Chapter 563 Uninvited Guest
Compared with Yan Mingjun, Li Jin's experience in his new job was even more bleak. Yan Mingjun sent a few government servants to put up a good appearance for him, but Li Jin didn't receive even a single soldier from his side. . Early this morning, the four injured soldiers were sent back. However, their injuries required rest, and they had been unable to attack him in the past ten days and a half.
Of course Li Jin didn't want to endure such treatment as a passer-by. He was a great Ming general but didn't even have any usable soldiers. What was it like? Li Jin's top priority is to replenish his strength. Otherwise, if he encounters the situation at Baimajing Pier yesterday, no matter how brave he is personally, he will not be able to defeat those Haihan minions who appear in groups.
Although the garrison system in Danzhou was disbanded during last year's banditry and has not been rebuilt so far, Li Jin believes that since there are still people under Mr. Xiao Qian, it means that there should still be a certain number of Ming soldiers in the local area. However, due to the existence of the Haihan militia, the Ming army was no longer able to perform its mission of guarding the local area. What it had to do was to take over the command as soon as possible and then gradually regain local military control from the Haihan people.
It was not difficult to find out where the garrison was. Li Jin originally wanted to call Yan Mingjun to join him, but he failed. On his way to the south of the city, he happened to run into Lord Yan Ming who was out for a private visit with his entourage.
The place inside the south gate against the city wall is where the local military camp is located. However, due to the limited area of Danzhou City, this is only the camp area and does not include the training ground. Usually when the garrison has to conduct training, it is usually conducted outside the city. Therefore, although this is the location of the local garrison, it does not occupy a large area, and the original senior officers have residences in the city and do not live in barracks. From where they stood, they could already see the flagpole in the camp from a distance, but at this time, the flagpole was bare and not hung with a flag.
Before Yan Mingjun could comment, He Qi behind him had already spoken: "Two adults, the local military camp has been requisitioned by the Haihan Militia, and now the people stationed in the barracks are not the Ming Army, but people from the Haihan Militia. ”
Li Jin said in astonishment: "Where are the local Ming troops living now?"
He Qi replied: "The local guard army was disbanded last year and has no place to live."
Li Jin shook his head and said: "Impossible. Wasn't there a Mr. Qian named Xiao who led troops to garrison at Baimajing Pier? These people must have a place to stay, right?"
"This... villain is not sure." He Qi was not interested in getting too involved, and he did not know much about this matter, but he did know that the people in the Daming garrison in Danzhou had nothing to do with Haihan. He just vented his anger through one nostril, but he didn't dare to talk about these soldiers behind their backs.
"Let's go and have a look!" Li Jin didn't intend to ask He Qi for any clues. He wouldn't give up easily without seeing the actual situation.
So a group of three people came to the entrance of the military camp at the south gate. Sure enough, the people guarding the camp gate were not soldiers from the Ming Guards, but soldiers from the Haihan People's Regiment wearing gray military uniforms.
As the three approached, a militiaman stopped them: "Stop! Didn't you see the sign here?"
There is indeed a sign erected next to this guard post with the words "An important military area, no one allowed to enter". Of course Li Jin saw it, but he did not regard himself as an idler. He snorted and said, "I am the new Danzhou Counselor General Li Jin. This is the new Danzhou Magistrate Yan Mingjun. You are not welcome." Get out of here!”
Li Jin failed to show his authority. The militiamen who stopped them looked at him as if they were an idiot and said, "Don't you understand what I'm saying? This is an important military area and no trespassing is allowed!"
"I am Danzhou General!" Li Jin couldn't help shouting, raising his voice.
His voice didn't matter, and soon a dozen militiamen with guns and ammunition poured out from the gate of the military camp, pointing their guns at the three of them. Before Li Jin could react, He Qi shouted first: "Fellow military lords, please don't misunderstand. These two adults are just here to visit the leaders of the militia, and there is no hostility!"
A militia officer walked up to Li Jin and asked with an indifferent expression: "Are you a staff general?"
Li Jin nodded without knowing why. The officer snorted coldly and said: "What do the generals of the Ming Dynasty have to do with my Haihan militia? What qualifications do you have to command my people to retreat?"
Li Jin was suddenly choked up and speechless by his words. He really wanted to have a fit, but seeing the black muzzles of a dozen or so guns next to him, he really didn't dare to take the risk. As a soldier, Li Jin still knows his stuff. The rifles used by the Haihan Militia are all flintlock guns that can be fired with one pull of the trigger, rather than matchlock guns that take several seconds from ignition to firing. They are so close. At such a distance, even if he was extremely skilled in martial arts, he still couldn't dodge the lead bullets fired from so many guns. And this group of lawless Haihan militiamen didn't seem to be afraid of using violence against him, a Ming general.
Yan Mingjun stood up to smooth things over and said, "May I ask which director of Haihan is in charge of this place? Can you please come out and meet with me?"
The militia officer responded: "Our militia does not want to call the director. What do you want to see our chief?"
Yan Mingjun said: "I have official business to discuss, can't you? If you don't hurry up and report it, can you afford to delay the matter?"
He is worthy of being someone who has been in the officialdom for more than ten years. Although he has lost power, he still has aura, and these words temporarily frightened people. The officer looked him up and down before sending someone back to the camp to inform his superiors.
After a while, a dark and sturdy officer came out to meet them: "I am the commander of the militia in Danzhou City, Lieutenant of the Haihan Militia, Yu Tiezhu. You two adults, if you have anything, you can tell me."
Yan Mingjun heard that his accent was somewhat close to that of the Haihan people, but looking at his appearance and skin color, he did not seem to be a pure Haihan person. And what level of officer this "lieutenant" was, he didn't even know. He could only clasp his fists at the moment Said: "General Yu is so polite! I would like to ask General Yu for advice. Where is the Ming garrison camp in Danzhou now?"
Yu Tiezhu's answer was also full of indifference: "The Ming garrison? Since I led the team to Danzhou City three months ago, I have never heard that there is a Ming garrison here. If the Ming Dynasty has a garrison here, how about What are we here for?”
Li Jin shouted: "Then why does Mr. Qian, named Xiao, lead people to garrison in Danzhou Bay?"
Yu Tiezhu glanced at him coldly before replying: "General Xiao Qian's people are the soldiers he brought from Changhua County in the south, where he was originally posted. As for where he and his men are stationed, it doesn't matter where they are stationed." We will not interfere. If you must know the answer, you can go to Baimajing Pier and ask Mr. Xiao Qian. "Li Jin naturally does not believe Yu Tiezhu's statement, and Xiao Laosan was promoted after the bandit disaster. After leveling up, you are a thousand-level boss, but before you upgrade, you are just a general-level commander at best. With the general's ability, how can you support a group of soldiers? He himself became a general and only brought four personal soldiers. Do you really think that raising private soldiers does not cost money?
Seeing the other party's perfunctory attitude, Li Jin became a little anxious: "Then our Ming garrison is just gone?"
Yu Tiezhu said: "What does this have to do with me, Haihan? You can report to your court to apply for military expenses, and then recruit!"
Li Jin thought to himself that if I could apply for military expenses, why would I bring only four soldiers to Danzhou to take up the post? Isn't this just because the Guangdong government cannot afford it? As for applying to the imperial court and the Ministry of War, there is no need to think about it. All the money of the Ministry of War is still in the bottomless pit in the northeast. Now it is difficult to quell the banditry in the Central Plains, so there is no need to worry about the borderland of the South China Sea.
"It's not our Haihan's fault that you don't have any soldiers at your disposal. Just go and do what you have to do. You are also a soldier. You should be very clear about the crime of trespassing in important military areas!" Yu Tiezhu was obviously unwilling to follow Li After talking too much nonsense, he put down a few concise sentences, then turned back to the camp. After taking a few steps, he also dropped a firm sentence: "If anyone wants to break into the military camp, they will be treated as pirates and spies!"< br>
"Yes!" The junior officer who had put Li Jin in trouble earlier raised his hand in a military salute and responded loudly.
"You have all heard Lieutenant Yu's order! Watch them!" After the officer gave the order, he left on his own, completely ignoring the two Ming officials at the door.
Yan Mingjun and Li Jin really felt like their lungs were about to explode. Although they thought they might face various difficulties after arriving in Danzhou, the actual experience was obviously more bleak than they imagined. Whether it was Zhang Xin yesterday or the officer named Yu today, it was obvious that the Haihan people did not take them seriously at all, let alone have any sense of awe for their identities. In front of the Haihan people, their identities seem to be no different from ordinary people.
After something like this happened, it was impossible for them to continue to confront the Haihan militiamen at the gate of the military camp, otherwise they would only be humiliating themselves. Neither of them was in the mood to wander around the city anymore, so they had no choice but to go home. In addition to four wounded soldiers, Li Jin's yamen only had a cook and an old janitor, so he simply followed Yan Mingjun and planned to go to his house to have a meal.
Yan Mingjun returned to his temporary yamen and asked the servant at the door. After such a long time, no one came to visit, let alone a dinner invitation. For the newly appointed magistrate, this was a terrifyingly deserted scene. I remember when he was promoted to the position of Tongzhi of Luoding Prefecture, although Luoding Prefecture was a small place, local gentry and wealthy people sent invitations every day, and they had enough arrangements for two meals a day. It took more than half a month to finish the banquet. Finish eating.
However, after arriving in Danzhou, the gap was really too big. It was obvious that the local gentry had already made a clear position and had decisively drawn a clear line between them and the two outsiders.
Yan Mingjun smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Li, do you want to go back and ask your concierge if you have gained anything?"
Li Jin shook his head and said: "You don't even have a hair on your side, let alone me, just don't ask. Forget it if no one invites you. It's the same for you and my brothers to eat and drink by ourselves. I'll ask my servants to go to the restaurant to buy a banquet later. , I got the money!”
Just as Yan Mingjun was about to say a few polite words, his servant ran to the door of the study and reported: "Master, someone sent a famous card and said that he was coming to visit the master."
"Oh? Let's take a look." Yan Mingjun was also happy when he heard this. After two days in Danzhou, a visitor finally came to his door. If he continues like this, he will really wonder if he has become transparent, and others cannot see his existence at all.
The people who came to the door to lay out the arrangements were not colleagues in the officialdom, nor the people I had seen at the banquet yesterday, but a strange name that I had never heard before. However, Yan Mingjun had already asked He Qi to go home from work. At this time, even if he wanted to find someone to inquire, there was nothing he could do.
Li Jin said: "Brother Yan, the visitor is a guest. Since someone is coming to the door, it is better to meet him first."
Yan Mingjun nodded and asked the servants to invite the future guests to the study.
Soon Yan Mingjun saw the visitor, a man about forty or fifty years old. He looked well dressed, at least he was a wealthy gentleman.
"Huang Zixing, a common man, has met Mr. Yan and Mr. Li!" The visitor was very self-conscious and began to salute as soon as he entered the study.
"No gifts, no gifts!" Yan Mingjun said politely with his hands empty, and then asked: "I just read this post. Mr. Huang is the president of the local Zhongming Academy?"
Yan Mingjun had never heard of this "Zhongming Academy" before, and he was sure that he didn't hear anyone from the local cultural circles talking about this academy at yesterday's banquet. There are probably two possibilities for this. One is that this academy does not exist, and the other is that this academy is not currently in the mainstream circle of Danzhou's cultural circles.
Of course, it is a bit far-fetched to say that it does not exist. After all, Danzhou is the cultural center of Qiongzhou Island. There are twenty or thirty academies, large and small. Those who came to the banquet yesterday were only seven or eight of the largest ones. But even if it is a less famous academy, it is still a big surprise for Yan Mingjun. After all, the local literati who laughed and toasted with him at the banquet yesterday, not to mention paying a visit today, even one of them came to send a famous post. None of them.
Huang Zixing responded: "The grassroots did open an academy in Danzhou, but it is not large in scale and cannot be compared with the local academies such as Bailu and Qingfeng."
Yan Mingjun said: "Why should Dean Huang be so modest? These are all books by saints and sages, and they have nothing to do with the size of the academy."
Huang Zixing said: "Master Yan has seen a lot of people, and the common people admire him. You are busy with official duties, so the common people don't talk in circles. The common people dare to ask, after coming to Danzhou, what do you think of this place?"
Before Yan Mingjun could think of words, Li Jin, who was sitting next to him, spoke first: "The Haihan people are covering the sky in Danzhou with one hand, breaking the rules of the Ming Dynasty. It is a mess and unbecoming!"
Lord Yan Ming thought to himself that even before he could figure out the route of this person, you expressed your stance unscrupulously. If these words reached the ears of the Haihan people, you and I were afraid that we would be humiliated in different ways again, so we quickly raised our hands to signal Li Jin shut up.
(End of chapter)