Chapter 3313
Yingtian Mansion has jurisdiction over eight counties: Shangyuan, Jiangning, Jurong, Liyang, Lishui, Gaochun, Jiangpu, and Liuhe. Among them, Liuhe and Jiangpu counties are on the north bank of the Yangtze River and are still under the control of the Ming Dynasty. There is no need for Haihan to worry about local problems for the time being.
Shangyuan and Jiangning counties are under the jurisdiction of Nanjing City. The entire Nanjing city area north of the Qinhuai River, including the Imperial City, is under the jurisdiction of Shangyuan County.
But precisely because of this, the jurisdiction of Shangyuan County is actually under the direct jurisdiction of Yingtianfu Yamen, so the government is also a model of two signs and one team.
Qu Deren's position is as the chief catcher of Shangyuan County, and he also works as an errand for Yingtianfu Yamen. He was born and raised in Nanjing. He joined the Yamen as an errand at the age of seventeen and became a head catcher at the age of thirty. His career as a courier has lasted nearly thirty years.
Qu Deren has lived in Nanjing for the first half of his life and has never been to the imperial city. Qu Deren can be said to be very familiar with every street, alley, and shop inside and outside Nanjing. He can see it with his eyes closed. Draw it on paper.
When the government or county government investigates or handles difficult local cases, they must rely on Qu Deren. As for the various social strata from top to bottom, most of them know the name Qu Baotou. Many of the three yamen servants in Yingtian Mansion and Shangyuan County were his disciples and disciples.
Although Qu Deren's position is not high, he does have a lot of contacts in all aspects. Every year, there is an endless stream of people who come to him for help. In some gray areas where it is inconvenient for the government to come forward, Qu Deren's words may be more effective than the words of the prefect in the government office.
Of course, Qu Deren would not help these people who came to him in vain, so after more than ten years of arresting people, Qu Deren had also accumulated a considerable fortune. In addition to a house in the city, he also had I bought hundreds of acres of farmland near Xuanwu Lake in the north of the city, and I had long since realized that I had no worries about food and clothing.
If the war had not broken out, Qu Deren's life could be said to have been quite comfortable. But since the war broke out in mid-April, his life has been turned into a mess.
A large number of Ming troops gathered from Chuzhou, Hezhou, Luzhou and other places in the north of the Yangtze River to Yingtian Mansion, and then departed from Yingtian Mansion to the frontline battlefields in Zhenjiang, Changzhou and other places. In order to allow these troops to pass through Yingtian Mansion smoothly, almost everyone in the yamen was transferred to serve as logistics personnel for the Ming army.
Qu Deren had to go out in person to urge food and taxes, escort supplies, and solve all kinds of strange problems encountered by the Ming army in Yingtian Mansion. He was extremely busy every day.
Moreover, most of the profits from these errands were divided up by the upper echelons of the government and military leaders, with barely a few drops left to flow into Qu Deren's hands. Going out early every day and returning home late every day was a waste of work.
Not long after, news of the Ming army's retreat continued to come from the front. The Haihan army marched all the way to Yingtian Mansion, and the city of Nanjing suddenly changed from a rear base camp to a precarious battlefield.
At this time, the city of Nanjing had entered a defensive state with its city gates tightly closed, and Qu Deren was also trapped in the city, unable to escape even if he wanted to.
After the implementation of military control in Nanjing City, tens of thousands of Ming troops were stationed in the city, and there were temporary checkpoints everywhere, but he, the head catcher, had nothing to do with it. Of course, if there were any security incidents, nine out of ten of them would be related to the Ming Army. Not to mention his arrest, even the Yingtian Mansion Office would probably not be able to deal with it.
Qu Deren was not in a hurry. Anyway, the situation had reached this level. Whether ordinary people struggled or not, it actually didn't make much sense. They could only leave it to fate. Besides, the Haihan army occupied a lot of places in the Ming Dynasty, and it is not known that they massacred any city.
After all, Qu Deren was considered a man of great skill and insight in Nanjing City, so keeping his family safe was not a problem. At least you don't have to worry that you and your family will be short of food and clothing during the siege.
But his wife was not satisfied with Qu Deren, because her sister who lived in Yanziji in the north of the city was her only relative in Nanjing. However, Qu Deren was not able to bring her sister and her family back to the city in time because of official duties. As a result, contact with Nanjing was cut off after the city was closed, and we didn’t know whether the other party was safe.
Qu Deren didn't take it seriously. His brother-in-law had worked at Yanziji Pier for decades and was very familiar with various shipping companies. He might have dragged his family and family to hide in Jiangbei a long time ago, so he didn't need to worry about it. If you just use these words to comfort your wife, you will inevitably be complained about.
Nanjing was besieged for almost a month. Someone told Qu Deren that eunuchs from the capital had quietly entered the city. Qu Deren concluded at that time that the siege should be over soon.
As expected, the capital's purpose was to save the lives of Nanjing's soldiers and civilians, so it decided to temporarily abandon Nanjing. After consultation with the Haihan Army, the other side agreed to set aside three days for the soldiers and civilians in the city to evacuate. There are nearly a thousand officials in various yamen in Nanjing. Most of these people will take this opportunity to flee Nanjing. If Qu Deren wanted to leave, he could of course follow the large troops to evacuate Nanjing.
But he finally chose to stay, for no other reason than that his roots were in Nanjing, and the wealth he had accumulated after half a lifetime of hard work could not be given away in vain.
Moreover, he believed that he was just a head catcher. After the Haihan Army entered the city, they had many things to do and had no time to embarrass a small person like him.
Sure enough, after the Haihan Army took over Nanjing, Qu Deren's family was not harassed. However, after the government was closed, he was temporarily unemployed at home.
The Haihan people didn't come to the door, but the relative from outside the city came first.
Qu Deren was surprised when he saw his brother-in-law and his wife coming to the door: "Old Qin? Nowadays, Nanjing city only allows people to leave and not enter. How did you get here?"
Qu Deren's brother-in-law is Qin Jian, the foreman of Yanziji Wharf.
Qin Jian smiled and said: "The chief of the Haihan Army went to the city to do business. I begged him to come with him. I don't trust your family, so I insist on coming to the city to take a look."
After saying that, he turned to his wife and said, "How's it going? I'm right, right? There's no need for us to worry about someone like your brother-in-law!"
Qu Deren heard the secret from it: "Old Qin, are you working with the Haihan people now?"
Qin Jian said: "As the saying goes, those who understand current affairs are heroes. Even the Ming Dynasty was defeated. Sooner or later, the world will belong to Haihan. Choose a side and get rich early. There is nothing wrong with following the Haihan people. Let me tell you, this swallow Since Ji Pier returned to Haihan, brother, I have made more money than before.”
Qu Deren smiled and said: "How many people wanted to jump off the ship but never had the chance, but you jumped over in one go!"
Qin Jian heard the envy in his words and continued: "The Haihan people use me because of my decades of experience at Yanziji Wharf. With your status and qualifications, since you stay in Nanjing, the Haihan people will definitely I will also use you. I must have come to see you, right?”
Qu Deren shook his head and said: "I haven't come to the door yet. Maybe they don't like me at all."
Qin Jian said: "If you are interested in serving the new dynasty, I will ask the officers I know to recommend you."
Qu Deren said: "Do you know any officer who has such great power?"
Qin Jian couldn't break the cowhide, but responded vaguely: "Whether the matter can be done, you have to ask before talking about it. Don't worry, this matter will be taken care of by my brother!"
(End of chapter)