Chapter 172 Jinping County

Jinping County, which was established in the first year of the Tianqi reign, is a remote place compared to several nearby counties. There are few people and little cultivated land. Even pirates rarely come here. They only come here to take shelter when encountering wind and waves, and plunder by the way.

In the past, officials who offended their superiors or those who had no backing background were sent here to serve, which was regarded as a disguised exile.

However, Liu Wendou, the county magistrate of Jinping County, does not think so. He even thinks that he has turned a disaster into a blessing.

Those colleagues who used to be complacent and domineering are now ruled by mobs who resist grain and taxes. Although they have not developed to the point of attacking prefectures and looting counties, they have been in war for three months, and letters from home are worth ten thousand gold.

A government order cannot be sent even ten miles away, and a letter for help was barely sent out with a small number of people and horses. Now I think it is really a blessing in disguise.

Jinping County is a bit remote, and the local clans and powerful forces are intertwined and have close contacts. Often, a government matter must be discussed with various prominent families before it can be implemented. There is no shortage of negotiations and bargaining.

All the above inconveniences seem to be insignificant now.

Moreover, I have not missed a penny of the interest on ice, charcoal, and fire consumption. Except for being controlled a little and having some psychological difficulties, compared with other counties in Lingnan, it can be said to be a peaceful and happy place!

Not long ago, when I was a staff member beside Governor Xiong, my fellow townsman sent a secret letter to him. Governor Xiong was very satisfied with the 1,200 silver dollars he sent, and he had already rated him as excellent in his assessment.

When I thought that I had been rated as excellent for three consecutive years, it was time to move to another position. It would not be long before I had to have a glass of wedding wine for promotion.

Holding a copy of the Book of Poetry in his hands under the eaves, basking in the sun, he intentionally or unintentionally recited the beautiful poems of the ancient sages in a low voice, appreciating their infinite brilliance, and from time to time took a sip of the Kung Fu tea brewed in the purple clay pot on the bamboo table next to him. Liu Wendou, the Jinping County Magistrate, really felt that he was no better than a god.

However, Murphy's Law had already arranged everything, and good things would often be disturbed by blind people.

"Mr. County Magistrate! Mr. County Magistrate!"

As the inspector responsible for public security and arrests in Jinping County, he rushed to the back house of the courtyard.

Jinping County Magistrate Liu Wendou rolled his eyes at the inspector who didn't know what was good for him, dragged out the nasal sound of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang official language, and scolded him twice: "What makes you so panic? You are also an official, don't lose the official dignity!"

The higher the official, the more powerful he is. The inspector had to bury his head silently and listen to him finish.

After scolding the inspector, Liu Wendou picked up the purple clay teapot again and sipped the tea leisurely.

"Tsk tsk! Good tea! Good tea!"

"You just spent some money to find a favor, not a proper imperial examination, otherwise why would you be exiled here, and why are you pretending to be so arrogant with me, it's bad luck!" The inspector on the side cursed in his heart.

"My lord, a large group of bandits were found outside the city moving towards the county town! And the speed is very fast!" The inspector deliberately added the speed very fast, he expected that our county magistrate would make a fool of himself.

Sure enough, with a "crack!" sound, the purple clay teapot fell from Liu Wendou's hand and smashed on the stone slab.

At the same time, on the road outside the city leading to Jinping County, bursts of thunder-like movements came from far and near, shaking the gravel on the roadside to smash and jump.

A prosperous city in troubled times and a remote place.

Nowadays, almost every village in Lingnan is on fire and smoking. Weizhou paid a little attention to the nearby villages when he landed in Lingnan from Keelung. Almost no village had not built a wall.

The difference is that the height and thickness of the village wall are compared with the financial resources and the strength of the village, and it is obviously reflected in the weapons.

There are strong and wealthy villages, and the village walls are built with bluestone, which are more than three feet high. There are also artillery towers and arrow towers at the four corners. It is more appropriate to say that it is a city wall than a village wall.

In addition to the general rolling wood, stone, gold juice and other defensive weapons on the city, Weizhou can vaguely see the figures of several copper cannons and small Portuguese through the telescope in his hand. This shocked him a little. You know, even the current state government does not have the money to configure such weapons.

Under the flags with the names of the village or the tribe flying on the top of the city, the village guards come and go from time to time, and their awareness of defense is not inferior at all.

In troubled times, it is hard to tell who is a soldier, who is a bandit, and who is a civilian. After all, the transformation of these roles is too fast.

If he is a strong fist, he is what he says. If he is a civilian, he is a civilian. He can still rob soldiers. It is not bad to say that he is a soldier. With weapons in hand, who dares not to obey. As for those poor people in the corners, they have been robbed long ago. They either starved to death on the road or on the way to starvation.

Looking at the high piles of goods on the four-wheeled carriages in the team, Weizhou couldn't help but get nervous. He was afraid that he would attract too much attention and cause unnecessary trouble.

If there was any trouble, he would not be able to explain it when he returned. He had begged for a long time to get such an opportunity to lead troops out. In his opinion, the task on him was not easy.

But Weizhou on the road did not know that this action of escorting goods for the Qin and Han Trading Company had created pressure on the large and small villages along the way in Jinping County, like a huge wave that would not subside for a long time.

The smoke and dust raised by the rapid march of people, horses and vehicles billowed into the sky, and the neighing of the horses was like thunder.

The ground was shaking under the rolling of the vehicles. Looking at the momentum, this team must have more than 10,000 people, or even more?

And each of them was wearing bright armor and shining swords and guns. The elite army was definitely an elite army.

You should know that the elite army now does not mean strict discipline, but means killing without blinking an eye and eating people without hesitation.

Occasionally, pedestrians and merchants walking on the road would not care about the filth and immediately jump into the ditch beside the road to hide, fearing that provoking these uncles would bring disaster to themselves.

In his heart, he had thought of the excuse after being caught. He had a mother in her 70s and 80s and a pair of children who were crying for food. As for his wife, sorry, she ran away with the old oligarch next door. Do you think it is miserable enough?

On the wall of the village where they built a fortress for self-protection in the distance, a group of village guards kept rushing up the wall, hiding behind the battlements of the village wall and secretly looking at the marching group passing by, whispering to analyze the origin of this large group of people and horses.

Are they pirates coming ashore to trade?

From the vehicles, it seems that there are large goods, but if you think about it carefully, there is something wrong.

Would pirates have so many horses? Would pirates have such strong infantry?

If not pirates, then are they government troops?

Looking at the weapons in their hands, they seem to look a bit like government soldiers. The village guards who have seen the world have no hesitation in confirming to their companions around them that the large group in front of them is the government troops, and they confirm it with a spit.