The fact was similar to Zheng Yunhu's expectation, after the Ming army arrived, after a short rest, they launched a siege, and even earth cannons and Furlong machine guns were used. However, it didn't work out well. After all, both the Ming army's earth artillery and Furlong machine guns were small-caliber artillery. Faced with a strong wall, the power seemed insufficient.

Then, the Ming army tried to attack the city with ants, but the effect was not good. After all, the main force of this uprising, but the servants, is the source of the coyote soldiers in Guangxi. The fighting power of the servants is very strong, and they may not be tall or strong. However, relying on the ferocity of the mountain people, the battle was not fatal. Therefore, the Ming army's method of ant attachment naturally has no effect. Even if a soldier climbed the city wall, he was driven off the city by the soldiers of the Servant Volunteers.

Then, the Ming army and the Yao rebel army fell into a state of confrontation......

At this time, outside the Daming military camp, a group of ragged refugees suddenly came......

"What are you doing? The barracks are important, and you must not approach them, otherwise you will be killed! The guard slammed the pole of his spear to the ground and shouted a warning.

However, an old man with gray hair suddenly came out of the refugees and said to the guards:

"Master Jun, we are people who were driven out of Luorong County by the barbarians, and we have important military information to report to the Governor!"

"Bold, the Governor is a second-class member of the imperial court, how can you wait for the villagers to see it?" The guards of the camp said disdainfully.

"But, the old man really has a military intelligence report!"

"Old horseman, you're still messing around here! Beware of me beating you! "The guards guarding the camp gate are not good birds, and they are deeply affected by the characteristics of "dogs looking down on people" when they look at the gate in later generations, that is, they don't believe that the ragged old man can have any military intelligence.

While they were arguing, one of Chen Jin's guards happened to pass by near the camp gate and happened to hear the two arguing.

However, the guard did not take the old man in on his own initiative, but returned to the Chinese army camp and reported the matter to Chen Jin.

"Oh, did the old man really say that?" Hearing the report of the guards, Chen Jin, the governor of Liangguang, became interested.

"Yes, that old man claimed to have been driven out of Luorong County by barbarian soldiers, and he has an important military report."

"So, bring a show?" Chen Jinyi moved. There has been no progress in the siege these days, and he is also a little anxious. If you know the enemy's weakness......

"Dong Weng can't!" At this time, Chen Jin's staff member Master Zhou blocked it.

"Why not?" Chen Jin was a little puzzled.

"Dong Weng, how do you know that what the old man said must be true? If that old man is a spy sent by the barbarians to assassinate him, it won't be good......"

"This ......"

At this time, the guard interjected:

"Your Excellency the Governor, why don't you just bring that old man in? An old man, is there any threat? I'll just wait for the guards to be around. Moreover, before coming in, the subordinates must search their bodies! ”

"Yes! Go and bring that old man in! Chen Jin nodded.

By the time the guard returned to the gate of the camp, the group of refugees had been driven away by the guards. The guards chased after them for a while before they caught up with the group of refugees.

Then, the guards took the gray-haired old man and entered the governor's tent of Chen Jin.

After entering the big tent, the old man immediately knelt down and said:

"Luorong County's craftsman cow is rich and knocks to see the governor!"

Chen Jin saw that this old man must be over 60 years old, and immediately said:

"Uncle, please get up, stand up and talk back!"

If he is a young man, Chen Jin will not treat him like this, he will only let him kneel and reply, this is the gap between the ancient government and the people.

However, the Ming Dynasty gave preferential treatment to the elderly, stipulating that the elderly over 60 years old, if they did not have children and brothers to support, could live in a nursing home set up by the government and be supported by the state. Even if the elderly who have reached the age of 80 have children, if they live in poverty, they can still be supported by the state's welfare. For example, Zhu Yuanzhang once ordered - "If you are poor and have no property, you will be given five buckets of rice, five catties of meat, and three buckets of wine per month, and those over 90 will be given a horse of silk and one catty of silk per year." "In addition, when the elders see officials, they can not kneel, unless they see the emperor and the Qincha, they need to kneel. Chen Jin was the governor of Qin, so Niu Dafu knelt. Otherwise, just do it. Of course, Chen Jin would not really let the old man kneel all the time, otherwise, he would definitely be accused by other civil officials.

However, although the Ming Dynasty gave preferential treatment to the elderly, it did not actually make much sense and did not cost much. Why? Because the ancients lived a short life...... When the level of medicine is so low, the average person hangs up at the age of forty or fifty, where can he live so long? Although the state supports the elderly over 80 years old, in ancient times, those over 80 years old were definitely old birthday stars, which was relatively rare. Even if you make an offering, it won't cost you a lot of money.

After Niu Dafu got rich, he continued to say:

"Lord Governor, the old man was the leader of the craftsmen of Luorong County, so he knew some secrets of the city defense. When I heard that the king was coming, I would like to tell my lord! ”

"Oh, but what secret passages lead to the city?" Hearing this, Chen Jin asked excitedly.

In fact, in ancient times, some big families, in order to leave a way back, often dug secret passages at home. If the mansion is besieged, the core members of the family will run away through secret passages.

Old Man Niu shook his head and said:

"There is no secret passage to the city in Luorong County......"

Chen Jin was immediately extremely disappointed, but Niu Dafu continued:

"However, the old man knows that there is a section of the wall that is not strong......"

"The walls are not strong? Why? Chen Jin was a little puzzled.

"Do you remember that in the second year of Chenghua, Luorong County was broken by the army of the barbarian chieftain Marquis Dagou?"

"I've heard ...... little"

"That year, the barbarian chieftain Da Gou led tens of thousands of troops to besiege Luorong County, besieged the city for several months, and finally broke through the corner of the city wall in the west......"

Chen Jin realized, and then asked:

"How did the thieves break through the western wall? Does he have a cannon? ”

Niu Dafu shook his head and said:

"No, but that summer there happened to be heavy rain in Luorong County, and the outside of the city walls was flooded. Hou Dagou asked people to drive a few boats and forcibly hit the wall...... It just so happened that the wall was loosened by the blisters, so it was hit by a ship......"

"Can you still ...... like this," Chen Jin was a little stunned. However, it is rare to encounter heavy rains that inundate the outside of the city. Expecting to break the city like this, God is really going to be very powerful.

Niu Laohan continued:

"After the imperial court recovered Luorong County, Hu Wenhai, the then chief secretary of Luorong County, commanded a group of craftsmen to repair this gap in the city wall. However, in order to be greedy for ink, Master Hu used improper materials, which led to the construction of an unstable section of the city wall......"

"What's the law?" Chen Jin asked expectantly.

"This section of the city wall is hollow ......," Niu Laohan paused, and then continued:

"Also, there is a big problem with the materials used to build the castle......"

"Hollow ......" Chen Jin was stunned, but still motioned for Niu Dafu to continue.

"Adults may not know, in addition to bricks and stones, I also need special materials to build the city wall, and these bricks and stones are firmly bonded together in order to keep the city wall unbreakable. The materials for bonding masonry generally use glutinous rice juice, brown sugar and lime......"

In order to be greedy for ink, Master Hu not only bought a lot of bricks and stones, but also made that section of the city wall hollow. Moreover, the glutinous rice juice was also replaced with indica rice juice...... As for the brown sugar, it was simply not put ...... Glutinous rice costs one stone and two taels of silver, while indica rice is only half a tael of silver and one stone. Indica rice juice was used instead of glutinous rice juice, and all the money saved went into the pockets of Hu Zhushu and others......"

"This fang is very hateful!" Chen Jin said angrily.

"My lord is angry, although Master Hu is hateful, it is convenient for the king to attack the city this time. Indica rice juice does not have the effect of glutinous rice juice at all, so it is certain that that section of the city wall looks flawless on the outside, but it is certainly not solid. Moreover, because it is hollow, it is not resistant to impact. Therefore, the old man thinks that he can use cannon stones to break the ......"

Chen Jin's eyes suddenly lit up - if according to Niu Laohan's words, this section of the city wall could be blasted by artillery, then the army could easily break through the enemy. As long as the army enters the city, even if the barbarian army is strong, it is still useless in the face of absolute numerical superiority. It's really not good, I have a lot of people, so I can use the wheel to fight. No matter how strong you are alone, I will take turns to send troops to fight you, and I won't let you rest......

So, Chen Jin said urgently:

"Please also ask the old man to lead the way and help the king to break through this city!"

"Your Excellency the Governor, please!"

"Please, uncle!"

……