"What Master Qiao said is true. But now there is another dangerous incident. I wonder if Master Qiao has heard about it?"
"Appreciate further details!"
"I'm just afraid that if Wuzhou is not defended, the officers and soldiers will do something intolerable in a hurry!" Luo Yangming said, telling him what Wen Tietou had seen.
"There is such a thing!" President Qiao's face turned pale. He did not doubt it. Instead, he stood up and walked around the hall a few times, saying to himself, "That's it!"
Luo Yangming knew that he must have noticed those unreasonable actions. It's just that they don't look as carefully as Wen Tietou, the spy on the dock. I still can't deduce the conclusion that Xiong Wencan may burn the city.
"It's unbelievable!" the leader murmured, "These are the people of a city!"
"Given Governor Xiong's current situation, it's not surprising that he would do something like this."
The leader nodded to express his understanding.
"In this case, it is impossible to convince Governor Xiong."
"Exactly." Luo Yangming nodded, "He is at the end of his rope now. How can he listen to our advice?"
The leader nodded slightly. Although the two were not familiar with each other, they already understood each other.
"There are some things that are inconvenient for me to come forward. It's easier for Mr. Luo to do things." Qiao Huishou whispered a few instructions to the waiter, and the waiter left immediately. After a while, he came out with a tray.
"This is my name card. Just take it." The leader lowered his voice, "You go to see me first -"
On the second day after the fall of Bangshan, Wuzhou City during the day had turned into a dead city, with every door closed and every household locked. In addition to the stragglers in twos and threes on the streets, they were the people who were recruited to defend the city. People did not go out on the streets unless there was an urgent matter to avoid being robbed or even killed by insurgents. All street gates were closed. Rich families not only blocked the gates, but also distributed swords and guns to their servants.
The guest troops in the city were already extremely anxious and frantic at this time - the fall of the city was already in sight. They probably realized that the end was coming, and the only remaining military discipline was gone. Even the generals of the guest army could not fully control the troops. There were constant incidents of guest troops looting and killing civilians on the streets, and conflicts between local garrison troops also occurred from time to time. If it weren't for Xiong Wencan's team of servants constantly patrolling the city and suppressing the rebels from time to time, the city would have been in chaos.
In this tense atmosphere, bad news came: Xiong Wencan had not shown up until noon, and only sent a personal servant to complain of "physical violation." This immediately caused everyone to panic - after all, the only high-ranking official in Wuzhou City was Xiong Wencan. If he really "fell ill", the only people from him down would be the prefect of Wuzhou and the magistrate of Cangwu County. With their status, it is simply a fantasy to command the unruly guest generals.
In the midst of panic, there were rumors that Xiong Wencan had committed suicide in the back office, and there were also rumors that Xiong Wencan had fled overnight. Just when everyone is panicking. However, his close aide Chang Qingyun came forward and sent people around to distribute invitations, saying that he would entertain the officials, gentry and merchants in the city in the evening to "discuss the defense of the city."
Chang Qingyun was there, and Yi Haoran, who was responsible for leading Xiong Wencan's servants, also led his servants to suppress the rebels on the streets - these two people are both "red men" around Governor Xiong recently. Moreover, Xiong Wencan's aides were also present, so Xiong Wencan's theory of escaping seemed to be self-defeating.
However, the disillusionment of this rumor caused uneasiness among the "invited" merchants in the city - this is the rhythm of the weasel giving New Year greetings to the rooster.
However, when faced with the eager captains and soldiers who came to "invite" him, he could not say no and had to "carry him away" even if he pretended to be sick.
Although Luo Yangming is not a wealthy person, he is also one of the directors of the Rice and Grain Guild and is also included in the invitation. His wives and concubines were all worried about losing a lot of money. Luo Yangming's expression was much more solemn.
Xiong Wencan's banquet was naturally the Hongmen Banquet, but what was more worrying was his plan to burn the city.
Once a fire is really set, it is not a matter of losing money, but the lives of the whole family!
His recent activities are all aimed at thwarting the plan to burn the city. With his efforts in contacting and running around, the strong squads and some of the guard troops in the city have now expressed their stance that once the Australians begin to attack the city, they will immediately open the city gate. meet. If someone wants to set a fire, they will try their best to stop it.
But whether the words of these people are reliable, whether they can withstand the wolf-like rebels or whether they themselves will simply become rebels is another matter.
The area where he lives is mostly full of good shops. Once there is chaos in the city, he will be the first to bear the brunt. It is hard to say whether the street fences and strong men guarding the streets can protect the safety of the neighbors.
He called Wen Tietou and spoke to him in a low voice.
"I'll leave the family matters to you."
"Don't worry! I will definitely protect everyone's safety." Wen Tie's chest thumped loudly, "It's a pity that my brother on the dock is not in the city!"
"Everything at home doesn't matter, as long as everyone is safe!" Luo Yangming warned again and again, then got up and went out with a few servants.
It was too early to go to the banquet now, not to mention that he had not yet made up his mind whether to go to the banquet or not. Luo Yangming still hasn't figured out Xiong Wencan's thoughts - since he wants to set fire to the city, he has no intention of guarding it, so why bother holding a banquet to ask everyone to "help defend the city"?
After thinking about it, this so-called banquet should be just a delaying tactic!
He thought that Xiong Wencan had not shown up since the morning. First, he said that he went to bed late at night, and then at noon, he said that he was "physically disobedient." Suddenly everyone is invited to a banquet...
Luo Yangming suddenly realized: Xiong Wencan had probably escaped from the city last night. Today's series of tricks are just stalling for time. Let the officials, gentry and people in the city think that he is still "presiding over the big plans" in the city.
If he doesn't show up at the banquet in the evening, this empty city plan will inevitably collapse...
Luo Yangming suddenly broke into a cold sweat: Could it be that a fire was going to be set at the beginning of the banquet? !
Thinking again, the people attending the banquet this time were all "village sages" in the city. Although there were no Jin gentry-level figures, they were mostly people with some strength and charisma in Wuzhou city. Especially among the strong men who gathered to defend the city, they all had a certain appeal.
If these people want to surrender, it is still possible to fight against the guest troops Xiong Wencan left in the city, set fire to and plunder.
So Xiong Wencan wants to set up such a game! Luo Yangming thought to himself, maybe the door would be locked as soon as they entered, and then a "fire" trick would be performed to burn all these "village sages" to death - or at least burn them to the point of losing their minds. In a hurry, Unable to organize to resist the rebels.
Luo Yangming felt cold all over. You must start your plan immediately!
Thinking of this, he said to the servant following him: "Quick! Send me to Master Qiao's house!"
Mr. Qiao is not only the head of the Rice and Grain Guild, but also the general manager of Wuzhou Nancheng. Although he has no fame, he is able to control the wind and rain in Wuzhou Prefecture and take advantage of the "village wise" in both black and white. He can not only affect the local strong team, but also the movements of the strong team recruited in Nancheng.
As long as he can change his stance immediately, Nancheng's Dezheng and Nanxun gates will be sure to be taken down!
Thinking of this, he quickened his pace even more.
Although Yi Haoran arrived at the Governor's Yamen early in the morning, he heard that Xiong Wencan could not receive guests for a while, so he returned to his place. Unlike the other staff, he did not intend to escape with the governor. Life and death are no longer the most important thing to Yi Haoran. With the enemy at hand, he was not in the mood to drink tea, chew his teeth, and talk loudly with his staff in the flower hall of the governor's office.
But Yi Haoran was not idle either. When he returned to the lower place, he spread out the paper and ink and started to write a letter.
What he wrote was not so much a letter as a summary of a series of battles since Zhaoqing. Although he had not personally experienced most of these battles, he had carefully collected the experiences of the officers and soldiers who participated in the battles. Especially during yesterday's battle at Bangshan, he carefully questioned Jiang Suo about the entire process, especially the Australian's offensive steps.
After writing several pages, he asked the boy servant next to him to copy several envelopes. He prepared these letters and sent them to the capital to deliver the memorial to Xiong Wencan, and sent them to several mentors and friends - most of them were in the official offices, and it was always good for more people to know the details of the thief. .
Jiang Suo stood aside absentmindedly. He was exhausted from the battle yesterday. I slept until noon and didn't get up until noon. , he ran to Yi Haoran as soon as he got up, wanting to ask for a job to garrison outside Dayunmen. Yi Haoran did not agree, he said: "You almost risked your life on Bangshan Mountain, and now you want to continue to risk your life outside Dayunmen?"
"Jiang is only willing to be loyal to the country!"
"Don't lie to me. You just want to die! Even if you don't say it, I can still guess that you must have a deep hatred for the thief. It's okay to hate the country and the family, but it's wrong to just want to die! You are still young Qingqing, I always feel that friendship is greater than the sky - if you have experienced real changes, you will find that living is better than anything else!"
As he said this, he was very sad. Seeing what Jiang Suo wanted to say, he added:
"Stop talking. You will take the rest of the new army to patrol the streets and maintain military discipline. Now the streets are in chaos. You can go down and rest first."
After saying that, Yuan Chongde asked Jiang Suo to step back. He was not surprised that Xiong Wencan was "physically disobedient" - Governor Xiong was in a desperate situation. Even if the boy came to report that Xiong Wencan had committed suicide, he wouldn't be surprised.
But what should we do in Wuzhou? Yi Haoran thought of Chang Puxian's plan to burn the city. Although it was also a desperate strategy, it was too vicious and was simply a desperate plan.
Seeing that the sun was already setting in the west, he was about to go out to walk around the city gates. A servant pushed the door open and walked in. He whispered a few words. Yi Haoran suddenly lost color, stood up and rushed out of the door.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 319
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