The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 69 Jin Yuji's Wish
Lieutenant General Ding became much quieter and delayed his revenge on Kaiyuan.

When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance.

If Ding Bi doesn't move, Liu Zhaosun will move.

The Kaiyuan Army seized the opportunity to occupy the farmland near Gaotaizi Village. These farmland originally belonged to Ma Lin and Yu Chengming, but with Kang Yingqian's manipulation, they were smoothly transferred to the Kaiyuan Army.

As a result, another 13,500 acres of farmland were added.

Although it is less than the planned 60,000 acres, the enclosure movement must be carried out slowly and cannot be rushed.

Kaiyuan is currently surrounded by enemies and military forces are needed everywhere. The external enemies have not yet been eliminated, and internal problems have surfaced again.

The intelligence bureau discovered something unusual in the shops in Liao Town in the city. Several shops specializing in southern goods had close contacts with Mongolians, as if they were plotting something big.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy and causing fear among the merchants, Liu Zhaosun never took action against these people.

It should be noted that Kaiyuan's foundation is business. Merchants control the trade resources between Kaiyuan and even Liaodong with Mongolia, Haixi, North Korea and other places. If they are easily cut off, the consequences will be unimaginable.

The business practices of this era are still relatively primitive acquaintance business.

If the merchants were killed directly and all their money and goods were robbed, then Mongolia and Haixi would no longer be interested in Kaiyuan.

Unless you can send troops thousands of miles away and put a knife on other people's heads, or give these people huge concessions and do a losing business.

Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, Liu Zhaosun will never kill the goose that lays the golden eggs and destroy the existing business system.

After fierce bargaining, 10,000 acres of farmland south of the city were incorporated into Kaiyuan and restored as military land.

Think about it, these military fields were occupied by Li Chengliang and turned into farmlands for the Li family to squander and enjoy, and now they have returned to the hands of the military households. This is probably the cycle of fate.

In order to occupy these farms, Kaiyuan paid the price of more than one hundred people.

The Kaiyuan settlers and Liaozhen servants fought several battles, neither side gave in, several people died, and the commotion was very loud. Finally, Xiong Tingbi stepped in and both sides stopped fighting.

Xiong Jinglie turned a blind eye to the conflicts over land. He would only intervene and suppress Zu Dashou and Ding Bi if things got too out of hand or his friend Liu Zhaosun was at a disadvantage.

Liaozhen's main income did not come from land, they made profits from smuggling trade and Liao taxes.

Xiong Tingbi was not as easy to deal with as Yang Hao. He held Liao's military power and military expenditure, had a hot temper, and everyone gave him face.

Although the Li family was in decline, at least there was still Li Ruzhen in Liaodong.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Liao people under Liu Zhaosun really came to fight to the death.

When you have the opportunity, you have to make use of it.

As a result of all these things, the Liaoshen military leaders finally gave up their land.

~~~~
Kaiyuan was surrounded by enemies on three sides and its military strength was tight. Excluding the garrison, patrol and scout troops, no more than 800 troops could be mobilized.

Liu Zhaosun could not bear to let the Liao people who had followed him for so long exchange their lives for theirs to fight for the land.

Human life is precious and human resources are the most important resource.

So he decided to quit while he was ahead, and in mid-April, he ordered an end to the enclosure movement.

At this point, the Kaiyuan enclosure movement finally came to a temporary end in the spring of the 47th year of Wanli.

Of course, in areas where Kaiyuan forces could not effectively control and where there were still some disputed fields between two or more parties, he suggested that all parties should not fight but sit down:
Put aside disputes and develop together.

It is estimated that by the end of this year, 2,000 new troops will be trained. Together with the existing 3,700 combat troops, the number of elite combat troops under his command will exceed 5,000.

By that time, he could personally lead several thousand new troops, have Kang Yingqian take the newly printed land deeds, and have a good chat with several neighbors, especially Lieutenant General Ding, about what it means since ancient times...
In late April, Xiong Tingbi sent people from Shenyang to deliver seeds, farm tools and oxen.

There were about a thousand sets of farm tools, mostly iron tools such as hoes and plows. There was not a single one of the water-powered windmills that Liu Zhaosun wanted.

There were more than eight stone of seeds in total. Kang Yingqian looked at them and shook his head, saying that they were only enough to sow seven or eight thousand acres of land, and the rest would have to be purchased by himself.

Thirty oxen were sent, but it was estimated that they were not enough for the farming use of the garrison under Ding Guozhen and Yang Qilong.

Liu Zhaosun did not complain. He immediately sent people to pull the cows outside the city to turn the soil, plow the land, and start fertilizing and planting seeds.

Despite this, Liu Zhaosun was moved by Xiong Jinglie's kindness, especially in the current situation where he was surrounded by enemies.

It is estimated that Xiong Tingbi had a hard time in Shenyang, otherwise, with his heroic character, he would not be so stingy with himself.

In addition to these farm tools and oxen, Xiong Tingbi also wrote a letter to my friend.

In the letter, Xiong Jinglue said that Jizhen was in constant conflict with Liaozhen in Shenyang, and Xiao Ruxun had led Chai Guozhu and others back to Jizhou. The military situation in Shenyang City was similar to what Liu Zhaosun said.

The amount of food and money that His Majesty has is not enough to fill the hole in Liaozhen, let alone clear out the holes and plow the courtyard, so there is no money and food to support Kaiyuan.

In the letter, Xiong Tingbi asked Liu Zhaosun to think of a solution on his own and use his brain. If all else failed, he could go out and rob the Mongols and Jurchens, as they had enough cattle and horses (Liu Zhaosun disagreed with this).

After Li Rubai's death, Li Ruzhen indulged in drinking and reveling in his daily life, losing interest in Liao affairs. He prepared to petition the emperor to transfer this dandy place back to the capital. Xiong Tingbi lamented the difficulty of dealing with Liao affairs, and the court mobilized several foreign troops to Liaodong.

Finally, he told Liu Zhaosun that the court's reward was about to come. The emperor was so pleased this time that he couldn't sleep for several nights and asked him to prepare for promotion.

Liu Zhaosun was not very interested in promotions and titles. Liaodong would soon be lost, so he would be thankful if Wanli could reward him with tens of thousands of taels of silver or a few hundred oxen.

In the following time, Brigadier General Liu, along with several newly recruited civil officials, were busy dividing the land in the suburbs of Kaiyuan every day.

More than 9,300 acres of land owned by civilians who died or were displaced in the city were also gradually incorporated into military land.

As a result, this year Brigadier General Liu obtained a total of 27,500 acres of land, which is only half of his original plan, or even less than half.

"This is the result of Lieutenant General Liu's pursuit of the great Dao. Hahaha, Lieutenant General Liu is so righteous and upright. I, Kang, am not as good as him, not as good as him."

When distributing land to the Liao people, Kang Yingqian never forgot to bring this up to prove the correctness of his original suggestion to rob the wealthy.

Liu Zhaosun had no time to deal with this old fox. He distributed all the newly occupied land to the Liao people, and of course some of the former tenants of generals such as Ma Lin, although many of these people had been killed by the Jiannu and the defeated soldiers.

He did not intend to distribute land to the soldiers anymore. He planned to train these 3,700 soldiers into a professional army and completely free them from agricultural production. However, this would make the food supply even tighter.

Things are in the hands of people. Liu Zhaosun now feels like he has become an elementary school math teacher. Every day when he opens his eyes, he has to calculate various numerical problems, such as the daily consumption of food and grass for the army, the allocation of land, and the purchase of seeds...

In any case, the Liaodong refugees who followed Liu Zhaosun all the way here from Hunjiang and regarded Liu as a god finally owned their own land after experiencing the destruction of their families and untold hardships.

Liu Zhaosun stipulated that each of the 2,000 able-bodied men would be allocated ten mu of top-grade farmland, and would have to pay 40% rent each year for the first two years. After three years of cultivation, they would only have to pay 20% each year.

Compared with the current rent of 60% to 70% paid by tenants in Liaodong, this is already very low.

The Liao people were filled with gratitude and regarded Liu Zhaosun as the god who saved Liaodong. Some people even set up tablets to worship the lieutenant general at home.

In early May, Kang Yingqian, who had sharp ears and eyes, brought the latest news from the capital.

After the victory report of the Kaiyuan Battle was submitted, the emperor was overjoyed and ordered the Minister of War Huang Jiashan to be responsible for verifying the battle achievements together with the officials of the Ministry of War, the Censorate, and Shuntian Prefecture. It was said that Liu Zhaosun might also go to the capital.

The Zhenyi and Baoyi captured in the last bloody battle of Hunjiang were all imprisoned in the Tianlao of the capital. Together with the captives captured this time, the officials of the Ministry of Rites gathered the captives together and held a ceremony to present the captives, just like the ceremony to present the captives after the suppression of the Imjin War. It was a lively and exciting occasion.

Liu Zhaosun knew that what really made Emperor Wanli very happy was probably Xiong Tingbi's memorial.

I didn't expect the court would make such a big fuss.

A total of 132 Zhenyi bannermen were captured in the Battle of Kaiyuan. After the war, they were dispersed and imprisoned in the city's prisons. Over the past month, more than 20 of them died, and now only 108 are left alive.

These captives consume dozens of kilograms of food every day, which is an unnecessary burden for Liu Zhaosun. Of course, it would be best to send them to the capital to be beheaded and receive a reward. I wonder how much money Wanli will give as a reward this time.

However, compared to military morale and political prospects, Liu Zhaosun did not care much about whether the reward was more or less. Under Wanli's personal attention, the bureaucratic system operated with great efficiency.

On the third day of April, scouts sent by various ministries and agencies arrived in Kaiyuan in advance. After confirming the safety of the surrounding area, they sent civil servants into Kaiyuan City to inspect military achievements.

Although the Jiannu scouts around Kaiyuan had all disappeared after Liu Zhaosun sent the cavalry battalion to attack last time, in order to guard against Ding Bi and others making secret moves, Liu Zhaosun still sent the cavalry battalion to guard and ensure the safe arrival of the civil servants coming from the capital.

Liu Zhaosun and the military supervisor Kang Yingqian warmly welcomed these Beijing officials, Qiao Yiqi was responsible for chatting with them, and of course the most important part was giving gifts.

Qiao Yiqi made it clear that he would no longer lend Liu Zhaosun a penny, because Lieutenant General Liu still owed him eight thousand taels of silver...
Fortunately, Liu Zhaosun has a good reputation in Kaiyuan City. In this era, being a good person is not just a simple good person card, but has the function of credit value.

Kaiyuan is based on commerce. As long as you have silver, you have everything in the city. Liu Zhaosun asked Lord Kang to come forward and buy things on credit in his own name.

Kang Yingqian bought Dongzhu and Korean ginseng on credit, and bought southern goods and jewelry on credit.

Finally, he asked his father-in-law Yang Hao to raise some silver, and finally put the gifts together. They gave silver, Dongzhu and Korean ginseng, and spent a total of two thousand taels to feed these Beijing officials.

With the money paving the way, and Kang Yingqian's public relations and feasting, the relationship between the two sides quickly became closer. Several civil officials suddenly took a liking to this handsome lieutenant general. A head of the Ministry of Rites even planned to introduce another concubine to Liu Zhaosun...

The officials of the Ministry of War checked the pile of heads and found that they were all real, which surprised everyone.

Since Li Chengliang, killing innocent people and claiming credit for it has become an unspoken rule in border towns. When the Ministry of War comes to inspect the merits, as long as the money is paid, they turn a blind eye.

Unexpectedly, Brigadier General Liu was so honest. A captain from the Five Cities Military Division could not help but persuade the young general that he could smuggle some heads of the dead civilians with him. After all, no one would check them once they arrived in the capital.

Liu Zhaosun smiled foolishly and declined politely, just like a warrior who was concentrating on fighting and lacked strategy.

Several kind-hearted Beijing officials couldn't help but shake their heads after seeing this.

Kaiyuan was at the forefront of the Ming-Jin war. Recent rumors had it that the Nu chieftain was so enraged by the crushing defeat that he was ready to personally lead the Eight Banners Army to continue the attack.

Liu Zhaosun didn't know the source of these rumors, but it was definitely not from the Jiannu spies, because saying so would do no good to the Later Jin.

After this battle, the Bordered Blue Banner was severely damaged, and the upper echelons of the Later Jin Dynasty would inevitably fall into a power struggle. It was impossible for Nurhaci to attack Kaiyuan City again in the short term.

However, several officials in Beijing did not think so, especially the head of the Ministry of War. When he was in the capital, he read the Liaozhen newspaper every day and knew the strength of Liaozhen. Liaoshen might be in danger and Kaiyuan could fall at any time, so he hurriedly sent a scout back to deliver the message.

He only stayed in Kaiyuan for one day before immediately rushing back to the capital with several colleagues.

Before leaving, Kang Yingqian entertained several officials with meals and gifts, which made them very happy. Liu Zhaosun took the opportunity to make some requests.

In this Kaiyuan Campaign, many soldiers were owed three months' wages by the court and were unable to fight again. They hoped that food and wages would be repaid as soon as possible.

The military and civilians of Kaiyuan are at the forefront, reclaiming wasteland and lacking oxen and seeds. They hope the imperial court can provide assistance.

Several officials in Beijing were grateful for the help they received, so after hearing these two statements, they all said that it was no problem and they would definitely help and report this to the emperor.

Liu Zhaosun didn't know what this great help was, and he didn't hold out much hope. Kang Yingqian said that when dealing with civil servants, it was a blessing not to offend them.

~~~~
After seeing off a few superiors, I can finally relax.

That morning, Liu Zhaosun finished his inspection of the camp as usual and went up to the South Gate Tower with Jin Yuji. He saw the sun rising in the east and the morning glow covering the sky.

On both sides of the Qing River south of the city, the fields are filled with people working hard, the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard, and the air is filled with the scent of early summer.

Liu Zhaosun looked towards the south and for the first time felt how close he was to the world that existed more than four hundred years ago.

Seeing him staring into the south, Jin Yuji recalled hearing him say he was from the south before, and thought Liu Zhaosun was homesick. So she stepped forward and whispered:
"Sir, once we've pacified Liaodong, I'll go back south with you to visit your beloved hometown, okay?"

Liu Zhaosun closed his eyes, and the plants and trees of his hometown in his previous life appeared before his eyes, and a faint sense of homesickness surged in his heart.

The two looked into each other's eyes, and he couldn't help but caress Jin Yuji's beautiful cheek and recite the poem by Su Dongpo of the Song Dynasty:
“When asked if Lingnan was a bad place, I replied: Wherever my heart is at peace is my hometown.”

Those beautiful, clear eyes were looking at him intently.

"Jin Yuji, what wish do you want to fulfill?" Liu Zhaosun smiled slightly: "Besides revenge."

"Me," Jin Yu Ji didn't expect Liu Zhaosun to ask her this, and was speechless for a moment.

A ray of morning glow fell on the beauty's shoulders, reflecting the girl's exquisite face.

"I want to go to Jiangnan with you, visit the Broken Bridge of West Lake, and see the Leifeng Pagoda..."

"This isn't difficult to do, what else?"

Jin Yuji gazed at the brilliant mist in the east, then looked down at the farmers working hard in the fields, and her playful expression gradually became solemn.

"I hope that one day you can be like Yue Wumu, reversing the fate of the world, saving the people, and pacifying the world."

Liu Zhaosun's heart was beating wildly and he was ecstatic.

"Don't always talk about me. You can be a hero too."

"Me? A mere woman, what can I do?"

"Of course I can. As the saying goes, women are just as capable as men. Aren't Hua Mulan, Liang Hongyu, and Qin Liangyu all women? ·······By the way, did you know that Yue Fei was reincarnated as a woman?"

Jin Yuji looked bewildered.

"Yue Fei reincarnated as a woman?"

Liu Zhaosun rolled his eyes and continued to talk nonsense:

"Let me ask you, when was Yue Wumu killed?"

Jin Yuji blurted out: "The eleventh year of Shaoxing, the Wu Zi month, the Bing Wu day (December 29th)."

"Okay, your birthday is March 26th, the 32nd year of the Wanli reign."

Jin Yuji was shocked.

"It's rare that you still remember my birthday..."

Liu Zhaosun coughed twice, as if possessed by a blind fortune teller, his eyes narrowed, he held Jin Yuji's delicate hand, and muttered in a mysterious way:

"Sure enough! It is indeed! It's exactly seven Jiazi years and forty-nine years, seventy-seven forty-eight reincarnations! Yu Ji, the first time I saw you and heard your birth date, I felt that you were the reincarnation of Yue Wumu."

As he spoke, he grabbed Jin Yuji's other hand and drew circles on the palm of the beauty's hand as if hypnotizing.

"Grandpa Yue is determined to fight against the Jin. You share a deep-seated hatred for the Later Jin, and you're also fighting against them. Is it natural for you to love reading 'The Legend of Yue Fei'? You're just missing the phrase 'Serve the Country with Loyalty' engraved on your back. Oh, and you have a Fire Cloud birthmark on your back! Fire conquers metal. You'll definitely be able to annihilate the Later Jin. And you're still saying you're not Yue Fei's reincarnation?"

"You are the one!"

"I am the reincarnation of Yue Wumu?"

Jin Yuji was confused by what she heard. She lifted her hair, bit her nails, and fell into deep thought.

Liu Zhaosun let out a long breath and took the opportunity to slip away.

"Earth conquers water, water conquers fire, fire conquers metal, metal conquers..."

Jin Yuji continued to mutter to herself. After a while, she suddenly remembered something and shouted:

"When have you ever seen the birthmark on my back? Hey, Liu Zhaosun, don't run!"

·······
(End of this chapter)