The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 668: Transforming the Xia into a Model District

Jiang Liuer Li Zicheng received the order and left Nanjing that day, took a ship to Chongming Port, and headed north overnight.

At the same time, the Da Qi garrison in Changbai Prefecture, Korea was preparing for battle and constantly putting pressure on Li Jong.

At the end of February, Jiang Liuer and others arrived in Kuandian. In Kuandian, everyone paid homage to Yuan Shaobao's tomb together.

Jiang Liuer wrote the news that the army was about to wipe out Japan on Korean paper and burned it for Yuan Chonghuan in his grave.

On February 26, everyone crossed the Yalu River and entered Changbai Prefecture.

Jiang Liuer, Li Zicheng had been to Korea before and was quite familiar with the Korean landscape, local customs and people. Jiang Liuer, in particular, had traveled back and forth to Uiju, Sakhalin Island, many times during his time as a garrison commander on Sakhalin Island.

Yizhou was no longer called Yizhou, and was renamed Xianfeng County. According to the administrative areas demarcated in the second year of Taichu, Xianfeng County belonged to Changbai Prefecture.

Ten years ago, after Hamgyong Province, Pyeongan Province, and Hwanghae Province acceded to Da Qi, the retired emperor merged the three provinces into one, renamed it Changbai Prefecture, and dispatched 10,000 soldiers from each corps to garrison it.

Changbai Prefecture has 15 counties under its jurisdiction, with a total population of 3 million. Both in terms of area and population, it is equivalent to three or four ordinary prefectures within the Great Wall. It is currently the second largest prefecture in Da Qi (the first is Sakhalin Prefecture).

The population of Changbai Prefecture is half Han Chinese and half Korean. After ten years of governance and education, the people of the prefecture have long since "adapted to local customs", wearing Hanfu and speaking Chinese. There is no trace of the previous Eastern Frontier subjects on them, let alone the Simeda language. Even the smell of kimchi on women is gone.

Changbai Prefecture was often mentioned by the retired emperor as a model area for the empire's transformation from Xia to Yi. Liu Zhaosun planned to build a magnificent house in Changbai Prefecture once the war was settled, and to retire there with Empress Dowager Cisi when Jin Yuji grew old.

But now it seems that letting Ma Fang Nanshan go is still a very distant thing, and it is impossible to achieve it in at least three to five years.

~~~~
Li Zicheng was surprised to find that compared with ten years ago, the accent of the people in Changbai Prefecture had changed from "Smida" when they opened their mouths and "Xibala" when they closed their mouths to the standard Liaodong dialect.

"What are you looking at? Believe it or not, I'm going to cut you."

"You idiot, you're still looking at me!"

They crossed the river by boat and just as they landed, they saw several Koreans fishing by the river. Seeing that their fishing was disturbed by others, they became angry and yelled at Jiang Liuer.

Li Zicheng looked at the group of people coldly and whispered, "The common people of the vassal state do not know etiquette."

"The Emperor has been particularly caring towards Changbai Prefecture, collecting minimal taxes. He hasn't cleared land, hasn't killed many people, and even sold goods from the interior of the country to them at a fair price. This group of people is really getting a good deal..."

Fujiwara no Kyoji, who was traveling with the two men, saw that Li Zicheng seemed to be about to rebel, and quickly changed the subject:
"Let's stay in the pavilion by the river for a while. The soldiers from the military station will arrive soon. Without their written permission, we won't be able to move forward."

Jiang Liuer ordered his men to lead the warhorse to the riverside to graze, and threw the dried meat to the pine trees.

Matsushita curled up his tiger body and hid in the cabin. He would not go ashore until dark to avoid causing unnecessary panic.

Everyone rested in a small pavilion by the river.

Jiang Liuer looked to the west. It is said that on a clear day, standing on the bank of the Yalu River, one can clearly see the Shenyang city wall thousands of miles away.

Unfortunately, his eyes were wide open but he couldn't see anything, and taking out the telescope was of no use.

Li Zicheng teased, "What are you looking at? Do you have a lover in Shenyang? No wonder you got off the boat when you arrived in Liaonan and insisted on leaving through Shenyang."

Jiang Liu'er ignored Li Zicheng. Shenyang was Jiang Liu'er's hometown, and his father and brother were buried by the Hun River. He hadn't been back to visit their graves in many years.

The clear water of the Yalu River flows under your feet.

The chirping sounds of egrets could be heard overhead, and several people fishing on the shore looked over here from time to time.

Li Zicheng said as if no one was around:

"We're going to attack Japan this time, so we have to go with the army, right? I've never been to Kyushu, but I heard the women there are very short, the men look like squashes, and the women from wealthy families like to smear ink on their teeth."

"What? You want to marry a Japanese wife too? People in Japan must be very short."

Jiang Liu'er had never been to Japan either. More than a decade ago, when the Eighth Corps invaded Japan, Jiang Liu'er was only eleven or twelve years old, no taller than a goose-feather sword. Li Zicheng was also wandering in northern Shaanxi with his sister.

Jiang Liuer looked out at the Yalu River, and scenes from the past came to his mind.

"If His Majesty has an order, we will go. I heard from the veterans of the Eighth Corps that the situation in Japan is complicated, and when it is not convenient for soldiers to take action, we will be needed."

Li Zicheng instantly thought of the legendary immortal monk.

"The situation is complicated? Are you talking about the demon monk that Lin Yu and the others are fighting?"

Such an opponent is indeed difficult to deal with. Back then, even Lin Yu, Wu Xiao and others joined forces, but they were no match for Hui Ran.

I feel scared every time I think about it.

Jiang Liu'er said calmly, "The evil monk is dead. At most, you'll encounter a few ronin and ninjas on the road. They're just small fry, not enough for you to kill."

The voices of the two men could be heard far away along the river bank. The Koreans who had looked unfriendly just now put down their fishing rods, picked up their machetes, and walked towards this side aggressively.

Li Zicheng began to load ammunition into the flintlock gun, and Jiang Liuer also pressed his fingers on the scabbard in alert.

"Sibala, you keep making so much noise! I scared away three big fish today. What do you think we should do?"

After saying that, the leader picked up a shining long sword and approached Li Zicheng.

"How dare you!" Fujiwara Kyoji shouted from the side, "Do you know who we are? You've got the wrong guy to blackmail!"

The scoundrel remained calm, walked up to Li Zicheng, put his long sword to his chest, and raised his voice:

"Xibala, I don't care who you are. The emperor has pitied us common people and allowed us to submit a petition to the imperial palace and file a complaint directly with the emperor. I have the final say on matters concerning the Yalu River. You have to pay if you cross the river. Even if I break my electric fishing net, you have to pay!"

Li Zicheng and Jiang Liuer looked at each other and were shocked by the arrogance and domineering behavior of the man in front of them.

"Initially, it was for transitional purposes, and due to a shortage of manpower, the criminal justice system in Changbai Prefecture was temporarily controlled by the Koreans. I didn't expect that this temporary control would last for more than ten years without any changes.

This has created a vicious cycle of "the more support you give, the worse it becomes."

Normally, this group of young scoundrels extort a lot of money by the river and harm many people. It is fate that they meet the killer Li Zicheng today.

"When I return to Nanjing this time, I must report to the Emperor, and I'm going to stop the preferential treatment given to these foreign tribes!"

Before Fujiwara Kyoji could continue explaining, Li Zicheng had already pulled the trigger.

boom!
In an instant, people seemed to have forgotten the time, their mouths wide open, silent, standing there in a daze.

The young rogue was hit by a lead bullet, which easily broke the long knife in his hand and created a fist-sized wound in his abdomen.

The colorful field flowed all over the ground along the wound.

He was not dead yet, but fell to the ground, howling in pain, and tossing and turning. It was obvious that he was going to die.

The few North Koreans who were so arrogant just now suddenly became like wilted eggplants, and more of them have fled.

On the second day of March, Li Zicheng and Jiang Liuer received a secret report from the Suoyi Guard before they arrived in Wangjing (Seoul).

Li Zong and his ministers had secretly entered the pass and headed for Nanjing.

"It seems that he still likes to be decent. This is the best." Li Zicheng laughed.

(End of this chapter)