After hearing Li Ling's words, Wen Tian and the others suddenly shook, and then stood up at the same time, trying their best to dissuade them: "Think twice, this is a taboo in the officialdom!"

The Dayue Dynasty was in charge of civil and military affairs. This was the case in the court, and it was the same when it came to the local government. In other words, local officials actually did not hold military power. The only exception might be the position of governor who was temporarily appointed for major events. Of course, as time goes by, the current governor has become a permanent official position, and the real magistrate who holds local civil and military power.

However, the power of the local officials under the governor is still only in the civil affairs, but the army is not in their control, and they dare not easily enter. County magistrates like Li Ling have no regular army under their command. There are only a few veterans in Huating County to help guard the city gates, but County magistrate Li has no right to order them, because they belong to the Shanying of Songjiang Prefecture.

Since he doesn't even have the right to dispatch troops, let alone recruit soldiers and train troops, if the local governor dares to make such a decision, once the incident occurs, he will be considered a rebellion, which is a serious crime to kill the three clans. Not to mention Li Ling, a county magistrate, even a provincial governor, it is difficult to escape the handling.

Now that Li Ling has made such a decision, how can he not make the two assistant officials feel frightened and try his best to stop him?

After their persuasion, Li Ling's expression changed: "Do you think we have other choices besides this? I, Huating, have no danger, and if there is no certain force to protect myself, I am afraid that once those Luotian traitors are killed, you will have to die. Not only court officials like you and me, but the people in the city will also be killed. Do you have the will to let tens of thousands of people die in my city? "

"But sir, this matter is very important. Do we have any other better ways..." The two were still persuading, but what responded to them was Li Ling's grim face and speech: "There is no other way. Jiangnan is completely in chaos, and there will be no reinforcements. Only self-improvement can ensure the safety of Huating. The matter is urgent. I think even if the court knows, we will not blame us!

"You don't have to say anything anymore. I'm determined. Let's do it as I want!" Li Ling finally stared at the two of them with a stern face, staring at them so hard that they were furious. In the end, he could only agree with an uneasy look on his face.

With the idea set, the county government's actions became extremely rapid, and there was no longer the previous delay. Because everyone knew that the disaster was coming and time was endless.

In just half a day, many officials in the yamen had already gone to various places in the city and summoned the seniors and other people with a certain reputation and voice in the countryside, so that they could all speak in the county government.

Because of Li Ling's power to destroy the two Xu Fang families in succession and the kindness of appeaseing the people of the affected towns, these local forces did not dare to underestimate the orders of the county government. In the afternoon, all the relevant people rushed to the county government and saw the county government in the lobby. In the lobby, County Magistrate Li, who had already changed into officials' uniforms and looked arrogant.

Feeling the powerful aura of Li Ling, these dozens of powerful village elders kneeled down to pay tribute. Li Ling was not polite this time, so he sat on the side and received a gift, and then asked them to get up and go straight to the topic: "Now the Japanese official asked you to come, not for anything else, but to protect the safety of the people of Huating County."

After a pause, his eyes quickly swept across the faces of everyone, and saw that many people were full of doubts, and then said, "I think you have already received the news. This flood was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. It was the Luotian Sect, which has always existed like a maggot with bones, that caused this disaster. But what you may not know is that this flood was not the one that caused the disaster, but the entire Jiangnan, Songjiang Rushi, Jinling Rushi, and Lin'an. I am not afraid to tell you to wait for a more terrible news. This time, it was a rebellion that Luotian Sect planned to launch for many years. They not only wanted to disrupt Jiangnan, but also used this chaos to rebel!"

When the shocking news was revealed by him, all the elders in these places changed their faces and showed panic: "How...how could it be like this?"

"Is this true? I have heard of Luo Tian Teaching, but where did they get the manpower?"

"Since County Magistrate Li dares to say this, he must have obtained more evidence..."

It was not until these people had a long discussion that Li Ling pressed his hand and signaled them to silence, and then continued to say solemnly: "My Huating is not bad. After all, I was found out in time by my official and saved the county town at the expense of two towns and three towns. But the situation elsewhere was not optimistic. In Songjiang Prefecture alone, there were two counties that had rebels emerging and controlled the county town.

"You should be able to figure out what this means. The chaos is about to begin, and there will be no end to the collapse of the nest! Therefore, this official decided to protect himself. If we want to defend Huating, it is completely insufficient to rely on the current number of manpower in the county yamen. Then we need to recruit young and strong people from the people to form an army.

"I call you here today to borrow your mouth to recruit soldiers from all over the county. I want those strong and strong adult men who are willing to obey the government to form an army and defend our homeland. It is too slow to rely on the county government to do these things alone, so you need to promote them together!"

Only then did everyone understand the purpose of County Magistrate Li being so anxious to summon everyone, and at the same time hesitated. Although they were not officials, they also knew some rules in the court. If he secretly recruited troops like him, would he be a big taboo. If he helped him, will the court blame him when the blame is taken into account?

However, this reason was really hard to say when he became County Magistrate Li, so they all looked strange and looked at each other, but none of them dared to agree.

Seeing this, Li Ling hummed again: "I know what you are worried about. Since this matter was proposed by me, I can write down the documents in black and white and bear the blame in the future!"

He said this, but everyone still had concerns. After all, can he, a county magistrate, really take on such a big deal? I'm afraid even the prefect may not have such ability?

Seeing that the truth was not reasonable, Li Ling could only snorted: "You have thought about it. What I said just now is not an exaggeration. The traitors inspired by Luo Tian Sect are likely to attack and kill in a short time. At that time, if there is no sufficient defense of the county town, it will naturally be impossible to defend. Although this official cannot escape and die, you are afraid that the same will be true.

"What's different from this official is that you are not only without the protection of your people, but also have some wealth in your family. When the bandits arrive, they will inevitably become their target. Not only will you die, but your family, children, wives and children will also suffer. Therefore, how to choose whether to live or die depends on whether you are willing to cooperate with this official!"

Although Xu Fang's family took all the benefits in Huating County in the past, some of the soup was flowing down and fell into the hands of many people with certain power. The property in front of them was indeed far from comparable to those two families, but it was much better than ordinary people.

So Li Ling had a very big impact on them with threats. After some struggle, someone finally stood up and responded: "Mr. County Master said that our ancestors were born in Huating for generations and grew up in Huating. We must not let the thieves destroy our homes! I, Ding Sanmao, are willing to obey the orders of the county government, so I went back and called on the young and strong men in my village to come to the county government to apply for the expedition, form an army, and guard the home!"

"I am also willing to obey the will of the adults and go back and mobilize the villagers..."

"I'm willing, too..."

With the first statement, the people behind followed suit. Soon, almost everyone chose to help the county government, mobilize the young and strong, and form an army to protect the county.

Seeing this, Li Ling finally showed a satisfied smile: "In this way, I will wait for the good news here! But one thing you must pay attention to is to be fast. Within three or five days, we will mobilize those young and strong people to come to the county government. At that time, I will select elite troops and practice well to deal with the next changes!"

"Yes, we will obey the order of Lord!" Everyone bent down and saluted, and then quickly left at the warning of Li Ling.

Huating County will undergo a considerable change in the next situation, and what Li Ling has to do is to gather these ordinary people who have never been on the battlefield as soon as possible and form an army that can be fought. For him, persuading everyone to summon young and strong people to the army was just the first step to save himself.

...

Somewhere in the south of the Yangtze River, in the hall of a certain mansion.

Zhao Chenghuang stood in front of the wall with a huge map with a serious expression. This map is much more detailed than the ordinary maps of the people. Not only does the river city completely replicate the entire Jiangnan area, but the population, troops, and even the city defense situation in various cities and regions are marked.

At this time, Zhao Chenghuang did not pay much attention to these details, but clicked on the main cities with his hands, Lin'an, Jinling, Shanyin, Yangzhou... These places are important towns in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also the key point of this uprising.

At this moment, except for Jinling, almost all other cities had fallen into the hands of the Holy Church. When thinking about the information sent, Zhao Chenghuang smiled with satisfaction. Finally, his eyes fell on a very inconspicuous small county town near the sea - Huating.

"Is there no news there yet? How many days has Fang Jinbo and others not been able to send news back?"

Behind him, a dull voice sounded: "It's almost ten days. Although we have sent someone to check, we have not returned yet."

"It seems that something really happened there. Li Ling, we still underestimated him. Even Fang Jinbo was not his opponent. If I had known this, I would have been able to get rid of him at all costs!" Zhao Chenghuang said gritting his teeth.
Chapter completed!