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However, just as Zhao Junchen was working hard to set up a maze to mislead the Mongolian coalition forces, Li Ruan also did not rest and rushed towards Tianshui City overnight.
However, Tianshui City is far away after all, Li Ruan's riding skills are only ordinary, and the speed is inevitably a bit slower, so when Li Ruan arrived outside Tianshui City, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Li Ru'an knew very well that the current war situation was urgent. Zhao Junchen's maze of formations might not be hidden from the Mongolian coalition for too long. He had to calm down the chaos in Tianshui City in the shortest possible time, and then Zhao Junchen could let go of the war without any worries. Have a fight!
However, after arriving outside Tianshui City, Li Ruan still spent some time to tidy up his appearance, restore his mental and physical strength, and make his image appear more arrogant and calm, and then he came to the east gate of Tianshui City. According to the intelligence, Tianshui City After the civil uprising, Dongcheng was still under the control of the government.
Obviously, due to the civil uprising, Tianshui City was already in a state of chaos at this time. Li Ruan's escort and entourage totaled only twenty or thirty people, but they still caused a burst of tension among the Tianshui City defenders.
Without waiting for the defenders of Tianshui City to ask, Li Ru'an rode his horse forward and said in a loud voice: "Our family is Li Ru'an, the eunuch and northwest military supervisor sent by the imperial court! Now we are coming to Tianshui City on the orders of Lord Zhao, the imperial envoy. Investigate the civil uprising! Open the city gate quickly and let the governor and guards of Tianshui City come to greet you!"
Li Ruan was originally just a scholar, and he always spoke softly, but since entering the palace, his voice gradually became shrill and harsh. At this time, under the loud shouts, all the defenders on the city wall were shouting. Hear it clearly.
Therefore, the defenders did not dare to neglect and hurriedly notified the big shots in Tianshui City while respectfully verifying Li Ruan's identity.
About a quarter of an hour later, the east city gate of Tianshui City opened wide, and then a group of civil and military officials were seen leaving the city and rushing towards Li Ruan.
Among this group of civil and military officials, the leader is Yi Wen Yi Wu. The civil official is Deng Fuquan, the magistrate of Tianshui Prefecture, and the military attaché is Yao Qi, the guard of Tianshui City. Behind them are a group of leading figures in Tianshui City, all of whom are The officials, merchants and gentry in the city.
However, everyone, including Deng Fuquan and Yao Qi, looked a little embarrassed and panicked at this time. They could not see the usual wealth and calmness at all. This was obviously due to the civil unrest in the city.
Hurrying to Li Ruan, Deng Fuquan and Yao Qi led the crowd to salute and greet Li Ruan, and said in unison: "We, the officials and the people of Tianshui, respectfully welcome the Lord Supervisor. Lord Supervisor, you have had a good journey!"
On the other side, Li Ruan was still riding on the horse, putting on an impatient and arrogant look, and snorted: "Your Tianshui City is really difficult to enter! Our family is covered in dust, and we came all the way without stopping, just to I have to wipe my ass for the mess you caused, but in the end I have to spend a long time outside the city blowing in the cold wind before I can enter the city!"
In fact, the reception speed of Deng Fuquan and others was already extremely fast - because of the civil uprising in the city, the Tianshui City government had lost control of Tianshui City, and the leading figures in Tianshui City could only huddle in a corner of the east city these days. They were waiting for help, and after learning the news about Li Ruan's appearance, they easily gathered together and went out of the city to greet them. It only took a quarter of an hour.
Obviously, Li Ruan was deliberately making things difficult for the officials, merchants and gentry in Tianshui City.
However, because of the civil unrest, the prefect of Tianshui, Deng Fuquan, felt that he was in the wrong. Naturally, he did not dare to refute. He just laughed and said, "It's the officials and others who have been negligent. Please don't take offense, don't take offense, Lord Supervisor!"
Li Ruan snorted again, ignored Deng Fuquan and others, and rode directly towards the city.
However, Deng Fuquan and others just followed this trick. Not only were they not angry, but they followed behind with a smile on their face.
After entering Tianshui City, Li Ruan looked up and saw that Tianshui East City was now in a mess and chaotic, as empty as a dead city. Even if he occasionally saw one or two pedestrians, they were all pedestrians. The scene was in a hurry, and these passers-by were either local garrison troops or servants of wealthy families, and no ordinary people could be seen.
Even further away, some chaotic and noisy sounds can be vaguely heard.
Seeing these situations, Li Ruan's expression became even colder.
Because the prefect's office in Tianshui City had been controlled by the rebels, after Li Ru'an entered Tianshui City, the meeting place was held at Deng Fuquan's residence.
This is a deep house that occupies a large area. It is magnificent, with carved beams and painted edifices, a brothel, and numerous pavilions. Li Ruan secretly estimated that the family property alone is worth no less than 60,000 to 70,000 taels of silver, and Deng Fuquan He has acquired such an estate in just three years as the prefect of Tianshui. He is obviously not a clean official.
However, Li Ru'an remained calm on the surface, but his cold face remained the same. After taking a seat in the hall of Deng's house, he asked Deng Fuquan directly: "How is the situation in Tianshui City now? Has the civil unrest been contained? At various city gates But is it still under control? Can Dongcheng still be defended?"
Deng Fuquan quickly replied: "For your information, Lord Supervisor, the three city gates of Tianshui are still controlled by the local garrison, but they cannot be contacted because of the isolation of the rioters in the city... Alas! Since the civil uprising, the rioters have become arrogant and arrogant. Every day gets better and better, with destruction and looting everywhere... Fortunately, Tianshui City has a special terrain. The branches of the Weishui River isolate Tianshui East City from the West, North and South City into two parts. In addition, the East City has always been the richest place in Tianshui City. Where people gathered, after the officials and gentry fled to Dongcheng, they finally managed to stabilize the situation. After the rebels attacked several times and were repulsed, they gave up! It's a pity that there are many local gentry with high reputations. Before they had time to escape, they were all brutally killed by them..."
As Deng Fuquan finished speaking, the officials, businessmen and gentry behind him finally found an opportunity.
Before that, because of Li Ru'an's cold attitude, they never had the chance to cry!
As soon as Deng Fuquan finished speaking, the officials and gentry in the hall knelt down in front of Li Ruan and cried loudly.
"Master Supervisor, you must make the decision for us!"
"Those rogues are really hateful! All the property that the Caomin family has accumulated over generations has been destroyed by them!"
"Master Supervisor, the villain's son was beaten to death by the mob. He was a scholar!"
"Lord Supervisor, you must cut all these rioters to death, so that you can vent the hatred in our hearts!"
"When the fire sifted into the invaders, we kindly took them into the city to save them from the cruelty of the Mongolian Tatars. Who knew that these untouchables would repay kindness with hatred. The gentry suffered countless losses because of this civil turmoil! Lord Supervisor, can you We must not let them go!”
Amidst the burst of crying, the officials, businessmen and gentry present all looked pitiful, as if they were all simple victims.
Of course, some people just stood aside with blank expressions, as if they didn't want to get involved.
Li Ruan, on the other hand, remained calm, just watching with cold eyes, and secretly noted the attitudes and stances of everyone present.
Under Li Ruan's observation, he found that most of the people who cried were from wealthy backgrounds, while those who were watching were mostly from ordinary families.
At the same time, the officials, merchants, and gentry in Tianshui City were only focused on crying to Li Ruan, but they did not realize that Li Ruan's guards had already surrounded the meeting room with weapons in hand.
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I'm not in a good state today and I always have trouble writing. I've revised this chapter several times, but I'm still not satisfied with it. I'll divide it into two chapters for the time being, and I'll post the first half first. Please forgive me!
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