() Yang Tinglin, the prefect of Ganzhou, invited all the gentry and wealthy businessmen in the city to a meeting and talked about how if the skin is gone, the hair will... ... ... ... ..uh, it will be like a pristine virgin land where not even a hair can attach to it.
As a result, the gentry and wealthy families in Ganzhou immediately used their own weapons to attack you. Each of them said that they had long since rejuvenated and turned into virgins again, so how could they pluck any hair from you!
Yang Tinglin was busy for an entire afternoon, talking his mouth off, and even took the lead in donating 300 taels of money and grain, but in the end he only raised 3,000 taels of silver and more than 200 shi of grain.
This amount of money and food, if given to a family of three, would be enough for them to live a comfortable life for the rest of their lives. But when it comes to 50,000 or 60,000 refugees, it is just a drop in the bucket and cannot solve the actual problem.
There are tens of thousands of refugees in the city crying out for food, and failure to provide relief in time will surely become the biggest source of chaos.
The two rebel forces outside the city have become powerful and are attacking from the north and south, making the situation precarious.
The Qing army had just ravaged Hebei and Shandong, and had just left in April. Countless refugees who had suffered from burning, killing and looting were in urgent need of relief from the court. Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong successively proclaimed themselves kings in Xiangyang and Wuchang, respectively, with great momentum. All these events, one after another, made the court extremely anxious and unable to mobilize a large army to southern Jiangxi to quell the rebellion.
Yang Tinglin was worried about not being able to raise money and food. After returning to the government office, he thought about it over and over again, but was at a loss as to what to do. He had no choice but to have someone prepare some side dishes in the back office and then invite Qin Mu over.
Qin Mu followed the servant of Yang Tinglin's family into the back court through the side door. There were several kinds of box flowers in the courtyard, a few plain chairs in the hall, calligraphy and paintings by Zhou Zhimian on the wall, and a sand pot by Shi Dabin on the table. Although it was not magnificent, it was clean and elegant.
"Please wait a moment, Lord Qin. I will go to the second hall and report to my master." After serving the tea, the servant bowed and left.
Qin Mu sat in the hall, with two little girls standing by the door to serve him. It was quiet inside and outside. He admired the calligraphy and paintings on the wall while thinking. Qin Mu could guess the purpose of Yang Tinglin's calling him here. The problem was, how could he maximize the benefits
First of all, Ganzhou cannot be lost, otherwise Ganzhou is likely to become an empty shell, which is not what Qin Mu wants to see.
The second is to gain Yang Tinglin's trust and get him to support his series of plans.
The third thing is to help Yang Tinglin improve his prestige and try to make him concentrate all the military and political power of Ganzhou Prefecture.
Yang Tinglin is not someone who is easily fooled. It is unlikely for him to achieve these points under normal circumstances, but now, if he can take advantage of the situation, it may not be impossible.
Qin Mu was thinking alone in the hall when he heard the faint sound of rings and bracelets coming from outside the hall.
"Is my father back?" Then a woman's voice came from the door, gentle and melodious like the chirping of an oriole, and extremely beautiful.
"Miss, the master is still handling official business in the second hall." The maid at the door bowed.
A graceful figure walked out from the hall door, her light yellow dress swaying gently like clouds emerging from a mountain. What surprised Qin Mu was that she looked very much like Princess Yu Shu in the movie "The Myth", only because she was younger, she looked more beautiful and delicate, just like a peony shrouded in smoke, delicate and dewy.
She obviously didn't expect there to be a stranger in the hall. She was startled and quickly retreated, and there was another sound of her rings and bracelets.
Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, the beautiful figure was deeply imprinted in Qin Mu's mind. Well, she really looked like a younger version of Princess Yu Shu.
When Qin Mu was feeling somewhat regretful, the girl unexpectedly appeared outside the hall door again and bowed to him, saying, "Thank you, Sir Qin, for saving my life."
Qin Mu stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "Miss Yang, you don't have to be polite. Although I wanted to save you at that time, I was indeed gambling with your life, so you don't have to thank me."
"Lord Yang, you are too modest. If it had been someone else, I would have been abducted by the thieves. They would have used me to threaten my father. In order not to embarrass my father, I would have had no choice but to commit suicide. Lord Qin, for saving my life, I am eternally grateful." After she finished saying this, her face was already flushed. The ethics and morals were strict at that time. As an unmarried girl, she should have avoided the place long ago if Qin Mu had not saved her life.
Listening to her previous analysis, it was reasonable, but after hearing the last sentence, Qin Mu couldn't help but complain in his heart: What gratitude? It's easy to say, why don't you say something real! My 100 men are running out of food.
At this time, Yang Tinglin just came in from the front hall and asked from a distance: "Zhi'er, what are you doing here?"
"Daddy, you're back?" The woman at the door turned around upon hearing the voice, leaving Qin Mu with a beautiful back view. Her girl's waist was like the swaying willow trees across the door.
Qin Mu suddenly remembered that he had hugged her slender waist before.
"Why did you run out instead of staying in your boudoir? Don't you think your father's life is chaotic enough? If you dare to run out again, I will break your legs!" Yang Tinglin had a gaunt face and looked very serious, but his eyes could not hide the father's kindness.
The girl was not afraid of him. She stepped forward, took his arm and said, "Father, I know I was wrong. I will listen to you from now on and never go out again. Father is always busy with government affairs. I am worried about your health, so I made some medicinal food and came out to see if you have come back so that I can ask someone to bring it to you to replenish your body."
Yang Tinglin's expression eased greatly. He patted the back of his daughter's hand and said in a gentle voice, "Zhi'er, go back to your room first. Dad has something else to do."
The girl who looked like Princess Yu Shu responded obediently, bowed to Qin Mu and retreated.
Yang Tinglin looked at his daughter's background, then glanced at Qin Mu, his expression thoughtful.
After the host and the guest greeted each other and sat down again, Yang Tinglin spoke first: "This time, I invited County Magistrate Qin to come here, first of all, I want to thank County Magistrate Qin for saving my daughter's life."
"You don't have to be polite, sir. It was just luck."
Yang Tinglin could tell that Qin Mu didn't want to say more about the matter, and the crisis in Ganzhou had reached a critical point. Yang Tinglin really didn't want to talk about private matters, and after a few polite words he didn't mention it again.
He led Qin Mu to the flower hall on the left. The maids in the mansion quickly brought some wine and food. After two glasses of wine, Yang Tinglin turned to the main topic and said, "Lord Qin came all the way from Nanchang and wiped out nearly ten gangs of bandits. I have heard of your great name for a long time. Now the Huichang rebels are spreading to various counties in Ganzhou. The two rebel armies in the north and south are about to attack the city from both sides. Nanchang has no troops to help it. Our Ganzhou is in a desperate situation. What countermeasures does County Magistrate Qin have for this?"
"Your Excellency the Prefect, thank you for your praise. All I have done along the way is to eliminate a few groups of refugees who were forced to become bandits because they had no food or clothing. It is really not a big deal."
"There is no need for County Magistrate Qin to be modest. The situation in Ganzhou is pressing right now. If you have a good plan, please share it as soon as possible so that the people can suffer less harm."
Yang Tinglin was very sincere, so Qin Mu stopped being pretentious and answered calmly, "Since the prefect has asked me, I will speak frankly. The rebels are already strong. If we want to suppress them, we need to make comprehensive plans and consider all aspects.
First of all, the power of Ganzhou must be highly centralized, with orders issued from one source to avoid unnecessary wrangling and thus avoid wasting opportunities. This requires the prefect to be brave enough to take responsibility and make decisions on his own."
"Please continue, County Magistrate Qin." Yang Tinglin did not comment.
"Ganzhou is mountainous, with a saying that there are eight mountains, one river, and one field, which makes it easy for bandits to hide. In addition, it is located at the junction of three provinces and the key meeting point of five territories, and has the advantage of Ganjiang River water transportation, so it is easy for bandits to roam around. Therefore, once bandits become powerful, it is very difficult to suppress them.
Another point that must be taken into consideration is the customs of the people in Ganzhou. Since ancient times, Ganzhou has had a variety of customs and habits, with a simple and unsophisticated character. The place is remote and the people are simple, and many warriors and strong soldiers are born. The residents are strong and brave, and love to fight;
I have checked the annals of Ganzhou Prefecture. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, there were 62 large-scale riots in Ganzhou Prefecture. As Ganzhou is mountainous, it was often difficult to suppress the riots in the early stages. As a result, the scale of the riots often developed greatly, often involving multiple provinces and tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people.
Since the beginning of this dynasty, there have been 14 major riots affecting Ganzhou Prefecture and Ganxian, and as many as 102 in the entire southern Jiangxi region. This shows how fierce and aggressive the people here are. Faced with such a complex terrain and aggressive people, it is difficult to suppress the rebellion by military means alone. "
Qin Mu listed such detailed data, which surprised Yang Tinglin secretly. He also looked forward to Qin Mu's next strategy. He raised his glass to Qin Mu and said, "What County Magistrate Qin said is very insightful. How to suppress the rebellion now, I believe Sir Qin must have a plan in mind, right?"
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Excellency the Prefect. I dare not say that I have a plan in mind, but I can only offer you a few humble opinions for your reference."
"Master Qin, you may as well speak frankly."
"In terms of military affairs, the bandit leader Ma Yongzhen and Gu Xiancheng have different philosophies. We might as well divide them and attack them. In my opinion, although Gu Xiancheng's rebels are powerful, they are easier to deal with.
Ma Yongzhen is quite strategic, and the discipline is relatively strict wherever he goes. He does not wantonly harm the people, and he is very supported by the people. Although the number of rebels along this route is small, it is not easy to wipe them out. What I mean is that it is best to appease Ma Yongzhen."
"Appease?"
"Yes, Ganzhou is mountainous. Once a man like Ma Yongzhen hides in the mountains, even if the court sends a hundred thousand troops, it will be difficult to wipe him out in a short period of time. Recruiting him is undoubtedly the most cost-effective. As far as I know, Ma Yongzhen is a very righteous person. He was forced to kill officials and rebel because he wanted to help his friend pay off a loan shark. Such a person, once he accepts the recruitment, it will not be easy for him to rebel again. But now that he has become powerful, if you want to successfully recruit him, you must have the official position of a thousand households. I'm afraid it won't work. The prefect must be prepared for this."
Yang Tinglin was in favor of the policy of appeasement. After all, Ganzhou was in danger now, and it was still a question whether the city could be preserved. It would be great if the policy of appeasement could be implemented.
"Okay, I will write to the court immediately, but I have to wait for the court's reply, I'm afraid..."
"Sir, this is one of the reasons why I asked you to take sole charge of the matter. At this point, it is too late to wait for the court's reply. Sir, you must be decisive and act first and report later. You might as well agree to the conditions for appeasement first."
"Without the court's approval, I'm afraid Ma Yongzhen may not trust me!"
"This requires the prefect to show some sincerity."
"Sincerity?"
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Besides, sincerity alone is not enough. If you just show favor without adding power, I'm afraid it won't work if you want to pacify Ma Yongzhen."
"Master Qin means?"
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