Some book friends reported that they did not like Qin Mingtao, but in fact this book is one of the five main characters. Qin Mingtao's actions are not necessarily right. The benevolent sees benevolence and the wise see wisdomNow that the plot has come to him, I have to write more. If you really don't like him, just hold your nose and make do with it at this stage. I'm sorry. !
May 12, Xicheng, Funing County, North Zhili.
There are still some potholes on the city wall, which were the shell craters from the capture of Funing County the day before yesterday. It was too late to repair them at the moment. But the west gate has been rebuilt with cement and steel bars - this tower is not big to begin with, and it is really a small project for Gaishuiying, which has the level of modern construction industry.
In the warm southeast wind, Qin Mingtao, Li Jinxi, Zhong Hui and other soldiers stood on the city wall, silently facing the map spread out on the wall.
After a long while, Li Jinxi shook his head and finally said it,
"Your Highness, these Tatars fled as soon as we came. They gave up all the east side and shrank to the front line of the Santun camp. Now the Ming army everywhere is retaking the prefectures and counties that the Tatars gave up. It is estimated that they will arrive in twenty days. Funing is here. Will the Ming army start a fight when they encounter us? The longer we wait, the less time we have. Should we go to Santun camp to drive the Tatars out of the customs or return to Tea River Island? Your Highness, please make a quick decision! "
With Huang Taiji shrinking like this, Qin Mingtao's plan to severely injure the Tatars at the seaside was completely ruined. If we go to Santun camp, along the three hundred miles, we may encounter the Ming army jumping out at any time, and we may encounter the Tatars suddenly coming out at any time, which is indeed a bit dangerous.
Qin Mingtao didn't know what Huang Taiji was thinking, so he turned around and walked a few steps on the city wall, just silent.
While hesitating, he heard a familiar voice coming from under the city wall.
"Hey! Are princes, generals and ministers really happy? Ah? How many times have I told you yesterday? Today I will tell you about a business place"
Under the city wall is the refugee area in the west of the city. It was the temporary residence on the tenant farmland. Qin Mingtao guessed something. Squint your eyes and look down. Sure enough, I saw many artillerymen from the Zhongzi Banner running to this area to provide warmth to the old tenants. Especially the daughters of the tenants chatted enthusiastically. Qin Mingtao looked around again and saw Chang Wenguang's figure.
Chang Wenguang was surrounded by a large number of tenants. There must be eighty or ninety people anyway. There are three floors inside and three floors outside. They were sitting on the ground in admiration. Listen to what "Chang DaPao" is bragging about. A little outside, there were a dozen farm girls pretending to chat, listening to Chang Wenguang's story with their ears raised. From time to time, I cast admiring glances.
Especially a beautiful girl of seventeen or eighteen years old. At first, I was still chatting with some sisters in a decent manner. Pretend to be chatting. Later, he became increasingly attracted by Chang Wenguang's boasts. Chang Wenguang kept looking at her when he was talking. She blushed and didn't shy away from the suspicion. I ran up behind the man and squatted down to listen.
A group of men don¡¯t know why they are not surprised when a girl comes to them. He moved to make room for her.
Chang Wenguangjian was finally attracted to this beautiful girl. He said it more and more proudly. The speaking speed is getting faster and faster. There seemed to be a layer of light on the ground.
"Let me tell you another story about Liu Mazi. Liu Mazi was from Jiangnan West Road. He went to the South China Sea a year later than me and came here on the Nanwang's ship. This man was very tall, with a face as thin as a embroidered pole. We call him Mazi Liu. When he came, he was even poorer than you. He didn¡¯t even have straw sandals. Guess what he is doing now?¡±
"do what?"
"Hey, I started out as a salt collector, just digging manure! I worked for a year and then went to coking. I worked hard for two years. I was transferred to the factory as a craftsman by King Taiping. Later I was promoted to the head of the craftsman group, and then I was transferred to Nanhai Bank! Who is he now? He is a general under King Taiping and the president of Yazhou Branch of Nanhai Bank. Do you know how much money was handled that day? "
Chang Wenguang glanced at the people around him, sneered and said, "I'm scared to death that you can't guess! I handled not only 10,000 taels but also 5,000 taels that day!"
Five thousand taels? The poor tenant farmers who gathered around took a breath of cold air. They didn't know if they had ever seen ten taels of silver in their lives. Even fifty taels was an astronomical figure to them. Everyone looked at Chang Wenguang with red eyes, speechless for a moment.
"Brother Chang, are you bragging? Why don't you rely on connections these days? Can poor people get rich?"
A young man in the front row asked angrily, making Chang Wenguang so angry that his beard blew to the sky. Chang Wenguang glanced nervously at the beautiful girl and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the girl was still waiting expectantly for his joke. Chang Wenguang thought for a while and shouted to an officer not far away.
"Mr. Hao Qian, come on!"
The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. Chang Wenguang, the artillery flagman, is not a serious person. He goes to the refugee camp whenever he has time after training.Seeing that the commotion was getting bigger and bigger, Chang Wenguang felt a little unable to step down. He swallowed and glanced at the girl who was too beautiful to see in Nanhai.
The women in the South China Sea are all dark and small, and they are really far behind this slender and fair northern girl.
Seeing Chang Wenguang looking at her, the girl nodded affirmatively and said softly in a voice like an oriole, "Brother Chang, please help everyone, there is really no way to survive."
After hearing this, Chang Wenguang felt a surge of energy from nowhere and stood up quickly. He raised his chest and said to the crowd around him, "Don't worry, everyone! This matter has been left to me, Chang Wenguang!"
The crowd around him suddenly burst into cheers, looking at Chang Wenguang eagerly. Chang Wenguang put on his helmet, turned over and mounted his horse, saluted the villagers with fists in his hands, and ran towards the wall where Dong Wang was. But just as he was about to raise his whip, he saw the gloomy-looking Dong Wang riding over from the west gate.
Seeing King Dong¡¯s big white horse riding over, the eyes of tens of thousands of people in the entire refugee area immediately turned to him. Everyone looked here nervously, looking at Chang Wenguang who was a little embarrassed, and then at Qin Mingtao who was frowning, and everyone was sweating in their hearts.
Chang Wenguang would be challenged by the common people, and even King Dong, who looked bad, had to bravely rush forward. He came up and clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, the people in Funing County have no food to eat, and they all want to follow you! Do you think we can transport them to the island?"
Li Jinxi couldn't help laughing when he heard this, and turned his head to the side to hold back his words. Li Chengzong looked at Chang Dapao with dismay and spat, "I tell you, Mr. Chang Qi, not to mention that this will be a battlefield, the Ming army Tatars are surrounding us from all directions. Just talk about tens of thousands of people, where are you going to do this? Transport them in big ships?¡±
Chang Wenguang also knew that he was being abrupt, so he touched his head helplessly, only to find a cold helmet. He withdrew his hand angrily, looked at Qin Mingtao and said helplessly, "Your Highness, what will they do when the food is gone? We can't let them starve to death, right?"
These words made all the officers look a little ugly. Qin Mingtao nodded and looked at the tens of thousands of people crowded in the west of the city with their eager eyes. There was a woman with a family, holding her child in her arms and looking helplessly. There are elderly people, supported by their children, looking here expectantly. There are also young people who are full of energy. Although they are in tatters, they are full of energy and look at themselves with admiration.
Qin Mingtao pulled the horse's head and asked loudly to tens of thousands of farmers, "Do you want to follow me?"
No one answered this sentence for a long time. Chang Wenguang even became a little anxious and shouted loudly at the refugees,
"The King of the East asked you if you would like to follow us! Say yes.
"Say yes quickly!"
But these people who have no way out feel no need to say "yes". They are only worried that Nanhai Kingdom will not accept them. One by one, piece by piece, they knelt down all over the world and expressed their determination to join the South China Sea Army.
They have their own pride and self-esteem, they are unwilling to surrender to the Tatars, and they are unwilling to give up Chinese clothes. But they trusted the troops from the bottom of their hearts to the troops from the South China Sea who drove away the Tatars, gave them rice to eat, and provided warmth to the soldiers without robbing them. The prince and general Xiang Ning have the guts! Let¡¯s go to Nanhai Country to live the good life of the Han people!
Looking at the dark crowd, Qin Mingtao nodded for a long time,