After clearing out the Dongchang fanzi and internal thieves, order in Kaiyuan City was restored, and business was quickly restored. Zhang Chao and the others had not returned yet, and it was at least three days' journey from Kaiyuan to Liaonan. Liu Zhaosun was very confident in capturing Song Yingsheng, so he also I gave myself three days off.
Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Marquis Pingliao went to Qiao Mansion with only one guard to pay New Year's greetings to Supervisor Qiao.
Qiao Yiqi had just gotten up and saw Liu Zhaosun coming over. She was flattered and happily accepted seven taels of tea and half a catty of candy - this was the New Year's gift from Marquis Pingliao.
At noon that day, Qiao Jianjun entertained distinguished guests at his house.
Although Liu Zhaosun issued three orders and five orders, Kaiyuan officials were strictly forbidden to be extravagant, but Qiao Yiqi's family was extremely wealthy and he treated others generously. Moreover, this was the first time that Marquis Pingliao visited Qiao Mansion, which was of great significance, so the banquet at noon was quite sumptuous, and the two of them had a full table A large table was filled with delicacies, some of which Liu Zhaosun had never seen before. He was worried about waste, so he asked the accompanying guard to join the table. The guard refused, so Liu Zhaosun had no choice but to give up.
Liu and Qiao exchanged cups and drank until the first quarter of the afternoon (three o'clock in the afternoon). They were half drunk and laughed and talked about the past in Saarhu and recalled all the subordinates who died in the battle. There is no need to elaborate.
That day, Liu Zhaosun was very drunk and returned to the General Military Mansion with the support of the guards. It was almost dark. When he returned home, Mrs. Gaoming inevitably complained.
The next day, Marquis Pingliao went to Mao Yuanyi's house to have dinner again. Liu Zhaosun still only gave the owner tea bags and candies, which were worth only twenty or thirty cents.
Unexpectedly, Mao Yuanyi stayed up late two years ago to draw a sketch of a hot air balloon. He caught a cold and was still recuperating on the bed. When he saw Marquis Pingliao coming to the door, he immediately supported his sick body and came out to meet him. He had just accepted the New Year gift, exchanged a few words, and asked again. How is hydrogen produced? Liu Zhaosun told his workaholic subordinate to take good care of his health and hurried home.
After returning from Wendeng last year, Mao Yuanyi and the others were facing the fuel problem of the hot air balloon. Coal and oil could not provide more efficient energy for the hot air balloon (it was too heavy). Liu Zhaosun accidentally mentioned that "hydrogen is very light and can burn." Mao Yuanyi heard After that, he would come over from time to time to ask the travelers what hydrogen gas was and how it came from.
As mentioned before, Liu Zhaosun had given back all his chemistry knowledge to his middle school teachers. Now he could not even remember the molecular structure of water. The production of hydrogen was of course a fantasy. He had no hope of making hot air balloons, so he asked Mao Yuanyi to do it himself. Go explore.
In the next two days, Marquis Pingliao went to pay New Year's greetings to Deng Changxiong, Qi Jin, and Xie Yang, and then went to the homes of several civil affairs officials.
The subordinates were overjoyed when they saw Liu Zhaosun coming to visit him. After all, only close friends could enjoy such treatment.
After a few days, Liu Zhaosun managed to get a few more meals, making up for all the delicacies he had not eaten in the past two years.
More importantly, Marquis Pingliao finally gave away all the five kilograms of tea candies, which he had purchased from Liaodong Trading Company for half a tael of silver a few years ago.
On the fourth day of the first lunar month, Marquis Pingliao stopped going out early to pay New Year greetings, put aside all unnecessary social interactions, and returned to the General Military Mansion.
He began to prepare for Yang Qing'er's sixteenth birthday.
Mrs. Gaoming's sixteenth birthday was a big event, and Liu Zhaosun decided to make it a big event.
He borrowed two hundred taels of silver from Qiao Yiqi, saying that he would pay it back when the court awarded him a reward. Given the current situation, the court probably would not give Kaiyuan another penny.
Qiao Dazui gave him a thousand taels happily and told Marquis Pingliao that he did not need to pay back the money. If it was not enough, he could go to him again. Liu Zhaosun only received one hundred taels, and he was now penniless. If it were not for the support of the several thousand taels of dowry that Yang Qing'er brought from her mother's family, Pingliao Marquis would probably have ruined his business.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the Kaiyuan General Military Mansion was filled with distinguished guests and the crowd was buzzing.
In addition to the Sixth Army stationed in Wendeng, all officers from the First Guards Army to the Fifth Army, including battalion officers and above, were present. A total of more than thirty officers came.
Officials from the civil affairs, workshops, and forts all came to congratulate Mrs. Gaoming on her birthday. Of course, there were also Liao merchants in the city, as well as representatives of Jurchen, Mongolian, and Korean merchants. After Ping Liaohou informed the whole city of Dongchang Fanzi's conspiracy to collude with Liao Town to assassinate merchants, the impact of the Hetuala massacre was gradually dissipating.
In the eyes of many foreigners, Liu Zhaosun was not only the chief military officer of the Han people, but also their commander. Due to the close relationship between Pingliao Marquis and the leaders of Haixi, Huifa and other tribes, some people called him "Tian Khan" or "Tian Khan" behind his back. "Sweat". Liu Zhaosun did not interfere much with this change in public opinion, which was exactly what he wanted.
There were twenty tables in the courtyard of the General Military Mansion. Everyone knew Liu Zhaosun's temper, so he didn't give many gifts. He just followed the Liaodong custom and gave a red envelope to Mrs. Gaoming. The paper red envelope contained some broken silver. Liu Zhaosun used it. I weighed it with my hands and found that there were no silver ingots exceeding ten taels.
On that day, Ping Liaohou's subordinates toasted to Madam Gaoming one by one. Yang Qing'er was dressed in a phoenix crown and harem, which was very festive. The phoenix crown and harem were not only worn by women of the Ming Dynasty when they got married, they could also be worn by the family members of officials, but they had to be of a certain rank. Can.
Under the guidance of her husband, Yang Qing'er raised her tea cup, replacing wine with tea, and responded to everyone.
Everyone had received news in advance that there were important matters to discuss after today's birthday banquet, so everyone just had a drink.
Yang Qing'er smiled like a flower. This was the first time she celebrated her birthday like this, and the first time she was taken seriously by others. Everyone was still having a banquet in the courtyard, and Liu Zhaosun took her to the backyard wing.
"Ma'am, close your eyes."
Yang Qing'er looked at her husband in surprise and closed her eyes obediently.
Liu Zhaosun took out a small wooden box from his sleeve and held it in front of him.
"You can open it now."
Yang Qing'er took the wooden box, her heart was beating wildly, and she asked timidly:
"Husband, what is this?"
"You'll know when you open it."
Yang Qing'er carefully opened the wooden box and saw a small piece of silk placed inside the wooden box, which seemed to be wrapped with something.
With her husband's encouragement, she stretched out her slender hands and gently opened the silk.
An inverted triangular arrow cluster is wrapped in the silk, and the edge has been polished away. A layer of rare amber jade is inlaid on the outside to wrap the sharp edge of the arrow cluster inside. A small hole is drilled at the end of the arrow cluster, and a root is tied to it. Bowstring.
"This arrow cluster is very old. It was given to my adoptive father by the natives of the southwest when he was conquering Jiaozhi. It is said to be an antique from the time of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. I have carried it with me since I was a child for almost twenty years. I will give it to you today. I will give it to you in the future." If I'm fighting outside, it can keep you safe."
"Ah, it's so valuable, how can I accept it?"
Yang Qing'er held the wooden box as if she was holding her husband's heart. At Liu Zhaosun's insistent request, she finally accepted the arrowhead.
"Husband, are you going to fight again? I've only had a few days of rest..."
Yang Qing'er hesitated to speak. Seeing the look on Liu Zhaosun's face, she knew that her husband was going to war again. She knew she couldn't persuade her husband, so she had no choice but to say loudly:
"Don't rush to the front in a battle. Supervisor Qiao said that every time you fight, you rush to the front. Doesn't that sword have eyes?"
Liu Zhaosun looked to the southwest and smiled at Mrs. Gaoming:
"Don't worry, I won't rush forward."
~~~~~~
In the third year of Taichang, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, Marquis Pingliao convened representatives from the Kaiyuan army, civil affairs, workshops, and shops at the General Military Mansion to discuss the specific matters of the war in western Liaoning.
Just yesterday, the sentry horse who escaped from Fushun reported to Ping Liaohou that when Zhang Chao and others from the Central Guards pursued the rebels to the south of Fushun City, they were ambushed by a large number of Liao Town troops. Zhang Chao died fighting hard, and twenty of the people he brought with him The guards were all killed.
When Cheng Liang and Ye Bushou arrived, Dongchang Fanzi and Song Yingsheng had already fled into Guangning.
After assessing the strength of the enemy and ourselves, Cheng Liang believed that the hundred and ten men under his command would definitely not be a match for the thousands of Liao Town troops. If Zu Dashou's cavalry was allowed to detour back to his rear, it would be fine if he did not take back the hundred elite men. It was over, so he ordered to withdraw to Kaiyuan and gave up the pursuit of the fans.
At the same time as Cheng Liang retreated, the roads in Fuzhou and Jinzhou were destroyed by Liao Town. Shanhaiguan, Guangning, Jinzhou, Ningyuan and other places began to kill Kaiyuan merchants. Liaodong Trading Company had several stations in western Liaoning. , because they did not retreat in time, they were all eradicated by Liao Town.
In other words, before the Liaodong Navy arrived from North Korea, all land and water roads from Liaodong to Shandong were cut off by Zu Dashou.
Even if Ping Liaohou personally goes out to Shandong to rescue Jin Yuji, there is no way out.
When things have reached this point, the only way to solve the problem is through war.
Everyone moved from the courtyard into the living room of the General Military Mansion. Liu Zhaosun calmly looked at the densely packed heads in the living room and slowly said:
"Zu Dashou made two sneak attacks on the Kaiyuan army. I was merciful and gave Zu Dashou a chance. I didn't expect that he would send his servants and Dongchang fans to commit such a heinous crime in our Kaiyuan and kill so many soldiers and civilians. , plotting to assassinate me is unbearable!"
Putting aside personal vendettas, Liaoxi General has always been a cancer on this land. This is especially true for the ancestral family. They colluded to build slaves, embezzled Liao's wages, harmed the people, and forced the Liao people to sell their sons and daughters to satisfy their own selfish desires.
"Therefore, I am determined to destroy Western Liaoning. Once we have enough food and grass and mobilize our troops, we will start the war immediately!"
"Start the war! Kill Zu Dashou!"
"Occupy Guangning first, then Fuzhou!"
Everyone responded.
Liu Zhaosun looked at everyone in the hall with satisfaction until he saw Deng Changxiong hesitated to speak, as if he had something to say. Deng Changxiong has been removed from the post of commander of the Second Army, and his current identity is still a guard around Ping Liaohou.
"Commander Deng, please tell me if you have anything to say."
Everyone was shocked when they heard the voice of the army commander. It seemed that Marquis Pingliao had decided to reinstate Deng Changxiong as army commander.
Deng Changxiong raised his hand and gave a military salute to Marquis Ping Liao, and then said:
"General Liu, the five guards in Liaodong have all just participated in the Battle of Hetuala. They have only rested for more than a month. We can't replenish the new troops for the time being. If there is a sudden war, we are afraid that no one will be able to catch them."
Liu Zhaosun nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Deng Changxiong's words were quite reasonable. The battle of Hetuala last month was too fierce and all armies suffered heavy casualties. This is all true. For example, the Second Army suffered almost half of its casualties.
Marquis Ping Liao looked at Qi Jin, commander of the Third Guards Army, and asked Qi Jiguang's direct descendant for advice:
"We are recruiting new soldiers now. When will they be available at the earliest?"
Qi Jin replied without hesitation:
"The training will be in March at the earliest. The operation of the flintlock gun is complicated. Three months of training for new recruits is simply not enough. Moreover, it is still in the first month of the year, so the number of soldiers is probably not enough."
Liu Zhaosun looked around and asked loudly:
"Is there no new force in Kaiyuan?"
Everyone looked at each other and were speechless. In the second year of Taichang, the soldiers and cavalry were fighting in the north and south. The fighting was almost non-stop. They were all exhausted. How could there be any fresh troops?
At this time, a Mongolian sentence suddenly sounded in the living room. The sound was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"Lord Commander-in-Chief, are the foreign troops considered a new force?"
Everyone looked around and saw a Mongolian merchant looking timidly at Marquis Pingliao in the corner of the living room.
Liu Zhaosun smiled and nodded towards him.
"Of course, as long as you agree with me, you belong to Kaiyuan, whether it is Mongolian or Jurchen, what is your name?"
The Mongolian quickly replied:
"The villain's name is Jirigele. He is from the Uliangha tribe. He has been in Kaiyuan for three years. There are about three thousand Uliangha people in Kaiyuan City. They all obey Tian Khan. We Uliangha people and Horqin people all I honor you as Tian Khan because you defeated the ferocious Tiger Duntu Khan (Lin Dan Khan) and saved the grassland."
Liu Zhaosun stood up and left his seat, said hello to Jirigele in Mongolian, and looked at the Ulliangha man with bright eyes.
"We haven't defeated them yet, but they will soon. I will support the Horqin people and let them preside over the new order of the grassland."
Jirigelang said excitedly:
"General Liu, please allow me to return to the grassland immediately and tell my people that Khan will increase his troops! All Dingkou above the wheel will go to western Liaoning and meet in Fushun when the time comes to obey your orders."
"Khan needs more troops, that's interesting."
Liu Zhaosun recited something silently in his heart, looked up at the Mongolian businessman, and said solemnly:
"Okay, but when they participate in the war, they must abide by our Kaiyuan military laws and must not kill indiscriminately. Jiri Gelang, I hope you will make this clear to the Khan's people when you go back."
Lewen
