Chapter 229: Shandong drought people are rich
Seventh year of the Apocalypse, September 12th, Penglai County, the capital city of Dengzhou, Shandong
Penglai Pavilion is still very famous. Even though the name of this county was lost in later generations, Penglai Pavilion is still popular with tourists.
The fleet docked at the dock, and the Dingwu army disembarked. Huang Chengli, the governor of Dengzhou, and Sun Guozhen, the governor of Denglai, who came to greet them, had been waiting for a long time.
"I heard that Mr. Sun was promoted to the governor of Denglai because of his merits in the battle with the Dutch in Penghu. I wonder if according to Mr. Sun's knowledge, the Dingwu Army in front of me can compare with the Dutch's foreign rifles. Compare?"
Chen Cao and Sun Guozhen were polite, and then said as they walked: "I heard that you have a group of Thai and Western mercenaries under your command, all of them are firearms troops?"
Sun Guozhen smiled slightly and said neither humble nor arrogantly: "The Duke of Liang is well-informed and admires me, but I am ashamed. Although I have recovered the Penghu Islands, during the battle with the Hongmao Fan, I still thought that the firearms of our Ming Dynasty were far behind. Their turtle-dove-footed fire blunderbuss is very powerful and can hit far. My main weapons are matchlocks or three-eyed blunderbuss, which are neither powerful nor far enough."
"Then this time when Jian Nu knocks the pass and goes south, the troops have already arrived at Jinan Prefecture in Shandong Province. How confident can Mr. Sun think that you can use your mercenaries to fight?"
Sun Guozhen shook his head: "We will definitely lose..."
"Oh, what's the explanation?"
"Jiannu came this time with one man and three horses. Not only did he march fast, but also in terms of combat power, our southern infantry was vulnerable. The musketeers under Xianguan only had 300 people, which was more than enough to defend the city. If we were to fight with Jiannu in the wild, In a wild war, there is no chance of winning. The people have no faith and must surrender in the face of a fierce battle. This is their purpose...
The lower official observed that the military discipline of the Dingwu Army was strict, the march was orderly, and every move obeyed the orders. Even though there were many people, they could advance in sequence. This is an ever-victorious army..."
"Hahaha," Chen Cao raised his head and laughed, and then said: "This time I was ordered to go north to King Qin, but Jian Nu has already arrived in Shandong. There are many vassal kings in Shandong. If we don't stop it, members of the clan may be harmed. It's a pity. ..."
Sun Guozhen waited for Chen Cao to finish.
"It's a pity that I came here with a huge promise of military expenses. The court has not yet responded to the five million taels of military expenses I have asked for from the court. Mr. Sun also knows how to govern Liaodong. How can we fight a war without money... "
"There is still one million Denglai military pay in the governor's office, which can be allocated to Duke Liang in advance to be used for the departure of the army."
Chen Cao nodded in embarrassment: "I'm sure the imperial court is famous for its high military pay and food, otherwise the imperial court would not return it to me. This one million taels of military expenditure is really a drop in the bucket."
Sun Guozhen was also in a dilemma. One million taels was his limit. If he could give it, it would be regarded as a sign of loyalty to the country. Otherwise, no governor would give out the money that belongs to him: "The ability of the lower officials is limited, and now the capital Being surrounded, even if the money from the Ministry of Finance wants to leave the capital, it will be impossible."
"Well," Chen Cao nodded: "That's right, I can't embarrass you, Master Sun. It's just that now that the army is stationed in Denglai, if there is no military pay, they will not obey orders like they do now. Although they will not plunder, but It is still feasible to withdraw the troops and go back."
The Shandong Dusi has 170,000 guards and 60,000 town soldiers. However, the town soldiers are in the hands of Sun Guozhen, the governor of Denglai. The soldiers and horses of the capital are scattered across the six prefectures. If they were gathered together, Jiannu would have fled long ago. However, now Chen Cao Not only did they bring 30,000 Dingwu troops, they also brought war horses. Each of them had a marching horse to ride. They were much faster than the two-legged Qiu Ba in chasing Jiannu or supporting them.
"Dong Guo Liang," Sun Guozhen bowed to Chen Operation: "Xia Guan will give all the millions of military pay to Duke Liang. The remaining money will be donated by wealthy businessmen and everyone in Fucheng. No matter how much the income is, all will be given to Liang Guo Duke." The Duke of Liang is using the money as military expenses. Now is the time when the country is in trouble. I hope that the Duke will follow the teachings of the saints to save the people of Shandong..."
Chen Cao sighed: "Hey, that's all we can do. Master Sun, go to Fucheng quickly to report the situation of establishing slaves, so that I can make preparations in advance..."
Dengzhou Fucheng, inside the governor's office
"On August 27, Jiannu broke through the Xifengkou Great Wall defense line and entered Beizhili. It took three hours to reach the capital. The capital had closed the city gate because of the smoke warning, but Jiannu still broke through. Dongbianmen rushed into the outer city, but fortunately they were repulsed by the British army. The slaves withdrew from the outer city and immediately surrounded the capital;
Then they launched troops to plunder, and the surrounding area of Shuntian Mansion suddenly turned into a sea of fire, causing countless casualties and losses. Three days later, the slave reinforcements arrived again. At that time, they divided their troops into 40,000 soldiers and went south to Shandong, looting along the way, and gained tens of millions. According to plans, up to now, the number of captured people has reached 400,000, and they have all returned to the north. "
Chen Cao had a calm look on his face after hearing this. He had no idea that Huang Taiji would act so boldly after entering the customs. Forget about Hebei, he had already captured Shandong: "What's the current situation?"
Sun Guozhen handed Chen Cao the military information delivered yesterday: "Jian Nu entered Yanzhou Prefecture after breaking through Dongchang Prefecture, and plundered Yanzhou Prefecture. According to yesterday's news, they have just arrived in Caozhou."
Chen Cao looked at the map. It took nearly three days from Caozhou to the capital city of Yanzhou. Moreover, there were robberies along the way. After the infantry from all over the country arrived, all the opponents ran away. How could they stop them?
"Well, the army will set out for Yanzhou Prefecture tomorrow. I think they will definitely go to Ziyang County to rob. The city must be the key."
...
The news that the slaves had entered Yanzhou Prefecture soon spread to the capital. There were three prince families and more than ten county princes in Yanzhou. The crime of losing members of the clan was very serious, at least the whole family must be exterminated...
Guo Yan, the prefect of Yanzhou, was about to retire, but he came to visit him. Such a troublesome thing happened. He waited in Prince Lu's Mansion for nearly an hour before he saw Prince Zhu Shouhong of Lu who had come out in a hurry.
"What?"
Zhu Shouhong was shocked: "Jiannu is here? The north has fallen? Where is the capital? Where is your majesty, is the court still well? Quick, quick, quick, call the city guards to the city to guard it."
Guo Yan despised Zhu Shouhong very much in his heart. This Jiannu was so panicked before he came. What if he was already outside the city?
"My lord, don't panic..." Guo Yan comforted him: "There is nothing going on in the north. Jiannu is running around and looting. It is reported that Jiannu is still in Caozhou. It's just a matter of time before Caozhou is destroyed. The city is the key point. I believe that Jiannu will definitely do it." Come, I have come here specifically to inform the prince and ask him to lead all the vassal kings in the city to invest in recruiting young men to guard the city."
The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty had a characteristic: they had many people, a lot of money, and they were stingy. Although the vassal kings also had rules to withdraw the vassal after losing territory, asking them to pay to help the court would definitely be more annoying than life-threatening.
"Most of my money is antique calligraphy and painting. How can I finance it? Besides, you, Guo Yan, are the magistrate of Yanzhou and have the responsibility to protect the land and protect the vassal. Do you know how serious the crime of losing land is?"
Guo Yan was rejected and had no idea of asking for money, but he still went to see Jiang Wanchun, the commander of the Rencheng Guard.
"King Lu doesn't agree?"
"It's weird to agree..." Guo Yan shook his head: "Commander Jiang, now we can only rely on you and me."
Jiang Wanchun's heart was like a thousand arrows piercing his heart. Although he did not dare to pay empty salary because he had the responsibility to protect the vassal king, he could not guarantee the combat effectiveness: "Master Guo, I will do my best. Why, it’s just the defense of the city..."
Guo Yan: "Don't worry, I have already sent a letter to the Shandong Governor's Yamen. There are pursuers from the imperial court behind Jiannu. I believe reinforcements will arrive soon..."
Believe it or not...
Jinan still has a line of kings of virtue. Even if you, King Lu, are the largest, even if you are finally investigated, Jinan will push it away with just "protect the land and protect the vassal". Who can control your affairs in Yanzhou.
Qufu County
The county magistrate Kong Yinren was a direct second-generation relative of the contemporary Yansheng Gong. There was no guard station in Qufu. Because of the large area under its jurisdiction, it had four inspection departments with a total of 800 inspection soldiers.
However, the Confucius family has been reproducing Qufu for generations, and the entire Qufu belongs to the Confucius family, so it is not a big problem to recruit young people.
It's a pity that most of the young people in this land of saints are scholars. It is absolutely unacceptable for them to become low-class people like Qiu Ba. For scholars, doing so will only ruin the reputation of saints.
"How's it going? How many people have been summoned?"
Facing Kong Yinzhi's inquiry, County Magistrate Kong felt like he was breaking out in a cold sweat at this moment: "Brother, there are no less than 40,000 young men, but most of them are scholars. The young men who can fight are only 3,000 men. How can these people succeed? Help throw them away." It’s more like a stone.”
Kong Yinzhi also felt that he would definitely suffer disaster if he continued like this: "What about the inspection department?"
"Hey, those patrol soldiers are used to being comfortable in Qufu. Whether they can fight Jiannu is still unknown."
Kong Yinren said and looked at his eldest brother: "Brother, there is only one way. We can transfer the servants from each family in the clan to form a thousand-household office. These people are all from the military and can still achieve success. "
Although each family has a lot of servants, these people may not be willing to give up. Firstly, if the slaves invade the city, each family will need these soldiers with combat experience to cover their escape. Secondly, once some servants are sent to the city, they can hold on until The reinforcements are okay, but if they can't hold on overnight, the city will be massacred after the city is broken.
"The Gaoyang City guarded by Master Sun is an example..."
Kong Yinzhi shook his head in embarrassment: "Forget it, we in Qufu are the descendants of Yanshenggong. No matter who we are, we have to respect our Qufu three points. I believe that Jiannu will not mess around."
"Brother, aren't you?"
Kong Yinzhi naturally prepared things to welcome the slaves. He believed that Qufu was naturally unwilling to get involved in these killings in order to protect itself. No matter which emperor was in power, he would respect Yan Yan. Holy Duke'.
"Report...Master, something bad happened..."
Kong's housekeeper staggered into the lobby, without any trace of his scholarly temperament: "Master, something bad happened. The cavalry, the cavalry of the brigade..."
Kong Yinren raised his brows, glanced at Kong Yinzhi, then walked away and ran out.
