"In other words..., there is only one battalion of field soldiers in the entire Raozhou Prefecture?" Li Dan lowered his voice and asked in disbelief.
"Of course!" Zhao Chongbi opened his Japanese fan and said, "Well, now you know why the government is in a hurry for the meeting, right?"
"Well, it's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. What's more, three groups of guests came to the same table of rice." Li Dan also felt a little overwhelmed.
He originally thought that he would be done by holding on for a few days to weaken the strength of the lake bandits, and then the army would come from outside to suppress them.
Who would have thought that now Zhao Chongbi would tell him that he didn't have a large army, so he had to keep these people to guard the mansion. what to do?
He hugged his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. Zhao Chongbi was smiling and shaking his fan contentedly. This picture was quite strange.
"If we don't have soldiers, we have to make something out of nothing." Li Dan thought, looked at Zhao Chongbi, and suddenly his heart moved:
"Master Tongzhi is so happy and contented that he has a plan in mind. Could it be that he has already figured it out?" Thinking of this, he made some calculations in his mind and came to his senses:
"No wonder he asked me just now how to recruit the mining bandits. I'm afraid he had already planned this. In that case, why not draw inferences and generalize?"
Thinking of this, he clasped his fists and said, "My lord, I'm planning a strategy, and I must have a plan. The students are willing to throw some ideas and make one or two suggestions, for your reference only."
"But it doesn't matter." Zhao Chongbi waved his hand.
"The students suggested that there are two ways to deal with the lake bandits: either recruit Bailang, who has a good reputation among the people, and let him enter the Pojiang River to serve as a reinforcement for the government. This may help defeat the lake bandits in front of him, and then the army can move forward by land and water to relieve the rest. The siege of Qian."
Seeing that the other party just said "yes" without comment, Li Dan continued: "Another way is to promote reconciliation and alliance between Bailang and Finless Porpoise, and then the two families can work together to attack Polygonum Huazi's back. This can also be miraculous."
"Hey, this is an interesting idea!" Zhao Chongbi raised his head and thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Let them catch the thief, while I sit back and watch the storm without getting hurt. This is a good idea!"
"The key is that the lake bandits are attacking each other. The government can use this moment to encourage the mining rebellion and take the opportunity to cut off Polygonum Flower's arm.
In this way, even if he looks back and still wants to cause trouble, he will be scarred and helpless. If he misses the opportunity, it will never come again. Li Dan pointed at the table: "Then we will go all out in the direction of Anren, and the problem in the south will be solved."
The two of them chatted and drank this meal. Not only Yuqingliu, but also the altar of Nuerhong was exhausted.
It wasn't until the long street fell silent and the gong sounded to clear the street during the curfew that they realized it was getting late. After hastily deciding on some details, Zhao Chongbi asked him if he had a place to stay in the city.
Li Dan replied that he had made an appointment with Jiao Conghu of the Marching Department and would stay at his house late at night.
"Oh, Jiao Baihu, is he the one who invited you to have a drink when we first met?" Zhao Chongbi nodded: "I know his house. Come on, let's take my car to see you off."
Li Dan wanted to tell him that he had a horse, but he swallowed the words again. The two of them helped each other go downstairs. When Li Dan saw Wang Jintang coming up to greet him, he smiled and said, "Night owl, thank you for your daughter Hong tonight!"
After speaking, he patted a fifty-tael conference ticket into his chubby palm. Wang Jintang was shocked and said that he couldn't do anything. Li Dan waved his hand and told him that this was military discipline, and those who violated the law would be beaten with twenty military sticks.
"Others don't dare to fight, so I fight myself. I've beaten five of them in Geyang. If you don't believe me, just ask him." As he said this, Li Dan pointed at Mao Zaidi who was waiting outside the door.
"Okay, okay, even if you leave it with me, you can continue to use it when you come later." Wang Jintang saw the two of them staggering around, so he stopped trying and quickly called Mr. Zhao's eldest attendant to come in and help him get on the carriage.
He helped Li Dan walk and whispered in his ear: "Mr. Zhao brought a writing desk and asked for pens and ink to write next door."
Li Dan was slightly startled and put his hand on his shoulder without saying anything.
After getting on the car, the car was driving in front, and Mao Zaidi and Zhong Siqi were leading the horses behind. Zhao Chongbi leaned against the carriage and puffed out the smell of alcohol and said, "I'm having a great time today. I hope one day I can watch the sunset on the battlefield and have a drink with you again!"
"Sir, Lord Tianhuang, how could you stand in the blood with the students?
On a bloody battlefield? "Li Dan thought he was drunk.
"Hey, Brother Dan, you're underestimating me!" Zhao Chongbi was swaying after drinking, and took out a sparkling thing from the pocket on his waist and handed it over: "Look what this is."
Li Dan took it and looked at it under the light of the matchmaker. It turned out to be a bronze seal with a square black and yellow ribbon lion button. According to regulations, officials of the fifth to ninth ranks use copper seals. The lion buttons are tied with the seals of nobles and nobles, and the black and yellow ribbons indicate royal status.
Turn it over and take a look: General Zhenguo! There are three levels of generals below the prince of Zongfan, namely Wuyi, Zhenguo, and Zhaoyi (Zhao Laosan's father is at this level). Zhenguo generals are equivalent to fourth- or fifth-grade officials.
No wonder this guy came to be the governor of the government, but...? Li Dan respectfully helped him put the seal back into his bag, and then asked: "My lord, you have a title, so why do you want to be an official?"
"The emperor asked me to come and observe the situation, how could I not come?" Zhao Chongbi said with a smile: "Your Majesty's first move after taking office was to ban the sects.
If there are those who are willing to serve the country, they can serve as governors of prefectures and counties according to their grades. Those with outstanding performance will be candidates for officials in the six departments of the capital and provinces. Therefore, I will come to Raozhou. "
"Oh! And because you are a vassal vassal and have the rank of general, so Master Futai Diao wants you to take charge of military affairs when he returns to Poyang?"
"No, I don't know how to preside, I just help. And when I fight for my family and my country, I don't ask for merit when I win, but I only make mistakes when I lose."
"This is too..."
"Hey, who told me to be a descendant of the Zhao family!" Zhao Chongbi waved his hand mockingly.
Before getting off the bus in front of Jiao Conghu's house, Li Dan said goodbye to Zhao Chongbi and wished him success in suppressing and pacifying the enemy. Zhao Chongbi asked him: "Sanlang, tell me the truth. How many days can you defend Yugan County? Do you need help from soldiers?"
Li Dan thought about it, bit his lower lip and said, "I intend to recruit troops from Yugan. I will assemble a regiment of two thousand to defend the enemy. At the same time, I will recruit Ding Zhuangxiang to help defend the city. With my method, if the lake bandits come to ten thousand people, I can resist for half a month." , less than 5,000 people can resist for a month.
If the enemy comes to Yugan, I will send people to rush out of the east gate to warn Poyang. The land of more than 80 miles can be reached the next day. If the Poyang army comes, it can be reached the next day by water. It will take two to three days by land.
Your Excellency can plan your journey to deploy troops and horses, and send envoys in return for internal and external cooperation. "
"Do you want the help of the officers and soldiers?"
Li Dan was stunned for a moment, but he estimated that Fucheng could not send too many people. So he replied:
"If it is convenient for you, sir, you can send three to five hundred officers and soldiers to help boost the morale of the people. If it is inconvenient, Dan will not force it.
There is Mian Mountain in the southeast of Yugan, about 300 feet high. Lin Shihong once built a stronghold and garrisoned troops here in the late Sui Dynasty.
I thought it would be best to use the abandoned site of the village to set up a guerrilla army here, so that we could become at odds with the county. If your Excellency can send officers and soldiers here, this idea can be implemented. "
Zhao Chongbi nodded, thought for a while and said, "I understand. I will send you five hundred people according to your suggestion, but you have to hold on for no less than ten days, okay?"
Li Dan was overjoyed and quickly bowed deeply: "Dan, I would like to thank you on behalf of my father, and keep your promise as a gentleman. You will definitely live up to your mission!"
Ever since I heard that sentinels from the "Heshan Army" had appeared in Huangbu, there has been an atmosphere of tension in Yugan County. It's just such a small distance, and it takes only one day for the navy to flow down the river from Jinjiang River to Donghe River (Yushui).
Magistrate Fan couldn't help but tremble when he thought of this. He wanted to survive until the end of his term safely, so he took his eunuch and found a noble position in the Sixth Department of Southern Capital and lay down. Who knew he would have to face a baptism and torture of swords, guns and arrows? !
Originally, Fan Taizun was quite looking forward to General Zhaoyi, and he also respected the hundreds of regiments under him.
Unexpectedly, a few days ago, more than 300 lake bandits came to Magang and robbed a wealthy family. The general went out with his well-fed and drunk men, but for some reason they ran back without their armor and armor, shouting. Shouting: "Close the city gate quickly!"
The city was in a state of uproar. Later, only thirty to fifty lake bandits came to the city gate to have a look, and then walked away.
As a result, this regiment became the laughing stock of the whole city, and the children even made up nursery rhymes: "General, you are so mighty; when your son comes out, you lose his shorts."
From then on, the county magistrate no longer believed the general's bragging, and he began to eagerly look forward to Li Dan's team.
The day before yesterday, Han An (who is said to have a teacher-student relationship with Li Sanlang) returned to the city and brought him Li Dan's autographed letter and gifts picked out from the seizure (a box of Huizhou Huanglongsong's best smoke and ink, two Qingtian Jade Seal Stone), and told him that hundreds of elites had been selected on the way back, and asked the county magistrate to be sure to guard the city and wait for reinforcements.
At first, Fan Taizun was a little disappointed when he heard that there were only a few hundred people. What's the use of this? Later, I heard that these people had all served as corps commanders or senior commanders, and they could pull out an army of thousands of people in an instant, so I became happy.
According to Li Dan's request, he immediately summoned Zhou Dutou and discussed with him to send government officials to the four villages to recruit volunteers. But..., "My master's idea is good, but recruiting soldiers requires money. Where will the money come from?" Zhou Dutou asked.
"This..." Mr. Fan was also stuck. He called the housekeeper to inquire and learned that the county currently only had less than 500 cash in cash, 24,000 copper coins, various meeting tickets, banknotes, and small change. The scattered pieces can barely make up three hundred taels.
"The collected land tax and taxes are all in the treasury and have not had time to be transported away, but we don't dare to move without good intentions!" When I heard that soldiers were to be recruited, the officials looked troubled.
The money together can barely make up a thousand taels, but if you want to recruit soldiers, this little money will be used up in the blink of an eye.
To recruit a soldier, in addition to the cost of settling in, you also need to give a monthly reward of silver (recruiting volunteers is temporary, and you get a monthly reward, not a military salary). You have to cover the other party's food and accommodation, and you have to consider the color of the clothes and weapons...
There are so many places to spend money, how can you conquer the world with just a thousand taels? Fan Taizun thought about it and decided that he still had to find big business owners and mobilize donations!
When it comes to big families, apart from those wealthy businessmen, the most famous ones are Zhao, Li, Wu, Liu, Qian and Xu.
Among them, this Zhao is not the Zhao of General Zhaoyi, but a descendant of the famous Southern Song Dynasty prime minister and clan member Zhao Ruyu. His family has many branches, but they are all low-key.
Although this dynasty maintained respect for the descendants of the royal families of the former Song Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty, it did not give them any special treatment.
They don't even have the right to wear the yellow belt that marks their royal status. It's just customary for local officials to charge them half the tax for their parents' families, and everyone understands this tacitly.
But since they both have the surname Zhao, his family probably won't be a fool when it comes to donations.
Fan Taizun knew that they were honest landowners who respected the teachings of their ancestors and did not serve as officials, so he could ask for some food and cloth. He decided to leave this matter to Xiao Gui, the director of the military room. This man married the daughter of the Zhao family, so he had the respect of a relative.
Yu Qian's surname Wu is a popular surname, not because they are rich and prestigious, but because they are descendants of Wu Rui, King of Changsha in the Han Dynasty.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Pojun Wu Rui protected the country and the people, responded to Liu Bang's uprising, and was finally granted the title of King of Changsha. One of his descendants stayed around Yugan and became a more prestigious family.
Similarly, the Liu family is the descendant of Liu An, the king of Huainan during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty; the Qian family is the descendant of Qian Chuanying, the fourteenth son of Qian Mu, the king of Wuyue.
These three families have a long history in the local area, and their descendants are numerous and widely distributed. Banditry is the most unbearable thing for them, so if a team training is organized, it shouldn't be a problem for these three families to stand up as representatives of prominent squire families.
The Xu family is a representative of big businessmen. This family has not been in the local area for a long time, which is nearly thirty years.
His three brothers, Xu Bu, Xu Tong and Xu Xian, were respectively engaged in the rice, ceramics and condiment business, and their business scope reached half of Jiangnan West Road.
Although the things they manage are inconspicuous, they are daily necessities. As a result, the Xu family has gained great influence and has gradually become one of the top powers in the Yuqian Chamber of Commerce.
Magistrate Xu Jiafan didn't worry either. Lao Sun, the head of the execution room, had a cousin who was a tutor from Xu Jia's family. Therefore, usually when the county wants to communicate with the Xu family, it is Chief Sun who comes forward to make an appointment with the other party for talks.
Mr. Fan decided that the most worthy of his personal appearance was the Li family. There are currently two candidates and one scholar in the Li Mansion. Needless to say, the eldest master, Li Su, although he was convicted, he had served as a capital official after all, so his recovery would be sooner or later.
Now that the county is in trouble, shouldn't he extend his hand? Besides, caring for one’s hometown and doing good deeds bravely for justice are only good and not bad for Mr. Li, who is planning to retaliate. For him, such a good thing
Fame is so easy to come by!
What's even worse now is that before Li Dan came back, the newspaper had already arrived. Mr. Zhao, the magistrate of the mansion, appointed him to inspect the southern city of Ninth Rank, and he became an official of the mansion directly. Even though it was an official position assigned due to circumstances, he was still an official after all!
At first, Mr. Fan was shocked, thinking that Li Dan would be asked to go to the government to do things. After reading the newspaper carefully, he realized that the southern part refers to the three counties of Yugan, Wannian and Anren. It was really appropriate!
In this way, Mr. Fan had a motive and reason to go to the Li Mansion: to announce good news and to persuade donations.
However, Mr. Li is a famous iron cock who can only get in but not get out. Therefore, Fan Xianzun had to show his face and come to the door in person. Although he had expectations in his heart, he was also prepared to be rejected.
If someone is of a higher rank than you, even if you are a parent official, there is nothing you can do if someone disagrees with you.
According to the laws of this dynasty, families with a fifth rank or above enjoy full exemption from taxes and donations. So it's not against the king's law to refuse, so what do you think?
