Wendeng since the Ming Dynasty Wanli anti-Japanese fortification, although it has been repaired several times, but the pattern has not changed. The city is rectangular, its width is 180 zhang, the width is 150 zhang, the circumference is more than 660 zhang, as far as the county seat is concerned, it is not too small. No matter how small it is, this is less than a mile deep, even with the moat outside the city, it is still within the range of mountain artillery.

When the cannons were fired outside the city, in the Dali Temple on Nanmenli Street, the people in the city who had already received the news of the siege of the city by the peasant patrol police were like sitting on pins and needles. It's just a matter of shooting, this is all starting to be fired, what should I do?!

Among the people who are sitting, the top two positions on the right are Lu Zhengsi, who had been the head of the former Qing Dynasty Ministry of Labor, and was a white man at this time, and still had braids; On the left is the chief official of Dali Temple in Wendeng County, Lin Jikui, who was spared death because of last night's incident, he is also a jinshi, but he is nine years later than Lu Zhengsi and 30 years of Guangxu. Earlier in the south as an official, but this person seems to be too upright and pedantic, the judgment is troublesome, so he was dismissed by his boss, and then he studied the law, and the new dynasty actually became a scholar in Dali Temple.

The first is these two, and then the next is Lu Yanmei, the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu Jinshi, who was the chief of food and salary of Li Jiantang, the minister of the Yangtze River Navy Division (when Li Jiantang's department was transferred north to Jinggi and died in Tongzhou), he was later appointed as the head of the household department, but they were all white, and he was a junior compared with Lu Zhengsi after all, so he only sat at the bottom; Then down is Wang Jiahe, Guangxu three years jinshi, although there is no experience in Beijing, but he is still the local leader.

In addition to these four, the next one is Cong Jingyue, who led the crowd to the police station last night. He has no fame, but his brother Cong Dafu broke into the Kanto region in his early years and knew Russian, and somehow got on the line with the Liaodong bandit mountain carving during the Russo-Japanese War. After his death, he was posthumously regarded as a martyr, so he loved to dance with knives and guns, although he did not become an official. But he also became a squad leader in the county patrol police station, with more than ten people under him. He is in charge of the waiting family. The surname Cong is a big family in Wendeng, and his brother Cong Peifang is also an official in the county, but he was suddenly killed by the county magistrate Zuo Rulin the night before.

In addition to him, there is also Cong Dianjia, who is Yi Itchsheng, that is, Xiucai; Others who have made meritorious contributions in the previous dynasty include prisoners Pan Zhongqing and Liu Fuhai, who were born in Peiyuan. And those who have no fame are Zhang Peixin, Bing Changfa, who lost power after the rise of the peasant association. They are also landlords themselves - only landlords have spare money, and it is necessary to run group exercises; Then there is the shopkeeper of a firm who sits on the outermost side. If you go to war, you will destroy the shop, but if you don't fight, your property will be confiscated, so the shopkeepers are very sad, and they don't know whether to save their money or their lives.

Among the more than 20 people, everyone is dressed up, not to mention clothing, even hats. The famous Lu Yanmei and others still wore braids to show their loyalty to the Qing Dynasty, and on their heads were the melon skin hats often worn by Qing people; Since Lin Jikui has become an official of this dynasty. Naturally, he was dressed in a cyan seven-rank official badge and wore a black gauze hat, while Cong Jingyue and another patrol officer were police hats; And those group training landlords and business shopkeepers, because the new dynasty does not enforce hairstyles and clothing. So I didn't lean on either end, and my hair was all pulled up with a net, but it was not good to wear a melon skin hat in this way. In the end, I had to get a Qianming Sifang scarf, which seemed to be a big bookcase on my head.

The shopkeepers sighed. The landlords were sad, but everyone looked at Lin Jikui at the top. He is the backbone of everyone who dares to take down the police station and occupy Wendeng City. Only he is there, these people are righteous men and not thieves, and the real reason why everyone only recognizes him and dares to do it is because the Tingweifu not only presides over the trial of all lawsuits, but is also completely independent and not under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Office. Everyone believed that by following Master Lin Jikui, the Tingwei Mansion would finally give themselves justice. Yesterday because of Lin Jikui's letter for help, today's rejection of the enemy also hopes that Lin Jikui will show a posture and set a tone.

"Brother Zhongbin, there is no possibility of easing the situation. If you don't get caught, you can only take a risk. But the two are the same thing, and Cao Xubao and those people will never let us go. For today's plan, we can only stick to Wendeng and wait for the Beijing division to set things right. "When Cong Jingyue attacked the patrol police station yesterday, she killed a lot of patrol policemen, and even shot the county magistrate and the chairman of the peasant association to death. If he really wants to be beaten in by the peasant soldiers outside the city, even if he has the status of a martyr, he will be killed in private.

"The virtuous nephew is reasonable!" As soon as Cong Jingyue said this, the melon skin hats nodded frequently, they were different from pure landlords, they all had braids, and maybe they charged Cao Xubao with the crime of restoration and rebellion, which was a big crime. Lu Yanmei, who was at the bottom of the head, said: "Cao Xubao, Yu Tongzhi and others will never let us go," he said and looked at the landlords and shopkeepers, and said with certainty: "Jingshi suddenly came to the chaos of public ownership of property, which means that our family property cannot be saved." But don't think that giving your possessions will save your lives......"

Lu Yanmei, who had sat in the staff, was completely different from Lin Jikui and Lu Zhengsi, and he understood the thoughts of the propertied people best, so he revealed his words and sold them, just waiting for these people to ask. Sure enough, the person who was furious by his sentence 'can't save his life' hurriedly asked: "May I ask Master Lu, isn't this public property?" If I give my possessions, won't I be able to save my life? ”

"Hehe...... life? That's delusion! Lu Yanmei, who asserted his delusion, suddenly stood up, and everyone's gaze at him raised a few points. I saw him shaking a paper fan and said; "You don't know how the revival will begin, do you?" He said without waiting for everyone to nod his head and said: "It is said that the revival society started as an industry, and the money for the rebellion was earned by itself, but that is only one of them." Wasn't the base land they occupied before the founding of the country all embezzled the people's property and privately divided the people's land?

And the revival society swept the whole country in a few years, but it was not just the students, you look at those peasant associations, who are the people? Prisoners, scoundrels, ruffians, bandits, hooligans, these are all such people. Don't talk about other places, just our Wendeng County Peasant Association, except for Yu Guanjing, aren't the others just like that? The peasant association loves to recruit such people, and when these people are summoned, they go to a special peasant association school, where they specialize in learning how to harm people, and when they come out, they will become peasant union officials. Originally, they were all wicked people, and most of what they learned were harmful things, so how good could this peasant association be? ”

Lu Yanmei's words were convincing, and everyone nodded their heads, they didn't know what the people in the peasant association had learned, but what did the cadres of the peasant association in this county do before, because of the native township. It's all clear. Others don't mention it, President Yu Guanjing is a very restless and self-conscious person. When the British foreigners leased Weihaiwei. He took some ruffians to coerce the villagers to make trouble, not that he really wanted to make trouble. He is trying to make a name for himself by making trouble, and he doesn't even look at the person who dies because of it. After this time, no one believed him, but he climbed to the high branch of the Fuxing Society and became the president of the county peasant association.

Seeing everyone nodding, Lu Yanmei frightened again: "When I was in Beijing, I saw a secret report about the Fuxing Society, which said how they robbed the people's wealth. The first thing they did was to ask for money, hundreds or even thousands, and if they didn't give it, they would arrest people. If they don't give it again, they will be tied up and dragged to the market, and hung up and beaten. This is still when they say that they want to protect private property, once the war is tight and the food is not enough, then they will turn around and confiscate the landlord's property, which does not mean that you will be done and safe if you hand over the money and land to them. Ask yourselves, will you give them all your gold and silver? ”

After Lu Yanmei finished asking, he looked at everyone, and when he saw that everyone was avoiding his gaze, he smiled immediately, and he said again. "Of course not! acres of land, shops, and other things that are placed on the bright side, if you don't want to give them, you have to give them; As for the gold and silver jewels, they will be buried. I know you do, and Revival certainly knows that you do. What to do? Of course, it was torture. Hit whom? It's not about torturing all of you. Before you were tortured, you were dragged into a ravine and shot. It was your mothers-in-law who tortured you, and it was your daughters who committed adultery. They are your relatives, and they must know where the gold and silver jewels are hidden.

In the past, there was a team of people under the Yizhou Revival Association to do this kind of work. When confiscating large households, what they like to do most is to rape the daughter of a good family, not alone. It's a gang of people who commit adultery. King Yu of Yizhou City is the same year as me, his queen Ying'er, who was twenty-eight years old at the time, so beautiful that even foreigners would take off their hats and salute her when they saw her, what happened in the end? When the Fuxing Society collected the family property, he shot Master Wang, forced Jin Yin to kill Mrs. Wang, and gave his daughter to ...... Three whole days, and finally...... Killed himself by biting his tongue. ”

Finally said the past that he didn't dare to say to people before, Lu Yanmei suddenly burst into tears, he sobbed and said, "This kind of thing shouldn't be told to you, but the city is about to be destroyed, you really want to think that what Cao Xubao said outside the city is true, then imagine your own mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, you'd better prepare arsenic poison first, and use it just when you torture." Don't think they'll let us go, even if Yang actually gets married, we won't end well. ”

"But they have cannons!" A shopkeeper was shocked by Lu Yanmei, he happened to have a pair of daughters at home, and he didn't know whether it was better for soldiers or students. If you really want to be like Lu Yanmei said, you can only go to the pharmacy to buy arsenic.

"Even if you hold on, what happens next?" Dadi advocate Pei Xin asked. "If they can't attack it, then the soldiers from Rongcheng Yantai Laizhou may be transferred over, and we will still be killed at that time."

"Yes! What if you keep it today, and what will you do in the future? More people chimed in. Zhang Peixin said what everyone wanted, Cong Jingyue said that the rebellion of the Jingshi is anyway, and everyone is afraid that they will not be able to wait for that time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, judging from the matter of separation, even if the Revival Society had the intention of public ownership of property before, it is now gone. If you really want public ownership of property, then why do you want to divide it? Isn't this a slap in the face? After the partition, Yang Jingcheng was the largest landlord in China, covering an area of eight counties, although it was mountainous, but there were millions of acres of fertile land. With such big landlords and rich people, what else do we have to worry about. Target? Lu Yanmei retorted.

"Since ancient times, it has been the homeless people who have broken down and settled down and finally changed the dynasty, and these people have been poor before, and they will become extremely rich after becoming a great treasure. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Chuang didn't mention that Hong Yang was a bandit in this dynasty, saying that he was 'rich and co-envoy', but in the end, those pseudo-kings were not big private gains. Public ownership of property is only a cover for the world, and if you get the world, the property must be private. Why did you rebel with your head in the first place? I didn't listen to the case in Shanghai, and the Fuxing Society who arrested them all said that they were not worth it because they didn't make any money.

Now that Jingshi is talking about the rebellion of the Kuomintang Party, I think Cai Yuanpei must also feel that it is not worth it, and he took advantage of Yang Jingcheng's defection when he went to Liaodong; I am worried that I will not be able to sit firmly in the world, so I have to please the people below, and the public ownership of property is just an excuse to accumulate wealth, in order to let everyone make a fortune. But what kind of person is Cai Yuanpei, he was imprisoned for several years before the founding of the country, and in the end, it was Jia Qicheng who reluctantly became the prince of the country, and he commanded the soldiers of the Revival Society, I don't think it would take ten days. The situation in Beijing must be repeated, we just need to hold it for ten days. You can find life. ”

Lu Yanmei gestured a ten with a fan and fingers, and then looked around at everyone. Finally, he said: "It's all death anyway, and if you hold on for ten days, maybe there will be a way to live." ”

Everyone was frightened and coaxed by him, their faces changed constantly, and in the end, they all looked at Lin Jikui, he was an official of the imperial court, and he was the only one here who could represent the imperial court. Lin Jikui has actually been hesitating, and the night before was worried that he would also be shot, so his family asked Cong Jingyue for help. I don't want Cong Jingyue to beat the county magistrate and the president of the peasant association to death as soon as she comes, and the county seat is also occupied. He had no choice but to acquiesce to the fait accompli. After he came out, he hoped to contact the Beijing Division, but the telegram was completely destroyed, and it took several days for the people sent to Weihai to return, but now the soldiers are coming to the city, and if they do not resist, they will definitely be shot; resist, and you are likely to die under the guns......

Hesitating until now, he couldn't help but express his position, Lin Jikui glanced at everyone. After coughing, he said: "In terms of criminal law, Zuo Rulin, Yu Guanjing and others should be arrested without trial, but these people want to resist arrest with guns when they see the arrest warrant issued by this temple." They deserved to be killed, and they did not break the law. And Cao Xubao and others outside the city should be arrested for killing innocents indiscriminately before. At this time, they gathered a crowd to attack the city and wantonly fired artillery, which was even more of a crime. Ladies and gentlemen. There is no law in this dynasty, and it is so lawless!

As for the public ownership of property, even if the Court of Inquiry really voted to approve the case. But I only saw the telegram of the Beijing Division, but did not see the official document of the Beijing Division. The confiscation of your property by a telegram instead of an official document of the Prime Minister's Office is a violation of Articles 12, 4 to 8 of the Law on the Administration of Civil Servants in the People's Republic of China; In addition, Zuo Rulin and others yesterday wantonly arrested people to extort money, which is tantamount to kidnapping tickets, which not only violates the civil and criminal laws, but also violates Article 9 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which states that 'citizens of the Great China shall not be arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, or imprisoned except in accordance with the law.'

Ladies and gentlemen, once the situation in Beijing is calmed down, then our actions will be innocent. It must be known that the Prime Minister's Office is the Prime Minister's Office, and the Tingwei Mansion is the Tingwei Mansion, and the two do not interfere with each other, so even if Yang Jingcheng protects his shortcomings, it is impossible to interfere with the trial of Dali Temple, and you don't have to worry that you will be framed by the revival ......"

Lin Jikui was slowly proving his innocence from a legal point of view, but before he finished speaking, there was a loud voice outside: "Who said that I, Yang Jingcheng, would protect my shortcomings?" Who said Revival would fall? ”

The voice was clear, and it was a standard official language, and before everyone could react from the four words 'I Yang Jingcheng', Ju Zhen, a Western doctor in the city, led a tall middle-aged man to break in. Behind the two of them were several panicked patrol officers, who already knew who was coming, but still couldn't believe it.

The melon skin hat and the square scarf didn't know Yang Rui, but Lin Jikui, the court official who wore a black gauze hat, knew Yang Rui, his body trembled subconsciously, stood up and shook his hands and fingers, and finally asked in a trembling voice, "But... Yes, but... Be... Prime Minister? ”

"That's right, I'm Yang Jingcheng!" In the current situation, Yang Rui had to come directly to the leader of the city. He never wanted to be hanged by peasant soldiers on the city wall after the city was broken. Therefore, it is the right thing to quickly obtain command, quickly establish defense, desperately defend Wendeng, and contact Baoding.

As soon as Yang Rui said that he was Yang Jingcheng, the people in the conference hall panicked. They didn't think about how Yang Jingcheng ran to Wendeng, they just couldn't help kneeling, only those melon skin hats had a sudden change in their faces, but as a full legacy, they didn't kneel after all, but made a fool of Yang Rui like a scholar.

Yang Rui couldn't care about the attitude of these people, he only asked: "Now that the enemy army is attacking the city, the princes are interested in opening up the sea and the sky here. Although it is said that we must unify our thinking in war, this is inevitably too ink. If you don't want to be hanged for yourself and your family, you have to hurry. ”

After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for everyone to agree, he sat down at Lin Jikui's position, and then asked, "How many people are outside the city now?" How many guns? How many cannons? How many soldiers were there in the city? How many weapons? How much grain? And who is the one who leads the troops? What about the city defense plan? ”

As soon as Yang Rui came, the rhythm of the council hall was dominated by him, and Cong Jingyue saluted and said: "Cong Jingyue, there are reported to be more than 200 people outside the city, a small number of them are patrol officers, and the others are peasant soldiers, all of whom have guns, and a mountain cannon dragged out yesterday; There were three hundred and forty-five men in the city, all under the command of a lowly officer, and there were more than sixty guns in the Weapons Patrol Bureau, and more than a hundred in the Internal Revenue Service, and ......"

Cong Jingyue's first few sentences were smooth, but I didn't know what to say. Yang Rui couldn't say anything when he saw that his face was flushed, so he had to wave his hand and say, "Let's talk about this later." He turned to look at the people who were still kneeling in a daze: "Get up, how can you hold the city while kneeling?" If you want to defend the city, you must first count your weapons and ammunition. To count weapons and ammunition. Then there will be some time. Which of you is familiar with the patrol outside? Can you send some food over, in addition to finding out the situation. It's better to coax them for a few hours. ”

At the beginning, everyone saw Yang Rui asking the soldiers about weapons, only to feel that this person was Yang Jingcheng or not. They all have the style of generals, but now they have to go out by themselves to make a fake peace, which is not much better than a mouse hanging a bell around the cat's neck, and they don't dare to get up, and they all shrug with their hair down. Yang Rui saw that these people didn't dare to get up, and he couldn't help but be disappointed. He was shaking his head, and Lu Zhengsi, who was standing on his right, said: "There are still some voices in the countryside that are old and rotten, and I am willing to go." I wonder how long the adults will coax them? ”

As soon as Lu Zhengsi said to go, Wang Jiahe also said: "The old decay can also go with him." ”

They all said go. Lin Jikui, who was standing on the side, hurriedly waved his hand and said, "This must not be!" Never! The two old men have braids, and they are likely to be regarded as full relics by them, and when they go out of the city, they may be killed by them in a few words. I'll go for it. With the Prime Minister in the city, the lower officials are relieved. ”

Lin Jikui said that Lu Zhengsi and they couldn't go, but as soon as he said that Ju Zhen, who came with Yang Rui, said: "Master Lin can't go either." Yesterday's events may have reached the ears of Cao Xubao and others now, as soon as you go, they will kill you to avenge Zuo Rulin, Yu Guanjing and others. I'll go for it. I'll take the medicine kit with me, and I'll still be useful to them even if it happens. ”

Ju Zhen said. The people in the council hall all looked at him, and then everyone looked at Yang Rui again, only to see Yang Rui nodding and saying, "Then you can go." I'll also send some food and drink. Let them eat and drink first, and then they will say that there is ...... in the city."

Yang Rui stopped when he said this, and he looked at Lu Zhengsi and them: "I'm not familiar with Wendeng's situation. Let's see what the reason is. The point is to coax them for a few hours, of course. The longer the better. ”

The peasants besieged the city, and they didn't want a prime minister to suddenly appear. Everyone was still surprised that he was brought into the current crisis, and decided to take a break to prepare for the war. Since someone volunteered to go to enemy lines, it would be simple to think of some rhetoric. Lu Yanmei, who was scary before, said: "I can't coax it until the evening, but it will be ...... by noon," he closed his fan and said: "Let's just say that everyone in the city agrees to open the city gate, only Cong Jingyue is not allowed, so everyone plans to get Cong Jingyue drunk at noon......

When Lu Yanmei said this, he suddenly looked at Yang Rui, but Yang Rui understood what he meant, and said, "Be sure to save Doctor Ju's life......

Lu Yanmei originally wanted Ju Zhen to lead the peasants into the city so as to set up an ambush, but since Yang Rui didn't let him have to say: "After noon, then send a message out, saying that Cong Jingyue didn't come to the banquet, so I can only think of a way until dinner, so it can probably be delayed until three or four o'clock in the afternoon." ”

"Hmm." Yang Rui nodded, he looked at the people, "Does anyone have anything else to add?" Seeing that everyone shook their heads, he said again, "Then this matter is settled." This ......"

Yang Rui pointed to Lu Yanmei, and Lu Yanmei arched his hand, "The contemptible surname is Lu." ”

"Then this matter will be handed over to Mr. Lu." Yang Rui looked at him and nodded, not knowing that he had said a lot of bad things before he came. After speaking, he looked at Cong Jingyue again and said, "From now on, I will take over the command of Wendeng City. ”

Cong Jingyue was seen by him and his whole body was hot, and immediately stood up and said: "Yes, my lord!" ”

Yang Rui nodded, and said again: "From now on, Wendeng will enter the military management, and no one will be allowed to walk around the street, and all neighborhoods and squares will immediately appoint security chiefs, organize armor protection, and strictly let the enemy destroy them." Who can take the command in this matter? ”

"Old and talented, willing to accept orders." Lu Zhengsi, who was willing to go out of the city just now, said.

"Good!" After arranging another thing, Yang Rui nodded again, and said: "The most important thing in defending the city is the food water source, I don't have to worry about the water source when I see that there are wells in the city, and the grain, oil and salt must be controlled, so you can recommend a responsible and capable person to supervise this matter now." ”

"This ......" the cadres looked at each other, and when they were hesitating, it was still Lu Zhengsi who said, "The old man recommended Wan Baohong, the shopkeeper of Li Deyu, and he will definitely be able to take on this position." ”

Lu Zhengsi recommended, and Yang Rui said: "Who is Wan Baohong?" As soon as he asked, he stood up with a round guy wearing a square scarf, looking at the square scarf as high as a bookcase, Yang Rui couldn't help but smile and asked, "Does Master Wan know how to control it?" ”

"The villain..., the villain knows. This is to move all the grain, rice, oil, and salt in the whole city to one place, and sell the things that are in demand according to the person and quantity, so as to prevent hoarding and price increases. Wan Baohong suppressed his excitement and said.

"That's it." Yang Rui nodded, and he said again: "Then now I announce that Mr. Lu is a staff officer in the city, and his position is to make plans to deal with the enemy; This ......" Yang Rui looked at Lu Zhengsi, and Lu Zhengsi hurriedly said, "Old Lu Zhengsi." ”

He continued: "Mr. Zhengsi is the reserve in the city, in addition to organizing the armor protection and strictly guarding against the enemy, he is also responsible for fiercely raising the people and raising morale. Wan Baohong is the logistics officer in the city, except for food, oil and salt, as long as it is related to the war, everything is under his control, except for ammunition and firearms; Cong Jingyue was my adjutant to help me familiarize myself with the city defenses and soldiers, and keep the enemy out of Wendeng. In addition to the above four, the rest of the people must obey their orders as long as they need them, do you understand? ”

"I'm waiting... Got it. A cadre replied unevenly. Yang Rui suddenly shouted, "Louder! Do you understand? ”

This shout made everyone's hearts tremble, but this time they replied in a louder voice: "I understand!" ”

"That's it!" Although Yang Rui was not satisfied, he could only nod, and he said again: "There is a rebellion in Beijing, and those people outside are all chaotic!" Although it is a chaotic life, since you have killed someone, you can't turn back. Don't think that surrendering will save your life, surrendering will only make them destroy your whole family, so as to cover up the fact of crime and murder; And resist, it doesn't take three days, the revival army can march into Jiaodong to stop the chaos, and then you will all be heroes......" (to be continued.) )