Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

Damn it! Say it! Why don’t you say it!

"Take him away, give him thirty beatings in court, demote him to a commoner, and never employ him again!"

Volume 208: Chapter Chapter : Dealing with the Locust Plague and Appeasing the Bandits

The locust plague naturally has an impact on Jiangnan. At this moment, the barrier of the Demon City has not been completed, and Jiangnan does not have any Xel'Naga artifacts. Such a huge swarm of insects is naturally unstoppable.

Fortunately, Jiang Han had been prepared and had made sufficient plans for this.

In the previous farmland reclamation activities, Yangzhou Prefecture carried out large-scale canal digging and waterwheel irrigation for sieges. The drought did not have much impact here, and the locust plague was relatively rare, but it was still a headache and caused considerable losses to the people.

Jiang Han called on a large number of farmers to engage in poultry farming such as chickens and ducks at the very beginning. The Yangtze River has countless tributaries, and the abundance of aquatic products here is so fertile that Jiang Han is simply frightened.

In later generations, there are basically no big fish to be seen in the Yangtze River. If you are lucky, you can see two finless porpoises in the protected area in Nanjing. However, in the late Ming Dynasty several hundred years ago, finless porpoises here were as common as stray cats and dogs.

Especially the mullet, which was about the size of a plate and could only be seen in aquariums in later generations, is now common in fish as big as a table.

Normally they are raised with fish and shrimps, but when there is a locust plague, these poultry naturally come in handy.

On the farm, the leaders of each production team were organizing large-scale poultry grazing, driving these little guys to the fields to catch locusts. Those chickens, geese, ducks and other animals had never seen such a big feast before, and they started eating right away, eating so much that they could not walk.

Despite this, the number of locusts was still alarming, so Jiang Han issued an official document, asking the people to catch locusts and find ways to cook and eat them.

Locusts are edible. They are a very good source of protein. When the locust plague occurred, Li Shimin took the lead in eating locusts. However, people usually cooked them before eating, unlike Li Erge, who chewed them raw, splashing green water everywhere, and no one knew what they tasted like.

Locusts can not only supplement nutrition, but also treat tetanus, frostbite, infantile convulsions, fever, asthma, bronchitis and prevent and treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but this is before they form swarms.

The locusts after the swarm have already entered the alien insect sequence. These guys have not only evolved physically, but also poisoned their own blood, but only in extremely small amounts.

Fortunately, the main species of locusts in the Ming Dynasty today are steppe locusts, not the desert locusts that are like monsters in the West. This thing is no less toxic or difficult to deal with than its relative. It is probably similar to the difference between northern cockroaches and southern cockroaches, so it is okay to eat it.

After all, these days, everyone has to eat dirt, so what's wrong with eating some locusts?

Jiang Han sent people to dry and grind the collected locusts into powder. Some of them were used as feed for livestock such as horses, chickens, ducks and pigs, some were used as fertilizer for fields, and the rest was left for the people to use their ingenuity to develop ways to make this thing.

To be honest, the steamed bread made by grinding locusts into powder and mixing it with flour is not much different from that made with sorghum flour. It looks better and the taste is slightly more layered, after all, it has some meat in it.

To be honest, if you don't look at the way that thing looks alive, it is quite easy to overcome the psychological resistance and eat the food. Jiang Han ate two in public, which put the people at ease.

I took the lead in eating, and if there was a problem, we would all be in trouble together. Jiang Han's behavior undoubtedly made the people feel a lot more at ease, and everyone was no longer so afraid of locusts. Large-scale locust catching campaigns were launched in various places.

For some areas severely affected by the disaster, Jiang Han implemented a three-year tax exemption policy to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland and produce. At the same time, he also encouraged the people to take the lead in planting trees. We cannot just destroy. We want both mountains of gold and silver and green mountains and clear waters. The consequences of the drought must not be repeated.

Jiang Han really felt that he was very busy, as he had to worry about all kinds of things, but fortunately, he had someone around him who could give him advice.

"You mean, you want to pacify these bandits?"

Looking at the plan handed over by Wang Dang, Jiang Han looked up and asked. Because there were too many things to deal with, Jiang Han could not ask everyone to sort them out again and again. So, based on the idea that being a boss must learn to pass the buck, he asked all the executive personnel to make a plan first when reporting to him or having ideas to express. The format was given, and they could just follow it. This would greatly reduce his workload. After all, all the work of sorting and analyzing was handed over to his subordinates.

"Yes, these bandits were originally civilians, but they were forced to join the bandits because of the bandits. I think that we don't need to kill them all blindly when dealing with the bandits. As long as we show that we can treat them well, I think there will be many people willing to join us."

Jiang Han nodded, yes, indeed.

Before the eighth year of Chongzhen, the bandits had always been in a state of disorganization, fighting each other. Ever since King Gao Yingxiang set up a bandit chat group and held several social gatherings, bringing together bandit leaders from all over the place for fun, they began to become more organized and their combat effectiveness was greatly enhanced.

Various bandits roaming around Shanxi, Henan, and Huguang supported Gao Yingxiang as their leader, and he accomplished many great things. Among them, the biggest one was that he captured Zhongdu Fengyang and dug up the ancestral tombs of the Zhu family.

Zhenzi, whose ancestral grave was dug up, seemed to have a sudden enlightenment. He played the double SSR limited-time experience cards of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng, and went to the south and the north to suppress the bandits. The two strong men attacked and defeated Gao Yingxiang on the spot. The bandits were once again beaten into a mess.

Hong Chengchou had his eyes on Li Zicheng, while Lu Xiangsheng had his eyes on Zhang Xianzhong. The two of them chased after these two unlucky guys and plucking them to death. The bandits had a miserable life.

Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai finally fled to Sichuan, wanting to take a breath, but they ran into the Ming Dynasty's female warrior Qin Liangyu, and were once again driven out of Sichuan in disgrace and fled to Huguang.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army entered the pass, and Lu Xiangsheng led the Tianxiong Army northward. Zhang Xianzhong and the Gezuo Fifth Battalion had a chance to catch their breath. The two unlucky guys began to unite, grow bigger and stronger, and create brilliance together.

Li Zicheng was not so lucky. He was chased and killed by Hong Chengchou. Even when he entered a spring, he had to hide to check Li Zicheng's location. He ran all the way to his hometown in Shanxi, but was chased and intercepted by Sun Chuanting, who was tamed in Shaanxi.

Really, Bu wants to play!

Today, the bandits in Jiangnan are basically a loose group, with the two main bases being Huoshan and Yingshan, while the rest of the bandits are scattered all over the place, leaving everyone to fend for themselves.

This also gave Jiang Han and his team a good opportunity to recruit these bandits over here, which would save them a lot of trouble. Apart from other things, these people were extremely capable. They could hide in the mountains and disappear in a flash like Tuxingsun.

"What you said makes sense, but I want to add one more point. That is, although we need to recruit people, we can't recruit everyone. We can recruit those starving people and soldiers who are forced to do so, but we must not let go of the backbone of the bandits."

Seeing Wang Dang's puzzled look, Jiang Han's tone was very firm. He said decisively:

"Everyone can understand that they are doing it for survival, but they kill and burn people, which is against the will of heaven and earth. How innocent are the victims they hurt? I cannot forgive those murderous demons on their behalf. Forgiving them is God's business. Our job is to send them to see God!"

Since the bandits were divided into small groups and were very good at hiding and playing hide-and-seek, Jiang Han asked his merchants in the city to distribute some small advertisements when they went to various places to do business. Of course, they were paid.

The advertisement is very short. All the bandits in and around Yangzhou must surrender within one month, that is, before the first day of May next month, and the Volunteer Army will not pursue past responsibilities. If they fail to surrender after the deadline, or continue to rob the people and cause trouble, all of them will be killed without mercy. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Seeing this advertisement, local officials in Jiangnan sneered at it. What a fellow! You, a rebel, are using the tone of the imperial court to persuade the bandits to surrender? Who gave you the courage? You are a mud bodhisattva crossing the river. Besides, is this a solicitation? This is just like a threatening letter. Who would surrender to you?

Many officials in Jiangnan are optimistic about Jiang Han. They think that the bandits are causing chaos now, and the imperial court has no time to deal with them. When the storm is over, you will see whether the imperial court will deal with you or not. But we haven't even touched you yet, and you are still pretending? You are even trying to appease the bandits. Why don't you just kill them?

However, those officials who were waiting to see Jiang Han make a fool of himself were soon slapped in the face, as the bandits in Yangzhou were scrambling to surrender.

The years were so bad, and it was getting harder and harder to be a rebel. They couldn't even rob anything. Moreover, they had been wandering around Yangzhou for many years, and they were more or less half locals. It was obvious how fierce this group of new rebel kings were. They attacked the city, defeated the Ming army, built the city wall, opened the yellow sky, killed the gentry, and distributed food? This station was simply a model of the righteous army! This was the kind of person who could do great things!

The bandits naturally have a close buff towards Jiang Han, a rebel who also opposes the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, the bandits have been shouting the slogans of the righteous army, saying that they want to overthrow the tyranny of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact they are doing some lowly jobs. They also know what kind of people they are, with no work at all, not even a lighter to bite.

On the contrary, this newcomer never shouted a single slogan of the rebel army, and never missed a single important event of the rebel army. He is simply our industry benchmark and our spiritual role model! What else can I say! Why don’t you join us quickly?

Moreover, after they joined the bandits, they would have food to eat, land to plant, and a new life. Who would want to go up and down the mountains and caves every day and be chased like a rat? Many hungry people had to follow the bandits because they were forced to do so. Now that they had a better choice, they would naturally go forward.

Who would refuse a good life? They didn't trust the Ming Dynasty, and they trusted the bandits even less. In comparison, Jiang Han, an openly traitor, was much more trustworthy.

Volume 209: Chapter Chapter : The Second Suppression of Bandits

In the city of Nanjing, the cabinet and the court were having a heated discussion on the issue of bandits and traitors, and various parties had a full exchange of views on the matter.

Simply put, everyone has their own opinions and no consensus has been reached.

"The imperial court has urged us several times to wipe out the bandits occupying Yangzhou as soon as possible. Why is the army so slow to move?"

Many officials in the Ming Dynasty are like this. They are not good at doing things, but they are very active in finding things to do.

"Send troops? How to send troops? Now the two bandits, Ma and Zhang, are leading hundreds of thousands of people to attack Jiangnan. The bandits occupying Yangzhou are only tens of thousands. We must naturally put the safety of Nanjing first. What if we are ambushed by those bandits?"

Faced with questioning, the people from the Ministry of War spoke confidently and convincingly with solid arguments and evidence.

"But the emperor's order cannot be neglected. We must eliminate the bandits in Yangzhou, otherwise it will be a disaster for the Ming Dynasty..."

"Indeed, this traitor is different from the past and must be treated seriously, otherwise, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger."

Bi Maokang slowly spoke in agreement.

"They are just rebels, they are not that scary, just send troops to destroy them, what a fuss!"

"Mr. Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you are too serious! Don't exaggerate."

Bi Maokang's remarks caused dissatisfaction among the officials present, but Bi Maokang did not care about it and continued slowly: "As far as I know, the bandits occupying Yangzhou are very different from the vagrants. After they took over Yangzhou, they did not plunder or bully the people. Instead, they distributed food, appeased the civilians, and organized the people to start reclaiming wasteland..."

As a military talent who devoted his life to the military industry of the Ming Dynasty, Bi Maokang still did not change his sincere desire to serve the country even when he was in the granary. While other officials of the Ministry of Revenue were watching big rats grinning in the granary every day, he was using various channels to obtain information from the bandits and the emerging rebel Jiang Han.

The intelligence about Yangzhou City, as long as it is not as confidential as the military factory, other information such as what Jiang Han is currently doing is very easy to obtain. You can find out most of the information by just walking around the city and chatting with the people. It's not that Jiang Han is bad at keeping secrets, after all, there are intelligence experts like 45, but he did it on purpose.

Land reclamation requires manpower, production requires manpower, animal husbandry requires manpower, factories require manpower, and technical craftsmen are the resources that Jiang Han urgently needs, but these people cannot be robbed directly. The best way is to let them know the superiority of his side, so that they will voluntarily come here to make a living.

Jiang Han doesn't mind showing what he is doing to others. If you want to learn, go ahead and learn. If you want to see, go ahead and see. Compared to the disadvantage of having your information exposed to the other party, the benefit of being able to attract more people is more important.

At the same time, he also knew that in this late Ming Dynasty, no one could learn his model, because no matter it was the Ming Dynasty, the bandits, or the wild boar skin, they could not break away from the constraints of the times. They were smart, but their vision was limited by the times. They did not stand on the shoulders of giants like Jiang Han, who had hundreds of years of cultural lead. In a word, they were small and their pattern was small.

After hearing Bi Maokang's story, many smarter officials had already made some guesses, which made their faces begin to change.

"Isn't this a good thing...? If we don't plunder, Yangzhou will suffer less damage. After we take back Yangzhou, we will spend less money and grain."

An official looked at the atmosphere that was beginning to become stagnant and spoke in confusion.

"You, young man, are still too young to know what is important."

(Although this is not the original words, this is the general meaning)

"Those bandits are nothing but scabies. They plundered and looted wherever they went, causing public resentment. Once our Ming army arrives, we can take back the lost territory..."

Although the Nanjing court is full of old men and annoying people, there are also many people who are hated because they are too smart, and some are hated because they are not in the interests of others. Generally speaking, there are quite a few smart people.

"However, the actions of the bandits in Yangzhou City are all to win the hearts of the people. Whether it is distributing food or organizing production, they are all in accordance with the orthodox rule of the court. From this point of view, this person has great ambitions and is ambitious..."

"Indeed, at that time, people thought that it was a group of thieves who had the good fortune to occupy Yangzhou. Who would have thought that there was such a talented person among the thieves? What is the name of the leader of this group of thieves?"

Everyone turned their eyes to Bi Maokang, the only person present who knew the truth.

"This man's surname is Jiang, given name is Han, and courtesy name is Muzhi. He is said to be from the capital, but his accent is very strange. He entered Yangzhou last year and began to gather refugees and distribute food in Yangzhou City... This should be a preparation for taking over Yangzhou."

"Hmm... He is a scheming person. He has been lurking for months to achieve his goal. His goal is clear and his actions are well-organized. He is quite difficult to deal with..."

Listening to the sighs of the people around him, Bi Maokang deeply agreed that if Jiang Han was not eliminated as soon as possible, he would definitely become a great enemy of the Ming Dynasty!

"This man has been very benevolent in Yangzhou City, winning the hearts of the people, and even clearing out the bandits around Yangzhou. The people of Yangzhou have clearly accepted him. If this continues, I'm afraid the people will only know Jiang Han and Jiang Muzhi, and not the Ming Dynasty."

"What! Destroy them! They must be destroyed!"

"This is no longer an ordinary traitor! We must strike hard!"

"Take my sword, White Emperor Holy Sword, and follow me on the sword!"

"....What are you talking about?"

"I heard this from the Rakshasa people. It sounded like a slogan for victory."

"In short," Bi Maokang was very excited when he saw that the court had reached a rare consensus: "We must send troops quickly to eliminate this group of rebels as soon as possible. I apply for the navy to fight. As far as I know, that group of rebels is mainly composed of the army, and their water combat capabilities are not strong. We only need to..."

When "Master Bi" Bi Maokang was about to speak, he was interrupted by a voice. It was the then Nanjing garrison commander: "Thank you for the information, Master Bi. I am very lucky to have you in the Ming Dynasty. However, as for the march, the army has not moved yet, but the food and grass must go first. Master Bi, please pay more attention to it."

Bi Maokang's face turned ugly. He knew what the other party meant. You are a Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of grain, so you should stop complaining about our military affairs. Just take care of your own business. How to fight the war is our concern.

The Nanjing garrison had a reason for saying this. As one of the only two people who could hold real power in Nanjing city, he attached great importance to the power in his hands. The Nanjing court was called the court, but in fact it was just a nursing home and a place of exile. Few people's words mattered. The real power in such a place was very important, and it must not be divided up by someone who was inexplicably watching over a grain warehouse.

Let’s put aside the issue of suppressing bandits, this thing is very crucial.

He coughed lightly and said, "Jiang Han of Yangzhou is guilty of heinous crimes. He deserves to be killed. Now, we are dispatching 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 naval forces! We must wipe him out. In addition, we are arresting the Yangzhou bandit leader Jiang Han. The price is 1,000 taels. Bring him to Nanjing and execute him by slow slicing!"

The meeting went perfectly, of course, if it weren't for the small camera emitting a red light on the ceiling of the hall, it would have been even better.

"Commander, you are only worth one thousand taels~"

45 looked at the scene in front of him and teased slightly.

"What's your reaction? Your commander has become a wanted criminal, a pirate who started with 10 million berries, do you understand? From now on, I will be Joy Boy, I have swallowed the Human-Human Fruit, and from now on, my life is in my own hands! Show some respect to me!"

"The Commander is talking nonsense again."

“Hahahaha…is that a new joke? So funny!”

Regardless of the dolls making a scene on the communication channel, Jiang Han was giving instructions to Pei Huayu: "After you finish making this soap, remember to put a stamp on it as our logo."

He has already produced a large number of light industrial products and is now starting to put them on the market. The first step is soap.

"A mark?" Pei Huayu blinked her pretty eyes, not quite understanding: "Is it to facilitate tracing the origin of the craftsmen?"

"Well, let me tell you a story..."

Jiang Han sighed and spoke slowly, Pei Huayu listened attentively: "When I was a child, I loved to be extravagant and wasteful. My father was very angry about this and kept trying to find a way to change my bad habits."

So what does extravagance have to do with putting a stamp on soap? A question mark began to appear on Pei Huayu's forehead.

"Finally one day, I threw away half of a cigarette I smoked. This made my father very angry, so he came up with a brilliant way to punish me. He made me finish a pack of cigarettes in one go."

Is your father mad because you're a wasteful smoker? What kind of punishment is this? And how can a kid like you smoke? So what does this have to do with putting a stamp on soap?

There are so many things to complain about that Pei Huayu almost has nowhere to vent.

“I learned a lesson from this incident.”

"A truth?"

Are we finally here? Are we finally going to get down to business, sir?

Jiang Han raised his finger and said in a serious tone: "Be loyal to the brand!"

The air in the room was quiet for a while.

"So....should I laugh?"

"Eh? Isn't it funny?"

"puff..."

416 couldn't hold it anymore.

Why are you laughing, Miss Huang? This is actually a joke! So what's so funny about this thing? And what does this have to do with putting a stamp on the soap?