Go back to the end of the Ming Dynasty to be a soldier

Chapter 42

I heard that a large number of Tartars have invaded Yongping, dozens of miles away from here, the dignitaries in the city and those officials and lords are in a mess.Five years ago, the bloody and brutal crimes committed by the Tartars when they entered Yongping are still fresh in the memory of some people, and they still have lingering fears when they think about it.

While praying to God, they quickly packed up their things and prepared to flee.Li Qi, the magistrate, and the staff of the Sansi Yamen were also panicked.

Because there are too few soldiers and horses in the city, how can only more than 1000 old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers resist the thousands of horses and horses of the Tartars?When the Tartars come in, they usually massacre the city, which is too terrifying.

The magistrate immediately issued an order to close the four doors, and immediately summoned the staff of the third office to discuss countermeasures. These staff were divided into two factions, one group advocated surrendering to the Tartars, and the other group advocated hanging the seal and gold, abandoning the city and fleeing.

Only Yongping promoted the official Zhang Shou and the owner Zhang stood firm in the city.

As soon as this remark came out, everyone thought that the Tuiguan's head was flooded, and pointed at him one after another, "Master Zhang, how can more than 1000 old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers defend the city!"

"There are very few soldiers and horses in the city, and they can't be considered elite soldiers, but we have a strong city to defend. How can the master of the Futai forget, don't we have guerrilla general Zu Keyong? But the general of the Ningyuan army, and the great hero Ji Dong, you can ask them for advice, they can defeat the Tartars repeatedly, and Lin Yi can retreat on foot alone, they will definitely have a way."

The prefect Li Qi gritted his teeth and nodded.No matter if he surrendered or ran away, the black gauze cap on his head might not be able to keep. That was the hard-won fourth-rank imperial hall!
The magistrate immediately sent someone to invite Zu Keyong, Lin Yi and others to discuss matters in the government.

Zu Keyong was carried in, followed by Lin Yi, Xiaoying and others.

The magistrate asked Ji Zu Keyong how to defend the city and retreat his troops. Zu Keyong said: "You can hold on to the city and at the same time send people to call for reinforcements. The army of the commander-in-chief Zu Kuan should not be far from here. As long as you can hold on for two or more In three days, the inside should cooperate with the outside to defeat the Tartars, and Yongping will have no worries."

The magistrate turned his worries into joy, but who goes out to move troops, and how to defend the city?
Zu Keyong sent one of his confidantes from among the 18 people, with his own seal, and asked the magistrate to write a letter, and he also took it with him, and asked this person to go out of the city immediately to find Zu Kuan to move troops for help.

As for the defense of the city, Zu Keyong recommended Lin Yi to the magistrate, and asked him to command the troops to defend the city without any risk.

Zu Keyong's words immediately attracted a lot of doubts. Yongping Chief Envoy and An Chasi took the lead in objecting in front of Lin Yi, saying that although Lin Yi had won several battles and was a hero in people's minds, but At this time and at that time, what if the city cannot be defended?After all, he is a small boss, how can he be worthy of the great task of guarding a city?The day the city is broken is the time when the Tartars will massacre the city. At that time, thousands of lives will be ruined. How can we explain to Long Live God?

Of course Ji Dong heard it. These people thought he was too young and unqualified to be a city guard, but they definitely didn't think about the city and the people, but their own life and future.

The pusher Zhang Shouye sneered: "The two adults are concerned about their own lives and future, right? What they said is high-sounding, so according to the two opinions, is there any way to explain to the Lord Long Live if you surrender to the Tartars or abandon the city and run away?"

These few words hit the nail on the head, and the chief envoy and Ancha Sizi blushed and then turned white, and then began to attack Zhang Shouye with insinuations, saying that he was Yuan Chonghuan's party. After being executed by Long Live Lord Ling Chi, how could anyone dare to follow the example of Yuan Chonghuan?and so on.

Lin Yi, who was a small official, didn't say a word, and sneered in his heart. This is definitely a random label made out of nothing.

These corrupt officials, holding the imperial salary, are neither for the imperial court nor for the people, and they are just arrogant and domineering at ordinary times.When the enemy came, they only cared about themselves, disregarding the life and death of the people and the survival of the city, arguing with each other, attacking each other, it is really hard to kill but not to stay!
Civil officials are greedy for money, and military commanders cherish their lives. It is no wonder that Tartars and thieves are rampant. Yongping City is the epitome of the Ming Dynasty.If there are officials like Zhang Shouye, there is still hope for the Ming Dynasty.

Ji Dong felt ruthless and emotional in his heart, but he was calm on the surface.

In front of the magistrate and other parents and officials, Xiaoying and others did not dare to talk nonsense. Looking at Ji Dong, Ji Yi just shook his head at them, signaling them not to lie.

Now the two sides started arguing in the hall, and Li Qi, the prefect, was a little vacillating, and finally slapped the desk, and the hall fell silent.

Li Qi looked at Wang Cheng. He was the defender of the city. Before leaving, the Chief Soldier and the Dusi handed over more than 1000 people to him, and the heavy responsibility of defending the city naturally fell on him.

"Master Guard, what do you think?"

Wang Chengcheng is advocating the retreat of all the adults, that is, abandoning the city and fleeing. More than 1000 old, weak, sick and disabled are really not sure about defending the city. They stick to it for two or three days. If reinforcements do not arrive, the Tartars will be trapped in the city. If you want to go, can you still go?

But he is also an old man in the officialdom. As the defense of a city, it is undoubtedly negligence to abandon the city and flee when the enemy comes. If not, you have to walk around.

So when the magistrate asked, he quickly saluted and said: "Such a big matter, my subordinates dare not make rash decisions. Please make a decision early, and it will be too late. The only subordinates are the only ones who will follow the lead and will not hesitate to die."

Li Qi gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, since that's the case, I order you and Lin Yi to stick to the city and wait for help."

Wang Cheng, the guard, did not expect Li Qi to make such a decision. In his eyes, the magistrate is definitely a polite official. He has already expressed his opinion very clearly. He doesn't have the pride of a strong man breaking his wrist. How about being brave once?Is it because the guerrilla generals Zu Keyong and Lin Yi of the Ningyuan Army are there?Can you pin your hopes on them?

He turned his mind like this, glanced at Lin Yi and Zu Keyong who was lying down, hesitated for a moment, and quickly saluted: "This subordinate takes orders."

Yongping pusher Zhang Shouye and guerrilla general Zu Keyong let out a sigh of relief, and looked at Lin Yi, implying that you should accept your order and thank you quickly, everyone is waiting for you to show your skills and kill the Tartars.

"Master Zhifu, wait a moment, forgive Lin Yi for not being able to take orders." Lin Yi's words were startling, and all eyes were attracted at once.

"What do you mean? Could it be that Lin Yi is also timid?" The main fighters, including Xiaoying, also cast surprised glances.

"It's a bit self-aware, and I have great hopes for him. Such a heavy responsibility, young talents and little knowledge, and no seniority, dare to accept it. Is this a child's play? The prefect should stop joking, and quickly discuss how to surrender or The matter of abandoning the city and fleeing, it is so urgent, don't waste any more time..."

The opponents were all thinking this way, some snickered, some whispered, and their eyes were full of sarcasm and contempt.

"Jin Yi, don't tell me you're too timid to fight?"

"No, my lord, let me tell you. The Tartars are ferocious, and there are many people. Yongping is an isolated city with few soldiers. It is really a heavy burden for Lin to guard such a city. It is not a child's play. There is something unclear about Lin. Don’t dare to take orders lightly.”

"Oh, what's the matter, why don't you tell me in person?"

Lin Yi saluted and said: "My lord, please forgive me for being reckless. May I ask my lord that Lord Wang and I will guard the city together, who will be the master and who will be the assistant?"

Li Qi smiled, "Of course the garrison king is the main one, and your Excellency is the assistant."

Li Qi, the prefect, felt a little displeased in her heart. She said Lin Yi, Lin Yi, how young is she? Asking such a low-level, straightforward and boring question.Although you are brave and invincible and have outstanding military achievements, you are at best a hundred generals in the army, not in the order of the city, and Mr. Wang Chengwang is the garrison of the city. The authorization from the lord and Dusi is of course the chief general.You haven't done much, but you want to claim credit and fight for power?Too frivolous.

The garrison master Wang Cheng laughed, that means young people, too frivolous, right?If the guerrilla general Zu Keyong raised such a question, it is understandable. You, a little Baizong, can let you be the deputy general of the defense, and you have put gold on your face. You still want to be the chief general, too Overwhelmed!

Even the guerrilla general Zu Keyong thought that Ji Dong's move was a bit inappropriate.

Lin Yi's face was calm: "My lord, please forgive me for speaking bluntly, if this happens, Yongping will be in danger."

"Oh, how do you see it?"

Lin Yi didn't answer directly, but turned to Wang Cheng, "I dare you, sir, how do you plan to defend the city? Do you plan to lead the soldiers to fight bloody battles with the Tartars, and live and die with the city, or do you have to be prepared with both hands? If you can fight, you can fight, if you can abide by the rules, if you can't, then retreat?"

"Ah, this..." Wang Cheng, who was scheming by Lin Yi, but could never admit it in full view, hesitated for a moment, and immediately said in a very firm tone: "Of course, this defense is to follow the orders of the prefect, and work together with the soldiers. Fighting bloody battles to defend the city, Lin Baizong, what do you mean by that?"

Lin Yi smiled indifferently: "My lord, calm down. If you remember correctly, the garrison just now advocated that the lord of the prefect should retreat and leave the green hills. I am not afraid that there will be no firewood. These are the words of the lord. We are the enemy. Few, the enemy is strong and we are weak, if the will of the defender wavers, how will his soldiers use their lives? What do you expect to be able to defend the city?"

Wang Cheng had a fever on his face. From the bottom of his heart, he really didn't want to defend the city. He knew that defending the city here would be tantamount to waiting for death. What's wrong with Mr. Bao retreating?But his lord ordered him to defend the city and wait for help, so he dared not disobey that order.

Hearing Lin Yi expose his heart like this, Wang Cheng became a little annoyed and his face flushed: "Jin Yi, this defense is for the safety of adults, and this defense is not a person who is greedy for life and fear of death. According to what you mean, you should The city guard will be able to keep the city safe and sound, and in this case, the guard is willing to abdicate to the virtuous."

Lin Yi saluted the magistrate again: "My lord, if you really want to defend this city, you must make up your mind to live and die with this city. It's not that Lin Yi is greedy for power. If you really want Lin Yi to defend the city, you must give it to Lin Yi." Yi's corresponding power to defend the city can mobilize all the forces and resources in the city without being restricted."

The magistrate hesitated a little. What Lin Yi said made sense, but he still said that his qualifications were too low. What if...

The promotion officer Zhang Shouye and Wang Cheng have always been at odds, and now the two people have completely opposite views. Zhang Shouye is fighting for the owner, and Wang Cheng is fleeing.

Zhang Shouye felt that what Lin Yi said was too right, so he quickly interjected: "My lord, don't hesitate any longer. Those who are capable will go up, and those who are mediocre will go down. Mr. Lin Baizong is right. If you don't even have this right, how can you keep this right?" city?"

Li Qi, the magistrate, gritted his teeth for the last time and said: "Listen, my lords, from now on, the government has decided that Lin Yi, as the city lord, can use some of the power and resources in the city to defend the city. Those who push the three and block the four, those who are passive and sabotage will be cut off!"

Lin Yi said with emotion: "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. Lin Yi has taken orders. After a long time, Lin Yi dare not boast about Haikou. Within ten days, Lin dares to keep Yongping City safe and sound."

Zu Keyong also said: "My lord, within five days, Lord Zu Kuan's reinforcements will definitely arrive. At that time, the inside and the outside should cooperate, and the Tartars will be defeated. My lord can rest easy."

(End of this chapter)