Chapter 228: City Defense and Counterattack
"No, we can't bear it anymore. The day to collect taxes hasn't even started yet and we're already unable to endure it." In Shangyang County, the county government team was holding a meeting and the county magistrate had a worried look on his face.

He was a county magistrate under Dongyang Prefecture, and was a member of the same party as the Tongpan (vice-president) of the prefectural government. Of course, the fall of the Tongpan had no impact on him. After all, the two were just allies, not superiors or subordinates, and there were not many traces of communication between them.

After the other party fell, he and the prosecutor gathered many county magistrates and prefectural officials. They were not really a party, but Shen Qingzhou would not give face to anyone and would bring you down if you found the slightest bit of corruption. How could everyone survive if this continued?

But they dared not resist because they were all officials. Shen Qingzhou was the prefect. In Dongyang Prefecture, he had the power to do whatever he wanted. There were people in Tanzhou who could control him, but for some unknown reason, no one did.

There is definitely no one in charge. After Qin Prajna left, someone from the prince's side came secretly once. Shen Qingzhou naturally acted as if he would obey the prince's orders in everything. Of course, he did not obey in vain. The annual allocation of silver and other materials from Dongyang Prefecture was relatively sufficient.

However, it was obvious that the prince probably didn't know him. It was just a routine matter, so Shen Qingzhou didn't care.

Anyway, for Shen Qingzhou, as long as the people of Dongyang Prefecture live a good life, he is doing justice, which is also why many officials are dissatisfied with him.

Building bridges, roads, river embankments and the like, there is funding allocated from above every year, more or less, but when it comes to the bottom level, it's all just oil in the hands of the people.

But after Shen Qingzhou arrived and the funds were allocated from above, Shen Qingzhou, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and Tanzhou, had no choice but to step on anyone who dared to do so when he arrived in Dongyang Prefecture.

Everyone thought the most outrageous thing was that a county magistrate secretly took 1,000 taels of silver and was directly imprisoned on the charge of corruption and abuse of power. It was not a huge sum of money, but you didn't want it and didn't allow others to ask for it. It was too much.

There is only one blow that everyone can give to Shen Qingzhou. If the tax revenue cannot be collected, they don't have to do anything. No one is willing to pay this. It will only take two years. Your political performance is not good. Just wait for replacement or resignation.

"If you can't bear it anymore, don't bear it. You are guilty. It has been found out that Wang Tongpan was in collusion with the enemy country Northern Yan. You have always had contacts with Tongpan, so come with us." The county government door was wide open, and Shen Sanyang brought people to arrest people.

"Sir Shen, is there any misunderstanding here?" The county magistrate was shocked. Is this too big a game? A frame-up?
"Magister Wang, there is no misunderstanding. The Northern Yan spy has been found out. Judge Wang has connections with the Northern Yan Murong family. Judge Wang has also pleaded guilty in Tanzhou." After Shen Sanyang finished speaking, he asked the county magistrate to take the county magistrate with him temporarily and hurried back to Dongyang Prefecture.

Something big happened. A week ago, a letter suddenly came from Kyoto that Northern Yan was planning to march its army northward. Secret spies had found out some Northern Yan spies, including the former Wang Tongpan.

Wang Tongpan is not dead. He is in Tanzhou Prison, waiting to go to Kyoto together after a while. After all, his crime was not punishable by death, and he has some connections.

But as the message was sent out, Wang Tongpan had already died without a burial place. Before he died, he laughed loudly. He had secretly sent out a message that the Dongyang Prefecture's garrison forces had already informed Beiyan, letting Shen Qingzhou wait for death.

You can imagine how much hatred he had for Shen Qingzhou. If he had not been escorted, he would have found a way to escape. In fact, ever since he knew that Shen Qingzhou had taken over Yanzi Mountain, he had been shocked. Others might not know who was there, but he must have known. In fact, the fact that the other party had grown so big was due to his contribution.

He turned a blind eye, and there weren't as many people as me who were willing to fight the bandits, which would result in casualties.

He had met Murong Yun before and knew that Beiyan would definitely attack Dongyang Prefecture, and he was the accomplice. Unfortunately, he was discovered before he could officially take action.

But he was very curious about which secret spy had the ability to find out his identity. No, not only himself. However, it was too late.

Shen Qingzhou was also speechless after receiving the information. The defense of Tanzhou had already been known by Beiyan, and troops were being urgently dispatched, so there was not much support that could be provided to Dongyang Prefecture.

However, the Tanzhou garrison wrote that if one wanted to enter Dongyang Prefecture, one should first enter Hetao. Dongyang Prefecture was still relatively safe, and all defensive forces had already entered Hetao for defense.

However, Shen Qingzhou felt strangely that he could encounter the Northern Yan cavalry. This is how it is played in TV dramas. Except for his own people, the rest are trash. Actually, there is some truth to it. The main reason is that they have been preparing for a long time. When you know about it, they are already coming. Being prepared and being in a hurry are two different concepts.

The Hu people? They are famous for their cavalry. Shen Qingzhou found that he was in conflict with the Hu people.

Although the Tanzhou garrison told him not to panic, he knew that he had to be prepared.

First of all, he would take the opportunity to eliminate some of Tongpan's power. He had not expanded it before, but now, Wang Tongpan was collaborating with the enemy country, and those who had close contact with him had to be monitored.

Then the matter is defending the city. There is only one city on the front line of contact between Dongyang Prefecture and Beiyan, and that is Dongyang Prefecture.

We also have to defend Yanzi Village well. The main army cannot get through there, but if there are only a few of us and we are lucky, we can get through. We have to pay attention.

As the days passed, although the entire Dongyang Prefecture seemed full of vitality, the information brought by some merchants from time to time was not very good.

Beiyan has entered the Hetao area and fought with the Tanzhou garrison several times. The garrison fought and retreated and has not collapsed yet.

But the shadow of war still descended, and some people have already fled. Shen Qingzhou didn't care about this. They didn't do anything wrong, so how could you stop them from leaving?

More than a month later.

"My lord, something bad has happened. A carrier pigeon has delivered a message saying that the Tanzhou army has been defeated. The road to Hetao from Northern Yan is smooth. Tanzhou has been sealed off. They have ordered us to close the city gates." Shen Qingzhou received the message.

Shen Qingzhou frowned, wondering if they would come to Dongyang Prefecture. If they acted normally, they should take Tanzhou directly, which would allow them to attack or defend. Although Dongyang Prefecture was in Tanzhou, they had to come here specially. Would they, if they could not capture Tanzhou, come to attack the prefectural city, or something else?

In Dongyang Prefecture, there was a panic.

The villages around the city were deserted. Fearing that the villages would be massacred by the Northern Yan cavalry, they simply moved all the people and belongings into the city, fortifying the city and clearing the fields.

Shen Qingzhou was very angry. The harvest this year would definitely not be much. If the mansion under his command was attacked, then the talent he would gain this year would definitely not be as much as in peacetime.

But there is nothing that can be done. There are not many soldiers in the government. The entire Dongyang government army has only more than 3,000 people. There is a garrison, which is another system. It has been taken away to Hetao. Now, whether it can come back is another matter.

Three days later.

"Sir, the Northern Yan army is here." Zhang Sanbao said. He was a little confused. Logically, they should go directly to Tanzhou.

"Shen Zheng, you little thief, you killed a man from my Murong family and didn't put down your sword when the city was broken. It was all because of you. Now wail." Two loud voices were bluffing people under the city. Okay, the Murong family is here to take revenge.

Looking at the enemy army, there are 5,000 of them, which must be regular troops. However, it seems that they are not invincible. Having seen a hundred thousand cavalry many times, he almost forgot that he is not the Marquis of Shenwu now, and others do not take him that seriously.

(End of this chapter)