In August of the first year of Tianqi, the main force of Kaiyuan had not yet assembled in Busan, and the food supplies needed for the Eastern Expedition had begun to be continuously transported to North Korea.
At the same time, the two regiments of the Guards moved south along the North Canal, preparing to attack the She Chongming rebels raging in the southwest.
There were forests of masts and masts on the canal. Under the command of Yuan Chonghuan, the water transportation company that restored its transport capacity dispatched all its ships to assist the Kaiyuan Army in transporting military supplies.
As many as hundreds of thousands of grains and grains entered Dongchang Prefecture along the canal, and were then loaded onto trucks and transported to Weihaiwei Port.
In August and September, on the official road from Jining, Linqing to Weihaiwei, oxen and horse-drawn carriages transporting grain eastward blocked the post road every day. They were connected end to end for fifty or sixty miles and could not see each other...
Southwest of Qingzhou Prefecture.
Surrounded by several guards, Yuan Chonghuan followed a carriage of Henan merchants and slowly headed east.
This time, the cross-regional long-distance transportation of grain and grass mainly relied on civilian forces. Different from the Battle of Western Liaoning, Liu Zhaosun distributed salt in the name of the court this time, making greater profits for grain merchants, and it was within the Guan, where the economy was relatively prosperous. This attracts more people to participate.
“People’s support is available.”
Yuan Chonghuan was riding on horseback, raising his hands and looking at the grain transport team that stretched for dozens of miles in front of him. He laughed, and his tanned face immediately revealed two rows of yellow teeth covered with tartar.
"Yuan Ducha, you are more than just using the people's support. You are just like a basket of food. You are so happy to welcome the king. I heard that the Kaiyuan Army punished the clown and there was not enough food and grass. Even the Fujian grain merchants came to work together to overcome the difficulties and return the goods. Merchants from Henan, Huguang, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Shanxi all came, and they all threatened to help Ping Liaohou sweep the holes and plow the courtyard, and immediately helped the mulberry trees!"
Yuan Chonghuan nodded slightly after hearing this, turned to the civilian deputy beside him and said:
"Old Xu, just say what you say. Don't be so formal. In the army, you are not going to the Hanlin Academy to make a fuss! I have said it many times, but I can't change this problem!"
The civil servant named Lao Xu was a head taller than Yuan Chonghuan. After hearing this, he quickly reined in the reins and made a bow on the horse as if he was being taught:
"Yuan Ducha's lesson is that you know you are wrong when you humble your position."
Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand and continued:
"Businessmen are looking for profit, just give them enough money. Li Dan brought those people from Fujian, not just for salt, they are here to cooperate with us. You ask those soldiers to be more polite to the merchants, and not to be like usual, Scolding for no reason! Although these soldiers are not original soldiers, they have to follow our rules after receiving our money, do you hear me?"
After hearing this, Xu Zhiyuan's face immediately showed a look of surprise, and then he suddenly realized it and expressed admiration:
"Otherwise, Yuan Ducha is the number one minister under Marquis Ping Liao. I admire Marquis Ping Liao's talent for employing people. He is really clever. With Yuan Ducha in charge of transporting grain and grass, this army's eastern expedition must... ···”
Xu Zhiyuan was still shaking his head and talking. Suddenly he looked up and found that Yuan Ducha's mount was moving away from him and had already taken five or six steps forward.
"Yuan Ducha, please wait!"
~~~~
A group of light cavalry soldiers with small flags on their backs surrounded Yi Cheng and came to a section of the blocked grain team. The fat man waved his badges and yelled:
"What are you doing blocking here? Push the broken carriage and horse out of the way!"
"Master Jun, all my belongings are on this cotton, so I just shipped it to Weihai to exchange for salt. If the cotton is gone, I won't be able to survive..."
Without even looking at the kneeling cotton merchant, Yi Cheng ordered his soldiers to smash and grab the carriage that had fallen by the roadside.
A group of grain merchants stood behind and watched coldly.
The cotton vendor hugged Yi Cheng's calf and begged not to steal his goods.
"Master Jun, I'm out of luck, I'll go back by myself..."
"You have delayed thousands of taels of grain carts for so long. You have missed the important event of Marquis Ping Liao's Eastern Expedition. I have not punished you for the serious crime of treason and thrown you into the sea to feed the bastard. It's time to burn incense! Get away!"
Yi Cheng raised his riding whip, pointed at the grain merchants watching the excitement around him, and said angrily:
"What are you looking at?! I earn a hundred taels of silver from Marquis Liao for one cart, and I've given you such great benefits. How dare you not do your job properly!"
After saying that, he raised his whip and hit the Henan merchant in front.
The tip of the whip was suddenly grabbed from behind, and Yi Cheng became furious.
"What's the matter? If you still dare to rebel, I'll give it to you..."
Before he could finish his words, the soldiers in front of him who were robbing suddenly stopped. Holding their bulging cotton bags, they raised their heads and looked behind the chief officer in horror.
The surroundings became quiet.
A rich Lingnan dialect sounded from behind.
"Baby! My lord's ambition has been ruined by you! (My lord's affairs have been ruined by this!)"
In front of them, a group of northern businessmen looked around blankly.
A lean official from Kaiyuan came forward surrounded by guards and ordered in less than standard Mandarin:
"Since you are a member of the army and have taken money from the Kaiyuan Army, you must abide by the laws of the Kaiyuan Army."
Yi Cheng quickly knelt down and kowtowed:
"Yuan Ducha, spare your life! Spare your life, I also want the military supplies to be shipped as soon as possible..."
Yuan Chonghuan looked gloomy, waved his hand and said:
"Robbing the people, embezzling military supplies, follow the law and kill them! Come here, cut down all these things that are causing harm to the country and the people!"
~~~~~
The sea area around Yingzui Port is clogged with large and small cargo ships. Thousands of merchant ships from Liaodong, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangxi are loading and unloading goods at the seaport.
More than a dozen flat-armored ships opened their portholes, revealing their terrifying cannon muzzles, cruising on the sea five miles away.
The flat-armored ship was followed by thousands of smaller bird boats and wave boats, like a large flock of ducklings following the mother duck.
All ships, regardless of size, are fully armed and in battle formation. As soon as a merchant ship leaves the port, a fleet will cut through the waves and come forward to protect it.
The local military households in Baichiya deftly stepped onto the sampan more than one foot high and carried bags of grain and quilts onto the deck.
The sailors with accents from the north and south, under the command of the ship's boss, neatly stacked the grain and military supplies on the deck into the bilge.
After Weihai Guard Commander Yang Qilong fled to Jiangnan, the Binhai Guard Station fell into panic for a time.
It was rumored that the Kaiyuan Army would come to Weihaiwei to take revenge, and that Pingliao Hou would kill everyone to avenge his wife and daughter.
Then Liu Zhaosun did not go on a killing spree. He just asked Pei Dahu, Shen Lian, and the Jinyi guards to capture several generals of the guard station who participated in the rebellion, and took them back to the capital to beheaded.
Let the past be forgotten for the remaining ordinary military households.
This time, in order to transport the daily grain and grass, Liu Zhaosun once again recruited local soldiers and civilians, and the rewards were very high. Those who participated in the transportation of grain were given three coins of silver per day.
At the Baichi Cliff Guard Station, Director Xie Yang touched the Mediterranean Sea where he was on the verge of being completely bald. Facing the busy crowd on the coast, he couldn't help but sigh:
"The Marquis of Ping Liao ignored the past grievances and gave the Weihai Guards a way to survive. In just two days, they recruited thousands of manpower. With the help of Li Dan, Zheng Zhilong and others from Fujian, the army will have no worries about food and grass for this eastern expedition."
Ping Liaohou, surrounded by a group of officials, looked into the distance with a telescope.
A large fortune ship filled with gunpowder and lead was slowly sailing out of Eagle's Mouth Port.
A flat-armored ship, half shorter than the Fu ship, followed closely at high speed, traveling about fifty paces to the right wing of the Fu ship. The flags on both decks were waving, and the sailors were discussing which formation to form.
Liu Zhaosun put down his telescope, glanced past Director Xie's bare head, and looked at the people around him:
"This is just the beginning. The battlefield is changing rapidly. We won't have any worries until all the food and grass are safely transported to Busan! Shen Lian!"
Shen Lian immediately stepped forward and began to report the latest progress of the Capricorn Guards to Marquis Ping Liao.
In the past three months, Shen Lian, Yang Tong, Zhao Yuanzhi, Pei Dahu and others recruited 87 team members from more than 80,000 active combat soldiers and auxiliaries, and selected 23 people from the original intelligence bureau to form a team. A new intelligence force of one hundred and ten people.
The Marquis of Ping Liao personally named him the coir raincoat guard.
As for why he chose this name, Liu Zhaosun didn't know.
Maybe it’s because it’s rainy in July and August.
"This month, the Coil Guards killed fifteen Japanese spies in Lushun and Jinzhou, and captured 120 people. Most of the fifteen Japanese pirates who died died of starvation after landing... They were short in stature, Extremely weak, with almost no weapons and little threat, the ninja is far inferior to Gojin Baya..."
"What ninja? They're just a bunch of country fools from Kaga and Iga."
Liu Zhaosun had no good impression of Japan in his previous life.
Putting aside historical issues, the residents of this self-proclaimed "Land of the Rising Sun" value small details but lack great virtues. They bow to standards, have a sincere attitude, and do bad things as they should. And he did all the evil deeds that exceeded the bottom line.
Liu Zhaosun recovered his thoughts and said to Qiao Yiqi:
"Jianjun Qiao, what's going on with Li Zhu?"
Qiao Yiqi walked out of the crowd, bowed and said:
"Ping Liaohou, the North Korean King Li Zhu promised to dispatch thirty turtle ships to help transport troops, but there was no food, and they did not have carriages to transport them. They also said that after entering North Korea, everything would have to rely on the Ming army themselves."
There was a burst of laughter all around.
Liu Zhaosun's expression changed slightly, he shook his head and said:
"Thirty ships? How is that enough? This Eastern Expedition alone will require 20,000 combat troops, 40,000 auxiliary troops, and countless civilians. If the warships were not nervous, how could they ask for help from North Korea?"
Liu Zhaosun was very dissatisfied with the North Korean king who single-handedly supported him. If it weren't for the sake of Jin Yuji's face, he wanted Wu Aheng to land in Busan directly and solve the problem of food and grass on the spot several times.
"Qiao Jianjun, you go to Seoul in person to negotiate with Li Zhu. I want 200 turtle ships, 5,000 Korean horses, and 100,000 kilograms of gunpowder. I have two months to prepare enough. Tell Li Zhu that I will He is also considered half an in-law. This time, don’t think about cheating and treachery like during the Imjin Japanese Rebellion and Sarhu. He will be regarded as an immediate supporter. I will never treat North Korea badly. If I capture Kyushu Island, I will reward half of Kyushu Island. Give it to them. Haven’t they always wanted that place where birds don’t poop?”
Qiao Yiqi opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a long time. He didn't even touch Tsushima's hair, so he started to discuss the issue of rewarding Kyushu Island.
This ability to paint a big pie is getting stronger and stronger.
Qiao Yiqi took the order and left.
Ma Shiying echoed from the side:
"The Marquis of Ping Liao is strategizing, and the lower officials admire him."
Liu Zhaosun glanced at him and was about to ask the executive director how the play was going when Pei Dahu came forward and whispered:
"Mr. Liu Hou, my wife has come to Shandong."
Liu Zhaosun was slightly startled:
"Which lady?"
~~~~~
Mrs. Gaoming took Zhang Yan away from the capital and headed straight for Wendeng County.
When Marquis Pingliao learned about it, the two stunning beauties had arrived in Weihaiwei in a carriage, only half a day away from Wendeng.
After Liu Zhaosun arranged other military affairs, he had no intention of going to the school field to correct "Wanghai", so he took Wu Xiao and a few guards and hurried back to Wendeng County Yamen.
The summer heat of August had not dissipated, and the weather was still a bit hot. After all the hard work, he was already sweating profusely. Only then did Marquis Pingliao remember that he had not taken a bath for several days, so he decided to take Wu Xiao to a hot spring.
The surrounding areas of Wendeng County are rich in geothermal resources. Even a person like Liu Zhaosun who does not care about worldly matters also knows that Wendeng has a small soup three miles away and a large soup five miles away. The spring water is of excellent quality and is indispensable for health.
When I returned to the county government office and just sat down, holding tea in my hand, I heard a guard come in and report that a merchant from Fujian had come to see Mr. Qian.
Liu Zhaosun was anxious to see Yang Qing'er and wanted the guards to say that he was busy with official duties. He also remembered that Li Dan was powerful and had to pay attention to it, so he had to let people in and asked Ma Shiying to come over.
A rather shrewd tea merchant from Fujian came with money. When he saw Marquis Pingliao, he knelt down and saluted. Liu Zhaosun quickly helped him up with his own hands.
"The special envoy of the villain Mr. Li, Zhao Pu, a citizen of the southeastern countryside."
After exchanging a few words, I accidentally caught a glimpse of a handsome middle-aged man following behind.
Zhao Pu quickly introduced:
"This is Qian Muzhai of Zuo Chunfang. He is an old friend of Xiaoren. He was a Jinshi in the thirty-seventh year of Wanli and served as the chief examiner of Zhejiang Provincial Examination. He is now Zhongyun of Youchunfang. He is compiling "Records of Shenzong" and is the Marquis of Ping Liao. Mu Zhai not only passed the imperial examination, but also wrote excellent poems and essays. He was known as the "Leader of Poetry". I heard that Ping Liaohou..."
Ma Shiying coughed twice, and the tea merchant stopped immediately.
Liu Zhaosun smiled slightly. This Li Dan's subordinate was really smart. He didn't mention the dividends from attacking Japan when they met. He stepped forward and gave him such a big gift.
He called Ma Shiying in a low voice, and after questioning, he was sure that the Qian Muzhai in front of him was the famous Qian Qianyi in history.
Qian Qianyi took a step forward and saluted:
"I have long heard that Taifu Liu is a very human being, but seeing him today, he is even more famous! It's a pity that the lower official is a wild man, with a poor scripture and a bright head, and numerous documents and documents, so he cannot imitate Ban Dingyuan's pen..."
Hearing this tone, Liu Zhaosun probably guessed Qian Qianyi's purpose of coming to Wendeng, and he quickly smiled and said:
"Qian Zhongyun has learned a lot about people. It would be a pity to stay in Zuochunfang and be a mere sixth-grade official. When I report to the emperor, I will recommend you to come to Shandong to find a real job."
Qian Qianyi burst into tears of gratitude after hearing this. Liu Zhaosun helped him up with his own hands and said with a smile:
"Qian Zhongyun, I cherish talents for the country. At the moment when the Ming Dynasty is employing people, it needs talents like you."
The two exchanged a few words, and when they saw Yang Qing'er approaching, Liu Zhaosun said bravely:
"Shopkeeper Zhao and Qian Zhongyun, you two came from the capital. The horses are tired and the journey is tiring. Why don't you go to the hot springs with me first?"
Qian Qianyi had been waiting in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. He only came to the capital last year to find a vacancy in the sixth rank. Seeing the difficulty of King Qin of Kaiyuan Army, he decided to abandon the dark side and join the bright side. He followed the Marquis of Ping Liao and defected to the Ming Dynasty, so as to gain the merit of following the dragon.
He happened to meet Zhao Pu, a friend from Fujian, on the way to Wendeng. After a conversation, they hit it off and decided to work together (to take advantage of each other).
I didn’t expect to encounter such a thing just after meeting Master Ming!
The rumor that Liu Zhaosun is not flirtatious with women is known all over the world (actually it is just a rumor)
So when Mr. Qian heard that he wanted to go to a hot spring, the first thing that came to his mind was Longyang.
"Could it be that Marquis Ping Liao has some bad thoughts about me? How could he treat each other with sincerity as soon as they meet?"
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but be horrified and said quickly:
"Thank you Marquis Pingliao for your kindness, but...
"The water is too hot to go down."
Liu Zhaosun was stunned on the spot, with tea spewing out of his mouth.
It seems that Qian Qianyi has always struggled with water in his life, either too cold or too hot.
Whatever.
When Liu Zhaosun thought of this, he left Qian Qianyi and his party, took Wu Xiao and others out of the camp gate, and headed towards Wendeng Lishan Hot Spring.
On the way, Ma Shiying recited the Han Chinese poem "Ode to Hot Springs":
"Looking at the treasures of the middle region, there is no spirit like this water. ... So I traveled far and wide, and the horses rushed to reach the goal. The virtues of heaven and earth are nothing more than born. The emperor educates his subjects, and they have the elements of talent. The six qi are wrong, and there are diseases to cure. Come. The hot springs are here, and the years are passing by. Get rid of harshness, and obey the Zhongzheng. Come, you are so prosperous, you are the emperor, you can save your life!
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