusing to save myself. In fact, my troops have already left the city and gone straight to Yong'an Town. But even if my troops defend Yong'an Town,
It may not be possible to hold it, it will only turn Yongan Town into a scorched earth. I think Mayor Pang will not want to see this result."
Mayor Pang was first happy but then worried, and said in despair: "Is there no other way?"
Before Han Baihang could answer, he heard Ding Zuopeng slamming the table and shouting sternly: "Captain Han, who allows you to make your own decisions? When the officers and soldiers leave the city, who will defend the county? If the county falls, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of people?
You are the sinner of Yongcheng!" He was indeed worried. The officers and soldiers left the city without authorization, disrupting his deployment and reducing the confidence of defending the city. He scolded Liu Er in his heart, and clearly ordered him to keep an eye on the officers and soldiers' every move.
I moved, but there was no news at all.
Naturally, he would not have known that Han Baihang had long been prepared to prevent his intervention and had people arrest Liu Er and other informants. Naturally, they were unable to send back the news.
Everyone present looked at Han Baihang with angry eyes, and Mei Changyuan even sighed, as if his move would plunge Yongcheng into eternal disaster. Han Baihang was calm and composed, but found that there was one person in the crowd whose expression remained unchanged, that was Xu Wangtang, and he couldn't help but
I was shocked, wondering whether Xu Wangtang had guessed his plan.
Naturally, Xu Wangtang could not guess Han Baihang's combat deployment, but he had served in the army for half his life, and he could roughly tell the temperament of a soldier. Since Han Baihang dared to suppress the bandits in the dark wind when he took office, he knew that Han Baihang was by no means a good person, and he was afraid that there was something else.
As a countermeasure, a company may have fewer people, but if it is well commanded, it can defeat thousands of troops.
"Haha, don't panic. I am not as good as County Magistrate Mei in governing the place to appease the people. I am not as good as President Ding in doing business and getting rich, but you are not as good as me in marching and fighting." Han Baihang glanced at the crowd with his bright eyes and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.
"There is a saying in the art of war that an isolated city cannot be defended. If I shrink my troops into the city, I will passively allow the bandits to attack. This is a stupid command." He looked at Ding Zuopeng as he spoke, and stabbed him with a nail, neither light nor heavy.
Then he said: "The principle of defending the city since ancient times is that while defending the city, a force must be sent out to maneuver outside. One is to restrain the enemy from attacking the city, and the other is to find opportunities to defeat the enemy and win. This is the purpose of my sending troops outside the city. In fact,
There is nothing scary about bandits. It is just that the current political situation is chaotic, which gives bandits the soil to breed and cause chaos. I, Han, are not talented. The garrison in Yongcheng is here to suppress bandits and put an end to chaos. Please believe me and hand over the task of defending the city.
Follow my command. As long as the militia, business groups, and police can listen to my instructions, I will definitely be able to resist this banditry."
Ding Zuopeng's eyes were filled with brilliance. He had naturally seen Han Baihang's eloquence. He had calmed down. It was a foregone conclusion that the army would leave the city. Even if he killed Han Baihang, he would not be able to bring the army back. For the current plan, he could only hope that Han Baihang would not be boastful.
However, he was a little worried about Han Baihang gaining prestige by taking advantage of this opportunity to defend the city. He just said: "The militia and business groups only have command, so we don't need Captain Han to care about them. You can just serve as a staff member."
Han Baihang smiled lightly. If Ding Zuopeng was so easy to hand over the command of various armed forces, he would no longer be Ding Zuopeng. Then he changed his voice and said: "It will be some time before the bandits attack. Before that, we still have to discuss something important.
Let's do it." He winked at Mei Changyuan.
Ding Zuopeng snorted coldly, knowing that his fox tail was finally exposed.
Mei Changyuan coughed lightly and said in a deep voice: "The bandits are approaching the city. Yongcheng is in danger. While defending the city, the county's measures are also crucial. I think there are two things that are crucial at the moment. One is to collect taxes, and the other is to collect taxes."
It’s recruiting troops.”
Han Baihang was secretly surprised. County Magistrate Mei was really smart. He couldn't help but collect taxes and recruit soldiers for the reason of suppressing bandits. This was unplanned. How could Ding Zuopeng agree to it? Something would definitely change.
Sure enough, before he finished speaking, there was already endless opposition below.
"no."
Before Ding Zuopeng could say anything, the people present were already in a commotion. Bian Peiji, the vice president of the Yongcheng Chamber of Commerce, sneered: "County Magistrate Mei, since the Republic of China, every county magistrate has taxed the people for 40 years. The people have been unbearable."
It’s so painful that we really can’t add more taxes.”
Xue Lin, the deputy leader of the militia group, also shouted impatiently: "Recruiting troops, Yongcheng already has a militia group. Could it be that the county magistrate thinks that the militia group is unreliable and not enough to rely on?"
Others also talked a lot, and what they said was nothing more than that they must never collect taxes or recruit soldiers, otherwise they will be sinners for the ages. They kept talking about Mei Changyuan until he turned pale, speechless, and his anger soared.
There was nothing he could do. He, the county magistrate, had no one to help him and there was nothing he could do to deal with these people.
"presumptuous!"
Han Baihang couldn't stand it any longer. His expression dropped and he slammed the table and stood up. The wine glasses, bowls and chopsticks all jumped up, startling everyone present. He glanced at the people who had spoken the loudest just now with blazing eyes. Han Baihang
He said: "Taxes must be collected. Anyone who disagrees is disobeying the law. As a soldier, I have to pay attention. Moreover, the tax is collected now to resist bandits and to subsidize the soldiers and civilians for reconstruction. It is reasonable in both circumstances and reason.
Whoever dares to obstruct me again, don’t worry about my surname Han being ruthless."
These words first shocked Bian Peiji, the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. Anyone who was a soldier would be intimidated. He could only dodge his eyes and look at Ding Zuopeng's face. But Ding Zuopeng's face was expressionless, so he had to keep silent.
Sounded.
After all the hard stuff, it’s natural to have something soft. Han Baihang had earlier complained that Mei Changyuan’s request for recruiting soldiers was untimely. At this time, he was naturally happy to be a favor and calmed down and said: "As for recruiting soldiers, I think we should discuss it later.
Well, after all, the position of leader of the militia group was still vacant, and everyone happened to be there, so I asked County Magistrate Mei on his behalf that Deputy Captain Xue Lin was a veteran. At this critical moment in the war, he should be straightened up to facilitate command.
, County Magistrate, what do you think?"
Asking Xue Lin to straighten things up is somewhat beyond everyone's expectations. After all, Mei Changyuan offended Luo Huhu and lost his aunt and wife for the position of leader of the vigilante group. How could he be willing to let Xue Lin from Ding Zuopeng's group take office? Not only
Ding Zuopeng was so surprised that even Mei Changyuan was stunned. His whole face was livid, and he looked at Han Baihang angrily, his eyes clearly roaring that this matter was absolutely impossible.
Xue Lin was smiling from ear to ear. The militia was not the same as the army. No matter the officers or deputies, they would all be promoted. However, the militia was just like a carrot pit. If he could not become the commander of the regiment, someone else would take office in the future.
He had to sit on the bench again, just like Luo Huzhu suppressed him in every possible way in the past. He hurriedly cast a grateful look at Han Baihang, and then hurriedly looked at Ding Zuopeng, asking him to support him.
Naturally, Ding Zuopeng would not miss this opportunity to help one of his own to rise to power. He smiled slightly and said, "Xue Lin's achievements in the militia in the past are obvious to all, and I approve of him putting him in power."
"I disagree."
Xu Wangtang, who had been silent in his seat, suddenly spoke and sneered: "I think Ma Junjie of the 5th Squadron is more suitable to be the leader. He has been the squadron leader in Donghe Town for seven years, and the bandits have not harassed him once.
The people can live and work in peace and contentment, and in terms of hard work and merit, no one can compare with him."
