Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 95
Above the city of Shouzhou, Zhizhou Liu Zhiyuan looked at the camp of thieves stretching for tens of miles with his hands behind his back, feeling very heavy in his heart.Behind him, Tongzhi Wang Wei, Tongju Xu You, and Shouzhouwei Commander Li Long were whispering about something.

On the wide passageway of the city wall, under the command of a few guards Qianhu, hundreds of young and strong men are running back and forth, carrying various equipment for defending the city. Gray bottles and stones are piled up under each battlement. A crenel was placed with rolling logs, and thousands of soldiers of the Shouzhou Guard sat on the ground to rest in groups, conserving their strength and waiting for the bandits to attack the city.

Wang Wei took a few steps forward and bowed his hands to Liu Zhiyuan, who had his back turned to him: "My lord, look at the situation. There is no sign of the bandits attacking the city yet. My lord should go back to the Yamen to wait for news. I can leave the matter of defending the city to Commander Li."

Li Long clasped his hands and said in a loud voice: "My lord, please go back to the yamen to rest, as long as my old Li is watching over here! Don't worry, my lord, if the thieves want to break through the city, they have to step on my dead body!"

He has been hereditary for several generations, and his family is in Shouzhou City. He has several wives, concubines and children, and more than ten servants.In order to preserve the accumulation of his ancestors for generations, he must do his best.

Liu Zhiyuan turned around slowly, and said in a solemn voice: "From today onwards, the state government office will be moved to the Jianlou, and all the housekeepers in the government office will come here to obey orders! I will eat and live here! Unless the thieves break the city Or don't go elsewhere, otherwise I will never leave!"

After Wang Wei and Xu You glanced at each other, they bowed their hands and accepted the order.

Liu Zhiyuan went on to say: "The master of the criminal house is ordered to immediately summon the arresters, government servants, and guards. Divide them into ten groups, with 20 people in each group, and take turns patrolling the four gates, which are the main streets in the city. The people in the city are not allowed to go out if there is nothing to do! Those who take the opportunity to make trouble, kill without mercy! Master Xu will be responsible for this matter!"

After Xu You handed over his hands, he hurried down to the city.

Liu Zhiyuan looked at Wang Wei, and said, "Lord Wang, the original officials in the city, as well as the gentry from all over the country who have fled with their families to the city recently, all have the responsibility to guard the land! At this critical moment of life and death, everyone should work together and unite as one." Let’s defend our homeland together! Lord Wang, please come forward on behalf of the government, and call the officials and gentry to donate money and food, so as to recruit young and strong guards from the city! I believe that with the eyes and knowledge of everyone, I will not be greedy for a little property when the steel knife is on the neck! Afterwards, you use the money and grain you raised to recruit people in the city, come and obey orders!"

Wang Wei solemnly clasped his hands and said: "Please rest assured, my lord, I will understand the reason and move it with emotion! Try to raise more money and food! Recruit more people!"

Liu Zhiyuan nodded, Wang Wei turned and left in a hurry.

Li Long cupped his hands and said, "My lord, why don't you open the north gate and let the people in the city evacuate while the thieves are in the south?"

Liu Zhiyuan smiled wryly and said, "Once the city gates are opened and the people are allowed to leave, how much morale do you think the soldiers guarding the city still have? When the people are panicked, the thieves will break through the city without much effort, and how long can the fleeing people run away?" Far? Besides, most of the people are lucky, thinking that even if the thieves break through the city, they will not lose their lives. Don’t you know that the thieves regard human life as nothing, even if they escape, and the thieves catch up, how many of the people will survive?”

Li Long said disapprovingly: "The people can flee to remote villages, or they can flee to the mountains. It's better than being slaughtered after the city is broken!"

Liu Zhiyuan nodded and said: "It's not bad what you said. The reason why I ordered the strict defense is because I received the warrant from the governor of Fengyang, Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen said that he would send reinforcements to come. Let the bandits break the city, and when the reinforcements arrive, Shouzhou will be safe and sound!"

As a civil servant of the fifth rank, Liu Zhiyuan actually didn't need to explain to a guard commander, but at this time morale was the most important thing. Talking about the reinforcements could bring hope to the soldiers. With the support of this kind of spiritual strength, the soldiers They will explode with stronger fighting power.That's the reason why he can't let go of his anger. Although he doesn't know when the reinforcements will arrive, it's better to have hope than nothing, right?
He also knew that the reason why Chen Qiyu ordered to defend to the death was also to keep the thieves out of Shouzhou, the gate of Fengyang.Taizu didn't know what he thought at the beginning, but there was no city wall built in the dignified place of Longxing.Fengyang is like a naked beauty, just waiting for the thieves to go up and ravage her.Maybe his old man never imagined that his children and grandchildren would be reduced to the point of being bullied by bandits.

When Li Long heard that there were reinforcements, he was really excited. He laughed loudly and said, "Haha, so my lord has already prepared! Since there are reinforcements, I am afraid of what these local bandits will do! Originally, I planned to die with my family, so I don't have to die now." It's gone! Haha! It's good to be alive!"

Li Long's voice was loud, and when the soldiers sitting on the ground around him heard the word "reinforcement", the soldiers who had been timid all of a sudden became courageous, their nervous and worried expressions were swept away, and smiles appeared on their faces.Soon, the news that reinforcements were about to arrive quickly spread throughout the city wall, and the excitement of the soldiers was also transmitted to the busy folks. For a while, the city wall was full of laughter and laughter.

Liu Zhiyuan was unknowingly infected by this joyful emotion, and his extremely heavy heart also felt a little lighter.Looking at these simple and lively faces, he sighed in his heart: After a great battle, how many of these faces can he still see?How long will the parents, wives and children in their family live in the endless pain of losing their loved ones?
In the second hall of the prefectural office, Wang Wei, wearing a black gauze and a blue egret men's suit, sat on the main seat.This seat has always belonged to the magistrate, as the deputy second official, there is no chance for the Tongzhi to sit here. Today, Liu Zhiyuan delegated power to him, and Wang Wei finally had the opportunity to taste the taste of the presidency.The book office of the household room and several clerks sat on one side, and there were pens, ink and paper on the table in front of them, ready to be used for records.

On the two rows of seats under the hall, there were dozens of city officials and squires who escaped from the bandits and fled into the city. Some acquaintances were whispering. The purpose of calling and so on.

Wang Wei looked at the crowd with a dignified expression, then coughed, and said: "This official is Wang Wei, the Tongzhi of Shouzhou. Today, I was entrusted by the Lord Zhizhou to call all the sages and gentry to come to discuss the matter. I think you can also guess the following What are we discussing. The bandits have arrived, and Shouzhou is in danger of falling! Our discussion is how to defend Shouzhou, protect our homeland, protect the common people, and protect the lives of the young and old at home!"

Yu Tengjiao, who was at the top of the left row and served as the minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, has now returned home. He is in his 5000s, cupped his hands slightly and said, "Your Majesty Wang, you don't need to say too much! For a long time, wherever they went, it was like locusts crossing the border, and countless gentry and people were slaughtered! Now that the thieves have arrived, there is no one to give up their lives! You can give up your life, let alone wealth?! The imperial court has supported scholars for more than two hundred years. It's time to repay your kindness! I donate [-] taels of silver and [-] shi of grain!"

The one who sat next to him was Zhou Fengxiang, who had served as the deputy envoy of the Yunnan Procuratorate and now retired. He was in his eighties. The old man had white beard and hair, but his voice was like a bell. 3000 liang of silver, [-] shi of grain!"

Wang Wei was thirty years old, and he was in the year of passion. Seeing the two of you acting like this, he couldn't help but his blood fluttered. He clapped his hands suddenly and said loudly: "Okay! The two bosses are indeed role models for my generation! Jianyan, Lord Zhizhou, reported this matter to the imperial court! Be an example for the court officials all over the world!"

Yu Tengjiao and Zhou Fengxiang caressed their long beards, smiled and said nothing, they were already indifferent to everything at this age, Wang Wei's words did not make any waves in their hearts.

The generosity of the two made a good start, and the rest, no matter whether they were official officials, gentry whose family members were officials in the court, or country gentry who relied on the government to do business and made a fortune, everyone rushed to express their opinions when they were facing life and death. Although the amount of donations cannot exceed that of two court officials, the amount of food donated is quite a lot. The final count surprised Wang Wei quite a bit: for this solicitation, more than 4000 people present donated a total of [-] taels of silver, grain Five thousand and two hundred stone.The most donated food is Shouzhou local food
Shang Li Jinxian, he donated [-] stones of grain.

The scribes summarized the amount of money and food donated by each person and handed it to Wang Wei. Wang Wei immediately ordered the household to arrange manpower and vehicles to move these materials from the donor's house to the warehouse of the yamen. After asking Liu Zhiyuan for instructions, Shouzhou The guards sent 100 people to guard the warehouse, and no one was allowed to approach without a warrant from Zhizhou Yamen, otherwise they could be killed on the spot.

Liu Zhiyuan also said that after the thieves are beaten back, a monument will be erected in front of the state yamen, on which the names and amounts of the people will be engraved for the memory and admiration of future generations. This move has won strong praise from the gentry. The most hope is to leave a name in history.Liu Zhiyuan's method is scratching everyone's itch, and the fundraising activity has come to a happy ending.

(End of this chapter)