Li Suiqiu knew what Chen Bangyan was worried about and asked, "Ling Bin is very insightful, can he have any countermeasures?"
Chen Bangyan said: "The best time to rebel against Kun is when the Kun thieves enter the city and the foundation is not yet stable and Xiong Du has not been defeated. We have gathered volunteers to coordinate with Xiong Du internally and externally, and we can still fight."
Kuang Lu said: "The Australians have sharp firearms, far superior to our soldiers. It is said that one shot can destroy dozens of miles. How can we fight with them?"
"The country has raised scholars for three hundred years, but only a few officials died in battle. The officers and soldiers of a city actually gave up the city of Guangzhou. It is really hateful!" Li Suiqiu cursed.
"Except for the elder brothers, most of the Jin gentry in Guangzhou have recognized Kun Ren as the master." Chen Zisheng said, "He Xiangguo (He Wujue) has already paid a visit to Kun Ren's prefect Liu, and Luotian Dajiao of Wuxian Temple has also visited. The Kun people did not refuse to attend the wedding organized by the prostitutes; Li Kuozhong, the younger brother of Li Shangshu (Li Daiwen), often went around the countryside and was punished by the Kun people. They cooperated with others to open an iron factory, and the Zhongyi Battalion was also incorporated into the National Army. It participated in the suppression of bandits and made many contributions. The Liang family has always been on good terms with the Kun people. The Kun people were able to settle down in the first place because of the care of the Liang family. But for some unknown reason, after the Kun people entered the city, the Liang family kept a distance from the Kun thieves and did not make any move to cling to them."
"Finally, Liang Cunhou still has some sense of shame!"
"Hey, there are no reinforcements from outside and no loyal people inside. Can we only lie dormant and wait for the opportunity?"
Indeed, in the face of absolute strength, no conspiracy or trick can cause any trouble. The few people chatting on the wheel, naturally could not think of any countermeasures to drive away the giant bandits.
Li Suiqiu turned to Chen Zizhuang and wanted to know if his teacher had any ideas, "Teacher, do you think the imperial court has any plan to conquer it?"
Chen Zizhuang didn't say much, because his heart was like a mirror, and the trend of separatism between the thieves and the thieves was already established. In today's Ming Dynasty, the party in the court is fighting against dissidents, and the atmosphere is full of chaos. Officials from the frontiers often abandon the city; externally, the Liao Dynasty is corrupt, and they are afraid of the enemy; internally, there are natural disasters for many years, civil unrest occurs, and the ancestral graves of the emperor's family are destroyed by peasants who have no food. After the rebels dug for a few days, he was the one who wrote the memorial that asked the emperor to issue the "edict to sin against oneself". The Kun thieves occupied Lingnan, and the Ming Dynasty was like a leaky broken ship with another hole, and there were too many lice to bite it. Is there really such a thing as telepathy?
Chen Zizhuang stood up, walked towards Chen Bangyan, and asked, "Which one does Ling Bin think is stronger, the Fubo army of the Kun people and the Donglu army?"
Chen Bangyan thought for a moment and said: "We should make the Fubo army the strongest."
"Not bad." Chen Zizhuang stroked his goatee with his right hand and nodded slightly to express his appreciation.
Chen Bangyan continued: "Now the only troops that the imperial court can fight are the border troops. They are all in Guanning and cannot be moved lightly. The troops in the interior have been sparse for a long time and have no ability to attack fortresses. They also lack food and pay. It is still possible to suppress the rogue bandits such as Li and Zhang. . Wang Zunde lost the Jingzhi division in Guangdong first, and the province has no usable troops. The sharpness of the Kunthief's army is far superior to that of the Jurchens. Only by sending troops from several provinces to trap them with ten times the division, there is still something to be done. But... "
"Just what?" Kuang Lu asked.
"It's just that if there are people in our court who can repel the soldiers of the Kun bandits, why should the Dong captives be allowed to show off their aggression on all sides, as if they were in a deserted territory?"
"If the emperor had not killed Governor Yuan, even if he resigned and returned to his hometown, Governor Yuan would have been in charge of Guangfu, and things would not have ended like this." Kuang Lu felt a little regretful, but there was still a trace of luck in his heart.
Li Suiqiu said: "Yuan Gong's incident has indeed made many loyal people feel discouraged. Yanke (Li Yunlong), Zhifu (Zhang Erguo), Lizhong (Zeng Qixin), Weiyang (Liang Chaozhong), Zuxin ( Han Zongyu and others often met with me in the Sanmu Hall of Ji Zuo (King Robin) (on Fangcao Street in the east of Guangzhou City) to talk about worldly affairs and take the welfare of the people as their own responsibility. Yanke was once a guest of Yuan Gong and accompanied him. After the battle in Liaodong, after Duke Yuan was killed, Yanke saw through the world of mortals, became a disciple of Zen Master Kongyin, and became a monk. After Yanke escaped into Buddhism, the others all wanted to become monks. Zhifu and Lizhong originally intended to go to Huangyan Temple in Jiangxi to join them. I became a disciple of Zen Master Kongyin, but the thieves entered the city and never came."
A dull breath came from Chen Zizhuang inadvertently. The death of Yuan Chonghuan was a huge blow to the scholars in Guangzhou. After a moment of silence, Chen Zizhuang asked: "Meizhou, you are good friends with the people in Fushe. Do you know if the people in Fushe have any contacts with the Kun people?"
Li Suiqiu thought for a moment, "The people who interact with the public in the society are all scholars with outstanding literary talents. I have never heard of any vulgar people like Kun people. However, I have seen a lot of foreign goods from Australia in the house of brother Tianru (Zhang Pu)... …What does the teacher mean?”
"A distinguished guest has come to the Liang Mansion. Although Mr. Liang didn't say anything, I can guess 80% to 90% of it." Chen Zizhuang stroked his beard and said: "If he is a local relative or friend, there is no need to hide it like this. Mr. Liang is from a family of officials and has many friends. Jiangnan, I’m afraid he’s from Fushe.”
Li Suiqiu suddenly realized it and said: "I heard Yan Zi'an (Yan Du) and Yan Rengong (Yan Wushun) from the Hangzhou Book Club mention that a few years ago, a Wanbi Book Club opened in the city. The boss was a Sanshui scholar. It was built on the site of the Imperial City of the Southern Song Dynasty. A Phoenix Villa. In addition to the bookstore, there is also a large silk business, but the books sold are said to be different, especially the set of "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics"... Yes, "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics" is an Australian product! Later, a black ship with black smoke went outside Hangzhou!"
Chen Zizhuang also recalled some past events when he was in Beijing. In recent years, foreign goods from Australia are not very rare in Beijing, and they seem to have been seen in the palace. Delong Bank, where many dignitaries and dignitaries in the capital have deposited their banknotes, is known by its name to be the same backend as Delong Bank in Guangzhou. It seems that the Australians' reach is by no means limited to Lingnan.
"Master Gao, who is now very popular in front of the Australian magistrate, is said to have connections with the palace!" Kuang Lu also remembered.
When these different sources of information are pieced together, a huge network of tentacles slowly unfolds before everyone's eyes. As far as the capital, as far as Suzhou and Hangzhou, and as far south as Qiongya, Kun thieves have already been infiltrated. This forced them to believe that this group of maritime merchants who claimed to be descendants of the Song Dynasty were indeed dreaming of "restoring the country" and were implementing their plan step by step.
"I didn't expect it. I didn't expect that for so many years, no one in the court would have exposed the Australian conspiracy. They deceived the king and ignored them! I have been pilled for three hundred years in the Ming Dynasty!" Li Suiqiu roared angrily.
"Had I known this, the king would have gathered troops from the five provinces and surrounded him with three armies when he was still young, so that he would not have caused today's disaster!" Chen Bangyan also said sadly.
Li Suiqiu said: "When Wang Du suppressed the bandits, there were not a few officials in Guangzhou who opposed it. Some people said that Wang Du was provocative, but in fact, who has not received the filial piety from the bandits?"
At this moment, rapid footsteps came from outside, and the back hall suddenly became quiet.
"Master! Master!" It turned out to be Chen Shangyong, Chen Zizhuang's eldest son.
Chen Zizhuang scolded him sternly: "Didn't you say that no one can come to the back hall without my consent?"
"Sir! Mr. Lu has been waiting in the front hall with a stick of incense. He said that he had to meet in person for something." Chen Shangyong said aggrievedly.
"Which Mr. Lu?" Kuang Lu asked.
"Lu Yizhong, the councilor of the Guangdong Region of Kun Thief... was the former aide to the King Governor..." Chen Zisheng replied.
"Huh," Li Suiqiu said disdainfully, "You shameless person, he still has the nerve to see the teacher!"
Since Lu Yizhong was captured by the Senate in the Battle of Chengmai, he surrendered to the Senate and became Guo Yi's staff. After Liu Xiang took over Guo Yi's job, Lu Yizhong relied on his familiarity with Guangzhou's officialdom to make many suggestions for Liu Xiang. He is now the right-hand man of "Prefect Liu" and has the official title of "Consultant." The sour people in the city made up a joke for him, saying that he had not become a "counselor" in the Ming Dynasty, but now he had become a "counselor" in the "Kong Song Dynasty".
A joke is a joke, the gentry in the city could be calmed down quickly, and Lu Yizhong's running around played a big role in it. It's just that Chen Zizhuang never looked down upon him, which made him quite embarrassed.
In the past, when Lu Yizhong came to see him, Chen Zizhuang avoided seeing him for various reasons, and even left the city of Guangzhou where there were many people. Unexpectedly, he found Shabei Village. Chen Zizhuang knew that avoiding him was never the answer. Now that he was here, he would meet this broker who was good at dancing.
"Shangyong, please ask Lu Yizhong to wait for a moment, I will come soon."
Not long after, Chen Zizhuang walked through the winding corridor and came to the front hall.
Lu Yizhong was calm and calm, drinking tea with a teacup in hand. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he finally saw Mr. Qiu Tao, whom he had repeatedly encountered. He quickly put down his cup, stood up, saluted, and said with a smile: "Mr. Qiu Tao, you are well and welcome!"
Chen Zizhuang had no expression on his face. He neither returned the courtesy nor was polite. He sat down and answered in a cold tone, "Mr. Lu, why are you here?"
"Haha, the students are here to say hello to the old gentleman, and secondly, they are here to receive orders from Mayor Liu of the city government..."
"If you are here to be a lobbyist and persuade me to join the Australians and take up a fake position, then there is no need." Chen Zizhuang interrupted him directly.
Lu Yizhong thought to himself: As the first Jin gentry in Lingnan, if the Senate came to serve you when they first entered the city, the Senate might still be able to reuse you. However, I have repeatedly asked to see you but to no avail. I think you don't bother to be a guest of the Senate. Now that Guangdong and Guangxi are settled, no one can afford to make trouble. Don't say you don't want to, there is still a question mark whether the Senate will want you.
However, Lu Yizhong still maintained his demeanor and did not forget to give him a compliment. He said with a smile: "The old man is talented in literature and military strategy. If he is willing to serve the Song Dynasty and serve the country, that would be great. If the old man is willing to relax in the forest, we, the Senate of the Song Dynasty, will not force others to do anything. This time I came here because Mayor Liu specially ordered that you must meet with Mr. Liu and convey any matters in person."
"If you have anything to do, just tell the servants. Why do you have to see me?" Chen Zizhuang only raised his eyelids.
"This matter is very important. If I only tell my servants, there may be misunderstandings, so I ask for a meeting in person."
(End of chapter)
