Republic of China 1927

() In the next few days, Du Yan, who originally wanted to enjoy the treatment of the young master at home, was very busy.On the one hand, the end of the new year is approaching, and the storekeepers and managers appointed by the Du family have come back to report the business situation of the year. They also started preparing for the new year's goods, and Du Yan had to take care of them one by one. The local bigwigs, after all, will rely on him to support the Du family in the future.

Besides, what worried Young Master Du the most was the town's defense.Although the Du family has many properties in various places, the Daguan Town at the foot of Yishan Mountain is the foundation of the Du family. However, the security situation of this Daguan Town is currently worrying.Apart from a dissatisfied infantry company in the huge town, the official strength is only a dozen or so police officers from the Daguan Branch of the Police Bureau, and this strength is only to maintain order inside and outside the town.

Since the "Dog Meat General" Zhang Zongchang Dulu, the people of Shandong have been extorted and the number of troops has been expanded one after another. However, the situation in Shandong, especially the public security situation, is gradually deteriorating, and banditry in various places is becoming more and more serious. In the hardest-hit areas, there are dozens of groups on the top of the mountain where hundreds or thousands of people gather, and there are even more people with less than a hundred people.Not to mention other places, there are dozens of bandits, big and small, on Yishan Mountain alone, and it is definitely not a minority who want to attack Daguan Town.The key to Daguan Town's ability to maintain its current situation lies in the fact that the Du family has a bit of face and prestige in Luzhong, but how long will the so-called "face" last for more and more chaos this year!

A certain squire in a certain village was exterminated, the whole village of a certain village was looted, a certain town was breached and a certain number of meat tickets were taken away, and even a certain county was besieged..., this kind of news is getting more and more at the end of the year. There were more and more unfamiliar faces around Daguan Town, which made Du Yan anxious.Officers?There is no hope at all. It would be good if the remaining useless infantry company is not transferred. Besides, do you dare to ask for a few more companies of the Lu army?Moreover, according to the news from the newspapers and the Du family's eyeliner, the Zhi-Shandong Allied Forces are gathering in various places and preparing to go south to support the precarious Sun Chuanfang.

"Thirty or so available for the family members of the Du family and the nursing home." In the study room, Du Yan wrote silently on a piece of rice paper.As the first household in Daguan Town and even Linqu County to establish a foothold at the foot of Yishan Mountain, it is not enough to rely on strong financial resources and a reputation for good deeds. The addition of the family members and nurses of the Du family in various industries may add up to nearly a hundred people. There are about 30 people in Daguan Town alone.Although these people can't be said to be all masters, they can be regarded as top-notch choices. With more than a dozen shell guns and more than 20 steel guns, Du Yan is confident that with these 30 people relying on the Du family's old house, he can wait for 200 people Can't get in either.

"The Chamber of Commerce and Merchant Group, there are 54 on the roster, but there are actually [-] people." The Merchant Group is the arm of the Chamber of Commerce in the town, and the equipment costs are provided by the Chamber of Commerce. With professional weapons, you can get four or five dollars a month in salary, barely enough to support your family, and your combat effectiveness is very low.

"The militia group has eighty in the town, forty in Liujiaji, and fifteen in Qiangou Village..." Compared with the nursing home and the business group, the militia is purely amateur armed, scattered and stationed in more than ten villages in Daguan Town, with a large number of people There are two to three hundred people, but the equipment, training, and supplies are in a mess. Not to mention those outside the town, the militia in the town has a total of more than a dozen steel guns, and the rest are only guns, broadswords, and red-tasseled guns. They only gather once or twice a month. It's just a simple training day...

"Small groups of bandits shouldn't be a big problem, but a large group of bandits, or even a large group of routs, cannot be defended by the town." Du Yan thought after taking stock.

"Young Master, Young Master, the guests are almost here!" Lai Fu outside the door carefully reminded.

"Understood, I'll be there right away." Du Yan quickly wrote something on the paper, looked at it and left the study with a stack.

At the moment, the living room of Du's house was full of guests and very lively. Zhang Siyou, the mayor and head of the militia, Zhu Lianchang of the town's garrison, Director Lu of the police branch, several leading figures of the chamber of commerce, and several villages near the town. The elders and big households were all present, and Wang Donglou, the housekeeper of the Du family, Yuan Si, the head of the nursing home, and several other shopkeepers who had rushed back from other places accompanied them.

"This big family is different." A visitor whispered to the people around him. Those who can participate in this gathering are all big figures inside and outside the town, but under the current situation, it is not bad for these individuals to have enough food and clothing.

"That's right, it's warm in this room." The other party loosened his collar and responded, "There's also this tea, which is the best Longjing tea!"

"The tea is good tea, but I don't know why Mr. Du invited us here?" Another guest asked suspiciously: "In the past, it was made in the town. Why did you come to Du's mansion this time?"

"What are you doing so leisurely? There is a hot stove leaning on you, and you are drinking fragrant tea. Maybe you can have dinner in the evening. The dishes in the Du Mansion are the best of ours!" said a member of the chamber of commerce. The owner said with a smile that he knew a little about the details. It is said that Mr. Du is going to let Xian go, so he should just invite the leading figures in the town to let him know.

"Here we come, here we come..." Before the people in the living room waited too long, a burly young man walked in quickly. Zhang Siyou, the mayor, and Zhu Qigui, the company commander, greeted them one after another, exchanging warm greetings. .

After a while, the housekeeper Wang Donglou said loudly: "Everyone, be quiet, be quiet."

When the living room was quiet, Wang Donglou let Du Yan into the middle of the living room, and introduced respectfully: "This is the young master of our Du family. He has just returned from studying in the United States. From now on, the youngest will be the master of the Du family's affairs."

"Hello, Young Master Du!"

"it is good!"

"Master Du is young and promising!"

…………

Everyone in the living room said politely.

"Everyone, everybody!" Du Yan pressed his hands to signal everyone to calm down and said, "I, Du Yan, welcome all seniors to come to my humble house in your busy schedule. If you don't see me, please call me Guanghua!"

"Today, I invite all the sages in the town to visit Du's house. The first is to get to know you. In the future, I will rely on you for many things." Du Yan politely cupped his hands and said: "In the future, if there is something that is not in place, I will still be there. Please mention more."

"Young Master Du, not only Brother Guanghua, but you are also too polite. If you have anything to ask, just ask!" The mayor, Zhang Siyou, replied on behalf of everyone: "On weekdays, we have not received less favors from Master Du and the family."

"Brother Guanghua, don't be polite!" Company Commander Zhu Qigui also said carelessly: "We will definitely follow your lead, brother!"

Seeing the town's military and political leaders express their views, the rest of the people expressed that they would continue to unite around the Du family headed by the new leader, and contribute to the harmony, prosperity, and stability of Daguan Town.

After exchanging pleasantries, Du Yan was quite satisfied, at least in face, the Du family's position in Daguan Town was considered extremely stable.

"There is one more important matter to discuss with everyone today." After everyone sat down again, Du Yan said loudly: "It concerns the safety of our Daguan Town."

"The safety of Daguan Town, hasn't Daguan Town been quite peaceful in recent years!" A businessman in the town asked puzzledly, what he wanted to say was that the soldiers stationed in Jinan City were even more terrifying to them. Some, the apportionment of taxes is enough to make ordinary merchants bankrupt.

"Yeah, at least it's peaceful for now." Director Lu echoed, saying that the law and order is quite high in Linqu.

"Really?" Du Yan said with a sneer: "On October [-]th, Majiazhuang was attacked by bandits. Three people were killed and five days were injured."

"On November [-]rd, the Pan family's caravan was robbed at the foot of Mount Yi. One person was killed and two were injured, and all property was looted."

"On December [-]th, the youngest son of Deng Caidong's family in Zhenxi was kidnapped and spent a thousand oceans to redeem him."

"Director Lu, what I said is not wrong!" Picking up a piece of paper, Du Yan stared at Director Lu after reading the last few articles and said: "This is what you said is very peaceful!"

"This, this..." Director Lu said hesitantly.

"Brother Guanghua, these small groups of bandits are hard to guard against!" Seeing Director Lu's embarrassment, Zhu Qigui hastily said.

"Small group of bandits, maybe!" Du Yan took out another piece of paper and muttered: "On August 300th, Baligou was looted by bandits, and more than [-] people were killed or injured in the whole village; on September [-]th, Dongmiao Town was breached. More than a dozen prominent figures in the town were kidnapped; at the end of October, Yishui County was besieged by bandits, Chengguan Town was burned to the ground, and the loss was huge..."

"This is a small group of bandits?" Du Yan raised the paper in his hand and said, "Everyone, these are lessons from the past!"

"Guanghua, you are worrying too much!" Zhu Qigui stood up and said proudly: "My company's troops are not vegetarians, and there are also Linqu and Yidu who have stationed troops, and they can come to help in a few days!"

"Commander Zhu is brave, but your company only has dozens of people, and there are no fewer than ten thousand bandits inside and outside Yishan!" Du Yan smiled at Zhu Qigui and said approvingly: "As for the reinforcements, don't even count on them. Fighting against the Southern Democratic Party, all over the country are gathering troops, it will be good if the company of Commander Zhu is not transferred!"

"There are hundreds of militiamen in our town, and it's barely enough to deal with the bandits." Zhang Siyou asked hesitantly.

"The current militia is useless!" Du Yan pushed back without any politeness.

"It's an impromptu convening again. It can't be practiced several times a month. It's quite scattered. As for the weapons and equipment, it's even worse." Du Yan said arrogantly again: "My thirty family members of the Du family can overwhelm them in one round."

"It can be said that our Daguan Town is in danger all the time!" Du Yan looked around the crowd and said, "There have been a few bandit spies wandering around outside the town recently, do you have any good suggestions..."

Then everyone began to discuss in a low voice, and made some suggestions, but they were not reliable, so they rejected it.

"Guanghua, don't embarrass us. If you have any good suggestions, just say it!" The mayor Zhang Siyou took the lead and said, "I, Zhang Siyou, will definitely support it!"

"Yes, Guanghua, don't hide it." Zhu Qigui said anxiously: "Everyone will definitely support you."

"We will follow the example of Young Master Du!" Everyone said one after another.

"Since everyone loves me, I'll throw bricks to attract jade." Du Yan winked, and Yuan Si and Wang Donglou took out a stack of materials from Du Yan's hands and handed them down to everyone.

"Suggestions on Strengthening the Defense of Daguan Town", the material that Du Yan spent two nights in a hurry to combine with explicit or secret information, was distributed to everyone.

"it is good!"

"It's really well-founded!"

"How strong are the bandits on Mount Yi!"

…………

This proposal is well-founded and even has a simple sketch. It looks clear at a glance. Although the data may not be accurate, it is very informative.

"The vigilante has become a permanent member. The first phase alone requires 150 people. This is not a small amount of food!" Shopkeeper Lin of the chamber of commerce was the first to question.

"It's not a big problem. Originally, the business group of the Chamber of Commerce was abolished and merged into the militia. The Du family also sent ten people to join the militia. In this way, the food and wages of 90 people will be settled. The extra 60 people will be supported by the chamber of commerce and the town. Of course. I, the Du family, will be solely responsible for the shortcomings."

"That's good, that's good!" It's not a problem to support three or two hundred people with the Du family's financial resources, and shopkeeper Lin didn't say much after hearing the words.

"It's just that it's hard to decide on the leader of the militia." Zhang Siyou said in embarrassment. It turned out that it didn't matter if the militia was also the head of the militia.

"If you have no objections, Du will be reluctant to take this position. After all, I have also studied military affairs in the United States for several years!" Du Yan said without hesitation: "Any other questions you can ask together?"

Everyone dared to say more after hearing the rumors, but only discussed insignificant details.

"Everyone, Master Du has prepared a sumptuous dinner for everyone in the mansion tonight, please come!" Finally, the words of the housekeeper Wang made everyone feel amnesty. As for the safety of Daguan Town, I will leave it to Master Du. It's okay for everyone not to fall, but if the Du family falls, I'm afraid there will be nothing to play, so what should I do?