The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 173 Fengyang Flower Drum (I)

Governor Yuan stayed in Wendeng County for two days, then led a group of officials to bid farewell to Marquis Ping Liao and returned to Dengzhou Prefecture.

Before leaving, he symbolically accepted fifty taels of silver from the "victim".

Kang Yingqian was certainly unwilling to treat Governor Yuan unfairly. Under Kang Yingqian's instructions, Qiao Yiqi persisted and insisted on giving the original painting of "Three Trees on the River Bank" by Dong Qichang to his savior.

"This painting is beautifully executed, its spirit and spirit refined. Only a man of Governor Yuan's integrity could be worthy of it! If you refuse, I will follow the example of Liu Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty and throw it into the East China Sea! Let's see if it sinks or rises!"

Yuan Keli was speechless. He knew little about calligraphy and painting, but he couldn't refuse the kind offer, so he had to accept it.

It should be noted that at that time, authentic works of Dong Qichang were often worth hundreds of gold coins, and this painting "Three Trees on the River Bank" was sold at a high price of one thousand taels of silver in Jiangnan.

The gift was finally delivered.

Kang Yingqian felt relieved, as Yuan Keli had boarded the pirate ship to Kaiyuan.

Compared with Governor Yuan, those county magistrates seemed much more dignified.

He accepted the silver gifts and took them when he should, without being polite at all.

Under Kang Yingqian's repeated requests, Liu Zhaosun was very reluctant to take out 40,000 taels of silver as gifts to various gods.

Ten thousand taels were spent on five counties under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou.

The magistrates of Ninghai Prefecture, Huang County, Qixia County, Zhaoyuan County, and Laiyang County each presented a gift of two thousand silver coins (the magistrates of Fushan and Wendeng were killed, and the magistrate of Penglai, Ge Yewen, refused to accept the money).

The magistrate said that after he returned, he would return all the silver that the Wenxiang sect rebels had looted to the people who had suffered from the war.

The military inspector of Dengzhou and the commander of the water camp each received a gift of two thousand taels.

On September 10, Pei Dahu and two of his men escorted Tang Ma from Dengzhou to Beijing. Tang Ma brought a joint memorial from all the officials of Dengzhou, as well as a petition from the people. It was said that it was written with tears and blood by the surviving people of Wendeng to retain the Kaiyuan soldiers.

In his memorial, Yuan Keli briefly recounted how Ping Liao Hou turned the tide and defeated the Wenxiang rebels, and recommended credit for Ping Liao Hou in the name of the governor.

Then he changed the tone and reminded the court that the Wenxiang Sect was still powerful in Shandong. The Dengzhou Garrison was in disrepair, and the Japanese soldiers and the Ban Army were useless. He suggested that the court set up a Wendeng Camp and station soldiers from Kaiyuan to garrison Wendeng, protect Dengzhou, and ensure the safety of the Shandong Canal.

The reason of protecting the canal is ridiculous. Dengzhou is five or six hundred miles away from the canal, and there is Laizhou Prefecture in between. It is not Wendeng's turn to protect it.

However, all the court needed was an excuse. As long as the Cabinet's Imperial Household Department agreed, it would be reasonable to protect the canal even in Kaiyuan.

The Marquis of Ping Liao had the ability to gain the approval of the Cabinet's Imperial Household Department.

Of course, in order to express his sincerity in protecting the canal to his two allies in the capital, Liu Zhaosun asked Pei Dahu, Lin Yu and others to bring 30,000 taels of silver and several top-quality treasures seized on the Liaodong battlefield to Fang Congzhe, Huang Kexun, Wei Zhongxian and others.

After Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, the former cabinet members were basically left alone.

Fang Congzhe and Huang Kexun are notoriously weak and do not want to offend any force. Not to mention Wei Zhongxian, they will generally support Liu Zhaosun.

Kang Yingqian estimated that once this memorial was submitted, the court would definitely agree with Governor Yuan's suggestion.

Of course, no matter what the court’s attitude was, the Kaiyuan army had actually occupied Wendeng.

~~~~
After receiving the silver, the officials of Dengzhou became even more respectful and marveled at the young hero.

The amount of silver that Ping Liaohou gave them was actually not much. The county magistrate's various incomes added up to far more than these two thousand taels a year.

At present, the thugs of the Wenxiang Sect are roaming around the counties of Dengzhou. To quell the Wenxiang rioters, we have to rely on the soldiers of Ping Liaohou.

More importantly, Yuan Yingtai, the governor of Liaodong, had just died, and it was inevitable that the others would feel grief over his death.

There are many rumors about Liu Zhaosun in the officialdom of Dengzhou.

One of them is:

Any civil servant who goes against this man will end up with a miserable death.

Only the Penglai County Magistrate Ge Yewen refused to accept a single tael of silver. Without waiting for Governor Yuan to leave, he left without saying goodbye and returned to Penglai with his servants.

People have different opinions on whether to kill Ge Yewen.

Kang Yingqian and Shao Jiechun suggested that they should immediately send someone to kill him on the way and then blame it on the Wenxiang Sect thugs.

Kang Yingqian sneered:

"This man boasts of his integrity and thinks highly of himself, but he's ultimately a corrupt scholar and incapable of great things. Now that he refuses to accept money and forge a friendship with the Marquis of Liao, he's our enemy. As an enemy, we can't keep him here. If we keep him here, he'll undoubtedly exchange information with the censors in the capital, ultimately posing a hidden danger."

Sun Chuanting and Qiao Yiqi opposed the assassination.

They believed that Ping Liaohou's position was uncertain, and if assassination was used, the Dengzhou officials would inevitably feel insecure. Furthermore, Ge Yewen was well-respected in Dengzhou and was recognized by the people as a good official. Killing him would only lose the people's support and embarrass Governor Yuan.

Ping Liaohou combined the opinions of both parties and ordered the intelligence bureau team to go to Penglai to monitor County Magistrate Ge's every move. If he showed any abnormal behavior, he would be executed immediately.

Liu Zhaosun slowly raised his head, his gaze stern. Everyone fell silent, looking towards Ping Liaohou. "The people are most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important."

"I'm putting this out there today. I came to Shandong not to conquer cities or achieve great things, but to save the people of Qi and Lu! Let them stop cannibalism and selling their children. Eating food is the most important thing! Anyone who dares to obstruct this, regardless of whether they are honest or corrupt, whether they are from the cabinet or the Imperial Household Department, must die! As for how to kill these people, that's your business!"

~~~~
On the morning of the 11th, at the south gate of Wendeng, there was a large parade ground.

Ping Liaohou sat on the platform for reviewing generals, with Kang Yingqian, Yuan Chonghuan and other confidants standing beside him.

Chief Instructor Sen Ti, accompanied by two adjutants, quickly walked to the stage, saluted, and said:
"Marquis Ping Liao, the second, third, and fourth thousand soldiers from the headquarters are all in place, and the refugees from Fengyang are also ready. Please see..."

Liu Zhaosun nodded slightly.

"let's start!"

Dongguanzi agreed, took a paper trumpet from his adjutant, raised it to his lips, and shouted loudly to the more than 8,000 new recruits standing on the parade ground:

"Brothers of the Kaiyuan Army! I am the Chief Instructor of Kaiyuan. You will soon be heading to Qixia and Zhaoyuan to pursue the Wenxiang Sect rebels. I have a few words to say here!"

"There's a town south of Qixia called Xiaotaizi. Half a month ago, the Wenxiang Cult robbed all the people there, even the crops in the fields, and burned them all! Not a single grain of food was left for the people. These past few days, Xiaotaizi Town has been cannibalizing people! People are eating each other!"

There was a commotion on the parade grounds, and the commanders of each battalion took sticks and beat the soldiers who were moving around for no reason.

"Many of you were refugees just like them six months ago, struggling to make ends meet. Now, some of you have married, have children, and are enjoying a good life in Kaiyuan. Compared to those refugees outside, one is in heaven, the other is in hell! Tell me honestly, who gave you a good life?!"

Among the new recruits, someone took the lead and shouted, "Master Liu! Master Liu!"

Five thousand new recruits followed suit and shouted, "Master Liu! Master Liu!"

Sen Ti and the other recruits paused for a moment before continuing:
"You new soldiers, you can ask the veterans at the 1,000th headquarters. In order to pay you and to give your wives and children more meat to eat, Lord Liu has lived frugally himself, even sparing himself from eating! What General Liu eats every day is worse than what you do! As soon as his monthly pay arrives, he uses it to provide relief to the wounded. He has no other thoughts but to make sure that all the people in the world live a good life. Lord Liu always stands up for you and isn't afraid to tell you how that traitor Yuan Yingtai died last year. It was because that bastard humiliated our Kaiyuan Army as soldiers in front of Lord Liu!"

The soldiers standing in the first two rows had red eyes. A halberd-bearer who was wounded on the Hunhe battlefield was standing in the crowd and sobbing loudly.

The three thousand new recruits from the headquarters burst into earth-shaking shouts, and Sen Ti turned around to look at Ping Liaohou on the podium.

Liu Zhaosun nodded slightly to Sen Ti, and the instructor bowed quickly.

The instructor whispered a few words to the adjutant, who hurried down to make arrangements.

A moment later, under the gaze of more than 8,000 people, five or six ragged civilians were brought to the reviewing platform by two pacification soldiers.

They were all hunched over, their faces pale and thin. They looked neither ghosts nor humans. Without even asking, one could tell at a glance that they were refugees from other places.

They carried dirty waist drums on their backs and were too timid to look up.

"Brothers of the Kaiyuan Army!"

Sen Ti suddenly raised his voice, his throat hoarse.

"I'm sure you all know that Fengyang has been hit by another disaster. Tens of thousands of people have fled to Shandong and are now stuck by the canal. Fengyang doesn't care, Shandong doesn't care, and the court doesn't care! Lord Liu has a kind heart. He took in the victims, gave them food, and treated them like human beings. Lord Liu is kind to us soldiers and to the people of the world! Tell me, how can we repay such a kind person?"

The recruits, their emotions ignited, immediately burst into cheers.

"Long live Lord Liu! I swear allegiance to Lord Liu until death! Conquer the world!"

"Long live Lord Liu! I swear to follow Lord Liu until death and conquer the world!"

Sen Ti was infected by the soldiers' excitement, pretended to wipe away his tears, and turned to the refugees and said:
"You don't need to beat the flower drum anymore. Today is the last time. Meeting Lord Liu is a blessing you've earned in eight lifetimes! Sing now! Let everyone in the world know the true face of this damned court!"

Sen Ti came to Ping Liaohou with a flattering smile on his face:

"Master Liu, this humble official did..."

Liu Zhaosun forced a smile, looked at the ambitious servant, and said insincerely:

"You did very well."

With the continuous push of Kang Yingqian and others, he finally reached this step.

Liu Zhaosun's eyes were slightly red.

The sad sound of drums boom boom boom.

A familiar song rang in my ears.

Gong in the left hand, drum in the right hand, sing with gongs and drums

I can't sing any other songs, I can only sing Fengyang Song!
Talking about Fengyang, talking about Fengyang, Fengyang is a good place.

Since the rise of Emperor Zhu, there have been famines for nine out of ten years!
Rich families sell mules and horses, poor families sell their sons!
I have no sons to sell, so I travel around with my flower drum on my back!
(End of this chapter)