The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 182 Love Across Mountains and Seas, Mountains and Seas Can Be Leveled
The military supervisor and military governor sent by Emperor Taichang spent half a month in Qufu but gained nothing, so they had to go to Dengzhou Prefecture to take up their posts in disappointment.

Except for the aloof Penglai County Magistrate Ge Yewen, all the officials of Dengzhou Prefecture, big and small, were bribed by Kang Yingqian.

I'm afraid it will be difficult for these two nails sent by the court to penetrate the Dengzhou officialdom.

The Confucius Mansion Incident marked the beginning of the rift between Kaiyuan and the imperial court.

~~~~
In late November, Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi split into two groups and rushed to Deng and Lai prefectures.

Marquis Ping Liao allocated 30,000 taels of silver to each of them as public relations expenses.

After the two men arrived in Laizhou and Dengzhou, they began to make deals with people from all walks of life. The governor, the military inspector, the co-magistrate, the military governor, the county magistrate, and even the county magistrate and the registrar had to give them money.

Not a penny of the 60,000 taels of silver was left. Except for County Magistrate Ge and Governor Yuan, more than 100 officials from Deng, Lai Prefecture and County accepted the silver and accepted the presence of Kaiyuan Army in Wendeng.

Compared with the imperial court that often withheld salaries, the generous Ping Liaohou was obviously more popular among the prefectures and counties.

Once the relationship is established, things become much easier.

Liu Zhaosun planned to occupy Jinzhou and Fuzhou as soon as possible next year, completely control Weihaiwei and Penglai Changdao, and turn the Weihai to Jinzhou waterway into his own golden waterway.

Silk, tea, porcelain, sugar and other goods sold in the south are concentrated in Penglai Changdao and then transported to Jinzhou. Mink fur, ginseng and other goods from Liaodong will be transported to the inland from Jinzhou. In this way, huge land transportation costs can be saved.

The greatest significance of this channel is not the transportation of goods, but the flow of people.

To put it bluntly, through sea transportation, the population from the interior of China was continuously absorbed. The refugees from Northern Zhili, Shandong and even Southern Zhili could be transported from Dengzhou to Liaodong, thereby expanding their own strength.

Liu Zhaosun certainly could not do such a large-scale thing as Zhu Yuanzhang, who recruited 400,000 military households to Liaodong at once.

Before I knew it, it had been almost a year since I left Liaodong, and more than two years since the bloody battle of Hunhe. Intelligence from the direction of Hetuala showed that Huang Taiji had always been well-behaved, and no one knew what this one-eyed blind man was up to.

Actually, he and this Eighth Beile had never really fought each other. During the bloody battle of Hunhe, Huang Taiji chose to negotiate when he saw the two yellow flags collapse. Liu Zhaosun had no idea how powerful the Eighth Beile was.

Although the main force of the Eight Banners was damaged after the bloody battle of Hunhe, it is still too early to say that they were completely destroyed. Moreover, without the constraints of others, no one knows what kind of development Huang Taiji can develop the broken Later Jin into...

The enemy you don't understand is often the most terrifying.

Liu Zhaosun felt vaguely uneasy. Sometimes he wondered if he had made a mistake in judgment and shouldn't have wasted his energy in Shandong...
~~~~~
Some members of the Intelligence Bureau stayed in Qufu, and with them stayed a flag team of about 100 soldiers from the 2000th headquarters.

Zhan Bing cooperated with the intelligence team to monitor the county magistrate Jiang Fang and protect the Kaiyuan Chamber of Commerce's trade around Qufu.

Of course, their external identities were all servants of the county magistrate's office.

Thanks to his meritorious service in defending the territory, killing the rebels of the Wenxiang Sect and suffering 108 wounds, County Magistrate Jiang Fang was not only not punished but also rewarded by the court.

This powerless county magistrate with no background was rewarded with five hundred taels of silver, and the imperial court also bestowed upon his mother the title of "Lady of Imperial Consort."

Although Emperor Taichang treated Magistrate Jiang well.

However, Chiang Kai-shek eventually boarded Liu Zhaosun's pirate ship.

This time, the Kaiyuan soldiers cut down the Confucius Forest and transported hundreds of thousand-year-old trees to Korea, and County Magistrate Jiang was the main contributor.

If this matter were to get out, County Magistrate Jiang would probably be cut into pieces.

This civil servant, who was a Jinshi, was originally afraid of the imperial court.

When he witnessed the Kaiyuan army's rapid defeat of the Wenxiang Sect and saw with his own eyes that the eunuch Zhang Tiquan had no way to deal with Liu Zhaosun, he concluded that Ping Liaohou was the true dragon, and no longer cared about the emperor's grace in the capital, and completely surrendered to Liu Zhaosun.

Under the operation of County Magistrate Jiang, many of Yanshenggong's businesses in Qufu, such as rice shops, southern goods shops, brothels and wine shops, totaling 73 stores, were almost all controlled by the Kaiyuan Chamber of Commerce.

The shop needed a manager and clerks. The people brought by the Ministry of Civil Affairs were quickly used up. Xie Yang and his colleagues suggested that the commanders of each battalion should come temporarily to serve as managers for a few days. However, they were scolded by military generals such as Deng Changxiong and told to get out.

The wealthy and powerful people around Qufu did not dare to target these shops.

They knew that the financial backer behind the shop was Magistrate Jiang, and Magistrate Jiang's backer was the Marquis Ping Liao who had massacred the Wenxiang Sect. No one wanted to mess with such a ruthless character.

At the end of November, Ping Liaohou led the remaining soldiers back to Wendeng County. When passing by Dengzhou Prefecture, he specially went into the city to visit Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli has become thinner, with more white hair between his temples, and he looks much older.

For the past two months, Yuan Keli was worried and anxious. He had heard about what Liu Zhaosun had done in Yanzhou.

This upright civil servant now regrets that he had mobilized the original army to aid Shandong, which has now led to a disaster.

But now that things have come to this, there is no point in regretting. Fortunately, Liu Zhaosun did not harm the people, which made Yuan Keli feel a little comforted.

The official residence of the governor of Dengzhou Prefecture.

"I heard that the Marquis of Ping Liao opened the granaries at the Kong Mansion and released grain, saving thousands of refugees. He truly showed compassion."

Liu Zhaosun felt ashamed: "Wenxiang brought disaster to Qufu and harmed countless people. Seeing them suffer, I feel sad. Unfortunately, I am incompetent and can only do my best to help."

Yuan Keli nodded and praised:
"Excellent! Marquis Ping Liao has lofty ambitions and cares deeply about the people of the world. He is indeed a true hero. With Marquis Ping Liao here, Shandong has nothing to worry about! You have achieved fame at such a young age, so you must guard against arrogance and impatience, and avoid showing off too much."

Ping Liaohou stood up and bowed again, saying solemnly:
"This generation will remember Governor Yuan's teachings!"

~~~~~
On the last day of November in the first year of Taichang, Ping Liaohou led his people back to Wendeng County.

Before I knew it, it was the Minor Snow solar term. More than three months had passed since I sailed from Jinzhou in the summer.

Sun Chuanting reported last month that the wave of Fengyang refugees who spread rumors to confuse the people in Kaiyuan had been pacified, and more than 30 unruly people were arrested and executed. Liu Zhaosun did not respond to him.

Sun Chuanting also mentioned in the Tangbao that he was busy organizing the autumn harvest for the people. The weather in Liaodong was particularly cold this year, and the growth of dry rice and sorghum was not good.

The Little Ice Age has arrived.

Fortunately, tens of thousands of shi of grain were seized in Shandong this year, otherwise Liaodong would have suffered another severe famine.

In any case, it’s time to go back to Liaodong.

After suppressing the Wenxiang Sect in November, about 15,000 soldiers in Dengzhou and Yanzhou, under the command of a general of each thousand, gathered in Weihaiwei. In early October, the soldiers crossed the Liaohai Sea from Weihaiwei by boat and withdrew to Liaodong in batches.

Sun Chuanting dispatched 5,000 troops from the Kaiyuan Army headquarters to Jinzhou for support.

By early December, the main force of the Kaiyuan troops had withdrawn to Liaodong.

Excluding the recently recruited soldiers, there were about 5,000 Kaiyuan troops left in Wendeng at this time, including 1,000 cavalry.

Of these, 2,500 soldiers would remain in Wendeng to defend the city, while the remaining 2,500 would return to Liaodong with the Marquis of Ping Liao. December brought a bitterly cold north wind over the Bohai Sea, with strong winds and high waves. How could Concubine Jin Yu, five months pregnant, endure the freezing cold and the bumpy ride?

Liu Zhaosun decided to leave her in Wendeng to recuperate.

It just so happens that the winters here are warmer, much more comfortable than in Kaiyuan.

On that day, Liu Zhaosun led his troops into the city through the west gate.

From afar, we could see the instructor Sen Ti standing on a broken carriage, preaching about the benefits of joining Kaiyuan. In front of the carriage stood refugees, some of whom were neatly dressed. They probably heard that farming in Liaodong was rent-free, so they prepared to go there with their families.

"In Kaiyuan, you have land to farm, clothes to wear, enough food to eat, and meat to eat every day. Ordinary people, listen carefully, I'm talking about ordinary people, all live better than the servants in Dengzhou Prefecture!"

"Most importantly, only those who go to Liaodong can drink Lord Liu's porridge! General Liu's money and food didn't just fall from the sky! They were earned with every sword and spear. The reason he fought so hard was for you!"

After Sen Ti shouted, he turned to look at a training officer beside the carriage and whispered:

"You hear me? Just say it like that."

After saying that, he handed the paper loudspeaker in his hand to the instructor. The man stretched out his hands to take it, quickly jumped onto the carriage, and continued to brainwash the group of refugees with a thick Shanxi accent...
Soon a group of refugees came to the big pot and began to line up to get porridge under the command of the soldiers.

During the attack on Yanzhou, Sen Ti did not join the army, but stayed in Wendeng and continued to recruit refugees with Qi Jin and others.

Over two months, more than 5,000 refugees were recruited. Most of them were willing to be soldiers and had no interest in farming.

The 5,000th headquarters was full, so Qi Jin suggested that Ping Liaohou add a 6,000th headquarters. By the time Liu Zhaosun returned to Wendeng, the 6,000th headquarters had already recruited 2,000 new soldiers, and Qi Jin was training them intensively.

“It’s really changing with each passing day.”

Liu Zhaosun looked at the young instructor from his horseback and marveled at him.

Thanks to the chain reaction caused by the Wenxiang Rebellion, refugees were everywhere from Nanzhili to the capital, and their number was several times more than in previous years.

This gave Liu Zhaosun the conditions to increase his military strength.

Of course, more importantly, the encirclement and suppression of the Wenxiang Sect and the elimination of the Confucius Mansion allowed Ping Liaohou to obtain nearly two million taels of silver. Although more than 100,000 taels were distributed to Shandong officials, at least three million taels finally fell into Liu Zhaosun's hands.

In addition to cash, there were also huge amounts of grain and cloth. Kang Yingqian roughly estimated that the cloth seized this time was enough to buy a new cotton jacket for each of the 30,000 households in Kaiyuan.

These are the conditions for Ping Liaohou to increase his troops.

In fact, within just three months after the Kaiyuan Army entered Shandong, Sen Ti, Qi Jin and others recruited a total of 2,000 headquarters combat soldiers, and recruited and trained more than 6,000 combat soldiers.

This speed of troop growth has actually far exceeded Liu Zhaosun's expectations.

If things continue to develop in this way, after next spring, that is, four months later, the Kaiyuan Army will expand to at least eight thousand headquarters and more than 25,000 elite soldiers.

With 25,000 elite troops, they can directly attack southern Liaoning and unify Liaodong in advance.

Liu Zhaosun suddenly thought of Jin Yu Ji, and rode his horse to the front of Sen Ti, who was spitting. The young chief instructor was still busy teaching his subordinates preaching skills and did not notice Ping Liaohou at all.

"Instructor Mori."

Ping Liaohou patted Senti on the shoulder. Senti looked back, was shocked, and quickly saluted.

"No need to be so formal. I heard what you just said. It was very good."

Liu Zhaosun praised the Dongguan boy and told him:
"I am returning to Liaodong. I will leave Wendeng to you and General Qi. General Anyuan is pregnant and will be tired from the journey. It will be inconvenient for her to travel with me. She will stay in Wendeng for now and will need a few maids to serve her."

Sen Ti nodded as he listened. He was overjoyed to hear that Ping Liaohou wanted to keep him and Qi Jin in Wendeng for the winter.

Unlike this ambitious instructor, Qi Jin was preoccupied with selecting and training soldiers, and repeatedly studying the tactics of various arms.

It can be said that he is a professional military officer and he does not have a strong desire for power.

If only Qi Jin and Sen Ti were left in Wendeng, then the power of Wendeng would basically be in the hands of this young instructor.

Dongguanzi is only eighteen years old this year and has a quick mind. He quickly realized that this was because Ping Liaohou valued him and wanted to expand the power of the instructor.

Thinking of this, how could he not feel excited?
"Please rest assured, sir. I will definitely help General Qi collect Wendeng!"

~~~~
On that day, the instructor personally brought more than 20 maids to let Ping Liaohou choose.

"so many people?"

Liu Zhaosun was talking and laughing with Jin Yuji on his arm.

In the corridor behind the county government office, a row of maids stood in a dense mass. Most of them were from Dengzhou and were tall.

Sen Ti stood by and looked at Ping Liaohou carefully.

"I can take care of myself, I don't need anyone to accompany me."

Liu Zhaosun pointed at Jin Yuji's bulging belly, leaned close to her ear, and chuckled:
"My dear, you don't know that he is much more important than me. Kang Yingqian keeps asking about him every few days, fearing that you are not taking good care of him..."

Jin Yuji glared at Liu Zhaosun and said in feigned anger:

"Sir, do you care about him or me?"

Ping Liaohou laughed heartily, knowing that after traveling through time, he would also encounter the classic life-threatening dilemma of saving his mother first and then his wife.

He reached into the sleeve of his robe and pulled out an exquisite wooden box.

"Of course I care about you."

"Sir, what is this?"

"Your favorite pastry is a specialty of the Confucius Mansion. It's the only one in the world. It's a pity that it will no longer be available. I brought back a few boxes. Come and try them."

The maids stood on the corridor, looking over here curiously.

When the Wenxiang Sect started its rebellion, many wealthy families in Dengzhou were wiped out. After many twists and turns, these maids finally arrived in Wendeng. They were lucky to be able to save their lives. When they heard that the general was recruiting maids, the maids rushed to join.

～～~～~
Liu Zhaosun looked at Jin Yuji.

"My dear, we are separated by mountains and seas, and we have to part again. It has been two months since we last met. If you miss me, please write to me. I will also write to you in Kaiyuan. When we get back, we can read it to the children together, okay?"

(End of this chapter)