Chapter 76 General (1)
Wu Mu looked at the copy of the official document that had just been delivered. [Read full text] This was just delivered by the postal inspection station located at Guanrongpu Station.
Although the entire territory of Lingao has been controlled by them for a long time, the post roads have always remained open for the sake of the policy of "clearing the heart of Australia". After Shan Daoqian arrived at the transportation department, he not only built the post roads, but also took over the post stations along the road, repaired the crumbling houses, and the impoverished post workers also had a guaranteed life. Therefore, the fast horses of the post soldiers carrying various official documents were still galloping on this post road unimpeded. This gives the General Administration of Political and Security a great opportunity to peek into the government movements across the island. Zhao Manxiong set up a special postal inspection station in the Guanrongpu Station nearest to Lingao. All official documents passing through Lingao were opened and copied first, and then re-sealed and delivered.
Of course, official documents in the Ming Dynasty were sealed with wax, and important documents had to be sealed, but this was not a problem for time travellers, whether they were using special letter-picking tweezers to wrap up letters, using steam blowtorches to dissolve the paste, or even forging official documents. There are people who know how to do the seals. Even if no one knows how to do it, you can always find it by checking the information.
Not only can they see the official documents addressed to Lingao County at any time, but they also have to make a copy of all government documents that pass by and send them to the General Administration of Political Security. Now also send a copy to the Foreign Intelligence Service.
As usual, these official documents were read by Wu Mu. Although most official documents were written in the vernacular of the time, there were many official terminology, and the ancient vernacular and Mandarin were different after all. It is difficult for modern people to fully understand, so he has a team of consultants from the county government office to explain the meaning of the official document in detail.
Most of the official documents are not of much value. Most of them are daily administrative documents of various counties. More than 90% of them are about taxation and the handling of criminal cases. This may be excellent first-hand information for those who are interested in studying the history of the Ming Dynasty, but it is of little interest to Wu Mu.
The exchange of official documents between Lingao County Government and Qiongzhou Prefecture is the focus of their surveillance, especially whether Wu Mingjin and his men have privately reported the current actual situation in Lingao to Qiongzhou Prefecture. Therefore, whether it is an official document or a private letter, it is subject to the strictest inspection.
The situation has been tense recently, so more and more official documents are passing through. Wu Mu was very surprised to find that official documents to Danzhou, Changhua and other places continued to be passed down one stop through the Lingao post station. It seems that he doesn't care whether the official document can pass through the "gang zone".
The General Administration of Political Security and the Intelligence Bureau easily knew from past official documents that the Ming army had no plan to send troops from Danzhou... The official documents only ordered the locals to prepare food and wait for Lingao, but there was no order for the Danzhou garrison to assemble and prepare for combat. , and did not ask the garrison to immediately steam and clean the firearms for later use.
He opened a few letters and found nothing special. His eyes suddenly widened when he opened another letter.
This is an official document calling Wu Mingjin to return to the provincial capital immediately to report on his duties.
A copy of this letter was immediately in Xiong Buyou's hands. Then it was in the hands of the Executive Committee. Ten minutes later, Ma Niao's field army headquarters also received the news.
"Of course Wu Mingjin cannot be allowed to go to the provincial capital." Xiong Buyou expressed his attitude simply and clearly, "First, when he arrives in the provincial capital, he will probably tell everything. Even if he doesn't tell everything, he has a lot of first-hand knowledge. It would not be good to reveal some of the information. Secondly, this person is still useful in our hands. If he goes to the provincial capital, we will no longer be able to use him, life or death."
"Of course it would be easy to not allow him to go, but if the Lingao pattern continues in the future, he, a county magistrate, who openly disobeys orders, may no longer be an official." Wu De was worried about this issue.
"It doesn't matter, just ask him to write an emergency document." Xiong Buyou said, "Isn't He Ming sending a small force to harass Chengmai and Qiongshan? Let's add some more information. It is said that the Kun bandits are besieging the county. He is trying his best to defend and cannot get out of the city."
"Can it be done?"
"You can get it done by asking Master Wang."
Inside the county government office, Wu Mingjin and others were in a very depressed situation. The news that the government troops were coming to suppress the bandits was also known in the Yamen. Although the county government officials have either changed or no longer dare to contact him privately, the inner government officials are all his family members, and he can always get outside news from their mouths.
The news started out as just a chatter, but then it became more and more solid. The news coming from everywhere shows that it is imminent for the Governor to send troops to suppress the situation. Servants told him that the Australians were mobilizing troops, that the roads were full of troops and cannons, and that ships in the harbor were also mobilizing. And there are rumors that Australia has sent new troops to prepare for a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty.
Wu Mingjin felt conflicted and painful. He knew that he had not committed suicide due to a single thought, nor had he fled to the city alone to seek emergency. There is no way out now. We can only "live together" with the Australians. If the Australians win, I can probably continue to be an obscure county magistrate...but I may not be the Lingao County Magistrate of the Ming Dynasty. Thinking of this, a burst of sadness for the motherland couldn't help but surge into my heart. However, if the Ming Dynasty wins and the Australians pull anchor and sail away, I can't go with them, abandoning the tombs of my ancestors and becoming the Australians who can only stay and wait for death.
Thinking of this, he could hardly sleep at night. He knew very well that once the Ming Dynasty regained Lingao, he would never consider himself a loyal minister who was "trapped in the isolated city". Not only would his life be at stake, his reputation would be compromised, and his family would also be implicated. My wife and children are both on the road to death, and I'm afraid they will both die by then.
Wu Mingjin spent more than ten days in such an extremely contradictory and complicated state of mind. Xiong Buyou knew from the insider planted in the inner office that he was suffering internally, and was very worried that he would suddenly commit suicide. According to the executive committee, Wu Mingjin was a person who was under special protection. Therefore, he ordered the insiders among the servants placed around him to keep an eye on the county magistrate to prevent him from committing suicide. In addition, You Guotuan was ordered to strengthen security at the gates of inner offices and county towns to prevent him from escaping or to send people to deliver messages privately.
Xiong Buyou decided that he still had to discuss this matter with Wang Zhaomin... After all, the county magistrate's seal was still in Wu Mingjin's hands. It is inconvenient for me to take it by force. Although Mr. Wang has lost power now, he has become a senior advisor to the Government Affairs Council. He is not dissatisfied with such a life. He has no fame and no salary from the Ming Dynasty. Now he is getting double from the county magistrate and the Australian people. Allowance, raising a concubine, and living a comfortable life. In my heart, I just longed for such a peaceful life until Mr. Wu left office.
Wang Zhaomin knew the news that the Ming army was about to attack earlier. But he doesn't think the Australians will be defeated. Unlike Wu Mingjin, he often interacts with Australians, has been to many places, and knows that Australians are extremely powerful. The Ming army's encirclement and suppression campaign was bound to end in failure.
The biggest negative consequence of this siege is that the position of his employer, Lingao County Magistrate, may not be guaranteed. But this has little to do with his own immediate interests? Wang Zhaomin can find another employer and continue to be a master.
Xiong Buyou came to discuss with him and showed him the official document. Wang Zhaomin agreed with the judgment that Wu Mingjin should not be allowed to go to the province to report on his work, and he also held a positive attitude towards the practice of sending people to help in emergencies.
"There is no need to let Mr. Wu know about this... He is disturbed now, and bothering him will only make it more difficult for Mr. Wu." Wang Zhaomin followed the master's usual style and acted boldly, "The seal is in the signing room, sign and seal He was originally my mission, so I will handle this matter."
"Okay. Then I'll rely on Master Wang for your wonderful writing."
Wang Zhaomin immediately started writing this urgent letter. This letter was written with great care. Although he knew nothing about the situation in Guangdong, judging from the fact that Wu Mingjin was asked to return to the province, the Guangdong officialdom was not very concerned about the situation in Lingao. Clearly, I know almost nothing about the situation of Australians.
But the Australians could not hide this matter from anyone in the three years before and after Lingao. When Wu Mingjin sent a lot of urgent documents to Fucheng, the Guangdong side will definitely check the original documents.
It is difficult to explain satisfactorily why the local county government did not take any response measures during the three years of Lingao in Australia. Especially now that the word "suppression" is at the forefront, any excuse will be criticized, and only public opinion will become " When you touch someone, it doesn’t matter what contradictory words you say.
After thinking over and over again, since it is difficult to tell a lie, it is better not to tell it at all, and just write an urgent letter saying that Lingao is currently besieged by the Kun bandits, who are setting up cannons and building ladders outside the city, preparing to storm the county seat. The county magistrate is urging the entire city's soldiers and civilians to defend the city.
After I finished writing, I circled and daubed it again before I was satisfied. At that moment, the seal was copied and handed over to Xiong Buyou for review.
"It's just that the person who delivers the letter has to go through a lot of trouble." Mr. Wang twirled his beard and said, "Although the official document only needs to be delivered to the city, if the prefect or Tang Shen comes to ask about the situation in the county, he must be able to speak. Only those who can argue well and are not afraid of death can do it.”
"It's okay, I have my own choice."
Xiong Buyou took the document and did not go back to his office. Instead, he went directly to the office of the General Administration of Political Security. He studied the letter over and over with Wu Mu, Li Yan and others, and thought there was no problem, so he called in an intelligence training officer. A locally-born indigenous intelligence agent studied in Department A of the center asked him to deliver letters to the capital.
Li Yan told him one by one how to answer if he was asked. And tell him the dangers he may encounter and ask him to be careful.
The news that the Kun thieves broke into the Lingao Guards Station, harassed Chengmai, and surrounded Lingao County finally reached the Guangdong Governor's Office in Zhaoqing through the Hainan Express. Wang Zunde was originally unhappy that he failed to capture the Kun thieves in Guangzhou. Now I heard that the Kun bandits in Lingao broke into the local guard post in Lingao, besieged the two counties of Chengmai and Lingao, and harassed the local areas. I became even more angry and ordered He Rubin to gather his troops as soon as possible and cross the sea to conquer. In order to supervise He Rubin's combat operations, Wang Zunde ordered Hainan Branch Guard Zhao Ruyi to serve as the supervisor. Then, Lu Yizhong was appointed as an alternate rank in the army.
As a result, He Rubin had two "supervisory troops" before he was dispatched. Not to mention Zhao Ruyi, it is inconvenient for others to leave their posts without authorization in Qiongshan County, but this Lu Yizhong is a close confidant in the governor-general's shogunate. He came here to urge the war. In the army, he often pointed fingers and asked him to "send troops."
Lu Yizhong cornered various shops in Guangzhou that usually had trade relations with the Australians. After some bluff threats, he finally raised 40,000 to 50,000 silver, and even the Gao family had to spend several thousand taels of silver. Although this figure did not satisfy Wang Zunde, it finally restored some trust.
While Wang Zunde sternly urged the army to go into battle, he stepped up the mobilization of grain, grass, gunpowder and armor and prepared to ship it from Guangzhou to Qiongshan for storage.
The summer is hot, but there is a cool breeze at the seaside. Although this is still an inland river of the Pearl River, the river is wide, and the wind and waves on the river are as strong as on the sea. The waves undulated and rushed towards the shore, hitting the beach and rocks.
Because of the order of Wang Zunde, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, ships at the Pearl River Estuary are prohibited from entering and exiting. Moreover, the merchant ships knew that the government was sealing large ships at the Pearl River Estuary recently, so they did not dare to show up here. Therefore, there were only a few fishing boats and naval patrol warships on the river.
In the river bay in front of Humen Village, there are many ships with masts and masts like a forest. There are ships of the Guangdong Navy and various civilian ships temporarily nailed here. Some large ships are loaded with food and armored ordnance, with white sails, and are heading west to Hainan Island.
The open space in front of Humen Village has been dotted with many military tents. Banners cover the field, and swords and guns are like a forest. The drums and horns respond to each other. The military appearance is very majestic.
Flags were flying on the Ya Niang Shoe Fort opposite Humen Village, which was one of the main forts outside Guangzhou. There were earthen forts, archery towers, and blockhouses built around it, and many Ming troops were stationed there, with flags fluttering in the wind.
He Rubin led a group of generals, staff and personal retinues to the riverside, looking at the army that had gathered from all over the province. Since the expulsion of the Penghu Hongmao Fan at the end of Tianqi, Guangdong Province has never assembled such a large army. In order to support this army, in addition to using the grain accumulated in official warehouses on Hainan Island over the years, a large amount of additional grain must be transported. Knowing that the Kun thieves had sharp firearms and preparing for a long siege of the city, many newly cast cannons and firecrackers were brought from Foshan. And lots of gunpowder. A new gunpowder factory was set up behind Ya Niang Shoe Mountain, where saltpeter, sulfur and willow charcoal were continuously transported from all over the province to be made into gunpowder.
"The troops are well-equipped and well-fed, and if we go from here to hold the platform, we will be able to achieve full success in one battle." Some of his staff flattered him.
"According to what the Tang newspaper said: The morale of the Kun thieves has not declined. Not only did they have no intention of retreating, they destroyed our guard post and surrounded our two counties of Lingao and Chengmai. It seems that there must be a fierce battle to determine the outcome. Military affairs It's so dangerous that there can't be any negligence." He Rubin was very surprised by the sudden activity of the Kun thief. Since the Kun thief had been living a peaceful life in Lingao for nearly three years, why was he suddenly attacking everywhere now? Is it true, as Lu Yizhong said, that it was just to retaliate against the government for sealing down Australian businesses?
He vaguely felt that this matter was not that simple.
A middle-aged civil servant stood beside him on horseback. He was Lu Yizhong, who was sent by Wang Zunde to serve as an alternate rank in front of the army. Although he came with the title of Zan Hua Military Affairs, everyone knew that he was a supervisor sent by Wang Zunde.
Zhao Ruyi, the official supervisor of the Hainan branch, is still in Qiongshan County. He will not come to Guangzhou to point fingers. Lu Yizhong was not so easy to fight. Soon after arriving in the army, he kept urging He Rubin to cross the sea to Hainan as soon as possible.
After listening to He Rubin's words, Lu Yizhong quickly continued: "What Lord Zhentai said is absolutely true. The thieves know that their doom is coming, and the so-called poor rats will bite back. Our division can only capture such small things by crossing the sea."
Everyone knows that Lu Zanhua is urging troops to advance again. The invasion and suppression army, which was actually claimed to be fifty thousand but actually twenty thousand, had only assembled more than ten thousand people so far. This is already mobilizing troops within the province, so the speed is much faster. According to the practice of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, so many armies cannot be mobilized and mobilized to hit the road at once, because it is difficult for the local area to provide food and accommodation for so many people at once, so the troops everywhere are "set up" in groups of two to three hundred people. The units set out on a daily basis. Since they were going to war and not on vacation, the soldiers and officers naturally walked as slowly as they could, and could not walk more than twenty miles a day. It is normal for tens of thousands of people to take three or four months to assemble.
At this rate, it would take half a month for the entire army to be assembled. Moreover, the troops were improvised. Although they were nominally controlled by He Rubin, he was not familiar with all the generals under his command who were scattered throughout the province.
Unfamiliar soldiers and generals are a major taboo in fighting. He Rubin originally wanted to assemble the entire army in Guangzhou, take advantage of the rainy season in Hainan and the subsequent typhoon weather to conduct training locally for one or two months, and wait until early autumn before dispatching troops. However, Lu Yizhong's constant urging forced him to cross the sea first with food, armor, and his Zhenbiao Zhongying.
"The wind and waves are so strong today" He Rubin looked at the fleet sailing away. I can't help but worry about the safety of the fleet. In the past few days, several ships transporting food and armor to Hainan capsized, and a lot of supplies were lost.
"Don't worry, sir. These sailors are accustomed to sailing, and they use local ships that are nailed. They can sail to the Western Ocean, and there will be no problem in going to Qiongshan." The staff reassured him.
Back in the camp, He Rubin discussed with his staff the strategy of marching. The Governor was eager for him to cross the sea to fight. In addition to his eagerness for success, there was also the problem of labor and salary. The 20,000 troops had not yet been assembled, and the Guangdong vassal had already spent more than 100,000 silver, not counting the cost of food, ships, and firearms. When you get to Lingao and wait for several more months, the cost will be even greater.
To this end, he had to make a gesture and let his most reliable troops cross the sea first.
Watching the first batch of sea-crossing troops leave, He Rubin seemed to be relieved... He finally had room to take responsibility for the governor. But a great worry arose in my heart. He knew very little about the situation of the Kun thieves. He originally wanted to wait for the Lingao County Magistrate to arrive and ask him face to face. Unexpectedly, the Kun thieves suddenly besieged the county seat, and the county magistrate could only be trapped and could not rush to the provincial capital. u! ~!
