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Chapter 25 The 22nd round of training army soldiers and fighting bandits to observe Li Xun's name

Xie Qianyun was married to Ling Zichong herself, the fish and the water are in harmony, and her love is very strong.As for Zi Chong's ex-wife's children, he cared for them as if they were his own, asking for warmth and coldness.Therefore, Qianyun's virtuous name is known to everyone in the officialdom.Even Mingzi Pan Zhongcheng sent his wife to chat in Zichong's courtyard from time to time, and sometimes invited Qianyun to eat in the back house.The two wives, therefore, were on good terms.Mrs. Ming wanted to be a god-sister with her, but Qianyun refused at first, saying: "My wife is fifteen or sixteen years older than me. I think you are almost the same as a god-mother. How dare you call her a sister." Mrs. Ming laughed. : "It's not about age, you are the wife of our old master, so I should call you Mrs. Mistress. Don't be too polite, it would be better to be a sister honestly." Qianyun didn't dare to agree at that time .Mrs. Ming told Zichong again, and Zichong thought about it, and the wife of the host family didn't mean anything better than Wei Fu, so he agreed to clear it up with Qianyun.Seeing that her husband was willing, Qianyun had no choice but to agree.Since then, the two sisters have been very close.Sometimes when Qianyun entrusts something, Mrs. Ming does it right away.

Not two months later, the feudal administration really put out a card: Xu Jiqing went to Jiujiang Mansion as a new post.When Jiqing saw him, he was naturally very happy. On the one hand, he went to the various offices of Fufan to thank him and bid farewell, and on the other hand, he visited Zichong and expressed his thanks again and again.He also asked Tianqi to take special care of him in the province, sending news from time to time so as to protect his future.Everything is in order, and then the family members go to work. At this time, a group of bandits suddenly appeared in Jiujiang Mansion.The leader's surname is Lan, his name is Lan Tianyu, and his nickname is Blue Face Tiger.Originally a student, he somehow became a gangster and gathered five or seven hundred people.In the area around the Xunyang River, ships and business travelers were robbed, haunted and haunted.There is a general in Jiujiang Mansion, and there are two battalions of soldiers under him, all of whom are green soldiers, very corrupt.The firearms are not complete, all are old-fashioned front-loading guns, and there is no training on weekdays.The two battalions were named one thousand, but in fact there were not even seven hundred.The general will be a bannerman named De Libu, who was released by the guards of the Qianqing Gate.Drawing a bow and archery is his specialty. When it comes to shooting a gun, he only has one pipe that he uses very well, and he never leaves it day and night.Since Xu Jiqing took office, he wanted to thoroughly check his position in the Green Camp.When the news got out, De Libu really panicked, he secretly entrusted Shouxian in to intercede for him, promised five hundred taels of silver and a mink coat, and only then did he get the matter over with.It just so happened that his official fortune was not good, and another marine bandit appeared in the Xunyang River.Jiqing had no choice but to invite him into the mansion to plan a strategy for prevention and suppression.When Riji came to office in the early Qing Dynasty, De Libutuo was not ill, and this was the first meeting.According to the official rituals of the former Qing Dynasty, deputy generals and generals are parallel to the magistrate, but they are superiors to the Daotai. They should hand over the manuscript and participate in the court ceremony.But where there is no Daotai, the magistrate has the right to dispatch troops, and the participating generals are also subject to his restraint.Therefore, when Delibu saw Jiqing, he said he was too respectful, and he didn't dare to be arrogant.Ji Qing looked at him carefully, he was already in his fifties, he was not low in stature, but his facial features were well-proportioned.It's just that he smoked opium until he was brown and thin, his back was hunched and his eyebrows arched, and he didn't have the air of a warrior at all.Wearing a suit of luggage: open-air robes, double-breasted mandarin jackets with ermines.It was already the middle of February, and the weather was getting warmer. Seeing De Libu's air, wearing a leather jacket, he was still shy of the cold.Ji Qingxin said, "How can we charge forward and fight against bandits like this?"Just put it in the house and smoke.But I still had to put up with it, so I hurriedly smiled and pushed him to sit up and said: "Brother is fine, and he dare not work and join the army. Now there are giant bandits in our Jiujiang boundary, making business travelers uneasy. Brother is a civil servant, how can I The ability to suppress bandits? I have to invite you to join the army and learn everything." De Libu replied: "Tai Zun, please rest assured, what is the meaning of this clown jumping on the beam, and the plan will be arranged in the end. Tomorrow, two teams will be sent to suppress them. It's easy to save the horse and succeed." Ji Qing said with a smile: "I hope it's so good. In the end, it's not too easy to see. The ancients said: 'Arrogant soldiers must be defeated.' I heard that the bandit surnamed Lan is very powerful, He has no less than six or seven hundred followers. How many people are there in the two teams of your battalion? If you can't win, the gangsters will look down on you. Brother is a timid civil servant, so I have to think about it. I hope that the soldiers will be more serious. Deli preached: "The general is more strategic than brave. The soldiers are expensive and the elite are not expensive. Although the last general sent two teams with only two hundred men, he can defeat him by more than a thousand if he wants to fight bandits. Please honor him." Ann, but just listen to the red flag for victory." Ji Qing was inconvenient to say more when he heard the bullshit he was bragging about, but instead tried his best to praise him.This is a very bad effect.My heart says I can't win, let's see what kind of face you have when you come to see me.

Delib retreated and immediately dispatched troops.In his meaning, it was nothing more than a bluff.Knowing that the thieves are on the boats in the river, sometimes they come ashore to rob, but they only come and go, and they will never stay on land for a long time.He only counted one or two hundred people, and they were distributed by the Xunyang River.When the thieves landed on the shore, they didn't make a sound, they just patrolled from a distance, watching them looting a certain village or town.When the looting was over and the thieves got on the boat, they fired guns on the shore to demonstrate, and at the same time went to the robbed villages and towns to demand rewards.If you don't give a reward, say you turned it over and grab a second round.Having made up his mind, he passed in two defenses first.These two guards are the battalion commanders of the Green Battalion, one is Jia Zuowei and the other is Bai Desheng.When the two came in, they greeted Ann first, and stood on both sides with their hands down.Deli said: "Currently pirates are rampant, robbing merchants and people. Taizun discussed with me to suppress them immediately. As battalion commanders, you two have a duty to do so. First explain to me how to suppress the law, and then we can issue a mobilization order." " Bai Desheng replied first: "Return to the commander's words: they are water bandits, we are green battalion, can we still swim to suppress the bandits? This kind of military, the lowly position really dare not take part in the final discussion, please give me your orders." , we will do what we are told to do. As for the method, I really can’t think of it.” De Libu felt very uncomfortable when he was hit by him, so he said: “As the saying goes, ‘Raise a soldier for a thousand days, use it for a while’. You eat The emperor's family's salary, when there are bandits, they push back three times and four things. Can this be said? Good, good! Since you don't want to suppress the bandits, please go down, I don't need you here." Bai Desheng really asked for peace, but he retreated down.Seeing this look, Jia Zuowei thought to himself, I don't want to touch his nails again, I have to test his tone first, and then decide what to do.After thinking about it, he came over and asked Ann, and asked: "My lord, is this suppression of bandits real or fake?" he.Then he replied: "How about the real suppression, how about the fake suppression?" Jia Zuowei said: "The real suppression must charge and fight, and see the same level as the bandits. We must capture and behead all the followers, and we will eliminate all the bandits. Responsibility. This is called real suppression. As for the fake suppression, it’s just a bluff to scare the bandits away. We won’t hurt a single soldier, but we might as well make a fuss. It’s not only that there is no danger at all if we say that we will fight fiercely for several days and nights and kill a few people. You can also use this to open an insurance case. My lord must be the commander-in-chief, and even the humble can't get away. This is called fake suppression." Hearing this talk, De Libu was right in his arms, Immediately smile all over the face.Instead of asking Jia Zuowei to stand on the ground, he immediately took his hand, pulled him into his smoking room, and told him to sit down first.Then, while smoking a cigarette, he sneered at Zuo Zuo and said, "Your elder brother really deserves to be an old military officer. What you said just now is exactly the same as your brother's meaning. You think our green camp was originally in name only, and the two The battalion is less than one battalion, and it is full of old and weak soldiers. How can we suppress the bandits? What's more, the bandits are in the middle of the river, and we are on the ground. I thought it was a way to get promoted and get rich, so I agreed, just like your brother's plan. Who knows that Bai Desheng is in a daze, and he thinks it's true to suppress the bandits, isn't it a joke?" Jia Zuowei bowed He said: "My lord is very knowledgeable. If you have any assignments, I will try my best to repay you." De Libu smoked a cigarette and taught him the opportunity. Needless to say, Jia Zuowei understood it, and he repeatedly agreed: "Yes, I will transfer the team to go today. , but the last month's salary is still required to be rewarded by adults. As the saying goes, "The food and grass go first before the people and horses move." These two hundred people have to eat every day, and some rice and noodles must be prepared." De Libu laughed loudly and said: "Your elder brother is such a shrewd person, how can you say such nonsense? Now, under the command of the heavens, we go to suppress the bandits. No matter where we go, there are only pots of rice to welcome the king. Do we still have to prepare our own meals?" Forget it, everyone needs to spend some money for pocket expenses. I have eighty-five taels of silver here to buy cigarettes and soil. Let me give it to your brother for pocket expenses. "Jia Zuowei hurriedly thanked An.

Dlib handed him the silver and left.First call all the five captains under him, give each of them eight taels of silver, and order them to do so.Everyone understands, and they all go down to roll their names.The roster of each team should be one hundred people, but in fact there are not even fifty people, but about forty people.When the points were all set, they ordered to drive to the Xunyang River, and separated in several villages and towns far away, some lived in temples, and some camped in tents.When he arrived, Jia Zuowei sent guards to pay homage to villages, towns, shops, and wealthy households with his own film, and invited them to negotiate and raise wages.When these people saw that it was an official who came to ask for a film, whoever dared to disobey them immediately went to a Guandi temple in the west of Jingtai Town to meet the official Jia Ying.When the battalion officials met each other, they didn't say anything else. They first asked them to raise wages and prepare food and fodder. "We are here this time to suppress the bandits and protect you under the orders of the general. You must not begrudge the tips." These people continued to ask him how many soldiers he brought.Jia Zuowei said that there were 500 people in total, and each meal had to be prepared according to 300 catties of white noodles, and it cost two stones to eat rice.Everyone took a deep breath after hearing this, and said to themselves that this big chewing function will last forever, who can afford it!Seeing their difficulties, Jia Zuowei proposed to ask them to discount the price and save a little.Three hundred catties of white flour is converted into nine taels of silver, three stones of white rice is converted into eight taels of silver, and eighty-nine and seventeen taels, plus firewood and fodder, is converted into five taels of silver, which costs twenty-two taels of silver per day.Qiu Yu, the town director, begged again and again, please reduce it to fifteen taels, Jia Zuowei would not agree.Later, if you do good or evil, it can be regarded as an agreement of twenty taels a day.After everyone left, Jia Zuowei called the five captains and ordered the team to pay three taels of silver as food expenses every day, and everyone agreed to go on.Receive money on a daily basis.Fortunately, there are less than forty people in the first team.Rice is very cheap in that place, you can buy one stone for one tael or eight silver, and one stone of rice is enough to eat five meals.Four hanging old money can buy a hundred catties of flour, which is enough to eat four meals.The rest of the vegetables and firewood are all very cheap.Therefore, the section on diet is enough.But there is only one difficulty in it. All the people in the green camp, from the officials to the cooks, are addicted to opium.At that time, the ban on smoking was just emerging, and there were still many smoking dens in other provinces, and you could buy one for four copper coins.Those who are soldiers must have at least one opium a day to barely survive, or they will be addicted to death.It’s okay not to eat, but not to smoke.Therefore, each soldier had to be given five copper coins a day, specially prepared to buy longevity ointment.Almost each of them carried a bamboo pipe with them, and they ate while lying on the ground, always two or three of them faced a lamp.Surrounding Jingtai Town, almost all the smoking halls on the ground floor are filled.

It turns out that Jingtai Town is very close to the Xunyang River, and it is a gathering place for porcelain manufacturers. There are fifty or sixty large porcelain shops in one business.Whichever business is worth tens of thousands of dollars and goods is the wealthiest town store in Jiujiang.That Lantian jade has long thought of visiting this place, so he plundered it full.Because it was too close to Fucheng, and knew that there were soldiers in the city, they didn't dare to move lightly, and sent people to Jingtai Town to inquire about the news from time to time.It also deserves the town's bad luck, if there is no green battalion to come here to suppress the bandits, the tiger in the cuffs can be scary.Since Jia Zuowei led the team here, this group of Qiubatai masters practiced gun exercises lying on the spot all day long in the wild, with long guns behind their backs and short guns in their hands, and they fired green gas cannons at the sea-exploring lights. Get the law.The spies went back and reported to Lan Tianyu. Lan Tianyu laughed and said, "I think he has some skills as a soldier, so he can practice smoking guns. Good, good! Go ashore tomorrow afternoon and guard the ship with a hundred men. Use 300 people to plunder the merchants, and 200 people to deal with the green battalion soldiers. As long as this is the case, there is no need to kill their lives in the town." Everyone ordered to go down and prepare.On the second day, the two hundred soldiers from the Green Battalion ate big pancakes for breakfast. After eating the pancakes, each of them was looking for his own tobacco shop. Hundreds of people, all with green cloth Baotou and green cloth jackets.There were also those with fast guns, some with pistols, and some with sabers. They all rushed forward and surrounded Jingtai Town in an impenetrable way.These Qiu Batai masters are not addicted enough, how can they stand up?I was frightened by these people again, some of them got sick and peed, some lay on the ground and groaned, some struggled to sit up and fell down, and some were braver and wanted to stand up. He started to walk, took two or three steps and then fell down.Those thieves were not polite, so they tied up the two hundred people with ropes.The two men tied their faces behind their backs, only their hands but not their feet, and the bongs were stuck on their bodies.Two team captains make one bundle, and there is one remaining out of five people. Counting the battalion commander, it is just right, and there are ninety-six pairs in total.There was only one person running inside, so let's not mention it for now.Lantian Yudu led the team and ransacked the town once, and the family did not miss out. They found a total of seven to eight hundred thousand in silver.He also asked the people in each store to carry them in thorn baskets and send them to the boat for them.The ninety-six pairs of green battalion soldiers were beaten with whips and walked together.One is walking forward, the other is walking backward, where can it move?After all, opium smokers, where can they be banned?I had to move forward desperately.Fortunately, it's not very far away, and it didn't take long to walk to the riverside.Lan Tianyu waited to arrange all the money, and those who still refused to release the money left, and smiled at them: "You wait for a while, I will express my grievances for you today, and I will not take you a fortune in vain." He ordered the battalion commander Jia Zuowei to be brought over, and scolded: "You group of thieves who harm the people, eat the salary of the state, only raise guns, dare not fire cannons, eat opium, and harass business people everywhere, asking them to confess Eat, drink, and smoke for you. Today, you committed crimes in the hands of King Lan, do you still want to live?" Poor Jia Zuowei wanted to kneel and kowtow, begging and begging, but he tied his face behind his back, and neither of them could kneel down.You can only kiss your father, your grandfather, or your ancestors, yell whatever you want, and beg him to spare your life.Lan Tianyu sneered and said, "I wanted to hack you to death next to each other with a saber, but it was pitiful to hear your pleadings, and my lord showed compassion." At this point, Jia Zuowei said, "Take us all to death." Released." Lan Tianyu said: "No, no, push them all into the Xunyang River, go to Longgong Haizang to smoke big cigarettes!" Jia Zuowei yelled, "Oh my god!" He only heard a "plop", and was already caught by a powerful The thief's eyes kicked hard behind him, straightened, and kicked into the Xunyang River.Followed by "Plop! Plop!" to push the ninety-five pairs of big smokers off.The businessmen who watched the excitement forgot that they were a stolen house, and cheered like a thunderstorm.Lan Tianyu ordered to untie the cable and set off the boat, and with a sound of eh, she went along the Xunyang River like the wind and lightning.The silver delivery man on the shore stared blankly at the boat going further and further away.Looking at the middle of the river again, there are only bubbles, but no one floats up.Do you know why?Just because Lan Tianyu is extremely vicious.He already hated the officers and soldiers, but seeing that these people were a bunch of opium smokers, he hated them even more, and wanted to push them into the river one by one.They were also afraid that some people who could swim would live by it, so they sent an order in advance to catch all these people in pairs, tie them into one, and turn their faces away.When they were pushed into the river, the two struggled with each other, and the more they struggled, the more they sank until they reached the bottom of the river.It was as if a stone had fallen on each of them, and they would never come up until they died, and it was impossible to escape one of them.This method can be said to be extremely vicious.

Besides, there is only one cook in this battalion who doesn't smoke and has very fast legs, nicknamed Scud Niu Er.He baked the cakes, and after serving everyone to eat, it was all enjoyable.There are more than a dozen cakes left, and he still has six or seven cakes when he is full.He took the bread with him, ready to eat it when he was hungry.Tie a bag around the waist, put three pieces on the front heart, and four pieces on the back heart, and they are tightly attached to the flesh.Just about to lie down and take a nap, he suddenly heard the sound of a trumpet blowing. He thought it was the whole team.When he saw the thieves coming up, he said "no!" and ran away.While running, the thief saw him and fired two or three shots, all of which hit him in the back, but did not hurt him at all.Seeing that he couldn't defeat him, the thief was very surprised, thinking that he must be a golden bell jar, an iron cloth shirt, or some kind of spell.He also thought that his steps were flying like flying, and he couldn't catch up, so he simply let him go.He ran for fifteen miles in one go, and didn't stop until he reached the city of Jiujiang.After a short rest, he drank two sips of cold water, and ran into the city like flying, heading straight for the guerrilla yamen.When he arrived at the concierge, ask him to return to your lord quickly.Seeing him like this, how could the concierge be willing to go back for him?In a hurry, he took off the little padded jacket he was wearing, and took out the pancake that was close to his body to show everyone that there were three bullets lying inside.He said it wasn't these cakes, I lost my life, this is a major military matter, seeing the thieves go to the city, why don't you go back to your lord?If there is a trouble, don't blame the cook for not coming to report it.Seeing that the situation was real, the concierge didn't dare to be negligent, and immediately went up and returned.At this time, De Libu was smoking happily, and his family members came up and said: "Now, Niu Er, the cook in Jiaying, has an urgent military situation and needs to report to the Lord." De Libu was startled, put down the pipe quickly, and ordered bring him in.When Niu Er came in when he was young, he knelt down on both knees and said, "Boss Niu Er kowtows to your lord." De Libu lay on the bamboo bed and didn't move, he just asked if there was anything he needed to come back soon.Niu Er replied: "Now there are more than a thousand thieves and bandits, all armed with fast guns, and surrounded Jingtai Town. They tied up Mr. Jia's battalion. It is said that after Jingtai Town has been robbed, they will have to stay Entering the city. The little one escaped from the dead, and I am here to inform you, please make preparations early." Before Niu Er could finish his reply, he heard "ping-pong", "speech", and "oh my god".Do you know what all this noise is?It turned out that "ping pong" was throwing away the bong and was throwing it on the lamp; Scared, the military order issued from the mouth.It's a pity that he couldn't even sit up immediately, and lay on the bed, only shivering and shaking.The family members standing beside him cleaned up the cigarette lamps for him, while complaining to Niu Er: "I'm not addicted enough, why are you talking so fiercely, why don't you get out of here quickly." Niu Er kowtowed and stepped back quickly.

Here Dribumo rubbed his hands together, sweating profusely from anxiety, and he was no longer addicted to it. He told everyone to invite his wife, concubine, young master, and uncle quickly.When everyone arrived when they were young, De Libu tremblingly said: "It's not good, the thieves have come into the city. You quickly pack up the gold and pearls, pack up the two cars in our yamen, and hire a few more cars. Let's go out of the west gate to escape together. The thief must enter the east gate, so we should clean up quickly. My mind is in a mess right now, and if it's a moment later, it will be too late." When everyone heard what he said, they were at a loss and cleaned up for a while. .While making trouble, I saw my family come in in a hurry and said: "Master Xu from the capital and Mr. Yao from the first county are all here, come in all the time, and wait for your master to speak." This is another death talisman, which scared De Libu A dizzy, dare not say see, also dare not say not see.While in trouble, another guard came in, saying that the magistrate was stamping his feet in the front hall in a hurry, and was waiting for the magistrate to go out to speak.At this time, the ugly daughter-in-law will also have to see her parents-in-law.Reluctantly, his legs were shaking and he couldn't walk.I had to ask my family and the guards to help me out, as if singing "Hongyang Cave".After arriving at the front hall, Xu Ji caught up early in the morning, sneered at him and said, "My brother, De Da Can Rong, what did you tell me last time? Now there are thieves coming to the city. It is your military officer who is charging and fighting. Is there any way for you to destroy the thieves and protect the city? Hurry up and send an order." While trembling, De Libu begged Ji Qing: "Xu Taizun, Master Xu! You pity me, who is fifty or sixty years old, why don't you Able to charge and fight? According to my opinion, let's run for our lives together. When the thieves come into the city, all of us officials will die first. Should we just sit and wait to die? Brother has already prepared the car and is about to run away. According to me Advise, the second prince of your prefecture and county should also quickly prepare to escape." Ji Qing didn't wait for him to finish speaking, snatched him over, swung his bow left and right, first slapped him twice, and scolded: "The dog officer who is devoid of conscience, usually Eat the state's salary and be fed by the people. Now when the crisis comes, you are the first to run away. When you run away, the people's hearts are panicked. The thieves don't plan to enter the city. If they hear the news, they will also take the opportunity to harass you. Okay, okay I'll take a look at you first, and talk about Baocheng later."

It turns out that there are 200 brave men in the yamen of each prefecture and county, but they are strong young men selected from the local area.For every hundred people, there is one hundred chiefs and ten ten chiefs.Since Jiqing took office, he has asked Guangrao Jiunan soldiers to prepare for the road, and has received 500 fast guns. They practice morning and evening, which is much stronger than the green battalion led by Delib.This time when Ji Qing came, he brought a hundred chiefs, two ten chiefs and twenty Lian Yong to protect him in the sedan chair.He immediately ordered Baichang Li Kuiyuan to take ten brave men and guard the front and back doors of the general's yamen. If anyone escaped, they should be tied up with ropes immediately, regardless of gender, age or age.Delib burst into tears when he heard this.Ji Qing became anxious, and ordered Yao Binggang, the county magistrate, to take De Libu to the county government and put him under custody, so that he would not confuse the people.After the matter is settled, I will ask him to dismiss him in detail according to the facts.He drew another command arrow and told Li Kuiyuan to transfer the Bai Desheng battalion to wait for dispatch.Going back to the Yamen in a sedan chair in a fit of anger.Not long after, Li Kuiyuan came back and reported: "Bai Desheng has already fled and disappeared. Most of his battalion are garrison bannermen. They have all gone home now. There is nowhere to look for them. Please show me." Ji Qing Hearing this, I became more and more angry, so I had to transfer 200 people from the county government, and distributed them to the four city gates to guard them in turn.

At this time, he was using the Scud Niu Er.Just now when he saw De Libu's useless look, he came down from the top and immediately ran to the government office to report all the situation to Ji Qing in detail, so Ji Qing became anxious and immediately went to talk to De Libu.Seeing that De Libu was so incompetent, he thought that he must ask Fu Shuai to send troops to suppress the bandits in detail.If you don't report it in advance, if you really lose the city, not only the future of Jiujiang Mansion will not be guaranteed, but you will also be punished, how can you afford it?But who should be sent into the province at this time?Thieves are all over the river, and if they go by water, they will leak military information; if they go by land, they will delay time, and suddenly think of Niu Er.This person claims to be a scud, so he must have good feet.What's more, he can still run after a bullet hits him, and he doesn't seem to be weak in courage.Then he called Niu Er up and said that I have a set of official business here, ten taels of silver, and you have to go to the province to deliver it overnight; there is also a private letter, send it to Mr. Xu Daotai at the address written above, do you dare to go?Niu Erdao: "The villain dares to go." Ji Qing was overjoyed after hearing this and said, "Since you dare to go, you should get up immediately. If you can get a reply letter, I will reward you with another ten taels of silver and pull you out." You will be paid five taels of silver per month when you enter Yongzhong." Niu Er bowed his head to thank him, hid the documents and private letters on his body, left the government office, and rushed to Nanchang overnight.When I arrived, I didn't have time to get out of the store, so I went to Fushuai Yamen first and put the documents in.Seeing that the number room was registered, he went to Xu mansion again.Go to the concierge and explain to Jinshun first.Fortunately, Xi Tianqi was at home, and Jin Shun took the letter to return.Tianqi read the letter and was taken aback, and sent word that someone would bring it to him.When Niu Er came up, he knelt down and kowtowed. Tianqi asked him to get up and asked, "Is Jiujiang City still besieged by bandits?" Said: "In this case, why is there such a fierce method written in the letter?" Niu Erdao: "Master Xu is afraid that the provincial capital will not be able to rescue the soldiers, and once the thieves come, he will not be able to meet the enemy, so he wrote it more powerfully, so that he can comfort him." Shuaiqian invited soldiers on his behalf so as not to cause any delay." Tianqi said: "I understand. You go down first and stay in our room temporarily, and write a letter to Mr. Xu after I come to the court." He also ordered Jinshun treated him well, and Niu Er thanked him.

Tianqi immediately called for a car to go to the courtyard.At this time, he was very close to Ling Zichong.Every time you go to the upper courtyard, you don't need to go back and forth with the porter until you reach the courtyard of Zichong.Sometimes when I see Futai, Zichong takes him to see him.After getting married, Mingxin appointed him as the general manager of the Patrol Academy.Although the errands are not very good, there are three to four hundred strong young people in this class, and in Tianqi's eyes, they are the best helpers in the future.First, carefully check how many good men are bloody and thoughtful. In the future, we will first organize them into a class and slowly instill revolutionary ideas.Once they are all within range, when the time comes, they can rise up.Therefore, on the surface, he is sincere and sincere, treats the students very well, and gives speeches to the students from time to time, and they have a very close emotional connection with each other.Now he is worrying about not having military power, and now encountering the Jiujiang incident, he thinks he has an opportunity to take advantage of it, so he immediately goes to find Zichong.They met each other and saw that there was an official document on Zichong's desk, which was Xu Jiqing's urgent document, so he also took out the private letter and handed it to Zichong for reading.At this time, the two of them had already changed their terms to address each other as brother-in-law, because Zi Chong was older, so they didn't follow Qianyun's argument, but instead called him brother-in-law.Zichong was not polite, calling Tianqi his brother-in-law.He finished reading the letter, and said to Tianqi: "Originally, the green battalion is a kind of useless waste, and should have been abolished long ago. Things like Dlib are too hateful, just now the handsome man stomped his feet, saying who will be sent to suppress the thieves in the future, Tell him to ask the king to order him to go, first to sacrifice De Libu to sacrifice the flag. According to my opinion, the situation in Jiujiang is very dangerous. If the thieves take the city by surprise, the court will know that even the commander-in-chief will be responsible. Now it's down Send troops to suppress them first, so as not to cause trouble in the future." Tianqi said: "What my brother-in-law saw is very true, but who should we send to suppress them?" Zichong said: "This time the suppression of bandits must be done by land and water. You have to know that this bandit was originally a water bandit, and he was attacking on land. He hid in the lake harbor and couldn't even see him. Thousands of people in the middle can be hidden, and it is not easy to search and suppress. So I said that it is necessary to advance by land and water, which is the difficulty." Tianqi said: "Advance by land and water is of course a plan. But it is not easy to lead troops. That's it." Zichong said, "You don't know, there are people in the navy in Jiangxi province, but the army lacks talents. Because Zeng Wenzheng's defeat in Chaohu Lake was used as a precedent, he specially ordered Mr. Peng Gang to practice a few times at the mouth of the lake. The battalion of naval divisions has been passed down to the present. There are still three battalions of naval forces in Hukou. The leader of the army is surnamed Yue, and his name is Yue Shaozhong. He is also from Hunan. However, due to the lack of salaries, all ships and armaments have not been repaired for a long time, so I am afraid that they will be unreliable. If a sum of money is issued and Yue Shaozhong is ordered to repair quickly, it seems that the elimination of marine bandits can be done happily. But once the navy attacked, The thief must use Lushan Mountain as a talisman. He must first send a senior soldier to ambush around Lushan Mountain. Waiting for them to rush to the front of the mountain, gather and wipe them out. Suppressing one another and becoming bandits, it will be even more difficult in the future." Tianqi laughed and said, "I didn't recommend myself, one is looking at the Jiangxi Army's lack of talent, and the other is particularly well-known by the commander-in-chief. If you refuse at this time How long will it take to serve? I want to ask my elder brother-in-law to recommend me to the commander-in-chief, and my younger brother would like to tell you about his bravery." Zi Chong laughed and said, "I also thought that your military knowledge is very good, but this is a practical use of troops, not as good as on paper. Empty talk. Besides, the thieves are very fierce. If there is a little danger, how can you treat your aunt and cousin? So you are very hesitant. Now that you have volunteered, you have nothing to complain about. Please go back to the mansion first, tomorrow at the latest I can go through the business in the morning, so you should prepare your luggage first." Tianqi thanked him, and hurriedly left the hospital, returned to his mansion, and ordered Mo Xiang to pack up all the clothes he often wears and the things he used at hand.

When the lantern was held in the sky, a letter was sent from the courtyard, which entrusted him to lead the 2463rd Patrol Battalion to Jiujiang to suppress the bandits in person, and allowed him to do things cheaply.Civil officials from the prefect to the next, and military officers from the deputy general to the next, are subject to restraint and are freely dispatched.And the word came out: All the attendants, he is allowed to choose from the alternates.Tianqi was really overjoyed when he received this set of official duties, and immediately opened two marching staff officers, two copywriters, and two management ration desks.The staff officers are alternate Tongzhi Chu Dazhong and alternate capital secretary Yu Yunwu.These two people, one is the promotion of the Patrol Academy, and the other is the instructor of the Patrol Academy, and they are most congenial with Tianqi on weekdays.The two copywriters are all from the magistrate's team, one is a Jinshi that uses Mo Duoyan, and the other is a provocateur Jin Yi.Tianqi knew that the two of them had good writing skills, and they were young and handsome, so when they talked with each other, they became comrades.As for the two people in charge of the grain platform, they are all fellow villagers of Tianqi.One is Gao Erya and the other is Ou Dasheng.Gao is an alternate general judge, and Qu is a probationary magistrate.Both of them are rich and generous, so appointing him as a food platform will not deduct military pay and cheat for personal gain.Tianqi made a plan for the person, and that night he went to the hospital to thank the committee and presented the name of the insured person.Mingxin agreed to everything, and rushed to work overnight. But it is said that the patrol battalion was originally the 12th battalion, and the commander was surnamed Guiminghe. He was a man with a red flag inlaid in Manchuria.When he came, he brought a private letter from Tie Muxian, Minister of the Ministry of War, in which he wrote very earnestly, saying that Guihe was his brother-in-law, and begged Mingzipan to take care of him.So within three months after coming to the province, he was appointed as the commander of the patrol battalion.In Mingxin's mind, he thought he was a bannerman, so he was particularly relieved to be entrusted with the military power to protect the provincial capital.Helplessly, Guihe is a poor boy, how can he have any military knowledge?Since he took over the battalion, there is no roll call, and he doesn't know how to fuck. There are only dozens of burly and majestic soldiers who take turns guarding the gate outside his mansion.These twelve battalion officers and two gang commanders would come to his mansion to greet him on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, and he would not ask about the rest.As for the monthly salary, he is a son of a rich family, so he has nothing to do with it.It's just that his master's family is very powerful, they deducted the money, suppressed the money, and pressed down the salary for two months, depositing it in the Daqing Bank for profit, a total of 35,000 silver in one month, and 70,000 in two months .The 70,000 silver insisted on a penny of interest, which was seven hundred taels a month. The bank complained to the sky, saying that we would not be able to make such a big profit if we put it out.If you want to plan not to keep it, one of them can't hold back the old deal that has been done for many years, and they can't bear to push it away;I had to swallow my anger and make this deal.The bank is better off, only the soldiers of the twelve battalions have always been paid monthly, and there is never a backlog.Now that it has been hard pressed for two months, how can I bear it?So the soldiers looked for the chief, the chief looked for the sentry officer, the sentry officer looked for the battalion officer, and the battalion officer looked for the gang commander.When I got to Bangtong's side, I didn't dare to look any further, so I could only use good words to deal with it perfunctorily, causing complaints.Mingxin also heard a little bit about it, but because of his affection, it's not easy to change it for a while.This time the 2463rd Battalion was assigned to Tianqi's command and brought to suppress bandits, which is also for future replacement.The next day, the officer of the third battalion, wearing military uniform, went to the mansion to report to Mr. Xu, and Tianqi hurriedly received him.Looking at the manuscripts, one is called Xiong Jinbiao, the other is called Sun Baowen, and the other is called Pan Degong.Seeing the bravery of these three people, they still have a bit of courage.Tianqi gave a few words of encouragement, saying that it is not too late, roll call today, and leave the team tomorrow.I saw Pan Degong stood up, bowed and replied: "Return to the Commander's words, and the three of you have a little bit of sympathy to ask the Lord to make the decision." Tianqi hurriedly asked what was going on, and Pan Degong explained in detail what he said that he would not pay for two months, and said It is said that the soldiers are all in debt because of arrears of payment.If you don't send it out this time, I'm afraid something will happen, and I dare not not return.Tianqi was very surprised when he heard this, and said: "That's unreasonable! I remember that the patrol battalion is paid monthly as usual, why is it in arrears?" Pan Degong told the situation after Guihe took over again.Tianqi said angrily: "It's okay! I'll find him right away." Pan Degong was so frightened that he asked for peace again and again: "I beg for your kindness, don't say it was said by the humble, how will this enmity be settled in the future? up?" Tianqi laughed loudly and said, "You are too cowardly, since the three battalions will be controlled by me in the future, even the noble ones will not be able to move a hair of yours. Don't treat me as that weak and incompetent Daotai. He won’t pay me, so I will take him to see the commander-in-chief.” The three of them immediately puffed up their chests when they saw Tianqi being guarded so vigorously, as if they had taken a powerful pill, and they all thanked An. .Tianqi immediately went to see Guihe by car.Sure enough, he didn't bother, so he asked for all the salary for two months, and explained the monthly salary of the 2463rd battalion to the Bank of Daqing, and it will be assigned to Xu Jian's branch in the future, and has nothing to do with Guihe.不但将两个月积欠还了三营,又另外预支了三个月的,交与行军粮台存放。又支了六千银子的开拔费。登时这二四六三营士饱马腾,另有一番新气象。其余那九营全都看着眼红,恨不立刻满归徐大人节制才如心愿。天麒写了一封回信,叫飞毛腿牛二先回九江,免得际清悬念,又另外赏了他二十块洋钱。牛二叩头谢了,连夜奔回九江。这里天麒率领三营人马随后赶来,一面又与岳绍忠去公事,叫他带领水师预备剿贼。 天麒到了九江并不进城,先到庐山前后左右巡视了一遍,自己亲手绘了一幅简明地图。哪个山坳里可以伏兵,哪个山套里可以埋下地雷,哪个山环里可以诱敌,哪处树林中可以隐身,全都画了标志。又传下密令:什么暗号是聚,什么暗号是散,什么暗号是进,什么暗号是退。然后将这一千五百人分作六十小队,每队二十人,分布在山之四面。下余二百人,以一百预备诱敌,一百带到山腰,居高临下,等贼人进了山弯,开枪射击,一个休想活命。安排粗定,他自己带着参谋、文案、粮台,在山后一个庙中驻扎。际清自接到牛二带来的回信,心里十分安稳。原来天麒信上嘱咐他协同知县,尽力守城,不必出来迎接。却派他采买粮草,运至庐山听用,不得违误。际清赶办粮草,派二十名练勇持枪押送,又派牛二为向导。因为他就是庐山下边的人民,地理非常熟悉。运了几趟粮草,足足够一个月支用,天麒便将牛二留在营中效力,暂且按下不提。 却说岳绍忠统领带着三营水师,共有十只旧式兵船,还是彭刚直公当日手造的,只因年久失修,多有朽坏之处。请了几次款,省里总不肯发。船上的兵额,照当日规制,原是三百六十人为一营,每一只船上能容一百二十人。一船有一个船长。三船有一个船官,船官便是营长。这一百二十水兵分归四人统带,这四人叫做船副。原先的兵丁全是湘军,后来也有死的,也有老的,渐渐改招本地人充补,可是带兵的仍然为湖南人。那岳绍忠做了十二年水师统领,也不升也不调,大有在此终老之意。至于饷项,更是长短不齐,一本糊涂账,无论何人也算不清。所指的底款,唯湖江两税有时收得多了,便多发一点;收得少了,便少发一点。反正饿不死也撑不着。好在名目是三营,其实每只船上连八十人也不足。岳绍忠虽然老了,倒是行伍出身,对于训练的事还按照老法子,不敢懈怠。他也曾三番五次想要告奋勇,剿平水寇。他有一位幕府叫郭得鹤,因为他不好多事,大家便随口叫他过得好。他阻拦着说:“统领何必多事,省宪看咱们这水师早成了无用的废物,从来请款未曾发过一文,我们犯得上去拼命剿匪?假如剿平了,省里开保案,什么小舅子、姑爷全放在里边,我们出力的人除去统领以外休想得着半分好处。要是打了败仗,不但统领担处分,借题发挥,只怕这十几年的老水师连根却要刨掉。统领想一想,这是何苦呢?”岳绍忠被他这一套话说得灰心丧志,再也不想告奋勇了。不料这一天抚帅一连来了两件公事。头一件是指拨现款一万两,叫他急速修理船只,整备军械,候令剿贼。第二件公事是说明现派徐道天麒为剿匪统领,所有该水师俱听徐道节制调遣。岳绍忠接着公事,不觉兴头起来,立刻同郭得鹤商议怎样修船进兵。郭得鹤看过公文也自欢喜道:“这就有点意思了,没想到咱们这冷灶里也居然冒出热气来。既然是抚帅的意思,将来事平之后,不但老统领有了升官的机会,就连晚生那个试用县丞也可以过班知县了。修船的事并不难,咱们的船上原来有二十名木匠,终年闲着吃干俸,这可用着他们了。人数不足,可以另外再雇二十名。赶紧修补,有十天半月便可工竣。至于军械一层,虽不十分精利,到底是统领常常操练的好处,并未生銹,还可以对付着用。好在是打土匪,并不是要战胜外国海军,也用不着特别利器。这一万银子,据晚生看,连两千也用不了,平平妥妥地,统领可以下腰。其中少有一点难处,是不知道这位徐观察是个什么人物。看这公事的口气,他便成了我们的顶头上司。要不把他敷衍好了,将来一切公事全不好办。却又不知此人现在何处,我们倒要着实地打听打听才好。”岳绍忠听了,很是欢喜赞成。一面收拾船只,操练军队,一面派人打听徐道台的行辕现在何处,以及他从前的历史。哪知未出三日,天麒的札文已颁到了。内言本统领奉抚帅委任剿贼,现已带领兵马驻扎庐山。仰该军统领率所部水军循彭蠡浔阳搜剔贼匪。彼如弃船登岸,可急将该贼船占据,勿任其再返老巢。一面派兵登岸,协助本统领前后夹攻,歼其丑类,永绝根株,免滋后患。札到施行,切切毋忽。岳绍忠自接到札文,才知徐道台已经率队赴浔,自己哪敢怠慢,忙催促工匠加班连夜修理。一面派一名精干船副,带四名水兵,携着“克日进兵、请示机宜”的公文,前往庐山,面见徐大人,禀报一切。这里的船只,未及十日已将缺漏腐坏之处完全修好。岳绍忠留三只船防守地方,自己率领七只向前进发。先派了四名水兵,扮作打鱼的模样,驾着一只小小渔船,前往侦探贼人的踪迹。去了一日两夜,方才回来报道:“贼人蓝田玉自从抢掠景泰镇,淹毙绿营兵丁,已经逃往彭泽湖,在港汊中隐藏,很不容易搜剿。大人须以智取,难以力攻。”岳绍忠说:“我知道了,你们下去候令。”自己却与郭得鹤商议。我们若直前进攻,恐怕不易得手。必须设法将他引出来,在平湖之上才好下手。二人计议多时,已有良策,便把船长、船副全叫上来,密授机宜。大家领令去了,又叫坐探的四名水兵,吩咐如此如此。四人也依计而行,暂且按下不表。 再说水寇蓝田玉自景泰镇得手以后,不敢在浔阳久居,却将十几条船全齐入彭泽湖内,单派两条渔船在湖边逡巡作线,并可购买米粮食品。他在湖中安然充他的南面王。终日水色天光,蒹葭白露,也倒十分快活。这一日派出的渔船回来禀报,说现有四个渔夫要见大王,说是有一号买卖特来奉献,不知大王见也不见。蓝田玉吩咐带进来。少时四个渔夫来至蓝田玉船上叩头参见,说小人们是久在这湖中打鱼为生,近来才知大王爷爷在此湖中扎寨。小人们终年打鱼为生,哪有出头之日,很想给大王效力,只恨没有进见的礼物。如今探听得省里巡抚的夫人小姐,还同着巡防统领贵道台的姨太太小姐,要去游逛庐山,坐着兵船从此经过。这真是千载难逢的机会。大王若调动全队将那几条船围住,不但船只兵器唾手可得,并可绑一回人票。将来赎回,至不济也值二十万元。这真是天赐宝贝,如放他们过去,未免可惜。蓝田玉听了,俯首沉吟。四人又说道:“还有一层,小人们也要禀报在前。那船上的水兵,却也十分了得,大王要自己酌量。如果是他们的对手,再去冒险不迟。倘然抵敌不住,倒还是放过去的好。”这几句话,却把蓝田玉招翻了,大声喝道:“胡说!你大王爷爷从来没怕过人。不要说他那区区水兵,便是千军万马,英吉利的海军,我也不放在眼里。只是你们四个人得要在前面带路,进退全要听我的号令。如若遇他不着,你们诳报之罪可要仔细着。”四人道:“大王自请传令。如果这号买卖空了,小人们头颅便是进见之礼。”蓝田玉立刻发令,全队出发,如遇着兵船,用包围的法子逼令他们缴械投降,自己在后面督催。出了湖港,浩浩荡荡地直往前进。前面有四人驾着轻便渔舟顺流而下,如风驰电掣一般。不知不觉已走了很远的路,远远地果然看见有几只大船。蓝田玉以为是实在了,传令猛进,那船益发走得快。自己用千里镜往对面打着,果见那边船头仿佛坐着几个妇女。及至相离甚近,蓝田玉便叫鸣枪示威。再看对面船上,却一个人也没有了。他心中正在疑惑,忽听对面船上一声炮响,蓦地几条兵船如箭一般的快,围拢上来。此时蓝田玉方才明白,知道是中了计。再想退回,可不容易了,只得传令开枪。奈他手下的水寇并未经过大战,岳绍忠的水兵却是训练之师,战了两三刻钟,便已不支。只得传令,暂且把船拢岸,预备逃生。好在此处离庐山已近,我们逃上岸去,只要守住庐山,再有千军万马也不怕了。众贼兵得令,便驾船奔岸,水师在后面紧追。要问能否逃出,且看下回分解。
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