Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

Yulin City had a circumference of about twelve to thirteen li. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was not that long. Later, in the Qing Dynasty, it underwent three expansions to defend against the Dzungars and even potential rebels from the Mongolian direction.

From its initial length of only six or seven li, it expanded to twice its original size, and the city walls were also thickened.

In addition, there are still twelve red-coated cannons left over from the Ming Dynasty on the north gate of the town. They are called old objects by the locals and "antiques" by the prefects of all dynasties. If an important person comes, they will be painted with a layer of paint to make them look shinier. If no superiors check them on ordinary days, they will be exposed to the wind and rain and the iron sheets that fall off them will be sold.

As for whether it's sheet metal or something else, that's naturally impossible to know.

In addition, the entire city of Yulin is divided into five gates: East Zhenwu, South Zhenyuan, West Xuanwei, North Guangyu, and finally Xiaoximen.

Therefore, it is also known as Wumen City by the locals. The local dialect for going to Yulin City is Wumen.

Furthermore, all five gates have heavy-duty gates, and there is also a place to store gunpowder, which is why the core of the entire Yansui Town is located in Yulin.

As for the so-called Yansui Town, it was one of the nine major border towns in the Qing Dynasty. Normally, its military strength was around five or six thousand people, but due to the recent war in the Northwest, it was increased to more than ten thousand people, of which more than five thousand officers and soldiers were stationed along the Yulin City line.

Cavalry made up at least half of the troops, demonstrating the importance attached to Yulin. The garrison of the entire Yansui garrison was also located in Yulin.

"I told you to be careful, be careful. The master just woke up and you're already using this to annoy him. Why don't I take my anger out on you? Get out of here, I'll clean up this—"

The steward in the backyard of the government office scolded the servant who was bowing his head and covered in tea, then went into the inner room himself, squatted down, and picked up a rag to clean up the broken porcelain pieces and tea dregs.

Chen Tianzhi watched the old butler diligently wiping the floor, and his hand holding the report trembled a few times:

"Get up. This kind of work can be left to the servants. What's the point of a steward doing this?"

"The servants just upset you, sir. I'm afraid they're clumsy and might cause trouble again, which would upset you even more, so I'll do it myself."

Chen Tianzhi sighed and waited until the butler finished tidying up before speaking:

"Invite General Zhou here and say that you have important matters to discuss."

"Yes, sir."

After the butler left, Chen Tianzhi slammed the report on the table onto the ground:

"The battle had barely begun when my head was hanging there. These vicious dogs shouldn't have attacked Datong!!"

Before long, Zhou Kaijie, the general of Yansui Town, rushed to the inner palace. As soon as he stepped inside, Chen Tianzhi immediately stepped forward, grabbed his hands, and anxiously begged for help:

"General Kwehwa, what are we going to do in this battle?!"

"Please don't worry, Brother Zhongli. Yulin City has high walls and thick fortifications, and it's well-stocked with food and weapons. If we can hold out for seven days, the other reinforcements from Yansui Town will surely arrive. Then the crisis will be resolved on its own."

Both parties addressed each other by their courtesy names, which is a tradition that has been in place since ancient times. Those with similar official positions and status would address each other by their courtesy names.

"What if the reinforcements can't defeat them in seven days?"

"Uh... naturally there are reinforcements as well."

Zhou Kaijie looked embarrassed, then comforted him:

"The Dzungar bandits are newcomers, having crossed the vast desert, and lack reinforcements. Our city of Yulin is advantageous, and we also have artillery. How can they possibly stay here for long?"

"So, Brother Zhongli, put your mind at ease and watch how I defend the city."

"That's all we can do. I hope General Kewei will put in more effort. I will take care of the provisions and rewards myself and will make sure you don't suffer any losses."

Chen Tianzhi's words struck a chord with Zhou Kaijie, who immediately declared:

"If you want to break through the city, you must first step over my body, Zhou Kaijie. Even if it means death, I will protect Brother Zhongli."

"With your words of wisdom, brother, I have nothing to fear!!"

Chen Tianzhi held the other's hand, and the two seemed to have truly become brothers who had gone through thick and thin together.

As soon as Zhou Kaijie left, Chen Tianzhi started counting on his fingers:

"The wealthy households in the city will each contribute three thousand taels, the middle-class households will each contribute one hundred taels, and the small households will each contribute three to five taels. In this way, we can still raise twenty thousand taels. But if I give it all to him at once, wouldn't I be losing money? No, I'll keep half for myself and let this soldier take the remaining ten thousand taels to reward the troops. Once the barbarian soldiers retreat, the court will reward those who have made contributions, and I will be able to get promoted."

"The money used to bribe officials will also have to come from this donation. I can't afford to lose money; I'm heartbroken even for a single tael of silver!"

Chen Tianzhi has lived for over fifty years and has seen it all. His fear just now was all an act, just to let everyone in the mansion know that trouble was brewing. Even the prefect was afraid, so that the word would spread through the servants. Would the wealthy families in the city not pay up?

As expected, when the news spread within the government and the garrison, the local grain price more than doubled in less than a day. The line of people buying rice and flour almost blocked an entire street, leading to grain looting. By the time Chen Tianzhi found out, two grain stores had already been looted.

So much so that when he met with the invited clan leaders, he wept bitterly and expressed his grief:

"The fate of the nation rests on the shoulders of you all in this perilous time."

Then he had someone bring out the roster, and then said:

"What you gentlemen have done today should be recorded in the local annals so that future generations may admire it."

The patriarchs of several prominent clans in Yulin exchanged glances, all disdainful, but in the end they still paid up. Although most of their families farmed outside the city and owned large tracts of land, they also had considerable assets within the city. If they offended the prefect at this time, they might be targeted, so it was better to spend some money to avoid this trouble.

Upon receiving the silver, Chen Tianzhi was overjoyed and expressed his delight:

"With you gentlemen here, the nation can prosper, and Yulin will have no worries."

"We hope that Your Excellency will do your utmost to protect Yulin."

After a flurry of noise, everyone left. But as soon as they stepped out of the mansion, the patriarchs of several powerful clans, as if they had planned it together, headed out of the city, each carrying a newly stamped travel permit.

After all, a major battle was imminent. If all the civilians fled, leaving only a group of soldiers, then Yulin City would be a fortress, not a city. Moreover, most of the soldiers were locals. If their families had all left, how could these guys defend the city with peace of mind? I'm afraid the day of their defection would be just around the corner.

It's easy to collect money from wealthy families, and it only takes a little effort to collect money from middle-class families, but it's the small and insignificant families that are the hardest to collect.

Moreover, most of them were related to the local garrison, so the extra amount could only be attributed to the unrelated civilians. Originally it was three taels, now it's five taels, and if they didn't pay, they could be arrested for treason.

This forced many poor people who couldn't afford cash to sell their valuable jewelry or even their properties in the city. These items were then bought up at low prices by the wealthy families who owned pawnshops, thus achieving a stable income and expenditure balance.

The saying goes, "To defend the city against bandits, the city is impoverished even before the bandits arrive," which can be considered a unique feature of the Qing Dynasty's officialdom.