Chang Yu bragged with a group of soldiers in the city until early in the morning. After giving some explanations, he returned to the county government office to rest. He saw cars gathering in front of the government office and many coachmen and servants wandering nearby. He knew that the wealthy gentry in the city had been approached by Zou Fengji to donate money. .
Sure enough, when I passed the county government hall, I saw that the lights were brightly lit and the people were bustling. Zhu Cian's voice could be heard faintly, and his tone seemed to be quite domineering.
Several government servants standing at the door were about to go in and report but he stopped them. Then they smiled and headed towards the back house. They were too lazy to talk nonsense with a bunch of squires and had this time to recharge their batteries.
After entering the guest room and falling asleep, I heard constant noises in my daze. Could it be that the Tatars are coming! Chang Yu, who was extremely nervous, groaned and stood up, but Qiao Sanxiu, who was on duty outside, was frightened. He thought there was an assassin, so he rushed over and hit the young eunuch with his sword drawn.
"What's wrong with the factory owner?" Seeing the horrified look on the little eunuch's face, Qiao Sanxiu asked quickly.
"But the Tatars have entered the city?"
"No!" Qiao Sanxiu frowned. Chang Yu listened for a while and then collapsed on the bed with a long breath. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed it hard several times. He had been under too much pressure these days.
Why is it so noisy outside?
Because it's dawn.
The county government office is located in the most prosperous area in the center of Linzi City. In addition, as soon as the people opened their eyes and took to the streets, they heard too many rumors, such as the tens of thousands of Tatar troops coming, and the need to donate food to the officers and soldiers. Every household must donate money and food no matter how much they have. Otherwise, if the officers and soldiers are hungry, no one will help them defend the city. If the city is destroyed, the consequences can be imagined.
How ferocious the Tatars are, the people's psychology is like a mirror. For a time, panic spread in the city, and noises were everywhere, which woke up Chang Yu who was sleeping soundly.
Chang Yu was no longer sleepy and got up and washed himself. The servants of the Yamen made breakfast and were about to go out when Zhu Cian came over to say hello with red eyes.
"Didn't you sleep well or did you sleep too late?" Chang Yu didn't have any feelings for Zhu Cian at first, but he had to say that Prince Heng's attitude was extremely low in front of him. In addition, he was similar in age and performed well in raising food. It was remarkable that he was not as indifferent to him as before. Seeing the tired look on his face, he asked.
"It's a bit late and I didn't sleep well," Zhu Ci'an replied honestly, and Chang Yu chuckled: "The conditions of this county government are poor and not as good as the palace."
"That's not true. It's actually the Tatars who are in danger... Ci'an is terrified." I have to say that this prince is very frank, and because of this, Chang Yu likes him, but he also wonders whether he has this kind of character or is he deliberately taking after Chang Yu's character. good.
"If you know you're afraid, just do your job well." Chang Yu didn't want to chat with him here, so he walked out of the Yamen. Zhu Ci'an followed closely: "Is the factory supervisor going to the city?"
Chang Yu hummed, and Zhu Ci'an was busy: "Ci'an, along with the factory supervisor, will go and have a look."
Chang Yu looked back at him and said, "Aren't you going to help Zou Zhixian with raising food?"
"The matter of raising food was finalized last night. No matter how many people there are, every household must donate some. As for how much the wealthy gentry will donate, borrow, and sell, they have already been determined. Zou Zhixian has sent someone to pick it up. There is nothing to do here. Ci'an I want to go up to the city and get to know the factory supervisor."
Regardless, Chang Yu nodded in agreement, knowing that although Zhu Cian behaved well in front of him, he was actually a person who loved excitement at heart and had a very adventurous spirit. He was not really interested in government affairs, but he was particularly interested in marching and fighting. , after all, he is a young man, most people are like this, I understand.
There were a lot of people on the street, huddled together in groups and talking noisily. Their faces were full of panic, and they looked up at the city from time to time. When they woke up early in the morning, they heard that the Tatars were coming, and their legs were so frightened that they became weak. Then they heard that the Tatars were coming. The officers and soldiers also came, and I felt a little relieved. However, upon inquiry, I found out that there were only dozens of them. At this time, the country warriors were being trained in the city.
I heard that there are tens of thousands of Tatars. How can such a few people hold on? Why not run into the mountains before the Tatars come... Some people are shouting.
There are tens of thousands of Tatars just rushing to Qingzhou City. Our little place can only come to a few hundred at most. The city can be blocked by artillery... someone retorted.
And there are tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, so it’s hard to say who will win...
But pull them down, there are tens of thousands of officers and soldiers, no matter how many there are, they are just decorations. For so many years, they have not even been able to defeat the rebels and they have defeated the Tatars... Although the Tatars are attacking Qingzhou, they will not be able to come back after defeating Qingzhou. Let's... run away and hide in the mountains for a while...
The mountains are not a good place either. Every place that is sheltered from the wind and rain and there are so many bandits will be robbed and killed by them. Even if they are lucky enough to take it away, how long can they last without food or water...
That's better than being killed by the Tatars. By the way, the Tatars usually don't kill people, but just kidnap them and take them outside the customs to work as slaves. Life is worse than death...
Chang Yu and his entourage walked along the street towards Beicheng. On the way, they heard all the people talking like this. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked Zhu Cian: "Has Zou County magistrate ordered the city to be closed?"
Zhu Cian shook his head: "I don't know, isn't this under Li Shiyuan's charge?" Seeing that Chang Yu didn't speak, he asked again: "Is the factory governor going to close the city?"
Chang Yu shook his head slightly: "It doesn't make much sense. This is not the main battlefield, so it won't be like Qingzhou. People can stay if they want. If you want to go into the mountains, you can go to the mountains. But if you want to leave, leave quickly. The Tatars will attack later. The city gates will be closed."
As he spoke, he arrived at the North Gate. The gate was closed. There were several government officials on duty who did not recognize Chang Yu. They raised their hands and shouted: "The North Gate is closed. If you want to go out of the city, go to the East Gate or the South Gate."
Chang Yu smiled and said nothing, and then he and Zhu Cian turned around and went up to the city. They saw Chen Suole leading a group of soldiers to train the village warriors. They slept soundly on the city floor last night, and Li Shiyuan woke up early in the morning. Bring fifty or sixty local warriors over and let them help polish it.
These fifty or sixty people were originally organized by Zou Fengji to prevent trouble before it happened. They were equivalent to the militiamen or temporary urban management workers of later generations. These people could barely cope with the daily condolences on public security or guarding against horse thieves, but when the Qing army came to attack and defend the city, they could barely survive. Lack of experience, the two are seriously short-handed.
Li Shiyuan was watching Chang Yu at the top of the city and hurried over to greet him. Chang Yu saw that his eyes were filled with red threads and patted him on the shoulder gently: "Thank you for your hard work."
"No, no, no, it's a matter of humble duty." Li Shiyuan was slightly surprised, and waved his hand a little flattered. Chang Yu walked to the battlements, supported the wall, looked around, and suddenly exclaimed: "This Linzi City originally had a moat." .
Li Shiyuan hummed at the side, and he was more familiar with Linzi and said: Li Zhongming built Linzi at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. It was three feet high and there was a two-foot wide moat outside the city. However, hundreds of houses have gone through changes in the sea and the city has been destroyed and destroyed. After several repairs, the moat has long since dried up and turned into a vague shoal, which is difficult to spot without looking carefully.
As soon as the city of Linzi was small, it was basically broken if there was a big battle, and there were no small battles, so the moat became useless. In addition, there were no big rivers around Linzi, so it was abandoned over time and slowly became flattened by silt.
"It is said that the water of the original moat came from that lake." Li Shiyuan raised his finger and pointed to a large lake a few miles to the northeast, but it was drying up and there was not much water in the lake.
"That's Taigong Lake" Zhu Cian added next to him.
Chang Yu said casually: "Grandpa, Grandpa Jiang!"
"Exactly." Zhu Cian nodded, but Chang Yu was stunned, and then smiled: "If the water is not deep, there is a dragon spirit. A small puddle of water with Jiang Taigong's name will look taller. The people of Linzi are quite good at rubbing. Jiang Taigong is famous."
"Mr. Factory Supervisor, you don't know something. It's not that the people of Linzi are trying too hard, but this is the fiefdom of Jiang Taigong. In ancient times, Linzi was Yingqiu, which is the border of Qi State. Jiang Taigong was the first king of Qi State in Zhou Dynasty... There is Jiang Taigong Temple in the south of the city. , there is a tomb inside..."
Chang Yu was stunned, not because he didn't know this historical event but because he didn't expect Zhu Cian to be so knowledgeable about the past and present. Previously, Fan Gongting came to the outside of Qingzhou City with his mouth open, and now he is talking to all the parents. What a good guy, it turns out that the real person is beyond appearances.
"And Taigong Lake to the east is also called Zihe River. It is rich in Taigong fish with delicious meat... I used to come to the lake to play with grilled fish..." Zhu Cian was still talking, but Chang Yu swallowed his saliva: "Grilled fish is a good thing!"
Zhu Cian's eyes lit up: "Factory Supervisor, you like to eat fish? Why don't you go and catch some..."
Chang Yu shook his head: "You can still catch the fish yourself and enjoy it."
A moment later, more than ten riders came out from the east gate and galloped away towards Taigong Lake.
