On May 5th, Su Ze led the tax police regiment that had finished its rest and completely wiped out the Japanese pirates on Jingjiang Island. Su Ze's military experience also increased to level 7, 210/3000.
When Su Ze piled the heads of the Japanese pirates on the edge of Jingjiang City, Jingjiang Magistrate Li Shunyang opened the gate of Jingjiang County and welcomed "Master Wang" into the city.
Li Shunyang can be the magistrate of Nanzhili County because he has excellent academic qualifications and sufficient connections.
This time the Japanese pirates invaded Jiangsu, the performance of County Magistrate Li was also remarkable. He firmly defended Jingjiang County and protected the people of Jingjiang.
After finding out Su Ze's identity, County Magistrate Li also decisively opened the city gate, and then arranged for the official office to be vacated, leaving Su Ze and others to rest.
The county magistrate forced the big households in the city to provide food, and sent hot meals to Su Ze and others.
The magistrate of Li County was a Jinshi in his forties, and it was his first time to be an official in Jingjiang County. It was also because the prestige of Li County was quite good that he was able to do this when the Japanese pirates landed on the island.
"Team training envoy!"
Su Ze also raised his hands and saluted Li Zhixian: "Master Zhixian."
Li Zhixian immediately supported Su Ze and said: "The regiment training envoy has solved the power of our Jingjiang, and he is our great benefactor in Jingjiang!"
Su Ze was not in the mood to be polite to him, but asked directly:
"How is the situation in Jiangbei?"
Li Zhixian is also a smart man. Many refugees from Jiangbei have landed on Jingjiang Island these days, and he also sent people to collect information.
"It sucks."
Li Zhi County said slowly: "I heard from the people who fled that the Japanese pirates looted Taixing County on the other side of the river. I heard that even the county government office was burned down."
"Now the giant Japanese pirate Xu Hai is leading his men to attack Jiangdu City. I heard that they won't be able to hold on for long."
Li Zhixian looked at Su Ze's expression carefully. If Su Ze's magic soldiers hadn't descended from the sky, he didn't know how long it would have taken to wipe out all the Japanese pirates outside the city.
What Lizhi County fears most is that Su Ze is young and energetic, leading his soldiers directly north to fight against the Japanese. Jingjiang is located at a key node in the Yangtze River Basin, and new Japanese pirates will soon land on the island, so Lizhi County needs Su Ze to stay on the island. .
Su Ze said: "The overall situation in Jiangbei still depends on the imperial army. I won't go north to join in the fun for my regiment training."
Li Zhixian immediately said: "Su Tuan Lian Envoy, can you please station troops in Jingjiang Tuan Lian? The whole county is willing to support a large army to prepare for the Japanese!"
Su Ze pretended to be in trouble, and Li Zhixian immediately said: "The military camp and logistics will all be handed over to the county for supplies. In addition, the big families in the city have collected a hundred taels of silver as reward for your army. From now on, the county will give it to you every month." Bao Jingyin, what do you think of the group training?"
Sure enough, the county in South Zhili is still rich. Su Ze secretly sighed. He pretended to be embarrassed and said: "In that case, let's station in Jingjiang first."
Li Zhixian was overjoyed and took Su Ze to see the squires in Jingjiang. Su Ze proposed to recruit another hundred recruits in Jingjiang who were familiar with water properties, and Lizhi County naturally agreed.
Wang Xijue led his people to find his own caravan hiding in Jingjiang Fishing Port. The caravan manager burst into tears when he saw Wang Xijue.
But without Su Ze's escort, the caravan did not dare to return. Wang Xijue gritted his teeth and found Su Ze.
"Brother Yuan Yu wants me to escort your caravan back to Shanghai? No, I just promised Li Zhi County to garrison Jingjiang, how can I leave casually?"
Su Ze flatly rejected Wang Xijue's request, joking that after finally opening up the situation in Jingjiang, Su Ze would not give up here.
There is no doubt about the importance of the Yangtze River waterway, and Jingjiang is the largest island in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Controlling this island can control the entire lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Scattered Japanese pirates can now be seen everywhere on the entire Yangtze River. If the Wang fleet is allowed to return directly, they may be robbed by Japanese pirates halfway along the way.
After seeing the combat effectiveness of the Anti-Japanese General Regiment, Wang Xijue's trust in Su Ze reached its peak. He said to Su Ze:
"Brother Rulin, I am willing to give one-tenth of the goods to help the army!"
Hearing what Wang Xijue said, Su Ze immediately smiled and said: "Then wait until Jingjiang settles down and when the soldiers return to Shanghai for rotation, escort Brother Yuan Yu's family's fleet back home."
Although Wang Xijue lost one-tenth of the silk, he was smiling all over his face. With Su Ze's guarantee, his batch of goods was finally saved.
The Japanese rebellion in Jiangsu last year lasted for a full year before settling down. This time, the scale of the Japanese rebellion was even greater than the year before. Insightful people like Wang Xijue knew that the Japanese rebellion would not calm down so quickly.
In troubled times, fists are the biggest, and Su Ze's two hundred elites are highly prized everywhere. The price of one-tenth of the goods is nothing to the Wang family.
Just when Su Ze was reorganizing his soldiers and recruiting new soldiers in Jingjiang, Yangzhou City of the Ming Dynasty was at this time.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Yangzhou was the largest port in Jiangnan.
The lights on the city bridge are as high as the sky, and the water is nearly half full.
Countless ships sailed into the Yangtze River from the Yangtze River Estuary and docked in Yangzhou for trading. In the Tang Dynasty, Yangzhou was one of the starting points of the Maritime Silk Road.
At that time, Yangzhou was a triple hub for Yangtze River shipping, canal water transportation and maritime transportation, and was the most prosperous port in East Asia.
Nowadays, although Yangzhou is still an important town in southern Zhili, it is no longer as prosperous as the previous "Yang Yi Er" and has become an inland port city.
For the Ming Dynasty, Yangzhou was the center of water transportation and salt industry, with great strategic significance.
In order to ensure the safety of Yangzhou, the Ming Dynasty set up the Yangzhou Guard outside Yangzhou City. This was a guard station with 5,000 soldiers like the Yanping Guard.
The Water Transport Yamen was also set up in Yangzhou. The Water Transport Yamen had 3,000 canal soldiers under its jurisdiction and was responsible for the safety of the canal.
Yangzhou water transportation was under the management of the Ministry of Household Affairs of Nanjing Zhili. Fang Blun, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, sat in the governor's office of water transportation. The person in charge of Yangzhou water transportation was his fellow countryman Lu Dayou, the warehouse minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs who was in charge of southern water transportation.
Water transportation was the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty. There was a warehouse minister under the Northern and Southern Household Departments, with the title of Minister in charge of water transportation in the north and south.
Fang Rui was still a minister in the household department of the capital the year before. He was neither a strict party nor a Qingliu party. If counted, he should be a Yueyang party.
Fang Rui was a native of Yuezhou Prefecture, Huguang. When he was the Minister of Household Affairs in the capital, he liked to support the township party the most.
As the struggle between the Yan Party and the Qingliu Party intensified, important ministers like Fang Rui, who did not take sides, were immediately besieged by the two parties, and were impeached and demoted to Nanjing by Yan Song.
The reputation of Fang Shangshu is quite good, and the world praises him for being "upright and honest". He likes to promote and appoint township party members, and he takes great care of officials and businessmen in his hometown.
When Fang Shangshu was in the capital, Yueyang merchants built the Yuezhou Guild Hall in the capital to provide free accommodation for Yuezhou officials.
After Fang Shangshu arrived in Nanjing, the Yuezhou Guild Hall was immediately built in Nanjing, and a large number of Yuezhou officials were promoted.
There are also many businessmen with Yuezhou accents in Yangzhou City.
Lu Dayou was also a member of Fang Shangshu's Yuezhou Township Party. After Fang Shangshu took office, he was promoted to the warehouse minister in charge of water transportation in South Zhili.
When the Japanese invaders invaded Yangzhou, the most anxious person was naturally Fang Shangshu, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.
In the Yangzhou water transport warehouse, there are still 30,000 days of grain ready to be unloaded and transported to the capital. These are the autumn grains harvested in Jiangnan last year.
If there is a problem with this amount of food, Fang Shangshu will definitely impeach the official Biyan. Now that Anda has invaded the border from the north, and the refugees from Guanzhong need relief, the cabinet has issued several orders asking the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs to ensure the safety of this food. The solution was transported to the capital.
Fang Blun personally rushed from Nanjing to Yangzhou to supervise the shipment of this batch of grain to the north.
But when Fang Rui entered the Governor's Office of Water Transport in Yangzhou, he found that the atmosphere here was a bit strange.
The Japanese pirates have arrived in Jiangdu, but there is no tense atmosphere at the Governor's Yamen. His old subordinate Lu Dayou is still listening to music in the back house of the Yamen.
Fang Rui was seventy years old. He felt that his blood pressure was high. He rushed into the back house and cursed in his local accent: "When do you still have time to listen to music!"
Lu Dayou was Fang Rui's old subordinate. He was not afraid at all when he saw Fang Rui. Instead, he greeted him and sat down with a smile. Lu Dayou waved his hand and dismissed the singing girl in the house, and then Fang Rui said:
"Teacher, why are you here in person?"
Fang Rui once served as Lu Dayou's rural examination examiner and was his old superior, so privately Lu Dayou regarded him as his mentor.
"If I don't come, the Japanese pirates will invade Yangzhou City! Has the food in the warehouse outside the city been escorted onto the ship?"
Fang Blun asked in a thick Yueyang accent, and Lu Dayou also replied in a Yueyang accent: "Teacher, please listen to me slowly."
Lu Dayou retreated and ordered his close associates to guard the back house, saying in a low voice:
"Teacher, this time the Japanese pirates attack Yangzhou, it is a great thing!"
Fang Rui's blood pressure was about to rise again, but Lu Dayou said next:
"The students have asked the Yueyang grain merchants in the city to transport the 20,000 dan of grain in the Changping warehouse outside the city out of Yangzhou."
Fang Bu's heart felt relieved at first, but he soon heard that something was wrong.
"How come it was transported by Yueyang grain merchants? Shouldn't this batch of grain be transported to the capital by Gangchuan?"
Lu Dayou smiled and said: "Teacher, do you know how many times the price of food in Jiangnan has increased these days? How much money can two thousand days of food be exchanged for?"
Fang Blun was stunned, and Lu Dayou continued: "Master, Changpingcang is outside the city. Now the troops in Yangzhou City are more than enough to defend the city. There is no danger to defend Changpingcang."
"Yangzhou's water transportation has been completely blocked and there is no way for ships to get through."
"Instead of this, how about a fire?"
At this moment, Fang Blun immediately understood the thoughts of his fellow village party member and disciple.
"You are trying to enrich the country!"
Fang Blun scolded angrily.
But Lu Dayou said: "Why is it that the disciples are struggling to make a fortune for the country? This food should be kept in Nanzhili. This year, there will be a famine in Jiangnan due to the Japanese invasion. If we sell it then, how many people can we save?"
"sophistry!"
Lu Da was not afraid at all because of Fang Blunt's anger, but continued:
"Teacher, these businessmen are all township party members that you take good care of in daily life, and those involved are also your old township party officials."
Fang Blun pointed his finger at Lu Dayou. Looking at the disciple he had promoted along the way, Fang Blun was speechless.
Lu Dayou said: "Teacher, as soon as the Japanese pirates come, they will be burned clean. Even if the court asks for guilt, it is not for our water transport yamen. It is because the Yangzhou defenders are incompetent."
"This batch of grain was transported to Jurong by official ships and stored in the granary of our Yueyang merchants. It is handled by our Yueyang Township Party and there will never be any leakage."
Fang Blun suddenly interrupted Lu Dayou. He had been ups and downs in the officialdom for many years, and immediately discovered the problem in Lu Dayou's words:
"Official ships? All water transport and official ships are managed by the Yangzhou Branch of the Ministry of Industry? Did you get involved with Yan Shifan?"
Yan Shifan had already been appointed Minister of the Ministry of Industry the year before last. Water transportation in the Ming Dynasty also had a mutually restrictive management model. The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for operating the docks, but the Ministry of Industry was responsible for the ships transporting grain.
Whether Lu Da denied it or not, Fang Rui, a veteran official, immediately understood that this disciple had defected to the Yan Party.
Lu Dayou continued to talk about his plan:
"As long as the fire breaks out and my mentor writes to the court, impeaching the Nanjing Military Department for its poor defense, we can completely shirk the responsibility."
Fang Blun just felt his head buzzing. From what Lu Dayou said, almost all the Yuezhou Township Party members he promoted over the years were involved.
If the matter is revealed, not only Fang Rui himself will be convicted, but all the township parties he supported will be wiped out.
Lu Dayou continued: "My mentor is already seventy this year. According to the old court tradition, you will also serve as an official and return home. Everyone knows that my mentor has been an honest official throughout his life, and they are all willing to help my mentor return to his hometown to build his hometown."
Fang Pu wanted to rebuke Lu Dayou, but now among the people from Yuezhou Township in the imperial court, Lu Dayou already had the highest position.
According to regulations, if the emperor does not continue to support him as an official, he will retire and return to his hometown at the age of seventy.
Fang Pu had offended Yan Song and was not close to Xu Jie. It was almost impossible for him to be comforted by the emperor. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will pretend that I don't know about this matter and you can take care of yourself! When this Japanese rebellion is over, I will write a letter to resign." Homecoming!”
Fang Rui almost fell down, Lu Dayou quickly came up to help him, but Fang Rui used his sleeve to throw him away.
Fang Blun didn't look at his disciple. When did he become like this?
He has always been cautious as an official throughout his life. The only thing that was criticized was that he liked to appoint township party members.
But this is not a bad habit in the Ming Dynasty officialdom. Everyone has private messages, and Fang Rui just prefers to support his fellow villagers.
But as his official position grew, more and more villagers came to seek an audience, and a Yuezhou Township Party circle formed around him, and countless people risked everything to follow him.
Fang Blun thought of the rural party members he supported, and finally decided to remain silent, and only waited for the Japanese rebellion to end before resigning and returning home!
On May 8, giant Japanese invaders broke through Jiangdu County, Yangzhou's barrier, and attacked Yangzhou, the important water transport town.
On May 9, a fire broke out in Changpingcang outside Yangzhou City, and 20,000 days of autumn grain waiting to be delivered to the capital was "burned".
(End of chapter)
