In a warehouse at the dock, a businessman was calling the guys to talk.
"Many gentry were wavering. When they heard that the dog magistrate said that he was willing to write to the superiors to ask for an order to stop shaving their heads, they hesitated, and within a short time, most of them dispersed."
The owner of the warehouse, Cheng Bi, was a businessman from Huizhou and had quite a lot of property in Jiangyin. This warehouse was one of his properties, but at this time he was very respectful to a young man dressed as a clerk.
I saw the clerk saying to everyone, "The dog officer is just a delaying tactic. This hair-cutting order was issued by the Tatar Regent. How can it be stopped just by him? Besides, the resistance against the captives is restored. That is where loyalty lies. How can we give up halfway?" The truth.”
Cheng Bi nodded. He was originally a wealthy businessman. He narrowly escaped with his life during the Yangzhou Massacre, but his wife, children, and mother died tragically in the city. He vowed to spend the rest of his life to recover the blood debt from the Tatars. He once went to Chongming to pay homage to King Yiyang and made a donation. Gold and silver were also used to buy grain and send it to Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui, Jing Benche, Shen Tingyang, Zhang Pengyi and other armies.
But later he saw that they were afraid of the Tartars and did not dare to fight, so he had no choice but to go south to pay homage to the famous Lu Jianguo. There he saw a completely different atmosphere from Chongming, which was the real enterprising spirit of the Northern Expedition.
He broke up his family to support his family and donated 140,000 taels of silver. Zhu Yihai admired this righteous businessman very much and gave him a Jinshi background and the title of head of the Ministry of Industry.
This time I returned to Jiangyin on the order of Chen Qianfu, who used his connections in Susongchang Town to come back to assist the Jiangyin uprising. That young man was actually Wang Zhengzhong, the seventh-rank chief of the Supervisory Office of the Northern Expeditionary Army. This man was from the Beijing camp. The nephew of Governor Wang Zhiren, he was born in Juren and was an upright and upright man.
He is the leader of the action team that returned to Jiangyin this time, and Cheng Bi is his deputy.
Their mission is not only to lurk in Jiangyin, collect intelligence, but also to contact loyalists and ministers to instigate counterattacks. The current development of the situation in Jiangyin is very beneficial to their work, and they are also among the crowd during the day.
"I still owe a lot of heat." Wang Zhengzhong said. He is also proficient in riding and shooting. This time he took the initiative to invite Ying. After calmly analyzing the current situation, he believed that most people in Jiangyin City are actually still here. The Ming dynasty, especially the gentry, hated the order to shave their heads.
However, there are also some gentry who are weak and afraid of death and dare not fight against the Qing Dynasty. Because the situation of Su Song's recent recovery has been very good, some gentry have begun to hesitate and wait and see again. This is a favorable condition.
Wang Zhongzheng received instructions from above that the Northern Expeditionary Army was about to head to Suzhou, hoping that they would launch an uprising in Jiangyin to create momentum and contain some Qing troops.
"The most important thing is that we must seize the time to rally our team." Wang Zhengzhong thought that we still have to rely on them to push him, "Master Cheng, can you trust the Shao Kanggong you mentioned before?"
"Shao Kanggong is a good friend of mine who has been with me for many years. He is less than forty years old. He is proficient in martial arts and can defeat forty or fifty people. His family is also a powerful local family with many fields and manors and many slaves." Cheng Bidao.
A hero who is capable of defeating forty or fifty people must be the brave general. Wang Zhongzheng was very interested in hearing this and asked, "Can you bring me to see you?"
"Why don't I go and talk to him first and test it out? If he is willing to conspire with us, then I will bring him to see me. If he hesitates or surrenders secretly, it will not be exposed. you."
"Okay, who else can you recommend to contact?"
"Xu Guanhai was a guerrilla in the Taiping Camp of the Yangtze River Navy, and the southern capital was destroyed. He once advised Liu Kongzhao to defend Taiping Mansion, but Liu Kongzhao did not obey the advice and followed him eastward. Later he advised him to defend Suzhou, but he still refused. So he resigned and returned to his hometown in Jiangyin, where he is now
Recuperate. Xu Guanhai knows soldiers, and his brothers, nephews, etc. are all brave and know soldiers. If there is an incident, they can preside over it for the general."
Wang Zhengzhong wrote down the names of the two people carefully.
While thinking about it, he picked up a spoon and stirred the stew in the pot next to him. The meat had been stewed for more than an hour, and now it exuded an attractive smell. "Eat first. Everyone is tired from running around these days. Eat more."
Order some meat and you’ll have more energy to run next.”
The waiters also smiled and took big bowls to fill the meat and soup. Some of them were Cheng Bi's servants, and some were brought by Wang Zhengzhong from the south.
Everyone was so happy with the meal that they even bared their arms and started sweating while eating.
After the meal, Wang Zhengzhong and Cheng Bi discussed again, "Now the dog official named Fang is hiding in the county government office and is afraid to come out, so he is delaying the attack. The real person in charge of the county is Chen Mingyu, the Dianshi, and the most prestigious one is the township official."
Lao Hemao, Beimen Ji Shimei and Zhusheng Xu Yong are also very appealing."
"Oh, by the way, Yan Yingyuan, the former Dianshi, was from Tongzhou. During his tenure as Dianshi in this county, he had put down salt thieves, pirates, and civil strife. He was so prestigious that the people even had his portrait commemorated in the academy.
Previously, Nandu had granted him the title of Registrar of Yingde County, Shaozhou, Guangdong, but his mother was seriously ill and was unable to make the trip, so he now lives in the suburbs."
"Is Yan Dianshi really that powerful?"
When it came to Yan Yingyuan, Cheng Bi was also excited, "You don't know, Mr. Wang, that when Yan Dianshi first took office, the pirate Gu Sanmazi led hundreds of ships to invade Huangtian Port. Yan Gong rode to Huangtian Port alone, riding a company of horses.
He fired three arrows and hit the pirate. The pirate was so frightened that even Gu San Mazi admired him so much that he automatically led the thieves to retreat. Gu San Mazi even told Yan Gong that as long as he stayed in Jiangyin for one day, he would not invade again.
After that, I really didn’t dare to do it again.”
"That's really remarkable. Such a heroic person should go and pay homage."
"Looking at the county government, I guess Fang Guan Guan will not want to sit still and wait for death. He will secretly find a way to report a letter to Changzhou Fucheng for help. As long as we get the letter, everyone will see through the true face of Gu Guan's thieves."
······
In the darkness of the night, one of Fang Heng's servants climbed out of the backyard quietly. After taking a few steps, he was held down, his mouth and nose were covered, and he was dragged back, and soon disappeared into the night.
In a house on the street, the oil lamp is dim.
Shao Kanggong carried the stunned servant of the pseudo-county magistrate in like a chicken. He was tall and burly, like a mountain of meat, and his hands were like cattail fans. No wonder Cheng Bi said that he could fight against forty or fifty people. This guy had the power on his arms.
If you race a horse, you can build people with your fists.
People have to bend down and lower their heads when entering the door. As soon as they enter, the whole room is oppressed by him.
"True to his mission, Officer Dog indeed sent someone to report the news."
Wang Zhengzhong went up and took out the letter from the servant's arms. Sure enough, it was Fang Heng's request for help from Zong Hao, the pseudo-prefect of Changzhou. The letter said that the whole city of Jiangyin was rebellious and wanted to cause riots. He asked Zong Hao to send troops.
Kill the tree.
"What a Duo Sha Shuwei. This Fang Heng was so frightened during the day that he begged for mercy like a chicken, but now he is talking so brazenly."
"With this letter, everything will be easier to handle next." Wang Zhengzhong thanked Duke Shao Kang, "I also asked Duke Cheng to take me to see Chen Dianshi."
Jiangyin Dianshi Chen Mingyu was originally from Zhejiang.
At this time, in the middle of the night, I was still awake and was discussing with a group of gentry. Originally, Xu Mao and others had agreed to defend the city and resist the prisoners. However, Fang Heng's words during the day left many people undecided.
Chen Mingyu's official position in the county is Shi. He is a low-ranking official, that is, he is not in the ninth rank. He is a miscellaneous official who is not high-ranking and not high-ranking. In the county government, he is a subordinate in charge of arrests and prisons.
.However, although the classics and historians are not well-known, in some small counties, there is no chief register, or sometimes when the county chief register is vacant, the responsibilities of the chief register are borne by the classics and historians. Therefore, this low-ranking official is actually the same as the county magistrate.
County magistrates, etc., are all court officials selected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and appointed with the signature of the emperor.
People sum up the power in the county. There is a very vivid saying: One county, two yin, three yamen and four old codes. One county refers to the county magistrate, two yin refers to the county magistrate, these three yamen refer to the chief secretary and four old codes.
Naturally, it is classic history.
Therefore, despite the fact that Dian Shi is not popular and has no rank, he is actually the fourth in command in the county. In the former dynasty, he is the county captain, who is in charge of the security of the county and is also responsible for the errands of the Minister of Armed Forces. Therefore, Dian Shi can actually be
Called an official, not an official.
Chen Mingyu succeeded Yan Yingyuan as Dianshi. He had only been in office for more than a year, but he did a good job and was recognized by the county.
After the Tatars went south, the original county magistrate, Cheng Cheng, ran away, and the chief secretary, Mo Shiying, surrendered to the captives. The new magistrate, Fang Heng, was appointed by the Tatars, so everyone came to Chen Ming for help when they had anything to do.
While they were discussing, the servant came to report.
"Huizhou merchants Cheng Bi and Kang Shaogong came to visit."
Chen Mingyu and others also knew that Cheng Bi was a wealthy businessman. They also knew that he had paid a visit to King Yiyang and donated money to support Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui and others. They were planning an uprising and needed him, so they got up and went out to greet him in person.
"Cheng pays homage to Fourth Master!" Cheng Bi held his hand.
Chen Ming returned the favor when he was polite.
"I hope you'll forgive me for visiting late at night. It's really important. Please read this letter first." Cheng Bi handed the found letter to Chen Mingyu.
Chen Mingyu read it quickly and frowned.
"Come in and talk."
After entering the house, Chen Mingyu only thought that Wang Zhengzhong was a follower of Cheng Bi and Shao Kanggong, and didn't pay much attention.
"Fang Heng is determined to be a traitor and can no longer hesitate. There is no turning back when he fires his bow." Wang Zhengzhong said bluntly.
"Who is this?" Chen Mingyu felt from his words that this young man did not look like a follower of Cheng Bi.
Cheng Bigang was about to answer, and Wang Zhengzhong introduced himself, "My dear Wang Zhengzhong, Juren, was originally the magistrate of Cixi County appointed by the Supervisor of Lu, and is now the head of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War. This time, he went north to Jiangyin on the order of the Supervisor to contact Yi Ju.
"
"Lu Jianguo?"
Chen Mingyu and others were a little surprised. After all, Jiangyin and Chongming are separated by a river and are very close to each other. Although the people of Jiangyin initially welcomed King Yiyang of Chongming and later became disgusted and even guarded against thieves, after all
Everyone is familiar with King Yiyang, but King Lu from eastern Zhejiang is not that impressed.
"The 100,000-strong Northern Expeditionary Army of the Supervisory State has recovered Susong Jiahu, and Jiangnan Admiral General Zhu Wu has also led his troops to Suzhou."
"Weren't the ones who attacked Suzhou the Navy's Admiral Huang Fei and Su Song's Commander-in-Chief Wu Zhikui?"
"Generals Huang and Wu are right to attack Suzhou, but Admiral Zhu has already led his army and is about to arrive at the gates of Suzhou."
This news shocked Chen Mingyu and many other people in the small county, and they were speechless. The situation had changed too quickly.
"What does Mr. Wang want us to do?" Chen Mingyu quickly came to his senses.
