"Sir, this fort is an isolated city. From what I see, these Mongolians clearly want to take over the whole pot," Huang Yunfa said, cupping his hands.
"This time, it is indeed different from the past," Tian Shenglan said with a frown. "In the past, they always robbed the poor people outside the city. This time, they actually drove people into the city. They first sent rangers to seal the perimeter to prevent the news from leaking out. This doesn't look like the Mongolian style."
"It looks strange to me. Mongolians are all rough men. When did they start doing this kind of embroidery work?" Wang Dengku crossed his legs and wiped the surface of the ring on his other hand with one hand. Said slowly.
"Everyone, this general will not be mistaken. Most of these people must be Mongolians." Hei Yunlong said. "Although some people look like Han people, this is normal. In recent years, there have been many Han people who have gone to the grasslands to seek survival and have been captured by the Mongols."
Jin Liangyu coughed and said, "Let me tell you, let's communicate first and see what they mean. If we spend some food and supplies, we can get rid of it. It's better not to fight."
"Although our eight business groups can gather together 20,000 people, these people are the basis of our business. Without force on the grassland, there is no way to follow the business road. These people are all old guys. They have been trained in various ways. The hard work of the family.”
As soon as Jin Liangyu said this, all the heads of the families nodded.
A businessman is just looking for money, why would he wield a knife or a gun?
Hei Yunlong knew that for these businessmen, if you asked them to provide money and people, it would be like cutting their flesh. Not only were they unwilling to pay taxes, but they also asked the officers and soldiers to protect them, and the materials for the officers and soldiers also had to be provided by the court.
"What Shopkeeper Jin said makes sense. If you are willing to spend money to eliminate the disaster, I have no objection. However, we still have to be prepared. Currently, there are only more than 500 guardsmen and 300 battalion soldiers in this fort. This small amount of troops may not even be able to stand on the fortress wall."
The circumference of Zhangjiakou Fort is more than four miles, and one city wall is more than one mile. Just these 800 soldiers are definitely not enough for defense.
At this time, a general flag ran in quickly.
This man has gray hair and a weathered look on his face. He was wearing a broken mandarin duck battle coat, all black in color, and the original color could no longer be seen. It was probably passed down to him from his father. Xuanfu Town has not issued new military uniforms for several years.
"Sir, the Mongols outside tied up all the people who did not escape into the city with ropes and took them away. I don't know where they went. They started to burn down the houses outside the city."
Upon hearing the news, all the big shopkeepers immediately started talking about it.
These Mongols are different from the previous ones. They are determined to attack the fortress.
Fan Yongdou looked at the panicked shopkeepers, raised his hands and said, "Sir, dear shopkeepers, we can no longer sit here and waste time. They demolished private houses just to clear the way to attack the city. After they have cleared the obstacles near the city wall, , it is estimated that the city will be attacked soon,"
Hei Yunlong nodded. The Fan family was more farsighted than these people. He is the most sober one.
"Young Master Fan is right. Everyone must pay attention this time. These people came out from the overwintering camps in the middle of winter just to loot Zhangjiakou. If they couldn't survive, they would never brave the snowstorm and freeze to death again." The dangers of the wilderness come."
Fan Yongdou also said: "Everyone, your Excellency is right. In this season, the war horses will freeze to death after being out for half a day. These Mongolians all came on camels. The Tushetu Khan tribe does not have many camels, so you all walked Those who are used to business. You should know that they only have less than 6,000 camels. I guess there won’t be too many people, 10,000 will be enough.”
After all, a camel can only ride two people, and no more can fit in it. And you need to bring some supplies. You have to travel such a long way and have to go back. It’s impossible not to bring luggage. Calculated in this way, the camel transport capacity is large, and the Mongolian people are less than 10,000.
After hearing Fan Yongdou's analysis, the expressions of the shopkeepers softened.
"Everyone, we only need each family to contribute some money, food and guards to defend the city. They can't carry much luggage, and they have nowhere to thresh grass and grain in this snowy day. If they can't hold on, they will naturally die.
Withdrawn. "Heiyunlong also persuaded.
When Hei Yunlong asked everyone to pay, everyone's faces fell again.
"Sir, the responsibility of protecting the land is the responsibility of the imperial court. It is unreasonable and unreasonable for us merchants to provide money, food and servants." Wang Dayu said, his nose is not a nose, and his eyes are not eyes.
Hei Longyun felt irritated. These Shanxi old men and women with huge wealth could not bear to light two lanterns in their daily lives. It's a typical example of giving up one's life but not one's wealth.
Standing behind Hei Yunlong, Hei Mingxiao and Hei Minglian, both dressed in armor, also showed serious expressions. The two brothers followed their father in managing the army, and both held official positions in Baihu. Each of them led a hundred trusted servants.
There are currently more than 500 guardsmen in this fort, and the only ones who can really go into battle are the 200 servants under these two brothers. There are eight hundred households left, each with only about forty people. And they are all older men.
Hei Mingxiao said: "Exceptor Wang, I ask you to provide some money, food and manpower now, but you won't do it until the city is destroyed. Can you keep your wealth, wives and concubines? Aren't they all cheap to the Mongols? .”
Wang Dayu looked directly at the sky, as if he hadn't heard anything.
The other shopkeepers also shook their heads at this Wang Laoer. They knew Wang Dayu very well. This old boy was a master who would break every penny in half before spending it. If you want to take money out of his hand, the sow can climb a tree.
Fan Yongdou looked at this incompetent old man, snorted and said: "My Fan family will provide a thousand dan of grains. We will also provide 500 servants to form Fan Ziying. Sir, we are willing to be responsible for one side of the city wall."
Hei Yunlong held up his hands gratefully and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Fan, for your generous help. I will certainly write a letter to the imperial court praising you for bringing wealth to the country, and ask for the imperial court's praise."
These Shanxi merchants are very powerful, and I can't really defeat them with my own small defense. I can only plead with kind words. These people are the chief figures in each family who take care of things. Behind them are family elders and clan leaders. The attitudes of these people also represent the attitudes of various families.
"Everyone, please take your time to discuss this. I, the Fan family, will make a statement first. We are willing to take out all the 500 firecrackers in our family. Equip the Fan camp and guard the south city wall. If you are willing to send troops, you can decide on your own. .”
After saying that, he turned around and left, going back to mobilize the servants.
Liang Jiabin was a little surprised why the Fan family was so happy. He rolled his eyes. Come to your senses. This Jiakou Fort only has two gates, the east gate and the south gate. If you want to escape, you can only use these two gates. The south gate is the most convenient.
The Fan family wants to control the South Gate. Whether fighting, defending or escaping, the South Gate is very important.
"My Liang family sent out two thousand loads of grain and five hundred elite servants to form the Liang camp. Let's go to the east city wall."
Then, he stood up, turned around and went out. The whole room was left staring with big eyes.
