Sanliang City is not as prosperous as the nearby counties, and even compared to other towns in the county, it is only at a medium level. [Read the latest chapter] Xiao said that it is a must-go place, but it is much more prosperous than some remote states and counties in the border areas of the mainland.
Today is not a market day. There are no vendors on the threshing floor, only a few idlers chatting and watching the fun. Seeing the boat entering the pond, everyone was whispering.
Mr. Luo on the ship is the number one gentleman in this town, named Luo Tianqiu. Luo Tianqiu was a scholar in the last years of Wanli. Not only was he famous, but his family was also an old family in the local area. Not only did he have a large clan, but he also held several scholar positions. Mr. Luo's grandfather was also a judge and held several positions. He was a prefecture and county official, so his family accumulated tens of thousands of money and kept many servants and thugs. Sanliang City was not so much the country of the Ming Dynasty as the fiefdom of the Luo family.
The Luo family's sedan car is already waiting at the pier. Mr. Luo comes back from his trip today. After getting off the boat, he always stands on the revetment for a while, looks around, and then stamps his feet to relax his muscles. However, he was not so interested today and got directly into the sedan chair and left.
The sedan was carried through Yahang Street - the earliest trading house on this street was Yahang opened by the Luo family. The Luo family started their business by relying on the mats that their ancestors had violently monopolized here. After four generations of hard work, he finally grew from a small local stickman to a prominent figure in the local area.
This Yaxing house was renovated when Luo Tianqiu's father was still alive. It is very majestic with its high-rise building. However, after decades, the gold-lettered signboard above became a little dim in the sun, and Luo Tianqiu thought: It's time to gild it again!
The Luo family's mansion is located in the northwest corner of Sanliang City. It is a large area of crowded houses that looks forbidding. There are not only residences, but also specialized "cangfangyuan", "rental courtyard", "steward's courtyard" and "group housing courtyard". Among them, the warehouse courtyard is dedicated to storing various goods and daily necessities. &&Latest chapter:&&The Renting Courtyard is responsible for collecting rent and weighing, and storing grain, indigo, mats and various agricultural products; the Steward's Courtyard is responsible for managing various industries under the name of Luo Zhai; the Qunfang Courtyard is for the servants, servants, and Where the servants and fellows live. There are hundreds of houses.
There is a large open space paved with stone slabs in front of the blue brick door. At this time, there are dozens of housekeepers, stewards, and attendants standing, all wearing green robes and hats, and neatly dressed. As soon as the sedan chair landed, the leading butler shouted, "Welcome the master back home", and all the deacons knelt down to kowtow to An.
Luo Tianqiu didn't even look at the attentive greetings from his servants. His face looked a little haggard. During the three or four days in Dongguan, he was feasting, drinking, and making noise every day, and he had to visit guests and give gifts everywhere. It was really too much for his body and bones.
He climbed into the inner chamber, used a two-person carriage, and was carried to the inner chamber by the bearers.
Luo Tianqiu went to the county this time to compete for the position of deputy league director of the Dongguan County League Training Bureau. The head of the league training bureau is always the county magistrate, and the two deputy league chiefs are actually the principals of the league training bureau. The income from the team training bureau makes many people salivate: starting last year, Dongguan County levied an additional three cents of silver per mu on the land tax for team training. Hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the county were acquired, which cost tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition to making money, the team training bureau can also "raise donations" in the name of running a team, which is actually no different from recruiting hardcore players. All in all: great pay.
The normal use of the regiment training money was to recruit and train regiment warriors, purchase weapons, and build fortifications. In fact, two-thirds of it was embezzled by officials at all levels and the gentry responsible for running the regiment. Therefore, the position of deputy regiment commander has always been the object of covetous attention by the powerful gentry in the county. In the past, the Luo family could not compete for this position, but now the head of the family suddenly died, leaving only an underage son. This vacancy immediately attracted the attention of many people.
In order to compete for this position, Luo Tianqiu immediately brought a large sum of money to the county town for activities as soon as he received the news. &&Latest chapter:&&After some social transactions, Luo Tianqiu finally won the position of deputy league president of the Dongguan County League Training Bureau.
Logically speaking, the deputy regiment commander should lead the thousands of brave men recruited from the county to be ready for war at any time, but Luo Tianqiu and the other deputy regiment commander Song Yasi are both from country gentry, let alone commanding the country warriors to fight. Even wielding swords and spears is not enough. They can't compete for power and position. Furthermore, they have no concept of leaving their hometown to fight and serve the people of the county. After gaining power, they both sent their nephews to the county to perform duties on their behalf. Luo Tianqiu plans to send one of his clan nephews, Luo Heying, to be the "acting deputy regiment president."
Luo Tianqiu had been in the county for three or four days and heard a lot of bad news - Liu Xiang, who had been operating at the Pearl River Estuary, had left, the bandits who claimed to be Australians had arrived, and were still fighting with another group of pirates at the Pearl River Estuary. A battle was won. Taking advantage of the situation, they arrived at Humen again and defeated the officers and soldiers at Humen. Now they are occupying Humen. It will probably take a few days for them to go up the river and plunder everywhere.
Pirates and river bandits raided and looted along the Pearl River before. That's why Sanliang City has become so heavily guarded. But this time, the "Kung Bandits" came with strong ships and powerful guns. Their names were already well known in the local area. There were rumors everywhere about how their ships were as fast as lightning and how their cannons were indestructible. The capture of Humen shocked Luo Tianqiu even more - Dongguan County Magistrate Fan Wencai recently expanded the forts in Humen, and Sanliang City also provided a lot of civilians, money and food. When Luo Tianqiu personally escorted the civilians to Humen, he visited the construction site and saw the various arrangements of the officers and soldiers at Humen. At that time, he believed that no ship could sail into the Pearl River safely under such a dense bombardment of Hongyi artillery.
Although Fan Wencai kept silent about the Battle of Humen, he knew how terrifying the scene was at that time because his face turned pale every time he mentioned the Kun Thief. Fan Wencai was obviously uneasy when talking to him in the county town. He repeatedly asked how the defense of Sanliang City was? Is it close to the main channel of the Pearl River? Whether the big ship can get close to Sanliang City and other details. Luo Tianqiu wondered if the county magistrate wanted to abandon the city and escape, right? Who is the thief Kun that can scare Magistrate Fan like this?
I spent some money and learned from one of Fan Wencai's servants that the Kun bandits' artillery fire was extremely fierce. Several forts at Humen were blown to pieces by the Kun bandits' cannons in less than half a day. It was defeated after having only the slightest effect.
"I didn't expect that the Kun thieves would be so rampant!" Luo Tianqiu secretly hated him. Of course, he was also very scared in his heart. Although Sanliang City also has a wall and two watchtowers that surround the entire town, its defense mainly relies on the natural terrain: rivers as dense as mí palaces. Foreign ships unfamiliar with the waterway environment will miss the way and sometimes even run aground. A few years ago, he built bamboo fences along the river bank - this simple facility can effectively prevent water bandits who drive small boats deep into the shallow river from boarding.
This level of defense facilities is absolutely no match for Australian artillery. Luo Tianqiu thought, fortunately, Sanliang City has a good location - not only is the water network complex, but the water depth of the rivers is generally very shallow, and ships that are too heavy and too large cannot enter.
The big ships can't get in, and the cannons can't get in either. Even if the bandits were to come, they would only be small groups of bandits riding on sampans and small boats. There won't be many people, and it's even less possible to carry heavy artillery and a lot of baggage. It seems that as long as you fight locally, you can still fight against the Kun thieves.
With this in mind, Luo Tianqiu arrived in the upper room, where the maids were waiting for him to change clothes and wash up. His wife heard that he had not had lunch yet when he came back, so she personally brought the maid with a food box to see him. She saw him beating the servant out and sitting silently in the master's chair with a tired look on his face. She was a little worried, so she sat at his table and said:
"Didn't things go smoothly when I went to the county this time? Isn't five hundred taels of silver enough to satisfy Master Fan's appetite?"
"Things are going very well," Luo Tianqiu said, "Master Fan has appointed me as the deputy league president of the league training bureau, and I will be here soon. But now that Liu Xiang is gone, Kun Thief is here again." Bones!"
Da Nainai didn’t know who the Kun thief was, so he said: "The bandits on the sea, come and go. It has been like this since the Year of Apocalypse. Our place is far away from the waterway, the defense is tight, and there is no one to act as an internal response. The pirates Even if we can enter the inland river, we will definitely not dare to attack rashly. It’s just that I have been living on tenterhooks these days. The thought of you going to be the deputy regiment commander and sending troops to fight makes me very scared. "
"It doesn't matter, I don't need to go to the war in person - I plan to let He Ying go to the county to be the deputy regiment leader. He is a Wu scholar. It's good to go to the county to experience and gain experience. Maybe he can get a good career."
"He Ying's kid is fine. He's just allowed to wield swords and guns. How will he deal with your sister-in-law if something happens?"
"Since you want to fight for wealth and honor with swords and guns, you can't be afraid of death." Luo Tianqiu twirled his beard and said, "If the bandits come here in Sanliang City, all the young men will go into battle, even me, the head of the family, will be no exception. , when the time comes, it won’t all depend on fate.”
"Oh, it would be great if everything is safe and sound." The elder Nainai is in her forties, and is already close to her old age in this time and space. She has lived a pampered life all her life, so she feels very worried about the increasingly chaotic world outside. Worried, "In recent years, pirates have been making trouble all day long, and the weather has been bad. Even the tenants have started to cause trouble. Everyone comes to complain and beg for relief! How can we live like this? If we don't be ruthless, If you clean up this bunch of muddy bastards, you won’t be able to survive this day!”
"No matter how messed up the world is, as long as we make sure that Sanliang City is not in the way - we can still live our lives." Luo Tianqiu said, "The tenants should give them a step first, and just reduce it a little - even if they start a war, they still point They worked hard and sacrificed their lives..."
"Those who are unwilling to contribute will seize their land and seal off their houses. Let's see who among these mud-suckers dares not to work hard!"
To be continued
