weaving

Chapter 1499 Seize the opportunity to kill him and eliminate future troubles!
“Mr. Li, I have not come here to inquire about any information.”

Zhang Cheng continued, "Mr. Li is a learned man, and he naturally understands the principle that 'the people can carry a boat, but they can also capsize it.' I dare not say more in front of you. However, I wonder if you two, Mr. Li and Mr. Ling, are fully aware of the current situation in the Central Plains?"

Li Banghua raised his hand to stroke his beard, his expression unchanged.

Ling Yiqu replied, "The situation in Zhongzhou is constantly changing, and it is not easy to summarize it in a single sentence."

"Chaos, it's just a word: 'chaos'."

The Earl of Yongning continued solemnly, “The situation in the Central Plains was not ruined by the bandits, but by the local gentry, officials, and powerful families.”

Now that Zhang Cheng had spoken, he naturally wouldn't hold back anymore. Besides, Li Banghua and Ling Yiqu were from Jishui County, Jiangxi Province, and Wucheng County, Zhejiang Province, respectively, and their backgrounds had little to do with Henan.

"The Central Plains is a populous province, yet it suffers the most severe drought, followed by locust plagues. Tormented by drought and locust disasters, the people of the Central Plains are already exhausted, with less than one in ten surviving."

However, the officials and powerful families in various prefectures and counties had no compassion. They did not care about the lives of the people, but only knew how to collect taxes. They would rather hoard grain and let it mold and breed maggots than give it away to help the people. In the end, the people were scattered and large areas of land were abandoned.

In contrast, Li Zicheng, the traitor, committed crimes deserving of death, yet after capturing Luoyang, he was able to open granaries and distribute grain, even proclaiming a three-year tax exemption. In order to survive, many people in the Central Plains joined the rebels.

However, this is not what the people desire, but such is the way of the world. After all, survival is the greatest need of the people of the Central Plains, and staying alive is what they yearn for most!

When Zhang Cheng finished speaking, he paused, picked up the teacup on the table beside him, gulped it down, and continued: "Now, I, in the name of the Admiral, command the government troops of Xuanda, Baoding, and Henan, and have fortunately won a great victory in the Battle of Zhuxian Town, forcing the traitor Li Zicheng out of Kaifeng Prefecture."

However, Li's main cavalry force remains, and the money and provisions plundered from the Central Plains are still intact. Although they have retreated to the area around the Funiu Mountains, they are training their troops day and night, and could return at any time to once again threaten Kaifeng.

Ling Yiqu then interjected, asking, "Why not wipe them out in one fell swoop?"

His words carried a hint of accusation, and the Earl of Yongning's face darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he glared at Ling Yiqu, who showed no fear whatsoever.

Seeing his righteous and awe-inspiring expression, the Earl of Yongning couldn't help but secretly admire his integrity.

"I also want to press on and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop at Funiu Mountain."

The Earl of Yongning's expression softened slightly, and he smiled gently before continuing, "However, my master is actually unable to do it."

"Why is that?" Ling Yiqu asked again.

The Earl of Yongning was trying to provoke him into asking a question. He smiled and said, "In the Central Plains, the main force is the Xuanda army. However, since they rushed here, they have not had a chance to rest before engaging in battle. It has been more than half a year now. After the great victory at Zhuxian Town, the troops are exhausted and have no strength to fight again. It is already the limit that we were able to drive the rebels out of Kaifeng Prefecture."

Before Ling Yiqu could ask a question, he continued, "Moreover, the rebels have retreated into the Funiu Mountains, which stretch for hundreds of miles from east to west. If we don't divide our forces to block all the passages, it's hard to guarantee that they won't run around in all directions. If they manage to escape back to Shaanxi or enter Huguang, how will we control them?"

"With Sun Chuanting in Shaanxi, the rebels will surely be stopped at Tongguan Pass."

The Earl of Yongning smiled slightly at Ling Yiqu and said, "Sun Chuanting is burdened by money and supplies, and his troops are not yet well-trained. I'm afraid he will have difficulty dealing with the rebel army now. Mr. Ling, are you unaware of the events surrounding the two governors of Shaanxi, Fu and Wang?"

Faced with the questioning from the Earl of Yongning, Ling Yiqu's expression changed slightly, and he said, "The bandit Zuo Ping of Xiangyang is quite capable. He can be deployed to block Huguang and prevent the rebel Chuang from sneaking in. At that time, even if the rebel Chuang does sneak back to Shaanxi, the Earl of Yongning's army can follow up and block Tongguan, thus trapping him in Shaanxi. It's better than leaving him in the Central Plains, a land of constant warfare!"

"Haha..." The Earl of Yongning burst into hearty laughter.

"Mr. Ling should know the outcome of the battle between Ding Qirui and the rebel leader at Zhuxian Town. Whether Zuo Ping was the first to flee is another matter, but it is an indisputable fact that he and Ding Qirui defended Zhuxian Town together and were defeated in less than ten months."

Does Mr. Ling really think that Zuo Ping, that bandit, can hold the Huguang line?

Ling Yiqu was rendered speechless by the Earl of Yongning's retort, but he was powerless to refute it. He couldn't help but look at Li Banghua sitting opposite him, his eyes filled with a plea for help.

“What the Earl of Yongning said is all reasonable, but that cannot be a reason to let the rebel Li Zicheng grow stronger.”

Zhang Cheng's expression as he looked at Li Banghua was quite intriguing. He smiled and said, "I have not allowed the rebel to grow too powerful."

"The Earl of Yongning stationed his troops but did not advance, allowing the rebel Chuang to train his troops and hoard grain in the Funiu Mountains. Instead, he engaged in large-scale military farming in Kaifeng Prefecture, encroaching on many official and civilian fields. If this is not letting Chuang go unchecked and allowing him to grow stronger, then why is he doing this?"

"Mr. Li is mistaken."

Zhang Cheng smiled and continued, "I am not letting the rebels run rampant, but rather accumulating strength."

"What does the Earl of Yongning mean by this?"

"The central plains region currently has nearly 200,000 government troops, but only 40,000 troops from the Xuanda army and nearly 10,000 troops under Chen Yongfu, plus more than 10,000 troops from the Baoding army, which is less than 60,000 troops."

As Yuan Shizhong and Luo Rucai have recently been pacified, not to mention that their troops have not yet been reorganized, even if they had been reorganized, I would not dare to send them out to fight against the rebels.

After all, anything can happen on the battlefield. Who can guarantee they'll truly serve our dynasty faithfully?

"What...does this have to do with military settlements?"

Zhang Cheng had been waiting for these words. He smiled and said, "The court will naturally not support Yuan Shizhong and Luo Rucai's more than 200,000 men for nothing. We dare not use them to fight the rebels now, but that does not mean we will never dare to use them."

"There are two reasons why Benbo wanted to develop military farms on a large scale."

Yongning Earl stared at Li Banghua and continued, “Firstly, it will settle the starving people who lost their land in Kaifeng, so that they can stay on the land and not become starving people who join the rebels again.”

Secondly, they used land to win over the hearts of Yuan and Luo's troops. They distributed the families of their soldiers to various military settlements. Once these soldiers cultivated the land and lived a stable life of farming, they would naturally no longer yearn for their previous life of wandering.

Ling Yiqu couldn't help but interject again: "A thief is still a thief."

"I admit that Yuan and Luo were indeed bandits in their past lives. However, they have now shown a willingness to turn over a new leaf. If we can make them truly turn to the court and serve the court, it will be a great blessing for the country."

Li Banghua sighed softly and said, "It's hard to say what kind of character Yuan is; but Luo has surrendered several times, only to rebel again each time. Such character is no longer trustworthy. If it's as I say, we should seize this opportunity to kill him and prevent future troubles!"