In the study room of the Ding family courtyard, a gilt trumpet-style gramophone was singing the melodious Tchaikov Little Swan. Ding Zuopeng squinted his eyes and leaned back on the sofa, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his legs in time with the music. It was a leisurely trip, and I was not worried about the disputes that were happening in the county government at this time.
He often talks about the words of Weng Tonghe, the emperor of the two former Qing dynasties, saying that he should be calm when faced with major events and does not believe that there are no ancient sages in the world. In his opinion, Mei Changyuan and Han Baihang colluded to expand the militia. It was just a wishful thinking. The Yongcheng gentry united to force the county magistrate. He was already familiar with it. He secretly thought that Mei Changyuan was probably already exhausted at this time, so he couldn't help but laugh. After laughing a few times, he suddenly thought of Han Baihang, and the smile on his face gradually faded. Go, there is a bit of sinisterness in his eyes.
After Xue Lin came back, he told Ding Zuopeng exactly what happened. When he heard Han Baihang talking and laughing, he chopped off the heads of dozens of bandit prisoners. This decisive killing shocked him, and he immediately labeled Han Baihang He was labeled as ruthless and ruthless, and became more and more fearful in his heart. He knew that since ancient times, soldiers and bandits were indistinguishable. If officers and soldiers caused harm, they would be far more vicious than bandits.
As for Han Baihang going into the mountains to chase the bandits, but letting Feng Guanglin go, Ding Zuopeng thought the same as Xue Lin at first, suspecting that Han Baihang had evil intentions, but after thinking about it carefully, his attitude changed 180 degrees. He felt towards Han Baihang. There is a lot of praise. The reason is very simple. The bandits are endless. Once Heifengzhai is wiped out, other bandits will take their place in Mangdang Mountain. And Zhu Chunzi dares to ambush Feng Guanglin, which means that there will be a rain of blood among the bandits. In the battle of Xingfeng, what the officers and soldiers have to do is to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. No matter who wins or loses in the end, the government will benefit the most. And if the officers and soldiers wipe out the Black Wind Village at that time, they will have to face the situation that takes advantage of the situation. It was not a wise move for Zhu Chunzi to steal the weapon.
These two things made Ding Zuopeng increasingly wary of Han Baihang. He was afraid that Han Baihang would be in Yongcheng for a long time, so he hurriedly sent someone with a generous gift to the Guide garrison to clear things up, and tried every means to transfer Han Baihang there. Elsewhere, as long as Han Baihang is gone, Mei Changyuan will be left at his mercy.
Thinking of this, his heart calmed down a little, and he couldn't help but sigh a little. When he was free these days, he often compared Xue Lin and Han Baihang, and came to the conclusion that one was as stupid as a pig, and the other was as smart as a monkey. He I have always thought that Han Baihang is a rare talent. If he can use it, there will be nothing to worry about in Yongcheng. Unfortunately, Han Baihang is too unruly and unruly, and his ambition seems to be quite high. He is not sure of his success. For own use.
Just when Ding Zuopeng was thinking a lot, there was suddenly a burst of hurried footsteps outside the door, and then someone quickly walked in through the curtain, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, panting: "Master... something bad is going to happen!" "
Ding Zuopeng suddenly turned his head to look at the person coming, and said with an unkind expression, "What's the matter?"
The person who came was a servant sent by Ding Zuopeng to the county government office to inquire about the news. He knelt on the ground and did not dare to raise his head. He said: "Mayor Pang expressed his support for Mayor Mei in the county government to expand the militia. Now County Mayor Mei has signed an official document to expand the number of people." Two squadrons."
Ding Zuopeng suddenly stood up, his face suddenly changed color, and he said sternly: "Pang Yumin is so brave. He dares to go against me. Tell Xue Lin immediately and arrest Pang Yumin. He has planted hundreds of acres of grassland in Yong'an Town." Smoking, it is enough to punish him with ten capital crimes."
After hearing this, the servant quickly got up and left.
Ding Zuopeng was pacing back and forth on the ground with a gloomy expression. Pang Yumin's sudden defection made his attempt to prevent the expansion in vain. He could actually guess the reason for Pang Yumin's defection. He simply blamed himself for not sending troops to rescue when the bandits attacked.
But at that time, there were not enough troops to defend the county town. How could there be any spare power to rescue Yong'an Town?
However, even though Pang Yumin sided with Mei Changyuan, Ding Zuopeng still had no intention of giving in. Pang Yumin was not clean. As long as he was arrested with tangible evidence, the opposition would naturally disappear. At that time, the gentry could still force Mei Changyuan to take it back.
Official document issued.
Waiting anxiously in the study, more than ten minutes later, Xue Lin walked in and said dejectedly: "Godfather, we didn't catch Pang Yumin. That old boy ran out of the city, probably back to Yong'an Town."
Ding Zuopeng was furious, smashed the coffee cup on the table, and shouted: "You are a pig-brained person. Why don't you chase the person after he ran away? Chase him back for me."
Xue Lin looked embarrassed and said dryly: "Godfather, I want to chase you, but Pang Yumin has dozens of nursing homes under his command, so we may not be able to stop him."
When Ding Zuopeng heard this, his head almost exploded with anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "Then why don't you just stop chasing me?"
Xue Lin shrank his neck and said: "Dad, that's not what I meant. I thought that since Mei Changyuan and Han Baihang are determined to expand the militia, there is no way for us to stop them. It is better to go with the flow and start from Yong'an Town this time.
There are still more than 700 strong men brought back, so let’s not disband them at all, and we will integrate them all into the militia. As long as we have more wounded guns than they have, Yongcheng will not be able to change the sky."
"It seems you are not so stupid!"
Ding Zuopeng turned from anger to joy. Xue Lin's words spoke to his heart. As Mei Changyuan was the county magistrate, and with the help of Han Baihang, if the two of them were determined to expand, he really couldn't stop them, instead of fighting each other and causing a big fuss.
To start a business relationship, it is better to make progress by retreating. If you expand, I will also expand. I have the Chamber of Commerce as a financial source behind me. Let alone expanding by 700 people, even if it is doubled, it will be easy. If one is going down, I will still make an advantage.
Xue Lin breathed a sigh of relief. The person he has been most afraid of since he was a child is Ding Zuopeng. This is the first time he has raised different opinions. Unexpectedly, they were accepted. In fact, he did not tell the truth. The reason why he did not pursue Pang Yumin was not because he was afraid of Pang Yumin's subordinates.
Instead, he was afraid of offending Han Baihang. He had a vague hunch that he, his godfather, might not be able to defeat Han Baihang.
…
Yong'an Town.
Han Baihang is very busy. While training regiment members, he also leads troops to help the townspeople rebuild their homes. He came to Yong'an Town with the intention of staying there. He has already made plans for the future reconstruction of the town. He wants to build Yong'an Town into a
Since it is a bridgehead for future attacks on Mangdang Mountain, commerce will naturally have to give way to military affairs.
From a military perspective, the most conducive way to prevent bandits is to build a city wall to surround Yong'an Town. However, building a city requires a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, so he can only settle for the second best. Therefore, he thought of the places where the Japanese invaded China.
The construction of gun towers for regional key defense only requires the construction of gun towers and bunkers at key locations around the town, which is enough to ensure the relative safety of the town and avoid attacks by ordinary bandits.
