It's different now.
The imperial court's control over the local area was gradually weakening, and most of the territory in Liaodong fell into the hands of slaves and thieves. The chieftain rebellions in Yunnan and Guangzhou were constantly suppressed. Natural disasters continued in various places, and refugees were everywhere with nowhere to comfort them.
Xu Hongru's rebellion in Yuncheng directly tore into pieces the last layer of weakness in the Ming Dynasty.
Anyone with insight can see that the Ming Dynasty is already in flames and may collapse at any time by the end of the dynasty.
Among officials from various places, the vast majority of them are no longer focused on guarding the local area, but are instead focusing on how to make money.
Otherwise, with the current situation of the Tiger Flag, it would not have been delayed until now, and it would have been reported to the court long ago.
But the officials in Datong turned a blind eye to everything about the tiger-character flag for the sake of money. Even if there were one or two people who were loyal to the court and dedicated to serving the public, they were all indifferent and had to live with the light.
For these officials, as long as Huziqi does not do anything treasonous, they can pretend not to know anything and continue to take the money they deserve.
After all, reporting some of Tiger Character Flag's rebellious actions to the court would not only offend Tiger Character Flag, but he would also get no benefits. If not, he would be punished for it, which was totally outweighing the gain.
The imperial court is the imperial court, and it is also the imperial court of the old Zhu family. Whether the imperial court is good or bad has little to do with officials like them.
"Take what you need and get ready to leave the city." Liu Heng stood up from his seat.
What came outside Xinping Fort was a combat barracks from the Tiger Banner Guards Division. The purpose of coming to Xinping Fort was to escort Liu Heng to the grassland.
Zhao Wu said: "Everything has been loaded into the truck, and the entourage is ready and ready to go at any time."
"Then let's go!" Liu Heng walked around the table and walked out.
Zhao Wu and Yang Yuan followed behind and left the study together.
The guards and a squadron of soldiers were already waiting outside the door, and two four-wheeled carts were filled with wooden boxes.
There were guards leading the horses.
Liu Heng got on his horse, pulled the reins, and urged the horse to walk toward the outside of Xinpingbao City Gate in small steps.
Zhao Wu led guards around Liu Heng. A small group of soldiers walked in front to open the way, and the four-wheeled cart followed. A small group of soldiers guarded the four-wheeled cart, and the remaining group of soldiers stood behind. .
There were no pedestrians on the street for a long time. Such a huge team appeared on the street without any hindrance along the way.
Because a large army came outside to besiege the city, the people in Xinping Fort were already frightened.
Suddenly, such a neatly-armed team of hundreds of soldiers appeared walking on the street, attracting many people in the city to secretly watch from behind their doors.
Zhao Yutu, who left the courtyard first, took his guards to the top of Xinping Fort.
"Who asked you to come up? You guys, hurry up and blast these people down." Huang An's servants saw Zhao Yutu and others ascending to the top of the city, and ordered the surrounding soldiers to drive them down the city.
Although Zhao Yutu was a scholar, he had been in Tiger Character Banner for a long time, and he looked more like a warrior. He wore a cotton armor and a gun on his waist.
There was also a cloth bag hanging diagonally down from his shoulder, which contained gunpowder and lead.
All of his guards wore armor, some wearing cotton armor, and some wearing breastplates. The guards wearing cotton armor held blazing guns in their hands, and those wearing breastplates had blunderbuss on their waists and held sabers in their hands.
There are many merchants in Xinping Fort, but there is no peace outside the city. Many of the merchants also hired guards to protect the caravans, so Huang An's servants thought that Zhao Yutu and others were merchants from Xinping Castle and came to the city to help defend the city. .
The soldiers on top of the city didn't move, let alone blast Huang An and others off the city wall.
Huang An's servants just came to Xinping Fort not long ago, and they don't know many people from the Tiger Flag. But these soldiers in Xinping Fort are different. They usually guard the city gate and have seen many people from the Tiger Flag. They know Zhao Yutu's identity meant that he would not do anything to drive people away.
"What's going on?" Huang An frowned.
There was a large army watching eagerly outside the city, but the soldiers on top of the city couldn't even command his servants, which made him very angry.
"This must be General Huang!" Zhao Yutu bowed his hand towards Huang An.
From the attitudes of the soldiers around him, Huang An felt that the identities of the people coming to the city might be unusual, so he took a closer look at Zhao Yutu.
I felt that Zhao Yutu looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before, so I asked, "Who are you?"
"My surname is Zhao, and I am a gentleman from the Tiger Flag. General Huang can call me Mr. Zhao." Zhao Yutu introduced himself with a smile.
"You are Zhao Yutu!" Huang An suddenly realized.
Only then did he understand why the other party seemed familiar to him. It turned out that he had met Zhao Yutu before, but not many times. In addition, Zhao Yutu was wearing a long gown at that time, unlike now, he was wearing cotton armor. He was said to be a martial artist. believe.
Zhao Yutu nodded and said: "General Huang should know the purpose of my visit, so I won't talk nonsense. I also ask General Huang to open the city gate and let my boss out of the city."
"No." Huang An shook his head and said, "The army outside the city is attacking. It is too dangerous for Dongzhu Liu to leave the city at this time. I cannot let Dongzhu Liu take risks. When the army outside the city retreats, I will naturally open the city gate. At that time, Whenever Dongzhu Liu wants to leave the city, I will never stop him."
Zhao Yutu shook his head slightly and said: "General Huang is a man who understands what is going on outside the city. I believe I don't need to say more. You should be able to guess some. Why don't you open the city gate and let my boss out of the city. I promise, outside the city The army will naturally retreat."
As soon as he said this, several Xinpingbao soldiers and generals around him looked at Huang An.
It would be a good thing for them if they could let Liu Heng out of the city and cause the army outside the city to retreat.
After all, the army attacking the city will kill people, and the army outside the city is not easy to provoke at first glance. No one on the top of the city is willing to start a war.
"I don't understand what you mean, but for the sake of the people in the city, I will not open the city gate. If there is any offense, I will personally apologize to Liu Dongzhu after things are settled." Huang An insisted not to open the city. Door.
Hearing this, Zhao Yutu smiled and said: "General Huang may have misunderstood something. My proprietor wants to leave the city, and you can't stop it, General Huang. The reason why my proprietor is willing to send people to discuss with General Huang is just because he wants to leave the city." To maintain General Huang’s dignity, I hope General Huang will not disappoint my proprietor.”
Huang An's face instantly turned ugly.
The unabashed threat in the other party's words made him feel angry.
But he knew that what the other party said was also true.
Before he came to Xinping Fort, Xinping Fort had always been controlled by the Tiger Flag. It can be said that most people in Xinping Fort would obey the orders of the Tiger Flag.
He could clearly feel this.
