Chapter 302: Abandoning the suppression and using comfort and secretly crossing Chen Cang

Cheng Hai and Zhou Fanzi left the capital for the first few days, and they didn't even dare to rest. They hurriedly rushed to the road, while the people escorted the team were nervously guarding and guarding.

However, five days later, the group finally confirmed that there were no pursuers sent out from behind. They breathed a sigh of relief. They could almost enter Shandong if they walked far away. On the ground of Shandong, there was no danger to this team.

In fact, after they entered Shandong, they learned that the news came from the capital was that Sun Chuanting occasionally felt cold in the prison, and was weak and unable to treat it effectively, and died of serious illness.

Emperor Chongzhen had no concern about this criminal who had made great contributions. Only Hong Chengchou, the governor of Ji Liao, was moved by the friendship of his colleagues that day, and secretly sent several subordinates to the capital to collect the body and help the Sun family to handle the funeral.

However, after arriving, he was told by the imperial prison that the weather was hot and Sun Chuanting had been ill for many days, fearing that the body would stay for too long to cause an epidemic. In addition, Sun Chuanting's family had disappeared, so he simply rushed to burn it, and in the end he just returned to Luanzhou with his ashes.

The prison guards in the Zhao Prison worked for another month, saying that they had something to do at home, so they quit their position in Zhao Prison and left the capital.

The prison was robbed of imperial prison and rescued criminals. It was a huge case, but Sun Chuanting was just a criminal minister and no one cared about it at all. In order not to bear this responsibility, the prisoners worked together to conceal the matter.

But then again, Sun Chuanting, who was in the imperial prison, had no value to anyone, or whether it was the court or the prison guards, they did not feel that it would have any effect on rescuing this criminal without power or duty.

As long as you are in the Ming Dynasty official system, it is meaningless to save Sun Chuanting. He has no strength and is just a civil servant who is willing to be punished. Perhaps his experience and insight may be able to be a good aide and a master, but if you do such a small thing, the risks and benefits spent are not proportional to the risks and benefits.

And if you want to find a staff member, how many scholars in the world are there, why take such a big risk?

What needs Sun Chuanting is that it is completely different from the Ming Dynasty, with different forces.

Sun Chuanting has been tortured by Zhou Fanzi's laxatives in prison in the past few months, but after leaving the prison, it was easy to solve this problem. He started to use light porridge and vegetables for a day or two, and started to use chicken soup and broth to regulate the body in the next few days, and slowly recovered.

In theory, escaping from the imperial prison is equivalent to coming out of the dead, but Sun Chuanting's performance is quite strange. No matter what he thinks, no one will take such a great risk to rescue him, but Sun Chuanting did not ask. At that time, literati were all concerned about loyalty.

The emperor issued an order to imprison people. The so-called "the king wants his minister to die, he has to die." He was rescued. Although he escaped his life, he was considered unfaithful and his reputation had been greatly damaged. If he was a so-called "righteous minister", he would probably denounce these people who saved them now.

However, Sun Chuanting sat in the carriage, silently. No matter how the people escorted him were arranged and served, he silently accepted it. The request on the road was to lift the curtain of the carriage half. Sun Chuanting just stared blankly at the scenery on the roadside without saying a word.

Cheng Hai discovered one thing, that is, when he greeted Sun Chuanting, the person on the right could hear it, but the person on the left was very slow to react. He asked Zhou Fanzi only to find out that before he was imprisoned, he had no response from the statements he made several times. Instead, he was questioned and imprisoned. His heart attacked, and his left ear was deaf.

Entering Shandong from Dezhou City, Jinan Prefecture was the last county in Shandong controlled by Li Meng, and civil affairs such as the military farmland and farmland were just beginning.

Although Jinan Prefecture is the central part of Shandong, it is even more dilapidated than other prefectures. However, when walking in Jinan Prefecture, Sun Chuanting still showed a look of surprise on his face.

The nine thousand Yanzhou Army led by Chen Liu had 5,000 troops fighting the bandit "Song Jiang" in Kaifeng, Henan. The renovation took only five days, and the entire army went south to Huaibei along the canal.

The chaos in Huai'an Prefecture was like a mess. The refugees in the brigade and squad made trouble everywhere in the local area. Even the troops mobilized by Nanzhili could not handle it. The chaos in Henan and Huguang gradually emerged. The officials and soldiers in Fengyang, Luzhou and Anqing could not act rashly and would garrison there.

The only mobile troops were able to defend those cities in Huaian Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture, receive war reports from local governments, and then send troops to rescue them.

But when the troops rushed over, the refugees had long dispersed. So many small bandits of bandits were harassed and looting everywhere, and the war was everywhere in Huai'an Prefecture, and the troops from Nanzhili who came to help were already exhausted.

But what is the use of such rescue? There are many industries and manors of salt merchants and wealthy families in Nanjing in the countryside of Huaibei, as well as salt fields and salt fields by the sea, which are all outside the city.

There are also places in peace, in the area guarded by Zhangjiang, in the area guarded by the Huaibei Army of Jiaozhou, there were no bandits and rioters coming. Anyone who appeared nearby was defeated mercilessly. But this army was unwilling to go to other places to rescue and kept saying that it was its duty.

The troops and horses of Nanzhili were not easy to use. If the Huaibei army did not come to rescue, it could only be counted on the Yanzhou army led by Chen Liu. The mobilization of these nine thousand soldiers, baggage and supplies, and the barracks stationed in the local area were not a simple project.

The nine thousand troops headed south along the canal and began to march along the land in Suqian. What surprised the gentry of the two Huaihuai was that as soon as the Shandong soldiers appeared, the power of the lawless bandits immediately became much smaller, and the Huaibei army gradually took root in the Haizhou area.

I think this Shandong army will also be stationed in Huai'an Prefecture. Establishing good relations with them will definitely be of great benefit to the future. All gentry and wealthy businessmen with this status will take the initiative to express their kindness and support to the Yanzhou army.

In early September, the Yanzhou army led by Chen Liu was temporarily stationed in the Liujiazhuang area near Shuyang, and temporarily rested and prepared to fight against the thieves in mid-September.

Large amounts of grain and supplies were transported continuously along the canal. Wenru Trading Company made a very good deal. The grain and grass that had been hoarded for many years finally found a buyer. Kong Sande was also praised by force in the Confucius Mansion. It was not a ridiculous thing. Shandong was full of famine, but the Kong family, a big landlord, had accumulated a lot of grain and fodder.

The Yanzhou army had not yet begun to fight, but local public security had improved a lot. Perhaps the thieves were afraid of the military power of the Jiaozhou camp.

Chen Liu in Shuyang made a noise, saying that it was the Huai'an Prefecture's strategy to combat thieves, and it was mainly recruited and pacified, and the auxiliary was not to cause too much damage to the local area.

Shandong's military officials' statements were beyond the expectations of many people, but as long as the local area was peaceful, no one cared about the specific method used.

After this news came out, the righteous and kind gentry immediately took the initiative to invest in the acquisition of destroyed land estates, connected them into pieces, and prepared to recruit landless refugees to farm in Nanzhili.

In the two Huaihe River areas, the industry and commerce are prosperous and the salt industry is developed. Both of them require a lot of manpower, and they have always conflicted with the manpower required for farming. In this fertile and prosperous land in Nanzhili, there are trends of few people and more land. Many landlords also think that industry and commerce and salt industries are more accounting than farming, and agriculture is even more depressed.

The "Renyi Gentlemen" acquires land, recruits refugees to farm, and promises not to blame them in the past. This is a compassionate and safe act no matter how you look at it. However, although these benevolent and righteous gentry are all from all over the Huai River, the money they spent on buying land and the specific personnel who operated these farms were all from Shandong.

Following the Yanzhou army, there are also personnel drawn from various military farms in Shandong. These people have enough experience in how to manage refugees, farm land more efficiently, and carry out semi-militarized training.

The policy of the Yanzhou Army in Jiaozhou was almost immediately effective. Before coming, the seemingly uncontrollable situation quickly calmed down. The brigade and the brigade volunteered to come to the Tuntianzhuang, put down their weapons, and picked up the farm tools.

The situation in Huaibei quickly calmed down, but many refugees went to Huai'an Fucheng, Shanyang and Yancheng.

The task of the Yanzhou Army in Jiaozhou was to pacify the place. Although the bandit suppression soldiers in Nanzhili repeatedly stated that they could wipe out the refugees in Huainan Prefecture on their own, the Yanzhou Army still went south in large numbers, leaving 2,000 people to garrison in Shuyang. The other brigades returned to Suqian, took a boat south in Suqian, and entered Huainan.

These refugees' rebellion were the result of Jiaozhou Camp's intentional guidance, but almost every share was arranged by Jiaozhou Camp, and this staff was often the leader of the entire team.

When the Yanzhou Army entered the suppression, most of the refugees were guided to enter the military farms and farm for food. Although they lost their identity as free people, they were much better than when they were on the verge of starvation.

But some people have already tasted the sweetness of looting and are no longer willing to sit on the hard-working farmer, and have transformed into refugees who have become bandits.

Such thieves dare not fight against the Yanzhou Army and the Huaibei Army in the northern part of the Huaihe River. They can only continue to go south. However, these robber gangs cannot cause any obstacles to the Yanzhou Army except for the excuse of giving the Yanzhou Army south.

Moreover, the methods of hiding officers and soldiers were completely useless. No matter how they evade, they could always find their nests by the Yanzhou army and get rid of them.

The actions of the guest army are often restricted by unfamiliar with the local situation. Moreover, local forces are quite hostile to these foreign soldiers and horses, and their combat effectiveness is much weaker. However, Jiaozhou Camp did not encounter such a problem. The Fang family of the salt merchants is a local snake in Jiangbei, southern Zhili and the leading clan. With their assistance everywhere, it is naturally very smooth.

The Fang family was also smiling. Since the chaos broke out in Huaibei, their salt business income has increased by 20%, which has deducted all the part given to Shandong.

It is already difficult to take another step forward when the business reaches the Fang family. This year it is like a leap out of thin air. The whole family increasingly feels how correct this action was when they took the initiative to show goodwill with the Shandong general during the day.

But this accident in Huaibei is a catastrophe for most people. Originally, the small and medium-sized landlords lived very well, and there were also many wealthy families in the local area who relied on the salt industry to do small private salt business. In this refugee chaos, almost all of them were broken.

There were even five salt merchants with official identities, and those of the Yangzhou Prefecture Salt Merchant Association, who were all in this refugee riot. Because the salt freight in the salt farm could not be transported out, they lost most of the money. Instead, the Fang family took advantage of the opportunity to acquire a lot of shares. After the turmoil, they were just a scene.

In order to quell the refugee rebellion, the nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses gathered together in a hurry, Nanzhili was exhausted in the guerrilla war against the bandits. After the Yanzhou army came, the generals and soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief and did not think about anything. They just retreated to the Dahewei near Huai'an Prefecture City to station.

But in October, these soldiers from Southern Zhili discovered that the place where the soldiers from Shandong were stationed was Qinggou, about 30 miles away from them.

Looking at the situation of the troops in Shandong, it seems that they are not targeting refugees, but themselves who are both officials. But now that things have come, what can we do? The Yanzhou army is stationed in the large manor of Fang's family in Qinggou. Some of the supplies and food are supplied by local gentry, and some are transported from the canal.

With so many troops stationed in the territory, Huai'an Prefecture and the adjacent Yangzhou Prefecture cannot be at ease. Although they are grateful to them for protecting the country and the people, they secretly keep telling all aspects that the two Huai areas in Jiangbei and Huai are now peaceful and no longer need the assistance of foreign troops.

Logically speaking, the local gentry and tribes supported this approach. Who would have thought that the salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture and the gentry in Huai'an Prefecture all asked Shandong soldiers to stay in a constant voice, saying that if this was not the case, the local area would be in peace, and some officials in Yangzhou Prefecture and Huai'an Prefecture also vented their anger with these gentry.

Old Master Fang and the Fang family had a great influence in the two Huaihe lands. Several of the salt merchants were firmly ally with the Fang family. There were many officials who had benefited from the outside. For these officials, there was nothing wrong with the soldiers and horses stationed in the two Huaihe lands.

Anyway, they were all officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. What's the difference? The Jiaozhou Yanzhou Army was disciplined in a strict manner and could maintain peace in the local area. It would be better to stay than before, so why bother to interfere?

The people are so popular that there are people in Nanjing who are not idle. Wu Jiawei, the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, has played his advantage of being bold.

In mid-September, he submitted a memorial to the capital. The memorial stated that the troops in Nanzhili guarded Nanjing and Fengyang Zhongdu, and had to be deployed in Hehuguang and Henan. The troops were already in short supply. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was too short. At this time, Henan was in chaos and bandits could flee into Nanzhili at any time. Moreover, the rebellion between the two Huaihei people shows that there were hidden worries in the two Huaihei areas.

The main combat power of the world's troops is divided into two parts, some are concentrated in Huguang and Sichuan areas to wipe out Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai's troops, and some are outside the Northern Zhili and Guan to resist the Jurchen offensive.

The only remaining soldiers and horses must be stationed in various important cities. The land in Jiangbei is Pingfan in Nanjing. It is necessary to have effective military generals to guard and defend. Shandong General Li Meng has always been cautious and careful. The troops and horses are well-organized. Shandong has been safe since he was guarding.

Moreover, after the Shandong troops entered Nanzhili, the refugee rebellion of the Southern Zhili was at a loss was quickly put down, and local gentry and landlords also hoped that this army would be stationed forever.

Wu Jiawei, the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, seemed to be thinking about the people everywhere in the memorial, but then he also had some heart-wrenching words, saying that Shandong General Li Meng guarded a place in Shandong and had been in charge for too long. Collusion between the army and the local government is not a good thing after all.

The Shandong army is adjacent to the capital of Northern Zhili. If there is any abnormal movement, it will be a disaster. Although Shandong General Li Meng is now loyal, it is necessary to take precautions.

At present, one-third of Shandong's troops are in the two Huaihe Rivers. It is better to leave one-third of the troops in the two Huai Rivers and disperse Li Meng's power. This is a completely safe strategy.

Of course, the military generals were definitely unwilling to be divided into other places. I believe that the Shandong general Li Meng would have a lot of resentment in his heart. It would be better to give him a title to guard the two Huaihe Rivers.

The troops were divided into two provinces, and the Jiangbei area in southern Zhili was also a prosperous place. Over time, Li Meng's troops would definitely be divided, which would be easier to control.

Just looking at this memorial, it is full of distrust and guard against military generals. It is almost the worst-case speculation of the Shandong general Li Meng who is determined to suppress the thieves and quell the rebellion. He also came up with various calculations and means to restrict him. He treats ministers who are meritorious and diligent, but uses such means to make people feel sad.

There are many military generals fighting bravely on the front line, but civil officials and treacherous ministers are behind the scenes of restrictions for their own interests and dirty considerations. If this memorial is spread, Wu Jiawei may also have to wear the hat of treacherous ministers.

But Wu Jiawei's idea was a consensus between the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party. Before the tenth year of Chongzhen, Shandong literati occasionally produced two people who could make noise, which could not become a climate. But in recent years, the Yan Party and the Lai Party have also taken shape. Although most of them were folk scholars, they were incompatible with the scholars in Jiangnan.

The reason is that the senior officials and generals in Shandong are supporting them, and they don’t know what these Shandong scholars think. The Donglin Party, the Zhejiang Party, and even the eunuch Party all talk about “the literati and the emperor’s rule the world together”, but the Yan Party and the Lai Party talk about the dictatorship and the civil servants’ assistance all day long.

When it comes to party struggles, you have to ignore the people's livelihood and the country and fight with all your might. This is a fine tradition of the Donglin masters for many years.

The memorials of Wu Jiawei, the Minister of the Ministry of War of Nanjing, can be said to be in line with the current situation. There have been many memorials attacking Shandong in recent years, but they always involve Shandong General Li Meng, the commander of the army. The court has always been cautious and careful when dealing with powerful military generals.

Most of the memorials submitted by officials from Jiangnan were just empty attacks without any specific means. However, the memorials of the Right Assistant Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War provided a method.

After the memorial of Wu Jiawei, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, arrived in the capital, whether it was the six cabinet ministries or the eunuch of the ranks of the ranks, they all believed that what Wu Jiawei said was a mature and polite statement. Although the court was destroying the bandits and fighting against the Jurchens outside the pass, peace in other places must be guaranteed.

Shandong has been safe and sound all these years, but Shandong General Li Meng has always won battles, and the troops below should be dispersed and mobilized, and he cannot be controlled for too long. This is also the way of the emperor to control military generals.

Although the court had no choice but to these generals who led the troops, the plan of Wu Jiawei to stay in the Yanzhou Army in Huai was extremely suitable. He followed the trend and would not make Li Meng too disgusted or angry. A false title would disperse the strength of Shandong General Li Meng, which was very cost-effective.

When the guest army is in the local area, the military pay, food and fodder are all provided by the local government. If the supply is raised in the hands of the local government, the army will naturally express closeness to whom. Even if it is brought out in person, it will not work. As long as the Yanzhou army and the Huaibei army stay in Jiangbei, they will definitely become increasingly alienated from Shandong.

Of course, the officials in the court would not understand what the Jiaozhou camp relied on to maintain it, nor did they know how Li Meng controlled his generals. They even didn't know the fact that several generals and Li Meng were fellow townsmen. As for Wu Jiawei's memorial was instructed by Li Meng, they didn't know even more.

On October 12, the 13th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to govern the left governor, Li Meng, the general of Shandong, and was appointed as the military service department for the aid and suppression of the Lianghuai. He guerrilla Chen Liu, and the garrison Zhang Jiang led the Lu army to station in Lianghuai and protect one side.
Chapter completed!