The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 40 Slaying the Dragon
In mid-spring, Liu Zhaosun had a long dream.

The dragon-slaying boy, after a bloody battle, finally killed the brutal black dragon. He rested in the dragon's cave with his sword, and finally found that scales were gradually growing on his body.

When Liu Zhaosun woke up, he was covered in sweat and breathing rapidly. It was unknown how long it took him to calm down.

Just as the garrison commander was wondering why the dragon-slaying boy turned into a dragon, Zhang Mazi rushed into the tent, his face filled with anxiety, and said:

"Captain Liu, something terrible has happened! A group of Liao people have surrounded our camp and are threatening to attack us! Go and take a look!"

"what?"

"Two of Captain Zhao's halberd-wielding soldiers sneaked out of camp last night and went to Hupi Post Station to steal things and injure people. The local villagers came to us and demanded compensation!"

Liu Zhaosun was shocked when he heard this. He had been busy training the new army these days and neglected to manage his subordinates. He didn't expect such a big thing to happen.

Liaozhen will definitely take action now. If Marin knew about this, he would be even less willing to cooperate with me.

He was anxious and immediately put on his armor. Surrounded by his personal guards, he strode towards the Southern Army camp.

The New Army Camp was about two miles away from the Southern Army Camp. Before we got there, we heard someone arguing very loudly.

"Those damn southern barbarians came to Liaodong to bring disaster to the Liao people. They are even more hateful than the Tartars!"

"Go back! Go back!"

Qin Jianxun led a team of white-spear soldiers and formed a line with the spear shafts of their long spears. These short and strong chieftain soldiers from the southwest faced each other and used their bodies to block the angry Liao people. However, the number of Liao people was too large and the line was about to collapse.

On the outskirts of the crowd, a group of Liaozhen officers were watching the scene with smiles on their faces, while several loud-mouthed servants were making a fuss from behind.

"Kill the southern barbarians!"

Suddenly there was a scream, and a young woman among the Liao people at Hupiyi across the street started crying:
"Everyone, fellow villagers, and the Shangguan army, come and take a look! Are there any men here? Tell me, is there still law in this Ming Dynasty? The southern barbarians stole our food, and when my father tried to stop them, they beat him up. Look, look at my father's head, those damn southern barbarians! One blow from the hammer, it's split open! It's still bleeding, it's been bleeding all day! My father can't live anymore, and neither can I!"

A middle-aged man who looked like a student stepped forward and walked in front of the woman. The Liao people around him made way for him. He was wearing a purple smoky brocade cotton robe, an eight-petal hat inlaid with oriental pearls, and a paper fan in his hand, which was obviously just for decoration.

"Who dares to hit someone? Let me see! Don't be afraid! Huang is also a scholar, and Yang Yushi of the capital is my cousin."

"I hate to see this kind of behavior where the strong bully the weak, bully men and women, exploit the people, and disregard the law the most!"

"I love to stand up for the weak. You must give an explanation to the Liao people for what happened today!"

"If you don't care about the defense, I will tell Governor Wang. If Governor Wang doesn't care, I will tell General Yang. If General Yang doesn't care, I will go to the capital!"

Liu Zhaosun shook his head in disdain, too lazy to even look at the student.

The crowd made way for Liu Zhaosun, who squeezed into the middle of the circle and saw a stout, overweight woman crying on the ground with her head in her hands. Next to her lay a thin, gray-bearded old man with a scraped head. He squinted his eyes and groaned.

Several strong Liao people gathered around the father and daughter, staring at them fiercely.

Behind them, more than a thousand young and strong men holding sticks and farm tools were pushing the white-pole soldiers in formation.

The body of a southern soldier was taken back by the servants. A layer of white cloth was covered on the body. Several servants raised their shields to protect the body. Stones thrown from the opposite side hit the shields, making dull thuds.

Not far behind the corpses, six thousand southern soldiers stood in front of them. They were holding long spears and heavy swords, and some were holding bows and muskets. The artillerymen turned the muzzles of the few remaining Portuguese cannons to face this group of aggressive Liao people. The commanders of each battalion and the flag commanders were giving orders in front of their soldiers.

These old soldiers who had killed the Tartars were now filled with murderous intent, and they looked at the Liao people opposite them as if they were looking at corpses.

Beside the southern soldiers, hundreds of Liaodong refugees, who had spontaneously come to their aid, picked up stones and threw them at the Liao people on the other side. To distinguish friend from foe, they all tied white cloth around their arms.

Most of these Liaodong refugees came from Kuandian, Fushun, Qinghe and other places. They had no relatives or friends with the Liao people in Shenyang, so they had no concerns about fighting. The Liao people on the opposite side not only slandered the southern soldiers, but also slandered the garrison commander, who was their patron saint. The Liao people were brave and would never talk if they could do something with their hands, so these refugees organized themselves and fought against the opposite side.

When Pei Dahu saw Liu Zhaosun coming, he took a deep breath, put away the knife in his hand, and the scar on his face twitched. He said indignantly:
"Thirteenth Master, this damn mob killed two halberd fighters and accused us of stealing their food and injuring that old man. They want our lives for our lives and they want us to pay them money!"

"You killed my people and you want me to pay you?"

Liu Zhaosun looked at the corpse of the soldier lying on the ground, his eyes bloodshot. He was about to speak when the military supervisor Kang Yingqian appeared from nowhere and whispered to him:

"I see the Liao people across from us. They are stout and strong. The khans in front of us all have calluses on their fingers. I'm afraid they are not ordinary farmers."

Liu Zhaosun said angrily, "So what? Supervisor Kang said they were fakes from Liaozhen?"

Kang Yingqian stroked his beard lightly and laughed:

"Whether or not it's a fake is irrelevant, but if you give the order to attack now, and soldiers and civilians are killed or injured, and a civil uprising is provoked, Liaodong will not tolerate you, Liu Zhaosun!"

Liu Zhaosun's mouth twitched, and he clenched his fists. After a while, he finally let them go again, suppressing his anger and said to Kang Yingqian:

"If I don't receive any reports at night, the Nu chieftain has already raised an army from Hetuala and will attack Kaiyuan in the next few days. I can't afford to delay. What should I do now?"

Kang Yingqian's eyes turned and he looked at the surging crowd opposite with a cold gaze. As a military supervisor of a town, he had finally won military merit and attracted the attention of the emperor. If this matter was not handled properly, all his efforts would be wasted.

"I will personally go to Hupi Post and talk to He Shixian. I will give him some silver and ask the southern troops to leave Shenyang as soon as possible. We can both take a step back and let this matter be over."

Liu Zhaosun looked up at the military supervisor in surprise, his eyes a little dazed. He didn't know what Kang Yingqian meant by this:
"Let's both take a step back? I've only been in this position for a few days, and my soldiers died in such an unclear manner, and I didn't say a word. And you still want me to give them money?"

Kang Yingqian looked at Liu Zhaosun with a smile. After he finished speaking, he tried hard not to laugh. He looked at the Liao people in the distance who were throwing stones at each other and smiled slightly.
"Hahaha, you're still too young. You have some skills in fighting, but you're far from being good at scheming and plotting! How dare you be so presumptuous on the territory of Liaozhen? A while ago, you were training troops in the south of the city, causing unrest in Shenyang. To protect you, Lord Yang spoke to Li Rubai in his memorial, using Liaoyang funds to trade with Liaozhen. But he's the governor, and he's after your military achievements. He can govern Liaodong and Shandong. As long as he has military merit, he can get away with it with a decree from the court. Now he's probably going to die soon. What will happen to you and your southern troops when he's gone?"

(End of this chapter)