"Haha, brother-in-law, I haven't seen you for many years, but you still have the same style!"
On the Yellow River outside Xuzhou City, Zuo Mengeng and Gong Heng embraced warmly.
Seeing this scene, everyone brought by Gong Heng felt relieved and no longer had any doubts.
Gong Heng did not expect Zuo Mengeng to be so enthusiastic, and he was still a little uncomfortable with it. After they separated, he quickly raised his right hand to his eyebrows.
"Gong Heng has met the commander-in-chief."
Apparently, someone had taught him military etiquette before meeting him.
Zuo Mengeng looked at the person behind Gong Heng and smiled: "Why don't you introduce it to me?"
Gong Heng hurriedly followed suit.
"This is Xuzhou General Jing Yibin."
"This is Mr. Gaohu."
"This is Dusi Lin Fengtang."
They were all generals in the Xuzhou official army. They were influenced and planned by Gong Heng, and they followed Gong Heng to capture the city of Xuzhou.
“Everyone, welcome to join the Shandong family.”
The rather novel statement made the Xuzhou generals really adapt to it for a while, and it was very heart-warming.
"Everyone is a hero. Whether you want to join the military or politics in the future, you can just ask and we will make appropriate arrangements for everyone."
Regarding how to deal with the officers and soldiers who came to Xuzhou, Zuo Mengeng had an affair with Hou Xun and Huang Zongxi before coming.
Nice romance
Everyone's opinions are similar.
That is to give these people a certain degree of freedom and allow these people to make their own choices.
Even Huang Zongxi did not want anyone else to join the army except Gong Heng.
According to Huang Zongxi, these people are all soldiers from the old era, and their habits have been solidified. And they may not necessarily be good people, they just made the choice to seek refuge because of their interests.
Preventing them from joining the army will be conducive to army construction.
The core content is this, but Zuo Mengeng cannot say that.
The scenes are very beautiful, and the subtext is not something that these big guys can understand.
However, the choices of these generals were unexpected.
Jing Yibin stood up and said cautiously: "Commander, I have been a warrior all my life and have always been looked down upon by others. I heard that in Shandong we are not restricted from household registration and can choose freely. I don't want to be a military household anymore. Can I focus on business in the future? "
Zuo Mengeng's heart brightened, but he was confused on the surface.
"Yes, you can, but I won't be a good general. Are you really willing?"
Jing Yibin rubbed his hands.
"I have done enough for this Lao Shizi army. If the commander-in-chief allows me, I would like to do glass business in Xuzhou. Please give me permission from the commander-in-chief."
Taking the initiative to leave the army and go into business was of course the best thing for Zuo Mengeng.
"Since it is your wish, I can't force it on others. In this case, I will talk to Fuyao later and let you be the general agent of Xuzhou Glass Sales."
Jing Yibin was overjoyed and thanked him quickly.
Like him, Gao Hu also just wants to be a rich man.
He was interested in the cotton business.
Zuo Mengeng was very generous and agreed, and would also send people over to guide them on how to do business.
Among the three generals, only Lin Fengtang still chose to join the army.
Lin Fengtang was only in his early twenties, when he was full of energy, and his relationship with Gong Heng was also the best. He heard a lot about Shandong from Gong Heng.
Some time ago, I witnessed the true appearance of the new army with my own eyes. I was greatly moved and only wanted to fight for fame on the battlefield.
Since he is a person who has not been deeply influenced by the old army, it means that there is still the possibility of transformation.
Zuo Menggeng personally agreed to let Lin Fengtang follow Gong Heng to the military academy and make arrangements after graduation.
Of course, Lin Fengtang definitely cannot be compared with Gong Heng.
After he came out, it was just a normal officer promotion pattern.
After Gong Heng graduated, he started at least as a division general.
Gong Heng was a member of the camp as early as the first year of Chongzhen and was one of the founders.
He stayed in Xuzhou just because of his important status, but his status was already clear.
If he didn't need to adapt to the rules, regulations and operating methods of the new army, he wouldn't even have to go to the military academy.
"Commander, there is an official from the imperial court coming from the north. He wants to see you."
The guard reported that Zuo Menggeng was quite strange.
"How come there are officials from the imperial court coming here at this time?"
Not long after, a small boat approached.
There was only one person on the boat, about forty years old, wearing an official uniform with a golden pheasant embroidered on the chest.
What a good guy, he turned out to be a high-ranking member of the second rank.
When the officials came on the boat, they were first questioned.
"I, the newly appointed Governor of Water Transport, Yang Yipeng, dare to ask General Zuo why he violated his faith and occupied Xuzhou?"
Everyone in the court who should know about the secret agreement between the imperial court and Shandong already knows about it. Even if you don't know, seeing that the imperial court has not taken action against Shandong for a long time, you can guess that there must be something fishy.
Since he is the governor of water transportation and a top official, he obviously knows more inside information.
So as soon as I came up, I just shouted and asked.
When Zuo Menggeng heard the other party announcing his identity, he couldn't help but smile.
Who did you think it was...
It turned out to be the scapegoat.
This Yang Yipeng is very unlucky.
In the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, the peasant army captured Fengyang and burned the Zhu family's ancestral mausoleum, causing an uproar in the world.
Chongzhen was so distraught that he not only issued an edict to punish himself, but also vigorously held relevant officials accountable.
Yang Yipeng, the governor of water transportation, was the first to be punished and was imprisoned and executed.
But he was in Huai'an at the time, thousands of miles away from Fengyang. What did the fall of Fengyang have to do with him?
However, Chongzhen was so angry that he needed someone to take the blame, so he was chosen.
Of course, there was another reason why Yang Yipeng was executed upon questioning.
Because he is a Donglin Party member.
Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet, accurately grasped Chongzhen's thoughts and pushed the accusations on him, which led to his death.
Since it is the Donglin Party, it can be considered old.
Zuo Menggeng said with a smile: "It turns out that it was Lord Dayou who praised you for your high moral character and honesty. You are indeed a model for all officials."
Yang Yipeng came up prepared to quarrel, but he didn't expect that the other party not only didn't respond, but also praised him greatly.
This result made him quite depressed.
His career was already very depressing.
Not long ago, he impeached Li Shouqi, the uncle of Xiangcheng, for the crime of arrogant soldiers and excessive pay, so he was promoted to governor of water transportation.
But is this a promotion?
This is distribution.
Originally, the Governor of Water Transport was considered a top-notch job, and it could be said that it was the best place to get promoted and make a fortune.
But that was in the past, and today's governor of water transportation can be described as a mountain of swords and a sea of fire.
Because of the Shandong rebellion, the canal was in the hands of the new army.
Although an agreement has been reached, Shandong will guarantee the supply to the capital.
But who knows when Shandong will cut off the canal again?
The imperial court could not defeat Shandong, and with Chongzhen's virtue, he would definitely find someone else to take the blame for the poor canal.
who?
Of course he is the Governor of Water Transport!
Therefore, on the way to his appointment, Yang Yipeng had been thinking about how to deal with Shandong to avoid falling into danger.
As he came along the way, he observed all the way, and his heart became heavier and heavier.
In Shandong, the canal checkpoints in the Dezhou, Linqing, Dongchang, and Jining sections have all been demolished, and new signs have been put up in many places.
What is the name of the canal management company?
He inquired that if you take a boat on this section of the canal, you no longer need to go through a checkpoint and pay a tax. Instead, you only need to pay the river maintenance fee once a year to keep it flowing smoothly.
Dezhou is the northernmost point of the eastern section of the canal, so where is the southernmost point?
Now, he knows.
Shandong actually extended its claws to southern Zhili...
