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Qin Mu was always busy, waking up at the sound of cock-crows every day, and at dawn the next day, he was laughing and joking with his maid in the yard... ... ... ..
Dear readers, please don't misunderstand. County Magistrate Qin is not so beastly as to attack an eleven-year-old girl.
"Sir, you run around with two sandbags tied to your body every day. Is that so that you can escape faster in the future?"
"Nonsense, of course... Uh, no, it's so that we can chase the enemy faster in the future."
"But don't you have a horse?"
"I have a horse and the enemy has a horse too. Everyone's horses have run to death, so it all depends on who can run faster. Besides, what if I can run faster than a horse? Wouldn't that scare the enemy to death?"
"Oh, yes, sir, why don't you get a mad dog and let it out in the morning!"
“Uh… ... ... ... ” Qin Mu’s legs went weak and he almost fell down.
Suddenly, there was a "puff!" sound from outside the wall. Qin Mu, who had sharp ears and eyes, jumped up and rushed out of the courtyard gate, shouting, "Who is eavesdropping? Come out!"
In the morning light outside, there was a graceful woman with a jade phoenix hairpin inserted diagonally in her Japanese bun. She was wearing white peony smoke gauze and a long white floor-length skirt with a pattern of plum blossoms. The hem of her skirt was caught on the rose thorns by the wall, and a maid was squatting there, hurriedly helping her to remove the thorns.
"Ms. Yang, what are you doing..."
Yang Zhi's cheeks flushed instantly, her lips slightly opened but she didn't know how to explain. Her embarrassment was just like the shyness of a water lotus in the cool breeze. Even the pretty maid squatting on the ground couldn't help herself, and the rose thorn that was caught on her skirt became increasingly difficult to untie.
No matter how dumb Qin Mu was, he knew what was going on. He laughed quickly, "Good morning, Miss Yang! The air is fresh this morning, perfect for a walk. Miss Yang must like the blooming roses here. Yes, I like them too."
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Yang Zhi wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into after hearing this nonsense. But she had to answer it anyway. She bowed and said, "Morning, Lord Qin!"
"Morning, Miss Yang!"
"Morning, Master Qin!"
"Morning, Miss Yang!"
"... ... ... ... ... ... ... "
Both of them were a little embarrassed, like a couple bowing to each other. Qin Mu hated this evil old society. In later generations, it was normal to make a joke with a beautiful woman, but in this era of strict ethics, those flowery words were useless. If you suddenly said "Beautiful woman, you have a great figure", people would probably jump into the water.
"Ahem, it's getting late!" Yang Tinglin suddenly appeared like a ghost with a cold and stinky face. Not only was Yang Zhi frightened, but even Qin Mu was very embarrassed, as if he had seduced someone else's daughter and was caught on the spot.
"My daughter greets my father."
"You have been praying here all morning, haven't you prayed enough?"
"Dad!" A coquettish voice, like the first cry of a yellow oriole, drifted in the morning breeze.
Amitabha! Qin Mu silently chanted the Buddha's name, suppressed the restlessness in his heart, stepped forward and bowed, saying: "This humble official greets the prefect."
"What? Are you dizzy from praying so much?"
"Um... nephew greets Uncle Yang."
"Ahem! Zhier, what are you doing out so early in the morning?"
"Dad! My daughter... the roses are in full bloom here, and the air is... fresh. My daughter... is coming out for a walk!"
Oh my god, this girl is really daring, playing pirating in front of him. Qin Mu quickly turned his head away, clenched his teeth and looked at the rosy clouds in the sky. His teeth were almost broken, and he barely held back the smile that was about to burst out.
Yang Tinglin glanced at Qin Mu, then turned back and scolded his daughter, "How dare you be so reckless? Go back now."
"Yes, Daddy. I'll be back right away." The girl somehow untied the thorns of the rose. Yang Zhi bowed again and left in a hurry with a red face.
"Uncle Yang, what happened? You can just send someone over to say hello. I am really worried about you going there in person."
"Apart from Ma Yongzhen, what else can we do right now? My dear nephew, please change your clothes first, and then we can talk in detail."
"Yes, please wait for a moment, Uncle Yang."
Qin Mu hurriedly changed into his official robes and came to the second hall with Yang Tinglin. The two sat down and chatted for a while. Ganzhou Tongzhi Chen Shaoping, judge Gao Dingfang, and Ganzhou Wei commander Tongzhi Ma Sizhong also came.
Qin Mu gave all the credit for defeating Ma Yongzhen to them, so the three of them still had a good impression of Qin Mu, at least on the surface their attitude was very polite.
After exchanging pleasantries, several people sat down one after another. Yang Tinglin spoke first, "Although Ma Yongzhen suffered a great defeat, there are still several thousand troops in the Nanshe Mountain area. We failed to capture him yesterday. I'm afraid he will come back soon. We must make some plans."
Ma Sizhong nodded and said, "Your Excellency the prefect is right. Yesterday, Lord Qin led his army in a hard battle, and with the heavy rain, they were unable to pursue the victory. Now that the three thousand troops have rested for a night, I think it is better for Lord Qin to lead the army to wipe out the remaining bandits as soon as possible to prevent them from reviving."
Ma Sizhong was the second in command of Ganzhou Guard, but he was a civilian, similar to the political commissar of later generations. He had never commanded an army alone, and he was quite self-aware. Moreover, these 3,000 Baojia were not a well-trained army at all. Qin Mu's victory yesterday was extremely lucky.
Ma Yongzhen is no pushover. Commander Zhu Teng died at Ma Yongzhen's hands. Ma Sizhong didn't want to take the risk with thousands of militiamen, so he quickly pushed the hard task onto Qin Mu. Anyway, Qin Mu won, so they also got a share of the credit.
"I agree with Mr. Ma's opinion." Chen Shaoping immediately stated.
Yang Tinglin had a clearer understanding of the situation and was not overwhelmed by yesterday's victory. He pondered and said, "Although County Magistrate Qin played an indispensable role in yesterday's victory, the morale was boosted by the silver mountain. The borrowed silver has been spent and there is not much left. It will have to be used to provide relief to the victims in the future. We can't afford to suffer this kind of trouble again."
Qin Mu immediately said, "Your Excellency the Prefect is right. Even if there is another reward of silver, Ma Yongzhen will definitely not fight us head-on. There are many mountains and dangerous roads in southern Jiangxi. Once Ma Yongzhen avoids fighting, it will be a long-lasting, time-consuming and laborious encirclement and suppression. I still want to adopt the policy of appeasement. Ma Yongzhen's arrogance has been suppressed after this defeat. As long as we offer reasonable conditions, it should not be difficult to appease Ma Yongzhen."
Except for Ganzhou magistrate Gao Dingfang, who opposed the policy of appeasing the emperor, as he believed that appeasement would only bring trouble, everyone else expressed their approval.
For Tongzhi Chen Shaoping and others, the sooner the wartime state ended, the better it would be for them;
In this special period, the power of Ganzhou Prefecture is almost entirely in the hands of Yang Tinglin, which is something they do not want to see.
Gao Ding's side was outnumbered and weak, and they could not defeat the enemy, so a strategy of appeasement was agreed upon. In the end, it was Qin Mu who volunteered to go to Nanshe Mountain again.
Qin Mu never dragged his feet in doing things. After breakfast, he led a hundred cavalrymen and headed straight for Nanshe Mountain.
Ma Yongzhen fled back with dozens of people, and after joining the follow-up army, he immediately retreated to Nanshe Mountain. The 800 elite soldiers were almost lost, and their morale was low. It was not a wise choice to attack Ganzhou again. Ma Yongzhen planned to defend it in a dangerous place, and first stalemate with Qin Mu for a while, while he trained his elite soldiers and made plans for the future.
As if things weren't bad enough, Ma Yongzhen, who had just retreated from Nanshe Mountain, immediately received news from Huichang that a surprise attack by a special force of nearly a thousand soldiers had occurred in Huichang, and the two hundred troops left behind by Ma Yongzhen were completely wiped out.
Ma Yongzhen couldn't help but be shocked. Huichang was the place where he started his career. Once Huichang was lost, he was sandwiched between Huichang and Ganzhou, being attacked from both sides. The situation was extremely unfavorable to him.
Where did these people come from
Before he could figure out what was going on, another of his men came into the tent and reported that Qin Mu was leading his troops again!
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ps: Today is Singles’ Day, my holiday, happy singles day.
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