The county magistrate's sedan went first, followed by Li Dan's brigade, and finally the gentry who came out to greet them. The team was vast, but somewhat imposing.
In particular, the oilcloths on the eight four-horse carts were lifted before entering the city, revealing the weapons and bows and arrows in the carts, which amazed the people watching on both sides of the road.
Everyone riding on the mule horse held up his chest and proudly let the people on both sides see him clearly, especially the local disciples. They heard whispers from the crowd:
"Hey, look, isn't that the Dalang of the He family? He's also wearing armor." The Dalang He blushed, holding back his laughter and raising his head higher.
"Xiao He, don't look up. If you look up, people will think that God is going to drop a wife for you." Someone behind him said angrily, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Zhao Jingzi burst into laughter when he heard "chi", but hurriedly held it back. He saw a pair of large, clear eyes staring at him under a low eaves.
He wanted to pretend he didn't see it, but he couldn't help but turn around to look for her. He disappeared from the crowd again, and he felt disappointed.
"It seems that there are many handsome women in Sanlang's hometown." Mr. Bas next to him said with emotion when he saw him stroking his beard and hair like this.
"Well, quite a bit! I just don't want to see the old man!" Zhao Jingzi shot back at him fiercely.
"How do you know?" Mr. Master Ba said, "I heard that there is a Kun Temple inside and outside the east gate!"
"You don't let go of practitioners. Isn't that so wicked?"
"Hey, if you and I love each other, it's a match made in heaven. How can there be such a bad thing?" Master Ba shook his head proudly. Zhao Jingzi felt goosebumps all over his body, so he shook his head and ignored him.
Fan Xianzun's method was indeed effective. After the team went through this, the mood in the county immediately stabilized, and the impact of the Li family's departure was also eliminated.
The people were all happy and running around telling each other: "Well, finally the sky has eyes. Now even if there are hundreds or thousands of thieves coming, there is nothing to worry about!"
Those who were impatient started to show off: "Have you heard? They got a lot of good things after the war. The armor and horses they were wearing were all captured. Li Sanlang did so grandly!"
"What is this?" Another person curled his lips in disgust:
"Previously, Li Sanlang sent someone to deliver a message to the county magistrate. The messengers all rode on tall horses. Behind the saddles, they brought back two large letters containing safe family letters for the children of this city.
I heard from my neighbor, Old Chen, that of the three businesses on Confucian Street alone, each of them had banknotes attached to their letters. The least one, Tian A Shu, even sent seven taels to his mother! "
"You can still make money while on business? Tsk, tsk, that's really unheard of!"
"That fellow Tian A Shu used to gamble and help out, but he actually sent money to his family! I heard that his old mother sat on the ground crying and couldn't get up. She kept shouting: My son is so old! Oh, it's early If you know, I’ll take this trip too!”
"You? That's bullshit! You only see the benefits of others, but you don't see how they fight for their lives. It's really...!"
The Qingshirt team camped outside the South Gate of the City. They also piled bamboo fences and quickly made temporary measures, and then began to set up tents inside.
A large number of children wearing trousers or not wearing trousers were outside looking at the fence curiously. The adults did not dare to get too close, scolding the children and sticking their heads out from a distance to see these young men with blue cloth-topped heads in full swing. Work.
"It's all good work!"
"Look at those pickaxes and shovels, tsk tsk, they are all made of good materials. Alas, there were only a few people and a few cars when they went out!"
"Yes, look at those pieces of tendon meat. Women will definitely be tempted when they see it..."
"Go, go, don't chat here in the way, stay back!" A soldier came over and waved them away.
He refused to take off his short shirt even on a hot day. There was a square black patch on his left arm with three obvious folded lines on it made of white cloth.
"Hey, you bastard, it's no longer your time to pick things up at the pier, and you still look so arrogant. Hey, what does that thing on your arm... mean?" Someone who recognized him had the courage to ask.
"This?" Wang Gangzi was obviously very proud: "The black background and the white stripes are the corps commander.
Each battle adds one, up to four. Just three of them can lead to a promotion. We are qualified now! It's just black stripes on a white background, do you understand? "
"Oh, what's the next promotion?"
"The team leader and the sentry commander! But they are rectangular blocks. Hey, you can tell which level in our team is higher just by looking at your arms. Don't tell others, this is called... a military secret!"
As a result, before nightfall that night, the "military secret" of the Green Shirt Team spread to many people in the city.
It is said to be a city gate, because there was originally an urn at the south gate, but it was destroyed during the war in the last years of the previous dynasty. Now only the ruins of the half-man-high wall remain. There is also a hole in the city gate, and the upper part It's all gone.
Zhao Jingzi climbed up to the top of the remaining wall from inside the wall, and then went down to the outside. He shook his head and pouted. What use could this piece of shit do?
"It's not working. It's so low that it's almost like nothing!" He said loudly, "It might be faster to rebuild it with the bamboo tendon method."
Second Master Zhu looked back and said: "This wall is in a good place, it is at a high place. Look at the reeds growing below, is it the original moat?
It is possible to directly dig deeper and wider from the inside, and dig out the soil to build the wall. But Sanlang, it can't be done without manpower. I estimate that a single Nanguan requires seven to eight hundred people. "
"Understood." Li Dan gnawed on a plum and nodded in agreement: "In the final analysis, there are still people. I will talk about this when I go to the county magistrate for a banquet later. Alas, we need to recruit soldiers and strong men to work. Seeing that autumn is coming, it's time to I’m afraid the villagers won’t be happy!”
He only took the two of them to have a rough look at the South City Wall and Nanguan, and estimated that it would take two thousand people to do it.
It takes time to convince the county government to cooperate, then publish the list to inform the four townships, and wait for the manpower to be assembled. Li Dan felt anxious. After all, he is still a young man, so he has to be a little impatient.
"Sanlang, don't be too worried." Han An, who rushed to the south gate, advised: "It is inevitable to ask the county to cooperate in announcing the recruitment of labor from the four villages, but I think we can take a step forward in recruiting soldiers."
"Oh? What do you think, sir?" Li Dan asked immediately.
"Look, first of all, there are 500 local warriors led by General Zhaoyi in the city. We can absorb some of them in the name of unified command."
"Well, this is okay. What else?"
"There are more than 2,000 refugees from various places inside and outside the city. Keeping them here is a headache for the county anyway. We have recruited a few of them before and asked them to bring people to speak. I estimate that there are two or three people who have come forward to speak and demonstrate. From these people There is no problem in absorbing another one or two hundred.
In addition, Gu Da, Yang Yi, Liu Hongsheng, Li Biao, Zhang Bo, etc. all have disciples they know well in the city. Wouldn't you be jealous when you see them all leading troops? There must be many among them who are willing to join the ranks, which is another source of new recruits.
In short, before the county issues a notice to officially start recruiting troops, there is actually a lot we can do. It is not impossible to expand our manpower to a thousand people. Judging from the county magistrate, he must have turned a blind eye and would not blame you. "
"Sir, you are right!" Li Dan thought for a while and called Mao Zaidi: "You ask Han Si to find a few brothers who are refugees and beggars to follow me into the city. After entering the city, we will split up to contact the brave and powerful people. They will go outside the Nanguan Camp Gate tomorrow morning to apply."
"Manpower is important, but adults, don't forget that food and salary are also important!" Han An then reminded.
Li Dan smiled bitterly: "Well, leading an army is not easy. There are so many things to think about! I am afraid that these two words of food and salary will have to rely on donations from the rich families in the county. Even if my Li family has some assets, We can’t afford to support a county’s soldiers!”
This is nonsense. Others don't know it, but Mr. Ba knows it. Hidden under the weapons of the carriage was a sack of seized gold, silver and banknotes.
Even though the entire camp had been rewarded, there were still twenty thousand taels left, most of which were found in the cabinets in Hua Jipzuo's bedroom.
Li Dan had decided to use this part of the wealth as funds to buy property or start a business, so he said he would rely on donations because he did not want to use this part of the property.
"If you want to talk about donations, excluding your mansion, we have to look at the five families of Zhao, Wu, Qian, Liu, and Xu." Han An nodded:
"I'm here to greet you today.
In the team, I think the Xu family is quite interested in making friends with you. The Zhao, Wu, and Qian families all have honest and honest family traditions, so there shouldn't be much of a problem. Only the Liu family may be a thorn in the side. "
"The Liu family? His family is also a famous king, and he has never had any problems with me, the Li family. How could he go against me?" Li Dan looked at Han An strangely: "Is there something in Master Han's words?"
"Why, Dalang just talked in your ear and didn't tell you?" Han An asked in surprise.
"What's the matter? Brother just said we'll talk about it when it's convenient..." He suddenly came to his senses: "But it has something to do with my uncle?"
Han An could only nod and tell: "The Nanchang navy came to the ship this morning, and your uncle took the box and cage with him and boarded the ship."
"What?" Li Dan was shocked: "He is an unemployed official of the sixth grade, how can he abandon the battle?"
"I heard it was Nanchang's intention to accept the government envoy Si Yamen. Alas! The county magistrate can't stop it!"
"Asshole! He took all the children away?"
"I heard that all the female dependents of the eldest brother, the second and third wards of your mansion have left. Your third uncle thought it was inappropriate and finally stayed."
"Everyone is gone? Where is my aunt?" Li Dan asked quickly.
"Oh, she didn't leave. After we came back, Siwu Zhu went to your house and sent two people to take turns guarding the door."
Li Dan felt relieved. "Hey, I came back to defend the city, and they all ran away! Okay, that's great! It's really embarrassing for the Li family!"
Seeing that his anger was getting worse, Yang Yi hurriedly stepped forward and persuaded him softly: "Sanlang, calm down. Now that the time is up, we have to go to the banquet. We don't dare to act recklessly at this time. No matter what, you have to give Mr. Fan this face."
"It's Hesaburo. If you want anything, let's finish the wine and sleep and talk about it tomorrow." Gu Daye said.
"Brother Zhou, order Xiaobai Eel (Wei Xiaohe, Zhou Qin's deputy) to assemble his team and follow me into the city. Your team will be stationed at the small school ground behind the City God's Temple tonight."
After speaking, Li Dan turned around and glanced at everyone. After a moment, he suddenly cursed: "Damn it, why are there such stupid and incompetent officials everywhere? There are so many damn officials!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, and even Li Dan himself started laughing.
This was the first time they heard Li Dan use foul language. Everyone thought that the young master had picked up some rough habits after hanging out with Ding Zhuang and the soldiers for a long time. They didn't take it seriously but were very happy and felt that he was like one of their own.
Han An, who was Li Dan's teacher, grinned and shook his head helplessly. Everyone thought that the matter was over, but Yang Yi, who knew Li Dan's temperament well, looked at him deeply but said nothing.
The leaders who followed Li Dan into the city included Anren to inspect Zhou Qin, Wannian to inspect Tanzhong Xiao, group training and defense envoys Yang Yi and Gu Da, and defense envoys Zhao Jingzi and Ba Shiye. Only the imperial envoy Yang Dayi was left to guard the camp (see Note 1).
Wei Xiaohe, accompanied by his left guard, entered the city from the south gate and headed towards the north.
When they arrived in front of the Chenghuang Temple, Wei Xiaohe, under the guidance of Han An, turned to the back of the temple and went to the primary school. Song Xiaoniu and Ma Jiu went back to Xianrenli to report to Aunt Qian. Li Dan, others and a dozen personal guards went to the county government office.
After hearing the news, Fan Xianzun came out with the attending squires. After Li Dan exchanged greetings with him, he invited him to sit in the flower hall. The guards were already followed by Wei Xiong, who led everyone to the outer room to sit down.
Two tables have been set up in the flower hall (the place where Li Yan talked during his last night visit), and there are two more tables in the courtyard under the corridor, filling the small space.
He is still called the chef of Hongyanlou, and even the waiters are from his family. They are all acquaintances, but the chefs and waiters are more attentive to Li Dan, who is wearing a ninth-grade official uniform than before.
Li Dan introduced Zhou Qin, Tan Zhongxiao and others to everyone, and then the county minister took the seat as the leader. Fan County gave a speech, expressing his admiration and gratitude to Li Dan for leading his team back immediately after receiving the letter.
Afterwards, everyone toasted two rounds of wine, and gradually began to get into the formal conversation. At this time, Fan Xianzun deliberately asked Li Dan why he went to see Mianshan this morning. Is it necessary to divide his troops to garrison at Mianshan?
"That mountain and this city are the corners of each other. Both their location and function are very important!" Li Dan looked at the crowd and said with a smile:
"We also need to collect sand from Mianshan Mountain and Donghe River.
Stones are used to repair and build city defenses. But in the end there won't be too many people garrisoned there. "
He said and nodded to Mr. Fan: "I received news from a fast horse on the road that five hundred officers and soldiers were preparing to set off from Wannian. The leader was Jiao Conghu, the marching commander. His people will be stationed directly after arriving. At Mianshan Camp."
Everyone immediately whispered to each other and became excited. It was always good news that hundreds of officers and soldiers came to help.
"Jiao Baihu's mission is to prevent the rebel Yang Xing from attacking in the direction of Baima and threatening the security of Nanguan." Li Dan continued:
"But in fact, we all believe that the real enemies will be the lake bandits and mining bandits coming from the north and east, especially the Lake Bandit Tanako tribe. The number of troops his men can gather is about 8,000 to 10,000. between!
The mines to the east are left to the government to deal with. We only need to protect the city and deal with the lake bandits with all our strength. "
"Note 1: These unpopular positions, that is, positions outside the establishment, can be established by the chief officer due to circumstances and abolished when the matter is completed."
