Liu Fan came to the Qianqing Palace, saw Chongzhen, and asked, "Your Majesty, there is not much time left before Kong Youde's rebellion, and the distance of the capital road is thousands of miles from Shandong, and the minister wants to set off in three days!" ”

"Hmmm! The road is far away, and it is also necessary to set off as soon as possible, I will give you a will, and hand it over to Yu Dacheng when you arrive in Shandong, and he will arrange for you at that time! Chongzhen returned

"Your Majesty, the minister has an idea, the Broken Army is now only five hundred people, and the treasury can't draw too much silver taels to supply, the development of the Broken Army is seriously restricted, if you want to develop and grow, you must eat a place, and the minister wants to stay in Shandong after quelling the rebellion!"

"That's true, there is no money left in the treasury! Only 500 people is equivalent to the consumption of tens of thousands of ordinary guards, and I can't afford to support such a large consumption, not to mention that in order to form a combat force, the scale must be expanded, it seems that I have to think of another way! What attention does Aiqing have to say! Chongzhen also sighed

"The minister's idea is that after the rebellion is quelled, the place will be empty, and the minister can take the opportunity to master the salt works in Shandong, which has always been a major salt-producing province, and the four largest salt farms in the country, two of which are in and around Shandong. As long as we control a small salt-producing area, it will be enough for our army to use it, and if the minister develops the method of drying salt in later generations, he can produce a large amount of salt, and when the time comes, not only can the army grow, but also send a large amount of silver money to the imperial court every year. Rather than let those profiteers embezzle, it is better to leave it to the ministers to take care of it. Not only can you train the army to defend your home and country, but you can also support Your Majesty! Liu Fan said what he thought

Chongzhen thought for a long time before saying, "Okay, you can try it then, at most, I will only appoint you as a salt envoy in a small salt farm, and I will not be subject to other people's jurisdiction, but I will not give you any other help." If something goes wrong, you can figure it out yourself! ”

"Obey the order, it's enough to have your words! The minister packed up and set off in two days! Liu Fan was overjoyed

After leaving the palace, Liu Fan returned to his own home in Jingshi, and told Xiaozhu and Xiaohe about his upcoming expedition, and the two girls with teary eyes begged, "My lord, take us away!" ”

"Nonsense! It's a long journey, and the army is full of men, it's inconvenient to take you, and the soldiers are dangerous, in case you are hurt, I won't feel sorry to death! Stay at home and pick you up when I'm done fighting!" Liu Fan comforted that Liu Fan had been at home with the two daughters for two days and did not go out, and the girls who knew that they did not have much time were unusually obsessed with Liu Fan.

On July 27, the fourth year of Chongzhen, Liu Fan swore an oath in Niutunbao and embarked on a journey to Shandong under the reluctant gaze of the two daughters.

On the official road to Shandong, Liu Fan marched during the day and rested at night, marching 60 miles a day, and after more than 20 days of marching, he finally entered the territory of Jinan on August 20 in the fourth year of Chongzhen.

At noon on the second day, Liu Fan led the army to Jinan City, and after ordering the army to be stationed on the spot, Liu Fan took Wang Yong and a few other soldiers to Jinan Mansion to meet Yu Dacheng, the governor of Shandong. After inquiry, it was learned that because the governor Sun Yuanhua was lucky, and there were many old departments in Liaodong in Shandong and other places, Chongzhen's will did not play a big role, and he connected Linyi, Shanghe, Xincheng, and hit near Qingzhou.

Liu Fan thought about it for a while and said to Yu Dacheng, "Lord Yu, you have also seen Your Majesty's will, Your Majesty ordered you to quickly mobilize troops to quell Kong Youde's rebellion, in order to prevent the situation from expanding, now Kong Youde is attacking Qingzhou City, and please send troops to quell the rebellion, and I am willing to help my lord!" ”

"Jimin has traveled a long way to Jinan, the soldiers are tired and should not start the war immediately, and the transfer of troops is not a word can be done, but also to contact the army, I have asked the imperial court for assistance, I believe that the reinforcements will arrive soon! In the evening, I held a banquet at home and invited all my colleagues from Jinan Mansion to introduce Jimin and discuss how to quell the rebellion! Yu Dacheng said with a smile

"Alright! Adults are gracious, and it is better to obey your orders than to be humble and respectful! Liu Fan said helplessly

After Liu Fan left, Yu Dacheng's staff came to ask, "My lord, this Liu Jimin is just a boss, he doesn't deserve so much attention from adults!" Yu Dacheng waved his hand and said, "Do you know, this Liu Jimin is not an ordinary general, the broken army under his command was trained by His Majesty himself, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the emperor's own army, and I have sent someone to investigate, two months ago, this person beat Wu Yewei, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, on the street in the capital, and attracted thousands of scholars to besiege him, His Majesty only removed him from the position of Jinyi Wei Baihu, not to mention that he also came with His Majesty's secret decree, and His Majesty also asked me to take care of him and not let him get into danger!" Such a person should not be taken lightly! ”

In the evening, Yu Dacheng's mansion was brightly lit, Yu Dacheng set up a banquet here to entertain Liu Fan, and after the guests arrived, Yu Dacheng pulled Liu Fan and said, "Everyone, this is Liu Jimin, the commander of the army appointed by His Majesty personally." This time I came to Jinan Mansion to quell the rebellion on the orders of His Majesty, and I also ask my colleagues to take care of the old man's thin face! The following guests even claimed that it was, what Futai Lord was polite, young and promising, a bunch of flattering words, Liu Fan rolled his eyes when he heard it, and secretly said that he was really not suitable for this officialdom to socialize, having said that, he still had to give up his hand and say, "I came to Shandong for the first time, and I ask you to take care of me!" In order not to offend people, everyone Liu Fan has to raise a glass and drink, although the Ming Dynasty has a low degree of wine, but it can't stand a lot of people, dozens of people come down, Liu Fan is already a little dizzy, and he doesn't dare to speak, it seems that Yu Dacheng, this old thing, is deliberately tidying himself. Originally, Liu Fan wanted to ask when he would send troops, but it seemed that there was no chance! Forced to get drunk Liu Fan stayed up until the end of the banquet and immediately asked the soldiers to escort him back to the camp, secretly swearing that he would never participate in any banquets again, he couldn't complete the, and said a bunch of meaty and disgusting words, his own slap Chongzhen's sycophants are really small compared to these old fritters in the officialdom!

After returning to the camp, Liu Fan went to see Yu Dacheng to inquire about the dispatch of troops, that is, to send people to inquire about the movements of the thieves. For a few days, Liu Fan came to inquire, Yu Dacheng said that he was still in the process of transferring troops, except for secretly slandering Yu Dacheng's speed of troop transfer, Liu Fan had no other good way, even if he took Chongzhen's holy decree to say things, people loved to ignore it. In the end, Liu Fan had no choice but to tell Yu Dacheng when he was going to attack the rebels and when to notify him. At other times, Liu Fan didn't bother to ask, anyway, it was impossible for him to quell the rebellion by himself, so it was better to stay in the barracks and train soldiers than to be angry!

On the first day of September in the fourth year of Chongzhen, Yu Dacheng sent someone to inform Liu Fan to prepare to leave Qingzhou, it turned out that Kong Youde's rebels had besieged Qingzhou City, and the Qingzhou prefect urgently sent people to ask for help, Yu Dacheng received the request for help, and decided to go to the rescue with 3000 elite soldiers, and informed Liu Fan to act together!