Guo Binchang said tremblingly: "Well, if I offer the city now, do you think the people of the Tiger Flag will let me go?"
Wang Tong was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He had no idea that the county magistrate Guo Binchang would ask such a question.
Guo Binchang did not wait for Wang Tong's response, and then said: "You are familiar with the people of Tiger Character Banner. Otherwise, when the people of Tiger Character Banner enter the city, you will intercede on my behalf?"
Wang Tong pursed his lips and said, "Sir, I see that the army outside the city has no intention of attacking the city. It is probably just passing by."
"Passing by?" Guo Binchang leaned out from the top of the city again.
At this time, the army of the Tiger Flag had already passed half of the official road outside the city, leaving only the baggage train behind it that had not yet completely passed.
Guo Binchang raised his sleeves and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and said: "When you say so, I really feel that the army of the Tiger Flag is passing by."
"Sir, since the people with the tiger character flag are just passing by, I think it's better for us to just pretend we don't know." Wang Tong glanced at the army passing by outside the city with lingering fear.
As a guard of Lingqiu, when he saw the tiger-character banner army outside the city and the dozens of cannons, he knew that such an army was definitely not something that his small defense could handle.
"Yes, yes, yes, you are right." Guo Binchang nodded repeatedly and agreed, "I didn't see any large army, let alone any iron cannons. I came to the city this time to inspect. , Now that the inspection is over, I am going back to the Yamen."
After saying that, he turned around and walked under the outer city wall.
Wang Tong hesitated for a moment, but finally did not leave the city wall like Guo Binchang.
Before he saw the army leaving the city, he was worried about going back.
Guo Binchang, who got off the city wall, said to Master Jia next to him: "Go find the people in the Tiger Flag and find out what happened to the army that passed outside the city? By the way, ask them why they sent such a large army to blatantly cross the border. , what exactly do they want to do?”
"Don't worry, Lord County Lord. The student will go find someone from the Tiger Flag in the city to find out more about it." Master Jia nodded.
Guo Binchang said: "Go back quickly, I will go back to the county office and wait for news from you."
Master Jia left from under the city wall and walked towards the city.
There was a stone pier under the city wall. Guo Binchang ignored the cold and sat on the stone pier, pressing his knees hard with his hands to stop his legs from shaking.
"Sir, would you like me to carry the sedan over here?"
Seeing that Guo Binchang was so frightened that he seemed to be unable to walk, Mr. Shitou suggested sending over the sedan next to the city gate.
Guo Binchang nodded.
As a civil servant with a Jinshi background, when he suddenly saw a large army that did not belong to the imperial court, and so many iron cannons, he was frightened. His legs have been out of control since the city wall was built.
Shi Daotou waved his hand to the government servants beside him, motioning them to go and send a sedan chair not far away.
The yamen officer ran over.
There was a bearer beside the sedan. Not long after the government servant passed by, he took the bearer and the sedan back to Guo Binchang.
Mr. Shi helped Guo Binchang up from the stone pier with his hands, and then helped him into the sedan chair.
Guo Binchang, who was sitting in the sedan, opened one side of the sedan curtain, looked at Shi Baotou, and said: "Do you think Liu Heng of the Tiger Flag is going to rebel? Do you think I should send someone to Datong immediately to deliver the message?" "
Shi Baotou hesitated for a moment and said: "I don't think the Tiger Character Banner is a rebellion. If they are really rebelling, I'm afraid it's time to attack our county."
"Perhaps they are determined that our county seat of Lingqiu is difficult to capture, and they have gone to attack Guangling County next door." Guo Binchang said.
Shi Baotou said with a wry smile: "Sir, you are overthinking. Our city wall in Lingqiu County has long been in disrepair and has collapsed in several places. Once the Tiger-Character Banner's army attacks the city, those collapsed walls will We can attack the county seat from anywhere."
Lingqiu is not a rich county, and there has been no war with Beilu for more than ten years. Things like repairing the city wall are no longer as important as they were ten years ago.
Not only Lingqiu, but also the walls of other counties in Datong are not that complete, and there are also collapsed places.
"Go back to the Yamen." Guo Binchang lowered the sedan curtain.
The two bearers lifted the sedan and swayed towards the city's Yamen.
Shi Baotou led three squads of government officials and followed the sedan back to the county government office.
Lingqiu County is not a big city. Not long after, the sedan entered the yamen and did not stop until outside the lobby.
Shi Baotou supported Guo Binchang, walked through the lobby, and returned to the back office.
A yamen servant brought freshly brewed hot tea.
Guo Binchang held the tureen with trembling arms and tried to bring it to his mouth, but he could not move it to his mouth. Instead, a lot of tea spilled from it.
Seeing this, Shi Baotou on the side felt that the scholar was useless, so he returned to the yamen. He was still scared and couldn't even hold a cup of hot tea.
He couldn't bear to ignore it, so he had to persuade him: "Don't worry, sir. If Liu Heng of the Tiger Character Banner really wanted to rebel, he might have rebelled long ago, and he wouldn't wait until today. Moreover, he is a businessman, and I have never heard of any businessman." Rebel."
Guo Binchang put down the tureen in his hand and said: "Yes, you are right, there is no reason for businessmen to rebel. With the wealth of the Tiger Flag, there is no need to do such stupid things as rebellion."
In the past, it was rare for businessmen to take the initiative to rebel. Guo Binchang, who was familiar with history books, felt a lot more at ease and his hands were not as shaky as before.
There used to be a cup of tea.
Master Jia, who was sent to inquire about the news, came in from outside.
When Guo Binchang saw him, he hurriedly stood up and asked: "Have you found out clearly? What is going on with the Tiger Character Banner sending out a large army?"
As the magistrate of Lingqiu County, he knew that the Tiger Banner had many soldiers as guards for the caravans. After all, the Tiger Banner's caravans often traveled in and out of the grasslands and dealt with the northern barbarians, so it was normal to have more guards.
But this time he was really scared when he saw thousands of troops and dozens of iron cannons in the Tiger Flag.
With such a force, the strength here in Lingqiu cannot be maintained at all. More importantly, Ming Dynasty is responsible for losing its land. Once Lingqiu is lost from the hands of his county magistrate, even if he, the county magistrate, is not dead, he will He was imprisoned and beheaded by the imperial court.
Master Jia said: "Don't worry, sir. The students have found out clearly that the Tiger Character Banner is not a rebellion, but is going to Xinpingbao on the order of the governor."
"Are you saying that Tiger Character Banner mobilized an army of several thousand men just to go to Xinping Fort?" Guo Binchang looked puzzled.
Master Jia nodded and said, "This is what the student said when he met the people from the Tiger Flag in Lingqiu City."
"Then do you know what the people from the Tiger Flag do when they go to Xinpingbao?" Guo Binchang asked.
Master Jia said: "According to the people from the Tiger Banner, the governor asked them to go to Xinping Fort to persuade the Northern prisoners there to retreat."
"Have you ever seen someone bring an army of thousands of people and dozens of iron cannons to persuade people to retreat?" Guo Binchang said with a frown.
Master Jia opened his mouth, but didn't know how to answer.
