Zan Wanshou placed the first stop of his inspection tour in various states and counties in Meizhou. Meizhou and Jiading Prefecture were both under the jurisdiction of Chengdu Fulu. After Chengdu fell to the Mongolian army, the Chengdu Fulu official office was moved from Yunding City to Jiading Prefecture. Due to frequent wars in western Sichuan, Meizhou had been destroyed by the Mongolian army several times, so the Lin'an court did not appoint a magistrate. Since Yu Xing also served as the deputy pacification envoy of Chengdu, Meizhou was managed by him in order to unify the war against the Mongolian army. Strictly speaking, Zan Wanshou was the prefect of Jiading and did not have the right to govern Meizhou. On the contrary, Ouyang Xuan, who was also the deputy pacification envoy of Chengdu, had the legal authority to govern Meizhou. It's just that in these troubled times, if you control your own territory, there is a reason to hand it over to others, so it has become a default fact that the prefect of Jiading governs Meizhou.
The reason why Zan Wanshou chose Meizhou for his first trip was not only that Meizhou was the largest city after Jiading, but also because the number of garrison troops was second only to Jiading City. The Meizhou Army not only has more than 2,000 people, but also has a complete water infantry and cavalry force. It even has many imitation artillery, grenades and other firearms. The navy has nearly a thousand men and more than a hundred ships of various sizes; the infantry is also very powerful, one of the best among the Jiading army; although the cavalry only has about 200 people, it is far less powerful than the Mongolian cavalry, but it is generally lacking in The number of cavalry in the Sichuan Song Army is also considerable. Unlike the garrison in Jiading City, which focuses on defense, the Meizhou garrison has always been Yu Xing's fist force. It is mainly used for mobile defense and is also the main force of offense.
There was another reason why Zan Wanshou chose to go to Meizhou first, which he couldn't say out loud. This was because Meizhou guard Liu Da'er was very respectful and even flattering to him. At the beginning of the reception banquet, all the Jiading officials looked cold and the scene was very deserted. It was Liu Da'er who was the first to speak out, praising Zan Wanshou for being young and promising, and that he would surely become a general in the future, and he would do his best to do his best, no matter how hard he worked. Under his leadership, the atmosphere of the banquet became lively. Although it was still an official show, at least the situation was no longer embarrassing. Liu Daer also strongly invited him to Meizhou for guidance. Liu Daer was so attentive, which made Zan Wanshou feel that it would be unreasonable not to place the first stop of his trip in Meizhou.
Praising and fawning was still the norm in the officialdom of the Southern Song Dynasty. According to Ouyang Xuan, some high-ranking officials in temples were not even as good as prostitutes. The entire Pili Army was influenced by Ouyang Xuan, so they naturally despised flattery. After the banquet, Captain Ding of the special company left behind by Yu San as a guard couldn't help but remind Zan Wanshou to be careful of Liu Da'er, after all, "If you show courtesy for nothing, you are either a traitor or a thief." It's just that "you can wear everything, but flattery can't wear it." Zan Wanshou felt uncomfortable after hearing the reminder. He asked angrily through his drunkenness: "Didn't Zan become a Jinshi at a young age because of his talent? Became the prefect of Jiading again?" As soon as these words came out, Hou Xing, who was about to say the same words, was so frightened that he stopped talking. As the saying goes: "The prefect who destroys the family is the county magistrate who destroys the family." If Company Commander Ding hadn't saved his life and was a member of the Pili Army, Zan Wanshou would have pulled him down and punished him for offending the officer.
Before Zan Wanshou and his party arrived at Meizhou, a group of Meizhou officials stood at the dock early to welcome Zan Wanshou's arrival. With a smile on his face, Liu Da'er said words of welcome while guiding Zan Wanshou, and from time to time he glanced at the guards behind him. Before setting off from Jiading, Zan Wanshou thought that there would be navy escorts along the way. In addition, he had selected and supplemented the escorts in the past few days, so there was no need to worry too much on the way. After arriving in Meizhou, the well-behaved and careful Hu Daer must have arranged things more properly, and naturally there will be no danger. Since the special company commander offended him, he has not allowed the guards of the Thunderbolt Army to follow him. However, at Hou Xing's insistence, Captain Ding still followed with his men.
The group went straight to the government office. On the way, a deputy general of the Meizhou Army talked to Hou Xing many times. He loudly announced that Meizhou would entertain Master Zan at the government office and had prepared meat for the guards in the small courtyard nearby. Drooling. When he first arrived at the large school grounds in front of the government office gate, Liu Daer stopped and said in an apologetic tone that the government office building was small, so he had to ask Mr. Zan to escort him to the small courtyard for drinking. As soon as he finished speaking, the guards who had just been selected from Jiading City wanted to go, but were stopped by Hou Xing's eyes. The guards of the Perak Army waited silently for Zan Wanshou to speak. There is nothing wrong with Liu Daer's arrangement. The hierarchy in the government is very strict. Only a few followers such as Hou Xing can follow Zan Wanshou into the banquet venue, while the guards have other places to eat.
Just as Zan Wanshou was about to speak, Captain Ding, who was standing behind him, suddenly looked around and shouted: "The smell of gunpowder there? It's dangerous!". The Pili Army started out with firearms, so Captain Ding of the Special Forces was naturally very familiar with the smell of homemade gunpowder. This question was a subconscious reaction. Hearing such an abrupt and reckless roar, Zan Wanshou was about to get angry, but was pulled back ten steps by Hou Xing and others, and was immediately protected by a group of guards. He looked ahead and saw that Liu Da'er had hurried to the gate of the state government office a hundred meters away. Heavily armed soldiers were pouring out from behind the door. Soon, he and his party were surrounding him.
At this time, Liu Daer no longer had the smile on his face before, but his face was cold and stern. He shook his pair of wind-catching ears and shouted at Zan Wanshou: "When you enter Meizhou City today, stop trying to get out alive. Surrender quickly and I can give you a good death." After all, he was a scholar, and Zan Wanshou had seen such a battle before. He knew that he had fallen into Liu Da'er's trick, but he didn't understand why Liu Da'er turned against him like a book, and why he wanted to kill him? His question made Liu Da'er burst out laughing. He was not only laughing at Zan Wanshou for not understanding the sinister nature of people's hearts, but also laughing at the fact that he was about to be promoted and make a fortune. He pointed at Zan Wanshou and proudly said loudly: "I want to use your head to exchange for glory and wealth from the Mongols."
While the two were talking, the Meizhou Army continued to pour in. In a moment, there were two to three hundred people, making the encirclement thicker, especially the Zhouyamen. Liu Da'er was also afraid that the trapped people and beasts in the encirclement would still fight, so he rushed over to fight him desperately. Zan Wanshou was filled with regret at this moment. He wished he had not listened to Captain Ding's warning and advice. He hated himself for going his own way, which not only harmed himself and his followers, but also harmed the people of Jiading and Meizhou. However, he also knows what is the use of regret? . At this moment, Captain Ding's loud voice rang out again: "The soldiers of the Perak Army obey the order and escort Mr. Zan out of the city quickly. The suicide squad members will follow me."
Hou Xing's heart was in a mess at this moment. He looked around, at himself and then at the enemy, and his heart was already half cold. He had brought fifty soldiers with him, plus fifty people from the Perak Army's special company. The total force was only a hundred people, and Liu Da'er's men were surrounded by at least three hundred people, and they were still coming in a steady stream. As for the weapons, the gap is even greater. Although our soldiers all have armor, most of them have knives and shields, and only a few crossbows. On the contrary, Liu Daer's armor soldiers have spears and giant shields, and a large number of Archer. Our only advantage lies in the special combination of grenades.
The moment he turned his head, Hou Xing even saw the soldiers of the Meizhou Army at the gate of the Yamen hurriedly setting up artillery, while Liu Daer was gesticulating at the side. Although Hou Xing was extremely brave, seeing the enemy's formation, he knew that today was going to be a bad day. If you charge desperately, you will face a barrage of spears and a dense rain of arrows. If you defend passively, when the enemy's artillery is set up, you will probably end up with blood and flesh flying everywhere.
