Xinyang Town, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province to Haizhou Salt Farm back and forth is only ten days, if the big ship can be faster, at the end of November, Emperor Chongzhen's will will come down, to the south Zhili people to the folds of the permission, at the same time the Ministry of War transferred Shandong soldiers and horses into Huai to support.

This kind of transfer of troops and horses that does not have anything to do with the overall situation is a reasonable request, and the imperial court will naturally not allow it, but at present, the mobilization of soldiers and horses from all over the country, the imperial court will return to the following, and those generals may not be so obedient to the leaders of the army.

During this period of exchange of holy decrees, the pirates who had replenished the supplies were again cruising around the estuary of the Ganyu Huai River, and this time they did not go ashore to attack, but if they walked around like this, there would be people who would dare to work here, and they would have long been scattered as birds and beasts.

The two Huai salt merchants were afraid that Li Meng would shirk the blame, and they were already ready to spend a lot of money to buy it, who thought that the imperial court would decree it, Li Meng's side did not hesitate, and immediately sent troops south.

Among the newly recruited troops, the Qingzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army each transferred 2,000 people, the Xinyang Water Battalion transferred 1,500 people, and the ratio of recruits and veterans was 10 to 1.

The person who led the troops this time was Zhang Jiang, the commander of the old battalion in Jiaozhou, because he acted safely, was loyal and diligent, he was promoted to the Huaibei garrison, and led 5,500 soldiers, the old battalion counted the pro-soldier battalion, a total of 12 battalions, and the thousand commanders of each battalion were the reserve of senior generals, and Zhang Jiang was the most outstanding person among them. This time it's a pull-out.

The Xinyang Water Battalion is relatively independent, managed by the righteous Yang Si and three deputy commanders of the Water Battalion, responsible for the defense and defense of the Huaibei coastal area, these Xinyang Water Battalions are said to be the latest recruits of Qingzhou Mansion and Laizhou Mansion around the young people, are young people who are interested in serving the country, and are the first water troops of the Jiaozhou Battalion, and they are also sent to Haizhou to garrison and guard.

In fact, after the second attack on Haizhou, Li Meng returned to Jiaozhou City from Xinyang Town, and at that time it was basically certain that Yang Si's group of pirates in Huaibei had fully achieved the required purpose.

Then there are the pre-arranged official events. These things need to be done with a brain rather than a knife.

And according to the itinerary, Liu Fulai should have arrived in Jiaozhou City, the relationship between Li Meng and Liu Fulai used each other, and the central officials had other towns to rely on. The general soldiers of other towns are backed by the central staff and depend on each other, which is the norm in officialdom, but Li Meng has no relatives, he is not even a person of this era, Liu Fulai also entered the palace since he was a child, and he is helpless to this position today.

Although the two sides met in the water. Since they recognized their relatives, the two sides cherished and maintained this relationship. Of course, some people will say that after the old eunuch left his post and lost his position, Li Meng still maintained his previous attitude towards the land, because he wanted to rely on the old eunuch's wise mind and rich high-level experience and insight, and Liu Fulai treated Li Meng very close because he was helpless, afraid of the retribution in the past, and needed to find a place to take refuge in the general.

Maybe. There are also some true feelings in the world......

On the day of November 21, the eunuch Liu Fulai, who had been playing all the way, finally came to Jiaozhou City, Liu Fulai learned that Li Meng sent someone to welcome him to Jiaozhou, the desolate and bleak mood was swept away, on the way to Jiaozhou, said that he was busy with business for so many years, and had no time to visit the mountains and rivers, although it was already autumn and winter, but it was also fun to take this opportunity to take the scenic spots along the way.

Jiaozhou battalion those who accompanied the escort. Naturally, there would be no objections, Li Mengdi ordered what the old man wanted, and he did so, but he went all the way up the mountains and rivers, and his interest was very high, and he didn't arrive until today.

Li Meng is now based in the Li family's manor, and it is only more than 20 miles away from the county seat anyway. And Fengmeng Town is not known how many times more prosperous than it was back then. All needs can also be solved in Fengmeng Town, and the old eunuch is his own family. The Li family's manor is his own mansion, so it is natural to receive him here to live.

The Li family manor is actually a small fortress, but Li Meng is also empty enough to make a large enough mansion, the three brothers of the Sun family, Sun Hedou is already the whole family following the actions of the Weapons Manufacturing Bureau, and is now planning on the edge of Laiwu County, site selection and preparation, he must know a lot more than Guo Dong, and he is the main person in charge this time.

As for Sun Hejing, Sun Heding is in Yanzhou Mansion Tuntian Grange to teach public school, Yanzhou Mansion has Confucius and Mencius two sage homes, and it is a rich place in Shandong, the atmosphere of learning is quite strong, Tuntian Grange is already a bit bankrupt Xiucai Tongsheng and the like, Sun Hejing, Sun Heding and the two are family scholars, in the Grange claim to be Gongsun Moumou, really have some fame, and the exchange of scribes inside and outside the Grange, there are actually some Qing faction appearances.

This line of Yanzhou was later called "Yandang", because the homonym is eunuch party, and it is also a joke.

The house vacated by the Sun brothers was opened by Li Meng, and after careful repair, more than a dozen clever and sensible boys were selected from among the children of the subordinate craftsmen and military families to serve the old eunuchs.

It was already November, and the year was about to end, except for the generals who were guarding outside the Jiaozhou battalion, the rest of the scribes had already come to the Li family manor, and they worked with Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui's staff tents to calculate this year's harvest costs and determine next year's budget.

Today, these leaders were pulled out to welcome the old man home.

In fact, this is also a ceremony, last night the old eunuch arrived in Jiaozhou City, first placed in the city Li Meng's mansion to rest, Li Meng has already entered the city to accompany, today together to this Fengmeng Town, there is a solemn meaning.

This kind of etiquette, everyone as a nervous place to rest, there are also cavalry in Jiaozhou City and Fengmeng Town back and forth correspondence, everyone knows that there is still half an hour to come, although it is early winter, but the sun is good, everyone is outside talking and laughing.

When the Jiaozhou camp was still a small group. There is no difference between high and low status, everyone is lively and lively together, and now there are more and more people, and the faint Shandong General Soldier and Yanzheng stationed in Jiaozhou to inspect the yamen have the meaning of the center of Shandong, and this identity and status have also become things to pay attention to.

Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui stood at the forefront, and the servants in the manor brought them chairs and hot tea, but the two still stood and talked.

The rest of the staff, the tent and others were behind them, gathering in a bunch according to their respective responsibilities and origins, and talking in a whisper, laughing and talking. And the heads and tents of Tuntian Grange have their own ***. They exchanged information about the harvest of their respective estates and the specific work of the resettlement of displaced people.

Those soldiers of the Li family manor and the generals of the old camp in Jiaozhou, these people are a ***, standing quietly on the side, Li Meng has a very strict requirement for his subordinates. That is, the appearance and posture of the army must be maintained at all times, and this is actually the embodiment of maintaining the quality and quality of soldiers.

When many staff members and tent rooms were talking, they were all peeking at Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui, waiting for their orders at any time, and they were also full of envy.

Zhou Yang is just a Chinese asset, Ning Qiangui is a broken talent, and today it is called "Zhou Buzheng, Ning Shangshu", which is glorious and rich. It's really amazing.

However, Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui didn't notice these people behind them at all, they just talked there in a whisper, and with the accounting and settlement at the end of the year, the financial situation for next year will become clearer.

"In the past few days, the price of salt, which had been stagnant for a long time, suddenly began to rise, and the shopkeeper in Jining Prefecture came back and said that many people in the south and west wanted to buy salt in large quantities, and the salt farms in Laizhou and Dengzhou were ready to let them rest and go home for the New Year, and it seems that they can't stop yet."

Heard Ning Qiangui's words. Zhou Yang nodded, he used to do sage articles in the past, but now he has to calculate it every day, and asked:

"How much more income can the salt goods give us?"

"This time the demand came suddenly, and the tent rooms below are all clearing the annual accounts, and I can't give a definite number in a hurry, and it is estimated that it can be at least thirty percent more than the year before."

Because the impact of the famine has gradually been reflected in recent years, the salt income of the previous year was the highest value in these years, at least 30% more. Zhou Yang was stunned, put his hands together, and said slowly:

"This is really ......, there will be a gap in April next year, and the gap is not so big, we really have a way!"

Ning Qiangui lowered his voice and said:

"I heard from those people in Lingshan Commercial Bank that those salt merchants in Huaibei don't know what happened. There is trouble with the salt. That's why let's buy it in Shandong. ”

Zhou Yang shook his head, thinking that he and Lao Ning went to persuade Li Meng to open up sources and reduce expenditure that day. Li Meng asked about the gap, and said that it would definitely be solved next year, and it seemed that it would be applied here, but civilian officials were not allowed to participate in confidential military affairs, and they were not easy to ask each other, so they would know what was going on by that time next year.

In that exhortation, Li Meng promised to solve this gap next year, Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui still felt that the military affairs, how could they be such a child's play, who would have thought that it would really be done, this Shandong general soldier, there is always such a miracle, it is really a genius.

"The convoy is coming."

Someone shouted at the top of his voice, and everyone hurriedly lined up on both sides of the road, which was to show the respect of the Jiaozhou battalion, Zhou Yang also tidied up his clothes a little, but his mind was still running, inexplicably, from Fang Cai's talented genius thought of the word "Mandate of Heaven", thinking of this, Zhou Yang hurriedly shook his head, not daring to continue to think about it.

The convoy from the direction of Jiaozhou City walked very slowly, Li Meng rode a horse and followed the carriage, the old eunuch walked and stopped in the carriage and on the side, except for the royal hand of the carriage, the personal guards were far away from this side, but they also knew that the two were talking and laughing there.

"Don't be surprised, this incident is caused by the mine supervisor Ding Xu?"

Since Liu Fulai will live in his own house in the future, and his actions, words and deeds are completely under his control, Li Meng has no shy past, and narrates what he has done during this period to the old eunuch, and when it comes to Laiwu Iron Mine, he mentions the mine supervisor Ding Xu.

Speaking of this person, Eunuch Liu immediately reacted, and immediately understood the ins and outs, saying that his resignation must have been caused by mine supervisor Ding Xu.

Up to now, Liu Fulai's heart is quite open, and he invited himself to Nanjing to guard the eunuch from the position of the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch Bingbi. This is already the attitude of asking for demotion and living a quiet life, this time he was cut to the people, I thought I was going to die of desolation and old age, who would have thought that Li Meng would actually provide for him in old age.

Liu Fulai, who has been lonely all his life, has such an attitude as Li Meng, and he feels that his life is not wasted, but he looks down on the loss of the official position of the eunuch in Nanjing, and when he comes to Jiaozhou, Li Meng personally comes to greet him. It's completely a nephew and nephew, and the old eunuch feels even more open-minded, and this framed thing is completely left behind.

Li Meng talked about everything in his recent life, and the old eunuch had a wide range of knowledge. It was immediately connected before and after, but he didn't have any complaints in his heart, he just smiled and explained the matter to Li Meng.

But Li Meng was extremely surprised when he heard Eunuch Liu's analysis, thinking that it was just a matter of money, the two sides were bargaining, and it was also the contradiction between himself and the mine supervisor Ding Xu, how could it be so extensive. Actually letting the town guard lieutenant on one side go to his post is inevitably a bit of a fuss.

After Li Meng expressed his doubts, Eunuch Liu laughed in the carriage, sounding as if he had nothing to do with him, and only after laughing did he explain slowly:

"You are a military general, how do you know the thoughts of our eunuchs, the world is as lucky as our family, after all, there are a few people who support the elderly, and the rest have no children and relatives, that is, they put their minds on money. You have moved his financial resources, how can he not want to do everything possible to go against you. ”

Li Meng immediately owed a debt and said solemnly:

"It was a trivial matter for my nephew, but I didn't expect it to be implicated in my uncle, so I really didn't want to go."

Eunuch Liu laughed again, and replied easily:

"It's okay, it's okay, our family feels blessed by misfortune, with your heart, what is the official power. But it's not that important, but there is something I want to ask you, what should you do with Ding Xu, the mine supervisor? ”

Li Meng groaned and said slowly:

"This Ding Xu is a little bold, and he is decisive and ruthless, Laiwu Iron Smelting Institute is under his management, such a year. It's still going to be maintained. And the blacksmiths and miners under him. Even though I offered a high price from my side, I didn't want to come. This also has some ability to win people's hearts, I want to ......"

The implication of his words is that with the mind of Eunuch Liu, he can naturally figure it out, saying so many words of praise and Ding Xu's merits, he must have the meaning of putting them in his own hands and using them, but the slave of the Son of Heaven, how dare others use it, this matter can rise to the height of the great crime of rebellion with a slight wave, Liu Fulai also felt that something was wrong, and he was about to open his mouth to persuade, but he heard a sound of a trumpet in his ears, followed by the noise of gongs and drums, and he couldn't hear clearly.

There was a family member with a loud voice shouting at the top of his voice:

"Welcome back to the old lady!!"

The carriage had already stopped, Li Meng turned over and dismounted, and a servant put a wooden stool wrapped in cotton cloth on the side of the carriage, and the coachman flashed to the side, and lifted the curtain of the carriage.

Coupled with the sentence "Welcome the old lady back to the house", at this time Liu Fulai only felt that his heart was turning a thousand times, looking at these people under the car were all characters with some status, but at this time, they were all smiling and respectful, Li Meng stood under the car, Liu Qian wanted to come over but was pushed away by Li Meng with a smile, and he wanted to help him personally.

From the people of the Jiaozhou camp to pick him up in the inn in Nanjing, to the tour on the way, although the people of the Jiaozhou camp were extremely respectful, Liu Fulai still had a calm and clear attitude, except for the shock at the beginning, the rest of the time was very indifferent.

But when he came to Jiaozhou, Li Meng first greeted him with a junior salute, and then he had this situation, so far, the last trace of worry in the old eunuch's heart has also disappeared, and the rest of the land is surging.

"Uncle, these are all subordinates of the little nephew, come to greet your elder, the nephew and daughter-in-law are in the inner house, we will see each other at the family banquet."

The old eunuch who was helped out of the carriage by Li Meng did not answer, and he was speechless, regardless of the demeanor of the elders, and the other hand kept wiping tears.

When the old lady returned home, core figures such as Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui all came forward to say hello to An, Wang Hai from the pro-military camp, Tang Er from the horse team, Qian Zong from each battalion, and Hou Shan from Lingshan Commercial Bank all came to say hello to An.

Eunuch Liu is really out of shape, and Liu Fulai, who was born as a eunuch in Bingbi and a eunuch in Nanjing, is more or less a so-called prime minister. In front of these people, it is natural to deal with it decently.

But now he is so excited that he can't help himself, just wiping his tears, this is also human nature, Liu Fulai suddenly fell from the clouds, his state of mind was desolate, but at this time he had such respect and family affection, this feeling of ups and downs actually made him unable to control his emotions.

A subordinate had already handed a handkerchief to him, and Liu Fulai also realized that he was out of shape, took a handkerchief and wiped it on his eyes, and laughed self-deprecatingly:

"This man is old. There are always some women who look like them. ”

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned sideways and said to Li Meng beside him:

"It was really lucky for our family to meet you by the Jining Canal that day, and I don't know what kind of merciful and virtuous things our family did in their previous lives. How can I have today! ”

Li Meng smiled and said softly:

"Where does the uncle say, it is a matter of course for the nephew to be filial, why should he say it so solemnly."

Walking to the door, Li Meng raised his head to greet a child standing by the door, the child hurriedly ran over, this child was wearing a green coat, but he didn't look like a person. It was the appearance of a reading schoolboy, Li Menglang said:

"Anqi, don't kowtow to Grandpa yet."

That child is Su Anqi, who eats and sleeps well in the Li family manor, and the growth environment is also superior, and now he has grown a lot taller, and he is more sensible and well-behaved. He can now be regarded as Li Meng's personal servant, and his status in the Li Mansion is quite low, and now he is still learning from Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui. Of course, Father Federer is still similar to Su Anqi's adoptive father.

Su Anqi hurriedly knelt on the ground, shouting "Grandpa" in her mouth, kowtowing to greet her, Li Meng said in a deep voice:

"This kid has been with me for a few years, and he is also a smart and clever person, and he looks like a reading material, and I have nothing to teach him here. I see that Liu Qian is also old, if there is anything to let this child run away, and follow his uncle to learn more things in his spare time, his uncle is very talented, he will naturally benefit a lot from following you. ”

The old man is afraid of being idle, and there is such a clever and lovely child as a student. It is also Li Meng's heart. And with Liu Fulai's knowledge, a smart child like Su Anqi will also learn a lot of things. It's a joy for all.

There was a huge momentum outside, but after Liu Fulai entered the house, it dispersed, leaving only an older person like Ning Qiangui to come over to chat with him, and after welcoming him to the main hall, the housekeeper Rosie came to the main hall, after Li Meng introduced with a smile, Rosie also kowtowed respectfully on the ground, he was a slave in the inner house, and he naturally had to make a big salute when he saw the old lady.

After getting up, the housekeeper Rosie explained the preparations in the house in detail, and the old eunuch had returned to normal at this time, and his face was quite calm, but after hearing that Rosie said that the mansion was ready, and Liu Qian and several other loyal servants also had accommodation arrangements in the side courtyard of the courtyard, they couldn't help but have some smiles on their faces. In such small things, you can see Li Meng's sincerity.

After the housekeeper Luo Xi made the arrangement, he led Liu Qian, the personal servant of Eunuch Liu, to transport all kinds of belongings to the courtyard.

There was a family banquet in the evening, Ning Qiangui said a few words and then said goodbye, but the joy on Eunuch Liu's face could not be concealed, and after there were only two people left in the main hall, Liu Fulai said softly:

"Our family has been guarding Nanjing for many years, but we also have some savings, Li Meng, you have a big stall here, and the expenses are also large, so ...... these savings can be used."

Before he finished speaking, he was stopped by Li Meng, and said with a smile:

"That's my uncle's pension money, and my nephew has a province here, and if I want my uncle's box to raise soldiers, I'm really going to be laughed at by the world."

Seeing what Li Meng said categorically, Liu Fulai, the eunuch guarding Nanjing Town, didn't say anything more, but he felt warm in his heart and added another one. Huaiyan was defeated, Lu Yanxing was prosperous, and Li Meng's soldiers were about to enter Huaibei to defend the salt field for the two Huai salt merchants, protect the peace, and create an extra piece of land out of thin air, or a fertile land and oil land.

One defeat and one prosperity, the foundation expands, there is countless money, gold and silver, and Li Meng, the general soldier of Shandong, why should he care about hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in that small land......

In the Huguang area. On the first day of October, Yang Sichang entered Xiangyang, in Xiong Wencan's army, swore three armies, and at the same time announced the edict to arrest Xiong Wencan and go to Beijing to be imprisoned, speaking of which Xiong Wencan was once the prime minister of the five provinces, and the governors and general soldiers everywhere had to obey his orders, and the business he did was the instructions of Yang Sichang and Emperor Chongzhen.

Speaking of which, the reason why Xiong Wencan became the minister of the town guard of one side was precisely because he recruited Zheng Zhilong in Fujian and used Zheng Zhilong to kill the Guangdong pirate Liu Laoxiang, so he was valued by the imperial court.

But it's also safe. Defeat also recruits peace, but in the end, he was arrested and imprisoned by the imperial court because he failed to appease him, as long as he is a minister who knows the temper of Emperor Chongzhen, he can almost deduce it. Xiong Wencan is less auspicious this time.

This time, after Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai recuperated during the Zhao'an period, their combat effectiveness was restored, and the officers and troops were not prepared, but they were taken advantage of by the two armies of the Eight Kings and Cao Cao, not only Zuo Liangyu's troops were defeated by the Shaanxi rebels, but the two generals of Huguang also died tragically.

The chaos in the two lakes has arisen again, but it has given Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, who has been ruined, a chance to breathe again. Li Zicheng, who originally had only a dozen horsemen left, gathered more than 1,000 men and horses again, hid in the mountains at the junction of Huguang and Shaanxi, and followed Luo Rucai's brigade to move.

The political situation of the Jurchen Qing Kingdom outside the Guanxi has become more and more stable, and all the forces that do not obey the Emperor Taiji have ceased to exist.

The various Mongolian tribes that were still entangled and fighting with the Jurchen Qing State could no longer be called a force, some of them were attached to the Jurchen Qing State, and the other part was beaten by the Qing army and left Mobei.

The current Qing state used the livestock of the people who plundered the land in the customs to cultivate the fields outside the customs to supplement the famine and losses caused by the disaster year.

While holding it outside the customs for many years. The Han people, who were about to become Jurchen, were incorporated into the Eight Banners of the Han Army, and at the same time sent soldiers full of Eight Banners to search for the uncivilized Jurchen tribes and Saurons in the old forest, forcing them to join the army and constantly increase their strength.

The troops brought by Kong Youde in Shandong were originally chaotic troops, but they were gradually cleaned up due to the harsh military discipline of the Qing army, and Huang Taiji attached great importance to this army, because the Ming rebels led by Kong Youde came to the gate with cannons and other firearms. Artillery, but it is the most powerful weapon of our time.

The Manchu Qing attached great importance to firearms, not inferior to the Ming Dynasty, since one of the five ministers Fei Yanggu died under the fire of the Koreans, every time the Qing army went out, they had to recruit Korean firearms. On the side of the Ming court, on the one hand, troops were dispatched to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai. On the one hand, it is urging the collection of local salaries. Hong Chengchou was the governor of Jiliao and was responsible for the operation in the direction of the Qing army. Sun Chuanting was the governor of Baoding and was responsible for the defense of the Northern Zhili region.

The Shaanxi army, which had the strongest combat power, was left in Beizhili as a guard, although Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting strongly opposed, but at the insistence of Yang Sichang, the Shaanxi army still stayed in Beizhili.

As a result, the troops of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were repeatedly defeated, and the officials and troops of Shaanxi were withdrawn from the front line of the battlefield, and the Shaanxi thieves and soldiers became more and more rampant. Zheng Chongjian, the new governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, was overstretched because he did not have a common army in his hands, and his troops were insufficient in the garrison of Shaanxi.

Beizhili had just been ravaged by the Qing army Jurchen, and Shaanxi, Shanxi, Huguang, and Henan were either plagued by catastrophes, or officers and soldiers and thieves fought for years and were in dilapidation.

The southwest area was completely damaged by the rebellion of Lu'an, the population of Yunnan, Guichuan and Sichuan was greatly reduced, and the local Tusi chiefs of various ethnic groups simply returned to their original territory, and the Shuixian clan was still the largest Tusi and force in the southwest. There is no sign of stability at all.

Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi area, is the south of the Yangtze River rich land, the geographical conditions are relatively superior, few natural disasters, and because of the rise of handicraft workshops and foreign trade, it shows a kind of deformed prosperity, Guangdong is also relying on trade with the Nanyang countries, barely maintained. It's just that these places are claimed to be peaceful, but there is no big chaos, and small chaos is continuous.

In addition, there are two places in the world that are peaceful, one is Fujian, where the Zheng family is very powerful, and the other is the land of Qilu under the jurisdiction of Li Meng, the general soldier of Shandong.