The officer glanced at the prisoners contemptuously, waved his horsewhip and shouted: "You are all bastards who should be beheaded, but it doesn't matter, Lao Tzu was a horse thief at the age of fourteen, and he was scared to death when he said what he committed. How can you return it to them, it's happy enough, if you are willing to go, come to me to sign up, write off the previous, first send you to Hamiwei for training, and then give horses and weapons, meritorious service and the army will be rewarded, all the seized property will be your own, if you don't want to go, you can behead on the spot, you think clearly, do you gamble your life with your life, or die here to pull down? I remind you that it is a desolate place thousands of miles away, and there are no people for hundreds of miles, and it is impossible to be a deserter. ”

The prisoners wept for a while, and a hundred or so knelt silently facing south, and the officer waved his hand coldly, and the sword flashed and fell to the ground. Su Hongfei stomped his feet, knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction of his hometown, then stood up and walked towards the officer. More than 500 people made the same choice, the vast majority of them never returned, more than 20 years later, the elderly Su Hongfei came back alive, at this time he has been named the third class Baturu, the governor of the subordinate products, in order to commemorate the companions who went out together, he paid for the construction of a martyr's shrine in front of the victory fort, and accompanied the spirit card of his companions to walk the rest of his life.

Li Yu returned to naturalization in mid-September, and then took Han Lin and Father Deng Ruoshui to Jiangzhou, Shanxi Province - Father Gao Yizhi unfortunately died in April this year, and Fengzhou held a public sacrifice for 10,000 people for him.

Li Yu did not alarm the place, after worshipping the mausoleum, only saw two Jiangzhou gentry who believed in Western religion - Han Lin's brother, Pingyang Prefecture Councillor Han Yun and retired official, Jiangzhou Council Speaker Duan Gon, the two bluntly talked about their views: Shanxi's current situation is stable, entirely because the whole people are in the extreme excitement of overthrowing the government and people's hearts, this kind of emotion cannot last long, and the people will eventually have to face the real problem, how can the government govern the place without the government? The local councils must also be reformed, and the current councillors are uneven, and the local tyrants and shoddy gentry and bandits and ruffians join forces to manipulate the localities, and if this situation is not stopped in time, it will surely become a serious disaster in the future. Li Yu did not express his position, but only promised to think about it, but on the day he returned to naturalization, he convened a meeting of the office and proposed to immediately rebuild the government and clean up the council, and at the same time comprehensively implement the new policy in Shanxi and Datong towns.

Ortai and Li Fugui, the behind-the-scenes promoters of the turmoil in Shanxi, applauded, and immediately took out the "Shanxi and Datong Restructuring Regulations", "Shanxi and Datong Construction Regulations", and even the list of bandits and traitors provided by Taiyuan and Datong Titang, and the operators were also selected, Li Huai, a veteran of government affairs, supervised the new policy, Wang Mumin, who was familiar with the situation in Shanxi, served as the assistant, Cai Ruxun was reappointed as the prefect of Baoketu, and Wang Fang was transferred to the assistant government affairs of the Great Commander's Mansion - Liu Zhilun snorted, Ortai and Li Fugui, the two old foxes, understood everything, After finishing the dirty work that offended people first, and then waiting for the younger generation of Li Yu, Batu, Namur, and Yunrong to come back to invite people to buy people's hearts, he had already seen that if Li Yu didn't come back, this farce would not end.

Li Fugui also proposed that the inauguration of the Commander-in-Chief as the president of the Naturalization League is a major event, which fully shows that the strength of Fengzhou has reached a new level, and it is necessary to inform the whole of Fengzhou to let everyone celebrate together, and the signboard of the Commander's Mansion should also be changed to the Presidential Palace.

The ministers laughed for a while, and the candidates for the presidential palace were formed: Li Fugui, consul general, Namur, Han Lin, Li Jianji, Wang Fang, assistant military affairs Zhao Ji, assistant military affairs Ge Kuli, Mao Yuanyi, Li Yao, Ma Lik (grandson of the great imam of Hami) - a hodgepodge of Han, Mongolian, Manchurian, and Hui, Li Yu couldn't help laughing, everyone actually arranged everything, and immediately approved all with a stroke of the pen.

In the next few days, the naturalization was very lively, the presidential palace held a listing ceremony, the people were very excited, spontaneously celebrated in the square for three days, and various newspapers also published articles to congratulate - the "Citizen" is still murderous, the inauguration of the general as the president of the naturalization alliance proves the strength of Toyoshu, the surrounding countries must not be obsessed, those who oppose our Toyoshu will be crushed; The "Free Press" was much more elegant, believing that this was the first step to open up the western trade routes, and that the footsteps of Fengzhou to the west would not stop because of the Rakshasa clown, and that the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties would surely be restored in time; The "Republic Daily" analyzed very rationally that the Naturalization League is developing in the direction of forming a country, but how to govern this huge country is a difficult problem, and the princes of Fengzhou should think carefully about it; For the first time, the "Journal of Practice" did not mention the emperor and the imperial court, but put gold on his face, believing that Confucianism is the foundation of the country, and that Fengzhou can develop to this day because of the acceptance of education, and the Western Regions, the West Sea and Tibet are attached to the inner and outer kings, and the effect of Huairou is far away.

As soon as the signboard of the presidential palace was hung up, the officials gave Li Yu a long vacation, urging him to go to Baoketu to hide as soon as possible - President Li's market was rising, and there were too many people looking for him, Yang Sichang asked him to send troops to Huguang and Sichuan, and at least send 5,000 iron cavalry to help suppress the thieves, Hong Chengchou asked him to send troops to relieve the siege of Jinzhou, and promised to recommend him to the military affairs of Xuanda Zhuzhen, the new secretary of the military department, Chen Xinjia, who was even more desperate, ordered him to bring Xuanda Zhuzhen to reinforce Jinzhou, and ordered him to divide 5,000 iron cavalry to go south to Huguang, and the emperor did not let him go, and ordered him to send troops immediately in accordance with the text of the military department, on the day of success, he will be crowned as a naturalized marquis. Of course, naturalization doesn't want to send troops, all of them are not in the naturalization of Bo is not a push, just kidding, there are millions of refugees in the Ming Dynasty, they can become thieves at any time, who knows when it is a head, the Fengzhou army is easy to climb out of it, and the Qing army can't fight, it is a bitter battle to kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred, Fengzhou's family can not withstand the toss, and the business between the two sides is booming, the Qing army's ordnance consumption is huge and needs to be replenished urgently, and Fengzhou's goods are of high quality, plus the freight is not expensive, and the silver of the Qing Kingdom is flowing to Fengzhou, Ten Hongyi cannons are required, and as many cannons, guns, arrows, and gunpowder as you want, and other war horses and camels are also required. Fengzhou businessmen make money shamelessly, and the army is also looking forward to changing equipment as soon as possible, especially the new-style Suifa gun, everyone is counting on making a big profit from the Qing Dynasty, for fear that Li Yu's heart will be soft and disrupt the business, and everyone hopes that he will take care of his health for the country.

In order to avoid others annoying him, he didn't even go home and hid directly in a camp under Daqing Mountain, where there was food and drink, and outsiders were not easy to find, a group of children followed him every day to ski, have snowball fights, hunt under the covers, and play so much that he didn't want to go home, until mid-February, Du Wenhuan and Zhang Mengcun took Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Wang Guoliang, Wang Zhong and a group of people to find the camp, and he remembered that he still had something to do.

This camp surrounded by mountains on three sides and with an elegant environment was built by Zhang Mengcun, Du Wenhuan also recuperated here, it is not difficult to find the door, Wang Pu and his gang looked at the beautiful scenery around and exclaimed, they were envious that Li Yu would enjoy it, and they were arguing to play here for a few days.

Entering the lobby, Li Yu motioned for everyone to sit down, and asked lightly, "The emperor's edict has arrived again" - although he hid and did not show up, the military situation from all over the country continued to be sent to the Daqingshan camp, Li Yu felt more and more that Daming was about to die: Zhang Xianzhong, the eighth king, became smart after the defeat of the Agate Mountain last year, and played the trick of "walking to the enemy", and cooperated with Luo Rucai and Ma Shouying to drag the official army into the mountains of eastern Sichuan and was tired of running for his life, and beat the officials and soldiers violently when he found a loophole, and then disappeared without a trace, Yang Sichang had no hope of suppressing the thieves, And the two generals, Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong, also had a clumsy relationship with him, and deliberately waited and watched passively. The officials and troops suffered defeats in a row, the emperor was furious again, the governor of the three sides Zheng Chongjian was dismissed from his post and investigated, the governor of Sichuan Shao Jiechun was imprisoned and committed suicide, the governor of Huguang Fang Kongzhi was arrested and punished, and the former governor of the five provinces Xiong Wencan was beheaded and abandoned the city. Yang Sichang was dizzy under the internal and external difficulties, mobilized the main force of the official army into Sichuan to clear Zhang Xianzhong, another thief head "general" Li Zicheng took the opportunity to rush into Henan from Shangluo Mountain, in December under Ke Yongning killed the king of Wan'an, the hungry people contended to be attached to it, this thief became a giant with hundreds of thousands of people in the blink of an eye, changed the name to "King Chuang" for the momentum, the first month of the army came to Luoyang City, the official army mutinied and surrendered to the thief, the thief took Luoyang lightly and was rampant, and the emperor and the venison were cooked together as "Fulu feast". Yang Sichang was at a loss, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly rushed into Huguang and gave him a fatal blow, in early February, he attacked Xiangyang and captured the king of Xiang, so far, the Ming Dynasty's encirclement and suppression strategy has completely failed, and the thief has been unstoppable. On the battlefield outside the Guan, a large number of Qing troops rushed to the periphery of Jinzhou, built fences inside, dug trenches outside, surrounded Jinzhou regiments, and brought thirty or forty Hongyi cannons, countless small cannons, repeatedly bombarded the city wall, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, arrived in Ningyuan in June last year with Cao Bianjiao, the chief soldier of Jitian, Bai Guangen, the chief soldier of Jizhen, Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan, and Wang Tingchen, the general soldier of the Qiantun guard of Guangning, but he stopped on the grounds of insufficient troops, and asked the imperial court to transfer Tang Tong, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, and the soldiers and horses of the four towns of Xuanda to Ningyuan. Jinzhou is in danger, but the town of naturalization is indifferent, refusing to send troops on the grounds that the town of naturalization is going out, Datong and Xuanfu towns have also followed suit, and found all kinds of excuses not to move, as for Shanxi Town, Xu Dingguo has been reappointed to help the general army to fight the thieves, and the new Shanxi chief soldier Li Fuming did not dare to enter Shanxi, and only took dozens of family members to Ningyuan. Naturalization town did not listen to the edict, the governor Liu Zhilun became the target of the courtiers' attack, he was angry and asked the court to ask for dismissal, ask the court to send another naturalized governor, the general army, of course the emperor did not dare to make extraneous branches, but continued to issue edicts to urge the troops, and even said that as long as Li Yuken sent troops, he would immediately grant the prime minister the military affairs of the four towns.

"The emperor once again ordered to send troops to Liaoxi, the Commander's Office refused on the grounds that there was no food and salary, but Liaoxi can not be ignored, Huguang and Henan can not ignore it, I really didn't expect Yang Sichang to be defeated, maybe last year should help him, now the erosion of the Central Plains has become inevitable, and Fengzhou, Shanxi since ancient times lack of food, lack of cloth, to solve the food and clothing of millions of people must import a large amount of food, cloth, Tuntian Huguang and connect Wuchang to the naturalization of the trade route is related to the lifeline of Fengzhou, must not tolerate the rampant thieves, praise painting military affairs department should consider sending troops south as soon as possible." Du Wenhuan said with a gloomy face.

Baofengzhou had to take Shanxi, and Baofengzhou and Shanxi had to calculate Henan and Huguang, when would it be a head if it went on like this-Li Yu thought for a while, shook his head and said: "We can't afford to fight, at least not before Shanxi's restructuring yields results, let's talk about it in two years, don't get muddy, that Li Zicheng has worked under you, Zhang Xianzhong seems to be very familiar with you, find someone to talk to them, as long as they can let the people farm with peace of mind, and open up trade routes, I will not only not fight them, but also trade with them, Everyone's life is good. ”

"Confused, after so many years, in addition to being a good person, you still don't argue right and wrong, we are officials, it is natural to kill thieves, and if you get involved with thieves, you will be scolded by the world, thieves are thieves, they are still thieves, expect them to appease the people, is this possible?" Du Wenhuan was so angry that he slapped Li Yu, Wang Pu hurriedly shouted "Uncle Du" and stepped forward to dissuade - in Yulin Jiangmen, Wang Pu and Li Yu are both Du Wenhuan's juniors, and one has to be protected if the other is beaten.

"Yes, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are not like us, they are born thieves, burning, killing, plundering and doing all kinds of evil, and they are also ambitious, Yansui's old brothers have long seen that these two goods are not pleasing to the eye, the president said, let's clean them up." Zhang Mengcun whitewashed himself, and by the way, he also said the voice of the Yansui people - most of the Yansui people in Fengzhou have been thieves, and their qualifications are older, and they have helped countless villagers survive these years, thinking that they have accumulated great merits, and they are more and more disgusted with those former accomplices who do evil, but these guys not only do not have evil retribution, but have a good life, and now it is going to become a climate, God is too unfair, everyone can't swallow this breath, and they want to teach their fellow villagers a lesson.

"Don't fight, I'll send troops to suppress thieves when I have food, so it's all right!" Li Yu said soft words after receiving a few slaps, and casually drove away the little living Buddha and Liu Chengzu who were hiding outside the door to watch the excitement.

Du Wenhuan sat down angrily, and Wang Pu began to frown: "Hanmin, if you don't go to the Liaoxi Imperial Court, you can't do anything, what should I do with Lao Yang?" The two of us dragged from last year to this year, and if we don't send troops, we will be guilty, I wonder if you still send troops, our brothers will definitely listen to you, Ma Ke is from Yulin, Cao Bianjiao regards you as an elder, Lao Yang will pull Li Fuming and Wang Tingchen into the two Liaodong compatriots, Bai Guangen, the thief, is obedient, and if he is disobedient, he will be killed, we will join forces to support you as the prime minister's military affairs, how to fight is not up to you, do you think this is okay? ”

"I'm not going, you'd better not go, you two better not go, you can't bear it and hide here," Li Yu shook his head vigorously, when he arrived in Ningyuan, he couldn't help himself, Wang Pu said it well now, and he may not be obedient when the time comes, this kind of stupid thing can't be done, Li Yu stood up angrily and said, "I have already reported to the emperor, Liaoxi is a dead land, it is best to give up as soon as possible, Jinzhou can withdraw the army and civilians by sea, and this battle does not need to be fought." The Ming family has a thick background, and the elite of the nine sides are gambled into it, which is related to the survival of the Qing country, they will work hard, you can't beat people in the field, and the mountains and rivers are not more familiar than others, what to fight? I dare to say that I have to lose everything, whoever wants to find death will go, I will never press Fengzhou up. ”

"It's okay to lose it all, so as not to cause trouble to us in the court, the emperor is really stupid, Wenchen is just reluctant to pay this piece of fat, it is our business to lose or win, why should we work for the court, or everyone should take care of each other!" Wang Guoliang interjected happily.

"We don't want to fight either, the court forces us to fight, Hermes-Epitek, brothers, you can't help us!" Wang Pu was reluctant to take the post of chief soldier, and pleaded with tears.

"You have to go, I can't help it, I can only help you with some gunpowder and guns, and it depends on your own ability to go to the battlefield," Li Yu waved his hand helplessly, glanced at the two poor worms and was a little unbearable, thought about it and said, "That's it, I'll give you some more small flags, I really can't hold on to it, just hold on to the small flags and surrender, I will find a way to redeem you back, Ma Ke and Cao Bianjiao also said hello and told them, this is not a shame, I don't want them to die in vain." ”

Wang Pu was silent, and Yang Guozhu said hesitantly: "Li Fuming and I have some friendship, but when I became the chief soldier of Shanxi, there was no soldier, can you, can you transfer some troops from Shanxi Town to him?" ”

"Can't! You're dizzy, can the Shanxi soldiers still fight? Wang Guoliang and Wang Zhong, the two former Shanxi commanders-in-chief, shouted-Shanxi Town has been doing business for the whole army in recent years, and the combat power of the soldiers is not as good as that of the Shanxi People's Army.

Wang Pu laughed: "What is Dongyu, Lao Tzu is not afraid, Hanmin, bring the wine, our brother will drink it first, and we will talk about it later." ”

After Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu ate, drank and had fun for two days, they said goodbye to Li Yu, and soon led 30,000 elite people from Datong and Xuanfu towns to Ningyuan.

In March, the situation in the Ming Dynasty deteriorated even more, Yang Sichang died of a recurrence of liver disease in Shashi, Jingzhou, the official army completely lost the initiative in the Central Plains battlefield, but the Ming court could not take care of the thieves, under the continuous attack of the Qing army, Jinzhou Dongguan guard general Nuomuqi, Wu Bashi led the Mongolian soldiers to surrender, the outer city of Jinzhou was lost, Zu Dashou retreated to the inner city to continue to hold on, the emperor panicked, and ordered Hong Chengchou, Li Yu and others to immediately send troops to aid Jin, otherwise they would be dismissed from their posts, and at the same time denounced Nuomuqi and Wu Bashi for rebellion.

Li Yu finally returned to naturalization, and when he saw the edict, he scolded angrily: The emperor is embarrassed to accuse Nuomuqi and Wu Bashi of treason, and find out if there is no, they are Mongolians who came to the Ming army to eat, and they were not paid enough military salaries, and they were put in the outer city as cannon fodder.