Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 716 Preparations for Sanliang City
The stewards were all stunned. The Luo family probably thought that it was because of their family background. Even if they became a gentleman, the head of the family would be cruel and ruthless. He has done more than once to kill his opponents. As for setting up a private court, lynching, torture and detaining a few mud legs is really nothing.Tens of miles away, who doesn't know that the Luo family's reminder office is a "Hall of the King of Hell" and a "Second Yamen".

"Master! This, isn't it too cheap for them!" Fan Import, the steward of the Western Side Hospital, started to eat, "Will this damage the prestige of our Luo family..."

"If you tell me to release him, let him go, you are the master or I am the master."

"The younger ones don't dare, the younger ones don't dare," Luo Jin saw Luo Tianqiu's expressionless face, and knew that the quieter he spoke, the more likely he would have an attack at any time.Hurry up and crawl to let people go.

After a while, hundreds of people were released from the questioning station—the number was too many, Luo Tianqiu remained silent, knowing that many of them were captured privately by his subordinates.All the capable attendants in charge are lawless in this area, some are private money lenders, some gather for gambling, and some arrange lawsuits...all of them are not good.Luo Tianqiu has always adhered to the idea that he eats meat and his servants drink soup, as long as they don't cause trouble, let them go. Sometimes when things get into trouble with the government, he will personally post a post and send a bond to protect the slaves.In the past, he didn't think it was a big deal: A few mud legs are afraid that they will make trouble?The official is that he has settled everything, and he has no money or power, and he can't win a lawsuit for 100 years.Even in times of famine, he is not afraid of making troubles. He has more than 100 family members alone, and there are also Xiangyong in Sanliang City. He can suppress small-scale riots by himself. They couldn't attack at all, and they were wiped out by officers and soldiers in a short time.

But now here comes this group of Australians.He heard a lot about the Australians from the county, and he knew that they were not too late to be soft and hard, they would not enter with oil and salt, and it was easy to attack cities and villages, and they were particularly good at "attracting traitors".The Luo family has forged a lot of grudges, large and small, around them over the years. It would be troublesome if a few traitors came out to incite the Australians to attack Sanliang City.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help showing an unhappy expression.He even had a feeling that the foundations under his feet were shaking.However, at this time he is neither inconvenient nor unable to have a seizure.After all, his family has been doing this for a hundred years, and if there is a master, there must be a servant.Luo Tianqiu was very clear on this point.

Thinking of this, he hated Kun Bandit more and more. Kun Bandit was like a violent hurricane, blowing the tall buildings built by his family for generations to crumbling.And the people in this building may also have a different heart, and if there is a slight fluctuation, they will run away one by one.

Seeing that everyone has almost left, several servants are cleaning up.Suddenly there was a loud noise outside, shouting and shouting, and everyone was puzzled.Only the roar of Luo Baiwei, the leader of the servants, was heard, and a woman's voice was also mixed in:
"...Why do you arrest people..."

Luo Tianqiu was about to ask someone to ask questions, when suddenly the gate of the West Side Courtyard opened, and a large group of people poured in.More than [-] family members Xiangyong, all armed with knives, guns and sticks, stared at the tiger.Others lead horses and carry burdens.Among the four or five people who came in, their clothes were torn, and some had blood on their faces.

The leader of these people is an old man in his fifties, not tall and not strong, but he looks strong, although he is pushed and shoved by others, his footwork is extremely stable, he looks like a martial arts practitioner.It's just that his complexion is sallow and he is out of breath, as if he is ill.

Supporting him was a young woman with a handsome appearance.A tight jacket and narrow skirt that ordinary women don't wear.Several pieces of the clothes had been torn off, revealing the close-fitting jacket inside, which was densely covered with stitches.Luo Tianqiu knew that for women who traveled long distances, their close-fitting jackets and trousers were sewn to death with needles and threads to prevent being raped on the road.The other men and women were all in short attire, and looked capable.Seeing that they had horses and a lot of guys with swords and guns, Luo Tianqiu already understood—this is a group of people who run horses and sell solutions.

Luo Baiwei probably didn't expect to see the master in the west side courtyard, so he couldn't help being taken aback.Quickly kneel down and say hello.

"These people, what's going on?"

"Back to the master!" Luo Baiwei stood up and said, "This group came to the town to race horses and sell the solution! They lived in the inn. They got sick two months ago and spent all their money. The horses and luggage were mortgaged, and I borrowed four taels of silver from the money shop, and promised to pay it off in two months, but I haven't paid back a single penny..."

"You're talking nonsense!" the young woman said angrily, "The principal has already been paid off, and the interest is calculated on one basis today and the next on the other. We gave you all the money we spent on performing arts every day, but you always said it wasn't enough, and instead kept getting more and more... "

"How dare you speak hard!" Luo Baiwei yelled angrily, his forehead was bruised, he probably suffered a disadvantage, "I will strip you naked in a while and ask carefully!"

Probably frightened by the words "stripped naked and asked", the woman's tone softened, but she still refused to accept: "The sky is bright and the sky is clear, you insult people's innocence! The government can tolerate you, but God can't tolerate you!"

Because the master was present, Luo Baiwei was inconvenient to yell and reprimand, but he just told Luo Tianqiu that since they didn't pay off the interest, they would take the horse's luggage as a pawn.Unexpectedly, this group of entertainers were so resolute that they wanted to sneak away early this morning.It was discovered by Xiangyong who was guarding the gate of the village, and the two sides won all after a fight.

"...If you owe money, you will run away secretly, and if you fail to escape, you will beat people! That's why the little one took them all and brought them here, and taught them some rules!" Luo Baiwei said meritoriously.

Luo Tianqiu knew that the truth here was nothing more than money shops playing tricks to exploit and bully outsiders.Needless to say, even though this Mongolian horse alone is not considered a steed, it can be worth six to seventy taels of silver in this land of Guangdong.This kind of usury and plundering is not surprising, and he never asks about it.However, today is already showing mercy, so there is no harm in showing mercy again.

"Let him go." Luo Tianqiu said expressionlessly.

"Master——" Luo Baiwei glanced at Luo Tianqiu, knowing that the master didn't want to say it a second time, he quickly made a gesture to ask someone to untie the captured man.

Luo Baiwei was not willing to end like this: "Ma has to stay."

"Horses are people's rice bowls, so give them back." Luo Tianqiu said, "Since the principal has been paid off, the interest is ignored!"

All the servants were stunned for a moment, wondering if the master had taken some wrong medicine, and he was so merciful today - you must know that he personally went to seal the door and arrested the whole family of several tenants who refused to pay the rent In the interrogation center, all kinds of torture were put in place, several of them were killed or maimed.Why did you suddenly switch sex today?
While being surprised, the woman suddenly let out a scream.It turned out that the old man, who had been tied up all this time, was untied and fainted.

"Father—", "Master—"

Several men and women swarmed on the fainted old man, crying and shouting.

"Bastard!" Luo Baiwei was furious and wanted to hit someone again.

"Slow down!" Luo Tianqiu stopped him, and he looked at these people thoughtfully.

After Luo Tianqiu came out of the west courtyard, he went to the regiment training office in the city to check Xiangyong's weapons and training.If Daming had the "Special Activity for Grassroots Group Training Construction Evaluation", Sanliang City would definitely win the title of No. [-] in Dongguan County.

In accordance with the "Notice on Strengthening the Construction of Group Training in the Whole Province" issued by the Governor's Office of Zhaoqing, the "Guiding Opinions on the Construction of Group Training in the Province" issued by the Governor's Office in the provincial capital, and the "Outline for the Construction of Group Training in Our County" issued by the county office According to the guiding spirit of these three documents, Sanliang City's team training construction can be said to be at the forefront of the county.

Of course, there are no documents with these three names in this time and space, but there are still proclamations and letters with similar contents.The letter sent from the governor’s yamen explained in detail how each village should organize group training: every household’s 16-60-year-old males must be registered in the register, and one out of three males will be drawn to participate in standing military training. Families with fewer males can Several recommended Yiding.A chief should play the role of "vanguard and model", that is to say, each chief should act as a "training head" and personally lead the brave Ding to fight.Every village and town must set up a public office, and the local gentry will serve as the head of the public office.The village braves have to practice every day, patrol during the day, and stand guard at night to strictly monitor the surrounding rivers and roads.At the same time, the communication signals between the villages were stipulated. One whistle was to remind the villages of suspicious equipment, two whistles meant that the thieves were coming, and three whistles meant that the enemy had arrived.

All the villages along the coast and the river have to build fortifications, and the drawings and standards of the fortifications have also been sent to the various offices.Roughly, deep ditches and high embankments are required. The ditch must be 12 feet deep and 20 feet wide.The embankments are 30 feet high, and wherever possible, bamboo fences are installed on the embankments. The bamboo fences must be at least 6 feet high and must be tapered at the top.Wherever a wall is to be built, the height of the wall shall not be less than 12 feet, and the thickness shall not be less than 12 inches.Suspension bridges should be erected on the ditch to facilitate people's access.Those who build fences or walls need to build guarded gates for access and other details.

There are 300 Dianxiangyong mastered by Tuanlian Gong in Sanliang City.In addition to the servants and servants of the big families in the town, there are more than 500 people who can fight at any time.These people practice every day, and they still have one tael of silver per month to settle down. Although they have never seen a battle, their morale is very strong.

In addition to this group of people, if necessary, all the males aged 16 to 60 in the city are armed, and there are still hundreds of people who can guard the village.As for weapons such as knives, guns, bows and arrows, the office has a lot of reserves, and the blacksmith shop can continue to build them.

Sanliang City bought a few cannons from the county. Later, Luo Tianqiu felt that the cannons in the county were too poor in quality and expensive, so he simply bought iron materials and asked the town's blacksmith to cast the cannons himself.Forty or fifty cannons, large and small, were also built.Put it on the wall everywhere.Many single-eyed and three-eyed guns were also made.Here is close to Macau, and Luo Tianqiu also got several Portuguese matchlock guns from Guangzhou.

It's just that there is no armor - this thing is forbidden, even the Luo family doesn't have the guts to hide it.If it is made of cotton armor, it is really impossible to wear it in Guangdong most of the time.But Luo Tianqiu didn't care if he had armor or not.The terrain here is complex and watery, and it is inconvenient to fight in armor.

As for ditches, fences and walls, Sanliang City had already prepared for it, repaired and strengthened it from time to time, and collected money from the whole town to build four strong watchtowers.The base of this watchtower is all made of stones to prevent being dug. The upper floor is made of blue bricks. Except for a little wood on the top, all stones and masonry are used.There are wells in the watchtower, and food, weapons, and gunpowder are stored. Not only can you look down and bombard the attacking pirates and bandits, but if the town is breached, people can go in to avoid it and continue to hold on.

Luo Tianqiu came forward and formed a joint guarantee with several nearby villages, saying that there would be an early warning in one place, and reinforcements would come from everywhere.Because Sanliang City has a strong army and horses, the nearby villages are willing to form friendship with him.Therefore, more than a dozen surrounding villages are "jointly guaranteed" with Sanliang City.Once something happens, each village can gather thousands of people.

Although this arrangement is not impenetrable, it is considered one of the best in Dongguan County.He talked with the gentry who served as committee members in the public office, met the leaders of the village braves and the nephews of various families, and said some words of encouragement.In the end, I met with Luo Heying alone and told him to go to the county to lead Xiangyong tomorrow.When Luo Heying heard about such a good deed, he thanked the clan uncle again and again, and said a basketful of flattering words.

Although it seems that there is nothing to worry about in Sanliang City.The only thing that worries Luo Tianqiu is that there are not many people who can lead Xiangyong to fight.The public has hired someone like Xiangyong coach, but this coach suddenly died of a sudden illness last month.There is no replacement yet.Among the children of the big gentry families, there are a few who can wield guns and wield sticks and fight bravely, but they have not experienced any real battles-just being able to fight is not enough to lead the country to fight.As for the leaders of Xiangyong, most of them are servants of various families, and they may not have much real ability.He was really worried that there was no experienced martial artist with actual combat experience in the lead.

"A month's price of 18 taels of silver was offered, but quite a few people came," Yuan Kaibang, a member of the regiment training committee of the office and a squire from the town, sighed, "I can't do archery even if I try it. Everyone is just making a living. waste."

Yuan Kaibang was also a martial arts talent—but the martial arts examinations in the late Ming Dynasty were a mere formality, and there was a lot of vain fame.Generally speaking, it is not difficult for a son of a rich and powerful gentry to spend a few dollars to get a reputation as a martial arts scholar or martial arts examiner.

He's not just famous, at least his big sword kung fu has been taught by a famous teacher since he was a child, and he is quite skillful when he wields it.And quite a brave and not afraid of death.He shot to fame a few years ago after killing three men in a skirmish with a small group of water bandits.Therefore, Yuan Kaibang was quite complacent, calling himself the "Great Wall" of Sanliang City.He is domineering in the town, and even the members of the Luo family have to be courteous to him.

Luo Heying often had conflicts with the two men in the team training bureau, and Luo Tianqiu recommended him to the county team training bureau, even if supporting him also included separating the two rivals.So as not to increase the friction.

To be a coach of Xiangyong, you must not only be able to lead Xiangyong to fight, but also have high martial arts skills. You must be able to use all kinds of weapons, and the most important thing is waist knives and infantry skills.Xiangyong generally does not need to fight in formation, the most important thing is small group melee and defending the stockade.Among them, guarding the village is the most important thing, and bows and arrows are the primary weapons of the village braves.

But the general Jianghu martial arts masters are not good at juggling with knives and guns, but their rifle shooting skills are not good enough.Even escorts skilled in actual combat, due to the nature of bodyguards, mostly use small bows, small arrows and slingshots with little lethality, and few people are skilled in infantry strong bows.After several months of recruiting in the public office, I still haven't found a suitable one.

"Is anyone still there?"

"Stay in the inn and wait for your old man to make a decision." Yuan Kaibang blinked a pair of small eyes, "Shibo, you said that now is the time for employing people, even if they are not suitable, you can keep them."

Luo Tianqiu said: "As long as there are real talents, we will keep a few. Each person is eight taels per month, and the board and lodging are all paid by the office."

"Okay, it must be done."

"Okay, okay." The other members of the training bureau also echoed.The committee members of the regiment training bureau are all big squires in this town. They have always followed Luo's family, and Luo Tianqiu will do what he says, especially now that the invasion of the thieves is imminent. Everyone counts on Luo Tianqiu to be the "mainstay". All of his requests were approved.

Luo Tianqiu then discussed the expenses of the office with a few committee members. Now that there are many village braves, they also need to manufacture and buy weapons and gunpowder, and also need to build various fortifications, which is extremely expensive.There is not much left in the villages and towns of the regiment training money collected by the county.For this reason, Luo Tianqiu proposed to charge an additional group training fee.

All the committee members looked at each other in blank dismay. The county already had a heavy burden of collecting three cents of silver per mu, and it was very painful for everyone to collect money and grain.However, no one dared to come out to refute Luo Tianqiu's meaning.

Looking at the faces of the crowd with Huang Lian in their mouth but not daring to say bitterness, Luo Tianqiu sneered and said, "Who do you think this money is for? Who owns this Sanliang City? I want the townspeople to work hard." , to fight a war, how can it be done without money to feed it?"

"One or two a month is not too little."

"One or two taels a month will require you to go into battle with a knife, are you willing?" Luo Tianqiu said, "There is nothing wrong with peace, one tael a month, when the thieves really come, no one may be willing to fight if you pay ten taels of silver. The mud legs are just a cheap life, you are all people with families and businesses, once the village is destroyed, all of them will be reduced to fly ash. Who will account for it?"

Everyone dared not speak.This is of course true.However, since last year, various big households have been "consensualized" again and again, and several big households feel sorry for money, and their money is getting tighter and tighter.That's why Luo Tianqiu didn't mention any "encouragement" at all, and directly asked for additional money and food per mu of land.

In the end, the big households still agreed: in Sanliang City, for each mu of land, Tuan Ding money will be collected according to the standard of [-] ren for high-grade land, [-] ren for middle-class land, and [-] ren for low-grade land.

(End of this chapter)