Chapter 0045: The Sorrow of the Poor Family
Lu County is famous for Lu Mountain. The magistrate of Lu County is a member of Fan family of Fan County. All officials are basically from the Five Surnames and Seven Famous Names, or are members of a county family. Fan family of Fan County is a county family. Of course, the fact that Fan Jin can become a county magistrate also shows that this person is extraordinary.
"Sir, I'm afraid that Young General Yuwen has been defeated. We must make a decision early. The beggar army led by Li Yu is not to be trifled with. Look at how many children of noble families he killed at Luhun Pass." In the hall of the county government, County Magistrate Cheng Hao could not help but persuade loudly.
"Where can we go?" Fan Jin couldn't help but said, "I don't believe that Li Yu is also a member of a noble family. He really killed us all for those lowly people. Over the years, although I have not made any contributions in Lu County, I have not worked hard either. The people in the county have also taken good care of me. Could he really kill me?" Fan Jin was thin and his face was slightly dark. His official reputation in Lu County was indeed good, and he did take good care of the people in Lu County, although this care was relative.
"Oh! My lord, who is Li Yu? He doesn't care about your reputation. He just wants to get the support of those lowly people. Only in this way can he get more troops and strengthen his own strength." Cheng Hao couldn't help but said: "We only have a few thousand soldiers and horses. How can we resist the attack of tens of thousands of troops?"
"Sir, although Li Yu has a large number of troops, most of them are refugees. Their fighting power is nothing. As long as we resist resolutely, we will definitely be able to defeat him." A sturdy man objected loudly: "This Lu County is our hometown. How can we easily fall into the hands of the enemy?"
"Ding Meng, do you think your servants and soldiers can really resist Li Yu's attack?" Cheng Hao said disdainfully, "With such a small number of troops, you can't even wipe out the bandits. How can you deal with the fierce and ferocious troops? Xie Yingdeng only has a few hundred men, and you are no match for him. How can you face Li Yu's army of more than 10,000?"
"Xie Yingdeng is brave, but he is not from Lu County. Every time we attack, he hides far away. Our troops cannot leave the county. In this way, how can we destroy him?" Ding Meng groaned, "And if it wasn't your nephew who killed Xie Yingdeng's fellow villagers, why would he come to attack Lu County? All this is caused by you."
"Hmph, don't blame others for your own incompetence, sir. You have seen the current situation. If Li Yu attacks Lu County, Xie Yingdeng will definitely attack us. My lord, we can't stay in Lu County any longer." Cheng Hao glared.
" Okay, although the city of Lu County is in ruins, as long as we resist, we will be able to stop Li Yu's attack. What's more, the court will not allow Li Yu to continue to be arrogant. Although General Yuwen Tianbao has failed, it also means that reinforcements will be arriving soon. We just need to hold on for a while." Fan Jin stopped the argument between the two.
He was the magistrate of Lu County and it was absolutely impossible for him to leave Lu County. He could only pin his hopes on reinforcements from the imperial court.
"Humph, if the city is breached, Li Yu will be furious and massacre the entire city. This is all your fault!" Cheng Hao said coldly. Fan Jin is just a county magistrate. This is Lu County, and Cheng Hao is also famous in Lu County. If Fan Jin hadn't been the county magistrate, this county magistrate might not be owned by Cheng Hao.
"If the county magistrate is worried, he can leave Lu County. I will live and die with Lu County." Fan Jin shook his sleeves and said indifferently. He knew what Cheng Hao was thinking, and he even thought that if he ran away, Cheng Hao would definitely add insult to injury.
"Okay, okay, you are all loyal subjects. I, Cheng Hao, will take my leave first." Cheng Hao looked at Fan Jin coldly with a strange look in his eyes. He snorted at the two of them, turned around and walked out of the county government office.
Ding Meng looked at Cheng Hao and said disdainfully, "He is an incompetent man. If he hadn't had some influence in the county, he wouldn't have been the county magistrate."
"Forget it, Lieutenant Ding, don't talk about this. Li Yu has already defeated General Yuwen Tianbao. The next step is our Lu County. How to defend and resist, are you sure?" Fan Jin said with some worry. Although Cheng Hao is a hateful person, what he said is also true. Ding Meng's manpower is really no match for Xie Yingdeng.
Xie Yingdeng only had a few hundred men, but Ding Meng gathered the servants of the big families in the county, plus the county yamen runners, to form a thousand-man army. They attacked Xie Yingdeng repeatedly, but did not hurt Xie Yingdeng at all. Now that the army led by Li Yu was close at hand, Fan Jin himself was not sure whether Ding Meng could save Lu County.
"Sir, just hold on to the city, maybe we have a good chance of success. It is said that the most elite troops under Li Yu are cavalry, who are not good at attacking cities. Moreover, he may not attack Lu County by force, but may bypass the city. Don't worry, sir." Ding Meng patted his chest and said loudly. He naturally did not dare to attack, but he still believed that he could stop Li Yu's attack in defense.
"Okay, the safety of Lu County depends on you." Fan Jin was very happy to hear that. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Just tell me what you need for defense, and I will definitely help you." Fighting in the battlefield was impossible, but it was possible to ensure sufficient food and grass.
"Thank you, sir." Ding Meng was very happy. As long as he had Fan Jin's cooperation, he was confident that he could stop Li Yu's attack.
Let's talk about Cheng Hao in the county town who returned to his house. The first thing he did was to notify his family to start moving. After Fan Jin's painstaking management, Lu County had sufficient money and food. As the county magistrate, Cheng Hao knew the financial situation of Lu County. He believed that Li Yu would never let Lu County go. Even if Lu County had reinforcements, there was no way to keep the city. Cheng Hao, who had been the king of Lu County for a long time, dared not stay in Lu County. Once Lu County was breached , Fan Jin might be able to survive, but he would definitely die at the hands of Li Yu.
"Open the city gate, open the city gate quickly." Cheng Hao appeared at the South Gate with his family, followed by more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages. He could not stay in the county town anymore, so he decided to escape back to the countryside. Li Yu had pursuers behind him. After conquering Lu County, he would at most loot the city and then leave Lu County. It would not be too late for him to come back then.
"Cheng Hao, are you deserting the battlefield?" On the city wall, Ding Meng looked at Cheng Hao below the city with a gloomy face. The enemy was about to kill them, and if the county magistrate escaped at this time, it would have an adverse effect on the defense.
"How dare you! I'm going to ask for reinforcements. Ding Meng, you're the county lieutenant. It's your job to defend the city. My job is to provide food and fodder. I'm going to help you get reinforcements and food and fodder ." Cheng Hao walked out of a carriage, raised his head and snorted coldly, "Ding Meng, you're just a child from a poor family, relying on a little bit of force. If it weren't for the county magistrate's promotion, you wouldn't have the chance to be a county lieutenant. Do you really think that being a county lieutenant means you've escaped from the poor family? No matter how you change, you're still a child from a poor family. Hurry up and open the city gate for me."
Ding Meng 's face flushed when he heard this. Cheng Hao was right. Ding Meng was just a hunter. He relied on his courage and strength to be noticed by Fan Jin and promoted all the way to the position of county lieutenant today. He also thought that he had already left the humble family. Unexpectedly, he only knew himself clearly when he met Cheng Hao. A humble family is a humble family and it will not change because of a county lieutenant.
"Open the door and let him go." Ding Meng said bitterly. He waved his hands and felt weak all over.
