Li Fuchen's tall body stood at the pier of Guichi Port, facing the rolling Yangtze River. He just stared at a wooden boat slowly leaving, his eyes a little moist.
Although this living Lu Bu had a romantic nature and had too many pets at home and abroad to count, Kong Sizhen was definitely one of his favorite women. Although this "Living Lu Bu" came from a humble background, he liked to rely on his good skin. With his illustrious reputation, he can seduce the beauties from the upper class. When I was working as an imperial guard next to Shunzhi, I often hooked up with the daughters of the noble families of the Eight Banners, and Kong Sizhen was one of the best. The two were particularly destined to have a son. They were also able to renew their relationship many years later and became husband and wife for several years.
Unexpectedly, the fate has ended now. We have to say goodbye today, and we might never see each other again!
The wooden boat Kong Sizhen was riding on still disappeared from Li Fuchen's sight.
He sighed softly, then slowly turned around and looked at a tall young man who looked very similar to Li Zhongshan and Sun Jiqing. At first glance, he seemed to be a biological brother. He tried his best to squeeze out With a slight smile, he said: "Zhongzheng, your third brother is gone. From now on, you are the third eldest brother in the family again! Although you are not a legitimate child, the eldest and second eldest brother are very optimistic about you. I will give you my second brother." He changed his name, his name is Zhongshan, and your name is Zhongzheng, which shows how much he values you, and you must not let him down."
It turned out that this man was really Li Zhongshan's brother. His original name was Wang Zhongzhen. He was the third eldest son in the family. He was five years younger than Li Zhongshan. He was only twenty years old this year. He was originally the oldest among Li Fuchen's group of concubines. But after Li Jiqing came in, he changed from the third child to the fourth child. But to him, the third and fourth children were no different. Because he was not favored in the first place, he always kept his tail between his legs and acted as the "little mistress".
Fortunately, Li Fuchen would not stop teaching his son martial arts and military arts just because he was a commoner. As long as his son could learn it, he would definitely teach his son what skills he had.
Of course, if his physical fitness is not up to standard and he cannot become a cavalry general, Li Fuchen is not willing to put in the effort, so his chubby eldest son Li Jizhen does not practice martial arts much.
Li Zhongzheng's physique is the same as that of his father Li Fuchen. He is very tall and strong and is particularly suitable for practicing martial arts. He is also willing to endure hardships to practice.
Therefore, among Li Fuchen's sons, his martial arts is the highest, even better than Li Zhongshan.
In addition, he also learned the art of war well and was the "Martial Arts Champion" in the first phase of the martial arts hall. After graduation, he followed Li Fuchen in his expeditions. Under Huo Lu Bu's cultivation, in just a few years, he served as an infantry commander, infantry battalion general, cavalry battalion general, and brigade army officer, and performed well in every position. Yes, they have all participated in actual combat and have risen through the ranks step by step.
Of course, Li Zhongshan valued this kind of brother who was diligent, capable, and responsible, so he even took him with him when he changed his name. He was also given the title "中" (中). It is said that he was given the name "中正" because he was upright and looked upright, like a good person.
Regarding his father's entrustment, Li Zhongzheng of course replied sincerely: "Please rest assured, father, the child will definitely not let down his eldest brother." At this point, he asked another question, "Father, why did you suddenly tell the child This word?
Does the father want the child to go to the second brother? "
Li Fuchen nodded and said: "Now Sun Jiqing has probably arrived at the Guihai Navy. He is the governor of the Guihai Navy, and everyone in the Guihai Navy respects him, so there will be chaos in Guangxi soon. And Wu Sangui must have There will be a back-up plan, so I can’t stay in the south of the Yangtze River anymore. I have to break through Jiangxi and fight all the way to Guangdong. But it’s not easy to break through Jiangxi, so I want to take you on a trip to the north of the Yangtze River. Go find your second brother to discuss countermeasures."
"Father, do you plan to ask your second brother for reinforcements?" Li Zhongzheng asked.
"No reinforcements." Li Fuchen shook his head, "He doesn't have many elite troops of his own. Only the Huaixi Army is acceptable. If they are given to me again, I'm afraid they won't be able to stop Wu Sangui's fierce attack."
"Then what does father want?"
"We need money! We need silver!" Li Fuchen taught his son, "If you don't have enough troops, just use money to raise money to Jieshu. It will definitely make people panic. We don't have time to attack the city, so we might as well just bluff and publicize the marriage between the Li and Wu families." The thing is; as long as you are not a direct descendant of Jieshu, we will smash him with money. So we have to go to the second brother to ask for more!"
"I know, kid!" Li Zhongzheng said with a smile, "Then how much should we ask for?"
Li Fuchen said: "If you want money, of course the more the better. If you can't spend it all, you can save it for your father, but it can't be less than one million taels, otherwise it may not be enough."
After asking for the money, you stay with your second brother to protect him. You must protect your second brother!
Remember, you can't let him charge into battle randomly, let alone be assassinated by villains! Even if you risk your own life, you still have to save his!
It's not that your life is worthless, but once he is harmed by others, our family will inevitably prosper and decline. Do you understand? "
"Understood!" Li Zhongzheng nodded, "My son must protect his second brother!"
"Also, although your second brother must know, we still have to remind him that Sun Jiqing is going to raise troops in Guangxi and must not be revealed! We must not show weakness now, we must show powerful!"
"Understood!" Li Zhongzheng nodded, "First, we must show strength, and second, we must use silver bullets to hit him!"
"Yes, that's it!" Li Fuchen said, "It's almost done, let's get on the boat too!"
Li Fuchen and Li Zhongzheng, father and son, met Li Zhongshan in Anqing, the capital of Anhui Province today.
Li Zhongshan did not walk in a hurry on his return to Nanjing. He inspected the defense, local government, and political council organizations in various places while walking.
As for the situation, I can only say that it is unsatisfactory!
First of all, the defense deployment situation in various parts of Anhui is not very ideal. The Huaixi Red Scarf followed Li Zhongshan and fought many beautiful battles. They were also the main force of the "General Going to Luo" who failed to enter Luoyang this time!
Since they had strong troops at hand, Anhui Governor Lu Liuliang and Anhui Admiral Li Shiying (Li Fuchen's old subordinate) did not spend too much on city defense - of course, the money and food were not enough. The Anhui Governor's Yamen must go all out to support Li Fuchen's battle in southern Anhui!
Secondly, the local people's political power and the organization of the people's political council in Anhui are not progressing well. The main reason is that there are not many people and scholars.
Only in Fengyang Prefecture, Yingzhou Prefecture, Chuzhou, and Sizhou in the old Huaixi area, the Chinese people's political power and the Chinese people's political council began to be established. These two prefectures and prefectures are the hometowns of Huaixi soldiers, and a large number of villages have actually become "Chinese".
With a large number of Chinese people and families as a foundation, the Chinese people's political power and the people's political deliberation can certainly be advanced.
However, the people and scholars in these two prefectures and states gave Li Zhongshan a headache - these people wanted to distribute the land! We also want to solve the flood problems in the Huaihe River and the Yellow River as soon as possible!
These two things can actually be combined into one, because the population density on both sides of the Huaihe River is not large, and there is still a lot of land abandoned due to flooding. If the floods in the Huaihe River and the Yellow River can be alleviated, these lands can be distributed to the people of Huaixi.
But how to manage the Yellow River and Huaihe River? How much will it cost?
"Zi Yuan, have you thought about how to control the Huaihe and Yellow Rivers? The management of the Huang and Huai rivers has been suspended for four years. The people in Huaixi are almost dying, fearing that a flood will come and destroy their hometown. Flooded."
In the Anhui Governor's Yamen in Anqing, Li Zhongshan, who was waiting for his father Li Fuchen to come to meet him, took advantage of his free time to discuss the management of the Huaihe and Yellow Rivers with Jin Fu, the river manager.
Jin Fu's yamen is not in Anhui, but in Huai'an, where the Huaihe River, Yellow River, and Canal meet - that's the fundamental reason why the Huaihe River and the Yellow River harm the Huaibei and Huainan regions!
When Li Zhongshan returned to Anhui, Jin Fu was inspecting the dams in Sizhou. After Li Zhongshan's order to summon him was sent, he rushed to Anqing. The next day after arriving in Anqing, he was announced to the governor's Yamen. Meet General Li.
"General, those Huaixi people are rightly anxious. The Huaihe River and the Yellow River may flood once in the next two years, because there has been no major flooding for several years!" Jin Fu explained, "Because the Yellow River has taken over Since the Huai Dynasty, the sediment of the Yellow River has been continuously washed into the lower reaches of the Huaihe River. Because the water surface of the lower reaches of the Huaihe River is open, the water flow is gentle, and the sediment is easy to settle, the river channel has naturally been continuously raised. Over time, the lower reaches of the Huaihe River will be higher than the middle reaches. This situation It’s the so-called siltation! Once the river is silted up, it will be difficult for the river water to be discharged into the sea, and floods will naturally occur. In the past, the way to deal with it was to continuously raise the dams and gradually turn the Huaihe River into an above-ground river like the Yellow River. But the Huaihe River’s The water flow is not comparable to that of the Yellow River, so..."
"What is the solution?" Seeing Jin Fu hesitate, Li Zhongshan simply asked, "Can we open another channel for the Yellow River to flow into the sea?"
Jin Fu didn't expect that Li Zhongshan could come up with such a solution. He was stunned for a moment, then raised his thumb and said: "General Shengming! This is a once and for all solution. But if you want to open a new river into the sea, you must pass through the canal." . And the Yellow River channel and the canal channel cannot be connected, otherwise the Yellow River sediment will rush into the canal, and in a few years, the canal will be blocked again. And the canal also connects to the Huaihe River, and the sediment can also flow into the Huaihe River through the canal."
"Then stop the water transportation to Huaibei!" Li Zhongshan said firmly.
"We can suspend water transportation for now," Jin Fu said thoughtfully, "but what will happen after the world is unified in the future? How will the imperial court deliver food to Beijing?"
"Isn't shipping just fine?" Li Zhongshan slapped his thigh and said, "That's it. Ziyuan, how much will such a project cost?"
Ok, deal? Isn't this too hasty?
Jin Fu was stunned again and again. In fact, cutting off the canal and protecting the Huaihe River is not a magic trick. All the old river masters know it.
But everyone knows it, but no one dares to raise it - because whoever raises it will be the mortal enemy of the river yamen, the canal transport yamen, and the countless water workers on the canal!
First, the Yellow River and the Huaihe River have been effectively managed, and there is no need to spend money every year to maintain them. The Northern Canal has been completely cured, and there is no need to spend money to manage it in the future. What will happen to the river yamen? Not to mention oil and water, whether to drive it or not is a question!
Secondly, more than half of the water transportation was cut off! Can the Caoyun Yamen agree? Can the water workers who rely on water transportation agree?
Although the current jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty does not include the north, and the river yamen and water transport yamen have been established, and there are also many water workers on the Huaihe River. They may not be able to get the oil and water from the north now, but what about the future?
In addition, water transportation in Huaibei has not actually been interrupted.
However, Jin Fu did not dare to say "no" directly to the general now - he became the general manager only after being promoted by Li Zhongshan.
"General, this project requires careful calculation and survey before we can arrive at the total price. I have no way of knowing it now."
"Okay! Then go do the calculations and surveys as soon as possible," Li Zhongshan ordered, "I'll give you three months, and you must come up with a construction plan and project cost budget." He paused, and then said, "Zi Yuan, you know Is that so? Both Guangdong Jiangwu Hall and Nanjing Jiangwu Hall have specialized engineering and military departments. How to dig earth mound walls is the knowledge of Jiangwu Hall!"
The meaning is very clear - work hard, or I'll fire you!
It’s just a river channel, you don’t have to do it!
Feeling the pressure, Jin Fu nodded repeatedly: "Xiaoguan knows, Xiaguan must complete it within three months!"
"General, Mr. Nan Wang and the Third Young Master are here!"
As soon as Jin Fu left, one of Li Zhongshan's guards and a young officer who had just graduated from the Nanjing Lecture Hall this year, a Huaixi disciple named Luo Zhuguo, hurried in.
"What?" Li Zhongshan suddenly stood up from behind the public case, and was about to use his pistol in a hurry - isn't the Third Young Master Sun Jiqing? Why did he come with Li Fuchen?
But before he could load his flintlock, Li Fuchen's laughter could already be heard: "Second brother, you are back. Your third brother, Zhongzheng, and I are all thinking about you!"
Third brother Zhongzheng?
A bald head immediately appeared in Li Zhongshan's mind - when Li Zhongzheng had just graduated from the Guangdong Lecture Hall and worked as a staff officer with Li Fuchen, he had a bald head, and he had been bald for a long time.
So Li Zhongshan later called him "Bald Head", and later he gave him a name "Bald Head Only".
"Father, why did Ji Xing become the third child?" Li Zhongshan quickly put away his pistol and turned to look at the door. Sure enough, he saw Li Fuchen and Li Zhongzheng, whose cousin was "Ji Xing" - this boy was no longer bald, but had long hair. She had a lot of hair and even wore her hair in a small bun.
"What Ji Xing? His name is Shu Xing now!" Li Fuchen said, "And he has always been the third child. He only briefly became the fourth child when the bastard came back."
Li Fuchen gave his sons the names of Lao Da Boxing, Lao San Shu Xing and Lao Si Si Xing. Li Zhongshan should have been named Zhongxing, but Wu Sangui gave him the name Shikai, so the name Zhongxing disappeared.
Because when Li Fuchen named Li Zhongzheng, Li Jiqing happened to return, so Li Zhongzheng was demoted one position, from the third to the fourth, and now he has been promoted back.
No one can do this.
Li Zhongshan had no choice but to salute Li Fuchen first, and then bowed his hands to his brothers and said "congratulations" - of course it was a happy event for being promoted! Now he is the third eldest son of the Li family.
If the Li family gets additional titles, he can make up for it!
After saying hello, the father and son took their seats separately.
"Father, be lucky to him."
After sitting down, Li Zhongshan followed Li Fuchen to inquire again.
Li Fuchen glanced at Luo Zhuguo and several other guards.
Li Zhongshan waved to them and asked them all to retreat outside the courtyard.
"Jiqing is not my son anymore!" Li Fuchen said sadly, "Second brother, why don't you kill him?"
What? Killed?
Li Zhongshan said in his heart: That is your biological son! A tiger's poison does not eat its seeds! You are more poisonous than a tiger!
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan shook his head and said: "Father, he is my brother, how could I bear to harm him? Besides, it was Wu Shuangyu who led the troops to rescue Princess Jiading."
"Wu Shuangyu? Is he so loyal?" Li Fuchen was so surprised.
"It's not that he's loyal," Li Zhongshan shook his head, "It was me who kidnapped the great grandson of Zhou, and he had to go!"
"Then Sun Yanling is"
"He killed him!" Li Fuchen said, "But he must be blamed on me!"
"Second brother, in fact, Sun Yanling's death is not your responsibility yet." Li Zhongzheng suddenly interrupted, "According to the information we have, the Zhou Dynasty court did not announce the death of Sun Yanling."
This Wu Sangui is also a wonderful person - he cannot announce that Sun Yanling was killed by Li Zhongshan.
Because Li Zhongshan wanted to kill Sun Yanling, then Dazhou and Ming Dynasty would probably break up and start a war - the general of Ming Dynasty led so many people into the hinterland of Dazhou to kill the princes of Dazhou. How could this be done?
So he simply concealed the news of Sun Yanling's death - just pretend that he was still alive! Isn't it just a beheading? You can't live without a head?
Li Fuchen said worriedly: "This is not because Wu Sangui is kind-hearted, but because he wants to paralyze our second son. This Sun Jiqing will probably go to Guangxi to raise troops to oppose us."
My father is worried that your eldest brother will not be able to withstand the attack and the foundation of Guangdong will be lost, so he plans to march into Jiangxi as soon as possible and fight all the way through Guangdong. "
"Father, this is great." Li Zhongshan smiled, "I am also worried about a sneak attack by Sun Jiqing and Wu Sangui in Guangdong.
If you can lead the Guangdong New Army to return reinforcements, you will be safe. "
Li Fuchen shook his head, "It's not that easy to go back... Jieshu has a heavy army in Jiangxi. King Zhong's army has been fighting for so long, but they haven't captured even a small Jiujiang Prefecture. As a father, he is not a man of three heads and six arms, so I'm afraid he won't be able to confident."
Li Zhongshan didn't understand what Li Fuchen meant, so he turned to look at his "new third brother".
"Second brother," Li Zhongzheng said, "Why don't you give me more military expenses for my father so that he can use his money to clear the way and buy goods all the way to Guangdong."
"this……"
Li Zhongshan thought to himself: The general’s family has no food left!
"How much do you need?"
Li Fuchen stretched out two fingers and said with a smile: "Not much, not much, give me two million."
(End of chapter)
