wrong! He thought that if Xiong Wencan was going to defend Wuzhou, he would never transport food outside the city - food was the lifeblood of the city defense. . If he is planning to escape, Wuzhou is the key point of Guangdong and Guangxi. If Xiong Wencan loses Wuzhou, he will only have to commit suicide to apologize or be beheaded by the court. When a governor reaches this point, even if he knows that there is no hope of defending the city, he will defend it to the death in order to gain a reputation as a martyr to the city and avoid affecting his family.
When Ah Chun was called over and asked, it turned out that it was not only food that had been transported away, but also many officers and soldiers originally stationed inside and outside the city had been withdrawn.
"There are rumors in the city that Governor Xiong is planning to abandon the city and retreat to Guilin." Ah Chun said vividly.
This made Luo Yangming feel unbelievable. When did Xiong Wencan become so bold? For his head to be preserved until now, the court was extremely magnanimous.
"You go back and rest first." Luo Yangming was puzzled. Since ancient times, he has been "abnormally like a monster". Xiong Wencan suddenly made such an unreasonable arrangement, and there must be some conspiracy hidden there.
If he wanted to inquire, he had acquaintances in the government offices of Wuzhou Prefecture and Cangwu County. However, at this time of the military power and danger, rushing to inquire for information would inevitably arouse suspicion. Moreover, Xiong Wencan's plan is probably only known to people in his own shogunate - the governor's office of Guangdong and Guangxi moved from Zhaoqing, and he has no acquaintances in it.
Just as he was thinking about it, there was a sudden knock on the door outside. Luo Yangming was startled. He didn't know who would come to his place at this moment!
After a while, the waiter came over and reported, "Uncle is here."
"Invite him in."
This uncle is not the brother of his wife, but the brother of his concubine in Wuzhou, who works as a gangster on the local dock. When Luo Yangming married his sister as a concubine, he actually considered using someone like him who "can eat everything on the ground".
"Uncle"'s surname is Wen and his nickname is Tietou. It is said that when they were fighting for the pier, someone cut him on the head, and he was bleeding profusely. He continued to fight with a stick, and then he earned his own business. Now there are more than thirty porters under his command, and he has become one of the "bachelors" with some respect in Wuzhou City.
Wen Tietou was a little man who had built up his muscles by hanging out on the pier all the time. He arrived in a hurry, and his short coat was full of dust and straw.
Luo Yangming asked him to sit down, and Wen Tietou shook his head and asked him to bring tea.
"Ah Chun, make some tea!" Luo Yangming ordered hurriedly.
"No need!" Wen Tietou hurriedly shook his head, "I'm very thirsty and can't drink hot tea. You have warm tea at home for the servants. Please pour me a big bowl."
A large bowl of tea was poured. Wen Tietou hurriedly took it and drank it clean. He looked around and saw that there was no one in the room, so he whispered:
"Brother-in-law, it's a disaster!"
Luo Yangming was startled by him and asked quickly: "What?!"
Wen Tietou lowered his voice very low and whispered: "Brother-in-law, do you know that there is a rush to transport food and money at the dock these days? I heard that in addition to the official warehouses, there are also the family properties of officials big and small?"
Luo Yangming nodded and said: "I know this. I heard that it will be shipped to Guilin Mansion..."
Wen Tietou shook his head and said, "You don't know this. Although the officials' property is transported to Guilin, the grain and cloth in the official warehouses are all transported to Teng County."
Luo Yangming was startled: Teng County is a subordinate county of Wuzhou. It is located on the upper reaches of the Xijiang River and is not a defensible place. What can Xiong Wencan do if he abandons Wuzhou and flees to Teng County? If we are not prepared to defend Teng County, what is the point of transporting the food, cloth and silk in the treasury to Teng County?
Wen Tietou said: "I have always wondered what this Master Xiong's plan is," he slapped his thigh fiercely, "I only know it today!"
"What's the abacus?" Luo Yangming asked quickly.
"Burn Wuzhou!"
"What?!" Luo Yangming almost screamed.
Like most cities in the 17th century, the main building material in Wuzhou City was wood. Except for wealthy people's houses and government offices and temples, the roofs were mostly covered with straw. The partition walls were mostly made of bamboo strips, all of which were flammable materials. If a fire breaks out, it will spread. It is not uncommon for a fire to destroy more than a dozen or even hundreds of homes, so fire prevention is the most important thing on weekdays.
Now Xiong Wencan is actually planning to burn down Wuzhou? ! For a moment, Luo Yangming felt cold all over: This Wuzhou City is a city with tens of thousands of households! How many people will die in this fire, how many families will be displaced, and the loss of houses and property will be incalculable...
"Seriously?!" He looked at his "uncle" nervously.
"Seriously!" Wen Tietou whispered, "You are my brother-in-law, how could I lie to you? To tell you the truth, I only found out this morning."
It turns out that these days, while the government was transporting grain and money from the city, it was also transporting straw and many clay pots into the city. The porters on the pier felt strange and wondered what kind of medicine Xiong Wencan was selling in the gourd.
"I inquired quietly and found out that the jars were filled with gunpowder and sulfur - supposedly they were used to defend the city, nothing unusual, but the officers and soldiers in the city looked like they were about to run away, even the cannons Several statues have already been transported away, so what are you going to do with transporting these things into the city? Plus, with the straw being transported in boat after boat, I thought, this damn thing is not going to be set on fire!"
Luo Yangming nodded. Wen Tietou's conjecture was very reasonable. No wonder people said that bachelors have evil intentions.
"...because of this incident, I became interested. As you know, I have some friendship with Liu Shuban from the military office of the county government, so I went to him to inquire. At first, the old bastard hesitated and refused. He said, I was forced to say, "A gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall." I ran to the alley behind the yamen and inquired: Many petty officials and officials in the yamen have fled one by one. ! Damn, the common people are covered up!" He said and took a breath, "I'm just here to tell you, while the city gate is still open, take the whole family to the countryside for shelter. , lest we get trapped in this city, and when the time comes, a fire is set off, causing the sky to respond and the earth to become inoperable!"
After sending Wen Tietou away, Luo Yangming went around in the accounting room for more than a dozen times. There was no doubt that Xiong Wencan was planning a big conspiracy. Judging from the "uncle's" description, Xiong Wencan probably did not hesitate to use Wuzhou as a trap to lure Fubo's army into the city, and then set the city on fire.
This strategy has been around since ancient times, so it's not surprising that Xiong Wencan came up with this strategy when he was at the end of his rope.
But in this case, Fubo Army will be in danger!
This information must be sent out as soon as possible!
The traffic officer was responsible for transmitting his intelligence. Since Wuzhou was not an important intelligence collection area, the intelligence officer used to come only once a month. After conquering Guangdong, it was changed to once a week.
Only three days have passed since the last traffic officer arrived. Once the army reaches the city, the city gate will be closed and the traffic officers will not be able to enter. He wasn't even sure if the traffic officer would come four days later.
Now the only option is to leave the city as soon as possible as Wen Tietou said. As long as you stay outside the city, you will have the opportunity to go directly to Fubo's army and report your information to the leader face to face.
That is to say, if you want to leave the city, you must have a place to stay. Luo Yangming did not have a farm outside the city. Wen Tietou's family lived outside the city, but unfortunately it was right on the dock. It is also a dangerous place for war. After thinking about it, I found that the shop manager's home was in the mountains twenty miles north of the city. A few days ago, he had temporarily dismissed all the local clerks. It's better to take your family and join him now.
Having made up his mind, he immediately opened the door and was about to call someone over when suddenly noisy footsteps and panicked screams sounded on the street outside, as if a pot was suddenly boiling.
Before he could call anyone to inquire, a waiter had already stumbled in and shouted: "It's not good! The thief is here!"
On the tower of Xunmen in the south of Wuzhou City, Yang Yi was standing guard.
Yang Yi is an ordinary soldier under the jurisdiction of Wuzhou Guard Qianhu. Although the soldiers at the guard station spent much more time on the ground than in battle training, and he held a spear like a hoe, he had also seen battles and fought in the stockade - even though he was just following the soldiers. There are miscellaneous soldiers with heavy baggage at the back.
The spear is not very convenient, this thing is too old! Yang Yi looked at the thing in his hand: the barrel of the gun was new, but the tip was rusty. It was obviously in stock many years ago. I don't know if it's reliable when used in battle.
Of course, whether he was reliable or not actually had little to do with him, because Yang Yi had already made up his mind that as soon as the officer disappeared, he would run away immediately - whoever wanted to serve the country loyally would go, and he wouldn't go anyway. You can't get much food and salary all year round, and you can't even get enough food and clothing even though you work so hard, so you're a fool to work hard!
Damn the thief! Looking at the dark night outside the city, he cursed secretly. If they hadn't invaded, he would have been sleeping at home right now. If he got up early tomorrow morning and picked up his hoe to clean up his own field, he would have been arrested. To fight, you have to stand guard most of the night.
Although Yang Yi followed the team to fight against various "Yao Dong", he followed the team like a follower and waved flags and shouted. He didn't know how to wield a knife or a gun, and he never killed anyone. This time I came to Wuzhou City to defend the city purely to recruit people.
When he arrived, he was arranged to stay vigil on the tower of Nanxun Gate for several days. So far no one has replaced them.
Looking at those unlucky guys standing guard with him, what a damn official! Yang Yi cursed secretly again.
Yang Yi was very sleepy, and his eyelids seemed to be hanging on a knife. The other soldiers on night watch had already ignored him and fell asleep leaning against the parapet, leaning on their spears. Yang Yi didn't dare to sleep, because in the middle of the night last night, adults from hundreds of households suddenly came to patrol the city. They caught Yang Yi who was sleeping soundly on the spot. They said they were going to behead him. The frightened people knelt down and kowtowed and begged, so they beat him four times instead. Ten army sticks. My butt is still stinging, as if it had been burned by fire.
Damn this official, Yang Yi was cursing in his heart again.
Tomorrow will update Volume 7 Guangzhou Strategy Chapter 298
