Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 68

Wu Mingjin turned pale for a moment, and was very moved in his heart. He knew that this big Huang family would lead his clansmen to fight bravely whenever there was a banditry in the place because of his urgency and righteousness. This time even one of his sons died.

"My condolences, old man. The thief is back, and the students should report to the superior, and ask for the honorary ceremony for your son." Huang Dahu has no fame, but he has a son who is a scholar, and Wu Daling intends to promote him, so he is called him on weekdays Say "Old Mister".

"The dog died for the sake of Pingjing. My Huang family has received the grace of the country. I should smash my bones to serve the court and defend my homeland. I am not greedy for this honor." Son, this one is a concubine and has no fame, but the pain of losing a son is still heartbreaking.

"Shou Tong came here to warn the Ming government." He said straight to the point, "This time the pirates are no different than usual, and I will be in great trouble near Gao!"

"Why did the old man say that?" Wu Mingjin was taken aback. He knew that this old man was calm and tough, and he was not a talker.

Huang Shoutong recounted how his son and a dozen or so brave men ambushed three pirate spies near Hundred People's Head Beach yesterday.Although he himself did not participate, he was very surprised by the description of Xiangyong who had fled back. He only shot one down in a round of bow and arrow attacks. The two big men were hit by seven or eight arrows and were able to charge all the way, killing several people in a row, and finally killed his son.

He closed his eyes, thinking of Xiangyong's tragic situation after he brought his son's body back. Half of his cheek was almost shattered, and one eye disappeared. He heard Xiangyong's story about the whole process. His son, who liked to dance with guns and clubs since he was a child, was killed in only one round in his hands. Such characters are rare fierce generals even in the army.

He wasn't too worried about his personal bravery alone.But another thing that Xiangyong brought back made him very worried.

"The pirate firearms are very powerful. One of them used a small pistol to kill several people in a row without even loading the medicine. Mingfu, please see—" He handed over a cloth bag in his arms, and Wu Mingjin opened it At first glance, there is a piece of black-blue iron inside, which looks very small. From the style, it looks like a hand gun used by a red-haired man, but the appearance is simple, without redundant lines, and there is no place to clamp the matchlock.

"Is this a pistol?"

"Exactly." Seeing Wu Daling's puzzled face, Huang Shoutong said that it was picked up by Xiangyong when he returned to the battlefield afterwards, and it was probably lost by pirates in the melee.

"Well, is what Xiangyong said credible?" Wu Daling still doesn't believe it. He is a literati, but in the past 20 years, literati and bureaucrats have been talking about weapons and firearms. I have seen it before.This thing has nothing to do with any gun, except that it also has a muzzle and a trigger.

(Note: In the late Ming Dynasty, there was a climax of discussion on firearms and medicine among intellectuals. Of course, most of them were just talking on paper. Song Yingxing criticized this trend in "Tiangong Kaiwu")

"It's believable, this gun doesn't need powder, it can be fired by pulling the trigger." Huang Shoutong twisted his beard and said, "I tried to fire a gun after I got it back. But if you shoot again, you won’t get fired. It seems that multiple parts of medicine are pre-stored in this gun, and the trigger will fire one part at a time.”

"That must be something extremely powerful." Wu Mingjin looked at the small dark blue object in front of him, worried.If the pirates have many such firecrackers, how can the bows and arrows of the field warrior Zhuang Xiangyong be able to resist.It seems that relying on artillery to defend the city is the best policy.

"I came to the county this time, one is to warn the police, and the other is to ask the Ming government to allocate some equipment."

He is now the head of the six-village union protection regiment, with hundreds of men under his command, but he is in short supply of weapons. Except for the big and small bosses and some family members who have knives and guns, the general village brave only have wooden sticks.Lingao originally lacked iron and fewer weapons, and the knives and guns used by his family members were left by their ancestors many years ago.Although there are many bows and arrows, Hainan's climate itself is not good for bows and arrows, and they are not comfortable to use.

It was inconvenient for Wu Mingjin to refuse, so he allocated twenty waist knives from the arsenal, ten face cards, forty tiger forks, and five iron spears.He was also given some gunpowder irons-there are some iron guns in Huangjiazhai, but gunpowder is forbidden by the government, so it is difficult to purchase.

Huang Shoutong was about to take his leave and go to rest, when the doorman came to report that the spies who went out to investigate in the morning had returned.Since the pirates landed, the county has sent out a group of spies every day to inquire about the situation. These people are all from the local area and are familiar with the terrain and paths.

The city dared not open the door, but put down the big baskets they had prepared, and dragged people up to the city.The spies went out every day without injury, but came back today very panicked.Seeing them like this, the people in the city talked a lot.

"What, building a road?" Wu Daling asked in surprise.

"Yes, master." The spy knelt on the ground and secretly glanced at the master.

"It was repaired from Bopu to Bairentou Beach. There are signs along the way. The pirates piled up dirt for the road. It has been repaired for about five or six miles."

"Five or six miles away, you read that right?!" Huang Shoutong rushed forward and asked forcefully.

"You're not mistaken." The spy took a fearful look at this well-known figure in Lingao.

Huang Shoutong was very surprised, he turned his head and cupped his hands and said: "Mingfu, Xiangyong from our village went to fight yesterday, and there is no road along the way..."

Wu Mingjin nodded, and said in a deep voice: "The road construction is indeed a matter of sight, and there is no exaggeration? If there is even the slightest falsehood, I will definitely not forgive you!"

The spies kowtowed again and again: "I don't dare to lie to the master, the road has indeed been built for five or six miles." He also said that the pirates have magic tricks, many cars can go without wheels, and there are huge iron arms, which can be used. The giant shovel digs the soil, and the hill-like soil can be easily dug out and transported...

Another sorcery!Wu Daling doesn't believe in strange powers and chaotic gods, but the pirates have more and more things beyond his understanding, and their abilities are also getting stronger, which really worries him.As for building roads, it’s not like he hasn’t thought about repairing bridges and roads in the county, but he always has to worry about various things, either because he lacks money and can’t recruit migrant workers, or the landlords on the land are noisy. Refuse to give way.Even if everything goes well, he can't build a five or six mile road in two days - he still piles up dirt to make a road.What kind of characters are these pirates?

However, the problem at this time is not the road, but why the pirates built the road. Since they are bandits, it is impossible to accumulate merit; they intend to rob, and doing so is superfluous.Besides, what is there to grab at Hundred People's Head Beach? There are only a few stonemasons there, and most of them have escaped now.

While hesitating, he quickly ordered the officials from the county government office, Liu Dalin, and hundreds of households who came to reinforce him, to discuss countermeasures together.After listening to the situation of the spies and Huang Dahu, all the officials and gentry were silent.Originally, they thought that no matter how bad the pirates landed, they could be so bad. At most, they would plunder the people and burn down several villages and markets.Since the Song Dynasty, this county has never been captured, no matter whether the people rioted or the pirates plundered.Some people are also glad that this group of pirates landed after the Mid-Autumn Festival. If the autumn crops appeared before the beginning of winter, the losses would be much heavier.However, in the past few days, bad news came one after another. First, the spies reported that the other party had set up a camp in Bopu and unloaded goods on the shore day and night.Then came the defeat of Huangjiazhai Township, which has always been known for its bravery and bravery. Now that the pirates are actually building roads again, no one can tell what these gangsters want to do.

Wu Mingjin looked at Liu Dalin, who was a senior ginseng: "What do you think, old man?"

Liu Jinshi supported his forehead with his hands, and said after a while, "Mingfu, this matter is very dangerous."

Both Wu Daling and Wu Ya who were present were taken aback, Wu Daling hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Please teach me, old man."

"I'm afraid that the intention of sending out pirates is to attack the city!"

“How come you see?”

"Most bandits and bandits are lightly loaded and plundered. Why do they need to build roads? If they build roads, the only solution is to attack the city. Dalin thought that pirates must carry siege equipment, which is very heavy. It cannot be transported to the city."

How big and heavy is the siege equipment that needs to be repaired to be transported to the city?All the people up and down were suddenly silent.Wu Mingjin tremblingly said: "Could it be Hongyi Cannon..."

"Other than that, it's hard for him to think."

Hainan is close to Guangdong and Macau, and Hongmaoyi ships pass by from time to time. It is also known in official circles that the imperial court bought cannons from Hongmao people in Guangzhou.Wu Mingjin knew that this cannon was very heavy, but its power was astonishing, and the imperial court used it to defend Liaodong.The siege of Quang Ninh last year relied on this cannon to hold on; it can be called a sharp weapon in the army.

If such a thing is pulled to the city right now - Wu Daling can't imagine what the result will be.

"What should I do? This county is just a small town." Wu Ya cried out in shock a long time ago. In fact, what he meant was that all the officials and gentry present here understand that Lingao, a small border town, is worth nothing for the pirates. Something so exciting?What evil did Lingao do to attract such killer weapons as Hongyi Cannon.

They didn't know at this time that what they were facing was something more monstrous than the Hongyi cannon, just like the storyteller's catchphrase in the Baijiashuchang in Laigao City: "Tragedy!"

Everyone turned their attention to Sun Baihu, who was wearing a mandarin duck jacket. This hereditary Baihu thought it was a good job. When he got off his horse in the city, he received a reward of ten taels of silver. Half of it was searched by him.These two days of drinking and meat are much more comfortable than the half-dead days in the guard. As for the pirates attacking the city, he thinks it is impossible.

Seeing everyone in the room looking at him, he couldn't help feeling flustered.He knew very well that although he had the name of a hereditary family, he was actually a small landlord, and the thirty big soldiers he brought with him spent more time holding hoes than holding knives and guns.The only thing that is a little powerful is the Franco cannon.How can he come up with countermeasures?Besides, the pirates were really going to drag Hongyi Cannon, and it was too late for him to escape.Knowing that it is not good to say anything, he simply pretended to be calm and said nothing.

Magistrate Wu secretly scolded Sun Baihu as a waste, but he didn't expect much from the guards to do anything.I'm afraid that this matter still requires General Tang to send troops.

"The only solution right now is to harass." Liu Dalin said, "The thieves can't gather together all the time to build roads. We send more village braves and promise big rewards, or use bows and arrows to harass, or take advantage of the gap to set fire. Harassing it day and night makes it unsafe. It will definitely prevent it from building roads."

(End of this chapter)