Mengjin Ferry, an important ferry port between the north and south of the Yellow River, several ferries slowly docked, the boat boss has not stopped the boat, the people on the shore hula around it, but these boats are not loaded with goods, but they have walked down hundreds of sturdy descendants with bows and knives, each of them is still holding two horses in their hands, and the bulging packages on the horseback are obviously not ordinary goods, these people are soldiers at a glance, and they are also elite cavalry - the people are in a daze, a group of soldiers ran over, shouting and scolding to disperse them.

Zheng Daqian, the head of the Titang Division, jumped off the boat and looked around for a moment, waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to strengthen their vigilance, at this time, a tall and burly man ran to salute and said: "Li Jiyu, the subordinate director of the Henan Branch of the Titang Division and the guerrilla superior, please ask Lord Zheng to command." ”

"Li Yan has worked hard, can the guards along the way be arranged?"

"From Mengjin to Yuncheng, there are our people along the way, and the big and small poles have also been greeted, no one dares to come nonsense, and after Yuncheng, Runing will send troops to respond, and there is no problem with the safety on the road." Li Jiyu has been entrenched in the Luoyang area in recent years, the army has come to join the army, the official army has come to join the official army, there is Datong behind him, he has three boats to live a good life, and at the end of last year, he also deceived the title of chief soldier from the imperial court, but he still likes the official position given by Datong, and he has a future by holding the thickest thighs in troubled times, such as the Zheng Lord in front of him, ten years ago he was just a peddler who sold illicit salt and livestock, but he was willing to work hard when he joined the gang early, and now he is the head of the headquarters of the generals, and he has to work hard! Glancing at the guards who were on guard on all sides, he quietly asked, "Lord Zheng, this is a big man, right?" ”

"Be careful, don't ask what you shouldn't." Zheng Daqian replied lightly, turned around and greeted a few people in Tsing Yi who came down from the ferry.

Li Jiyu couldn't help but look at it a few more times, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, the two headed by him seemed to be familiar, by the way, I heard them teach in Manhan Mountain, oh my God, it's really a big man coming, there will definitely be big moves in Henan!

Zheng Daqian whispered a few words to Ma Guangyuan, and then took the two sentinels Liu Wenxiu and Ma Bao to arrange the guard, Li Huai walked around very leisurely, and chatted with the people by the way - the situation in Henan is just one word "chaos", the three forces of the imperial court, thieves and bandits are intertwined, and the fish and eyes are mixed, which can be seen from the clothes of the Mengjindu guards, some wear red Ming army uniforms, some wear gray Shun army uniforms, and some wear variegated people's clothes, the Ming army, thieves, and bandits have everything, but all parties are safe, Holding the same rice bowl and eating mixed rice, this is also a major local specialty.

"Mr. Listen to the accent is from Yan'an Mansion, right?" A Shun soldier in a shabby gray coat came over and asked, this guy is a Shun army officer, and the people immediately avoided him when they saw him.

"I am from Ningzhai in Yan'an Mansion, and I am also from Yan'an Mansion when I listen to my brother's accent, but I have something to help me with?" Li Huai replied.

"The little Ma Lao Wu is also from Ningzhai, and he is a fellow villager with Mr.," the officer of the Shun Army was overjoyed, and then said with some sadness, "I haven't been back to my hometown for more than ten years, and I finally hit Shaanxi last year and was driven back. ”

Li Huai smiled and said, "Brother Ma came out early, he must have mixed well in the Shun army, right?" ”

"I mixed up with a governor, I can't do anything, I'm still the same poor, I married my aunt in Henan the year before last, and I added a baby, and I have a headache when I eat, but fortunately I am guarding this ferry, how much can I add rice to the family." Ma Lao Wu saw that the villagers talked a lot, and complained that the life was not good, when there was a famine in his hometown, he and his younger brother buried the father and mother who starved to death to go to the king, the first battle was out of the side wall to grab the horse, but was defeated by the Fengzhou soldiers, he fled with the king of his legs and feet, and the younger brother who was left behind became a prisoner, I don't know whether it is life or death, he is also unlucky, he has been suffering for more than forty years, if he dies outside one day, how can the aunt and the doll live at home!

"I can't read or write, I can't be an official, so I want to live a peaceful life with my aunt and doll, sir, I can see that you are a big official over there, tell me how our hometown is now?" Ma Lao Wu asked with red eyes.

"I went back to my hometown at the beginning of the year, there was no war there, the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes were also exempted, and the field tax still had to be paid, but how to collect and use, the villagers set their own rules, and there were people who couldn't get by.

"Our hometown can't produce dozens of catties of millet per mu, we can't feed many people, and it's a good thing to have a place to farm," Ma Lao Wu nodded, glanced around and lowered his voice and said, "How can a farmer not pay the land endowment, King Chuang threatened not to pay grain for three years, but the people's hearts are there, but the money is not enough to torture the salary, first clean up the big households, and then clean up the middle households, whoever has food will be unlucky, in the end everyone has become a poor egg, Henan This place is a waste, pity us have fought a lifetime, but end up with nowhere to live, Mr. is a scholar, You said that King Chuang has no children, no daughters, and is blind in one eye, what is he tossing blindly? ”

Li Huai shook his head with a wry smile, and saw the guards running with the horse, and took out two silver coins and stuffed them to Ma Lao Wu: "We are destined to meet, Brother Ma, take it to add a new dress to your mother-in-law and doll, in addition, your brother should still be alive, there are many fellow villagers over there, and it will not be difficult for him." ”

Ma Lao Wu pinched the silver coin and was at a loss, saw Li Huai get on the horse, waved his hand and shouted: "Sir, there is a chance to go back to Ningzhai, please go to Willow Fort and say that Ma Lao Wu is still alive." ”

"Live well and raise the baby." Li Huai also waved to Ma Lao Wu.

Li Huai, Ma Guangyuan and his entourage continued to move forward, there were many sentry posts of bandits and thieves along the way, but they turned a blind eye to this iron horse, and some took the initiative to come over to talk, Zheng Daqian was very familiar with all kinds of variegated people and horses on this road, and he would pass unimpeded by a few words of laughter and a few small coins. Fan Erxi, the head of the Huguang Titang Branch, led a thousand cavalry to meet south of Yuncheng, and the two roads met and arrived safely in Runing - further south was his own territory, and Zheng Daqian returned to Datong after completing his errand.

Runing was ravaged by war, famine, the place was completely eroded, the Shun army was unable to send troops to garrison, Zhang Mengcun and Hui Dengxiang took the opportunity to send troops to drive away the local bandit Liu Hongqi and others entrenched here, and put their hands into Henan, but this area was too poor, only 3,000 Datong troops were stationed, and the supply also depended on Huguang. Li Huai and Ma Guangyuan stayed in Runing for one night, and said good words to appease the guards Wang Guangen and Luo Dayong, and then went south with Fan Erxi the next day.

In Hanyang, several major officials of Datong stationed in Huguang were already waiting, welcoming Li Huai and Ma Guangyuan into the prefect's yamen, and immediately closed the door to discuss important matters. Zhou Xuan, who presided over the affairs of Huguang, had worked too hard in the past two years, and people who were not yet 50 years old had already grown their temples, and as soon as they sat down, they gushed out their grievances.

It is difficult to implement the new policy in Huguang, Hanyang, De'an, and Huangzhou have the old foundation of Fengzhou, and the restructuring is smooth, and Wuchang Mansion and Chengtian Mansion are even pulled by Song Yihe, and the effect of the new deal is gradually revealed. The local government joined hands with the gentry to manipulate the parliament, on the one hand, they reduced or exempted the land tax to buy people's hearts, and on the other hand, they indiscriminately collected commercial taxes on the grounds of implementing the new policy, and the taxes and levies paid to the imperial court were not less, but the burden on the people increased. There was a split in Huguang, Song Yihe became the culprit blamed by everyone, and he was so angry that he wanted to send troops to clean up the disobedient Hunan officials, but the others had their own plans, Du Wenhuan insisted on developing in Xiajiang, Zhang Mengcun and Hui Dengxiang planned to take Henan and Shanxi together, Ma Xianglin was fortunately transferred away, otherwise he would definitely be fighting back to Sichuan.

"The people of Huguang don't understand the reason, they just want to take the benefits of the new deal, they give food and produce food but cheat and cheat, and they scold us if they are a little unsatisfactory, and the government abuses lewdness and tyranny, but they swallow their anger and obey it, I can see it through, these foolish people are not worth worrying about at all, Yushan, you are here, I will leave this mess to you, no one listens to me anyway." Zhou was a little stunned, and by the way, he also glanced at Zhang Mengcun and Hui Dengxiang.

"I said a long time ago that I would reason with the people with a whip, but you don't dare to do it." Zhang Mengcun replied disappreciatively to Zhou stunned.

"Brother Nangui, I can't leave you here, how is the situation in Jiangxi?" Li Huai smiled faintly, Shanxi also has a similar situation, the common people have been suppressed by the government for a long time, and they are completely servile and powerless to govern, and it will not be useful to give them rights, but Shanxi has Fengzhou to rely on, but Huguang has to find his own way, this is not an easy task, He Fengsheng and Song Yihe have probably tasted enough, so they insist on staying in Datong.

"The old marshal sent troops at the invitation of the right merchant gang in Jiangjiang, and took over the Yangtze River banknote pass in Jiujiang, and now there are rich soldiers and strong strength, and they also divided troops to settle in Nanchang, Yang Tinglin and Jia Jingzong are from Jiangxi, and they also went together this time, according to their letters, the situation in Jiangxi is very good, and the local gentry and businessmen have set up parliaments to implement autonomy, and the sky in Jiangxi has changed." Zhou was stunned and handed over the two letters, and Li Huai looked at it for a while with a smile on his face.

"What's going on with the thieves?" Ma Guangyuan interjected and asked.

"The thieves occupy Xiangyang and Jingzhou, and the good places will not operate, and the life is in a panic, the thief head Bai Wang has 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers, weapons, and food are lacking, and he does not dare to cross the Han River for half a step, but he often goes to plunder Changde and Changsha in the south of the Yangtze River, and Ma Ke led his troops to Yiling, and sent secret envoys to find us and ask for submission to Datong." Fan Erxi replied in a low voice, Ma Guangyuan nodded, and knew it in his heart.

"He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, heard that someone from Datong is coming, and he wants to see him, Yushan, can you see him?" Zhou was stunned and asked again.

"No, I don't have time," Li Huai waved his hand and said loudly to everyone, "We made a big mistake in Huguang, and Longwangshu is too greedy, this is the reason why we are currently passive, since the territory in our hands is unstable, then simply give up, get rid of the burden and concentrate on dealing with the Qing State, and immediately notify the state capitals to come to Wuchang to discuss major matters, and if you can't help each other, please leave!" ”

Hui Dengxiang, who was leaning on the soft chair, suddenly coughed violently, and Li Huai said with concern: "Old Hui, I heard on the way that you are very sick, there are too many things here, too tired, I will transfer you back to Datong." ”

"Don't get in the way, it's an old problem, just rest for two days, and then there is Ji Tongzhi to help me." Hui Dengxiang gasped and pointed to Ji Jue who was sitting next to him, this old general of Luo Rucai was able to write and martial arts, and he stayed by his side to be the governor of Hanyang Mansion.

Li Huai sighed, whispered a few words to Hui Dengxiang, and then waved to the scribes Jiang Tianyi, Yin Ruweng, and Fu Shan behind him: "Go and prepare immediately, we will go to Jiujiang early tomorrow morning." ”

Jiangxi Cheng announced that the political envoy department connected Huguang and Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi can peek into the Ming Dynasty tax land, Du Wenhuan tried to plot the lower reaches of the Yangtze River for a long time, but the strength was not enough to dare to move, can be based on Jiujiang or Jia Jingzong to contact the Jiangyou businessmen gang played a key role - Jiangxi has a large population and little land, but because of the support of Chen Youliang, the tax is higher than Zhejiang, and the people are suffering from harsh government, and are forced to run around the world to do business, forming the world-famous Jiangyou businessmen. Jia Jingzong's grandfather went from his hometown of Raozhou "with a burden and an umbrella to Huguang as a boss", to his generation is already one of the leaders of the Jiangyou merchant gang with a net worth of millions, and after the Wuchang Revolution, he became the governor of the Department of Industry and Commerce. This guy is not a person who keeps to himself, he thinks that there is no way out to do business honestly in troubled times, it is better to gamble, introduce the Datong forces into Jiangxi, step on the homeland and back against the big tree to become bigger and stronger, his idea was strongly supported by the Jiangxi Guild Hall, everyone ran around to contact, and soon pulled up a large group of accomplices. Everything was ready, Jia Jingzong went to agitate the Huguang revolutionary government again, Du Wenhuan of course agreed, Cao Bianjiao and Hu Dawei did not want to farm, and they also asked for troops, Song Yihe and Zhou Yi were ineffective in dissuasion, so they had to piece together seven or eight thousand people to march eastward, and sent Yang Tinglin from his hometown Nanchang to supervise military discipline.

This eastward advance was surprisingly smooth, Jiangxi officials and soldiers lacked food and salary, and had no fighting spirit, either slipping away, or surrendering, and there were businessmen along the way to donate food and salary, ventilating and reporting news, Du Wenhuan was invincible all the way, and entered Jiujiang City effortlessly. Governor Huguang, Jiangxi, Anqing, Wuhu military affairs Yuan Jixian sat in Jiujiang, Lao Wo was so angry that he found Du Wenhuan to quarrel, and then impeached Li Yu and Du Wenhuan together, but at that time the Beijing division was already in danger, and the music was sent out like a mud cow into the sea.

Jia Jingzong and his gang were proud, it felt good to go back to their hometown, there were people everywhere, and after they fanned the flames, representatives of public opinion continued to emerge from all over Jiangxi, surrounding the government and demanding the implementation of the new policy, and then the news of the fall of the Beijing division came, and the local gentry also moved when they heard the wind and quickly merged with the merchants. Yang Tinglin was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and once pinned his hopes on Nanjing, but when he heard that the Nanjing court wanted to negotiate peace with the Qing court, he was so angry that he went to Nanchang to publicly announce that the joint capture of Pingkou was to give up Zhili and Shandong, and those who dared to speak out were national thieves who could be punished by everyone - Jiangxi public opinion was in an uproar, and the people spontaneously expelled officials and established their own parliament, and the tide of local autonomy was unstoppable.

Picking up a Jiujiang in vain, Du Wenhuan is very content, and if he is not strong enough to move forward, he is looking for death, he doesn't care how the people of Jiangxi make trouble, he patiently recruits troops and waits for the opportunity to continue to advance eastward, when Li Huai arrived, he was training sailors in the Hukou camp.

"Yushan, why doesn't Yuzi call himself emperor," Du Wenhuan asked when he saw Li Huai's head and face, then shook his head and sighed, "The number of Da Ming Qi has been exhausted, I have to be justified in entering the main pass, what a good opportunity, at least I should also grab the king, coerce the Son of Heaven to order the world, Yuzi has little reading, don't you understand the reason?" ”

"You know the situation in Datong, only a republic can be stable, and an imperial system can only lead to division." Li Huai replied with a deep groan, the old handsome snorted with a snort, turned his face and stopped talking, Li Huai sat awkwardly for a while and said, "Yuzi asked me to ask you, what is Jiangxi's plan?" Whatever decision you make, we brothers have your back. ”

"What do you mean by this, the old man is sixty years old, and his children and grandchildren are not angry, will he still be delusional and self-reliant?" Du Wenhuan was furious, pointed at Li Huai and scolded, "The Du family and the Li family went from Kunshan to Yulin together a hundred years ago, and life and death intersected for more than ten generations, can they still be separated after a hundred years?" When I am old, I often dream that your father Li Biao and eldest brother Li Yang ask me to take care of you and Yuzi, but you two brothers are too unproductive and give up the foundation we have worked so hard to build. ”

"The trend of the times, helpless, our brothers have always regarded you as their own parents, and you are also thought of when times of difficulty," Li Huai lowered his head and whispered, the Qing court moved the capital to Beijing obviously plotted to pass the Guannei, and the Nanjing court favored the peaceful side to endure humiliation and seek peace, once the two colluded, Datong's situation was immediately passive, so we must be prepared in advance to deal with the two battlefields in the north and south, Datong hopes that the old marshal will sit in Wuchang to preside over the entire southern war situation.

"It's not so easy for Nanjing to negotiate peace with Beijing, Wang Fang of Shandong won't let them succeed easily, I won't go to Wuchang, don't you have Ma Guangyuan by your side, let him command the southern war, I'll stay here and stare at Nanjing, you and Yuzi are too soft, I'm afraid of delaying the big thing again," Du Wenhuan saw that Li Huai still wanted to say more, waved his hand to stop it, "Don't say it again, I have the final say on how to fight the war, you can take care of Jiangxi's government affairs, Yang Tinglin and Jia Jingzong will go back to Jiujiang in the next two days, you go to talk to them." ”

Li Huai shook his head with a wry smile, Ma Guangyuan's command ability is not bad, but he is afraid that he will be able to control the overall situation enough - he stayed in Hukou for three days and failed to move the old handsome, Li Huai had to go back to Jiujiang to meet with Yang Tinglin and Jia Jingzong, and the two sides quickly unified their opinions, the current situation is sinister, all parties must work together, and the bigwigs of Jiangxi prefectures were quickly summoned to Jiujiang, and rushed to Wuchang with Li Huai to discuss major matters with the people of Huguang.

In the misty waves, the ship sailed and anchored, Li Huai was stunned, and then someone walked to the railing beside him and looked into the distance.

"Old handsome!" Li Huai screamed in surprise, tears in his eyes.

"The old man thought about it, but he was still reluctant to let his children suffer, so he would help you two again." Du Wenhuan said coldly.