In the past, he wouldn't have dared to think about it: there was a huge difference between Xiong Wencan and him. Let alone meeting him in person, even meeting his secret servants and second masters would cost him no idea how much money it would cost. But now, Xiong Wencan has completely lost Guangdong. Now he can only "sit back and wait for death" and "seek medical treatment urgently". He will definitely be more courteous and virtuous.
But this person is hard to find. Gou Xunli was originally just a "village sage" in a remote small county. At best, he could only be brothers with the "Five Giants of Chengguan Town" in his own county. He was not so "virtuous" outside the county. When the Gou family was at its most powerful, the master of Qiongzhou Prefecture was the most powerful political figure they had ever made friends with.
When they fled to Guangzhou and searched for ways to complain, Gou Xunli deeply realized his own insignificance. On the ground in Guangdong, except for Li Siya who later took the initiative to recruit him, he had no connections worth mentioning.
Fortunately, the opportunity came soon. For the sake of safety and convenience of robbery, many spies are stationed in and outside Wuzhou city. These people secretly collude with the bandits and constantly deliver various news to the village. After the Kun thieves broke through the city, Gou and Hu felt sick, so they sent many people to the city to contact the four townships and "sit-in detectives", firstly to see if the Kun thieves had made any move to suppress the bandits, and secondly, to try to find ways Looking for lost people who can secretly contact the government and use this as their own guide.
Among them was a detective who used to be a "white body" yamen servant in the county yamen. After the Australians entered the city, he heard the news and hid at home - there was no roster of white government officials anyway, so as long as he didn't go to the government office to do errands, he was out of touch.
Because of his work as an errand in the Yamen, this person had been assigned to work outside the Governor's Yamen. Therefore, he had met Yi Haoran several times and knew his background. The day before, he went to the street to do errands, but met Yi Haoran, who was serving as a "knowing guest" in front of a house where a funeral was being held.
The yamen officer originally just wanted to take the opportunity to extort some money from Yi Haoran, but when he met a bandit coming down the mountain looking for a "guide," he told the visitor the news.
Gou Xunli received the news as if he had found a treasure. Because according to the detective, Yi Haoran once took charge of Xiong Wencan's servants - it can be seen that he must be a master who was important in Xiong Wencan's shogunate. Since he is hiding among the people, he will definitely not take refuge in the thieves. Even if he can't say it He will not be accused by him. Immediately, I took the risk of changing my appearance and came to Wuzhou to contact him in person.
His self-descriptions of "a gentry from Lingao County", "defected to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi", "in the middle of Hezhen" and so on were all to raise his own status and to dispel Master Yi's wariness.
Sure enough, after he said these few words, Yi Haoran's eyes became much less wary. He whispered: "In that case, what is the reason for the strong man coming here?"
Gou Xunli also whispered: "Sir, have you forgotten that this is the land of the Ming Dynasty and want to live in peace and become a citizen of the Song Dynasty?"
Yi Haoran took a deep look at him: "Don't dare forget!" He exchanged some perfunctory words with the people around him, and then said: "Where are you from?"
"It's not convenient for me to stay in the city for a long time - the thieves want to check the household registration," Gou Xunli quickly looked around and whispered, "I will go to the Longmu Temple in the north of the city to offer incense tomorrow at noon. Sir, can you wait for me there."
Gou Xunli couldn't completely believe that Master Yi was meeting outside the city. He could send someone to the scene in advance to check if there was any ambush, lest the Master suddenly want to take his head as a meeting gift.
That night, Yi Haoran thought over and over again and decided to strike up a connection with Gou Xunli. Now that the funeral of Jiang Qiuchan's family has been basically completed, he has no reason to continue living here. And he has nowhere to go in Wuzhou - not only that, if he wants to go to Teng County now, the road will not be smooth. Even if the thieves don't block the road, he will not be able to save his life if he encounters the bandits.
Gou Xunli's background is certainly suspicious, but he is a down-and-out master, an old man, neither a handsome man nor a beautiful woman, nor does his family have wealth. Gou Xunli will not set up to deceive himself. If it is a trap for a thief, he is not what he is. An important person, let alone a person in the city, why bother to go to such trouble to kill or catch an urban thief?
No matter what this "strong man" is planning, it will not be harmful to him. The worst is to lose your life. On the other hand, if Gou Xunli really has some clever plan and can turn the tide, it might not be a bad thing. Anyway, the situation of Xiong Wencan and the Guangdong Ming Army has reached the extreme. If they fight to the death, they can still turn things around.
After thinking about this, he quietly went to see Qiu Chan.
"My niece-in-law's important affairs have been taken care of. It is inconvenient for me to stay here any longer - it will be detrimental to your good reputation." Yi Haoran considered the words, "I will go out to look for a house tomorrow, and I will move out now."
"Uncle has no relatives and friends in Wuzhou, and the war is in chaos. Where can I rent a house and settle down?" Qiu Chan relied on Yi Haoran to run around and take care of the situation these days, and finally handled this idle matter safely. "Master Yi" was very grateful: You must know that orphans and widows like her, without relatives to support them, would be the targets of bullying and blackmail in society. Often after a useless thing is done, the family is bankrupt before the bones are cold.
Although he knew that "Hao Ran"'s departure would be good for him and for this already incomplete family, the fear of being orphaned and widowed and helpless, and living with him day and night in the past few days, had a profound impact on his gentlemanly character and crisis. Her favorable impression of being bold and fearless made her unwilling to let him leave just like that.
But it is indeed unjustifiable for him to live like this. Qiu Chan thought for a while and said, "Don't be anxious, cousin. It's a time of war and chaos, and my cousin is a stranger. No one will be willing to rent the house for a while - it's better to find a job and settle down here - or Teaching a private parlor or working as a bookkeeper will provide you with a job and a place to live."
Yi Haoran said: "That's true, but where can I find work in a hurry?"
"Don't worry, cousin. My mother-in-law is doing business locally and has quite a lot of connections. I'll just ask my relatives to inquire for my cousin tomorrow."
Yi Haoran was naturally more respectful than obedient. The next day, he left the city as promised.
This was his first time out of the city after the war, and he couldn't help sighing at the desolation outside the city after the war. However, the order outside the city has been generally restored. There are thieves and soldiers with a group of "tuan soldiers" equipped with spears and swords patrolling and standing guard, giving people a sense of stability. The ruins on the streets are being cleared by teams of workers. On the river bank south of the Dragon Mother Temple, various collected materials are piled up, and many boats are moored. It was about repairing the pontoon bridge on the Gui River. The shops are all open, and although business is slow, there is finally a bit of hope for survival after the disaster.
Suddenly, a whistle sounded in the distance, and when I looked up to see the thick smoke billowing on the Xijiang River, I saw another group of ships, slowly approaching here in a row - this must be the warship of the bandit. Yi Haoran suddenly felt that he was really an idiot. Xiong Wencan's tens of thousands of troops were beaten to pieces in Wuzhou, and he had to flee in a hurry. He was a scholar, but he had to "discuss the state affairs" with a green forest hero. . Could it be that his hundred and ten green forest heroes could turn things around?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel sad secretly. I just feel that my future is bleak and I am just carrying snow to fill rivers and cooking sand for cooking.
While I was in distress, I suddenly heard a voice saying: "Your team has a total of seventy-six workers this morning. Where did the ninety workers come from? You see, they all clearly recorded their signatures..."
The voice was very familiar. Yi Haoran followed the sound and saw a man who looked like a scholar talking to several foremen in a hut on the roadside. Taking a closer look, it was Chang Qingyun who it was!
In the midst of surprise, Chang Qingyun suddenly raised his head. Judging from his instantly frozen expression, he must have recognized himself!
Chang Qingyun was stunned and immediately said: "...If you don't believe it, I'll show it to you..." After saying that, he gave Yi Haoran a "go away" look.
Yi Haoran nodded slightly, not daring to linger any longer, and quickly walked towards the Dragon Mother Temple.
On the way, he hesitated for a while whether to go to Longmu Temple to meet Xun Li again, but then he thought that although Chang Qingyun had been captured by the Kun bandits, it seemed that he was getting preferential treatment and was not rushed to build the city. He recognized himself but did not report it on the spot, but still motioned for him to leave quickly. It seemed that he still had a trace of conscience in his heart.
Influenced by seeing Chang Qingyun again and his "unyielding captivity", Yi Haoran's mood improved somewhat. He walked as fast as flying, thinking:
"As for this brave man, no matter how capable he is, he can finally serve his country wholeheartedly. Whether he can turn the tide or use his arms as a chariot, I have to give it another try!"
While Yi Haoran secretly met Gou Xunli at Longmu Temple, the fleet coming from the Xijiang River docked at the Guibei Wharf outside Dayunmen. As soon as the springboard was set up, groups of soldiers wearing brand new gray uniforms lined up from the ship.
Probably because they had been on the boat for so long, the queues were sparse and not neat, and the soldiers seemed listless. Qian Duo was on the dock, looking at this group of people and shaking his head - he had been notified that the Wuzhou Brigade of the National Army was arriving today. He has been waiting for this brigade for a long time. After all, with only his 100 people and hundreds of militiamen, Wuzhou's defense is too weak.
But the team in front of them: new clothes, new guns, obviously the people are also new. Judging from their military appearance, it is certain that most of them were expanded locally in Guangdong - many of them still carry standard spears.
It is too difficult for the Senate to expand enough National Army from the "local area". Therefore, in the construction of the National Army, it is mainly based on the original National Army as the base of the army and recruiting and expanding old guards in Guangdong. The soldiers and various Ming troops surrendered.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 348
