Chapter 205 Temporary Guard
For the people of Yongning City, today is an unprecedented day of comfort.
After the city gate guards beat the gongs and sang the great news of annihilating the Shanrong people in the streets and alleys, the common people who originally wanted to stay in bed for a while, almost jumped out of bed.
He happily put on his cotton-padded jacket, washed his face and mouth happily, and then happily came to the city gate without even having time to eat breakfast.
In particular, the villagers who have moved to the city are basically all men, women, old and young, and their whole families go out together.
The city gate guards were also smart. Thinking of the rule that people were not allowed to leave the city before the end of the first lunar month, they simply hung bamboo cages inside the city wall. In this way, the people can see the head hanging on the tower without going out of the city.
By the time Lin Yuanqiu and his father-in-law arrived at the city gate, it was already bustling with people.
Also accompanying Lord Zhizhou were Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan, as well as the scribes and officers of the government office.
The residences of Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan were not far from the government office, so after hearing the good news that Master Zhizhou had annihilated more than two hundred Shanrong people, they hurried to the government office.
Lin Yuanqiu had already written a notice for the formation of a temporary escort team, and was about to discuss matters with Yan and He. When he saw them coming over, he directly talked about the next defense.
Hearing that the Shanrong people were very likely to come for revenge, Yan Tongzhi and He Tongsuan immediately became more energetic.
Judge He Tong said, "My lord, I will do whatever you tell me. Everything will be at your command."
Yan Tongzhi nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would absolutely obey the instructions.
At this moment, Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan felt indescribable admiration in their hearts. Neither of them expected that in just one night, their Lord Zhizhou would kill more than two hundred mountain rong bandits in one go.
Such a great thing, I dare not even dream about it.
In the impressions of Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan, not to mention their Yongning Prefecture, but also the Fenzhou Prefecture, Shizhou Prefecture, and Weiyuan Prefecture in the north of the Great Wall, the total number of Shanrong people annihilated in these years was less than a hundred.
What's more, in this operation, except for a dozen soldiers and guards who were slightly injured, no one died on their side. Such a record, not to mention the surrounding government offices, even Honghuying would be hard-pressed to achieve.
Only now did Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan realize that the ragged quilts collected by Lord Zhizhou were used to deal with the Shanrong people.
This is really unexpected.
In the past, there was a strategy to relocate the villagers, but now there is a trick of hiding under quilts and skillfully killing the mountain soldiers. How could such a wise and brave Lord Zhizhou not be admired and respected by Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan?
Therefore, when Lin Yuanqiu talked about the next defense arrangements, Yan Tongzhi and He Tongpan had no objections. After calling the scribes and government officials as instructed, they followed Lord Zhizhou to the city gate.
Lin Yuanqiu saw that many people couldn't help but clapped their hands and cheered when they saw the head hanging on the tower. Looking around, everyone's faces were filled with the joy of having avenged a great revenge.
Among them, there were also many wailing people. As for why, there was no need to guess. It was time to think of those relatives who died at the hands of the Shanrong people.
Since Lin Yuanqiu took office as the magistrate of the state, he has often walked among the people. Especially when there was a lot of building construction in the city last year, Lin Yuanqiu would walk around the city every day. Because of this, most people in Yongning Prefecture knew him.
So when they saw Lin Yuanqiu coming over, the excited people immediately bent their knees to the ground and kowtowed "dong dong dong".
When they raised their heads, every one of them had already burst into tears.
A middle-aged man said with grief and anger, "Sir, in Xiaomin's Shiqiao Village, thirteen people died at the hands of Shanrong people the year before last. Poor Xiaomin's uncle, six members of his family were burned alive in the village. In the house. Thank you for avenging the villagers of Shiqiao Village, and thank you for avenging Uncle Xiaomin’s family!”
The middle-aged man's words immediately resonated with the people present, and the villagers couldn't help but say, "Thank you, sir, for avenging the villagers of Tangli Village!"
"Thank you, sir, for avenging the villagers of Hekou Village!"
For a moment, voices of gratitude could be heard from under the tower.
Many years later, when Lin Yuanqiu recalled today's scene, he still had a full sense of accomplishment in his heart, which also made him more determined to have no hesitation in his future career.
The scribes and government officials quickly put up notices to defend themselves against the Shanrong people.
Lin Yuanqiu cleared his throat, and then said loudly, "Fellow villagers, in order to prevent Shanrong thieves from raiding our Yongning City, I have ordered that from today on, every household in the city must send one person to participate in the Yongning City Come under guard."
The defense team does not need to go out of the city to fight, they only need to guard the city gate.
There are two city gates in the entire Yongning Prefecture, namely Chaohui Gate in the south city and Qingfeng Gate in the north city.
Perhaps because it was close to the border, both the city walls in Yongning Prefecture and those in Dinghu County were higher than those in nearby places, so it would not be easy for the Shanrong people to invade the city.
Lin Yuanqiu has already thought about it. In the next time, he only needs to organize the people to guard the city gate.
As for how to keep it, Lin Yuanqiu had already made a plan in mind. Just like when he was in Maoyan Village, he also prepared a pottery bottle filled with kerosene. In addition, there are big rocks, so that if the Shanrong people want to climb up the city wall, they can use big rocks to greet them.
Sun Tzu's Art of War says: If you are invincible, defend it; if you are victorious, attack it.
This means that when there is no certainty, defense is the best choice. But if a winning pattern appears, then you should seize the opportunity to attack.
This is also Lin Yuanqiu's backup plan. He has already discussed it with his father-in-law. From today on, his father-in-law will live in the barracks to avoid missing the opportunity to attack the Shanrong people.
According to what is written on the notice, the government office is only responsible for three meals a day for the escort team, but there is no salary.
I thought that the people would be a little hesitant to face the Shanrong people directly. However, after hearing the contents of the notice clearly, the young people present quickly formed a long queue, and they all expressed their intention to defend Yongning City.
There were also many older villagers who also joined the queue.
Lin Yuanqiu, Yan Tongzhi, and He Tongpan did not expect this resolute look.
Lin Yuanqiu still remembered the harvesting of grain during the busy farming season. The villagers were all uneasy at that time. Later, it was his father-in-law who led the guards on patrols from time to time to reassure everyone.
How could Lin Yuanqiu know that his successful move to annihilate the Shanrong people this time gave the villagers a lot of courage, making everyone feel that the Shanrong people were nothing more than this, and naturally there was nothing to be afraid of.
What's more, the people really cherish the good days now, how could they be ruined by Shanrong thieves?
The officials quickly maintained order at the scene. The scribes were busy writing and registering for the temporary escort.
Lin Yuanqiu did not wait long. Time was tight. He had to form a temporary escort team in Dinghu County as soon as possible before the Shanrong people took action.
In addition to this, there are also the houses that were burned down in Maoyan Village. They must tell the villagers about the matter, and then provide money to each household so that they can build a new house.
However, before going to Dinghu County, Lin Yuanqiu and his father-in-law went to the military camp first. In addition to visiting the injured soldiers last night, they also ordered Wang Yongqing to lead 30 soldiers and then take the remaining kerosene bottles with them. Go to Dinghu County by yourself.
A well-formed escort team must have someone to lead them. The reason why Lin Yuanqiu sent Wang Yongqing there was to temporarily stay in Dinghu County and lead the escort team to defend.
We rode at high speed all the way, and when we arrived at Dinghu County, we were already at the right time.
When several city gate guards saw that their magistrate actually brought soldiers over, and each soldier had a big quilt on his back, they really couldn't understand what was going on.
In addition to the main courtyard with three entrances, Houya also has two side courtyards in the east and west. Wang County Cheng's family lived in the east side courtyard.
Seeing the magistrate suddenly coming over, Wang Xiancheng was a little puzzled. He didn't know why the magistrate was in such a hurry.
Lin Yuanqiu didn't have any ink. He was waiting to form the escort team immediately, so he quickly talked about Maoyan Village.
When he heard that more than two hundred Shanrong people were burned to death in Maoyan Village last night, Wang County Cheng couldn't believe his ears, but he knew that the magistrate had no need to lie to him, so this matter was definitely true. Yes, those damn Shan Rong thieves finally got their due end.
Thinking of this, Wang County Cheng covered his face with his sleeves and burst into tears.
Lin Yuanqiu was a little puzzled. Shouldn't he be happy about such a great thing? Why did he start crying when he was so good?
Before Lin Yuanqiu could ask, Wang County Cheng fell to his knees and said sadly, "Thank you so much for avenging Master Du. Master Du died so miserably!"
The sound of weeping made people moved.
Lin Yuanqiu naturally knew that Mr. Du in Wang County Cheng's mouth was the former magistrate Du Wei, and what Wang County Cheng said also confirmed his previous guess.
Sure enough, Du Zhixian did not die at the hands of bandits, but was related to the Shanrong people. As expected, Naluo Zhifu did not tell the truth to the Holy Emperor.
Lin Yuanqiu was a little confused by what Magistrate Luo did. After all, whether he was killed by bandits or Shanrong people, it should have nothing to do with him as a magistrate, so why would he lie at the risk of deceiving the emperor.
Before Lin Yuanqiu could ask the questions in his heart, Wang County Cheng quickly told what happened at that time like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube. He told the story of the day when the mountain soldiers entered Duanshui Village to steal food, and the Duzhi County officer went to check and were killed. said.
Maybe he had been feeling depressed for too long. Wang Xiancheng also told the story of Mr. Du's repeated appeals to the city for military guards but was rejected, "Your Excellency also knows that our Dinghu County is closest to Tuozi Gorge. Every time the Shanrong people come over, The first people to suffer were the people of Dinghu County. Therefore, every winter, Mr. Du would personally go to Shizhou Prefecture to appeal for military guards, but it was difficult to get a response. The explanation given by the government office was that Honghu Camp was far away from Dinghu County. It's close, just let us report there if we have anything to do, but Honghu camp is more than sixty miles away, and by the time we come to ask for troops, the Shanrong people have already grabbed the food and rode back to their nest."
Wang Xiancheng and Du Zhixian have worked together for six or seven years. Although the relationship between the two is just that of superior and subordinate, after several years of getting along, especially as officials in a county government that wants nothing and is poor, the two of them cannot help but There was a feeling of mutual sympathy, so after Mr. Du was killed by the Shanrong people, Wang Xiancheng was extremely sad.
Wang Xiancheng didn't know that his words had caused huge waves in Lin Yuanqiu's heart.
Lin Yuanqiu finally understood why Du Zhixian died at the hands of Shanrong people, but was reported to Luo Zhifu as someone who was killed by bandits on the way to worship the city god.
Because only by saying this could Magistrate Luo extract himself safely, otherwise he, a high-ranking official with 4,000 soldiers and guards, would be killed by Shanrong people, no matter how innocent he was, for a crime of poor governance. It's definitely impossible to run away. After all, it is normal for Shanrong people to grab food in winter, so it is necessary to take good precautions.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuanqiu couldn't help but congratulate himself. Fortunately, the Holy Sage asked him to be the magistrate of the state, and he was only the magistrate of Dinghu County. Otherwise, just give him a magistrate without military power. Then I won't even dare to leave the city gate, let alone deal with the Shanrong people.
Although he knew the whole story of Magistrate Du's death in the line of duty, Lin Yuanqiu had no intention of informing Magistrate Wang that Magistrate Luo had distorted the facts in reporting the memorial, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble.
Anyway, as long as he knows about this matter, Lin Yuanqiu is not prepared to let it pass silently.
Regardless of justice, Lin Yuanqiu would help Mr. Du get back the honor he deserved because of his dedication and dedication to the people.
Don't say that when someone dies, the sorrow and honor behind him are just clouds. Mr. Du still has his parents, wife and children at home. These royal pensions can be left to future generations to enjoy.
You must know that worshiping the city god is a private matter, but investigating the people's sentiments and being killed in an attack are for the public service. Officials who die in the line of duty are "those who died in the king's affairs." , or being given a posthumous title, are all very different from dying for personal reasons.
Mr. Du's family is not well off, and there is no money and water in a poor and remote area like Dinghu County. I heard from Wang Xiancheng that in order to make it more convenient for the military guards, Du Zhixian would often post a salary to go to the capital for management.
In Lin Yuanqiu's view, the shameless Magistrate Luo took money but did nothing, and even talked nonsense about how people died, thus causing Master Du to lose the honor that should have belonged to him.
Isn't this immoral?
Now that I know about this, I naturally won't just sit idly by.
Lin Yuanqiu felt that although he couldn't draw a sword to help when there was an injustice, he could still do it by shouting.
…
Dinghu County moved faster than Yongning City. In less than half a day, people who enthusiastically signed up formed a temporary escort team.
By the way, how can any common people not want to deal with the Shan Rong people? In the past, they suffered from the inability to resist, but now everyone works together and can beat the shit out of the Shan Rong people.
There is a sleeping place next to the tower. The soldiers and guards all bring quilts, and they can just lay on the brick kang when sleeping.
After settling in, Wang Yongqing began to arrange defense matters. This was what Master Zhizhou repeatedly told him when he left, so Wang Yongqing naturally did not dare to relax at all.
As the adults say, anything can only be avoided if you are prepared.
Dinghu County, like Yongning City, also has two city gates, the south and the north. Going out from the north gate, there is a dry river beach about four miles away. There are many stones in the river beach. The common people roll out their own flatbed trucks. A cart was pulled into the city. When the number was almost enough, the city gate was closed, and then the stones were moved up the tower.
Next, Wang Yongqing led the people in the escort team to start the drill. The most important thing is to teach everyone how to avoid the Shan Rong people's arrows.
On the night of the first grade of junior high school, Zhong Rong and his two sons lived in the military camp. Although he knew that his son-in-law was steady and cautious, before setting off to the military camp, Zhong Rong still warned Lin Yuanqiu in detail. After all, swords and arrows have no eyes, so be careful. careful.
Lin Yuanqiu nodded, "Father-in-law and uncle-in-law should also pay more attention."
…
Three days passed, and the expected attack did not appear.
Lin Yuanqiu did not relax, and was still preparing intensively with the people in the escort team. He did not believe that there would be no reaction from the Shanrong side if more than 200 people did not go back.
More than two hundred warriors had not returned, so Shan Bayan was naturally anxious. But no matter how anxious he was, he didn't think about the death of the people. He just thought that they were trapped. After all, these were the strongest warriors in the tribe, and they were ridden by fat and strong horses. How could it be so easy? Lost his life.
