"Oh." Zhu Quanxing looked at his watch. It was almost noon. This group of Zixiangxians had been waiting for three or four hours. Although he didn't want to see this group of people from the bottom of his heart, he still had to make use of them for now. After all, the rural sages know the local situation best and have the most social resources. Especially the Rice Merchant Association in Wuzhou - he has high hopes for it.
"Invite them in."
The "Visitant Delegation" was headed by Luo Yangming. According to discipline, he cannot take the initiative to expose himself and can only wait for the "superior" to issue the "connection" instruction.
At this moment, he is considered to be "bearing a heavy responsibility". The "book protector" in his arms not only contains the gift list, but also the "Agency Authorization Certificate" issued to him by Dachang Grain Company - in fact, this thing is a business partner Just the credentials. However, the "village sages" believe that this is an "official license" for Australians, and they can gain some connections.
The rural sages in Wuzhou knew very little about the Senate, but they knew more or less the rumors about the Senate. The performance of the Fubo Army after entering the city also confirmed the rumors in the past, so their mood at this moment was no longer as panic-stricken as it was this morning. Although the biggest wealthy households in the city did not dare to come in person, all the wealthy households, including the Jin gentry who had fled to the countryside, sent people, and at least one of their close relatives came.
Luo Yangming knew: What the village sages were most eager to know during this visit was whether the Senate planned to stay in Wuzhou. This was firstly; secondly, how much price they would have to pay if they wanted to stay.
The first point seems to be beyond doubt. The Australians came in force and could not leave immediately after the attack. People with a little knowledge of geography can naturally understand the importance of Wuzhou; so they were more concerned about the second point.
Since ancient times, when foreign troops enter the country, big households have to spend one or two dollars. This is an iron rule since ancient times. A few years ago, Governor Wang defeated the Kun bandits, and Guangdong was in panic. Many Guangxi soldiers were mobilized to help, and Wuzhou was in a state of panic. As for the recent guest army invited by Governor Xiong, they simply prepared for it. I served Wuzhou in one pot.
The Australians are coming soon, and no matter how good the military discipline is, the wealthy people still have to be discerning. Big business owners don’t know how big the appetite of Australians is, and how “public” and “private” are divided. Although a gift list and labor list have been prepared, no one is sure whether it can satisfy the Australians. So I can't help but feel a little uneasy. For fear that the Australian general would fall out, he would just hang him up - they had heard a lot of such legends.
Zhu Quanxing met with Luo Yangming and his party, and as usual said some comforting words to ensure the safety of their personal and property; he also instructed the deputy director of the naturalized civilians of the Wuzhou Military Control Commission who came to take over to contact them, and announced the establishment of a "Aftercare Bureau" to let the villagers Wise men should "give money if they have money, and give strength if they have the ability" - this is what everyone should do, and everyone should do the same.
"I won't say any more." Zhu Quanxing is most concerned about the food issue. "Wuzhou City has been hit by war. There is a lot of damage in the city. Many people have been displaced. We must repair their homes as soon as possible; we must also provide relief. Refugees from war disasters, I have to ask you to contribute more to these. In addition, our army also needs military rations. The summer and autumn taxes have not yet arrived, and most of the people are small and poor households without adequate food for their homes. This reasonable burden must be Please bear the responsibility, all the wise men."
Asking for money and food was what he meant, and it was not beyond the expectations of the village sages, so as soon as he said the words, some people came out to complain.
"Silver, it won't be difficult for you guys to scrape together some money, but this food... is really difficult..."
The speaker's name is Da Xinxuan. There is also a rice shop in Wuzhou City. However, the owner behind this rice shop is the famous Wu family of Jin gentry in this city. Da Xinxuan came here with some confidence, why? Because the young master of the Wu family had contacts with Australians in his early years, it is said that he also had a relationship with Dongzhu Guo in Guangzhou, and they had done several "big deals" in partnership.
It is said that Australians are very nostalgic, and those who have played for them will not suffer. So he was the first one to come out and cry about poverty.
Da Xinxuan cried and told that there used to be a lot of grain in the city, but he did not dare to say more. Every household still had a stock of thirty or forty thousand shi worth of rice. However, since Governor Xiong arrived in Wuzhou, people were eating horse chews and rushing to get the grain. After shipping to Guangxi, more than half of the grain reserves have been reduced. There have been wars and fires in the past few days, and they have been burned and robbed. Every rice shop has suffered heavy losses. For his family, it was only four to five hundred dan.
"...The small ones are relatively good. Some of the grain and rice in the warehouses of some small households were robbed."
Luo Yangming knew that although his words were suspected of "crying the poor", they were not all lies. It was a fact that the grain bank suffered heavy losses - take his family as an example, the officers and soldiers did not even leave him a grain of rice.
So he coughed and echoed: "Chief, the damage to the local grain store has been extremely heavy. We will do our best to repay the reasonable burden, but please be considerate of the time and amount."
Zhu Quanxing nodded: "You and the deputy director should discuss this matter slowly. For now, you will spend one hundred kilo meters to set up a porridge shed for the refugees."
"Yes, yes, this porridge shed is the original one, and the little ones recovered immediately."
There is indeed very little food left in the city. Not only did Mihang's warehouses suffer heavy losses in grain storage, but public grain storage warehouses such as prefectural and county-level warehouses and private Changping warehouses also ran out of grain. According to preliminary statistics from joint service personnel, the amount of grain seized was less than 4,000 shi. , some were also damaged by fire, smoke and flooding.
"It seems that Lao Xiong has indeed left us a mess." Zhu Mingxia couldn't help but sigh after receiving the first report after taking over Wuzhou.
Now we not only need to raise food, but also provide relief to refugees. There are hundreds of families and thousands of refugees who lost their homes during the riots in the city alone. During the process of expelling the people, many businesses and homes were looted by the insurgents. These people are also in urgent need of relief. At a glance, there are more than 20,000 people in need of relief alone.
Xu Xu has already gone to the city for "investigation". Firstly, he is to supervise the prisoner interrogation work to see if there is any valuable information; secondly, he wants to find a way to contact the "lone wolf" - in addition to urgently needing specific information about Wuzhou, He was also very interested in this intelligence agent who delivered important information in the city and even instigated the rebellion of quite a few powerful factions in the city.
Chang Qingyun and more than fifty other people were detained in Wengcheng. The rope was not untied, and no one looked at him because he looked like a master. The city gate was wide open, and it was very lively with people coming and going. The soldiers at the gate, whether they were running around or standing guard, were all neatly dressed and upright. Clothing equipment
"After two years of separation, this Kun man is so strong!" Chang Qingyun couldn't help but sigh.
His group of prisoners were untied one by one, and everyone was taken to a small room at the foot of the city wall for questioning. Most of them were detained alone after coming out, while some happily entered the city after coming out.
Sitting at the foot of the city wall, Chang Qingyun was extremely unhappy. Although everyone knew that if they fell into the hands of the Kun people, they would not have to worry about their lives, but there were all kinds of Kun people pointing at them all the time, and they tied the knot together. The few Guangxi soldiers who were standing there often cast him ill-intentioned glances, which also made him feel uneasy.
Chang Qing went into the hut but didn't come out for a long time. When Chang Qingyun was confused, a passerby suddenly shouted, "That's Chang Qingyun! That's the guy who wants to set fire to the city!"
It turned out that a book office of the government recognized him. This book office had a large business in Wuzhou. Hearing that Master Xiong was going to burn the city, he became very anxious and angry for a while. After the Fubo Army took military control, the secretary's office immediately defected to Australia and Song Dynasty and was leading the Australians to inventory the official warehouses in Wuzhou. With his voice, dozens of people immediately gathered, "Kill him!" "Burn him!" "Xiong Wencan's lackey!" For a moment, spit, mud, and burnt wood all flew towards Chang Qingyun. come over.
"Spread out, spread out!" The Fubo army on the side immediately came over to disperse the crowd; the two soldiers strode towards Chang Qingyun, each of them put up an arm and went to the hut.
Chang Qingyun was hit on the forehead by a broken brick. He was feeling dizzy when he was pinned down on the bamboo chair by Kun Bing.
He forced himself to calm down and looked up. There were three men sitting behind the desk in front of him. Two of them were young men. At first glance, they were just fake men in uniforms, not Australians. The other one was sitting a little further away. Leaning back, the face is hidden in the darkness, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Name?" The person asking was a young man.
"I am Chang Qingyun."
"Are you Xiong Wencan's staff?"
"Yes, Chang works in Xiong Dumu."
"Did you come up with the idea to set fire to Wuzhou City?"
"No, this is actually a frame-up by a traitor. I hope you will investigate clearly." Chang Qingyun knew that this shit basin must not be recognized no matter what. Otherwise, in order to win over the people, the Australians would definitely punish him severely and hang him directly on the gallows. "This is The gift given by Enping County Magistrate Chang Pu has nothing to do with me."
"We will definitely find out whether it was your idea. We suggest you take the initiative to confess and seek leniency."
"It is indeed not what I did. The sky can see it!" Chang Qingyun knew that the Australians had no intention of causing trouble and would never use your head casually, so he felt at ease.
"Do you know where Xiong Wencan went?"
"I don't know." Chang Qingyun thought that it was too blunt to say this, and added, "The day before the army entered the city, he disappeared. If you want to talk about escaping, it can only be anywhere in Teng County and Rong County."
"Tell me what you know about the situation of the Ming army defending the city."
Chang Qingyun secretly wondered, the officers and soldiers guarding the city had collapsed long ago, what else could they say? But since he asked, it was better for him to answer honestly so as not to offend Kun Thief.
Fortunately, he was in the middle of the scene and knew very well about the various people who defended the city. At that moment, the host and guest defenders' affiliations, origins, numbers, and generals were all explained clearly.
"Where did the Ming army guarding Bangshan come from? Who is the general?!"
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 329
