"Let the local militia train, and take over the city defense as well."

Magistrate Tan was not a fool after all, and he quickly came up with a solution. However, when he actually used it, he discovered the problem.

Over the years, everyone has been eating empty salaries, and the militia in Bishui County is just an empty shell. The original 3,000 militiamen can now not even gather 800 people, and there are a lot of old, weak and disabled people among them. It is said that the "village soldier" guarding the gate is an old man with no teeth and poor hearing and eyesight.

Not to mention sending such people to fight in wars, the Huns would even look down on them as scapegoats.

"Not all of them are useless. The county magistrate's nephew has a battalion of young and strong men under his command. All of them are brave and willing to fight. It's just right for them to stay and be scapegoats." The aide next to him stroked his triangular beard, with a hint of viciousness in his eyes.

People who make a living from this do this kind of dirty work.

"Yuanzhi?"

Magistrate Tan's eyes flickered, and he thought of the hooligans who often drank and made trouble with Chen Yuanzhi outside. This group of people was just right to cover up. But he couldn't just leave his nephew alone. He had received so much money from the Chen family over the years. If he really sold someone else's son, he was sure that the old Chen family would find assassins to fight him to death. Now there was chaos and no one would care if he was killed. For the sake of his own life, Magistrate Tan decided to notify the Chen family and several other wealthy families.

It can be said that I have done my best.

"Notify several family heads to come over and discuss the city defense together."

The local county magistrate and the local nobles were tied together, and any decision had to be implemented through the local nobles. The county magistrate in the novel was the one who had the final say, which was probably in the early period of the dynasty. In the middle and late period of the dynasty, the local forces grew stronger and the relationship between them became complicated. Whether an airborne official could get power depended on his own skills and the cooperation of the local nobles. Otherwise, no matter how many decrees there were, they would not be able to leave the county government.

When encountering powerful chieftains, even disobedient county magistrates could be made to 'fall and drown'.

Magistrate Tan’s order soon appeared on the tables of several family heads, and Chen Luo also received an invitation.

The moment he saw the invitation, he felt the surging aura of disaster.

The disaster is coming!

Standing by the window, Chen Luo saw his son brandishing swords and guns in the distance. He wanted to know what choice he would make when facing his first "heart demon calamity". So far, he had not seen anything outstanding about his son. He was idle and face-conscious. He had all the faults that a scoundrel would have.

County government office.

Several family heads arrived as promised, and Chen Luo also came.

"Lord Tan, we are all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. I hope you can give us an overview of the situation in the north." After a few simple courtesies, the head of the Wang family directly asked the issues that the families were most concerned about.

If the northern defense line can hold, let's all give it a try.

If you can't hold on any longer, you have to make plans early. Everyone here is a respectable person, and no one wants to become the target of looting after the Huns enter the country.

“The situation is not optimistic.”

Magistrate Tan considered his words carefully, responded briefly, and then turned the topic to what he wanted to plan.

"No matter what the situation is in the north, we must protect this home for the people. Since the beginning of winter, the trade routes in Bishui County have been blocked, and the people have difficulty living. Many families have no charcoal to burn. This terrible incident will never be tolerated by me. After investigation, it was found that the reason for the blockage of the trade routes was all due to the mountain bandit Zuoshan Diao. In order to solve the people's living problems, this county is going to gather a group of young and strong people to go out of the city tomorrow to suppress the bandits and restore peace to Bishui County."

As he spoke, County Magistrate Tan took out the plan that his men had prepared long ago.

The county lieutenant, who was originally the second in command of Bishui County, was now standing on the side like a dog. This also shows the methods of County Magistrate Tan.

charcoal fire?

The bandit who affects the lives of ordinary people?

The names are all made up! Three years ago, there was a group of bandits outside Bishui County. But that group of bandits had no official connections, and they took advantage of the big families in the county without knowing it, and then they were jointly wiped out by several families. Now, a mountain eagle suddenly appeared, and everyone knew the reason.

Because they need it.

So the bandits appeared again.

They were all old foxes and quickly understood the meaning of Magistrate Tan’s words.

"This bandit must be eliminated!"

The head of the Wu family slammed the table, as if he was pleading for the people.

"Anyone who affects the lives of the people in Bishui County is an enemy of our Wu family. Sir Tan, our Wu family is willing to send 100 people to suppress the bandits this time!"

"Although our Zhang family is small in number, we are no less eager to serve the court than others. We will provide eighty people."

"One hundred and fifty people from the Wang family!"

"Our Chen family will provide 120 people." Chen Luo also said a number.

The number of bandits suppressed is the number of people who can escape.

Everyone present here is from a wealthy family. When they leave the city, they will inevitably bring some "military rations". By then, they will definitely need a lot of servants and thugs. The number of a hundred or so is a number chosen after careful consideration. If they really let go, one family could have five or six hundred people running away.

After discussing the quotas, several families quickly went home to prepare.

The information from Magistrate Tan must be more accurate than their private channels. The officials are all running away, so are the common people going to stay here and wait for death? The Huns will not reason with ordinary people, which is a pity for the good farmland passed down from their ancestors.

My life is at stake, and I can’t care about so much at this moment.

"Brother Chen, wait a moment."

County Magistrate Tan stopped Chen Luo who was about to leave.

“Yun Yao told me yesterday that she missed her brother a little, and hoped that her brother could come over for a drink in the evening.” The Yun Yao that County Magistrate Tan mentioned is Chen Luo’s cousin. It is because of this relationship that the Chen family has been able to gain their current status in Bishui County.

The two families are tied together, if one suffers, all suffer together, and if one prospers, all prosper together.

"good."

Chen Luo nodded, and then left with the previous family heads. There were too many people at this time, and many things were difficult to talk about openly.

Night falls.

Chen Luo rushed to the Tan family as promised.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw his cousin Chen Yunyao, and Magistrate Tan had prepared wine and food. After the two sat down, they began to chat. Since there were no outsiders present, Magistrate Tan got to the point after a few words.

"I just got the news during the day. The first line of defense in the north has been breached by the Huns. The second temporary line of defense is made up of new soldiers who are ready to die! We only have half a month at most."

Chen Luo's heart skipped a beat.

He had long guessed that the 'robbery' would come, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

Thinking of his son Chen Yuanzhi's temper, he doubted whether he could survive this disaster.

"The Xiongnu are fast, and it will be too late to escape directly. I suggest leaving some people behind to cover the retreat."

"Yuanzhi is your nephew."

Chen Luo's face darkened. He was not stupid. He understood what Magistrate Tan meant after just two sentences. The wealthy families like them knew the situation of the militia in Bishui County best. The old, weak, sick and disabled were definitely not enough to cover the retreat. The only possibility was the group of ruffians led by his son Chen Yuanzhi.

As a person caught in the calamity, Chen Luo must play the role of "father" well, otherwise this inner demon calamity will be meaningless. He must get enough benefits before the calamity energy is exhausted.

"If Yuanzhi had been allowed to die, I would not have told you all this." County Magistrate Tan sighed and put down the wine glass in his hand.

He had thought of this situation long before inviting Chen Luo to a banquet.

"Do you want those rascals to stay behind to cover our retreat?"

Chen Luo understood what the other party meant. But he was a little confused. Magistrate Tan should be the "heart demon". As part of the heart demon tribulation, he should have attracted the desires of Chen Yuanzhi, the one who survived the tribulation. Why did he suddenly run away? The relationship between the heart demon and the heavenly tribulation did not seem to be what he had previously speculated.

It's more like a component, important but not core.

The real core is the "tribulation" itself, which is the original intention of the cultivator himself.

"They are all men of seven feet tall. In this critical moment of life and death, they are needed to defend their country and shoulder their responsibilities as men."

Magistrate Tan is worthy of being an official. Every word he says is from the perspective of justice.

"good."

Chen Luo nodded in agreement. He planned to go back in the evening and talk to Chen Yuanzhi about this matter to see what decision he would make.

Responsibility and cowardice.

This should be the 'heart' of this inner demon calamity.

Night, Chen family study.

".That's how it's arranged. Do you have any questions?"

"You want me to abandon my brothers and live in misery?"

Chen Yuanzhi looked at his father in shock. For the first time, he felt his father was strange. And those big men above, they were obviously enjoying the best treatment, why didn't they think about defending their country when the Huns came, but chose to escape at the first time, letting ordinary people who knew nothing to die, using their lives to buy themselves a chance to escape.

"Not everyone. Wang Dacai will also go out of the city to suppress bandits like you."

Chen Luo said expressionlessly.

"Go out of the city to suppress the bandits?"

Chen Yuanzhi smiled. It was the first time he looked directly at his father.

"Do you believe this yourself?"

"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, what matters is to survive."

Chen Luo looked at his "son" and described the reality calmly. Standing in the position of the head of the family, he had to do everything that should be done in this position. The responsibility of the head of the family was to protect the family and continue the bloodline. He could not control anything further away, nor did he have the ability to control it.

"A chance to survive at the cost of innocent people's lives?"

Chen Yuanzhi looked at his father. The image of his tall and majestic father in his mind was gradually shattered.

It turns out that my father is just an ordinary person.

"Have you ever thought about what would happen to the people in the city if we all left? They also have parents, wives and children. They believed in the imperial clerks and donated all their food rations, hoping that the imperial court would help them stop the Huns."

"Can we stop it by staying?"

"If you can't stop it, what will happen to your mother and your two sisters?"

Chen Luo's voice remained steady, but the two questions made his "son" confused.

He could ignore himself, but what about his mother and younger sister? If they fell into the hands of the Huns,

"Go back and think about it carefully. Tomorrow we will go out of the city together to suppress the bandits."

Chen Luo stood up and patted his "son" on the shoulder. He had already figured out the details of this inner demon calamity. (End of this chapter)