1627 Rise of the South China Sea

On April 1657, [-], the county seat of Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture.

County magistrate Qian Wenxian was awakened from his sleep by the yamen servant, rubbed his red and swollen eyes, saw that the house was still lit and the sky was still dark outside, so he asked impatiently: "What's the matter?"

The yamen servant reported in a low voice: "My lord, Wang Qianhu from Wujin County, General Qin from Liyang, and Master Liao from Jintan County have all come to the yamen to urge food!"

Qian Wenxian sighed heavily, and slowly got up from the chair.He was dealing with official business here last night, and he was very sleepy while sitting, and he didn't know when he fell asleep.But when these foreign military officers came to the door, it should be in the first half of the night, and I thought I didn't sleep for too long.

In fact, this state of lack of sleep has already started about ten days ago.

At that time, news came out from Hangzhou that the Daming factory guard had accidentally assassinated a high-ranking official of the Haihan executive committee in Hangzhou and was arrested.

Once the two countries go to war, Yixing County, which is located at the junction of the two countries' control areas, will inevitably bear the brunt of the war.

However, there are less than 2000 troops stationed in Yixing County on weekdays, and there are less than [-] militiamen in the county. It is absolutely impossible to stop Haihan's offensive. Started to raise money and food, and recruited civilian husbands.

But the panic caused by the war was far more effective than the few notices posted by the county government. Soon there were crowds of fleeing people near the county town, which also made the preparations for the war in Yixing County not go smoothly.

However, the response from above was quick. Within a few days, troops from other places came to Yixing County for reinforcements one after another.

At first, Qian Wenxian was delighted by this, thinking that this would greatly relieve the pressure on Yixing County.But soon he discovered that the actual situation was not as simple as he thought. Yixing County not only had to deal with the coming Haihan army, but also had to deal with the food, drink, lodging and other strange demands of these foreign Ming troops. .

After these troops arrived in Yixing, most of them would ask Qian Wenxian for money and food on the grounds that "they were ordered to dispatch urgently, but the imperial court has not yet allocated combat supplies".

For this family, Qian Wenxian gritted his teeth and could still cope with it with the capital of the county grain depot and treasury.But every Ming army that came later had this charter, and he really couldn't bear it.

Moreover, when the generals and lieutenants of the reinforcements from all walks of life arrived here, they had to arrange decent accommodation. Qian Wenxian could only mobilize the big families in the county to make room for these military officers to live temporarily.

In the last two or three days, more and more Ming army troops have arrived in Yixing County. The county is already overcrowded, and groups of Ming troops are everywhere inside and outside the city.The supply of various living materials has also begun to become more and more tense.

Some Ming troops who could not obtain supplies in time began to take measures on their own to "raise" money, food and civilian husbands from surrounding villages and towns.

Although Qian Wenxian didn't want to see such a troubled place appear in his own jurisdiction, the military officers led by each Ming army were at least at the fifth rank, which made it difficult for him, a small seventh rank magistrate. Have the confidence to accuse the military officers for their actions.

Besides, he really couldn't meet the demands of these generals, if he didn't turn a blind eye to these actions, what could he do?

Qian Wenxian came to the hall, bowed to several military officers waiting here, and said, "My lords are visiting the county government late at night, what is the urgent matter?"

A bearded military officer said: "Master Qian, I have been waiting for your money and food for two days, but you can tell me when it will be delivered?"

Another thin-faced and dark-skinned military officer continued: "Lord Qian, the vanguard battalion of the Haihan Army has entered Yixing County, and it may arrive at the county seat in a few hours. If you want the brothers to risk their lives to defend the city, Then you have to come up with something good to motivate everyone. I don’t need to explain such a simple truth, right?”

The last person who spoke was a burly military officer, and his tone was even more blunt: "This place in Yixing County is safe to defend. If it weren't for the orders from the superiors, who would come here to face the Haihan Army head-on? I think that since Mr. Qian is not in the mood to organize resistance, everyone should retreat earlier, keep our strength and fight the next battle!"

Qian Wenxian said anxiously: "Everyone, it's not that Qian is reluctant to give up money and food, but the inventory has been exhausted, and Qian is still organizing various parties to raise money. Please wait another day!"

The bearded military officer said: "Wait one more day? The Haihan army is about to hit the county seat, and you are still thinking about how to delay money and food. If I had known this, I would not have brought troops to Yixing!"

Qian Wenxian said: "I heard that Mr. Liao sent troops to raise food early in the morning, so he must have gained something, right?"

The bearded military officer's face sank and he said: "What a fart! After walking for more than two hours to get to Fudong Town, the Haihan Army arrived before we started to do business! Not to mention wasting time, it also cost me a lot of money." Number ten is there!"

The black-skinned officer next to him sneered and said, "Lord Liao is always brave, since he ran into him in Fudong Town, he must have taught the Haihan people a lesson!"

The bearded man stared and said: "That's natural! I took my soldiers and killed three in and three out of Fudong Town, and killed the Haihan army until they retreated in one breath! If it wasn't for the fact that Fudong Town was too small to defend, the local I don't have enough supplies, so I don't plan to withdraw back to the county."

The Zhuang Shuo officer boasted without losing the opportunity: "Master Liao is so powerful, then it is up to Master Liao to fight against the Haihan army!"

Whether Liao was really able to kill the Haihan army to retreat in Fudong Town, in fact, everyone knew very well.If he had such abilities, how could he condescend to be a small lieutenant in Jintan County? He should have been promoted by the Ministry of War to be a commander long ago.

The Haihan army was about to approach the city, and no one was willing to take the initiative to jump out to lead the battle. This surnamed Liao actually boasted for the sake of face, so Wang Qianhu and General Qin put him on the fire and roasted him in a tacit understanding.

Seeing that he was about to lose his place, the bearded man quickly turned back to the previous topic: "If you want to fight the Haihan army, you still need enough money and food...Master Qian, you should quickly think of a way to get the money and food we need. Give it first!"

Qian Wenxian groaned secretly in his heart, so he could only promise in a low voice that if he visited every big family in the county after dawn, he would definitely be able to raise money and food.

In any case, these debt collectors were finally sent away.

In Yixing County, Qian Wenxian has gone through all the places where there is money and food in the past few days, but the effect is not satisfactory.Now the town of Fudong in the south has fallen, and the Haihan army is approaching in no time, but the defenders are still threatening the county government with a strike. Can this county really be able to hold on?
It seems that he is really thinking too much to expect a foreign military attache like Liao Dazi to work for Yixing County.If I had known this before, I might as well not have moved the rescuers, and waited for the Haihan army to come and surrender directly. Maybe the loss would be smaller.

Thinking of this, Qian Wenxian felt his head hurt even more.