Chapter 408: The weather is booming and everyone comes to invest

The city of Hejian Prefecture is Hejian, but Hejian City is more of a military important place. The real first fat neglect is the governor of Cangzhou, and is known as the leader of Hejian Prefecture.

Not to mention this is a checkpoint of the canal transportation, there is also a large salt field, Changlu Salt Field, which is a first-class and rich place. The next destination of the Cangzhou magistrate has always been the Hejian magistrate, but his extraordinary position and lack of wealth have always been the strongest and most skilled person to serve as the person.

The magistrate of Cangzhou is always considered the second largest person after the magistrate of Hejian in Hejian, which is also an exception in the Ming Dynasty.

The local officials who came to Jiaozhou Camp to transport civilians and supplement military supplies were vaguely led by the magistrate of Cangzhou. They shot the first bird and the sky fell. There was still a tall man supporting him. As long as the person with a high status made a statement, everyone would follow suit. Anyway, there was no need to bear any responsibility.

When outside, the Shandong cavalry leading the way were polite. They explained to the villagers that the heads of these Tartars were to be transported to the capital to report their merits. Although it was cold and frozen, some anti-corrosion treatments were also required, such as lime and medicinal materials.

The last step to deal with the sunlight and cold wind is not to scare everyone there. These gentry in Northern Zhili, even local officials, rarely see this officer and soldier being so gentle and polite to them. Everyone is in a better mood and doesn't care about the strange Weihe Jingguan.

In Hejian Prefecture, Beizhili, adjacent to Jinan Prefecture, some big merchants knew the background of Shandong. After all, they often had commercial transactions, so they were not surprised after entering the military camp area.

But the landlords and officials from the prefectures and counties in those places rarely leave their own land. Even if they hear rumors about Shandong soldiers and the Shandong territory, they just listen to the land as a joke. Today, I was shocked and deeply shocked when I saw the military camp area and the behavior of the soldiers.

There were large troops stationed everywhere in Beizhili. Everyone could see clearly what the soldiers looked like. The camps were like markets, and the soldiers were like bandits. The military discipline was corrupt, which disturbed the people and was in chaos. Beizhili not only had Hejian Prefecture, but other prefectures and counties also looked similar.

The people no longer allow their children to join the army and serve the country, believing that this is a matter of criminals and morally corrupt talents, and a large number of rogues and bandits have mixed up with the clothes of soldiers. With the protection of the army, they do evil in the local area, which is even more despicable.

No one expected to see this in the Shandong military camp. Today, these people went to the military camps in Northern Zhili to reward the soldiers, and usually led the team to enter. The soldiers in the military camps were clamoring and laughing and marching in line. This was extremely normal. As for the immediate harassment and thieves, this was not rare. Even if there was even how to distribute the military supplies, they immediately became popular. This was also seen.

After seeing the Jingguan outside, everyone was worried, thinking that the Shandong army would not know how rude it would be. But as soon as they entered the military camp area, they found that it was in order everywhere. The soldiers were either practicing there or passing by in line, and did not take these civilians from the places where the military supplies were sent to the army and directly thought that they did not exist.

Everyone was relieved. In a few steps, the officers and civilians in charge of military supplies and aftermath of Jiaozhou Camp came. Since a large number of civilians and men arrived, they had to start cleaning and cleaning the battlefield as soon as possible. It had been delayed for three days. Although the weather was colder, you should not be careless. Avoid a major epidemic after the war. If this is too close to Shandong, it will inevitably be affected.

The officials of the Shandong army looked very young, and some people in the army had already prepared small cloth bags. This was the first wave of Shandong officers I encountered, and they had to deal with some things, which was also a rule.

However, after these young officers said a few simple words and assigned the procedures with the person who led the team, they immediately took the person away without saying a word of nonsense, let alone asking for a bribe. The servant with the small bag didn't even have the chance to come forward to talk.

It was strange, strange. Everyone sighed in their hearts and continued to move forward. This camp was not the markets I saw in Northern Zhili before, but the real military camp.

The soldiers' tents were neatly arranged, and there were empty and clean roads between the brigades, and cavalry teams rode horses and patrolled the ground from time to time.

Quiet, neat and disciplined, this is the first impression that everyone has given them. Apart from marveling, there is nothing else to say. But after walking for a while, as they go deeper, no matter which direction the army is working, everyone feels depressed.

Shandong soldiers are a real army, and they are the army after the war. In the barracks, every officer and soldier's gestures were filled with scatteredness and murderous aura. These come from the people and are usually good civil servants of the upper and higher families, and they can bear it.

Each prefecture and county has the same direction. The direction of Cangzhou is Cangzhou and Xingji, Qingxian, one prefecture and two counties. The general of Zhendong is a first-rank military general. The leaders of each prefecture and county are the largest local officials. The direction of Cangzhou is naturally the magistrate of Cangzhou. Fan Enlu is an aide to the magistrate of Cangzhou, who is what he usually calls a master.

Fan Enlu is 33 years old this year. As a magistrate, he is a young man in this year and a very young character. Fan Enlu was a juren from the Northern Zhili period in the eighth year of Chongzhen. He was originally a local official and had a bright future and enjoyed wealth.

However, in the 13th year of Chongzhen, the Tartars entered the pass and plundered Beizhili. After Shandong, the court minister Yang Sichang was convicted of his merits and killed a large number of civil and military officials in Beizhili, and Fan Enlu's father was also among them.

After this incident, the originally very good family suddenly became embarrassed. Fan Enlu originally wanted to go to Beijing to take the exam to see if it was possible, but now he wanted to support his family, and secondly, he was a little discouraged by the Ming Dynasty officialdom, so he put the matter of continuing the scientific examination aside.

The magistrate of Cangzhou and Fan Enlu had a long friendship. After this incident, he was also a poor son of an old friend. So he arranged a position for Fan Enlu in the yamen. First, he was familiar with his experience in the yamen and gave him a small official in the future. After all, he was also a scholar with fame and fortune, and no one could say anything to an official. Second, the income was also a subsidy.

Fan Enlu was an idea-worthy character among the scholars of his contemporaries. He was also anxious about the collapse of the world and wanted to find a solution. But he saw and heard the things that he heard would have no effect on the current situation of being a bastard. The ministers in the court were even more worthy of the description of the word "small place".

The Cangzhou Prefecture Office he came into contact with was also a mess, without any intention of doing serious things, and everyone was trying hard to fill their own pockets. Fan Enlu always persuaded the Cangzhou Prefecture to cheer up or do something practical, but the other party was clamoring.

Once, maybe I was anxious to persuade him, and the magistrate of Cangzhou also said something to him:

"Mr., do you think I don't want to be a good official who is loyal and diligent in pleading for the people? I study hard. Who doesn't want to do something? But now in this officialdom. Everyone is like me. If I am honest and diligent, then I will be unique and different from others. I will inevitably be trapped by everyone. At that time, I will end up being ruined and devastated. It is better to be so confused every day and receive some common filial piety. It also restricts the people below to be unlucky, and this conscience will be acceptable. What a loyal and martyr who is the governor Lu Xiangsheng, who died alone in Julu, has not even had a posthumous title yet. If I am like Mr. Lu, you said, I will end up not as good as Mr. Lu!"

This sentence seemed like a blow, which made Fan Enlu, full of ambition, immediately figured out a lot of things. After this conversation, he also inquired about the news everywhere, such as how other prefectures did it. The result made him even more discouraged, and it was like this everywhere, even worse than Cangzhou.

Fan Enlu, who was originally ambitious, had no hope for the world of the Great Ming Dynasty. As a result, every day, except after finishing his work in the yamen, he never asked about anything else. When he went home to chat with his wife and mother, he occasionally said an angry saying, "This world is about to be finished."

In this situation, Fan Enlu was thinking about what else to go besides the Ming Dynasty. After thinking about the whole world, it seemed that only Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion in Huguang, Henan, could join him. No matter what the government said, what is a big victory today or tomorrow, but the news from both open and secret shows that Li Chuang's career is getting bigger and bigger, with a look of a new dynasty.

In fact, we have to simply look at the emerging political system, the same is true for the Tartars outside the pass, but Fan Enlu still has a ground for this backbone, so how can people join the beasts?

As for Li Meng in Shandong, despite his domineering and arrogant nature, Shandong Taiping was spreading rumors that he was different from other provinces. In Fan Enlu's eyes, this person was just a general of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was corrupt, and no matter how different the military generals in the system were, they would collapse with the Ming Dynasty, and they had no value.

This time, Abatai led his troops into the pass and traveled around the northern Zhili. The Ming Dynasty's official troops gathered around the capital, but no army dared to take the initiative to fight. This completely made Fan Enlu give up. Moreover, the army of the Tartars went south along the canal, and Cangzhou was definitely a must-attack, which made Fan Enlu despair.

There were originally thousands of troops stationed around Cangzhou City, but the Tartars army was about to come. The army was deserted every day and fled countless times. When the matter came, the generals and officials in the land directly said that they wanted to lead troops to guard the king, so they simply led the army to run towards the capital and left behind the officials and civilians in Cangzhou City.

Most of the magistrates of Cangzhou and the local gentry and tribes had no place to run away. The family members were all in this Cangzhou area, so they had to organize the civilians and nurses to make their last attempt.

Who would have thought that the Tartars did not attack Cangzhou and directly accelerated their advance towards the south. The officials and civilians in Cangzhou City breathed a sigh of relief, but Fan Enlu understood very well that the Tartars' troops did not fight this time, and they would attack the city when they ran back. After all, the city would inevitably be devastated.

Fan Enlu no longer had any hope. He had already begun to clean up his family and settle down his family. He was preparing to go to Huguang, Henan to join the King of Break Li Zicheng to see if he could make a fortune there. What Fan Enlu never expected was that in a few days, the news suddenly came that the Tatar soldiers and horses were wiped out. Fan Enlu heard this news for a long time. Compared with the Ming army in Northern Zhili and the Shandong army that he had always sneered. And the Tatar soldiers and horses were wiped out. Fan Enlu suddenly understood where he should go.

No one thought it was a good job to work on the military this time. The government army was not so easy to deal with. The Cangzhou magistrate had no intention of letting Fan Enlu follow him with him, but Fan Enlu, who was already moved, took the initiative to accompany the magistrate to the Dongguang County area to work on the military. He also wanted to take the opportunity to observe the situation.

When I saw that Jingguan, some people were moved, some were shocked, and some were uncomfortable. However, Fan Enlu was amazed and even walked up to take a look. In this era, the appearances of Jurchens, Mongols and Han people were quite different. It was still possible to see the difference. Fan Enlu confirmed one thing: this is not killing good deeds, it is a real record. The combat effectiveness of Shandong soldiers is indeed amazing.

Walking into the camp, everything is orderly, and the soldiers in the army are disciplined, which makes Fan Enlu's evaluation a little higher, and continue to move forward. Fan Enlu could hear someone in the military camps on both sides of the road, listening intently, and listening clearly.

He is summarizing the gains and losses of this battle. Fan Enlu couldn't understand what it said, "Each battalion has its own system between the infantry formations, and there must be room for each other. Let the musket soldiers rely on the barrier of the spear formation to attack..." This summary made Fan Enlu feel astonished. He had never heard of an army that would be like this, self-summarized and self-corrected. This is to make this army no longer make the mistakes they made in the past, and naturally they would grow step by step.

Although the Shandong general Li Meng was a first-rate general and commanded such a strong army, they did not wait for a long time. They did not have the airs of a general, but instead took the initiative to welcome him.

Fan Enlu was shocked again when he saw Li Meng. He did not expect that this general was so young. Although he had a majestic and mighty temperament of a general, he had a kind smile on his face. When facing everyone, he first clasped his fists and said:

"There are always many inconveniences when the army goes out. My parents and officials lead the army to work hard. It is a timely help. I will thank you here for the entire army!!"

Seeing this performance, Fan Enlu was stunned for a moment, and then made up his mind to not go to the King of Chuang. His previous thoughts were too ridiculous. He wanted to go far away. The general of Zhendong and the general of Shandong were the best choice. To join this person, there would naturally be a bright future.

Local officials and local gentry, but without Fan Enlu's leisure to observe along the way, they were completely intimidated by the army's army. The closer they approached the military tent, the more they were trembling, thinking that the soldiers and horses below were so powerful that Li Meng, the general who led them, could not be as strong as a god.

No one expected that the general Li Meng, the town east, would come out of the camp first and give him a kind thank you, which was a great deal of face.

Everyone forgot to react for a moment and looked at each other. The scene became quiet. Li Meng was stunned at first, then he figured out the truth. He couldn't help laughing twice. This laughter alarmed these people. Everyone was looking at the Cangzhou magistrate in front. Since he had the highest status, he would ask him to come up with an idea and set an example, and everyone would do it.

Li Meng's performance just now seemed to be kind, but for some reason, the officials and civilians of Hejian Prefecture who came over felt that Li Meng's mighty murderous aura was even more powerful.

In just a moment, the cold sweat on the face of the Cangzhou magistrate fell, but the hesitation was not long. Now I don’t care about the inferiority of the civil and military officials. The Cangzhou magistrate raised his hands high, his knees became weak, and he knelt on the ground, and spoke respectfully and said:

"Zhang Haiyun, the governor of Cangzhou, Hejian Prefecture, met with the general and congratulated the general on his victory in Northern Zhili. In the future, Duke and Marquis will be in the world of war!"

The people behind did not think too much, and they were so nervous that they were extremely nervous. Someone in front took the lead in shouting, and the people behind them just followed and shouted. The civil servants and squires all knelt on their knees and worshiped each other, repeating Zhang Haiyun's congratulations:

"I wish the general a great victory in Northern Zhili, and the future of Duke and Marquis, Buwu and all sides..."

Many people only came back to the point after calling it. Li Meng was just a general with a miscellaneous number, a general in a province. What is the name of their soldiers and horses? What is the common practice in the army? It is already a high priority for outsiders to call him a general. How can he add a big character in front of this general?

In the Ming Dynasty, except for the two generations of Taizu and Chengzu, one was that the country was unstable and the other was that the military generals were seized and conquered. The status of the military generals below was extremely high, so there was no such thing. However, after that, there was no such thing again. There was only one person who was called the general in the past 150 years, that is, the "Governor General's General Military Affairs, the powerful general officer". However, this person's general's name was self-proclaimed, and all civil and military officials had never recognized it. This was Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty during the Ming Dynasty.

Since it was used by the emperor, after the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty, no one dared to use this title except the emperor. If anyone uses this title, he will surpass it. Even if the emperor has granted this title, the civil and military officials below will attack it. This great disrespectful crime cannot be escaped.

The people kneeling on the ground were cursing. They thought you were willing to give this high hat, and you would give it to yourself, don't get everyone to die. But after all the shouts were shouted, what else could it do? It depends on how Li Meng reacted above. In theory, if he was a loyal minister, he had to give it all his strength. If he was an ambitious man, he would probably have a more intense expression of rejection. This is not a simple role for Li Meng to manage such a big situation in Shandong and Shandong.

For a moment, the people below were calm and calm, waiting for Li Meng's reaction. Who would have thought that Li Meng, who was above, said with a smile:

"This is all Li's duty. This is a national war. As a national general, you should be like this. Everyone praised it!"

These words were said without any loss, and there was no denying the title of the general. And according to the tone later, it was a completely accepted meaning.

Li Meng from Shandong is indeed ambitious. The first reaction of these civil servants and gentry in Hejian Prefecture is this. But randomly, it is not normal for such a domineering force to have ambition. If you have such power and have no ambition, then you will be a great saint.

Yue Fei, a general in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, was such a saint, but the final outcome was to kneel in the Fengbo Pavilion and shout "The sun shines brightly."

The civil servants and gentry who figured this out were relieved. Since Li Meng had such an attitude, everyone could clearly stand in the sidelines and make a clear statement. This is different from Fan Enluna and other choices. In fact, most of the local officials who are officials in Beizhili are from local families or spokespersons of these families. As for those wealthy gentry who were originally Hejian Prefecture, there is no need to say.

In the chaotic times, the survival of a large family requires extremely careful choices. If you join one party and not the other party, the wrong choice will be, that is, the tragedy of a person's death and the family will be destroyed.

Or bulls are betting, but in this world, as a Han family with status and decent status, it is really unacceptable to let them choose Li Chuang, a refugee origin. Moreover, Li Chuang's attitude towards the wealthy families has not changed much yet. The situation between the two sides is in the same way, how can they accept it?

As for the Tartars outside the pass, they were like beasts. The rules of ancestors and the Han bloodline were still there. If you join the Tartars, the traitor's hat would be put on your head.

Emperor Chongzhen of the capital has been in power for fifteen years now. Everyone has long understood what this "dcubic and honest" emperor is, and what the so-called famous ministers around him are. This time, the person sent to the capital to ask for help came back and said that the assistant Zhou Yanru asked to go out to supervise the battle and snipe the Tartars. Who would have thought that he would never move forward when he arrived in Tongzhou and had a banquet with his subordinates every day.

Not to mention the armies of all northern Zhili who were afraid of the enemy and hid in the name of serving the king. Looking around the world, there was no one who could be counted on. The forces that could surrender, and the only thing left was despair.

However, at this moment, General Zhendong and General Shandong Li Meng appeared in their vision, a powerful, self-disciplined, and ambitious warlord!

"Master, the officials and gentry of Hejian Prefecture who came here today, before leaving, these officials handed over letters to Beiyi in private and asked Beiyi to hand it over to the Taiyang."

With the thick stack of these civilians and the supplies sent from Hejian Mansion, Li Meng decided to postpone it for one day and start turning to Shandong on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Don’t underestimate this day, the soldiers’ energy and physical strength will be restored to a considerable extent.

It is already exciting to have the title of "General" during the day. On the contrary, when it comes to the meal, everyone is timid. They just talk about things like romance and praise. There are many people and eyes. Even if they want to express their opinions, they have to consider whether the people around them will inform them. If you have anything to do, you should do it privately.

This is why Yuan Wenhong's subordinates hold so many letters. There is a point in this. If there is a newcomer in the Green Forest Village, he will always have to do a case. Kill a passerby and call it a letter of vote.

The civil servant's refuge is to send a letter to show that there was communication early, and it said something that someone is willing to seek loyalty.

If the person who surrendered to the person fails, and the words of these letters are searched, it is also a serious crime. If it is the situation in the past, these civil servants with fame are just making a gesture and saying hello. These civil servants who have always been very careful in their work are so careless this time, and they are begging for nothing. It is entirely because of the different situations.

Cao Cao would not talk about Li Chuang from the heart of the Central Plains. The Tartar army came and left the ground at any time. It was like entering a no-man in northern Zhili. It really shocked a group of people.

The source of the emperor's authority is, on the one hand, the inheritance of his ancestors, and on the other hand, it is to maintain the existence of this country, protect the subjects in other places from invasion by foreign barbarians, live safely and happily, or survive. This is the bottom line between the royal power and the existence of this country.

Now the Tartars army has invaded five times. If it weren't for the general Zhendong who suddenly emerged, Shandong General Li Meng led his troops to defeat the Tartars' army. To put it bluntly, it seems like a miracle. Before this battle was fought, who would have believed that there would be such a result?

To be honest, before this battle, many people thought that the Ming Dynasty was probably going to destroy its country. The Tartar soldiers and horses were so erratic that it was easy to attack the capital. So many times of entering and resisting have made people fully realize what the Ming army and horses around the capital were.

Since the Qing army outside the pass could attack the capital so easily, it goes without saying what it means to easily destroy this Shandong army.

The Ming Dynasty has completely lost confidence. The Shandong soldiers who happened to appear in front of you are the best choice. Moreover, in general, the activities of selling oneself and relying on others are more important than late. If you don’t burn this hot stove now, don’t you come and burn it when others come to burn it?

Now these civil servants in Hejian Prefecture have already beaten their chests and stamped their feet secretly. They thought that there was such a force around them, but they were huddled like a turtle and didn't know anything. They came forward to please them when things were about to come. This is a taboo in the officialdom. It is really shameful to have made such low-level mistakes for so many years as an official.

So when we first met, we handed over the letters and documents of loyalty to Jiaozhou Camp. It seemed like a low-powered idiot who sold the handle to the other party, but in fact it was a complete expression of loyalty, meaning that I had given you all the handle to the Shandong soldiers, so we must be one mind.

Of course, this action seems to be an extremely clever move by outsiders, but everyone of the officials from Hejian Mansion knows that doing this is a common sense in the officialdom.

Li Meng has been a veteran in the officialdom since he was a salt administration inspection to this day. Although he didn't know much about such intrigues, he began to understand the mystery.

The stack of letters handed to Li Meng by the chief clerk Yuan Wenhong. Li Meng opened the first letter on it. After reading the content, the rest of the letters were just to look at the signatures on the envelope. They were all official, so there was no need to open them and read them again. The contents of the letters were the same.
To be continued...