Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 140 Lurking
Jiangyin.

In a warehouse on the wharf, a businessman was calling the men to talk.

"A lot of gentry were vacillating. When the magistrate said he was willing to write a letter requesting to stop the hair-shaving order, he hesitated, and within a long time, most of them dispersed."

The owner of the warehouse, Cheng Bi, is a businessman originally from Huizhou, and he also has a lot of property in Jiangyin. This warehouse is one of his properties, but at this time he is very respectful to a young man dressed as a clerk.

The man said to everyone, "The dog officer is just a way to slow down the army. This order to shave hair was issued by the regent of the Tartars. How can he stop it if he says it will stop? Besides, the restoration of resistance to captives is where loyalty lies. How can it be abandoned halfway?" reason."

Cheng Bi nodded. He was originally a wealthy businessman who escaped by chance during the Yangzhou massacre, but his wife, children and mother died tragically in the city. He vowed to use the rest of his life to recover the blood debt from the Tartars.He once went to Chongming to pay homage to King Yiyang, offered gold and silver, and bought grain to send to Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui, Jing Benche, Shen Tingyang, Zhang Pengyi and other troops.

But later, seeing that they were afraid of the Tartars and did not dare to fight, he had no choice but to go south to pay homage to the famed Lujian Kingdom, where he saw a completely different scene from Chongming, and that was the true enterprising heart for the Northern Expedition.

He broke his family to help pay, and donated 14 taels of silver. Zhu Yihai admired this volunteer businessman very much, and gave him a Jinshi background and gave him the head of the Ministry of Industry.

Returning to Jiangyin this time was ordered by Chen Qianfu to use his connections in Susongchang Town to assist the Jiangyin uprising.That young man was actually Wang Zhengzhong, the seventh-rank chief of the Northern Expedition Army Supervision Office. This man was the nephew of Wang Zhiren, the Governor of the Beijing Camp.

He is the leader of the action team returning to Jiangyin this time, and Cheng Bi is his deputy.

Their task is not only to lurk in Jiangyin, collect intelligence, but also contact the righteous and loyal ministers to instigate anyway.The development of the current situation in Jiangyin is very beneficial to their work, and they are also mixed in the crowd during the day.

"I still owe a lot of fire." Wang Zhengzhong said, he is proficient in riding and shooting, this time he took the initiative to invite Ying to come.After calmly analyzing the current situation, he believes that most people in Jiangyin City still have a big heart in their hearts, especially the gentry hate hair-shaving orders.

However, there are also some gentry who are weak and afraid of death, and dare not rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Because Su Song's recovery situation is very good recently, some gentry have begun to hesitate and wait and see again. This is a favorable condition.

And Wang Zhongzheng received an order from above that the Northern Expeditionary Army was about to go to Suzhou, hoping that they would instigate an uprising in Jiangyin, create momentum, and contain part of the Qing army.

"The most important thing is, we have to seize the time to pull up our team." Wang Zhengzhong thought we still had to rely on them to push, "Boss Cheng, can you trust the Shao Kanggong you mentioned earlier?"

"Shao Kanggong is a good friend I have known for many years. He is less than 50 years old, skilled in martial arts, and capable of fighting [-] people. His family is also a powerful local family, with many fields and manors, and many servants." Cheng Bi said.

A hero who is capable of defeating 50 people is definitely the bravery of a general. Wang Zhongzheng was very interested when he heard this, "Can you bring me to see you?"

"Why don't I go talk to him first, and test it out. If he is willing to conspire with us, then I will invite him to meet again. In case he hesitates, or surrenders captives secretly, it will not be revealed. you."

"Okay, is there anyone else you can recommend?"

"Xu Guanhai was originally a guerrilla in the Taiping Camp of the Yangtze River Navy. The southern capital died. He once persuaded Liu Kongzhao to stick to the Taiping Mansion. Liu Kongzhao refused to follow the advice and followed him to the east. Later, he persuaded Suzhou to defend, but he still refused. So he resigned and returned to his hometown in Jiangyin. Rehabilitation. Xu Guanhai knows the soldiers, and his brothers, nephews, etc. are all brave and know the soldiers. If there is an incident, he can be the general."

Wang Zhengzhong carefully wrote down their names.

While thinking about it, he picked up a spoon and stirred the stewed meat in the pot next to him. The meat had been stewed for more than an hour, and now it exuded a tempting smell, "Let's eat first, everyone is tired from running around these days, eat more Eat some meat, and then run with more strength."

The men also smiled and took big bowls to hold meat and soup. Some of them were Cheng Bi's servants and men, and some of them were brought by Wang Zhengzhong from the south.

Everyone was happy to eat, so they just sweated and ate it shirtless.

After the meal, Wang Zhengzhong and Cheng Bi had another meeting, "Now the dog official surnamed Fang is hiding in the county government office and dare not come out, and he is taking the strategy of delaying the army. Elder He Mao, and North Gate Ji Shimei and Zhu Sheng Xu Yong are also very appealing."

"Oh, by the way, Yan Yingyuan, the former canon historian, was from Tongzhou. During his tenure as a canon historian in this county, he had quelled salt piracy, pirates, and civil strife. He was very prestigious, and the people even had a portrait of him in the academy as a commemoration.

Previously, Nandu granted him the master book of Yingde County, Shaozhou, Guangdong Province. Because of his mother's serious illness, he was unable to make the trip, and now lives in the outskirts of the city. "

"Is this Yan Dianshi really so powerful?"

As soon as Yan Yingyuan was mentioned, Cheng Bi was also very excited, "You don't know, Mr. Wang. When Yan Dianshi first took office, the pirate Gu Sanmazi led a hundred ships to invade Huangtian Port. Yan Gongdan drove to Huangtian Port on a single horse. He shot three arrows and the arrows hit the pirate. The pirate was terrified. Even Gu Sanmazi admired him so much that he led the thief back. Gu Sanmazi even told Yan Gong that as long as he stayed in Jiangyin for one day, he would never come again. After that, I really didn’t dare to commit any crimes.”

"That's really amazing, such a hero will pay his respects now."

"Looking at the county government office, I guess that the dog official Fang will definitely not want to sit still, and will secretly find a way to report a letter to Changzhou Fucheng for help. As long as we get the letter, we can let everyone see the true colors of the dog official and the thief."

······
In the night, one of Fang Heng's servants quietly climbed over the wall from the backyard. After walking a few steps, he was held down, covered his mouth and nose, dragged back, and quickly disappeared into the night.

In a house on the street, the oil lamp was dim.

Duke Shao Kang brought in the stunned false county magistrate Ding like a chicken. He was tall and burly, like a mountain of meat, and his hands were like cattail fans. No wonder Cheng Bi said that he could fight four or fifty people. This guy can run horses on his arms , A person can stand on his fist.

People had to bend over and bow their heads when they entered the door. Once they entered, the whole room was oppressed by him.

"Fulfilling the mission, the dog official sent someone to report the letter."

Wang Zhengzhong went up and took out the letter from that family Ding's arms. It was Fang Heng's request for help from the fake Changzhou prefect Zong Hao. Sha Shuwei.

"It's a good one to kill Shuwei, this Fang Heng was scared like a chicken and begged for mercy during the day, but now he speaks brazenly."

"With this letter, the next thing will be easier." Wang Zhengzhong thanked Shao Kanggong, "I also ask Chenggong to take me to meet Chen Dianshi."

Chen Mingyu, the history of Jiangyin classics, was originally from Zhejiang.

In the middle of the night, he was still awake, discussing with a group of gentry, Xu Mao and others had agreed to defend the city and reject the captives, but Fang Heng's words during the day made many people waver.

Chen Mingyu's position in the county is history, and he is a low-ranking official, that is, he is not in the ninth rank, and belongs to the low-ranking and low-ranking miscellaneous officials. In the county government, he is in charge of arrests and prisons. .However, although the history of the classics is not popular, in some small counties, there is no master book, or sometimes when the county magistrate is vacant, the duties are the responsibility of the history. Like Cheng and others, they are all court officials who must be selected by the Ministry of Officials and appointed by the emperor.

The people summed up the power in the county. There is a very vivid saying, which is called one county, two officials, three offices and four old books. Nature is classic history.

So don't look at the history of the classics and no grades, in fact, they are the four in command in the county. If they were put in the previous court, they would be the county lieutenant, in charge of the county's public security, and also in charge of the errands of the Minister of Armed Forces. Therefore, the history of the classics can actually be Call yourself an official, not an official.

Chen Mingyu succeeded Yan Yingyuan as the history of the Canon, and he had only been in office for more than a year, but he did a good job and was recognized by the county.

Since the Tartars went south, the original county magistrate and county magistrate ran away, and the chief secretary, Mo Shiying, surrendered. The new county magistrate, Fang Heng, was appointed by the Tartars, so everyone turned to Chen Mingyu for anything.

We are discussing, and the servant will report.

"Huizhou merchants Cheng Bi and Duke Kang Shao came to visit."

Chen Mingyu and others also knew that Cheng Bi was a wealthy businessman, and that he had paid homage to King Yiyang, and donated money to help Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui and others. He was planning an uprising right now, and he was needed, so he got up and went out to meet him in person.

"Cheng pays his respects to Fourth Master!" Cheng Bi cupped his hands.

Chen Mingyu returned the courtesy politely.

"I took the liberty to visit late at night. I hope you will forgive me. It is really important. Please read this letter first." Cheng Bi handed the searched letter to Chen Mingyu.

Chen Mingyu finished reading quickly, frowning.

"Go inside and talk."

After entering the house, Chen Mingyu only thought that Wang Zhengzhong was the follower of Cheng Bi and Shao Kanggong, and didn't pay much attention.

"Fang Heng is determined to be a villain, so he can no longer hesitate. There is no turning back when he shoots the bow." Wang Zhengzhong said bluntly.

"Who is this?" From what he said, Chen Mingyu felt that this young man didn't look like Cheng Bi's follower.

Just as Cheng Bi was about to answer, Wang Zhengzhong cupped his hands and introduced himself, "My lord, Wang Zhengzhong, Juren, was originally the magistrate of Cixi County granted by the State of Lu Jian, and is now the head of the Ministry of War. This time, under the order of the State of Jian, he went north to Jiangyin to contact righteous deeds. "

"Guardian Lu?"

Chen Mingyu and others were a little surprised. After all, Jiangyin and Chongming were separated by a river, and they were very close. Everyone is more familiar with King Yiyang, but King Lu of eastern Zhejiang is not very impressed.

"Jianguo's [-] troops from the Northern Expedition have recovered Songjiahu, and General Zhu Wu, the admiral of Jiangnan, has already led his troops to Suzhou."

"Wasn't Admiral Huang Fei and Su Song's commander-in-chief Wu Zhikui attacking Suzhou?"

"It is true that Huang and Wu will attack Suzhou, but Admiral Zhu has already led his army to the city of Suzhou."

This news made Chen Mingyu and other people in the small county startled, and the situation changed too fast.

"What does Master Wang want us to do?" Chen Mingyu quickly came to his senses.

(End of this chapter)