The battle at the end of 1342 brought hurricane-like shock to the major forces in Jianghuai. When Mo Rigen fled back to the important town of Luzhou with his defeated generals, the forces that were originally waiting for victory were shocked. These forces were all victims of the Chengpan land reform. Before Mo Rigen sent troops, they kept jumping up and down, using all their connections to find out the date of the troops. When they learned that the date of the troops was postponed because of the food and grass problem, their first reaction was that Mo Rigen wanted to seek wealth. Several forces had raised some food and grass and helped the money. The upper forces of the entire Jianghuai united in this matter.

Finally, the imperial army that they had been waiting for for a long time finally set off. These forces were extremely excited, and it seemed that they had seen the Huangzhou bandits who had robbed their property and turned into powder under the imperial soldiers. However, Mo Rigen, who led his troops out of the city in the morning, fled back in the evening. No one dared to imagine the worst situation. A squire seemed to comfort him and said: "Maybe the lord forgot something in the morning and came back to get it." This reason was ridiculous, but no one spoke to reveal the loopholes in this ridiculous sentence. Soon the following situation confirmed the bad situation. After returning to the city, Mo Rigen quickly closed the city gate and presided over the city wall to set up defenses. Hearing this news, there was an uproar in the city. The wealthy families in the city sent their servants to inquire about the news of the expedition. Soon, further bad news came.

When it was almost dark, the first wave of defeated soldiers fled back as if they were fleeing. The defeated soldiers begged under the city and asked to enter the city. But the city was strictly guarded and defended. All forces were shocked. Although they heard that the number of Huangzhou bandits exceeded 10,000, they subconsciously thought that they were vulnerable to the attack. But what they did not expect was that they defeated the powerful official army, and in such a short time. So various rumors appeared in the city, such as Huangzhou bandits carrying hundreds of thousands of refugees, the entire Jiangnan decay, and the bandit leader's magic power was so strong. Due to the city blockade, only a few words came. However, when the second wave of defeated soldiers came back at 7 o'clock in the evening, the city was less nervous. The second wave of defeated soldiers was actually the prisoners released by Cheng Pan. The city wall came up by hanging people to learn about the news. It was confirmed that the city of Luzhou was temporarily safe.

At this time, in the Luzhou City Lord's Mansion, Mo Rigen held a letter in his hand, and several soldiers were kneeling down from outside the city to learn about the news. The letter was written with a thank-you letter. It roughly means thanking the king's army for going south to suppress bandits, and there was a bright world in the place. The good citizen Cheng Pan was grateful to the commander for his kindness and willing to provide 200,000 taels of silver. Unfortunately, there was a lot of inconvenience on the way and could not escort it in person. Ten days later, the county magistrates of the three counties would jointly transport the money. After reading the letter, Mo Rigen immediately knew that Cheng Pan wanted to ease the relationship with the government and continue to lie dormant. After reading the letter, Mo Rigen broke a porcelain cup and cursed: "Killing officers and soldiers is rebellion, rebellion. You actually want to use money to settle it. You are humiliating me." Mo Rigen gritted his teeth and vented together, and then he was angry.

The momentum fell down. He closed his eyes and saw a scene in his mind that his troops were vulnerable under the attack of artillery fire and muskets. He estimated that this would require ten times the force to fight. The court could not draw out such a force in a hurry, and philosophy would require several provinces to suppress it. The Huangzhou thieves appeared under his own rule. His responsibilities could not be escaped no matter what. If the court really wanted to suppress the Huangzhou bandits, he would definitely be held accountable for their unfavorable rule. At the least, dismissal from office or even beheaded. Moreover, Cheng Pan's actions have not yet reached the level of rebellion. First of all, the prefectures and counties have not lost. The local taxes occupied by the Huangzhou bandits are normal. Cheng Pan's actions in the local area are actually within the category of local tyrants, but they are too big and violate the unspoken rules of major local forces.

Our Lord Mo Rigen does not have the glorious sentiment of devoting his life to the country. This sentence is wrong. Maybe he has the courage to die on the battlefield, but he is unwilling to accept being stabbed in the back by a political enemy. The whole family was confiscated and the family was humiliated. After being guaranteed that Cheng Pan would not be pressed further, Mo Rigen knew that Cheng Pan would eat more people sooner or later this time. However, this was the harm of boiling frogs in warm water. Mo Rigen didn't care about so much. He wanted to break up the relationship above and fight against the forces that threatened him. As for Cheng Pan when the tiger came out, it was not only him who died, but he wanted to die one by one. In order to kill Cheng Pan first, it was unfair to let him die first.

Five days later, after 200,000 taels of silver were sent, he confirmed through spies' investigation that Cheng Pan did not take any closer actions, but was just domineering his own power. Mo Rigen summoned his old subordinates to supplement the army, win over his subordinates, and consolidate his position. He described his successful suppression of bandits in the above document. He wrote a letter to his superiors in private saying that the Huangzhou bandits were strong and it was difficult to suppress them all. At the same time, the Huangzhou bandits did not do anything out of order to oppress the court on the surface, which may cause unexpected disasters.

The senior officials and vassal kings of Jiangbei Province in Henan Province remained silent after receiving two public and private letters from Mo Rigen. These senior officials also had their own spies. People above were not relieved to those who led troops like Mo Rigen, and they mastered the news through various means of mixing sand and ambushing spies. The news described by these spies was basically the same as what Mo Rigen said. And through the description of the people who followed Mo Rigen to the battlefield and survived, these senior officials knew the terrible power of Cheng Pan's firearms. Since it was a matter within the province, these senior officials did not want to expose this matter to the court and handed over to other provinces, which was also a hidden rule. Therefore, the senior officials in the province were to appease the main point, recruit Cheng Pan with a civil servant position, and call him out of his sphere of influence. They decided to sacrifice the interests of the original landlords in the three counties.

In early 1343 AD, a document was passed to Mo Rigen. Then a compromise was reported to the Huangzhou bandits. Cheng Pan was talking to Mo Rigen's envoy. Cheng Pan said, "Everyone asked so much." The envoy said, "Mr. Pingzhang said, "As long as the owner of the Manor Cheng is not in the local area, within his authority, you can choose any county except the three counties to be appointed as the county magistrate." Cheng Pan smiled playfully: "Except for the three counties, I really can choose." The envoy said, "The owner of the manor should stay away from home and take up his post."

Cheng Pan smiled and looked carefully on the list of counties. Suddenly, his finger stopped and said, "It's this." The messenger breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it. The main task was completed. The place where Cheng Pan refers is Rugao County, Taizhou, which is now Rudong County, located on the north side of the Yangtze River estuary, and it is hundreds of miles from the state. The messenger thought to himself: "I have no rebellion after seeing this person." The messenger said, "This year, I will go through a process. At that time, the adults will give you the title of a scholar, so that the owner of the manor will be honored by the juren. I will congratulate the owner on his promotion first."

Cheng Pan responded with a smile. The messenger continued, "I heard that the owner of the manor's firearm is sharp, can it be provided?" Cheng Pan interrupted and said, "I am a good citizen, I don't know about the firearms." The messenger looked at Cheng Pan's clothes and said, "The owner of the manor is too humble, you have to give an explanation about the firearms." Cheng Pan lowered his head and thought for a while and said, "I have a gap with Mo Rigen, I want a self-defense weapon." The messenger said, "Don't worry, Lord Pingzhang will arrange to persuade him to drink, and the firearms will not be handed over to Lord Mo Rigen." Cheng Pan continued, "I'm down."

The price of muskets is not easy to build," said the messenger, "I know that the firearm is expensive, so please ask the owner to quote." Cheng Pan quoted a price that was so bad that he said with a painful face: "Ten taels of silver per hand." The messenger's face changed: "Can you be lower?" Cheng Pan said: "No, you can rest for one night and take a few samples tomorrow." The messenger changed the topic again: "The owner of the manor has some conflicts with the village." Cheng Pan said with a straight face: "I am very harmonious in the village, you heard it wrong." The messenger smiled and stopped mentioning it.

That night, Cheng Pan asked the craftsmen to build several muskets, with small caliber of the rope and smooth bore. The next day, the escort left with the sample. A few days later, the senior officials of the province tested the muskets and expressed their satisfaction. Although Cheng Pan repeatedly reduced the quality, these muskets were still better than the firearms in the Dadu firearm group. Then he sent someone to purchase them. Cheng Pan made an agreement with the visitor due to insufficient production. He provided 30 per day.

After a series of aftermath, the Yuan Dynasty officials were in a low-key manner on this matter. The only loss was the forces whose land was confiscated. These forces all had their own eyes and ears. The hostility towards Cheng Pan was not on the surface.
Chapter completed!