However, now, Qiu Yizi, who is clearly his enemy, says what he thinks, whether he is good or bad, and wants to hand over the power of the entire county to him - although it is by no means a trust in him, it also fits the saying "A gentleman is open and honest".
This could not help but move Xu Rong, who had been up and down in the officialdom of the capital for many years.
He tried to suppress his excitement and asked calmly, "Sir, I have something to say. You have entrusted the important task of the whole county to me. Aren't you worried?"
Qiu Yizi laughed out loud: "Why should you worry about this? Shanyin County Magistrate, you were the Jingzhao Yin at that time? Even if you have second thoughts, what kind of trouble can you stir up? Raise the flag of rebellion? I have brought all the soldiers in the county with me now. If you do anything wrong, I will use this as an excuse to destroy you."
This was another honest statement, which made Xu Rong feel uneasy but also a little relieved.
But I heard Qiu Yizi say: "But Mr. Xu should also think carefully. With your power, if you want to deal with me, you have to use tricks in secret and dare not do it openly. It can be seen that I am definitely not a fish on the chopping board that can be slaughtered at will. Mr. Xu, please think carefully before you act rashly."
Before Xu Rong was sent by Zheng Xin to monitor Qiu Yizi, he had talked to this prince. From the few words, Xu Rong also vaguely felt that Zheng Xin was quite afraid of Qiu Yizi. He couldn't understand at that time, with the power of a great prince, why did he have to be so deliberate to deal with a small county magistrate? Couldn't he just find a reason to deal with him
After listening to Qiu Yizi's words today, I finally understood.
Xu Rong was not a stupid man, and he had already guessed the seriousness of the situation - either of these two men's feet would be taller than his head, and he could not afford to offend either of them.
However, he changed his mind and thought: Although the eldest prince is powerful now, he is not so powerful that he can cover the sky with one hand. The other two princes are not easy to deal with either. The key is that the emperor has not made up his mind and has not yet decided who will be the crown prince? Maybe Qiu Yizi has some powerful leverage over the eldest prince, so he is so fearless!
Thinking of this, Xu Rong had made up his mind, and bowed to Qiu Yi: "Since you are honest with me, I will not be hypocritical to you. I dare not say anything else, but at least I will try my best to govern Shanyin County that you have given me these days. If you come back and find that the people are not at peace and the land is not being cultivated, you can punish me."
Although Xu Rong spoke in a grand manner, he had other plans in mind: of course he had to give an explanation to the Grand Prince; but getting in touch with Qiu Yizi might not necessarily do any harm, as the saying goes, investing on two sides and gaining benefits on two sides.
Qiu Yizi was indifferent to this, for the reason he had just said was that a small Shanyin County was really not a big deal to him - all Qiu Yizi wanted was a title. As long as the central government still recognized him as the county magistrate, he now had soldiers and generals under his command, so it really didn't matter who actually controlled the small Shanyin County.
However, Qiu Yizi was still very happy that Xu Rong could make such a statement. He smiled and encouraged him a few words, then called Yuchi Jiming into the mansion together. After carefully packing up his personal belongings, he left the county government office and chased after the large group of people.
But before he could leave the city gate, he was stopped by Wen Lingjiao.
Wen Lingjiao was seen riding on her extremely beautiful white horse, bowing slightly to Qiu Yizhi and saying, "My lord, you are going to the battle, and I would like to serve you. I wonder if you would agree..."
Qiu Yizi was of course very happy to hear Wen Lingjiao's words, and quickly agreed: "Okay, okay, okay. It is my honor, but the war is dangerous, please listen to my orders, otherwise it will be dangerous."
Qiu Yi said this, but in her heart she was thinking: At the beginning, she and Wen Lingjiao went deep into the enemy's stronghold alone. Although they encountered danger, they were able to escape unscathed. Now she has two hundred elite soldiers who are absolutely loyal to her, and the enemy is an upright and open enemy. What difficulty is there in just protecting Wen Lingjiao
Wen Lingjiao nodded obediently: "It's all up to you, Master."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi's heart melted. He quickly calmed himself down and said, "Well, the team may have gone too far. Let's set off quickly." As he spoke, he shook the reins in his hand, and the Ferghana horse under him slowly moved forward.
Wen Lingjiao also urged her horse and followed Qiu Yi's horse to the outside of the city gate. He'er said nothing, carrying Wen Lingjiao's daily necessities, riding a healthy donkey and following them from a distance.
Qiu Yi's troops were well-trained and moved very quickly along the way. After six days of marching, they had reached the outskirts of Jinling City.
Jinling was the most prosperous place in the world. There were numerous teahouses and wine shops in the city, and merchants from all over the country who could not enter the city would often rest outside the city. Over time, the area outside Jinling became more lively than that of ordinary cities.
But now, all the merchants have disappeared, leaving only tall buildings standing empty on the ground, showing a strange sense of depression and emptiness. Even the countryside outside the city has become extremely desolate - it is almost harvest time, but there are few farmers tending the fields, and the rice is growing sparsely. I am afraid that this autumn's poor harvest is inevitable.
Qiu Yizi knew in his heart that this situation was caused by the attacks of Japanese pirates. If the Japanese invasion was allowed to continue rampant, Jiangnan, the richest region in the world, would probably become a scorched earth.
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi hurriedly urged his men and horses to rush to Jinling City.
As we approached the city wall, Jinling City began to become more lively, and the number of people and horses on the road gradually increased. However, these people were not merchants or civilians who came to the city to do business, but soldiers who were ordered to gather in Jinling to resist the Japanese pirates. Looking at their clothes, some wore the uniforms of the local military governors, while many wore different clothes, which showed that they were also militias from nearby counties and prefectures.
Qiu Yizi's current identity is just a small leader who commands a small group of only two hundred soldiers. He does not have the power to command the overall situation. Whether marching and fighting or stationing and supplying, he must obey the command of his superiors, that is, the current Jiangnan Road Governor and Jiedushi.
So Qiu Yizi chose an open space and ordered his soldiers to rest there, and they must abide by military discipline and not wander around. Then he sent Zhao Chengxiao to inquire about the situation nearby, and find out who should command and dispatch the reinforcements.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Chengxiao never returned. After a long time, he came back and said, "There is no one to give unified instructions here, and everyone is following the orders of General Cui Nan, so we dare not withdraw easily. Therefore, we have to stay in Jinling."
Qiu Yizhi was immediately furious when he heard this - now they were facing a powerful enemy. Although the Japanese were few in number, their fighting power was extraordinary. When they were working together to fight the enemy, how could the army be scattered under the city like a pile of loose sand? Moreover, without a unified command, there would certainly be no unified discipline. If the military discipline was not strict, they would inevitably harass the people, which would have a counterproductive effect.
So Qiu Yizi discussed it with Lin Shuhan, and wrote an invitation by hand, and copied more than ten copies, asking Zhao Chengxiao to find the generals of various armies to come together to discuss military affairs.
Zhao Chengxiao was efficient. After receiving the order, he invited eight or nine generals - most of them held the rank of Qianzong or Baihu, and only one or two wore the helmet tassel of Zhonglang Jiang - to discuss matters with Qiu Yizi in just a moment.
Qiu Yi had just arrived and wanted to hear the situation first, so he asked all the generals to report their situations.
It turned out that this group of people also received Cui Nan's order. Because the journey was short, they had arrived at the city of Jinling three or two days earlier. However, Qian Feng, the governor of Jiangnan Road, and Liu Qing, the governor of the military, prohibited the army from entering the city to rest on the grounds that the military discipline of various local troops was poor and they were afraid of harassing the people.
Qiu Yizi saw that the group of ragtag troops gathered under the city of Jinling were indeed in a mess, with a bunch of them here and a bunch of them there. They looked more like bandits and rioters than government troops.
So Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "I see that for the sake of convenience, many of you have occupied civilian houses when you were stationed. The civilians can't stand it and most of them have fled. Governor Qian has the responsibility to guard the pasture and is afraid that the government troops will harass the civilians. This matter cannot be blamed on him. I think it would be better if everyone retreated from the civilian houses. There is now plenty of open space under the city, enough for us to set up camp, so that Lord Qian can see our military discipline and let us in with confidence."
Qiu Yizhi had resisted the siege of tens of thousands of government troops with only 20 men in Shanyin County. Not only was he safe, but he also caused the death of the powerful old governor Yin Chengliang. His "feat" was very famous among the military commanders in Jiangnan. His words were well-reasoned, so the officers had to agree with him willingly.
But then an officer in the uniform of a Lieutenant Colonel bowed and said, "Whether we can enter the city or not is a small matter. The key is supplies. I have brought little food and rice. If we can't get more, I'm afraid military discipline will be difficult to enforce. The soldiers under my command will have to 'borrow' from the people..."
The so-called "temporary loan" is just a polite name for "plunder".
Qiu Yizhi heard his words and frowned. In his mind, "supply is a small matter, the key is to enter the city." Although the area outside Jinling City is a suburb, countless houses have been built along the walls. The lack of large open spaces is not conducive to the government troops to take advantage of their large numbers. On the contrary, the narrow and long streets everywhere just give the Japanese pirates, who have strong individual combat capabilities, an advantage. Once they start fighting...
In addition, the issue of supplies cannot be ignored. Qiu Yizi originally thought that Jinling was a prosperous place, so he only brought 5,000 taels of silver, thinking that all supplies could be purchased on the spot. Therefore, the food and fodder he brought with the army was not very much. If he was blocked outside the city of Jinling, the silver he brought would have nowhere to be used, and his soldiers would be in a desperate situation of being cut off from food and fodder.
So Qiu Yizhi discussed with Lin Shuhan again, and then bowed to the officers gathered here and said: "We are here to wipe out the Japanese pirates, not to suffer here. Lord Qian is a Hanlin, well-read in classics and history, and he must be reasonable. He just doesn't understand military affairs and doesn't know our difficulties. Why don't we go into the city and tell him our intentions, and Lord Qian will naturally have other arrangements."
As soon as he finished speaking, a captain stepped forward and said tremblingly, "To be honest, sir, I am of low rank and position, and I am afraid it is inconvenient for me to meet with my superiors, and I dare not argue with the governor or the general in person. Please..."
Qiu Yizhi saw that he looked so helpless, but he could do nothing: "Well, it would be good to have a few generals stay here to control the army." He pointed at Zhao Chengxiao and said, "This General Zhao is experienced in fighting and is quite knowledgeable in military strategy. Please listen to his command for the time being." (To be continued)