The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 405 Local Snake

That day, Dongfang was in a bad mood after drinking, so he said goodbye to the officials in the provincial capital and hurried home. He had just sat down when Li Guijie knocked on the door outside.

"Let her in. The master has something to ask."

Dai'an smiled and led Sister Li Gui into the main hall. Dongfang Zhu waved his hand to let his wives and concubines leave first. He looked up lazily at Sister Li Gui and said angrily:

"Even the most beautiful courtesan in Yihong Courtyard is not so arrogant. Do you know who I, the master, have invited today?"

Sister Li Gui wore a Hangzhou bun with a gold silk hairpin inserted in her hair, a white silk double-breasted jacket on her upper body, and a red silk skirt on her lower body. She was dressed very charmingly. She had just run back from outside, her cheeks wet with sweat, she was panting, her waist was tired, and she took out a spring fan from her sleeve and kept waving it.

"Who else could it be? It's just the officials in the government office. Huang Zhizhou is dead, and there's no one to cover up for them. They can't make it in Linqing City anymore, and you're still fooling around with them..."

Sister Li Gui glanced at Dongfang Zhu sideways, ignoring the servants who were still there, and just threw him a flirtatious look.

"Let's not talk nonsense. You've been walking around the city lately and you recognize the Liaodong soldiers guarding the city. I have a few questions for you."

Sister Li Gui looked straight at Dongfang Zhu, pointed to the backyard, and said with a smile:

"If you want to ask, go to the grape arbor. We've walked a few miles and there's not even a sedan chair. Let's go to the place where you and the slut are swinging to rest our feet and have some peaches."

Dongfang Zhu was upset and had no intention of flirting. He raised his big hand to slap someone, but he rolled his eyes and retracted his raised hand. He just pinched her face and squeezed off two drops of rouge and powder.

"They say businessmen value profit over separation, and this is exactly what the great official did. Before he took a concubine, he kept talking about Sister Li all day long, like a thieving cat, hanging around Yihong Courtyard (the largest brothel in Linqing). Ever since he married Yinlian, he has forgotten his former lover..."

Dongfang Zhu waved Dai'an to leave, then stepped forward, hugged Sister Li Gui, and said with an apologetic smile:

"The White Lotus Sect has been causing trouble in the state capital lately, demanding payment, and there have been so many troubles one after another that I'm completely busy. Once this matter is resolved, I'll marry you in a grand sedan chair to save others from gossip..."

Li Guijie still didn't believe it and pointed at Dongfang Zhu's nose and said:

"Your words are a lie! How many good families have you deceived in Linqing Prefecture? I don't know how many times I've heard you say this. You always say the same thing every time you come to Yihong Courtyard."

Dongfang Zhu pointed to the sky and swore solemnly:
"Really? If you can save this world, I will marry you. If you lie, God will punish you!"

"Don't bother me."

Sister Li Gui quickly covered his mouth with her hand to stop him from swearing such a vicious oath. She picked up the half-eaten melon seeds on the table, stretched, and said:

"Just ask."

Dongfang Zhu pondered for a moment and said:

"How many soldiers did they have? When did they leave? How much silver did they steal? Where is the commander from?"

"I didn't rob anyone of their money, and I didn't take a cent from the people."

Li Guijie was a woman, so how could she know those confidential matters? She said a few words and then shook her head and said nothing.

Dongfang Zhu was extremely disappointed, but then he heard her continue:
"I was in the workshop—the place where they work is called a workshop—and heard a Liaodong craftsman say that they had recruited many new soldiers and needed to make more than 3,000 suits of armor..."

~~~~
All the wives and concubines in the room looked unhappy when they saw Li Guijie.

As the sky gradually darkened, Dongfang Zhu invited Li Guijie to have dinner with him, chatted with her for a while about the Liaodong soldiers, and sent his wives and concubines to the attic early.

At dusk, Dain held up a wooden plate with seven or eight wooden signs on it.

"Master, please touch one."

"Touch your head!"

Dongfang Zhu patted the servant's head and ordered:

"I won't be sleeping at home tonight. Let them all go to bed early. Tell Madam to continue practicing the health-preserving technique that Taoist Wang gave me last time. The master will come back tomorrow to check..."

Regardless of which health-preserving technique Dongfang Zhu was talking about, after dinner, Li Guijie brought the official out of the house, took a sedan chair, and headed west to the West Gate City where the Liaodong soldiers were stationed.

Linqing's streets are densely populated, with thirty-six economic sectors and seventy-two trades; thirty-two brothel alleys and seventy-two stringed buildings. Two people ride in a sedan chair that sways and moves two miles along the streets. There is no curfew in the city, only some soldiers in black cloth short coats, carrying swords and arrows, patrolling the streets.

"Preparing for war, Zhou Yafu is reincarnated. He's very fierce, very fierce. No wonder the White Lotus Sect is no match for him!"

Dongfang Zhu poked his head out and looked outside, only to see that the soldiers in the Guangji Gate city were wearing armor and holding sharp weapons, with bows and crossbows in hand and excellent firearms.

He was still sighing when he took off his robe and was dragged inside by Sister Li Gui.

"Sir, please stop talking so much..."

The sedan chair is swaying...
~~~~~~
Sister Li Gui changed into the workshop uniform she usually worked in inside the sedan chair, got out of the sedan chair, and led Dongfang Zhu through several checkpoints until they finally reached the workshop door.

When Dongfang Zhu met the workshop manager, he followed Li Guijie's instructions and presented five hundred taels of silver, saying that he was a merchant in the city and wanted to see General Pu for an important matter.

Carpenter Wang glanced at Dongfang Zhu, pushed the silver aside, and waved his hand for the pacification soldiers to search him carefully. Seeing that Dongfang Zhu was not carrying any weapons, Carpenter Wang glanced at Sister Li Gui before saying to Dongfang Zhu:
"Commander Pu is discussing matters with the instructor. If you dare to tease me, I will throw you into the workshop tomorrow to drill gun barrels without giving you any food."

~~~~~
In the first year of the Jingtai reign of the Ming Dynasty (1450), Yu Qian, the Minister of War, suggested that brick cities be built throughout the country. Linqing Prefecture also took advantage of this opportunity and began to build city walls.

The foundation of Linqing City first used huge stone slabs to build a half-person-high retaining stone wall, and then built bricks on the stone slabs as a retaining brick wall. The thickness of the brick wall gradually decreased from bottom to top. It was made entirely of square bricks weighing about 25 kilograms, and glutinous rice water and lime were poured in the middle, making it extremely strong.

The city wall is 32 feet high and 24 feet thick, with a total length of 9.1 miles. The northwest part of the city protrudes, like a turban tied on the head, so the locals call it a futou.

The four gates are: Weiwu Gate in the east, Guangji Gate in the west, Yongqing Gate in the south, and Zhending Gate in the north.

There were eight watchtowers with 8 rooms, eight watchtowers, and 46 watchtowers. Beneath the gate tower were two inner and outer gates, each with an urn chamber. A nine-foot-deep moat, brimming with clear water, surrounded the entire city.

After being ravaged by the White Lotus Sect, the grain transport troops, and bandits, this fortified city is now the base of the 14th Guards of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Pu Gang had been stationed in Linqing with his army for two months, and the headquarters of the 14th Guards Army was located at Guangji Gate.

Over the past two months, soldiers have been gathering from all over the place.

The soldiers of the 12th Guard Army stationed in Kaifeng and Shangqiu, and the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Guard Army stationed in the capital.

Pu Gang received news of the explosion in the capital early on. The Qi army suffered heavy losses and the whereabouts of Emperor Wu Ding were unknown.

Missing is just a euphemism. The emperor is probably no longer alive.

General Pu Can was a soldier led by Emperor Wuding himself. During the bloody battle of Hunhe, Liu Zhaosun broke into the Zhenghuang Banner formation and rescued Pu Gang, who was the captain of the banner at that time. For this, Ping Liaohou was shot by multiple arrows.

After the Battle of Hunhe, Pu Gang was promoted to battalion commander. By the time the Later Jin Dynasty was defeated in the third year of Taichang, he was already a deputy captain of the Second Guards Army. Before Emperor Wu Ding ascended the throne, Pu Gang was appointed commander of the Fourteenth Guards Army, concurrently holding the title of Lieutenant General of Jining, and accompanied Yuan Chonghuan in guarding the Shandong section of the Northern Grand Canal.

After Yuan Chonghuan went to Japan, Pu Gang was in charge of all matters concerning the North Grand Canal until the Wanggongchang explosion occurred.

General Pu Canjiang's feelings for the emperor were no less than those of Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu and others.

After learning about the changes in the capital, the stubborn Pu Gang’s first thought was not to escape back to Liaodong, but to continue to hold on in Shandong.

He wanted to make Jining the last fortress of the Great Qi within the Great Wall until he died in battle.

In order to hold out for a long time, he led the 14th Army to move to Linqing.

Compared with Jining, Linqing City is more solid, has a larger population, and is the richest in silver, money, and grain in Shandong.

"Emperor Wuding must still be alive,"

Since many soldiers fled to Shandong after the explosion, it means that the emperor is also fine.

"I will stay in Linqing and wait for the emperor! He will definitely come back!"

Several captains around him advised Pu Gang to take advantage of the chaos to escape back to Liaodong and join forces with the Liaodong defenders, but Pu Gang flatly rejected this suggestion.

"If we all leave, all the hard work Emperor Wuding has put into these years of battles, and all the blood and sacrifices made by his soldiers, will be in vain. Besides, we still have brothers in Sichuan, Henan, and Shaanxi. Staying here is just a memory. What will happen to them if we leave?"

The Qi army had strict military laws, and Linqing was rich in resources - the food and supplies looted by Pu Gang alone were enough to support the army for two years.

Therefore, under the insistence of the chief officer and the instructor, everyone gave up the idea of escaping.

This isolated army began to seriously manage the richest city on the canal, waiting for the return of their emperor.

While waiting, Pu Gang was not idle. He copied the method used by Emperor Wu Ding in Kaiyuan that year, recruiting new soldiers according to the recruitment standards of the Qi Family Army and training them on the spot.

Soon, more than 3,500 new recruits were obtained.

After the explosion in the capital, the most common thing along the North Grand Canal was the boat workers and boat trackers who were desperate.

According to Qi Jin, these boat trackers are the best source of soldiers.

Linqing was a prosperous place. After Huang Zhizhou died in hiding, the Qi army found more than 800,000 silver coins in the Zhizhou's cellar, plus the silver and grain seized when they repelled Liu Fangliang two months ago.

Now Pugang has money, food and people, which further strengthens their confidence in holding on to Linqing.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. The chief officer did not bother to petition Emperor Wuding and told the emperor that he needed to expand the army urgently - first he had to find the emperor himself - and began to do his best to recruit soldiers in Linqing.

Not only that, the Qi army also opened the granaries and recruited all the young and strong men in Linqingzhou to defend the city.

The women were also busy, weaving armor and helping to drill flintlock barrels.

In just half a month, Pu Gang and Xing Zhongyi (training officer of the 14th Guards Army) transformed the once harmless, decadent and brothel-filled Linqing City into a terrifying war machine.

~~~~
Xing Zhongyi took out a pocket-sized golden abacus from his sleeve - it was seized from Huang Zhizhou's cellar - and fiddled with it for a long time, his brows furrowed more and more.

Pu Gang got goosebumps all over his body. The two of them had been partners for three years and knew each other well. As soon as he saw the instructor's expression, he knew that the failed scholar had a bad premonition about to happen again.

"General Pu, I have a bad feeling..."

Pu Gang put down the teapot in his hand and scratched his scalp. The situation couldn't get any worse than it is now.

"The Emperor's whereabouts are unknown, and we don't know whether Supervisor Qiao and Prime Minister Kang are dead or alive. Do you have any more ominous premonitions?"

Xing Zhongyi quickly pulled Pu Gang over and pointed at his palm-sized pocket golden abacus.

Pu Gang didn't even look at it and said impatiently, "I don't recognize this thing. If you have something to say, just say it."

"Then I'm telling you, Lao Pu, we're running out of food. If we keep eating like this every day, we'll be out of food in ten days at most."

With a snap, the teapot in Pu Gang's hand fell to the ground, and the coarse porcelain teapot broke into pieces.

"What? No food?"

In half a month, Pu Gang used the 800,000 silver coins he obtained from the confiscation of property to buy out the grain from hundreds of white ships at the Linqing customs, obtaining more than 30,000 dan of grain, enough for the defenders to eat until next winter.

Xing Zhongyi sighed and said, "You don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are until you run a household. These days you've been recruiting soldiers, recruiting able-bodied men, and making porridge for the refugees from the north. What can we do with the little food we have?"

Pu Gang patted his forehead. As a chief officer, he was good at marching and fighting, but he had no experience in guarding a city for a long time and distributing food and grass reasonably.

"Use more silver to buy it, Instructor Xing. It's a big city with hundreds of thousands of people, and you have to come to me for everything. Emperor Wuding was not as busy as me in Kaiyuan. Liu Zongzhou is coming, and I have to be busy strengthening the city defense. Don't come to me for these things. Take the pacification soldiers to buy..."

The instructor threw the abacus on the table and said angrily:
"Where can we buy it? All the shops on Sanshiliuhang Street are closed. They say they've sold out of food. They won't sell us a single stone for three taels of silver!"

"Where's the grain ship?"

Since the merchants in Linqing have no grain, the grain merchants in Jiangnan must have grain.

"Liu Zongzhou is about to attack the Grand Canal. Who will sell us food? General Pu, you really don't know that these merchants and brokers in Linqing are eager to let us go..."

"If they can't buy, they just rob. Damn, these profiteers! They're hoarding food and instead of selling it to us, they're trying to sell it to the refugees at a high price."

"Where are we going to rob? We are soldiers, not bandits. If we rob once, who will do business with us in the future? Are we going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

·······
The two were arguing when a guard suddenly called out from outside, saying that the workshop's head carpenter, Wang, had arrived. Pu Gang was surprised. Why was Wang here so late at night? Had the workshop run out of gunpowder and iron?
A moment later, the guards led Master Wang into the tent. Xing Zhongyi noticed that a middle-aged man who looked like a merchant was following Master Wang. Before he could introduce the two Qi army commanders to Dongfang Zhu, he heard Master Dongfang clapping his hands and laughing.
"Lawful execution is the hallmark of a strong army. They've garrisoned the state capital for half a month without taking a single needle or thread from the people. I imagine Yue Wumu's Yue Family Army was no better. It's a shame I've only heard of them in storytelling, but I've seen the Kaiyuan Army right before my eyes. Look at this general, with his full forehead and round chin, he's imposing yet possesses a certain wrath. He's undoubtedly Grandpa Yue's reincarnation."

Pu Gang looked at the man in front of him coldly, and when he heard his nonsense, he was about to scold Wang Jiantou about where he found this onion, and waved his hand to tell him to get out. Wang Jiantou hurried forward and whispered a few words, and Pu Gang's face changed slightly when he heard it.

But then the man continued, "But Grandpa Yue also needs to eat. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. My two generals, you forgot to introduce yourself. I am the largest medicine dealer in Linqing. All the medicinal materials business, from south to north, must pass through my hands. All kinds of people, from the black and white, from the governor's office to the banknote clerks, as long as they are in Linqing, they all give me some face. My surname is Dongfang, and my given name is Zhu, which means celebration."

Xing Zhongyi touched his chin and looked at the wild onion that appeared from nowhere.

"Oh, so it's Mr. Dongfang. I heard of your name when I was taking the imperial examination in Tianjin. You are so lucky to have one wife and six concubines."

Dongfang Zhu chuckled, but didn't continue the conversation. He looked up at the two of them and said word by word:

"The Kaiyuan Army is unrivaled in combat power, undefeated in hundreds of battles. To be honest, I've heard Jin Bayala's storytelling countless times after General Xuanwu's battle. However, even a powerful dragon needs the support of local tyrants to soar high. I have a major business deal that concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and the survival of Linqing Prefecture. I wonder if you two would be willing to discuss it."

(End of this chapter)