After learning the news that the main force of the Qing army had returned to the division, several people felt increasingly pressed for time.

Jiangyin County is like a small lonely boat. Looking up, there are enemies on all sides.

The hall fell into silence again.

The man carrying a broadsword stood against the pillars of the hall with his arms folded. His name was Shao Kanggong. He was in his thirties and was good at martial arts. He had outstanding talents. It was rumored in the county that he could defeat dozens of people.

Chen Mingyu heard about him and asked him to be his general.

During this period, Princess Shao Kang was mainly responsible for detecting the enemy's situation and contacting various forts.

Yangshe Camp was first established in the 37th year of Jiajing. It was built as a fortress and the current guard is named Shen Tingmo.

"Don't be depressed, there is no other way but to fight to the death!" Yan Yingyuan encouraged several people.

Chen Mingyu also quickly regained his composure. He had already prepared to die for his country since he raised the flag. At this time, why should he worry?

"Of course!" Feng Houdun agreed.

Only Gu Yuanbi has been absent-minded, not talking to him, sitting there silently in a daze.

Yan Yingyuan met Chen Ming, and Feng Houdun calculated the material reserves for defending the city.

After the former county magistrate Lin Zhiji resigned, the supplies left in the county government were valued at ten thousand taels of silver.

In the city, due to the previous defeat of the Zhenjiang official army, many weapons and equipment were abandoned when passing by Jiangyin. There are three hundred jars of gunpowder, thousands of stones of lead, hundreds of cannons, and thousands of shotguns in reserve.

In the past few days, Chen Mingyu also organized various villages to rush to make bows and arrows, collect rolling stones and hammer wood, and brew golden herbal juice.

After a few calculations, they felt settled down and the supplies were sufficient. If the enemy's offensive was light, it shouldn't be a big problem to support them for more than a month.

At this time, Gu Yuanbi stood up and said goodbye to several people: "I'm going to take a step first. I have something urgent at home, so I'll say goodbye!"

"Yeah." Chen Mingyu simply responded and didn't care. Gu Yuanbi was of no use anyway, so he might as well leave.

The few people were about to continue their discussion when suddenly, a servant under Yan Yingyuan came to report that the Qing army in the west of the city had made a move and was heading towards the west gate and was already stationed in Huqiao Town.

After Yan Yingyuan heard the news, he asked people to leave the Procuratorate quickly and go to Xicheng to check the situation in person.

Chen Mingyu went to the county government in the northwest of the city to take charge, while Feng Houdun hurriedly went to check the supplies.

After leaving the gate of the Procuratorate, across the river is Confucianism. Go east and cross the Hongqiao Bridge, then turn west and take the Shujiao Bridge to the foot of the West City. In the southwest corner, there is the West City Gate, called Tianqing Gate, which is next to the Society. , there is also a Xuanmiao Temple nearby.

Currently, both Shexue and Xuanmiao Guan have been requisitioned to give rest to the volunteers who defend the city.

Zeng Hualong was guarding here. At this time, he had already climbed to the city with his righteousness and bravery, preparing to fight the Qing army.

In the social study below the city, many old, weak, women and children are very busy, making warm meals here.

In Xuanmiao Temple, several of Zeng Hualong's servants were training enthusiastically in the rain, training Minzhuang.

"Yan Dianshi!"

"Classic history!"

Along the way, people kept saying hello to Yan Yingyuan.

Soon, he came to the tower of Tianqing Gate. Jiangyin was originally a Tucheng, but later it was built as a brick city in the 31st year of Jiajing. In the 33rd year of Jiajing, the then magistrate reinforced and raised the walls with golden pillars.

The city wall and the moat were dredged.

The current city wall is two feet tall, about seven meters high.

Zeng Hualong, who was preparing for the war, was looking at the enemy situation in the rain, but the moisture was too heavy and the visibility was extremely low, so he couldn't see anything clearly.

"Zeng Bingbei, how is the situation?" Yan Yingyuan walked to Zeng Hualong and asked looking into the distance.

"Yan Dianshi, the rural soldiers in Huqiao have retreated to the city. Zong Hao has gathered a thousand people, and it seems he wants to fight." Zeng Hualonghui reported.

"They are anxious to show off to their master. In this case, we should destroy him first before the main force of the Qing army arrives!"

"What does Yan Dianshi mean?"

Zeng Hualong was shocked. The last time the rural soldiers joined forces to annihilate hundreds of Zong Hao's people in Qinwang Mountain, but this time it was different. According to the rural soldiers who returned, this time Zong Hao killed hundreds of people with eight banners in Changzhou City.

All the soldiers were brought.

"How many soldiers have been trained in the past few days?" Yan Yingyuan asked.

"For training in four cities, there should be five thousand by now." Zeng Hualong calculated in his mind and roughly estimated.

During this period, he and Zhang Tiaoding trained new recruits day and night, and established a new recruit camp. The total number of recruits was almost 5,000, but these were recruits after all, and their combat effectiveness was hard to say.

Yan Yingyuan nodded, thinking about it.

"Select three thousand elites from the new barracks to form the Tianqing Battalion. I will promote them and appoint Shao Kanggong as the battalion general. The troops will quickly go to Tianqing Gate to assemble and stand by."

"Yes!"

After that, Yan Yingyuan handed several command arrows engraved with "Ming Zhongxing" to the soldiers behind him to pass on the order.

"Zeng Bingbei, could you and Zhang Bingbei hurry up and train quickly to form the other three battalions as soon as possible and name them after the three sects." Yan Yingyuan explained again.

"Are they Chunhui Camp at the east gate, Chaozong Camp at the south gate, Chengjiang Camp at the north gate, and Tianqing Camp at the west gate?" Zeng Hualong asked, wanting to confirm.

"That's right, before the Qing army besieges the city, we still have the opportunity to train in rounds!"

"I understand, Yan Dianshi thought carefully."

Two hours later, the rain stopped.

Under the city wall near Tianqing Gate, Shao Kanggong and his three thousand soldiers were ready to go.

Yan Yingyuan had already put on his armor and brought his servant Wang Jinzhong and fifty personal guards from Zhutang to the front of the army.

At first glance, the queue looks quite impressive, but the young faces still have tension and fear written on them.

Yan Yingyuan walked up to the soldier in the front row. This soldier seemed to be excited, holding a red tassel gun in his hand, and wearing a fat officer's jacket he didn't know where he got it from.

Because there are not so many official and military mandarin duck jackets in the county, the soldiers in the back are dressed in a variety of styles, but they all have Ming army lancets in their hands.

Looking at the eager young man in front of him, Yan Yingyuan asked: "Why aren't you afraid?"

The young man was stunned for a moment, and then replied inexplicably: "Why should we be afraid? I and other North Street boys have always been aggressive. Instead of fighting with our own people, it is better to fight with the Tatars!"

After he finished speaking, several young soldiers standing beside him echoed.

North Street boy? Yan Yingyuan suddenly understood.

In the northeast corner of the city, there is a nursing home. To the west of the nursing home is a large school ground.

In the past, when the officers and soldiers were training in the school grounds, the fatherless orphans in the nursing home would go to watch the fun.

As time went by, they became more aggressive, and gradually it became a trend. They often fought in the city, and it was best to fight against injustice.

The people in the city gradually called them North Street Boys.

During Yan Yingyuan's tenure, he once rectified a group of people who were all taken under his command. His current servant, Wang Jinzhong, was once one of them.

"What a boy from North Street. If you go out to kill enemies in the city today, let's compete with Zhu Tang'erlang behind me to see who kills more enemies!" Yan Yingyuan encouraged loudly.

"Dianshi keeps his word? What's the reward?" the young man said in surprise.

"Kill an enemy today for one tael of silver!" Yan Yingyuan promised immediately.

When the recruits from Tianqing camp heard this, their eyes immediately lit up.

"I don't want money, I just want the boys from Zhutang to call us North Street boys uncle!"

After saying that, the young man held his head high and looked provocatively at the young people from Zhutang behind Yan Yingyuan.

Yan Yingyuan couldn't help but laugh, then nodded and said repeatedly: "Good boy, this is killing the enemy in battle, not a child's play!"

"We naturally know that there are no cowards in Jiangyin. If you are afraid of death, just make your elders laugh for the rest of your life!" The young man said solemnly.

As soon as these words came out, the soldiers all nodded in agreement.

Since the Anti-Qing Dynasty, if any family hesitates a little, they will be looked down upon by their neighbors, and if any family fails to contribute, they will be pointed at and scolded by their fellow villagers.

No one wants to be poked in the spine. Thinking of this, the recruits seemed to calm down.

Seeing that it was almost done, Yan Yingyuan stretched out his hand, and Wang Jinzhong, the servant behind him who was holding the Guandao, presented the sword to him.

I saw only a wisp of his long beard, pointed his sword forward, and shouted: "Tianqing camp, follow me to defeat the enemy!"

All the soldiers responded in unison. In their eyes, Yan Yingyuan's figure in the steaming water was like the reincarnation of Guan Gong, which made everyone feel calm and excited.
Chapter completed!