Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 193 Spying
"Come out! We have more people than you. Put down your weapons and don't kill!" When Funyanga was still in extreme shock, a young voice speaking Manchu sounded from the opposite side.

"Who are you?! How dare you kill the officers and soldiers!" Funyan'a said loudly.

"You are not the first and you will not be the last. There is no way out for you. Surrender and we will treat the wounded."

"Fart!" Funyan was furious. "My subordinates are almost killed by you, who are you lying to?!"

"Isn't there a panting one? You don't care if he lives or dies?"

Funyan'a turned his head to look at the man who had been shot in the abdomen, and saw that he was leaning against a tree and humming miserably, his breath weak.Funyan was struggling, when he heard a "clang", followed by a very familiar voice.

"The hero spares his life! The villain is willing to surrender!"

"Irahan!" Funyan'a didn't expect that his most alert subordinate was still alive.

"Raise your hands, put your head in your hands, and come out!" The man on the other side shouted sharply.

Funyan'a leaned over to look from the side of the rock, and saw Irahan walking out from behind the big tree tremblingly with his hands up and his head in his arms.

"The man with the bow, and the musketeer, what about you two?" The Manchu voice sounded again. "Stop dawdling, we have more people than you. Hurry up!"

As soon as the words fell, the musketeer hiding behind the tree shouted: "The villain is also willing to surrender!" After speaking, he threw out the blunderbuss in his hand.

Seeing the end of the matter, Funiyanga let out a long sigh, threw out the bow and arrow in his hand helplessly, then got up and raised his hands, and hugged his head like Iraqan.
A quarter of an hour later, Funyan'a and the other three were tied up and knelt on the ground, looking up at the attackers in front of them.At this moment, they already knew that there were ten people in total.

These people wore straw hats made of branches on their heads, and strange colorful clothes on their bodies. Even half of their faces were covered with a black and green cloth scarf, so they couldn't see their faces clearly at all.In addition to holding a strange black short gun in their hands, each of them also carried a strangely shaped long bird gun on their backs.

The three of Funiyang and A looked at each other, thinking that it was no wonder that I hadn't noticed them for a long time, and they just hid in the bushes in this outfit, as long as they stayed still, they would not be noticed at all.

As for the Manchu-speaking man who was treating the armored soldier who had been shot in the abdomen with another person at the moment, the man asked his wounded subordinate: "Life is big enough. If I, Ama, were here, all of you would die." Can't live. What's your name?"

"Ah, ah, Alin." The wounded soldier's face was pale at the moment, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Oh, how many people are there in your family?"

"Six!" The armored soldier named A Lin screamed, and the arrow on the right side of his abdomen was pulled out violently by another person.

"Okay, you should be fine after taking a bandage with medicine, and check again when you return to Fuldan City."

"Fuldan City!" Funyan'a was startled, and he asked the man loudly, "What happened to Fuerdan City?! Who are you guys?!"

The man turned to look at Funyan, pulled off the cloth covering his face, showed his big yellow teeth, and said with a smile: "Of course the city of Fuerdan was taken by us. As for who we are, you will know when we get there." gone."

Funiyanga looked at the vaguely recognizable face of the other party in surprise, and asked tentatively, "Are you a banner man?"

"I'm from Kurkazi." The man said disdainfully.Then he took out that strange short gun and pointed it at Iraqan's head, pushed aside the hammer, and asked, "I'll give you a chance, or I'll blow your head off if you don't say anything."

"Hero, spare your life! The little one must say it!" Iraqi knew that the weapon in the opponent's hand was powerful. After the sound of popping beans just now, he saw a big hole in the head of a companion.

"How many people are behind you?"

"I really don't know the exact number of people. But I heard that including us, Agui Zhongtang sent a total of more than 200 people."

"They all go to Fuldan City?"

"No, our team is here to check the situation along the post road. The others are all going to the Benxila River." Irahan poured beans out of the bamboo tube and spat out.

As the man listened, his expression became more and more serious.He turned his head and said to the person behind him: "Dingci, I have to go back and report this matter as soon as possible."

"Yes."

Funyan realized something, and suddenly said loudly: "Are you the Oros people of the Xila River?"

"Hey! You know this too? Tell me what else do you know?"

Seeing the man turn his head to look at him, Funyan asked with staring eyes, "Even if you are from Kurkazi, you are still from Yiche Manchuria. How can the people under my Qing rule be treated like a dog's leg to the barbarians? You've completely embarrassed your ancestors!" The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and all the saliva in his mouth sprayed on the man's face.

In the 24th year of Kangxi, Funiyanga's great-grandfather died in battle at the city of Yaksa; so he had a bad impression of the Oros people since he was a child.

The man wiped the drool on his face with his hands, squatted down and stared at Funyan'a viciously and said, "Which eye of yours saw that I gave my life to the Oros people? I am from Beihai Town! If it weren't for you guys The dog officers and soldiers insisted on arresting me, Ah Ma, I even married my wife now!"

Funiyang's heart shook, and he immediately remembered the incident in Hunchun last year, which was widely circulated at that time.He carefully looked at the appearance of the man on the opposite side, there was not a trace of wrinkle on his forehead under the oil paint.

"You, you are Seldan's son?!"

That man is Serdan's son Erlu.

Starting from May [-]th, Serdan and Erlu each led a small team and set off westward.Ten days later, when they reached the Shufan River, a fork in the Suifen River, the two teams separated.Serdan's goal was Hunchun. His team headed south from the middle reaches of the Shufan River, crossed the mountains and entered the Juerhe River Basin, and arrived there downstream; Erlu's side followed the Suifen River all the way to the west. Turn over the big ridge and go straight to Ninggu Pagoda.In addition to spying on the military deployment of the Qing army, these two teams also had a very important task of catching tongues.

Coincidentally, just now, Erlu was hiding in a tree to observe the two official ships, but Funiyanga and the others bumped into them head-on.Seeing that he couldn't escape, he had no choice but to fight.If he hadn't seen one of his men shot in the thigh, making them unable to move, none of them would have survived.

After Erlu finished speaking, he got up and patted the dirt on his buttocks, and said to the person behind him: "Dingci, you and Pingzhi take ten soldiers and guards, escort four of them back, and the rest follow me. What a fucking , I spent all morning here."

While speaking, several team members had already found all the war horses scattered around, and brought their own horses from a distance.Erlu left a dozen horses for a given time, and he led the rest of the team all the way west.

A few days later in the early morning, Erlu and his group of seven finally arrived near a village twenty miles away from the old city of Ningguta.

It belongs to the hometown of Sushen. After Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, it was the seat of Longquan Mansion in Shangjing, the capital of the Bohai Sea;

According to "Ningguta Jilue" written by Wu Zhenchen of the Qing Dynasty, it is said that there were six brothers in the past, each living in one side.In Manchu, "six" is called Ninggu, and "ge" is called tower.Therefore, although Ninggu Pagoda has the name of a pagoda, it actually has no pagoda.

This place "looks to Changbai in the south, surrounds the Longjiang River in the north, is the heroic area of ​​Yunbian City, and the emperor of Zhuangjintang", and it is also the gateway to Nuore, Kulkaqi, Sauron, Qiyala, Bangir Hanfeiyaka, Hezhe Feiyaka, Kuyan Feiyaka, Qileer and other ministries must pass through.It was the most important military strategic location north of Shengjing in the Qing Dynasty.

Ningguta City in the Qing Dynasty consisted of a new city and an old city, fifty miles apart from east to west.The old city is located in the east of the Songhua River and on the south bank of the Hualan River.In the 44th year of Wanli, Nurhachi once stationed troops here.In the fifth year of Kangxi, a new city was built five miles southwest of Jueluo City by the Huerha River (Mudanjiang).

Erlu climbed up a big tree, took out his binoculars and looked north, and his field of vision was full of endless fields.At this time, in the village not far away, there was a faint smoke rising, and the barking of dogs in the village could be vaguely heard.

Erlu looked at it for a while, then slipped down from the tree quietly, turned around and turned over a hill, and his team members and horses stayed in the dense forest deep in the valley.

"Captain, how's it going?" Seeing Erlu's return, several team members stood up and asked.

"You can't make it through, I have to go alone." After Erlu finished speaking, he walked to his horse and took a big burden from the horse's back.After opening it, inside was a full outfit: a half-worn sheepskin waistcoat, a jacket, a pair of trousers and a pair of homemade shoes, besides that, there was a belt and a bag.

This suit is what he used to wear.And his braid is still there, it has not been cut.This is what Zhao Xin told him, don't cut it first, maybe you will need it later.

Erlu changed his clothes first, and then took out a razor from the bag on the horse's back.He walked to the edge of the stream, poured some water on the hair that had grown more than an inch long, and asked other team members to shave his head clean.

After dressing up, Erlu put on his bag and said to the other team members: "Wait here, I will be back the night after tomorrow at the latest."

Half an hour later, when Erlu passed by a courtyard in the village, an old man pushed the door and came out.He looked at Erlu Miansheng, and asked in Manchu: "Haha (manchu is called a man), where did you come from?"

Erlu saw it, and hurried forward to hold the old man's hand, and replied with a smile: "Mafa, I'm from Taining Village, Shangjianhe, and I'm going to visit relatives in the city."

"Oh. That's not close."

"Yeah, I came out when it got dark, and I've been walking for a day."

"Come in and drink some water, there are still more than 70 miles from here to the city."

"Hey." Erlu nodded in agreement, and entered the yard with the old man.

In the Ninggu Pagoda of this era, apart from the exiles, the local residents lived fairly well.The local bannermen and aborigines never bring any money when they go out, and they can eat and sleep at will when they pass by private houses on the way.And when every family encounters a guest, no matter whether they know each other or not, they are all "horses have green grass and guests have millet".Visitors are provided with board and lodging and fodder for the horses, without taking a penny.The folk customs are simple and simple, and the temperament is simple and honest.

Seeing Erlu's strong figure and simple and honest face, the old man loved him in his heart.While drinking water, while smoking dry tobacco, they chatted.

"Marfa, it's the first time I've been back to the city, and I heard it's very lively there."

"Hey, a lot of officers and soldiers have come from outside the city recently. I heard that they are going to fight the Oros people in the east. You have to be careful when you enter the city, and don't run into the officer."

"Ah! How many people are here?"

"I can't tell. The family in the front yard just came back from the city yesterday. They said that there are thousands of people densely packed in the camp outside the city."

"Hey! Then I want to see and see."

"Listen to me, haha, go home early after watching relatives."

"Marfa, what do you mean by this, the city is not peaceful?"

The old man smoked a long cigarette, got up and poured a bowl of water for Erlu, and then said: "No matter how chaotic the world is, our place will not be chaotic. I heard that Agui Zhongtang is going to recruit troops locally, so be careful not to be watched by the officials Your superiors have told you to join the army in the Eastern Expedition."

After saying goodbye to the old man, he walked to Erlu, the next village, and found a family to spend the night before it was dark.The family's house was small and there was not enough space, Erlu didn't mind, so he slept in the stable.

Early the next morning, he ate two pieces of yellow rice cakes and a bowl of rice porridge at the house where he was staying, and then left. He followed the main road to the west, crossed the river, and saw the gate of Ninggu Pagoda.

Built in the fifth year of Kangxi, the new city has a circumference of eight miles (slightly larger than the Forbidden City in Beijing) and has four gates.The inner and outer city walls are surrounded by two circles of cultivated pine wood, and the middle is filled with tamped soil.This is also the characteristic of all the garrison cities outside the pass in the early and middle Qing Dynasty.In history, after the end of Qianlong period, it was gradually rebuilt into Tucheng.

At this time, masts and sculls were like clouds on the river outside the city, and big boats lined up all the way to the south, with no end in sight.Some ships were full of officers and soldiers, others were full of goods, and some were even filled with war horses.These ships docked at the pier outside the east gate, and after groups of officers and soldiers disembarked, they did not enter the city, but went south in a row.

Erlu didn't follow him to look. He went straight to the east gate and saw a notice posted on the city wall. Erlu couldn't understand it. He asked the soldiers guarding the gate, and only then did he know that it said recruiting soldiers and locals. Strong and strong to join the army, the signature is the Yamen of the University of Economics and Strategy.

After entering the city, he found that there was actually an inner city in the city; the circumference was almost two miles, and there were gates on the east, west, north, south, and three sides.Erlu inquired about it while he was eating at the restaurant at noon, and the clerk told him that the inner city was the general's government office and the residences of officers and soldiers, and there were no civilian households living there.There is also a north gate in the inner city, but because of Feng Shui, it is never opened. (It is said in ancient Fengshui that the north gate is built to welcome Qi. Not only must it be carefully opened, but it must also welcome Qi into the city. Therefore, the gate tower must be tall.)
Erlu ordered food and wine, and when he finished eating and paying the bill, the waiter came over and said that he wanted 25 coins.

"Why is it so expensive?!" Erlu asked for a bowl of noodles, two taels of shochu and a bowl of stewed bones.

The guy was a Han, thought that Erlu was an aboriginal armored man, so he explained: "Master, you haven't been to the city recently, don't know the nearest market."

Erlu was a little curious. Seeing that the guy was about to leave, he quickly grabbed him and asked, "No, you have to tell me carefully." After speaking, he took out another five coins and stuffed them into the other person's hand.

The man took the money and grinned, and explained: "Master, you don't know. Since April, more than 8000 officers and soldiers have come to the barracks outside the city one after another. I heard that there are more in the back. A Zhongtang from the capital is in charge In the big camp outside. With so many officials taking the money given by the court, you dare not sell them when they go to the city to buy things?"

Erlu asked curiously: "Isn't it good to have money?"

"Okay?" The clerk pointed to the dishes in front of Erlu, and continued: "He just ordered these things, and even bought needles, and he paid for it. Our shop is small and the profits are small, so how can we make so much money?" Looking for him? After a long time, everyone had to raise the price together, otherwise we would have to force us to close the store just to change the money. Now that money is expensive and silver is cheap, if you buy things with money, everyone is happy, and maybe they can give you a discount. "

"There is such a way." Erlu suddenly realized.

After leaving the restaurant, Erlu followed the staff's instructions and walked around the street in the west gate of the city.In the various shops on the street, he found that there were indeed more officers and soldiers who went out to buy goods.Erlu first silently memorized the prices of daily necessities such as grain, cloth, and salt, and then found a secluded place, took out a paper from his pocket, and wrote it down.

Afterwards, he went out of the west gate to the outside of the barracks, and found a slope on which some idle men were standing and watching.Erlu pretended that he had never seen the world and climbed up the slope to watch with everyone.

I saw the banners everywhere in the barracks, and the sound of muskets firing could be heard in the distance.He roughly estimated the number of tents, and estimated that there were thousands of them.Based on the calculation of six people living in each tent, the size of the camp here may be tens of thousands.This result shocked Erlu very much. He silently wrote down all the flags he saw before returning to the city.First I went to the grocery store to buy two catties of tobacco leaves, and then I went to tear a few feet of cloth.After that, I went to find a carriage and horse shop outside the city to stay.

On the next day, Erlu set off before dawn, and only joined his subordinates in the evening.After hearing Erlu's investigation results, everyone felt that they had seen everything they needed to see, so they decided to rush back to Fuldan City in the starry night.

(End of this chapter)