weaving

Chapter 1468 Stars Descend to Earth
The attitude of Prince Zhu Gongxiao of Zhou towards the development of military settlements in Kaifeng by the Earl of Yongning was quite ambiguous.

He only insisted on one point: Wang Tianjun was registered, and Zhang Cheng could not forcibly seize him. However, the reduction of rent and interest was a matter of benefiting the country and the people. The Zhou Prince's Mansion was the imperial family, and for the sake of the country and the people, it should naturally set an example in Kaifeng and even Henan.

Gao Mingheng was also helpless about this, but dared not refute Prince Zhou Zhu Gongxiao, and could only leave silently in the end.

Fang Zhenghua and Bian Yongqing's attitude was even clearer: they only wanted the achievement of killing the rebels. Since the Earl of Yongning had already defeated the rebels and driven them out of Kaifeng Prefecture, their contributions were certainly indispensable.

Therefore, they are unwilling to get involved in local affairs in Henan. There is no benefit to be gained, and it is easy to get themselves involved. In the end, not only will they not gain any advantage, but they are also very likely to get themselves into trouble. What's the point?

In fact, Gao Mingheng's attitude toward the development of military settlements was neither supportive nor opposed!

Henan is currently the most troubled by bandits. Although the rebels have temporarily withdrawn from Kaifeng Prefecture, who can guarantee that they will not come back?
The Earl of Yongning is now developing military farms in Kaifeng, which can not only appease the displaced people, but also alleviate the hidden worries of insufficient funds and grain in the local area.

Of course, the most important thing was to keep the Yongyi Army stationed in Kaifeng. Although their purpose was to protect the smooth implementation of the military settlement plan, they also indirectly protected the safety of Kaifeng.

However, Gao Mingheng could not completely ignore the attitude of the local gentry and officials in Henan, especially in Kaifeng Prefecture. Once he completely lost the support of the local officials and powerful families, his time as governor of Henan would be over.

After weighing the pros and cons, it is most appropriate to submit a report to the imperial court for a decision as soon as possible!
No matter what the court and the emperor decide, it has nothing to do with Gao Mingheng. As for whether Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army can remain stationed in Henan, that remains to be seen.

Let's take it one step at a time and see how things go; getting through the immediate difficulties is the priority!

…………

Unlike the fierce opposition from the officials and gentry of Kaifeng, the ordinary people in Kaifeng did not pay much attention to the military settlements. They were very happy that the rebel army had retreated and that Kaifeng was no longer in danger of war.

The streets were filled with people celebrating, firecrackers were going off everywhere, and lion and dragon dances were being performed in front of many shops. Peace and tranquility filled the streets and alleys of Kaifeng.

Amid the celebrations, people often spoke of the deeds of Zhang Cheng, the Henan Bandit Suppression Commander and Earl of Yongning, as well as the invincible military might of the Yongyi Army, and of course, the favor bestowed by Prince Zhou...

The people of Kaifeng had very mixed feelings about the Zhou Prince's Mansion. They envied the mansion for its vast land and wealth, but were also grateful for the contributions the Zhou Prince made to defend Kaifeng.

If it weren't for the Zhou Prince's Mansion consistently providing money, food, and troops to help defend the city at crucial moments, Kaifeng Prefecture probably wouldn't have survived the first two sieges and attacks by the rebel army.

The situation was roughly the same in Kaifeng Prefecture, and it was the same in all the prefectures and counties within Kaifeng Prefecture. The more serious the banditry was in the area, the more lively the celebrations were.

Many people who had originally hidden away in the mountains, forests, and other rural areas have returned home one after another, and are now working hard under the "work-for-relief" program organized by the Yongyi Army...

Some of them were repairing roads, some were repairing canals, some were repairing houses and courtyards, some were clearing weeds and leveling fields, and some were helping to transport grain, coal, timber and other supplies.

In short, throughout Kaifeng Prefecture, especially in the counties and prefectures south of the Yellow River, a scene of bustling activity unfolded, with people busy envisioning a bright future.

In the earthen villages scattered throughout the countryside, however, the scene is quite different.

Those local villages that had already aligned themselves with Yongning Bo had pledged their loyalty and mostly accepted Yongning Bo's appointments. Therefore, after receiving promises and benefits, they naturally had to contribute money, grain, manpower, and effort to Yongning Bo's great cause!
However, most of the rural villages were established by local gentry who were used to lording it over others. They established these villages to protect the family businesses accumulated by their ancestors.

Now that the rebel leader has been driven out of Kaifeng, they naturally want to continue to act arrogantly and domineeringly. How could they easily hand over the money and grain they have painstakingly accumulated? Therefore, they have become the largest force opposing the Earl of Yongning in Kaifeng!
These local gentry and officials should not be underestimated. Through intermarriage, they have long formed various interest groups in the region, becoming the most difficult group of local cliques to deal with in the Ming Dynasty.

In order to protect the family fortune accumulated by their ancestors through generations of cunning and plunder, and in order to create a greater momentum and achieve greater influence, they even rallied the gentry and powerful families throughout Henan, mobilizing the power accumulated by their respective generations...

Letters of complaint, impeachment memorials, and false accusations... like snowflakes, were carried by swift horses to the capital without ceasing.

…………

Yuan Shizhong was someone who had witnessed the might and power of the rebel army.

Back when he was in the rebel camp, no matter where the rebel king's whip pointed, his army would be defeated in a single day. For nearly two years, he had roamed the Central Plains without encountering any obstacles. No matter where the government troops were sent, even the imperial army of Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they were all defeated in an instant.

If we're talking about setbacks, the only one was the two unsuccessful sieges of Kaifeng, which could be considered minor setbacks encountered by the rebel army during those two years.

Even so, the rebel army was victorious in its two sieges of Kaifeng, leaving only Kaifeng as the last remaining city in Henan, still under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

However, in the first battle when the rebel leader besieged Kaifeng, Zhang Cheng, who was then the commander-in-chief of the relief force, had already inflicted a crushing defeat on him under the walls of Kaifeng.

However, although the rebel leader fled in defeat that time, his main force was not damaged. In fact, he wanted to launch a surprise attack to take Kaifeng, but he encountered Zhang Cheng who came out halfway. Due to insufficient troops, he was forced to retreat from the city of Kaifeng.

This debt was not entirely attributed to Zhang Cheng, but mostly to Chen Yongfu, the general of Henan, and his son Chen De, because it was Chen De who shot and blinded the rebel king's left eye with an arrow, which was the main reason for the rebel king's retreat.

However, Yuan Shizhong only had a vague understanding of these details, which is why he was so shocked when the Earl of Yongning defeated the rebel army in Zhuxian Town.

At this moment, Xiao Yuan's battalion has completed its reorganization. The entire battalion has three central command headquarters and five thousand-man headquarters under its command, with a total strength of more than 6,000 men.

The commander of the Xiaoyuan Battalion was naturally Yuan Shizhong, with deputy commanders Wang Shikui and Liu Dengkai, garrison commander Wang Yuanjing, staff officers Zhu Chengju and Liu Jingyi, and the officer in charge of the central command was Yuan Shizhong's cousin Yuan Shiyou. The five commanders of the battalion were Yuan Shitai, Wang Shikui, Liu Dengkai, Liang Jingxuan, and Lü Jiqing.

It can be said that almost all of Yuan Shizhong's old subordinates were in the entire Xiao Yuan camp. Apart from the garrison commander Wang Yuanjing and the garrison soldiers who accompanied him, there were no other personnel sent by the Earl of Yongning.

Compared to Li Jiyu's previous situation, Yuan Shizhong's camp did not have too many scumbags mixed in, which made Yuan Shizhong and his subordinates quite satisfied.

Of course, the strict military discipline and regulations of the Yongyi Army did make them feel a little uncomfortable, but they still persevered, mainly thanks to Yuan Shizhong's attitude.

Yuan Shizhong himself was very strict with his subordinates and did not tolerate looting like other bandits. Although he was not as strict as the rebel leader Li Zicheng, he was still an outlier among bandits.

Now, upon receiving confirmation that the rebel leader had suffered a crushing defeat and that his entire army had withdrawn from Kaifeng, Yuan Shizhong was greatly shocked.

He secretly rejoiced that he had made the right move by siding with the Earl of Yongning, and even more so that he had not followed Li Zicheng down the same path to the bitter end, otherwise he would have been the one to flee in defeat today!

"Earl Yongning, could he really be a star descended from heaven?"