King of the East!

Isn't it Yang Xiuqing's title, it's not auspicious!

Zhang Ke smiled slightly, he didn't care much about the name, the command of the world relied on the elite soldiers under his command, and relied on the invincible wealth, as for the title, for those who aspire to the throne, unless they sit on the dragon chair, they will definitely not be satisfied.

After receiving the holy decree, Zhang Ke immediately gathered his subordinates and went to the palace chamber.

At this time, in addition to those overseas and the garrisons of the grassland, the Yizhou soldiers rushed over with a little weight. It is worth mentioning that Hong Fuyi, Wang Huazhen, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingyun and other older generations also came.

Zhang Ke has great respect for them, Hong Fuyi is his teacher, Wang Huazhen has the grace of knowing him, as for Li Zhizao and Yang Tingyun, they have done their best to recruit talents for Zhang Ke over the years, preach the study of mind, and spread Western learning, and the credit is very great.

In addition, such as Tang Bi, Wang Duowen, Xiong Hui, Deng Wentong, Zhang Guochen and others, plus Qiao Fu, Yue Zixuan, Liu Shaoqing, Ma Rufeng, Ma Biao and other military generals led by others, the black pressure filled the hall and extended to the door.

Looking at this posture, there is really a feeling that the heroes of the world are all in their hands.

Zhang Ke couldn't help but be ambitious and arrogant.

"Du Qing."

"Humble duty."

"Well, let's talk about it first, how much money we have now, and how much strength we can use to deal with the rogue."

"Yes!" Du Qing's chest was erected, and his face was shining. In the past few years, the Yizhou soldiers have fought fewer battles, but they have not relaxed their development forces at all, and the expansion rate of their troops is even more amazing.

The areas under Zhang Ke's control today include Liaodong, Jizhen, Xuanfu, Datong, Tianjin, and to the south Shandong. South Zhili, Zhejiang.

Not counting the troops invested overseas, Zhang Ke has more than 250,000 men and horses, as well as a large number of militiamen. Among these large armies, 70,000 horses were to stay on the northern front to deal with the direction of the steppe, and the rest were scattered and stationed in various places, and there were 100,000 elite horses and infantry soldiers who were directly used to suppress the thieves.

In addition, it can also dispatch 300,000 people, plus hundreds of thousands of mules, horses, and vehicles. boats, as logistical support.

This is in terms of military strength, as for financial resources, Zhang Ke also does not have to worry, Deng Wentong has already issued 30 million bonds, and 15 million have been sold in less than half a month.

The only thing to worry about is food, but fortunately, the weather has gradually warmed up in recent years, and the ice age seems to have begun to pass. Liaodong has had bumper harvests year after year, and has changed from the original oil bottle to a large granary. In addition, whether it is overseas or in the southeast, you can get food.

After all parties returned, Zhang Ke was pleased to find that everything was completely ready, and only Dongfeng was owed.

"Now that everyone is ready. Then the king will talk about the key points of using soldiers, the big guy must remember clearly, what we want is to fight steadily and steadily, step by step. Three-point battle. Seven points of care, to the people first, divided the field and land. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to screening. Send all those leaders who are bent on rebellion overseas and cut off the source of the trouble! ”

"Understood!"

After Zhang Ke confessed, the army was immediately mobilized and set out on a certain day.

Just the day before leaving, Hong Shiyi suddenly arrived at Zhang Ke's study. The teacher came, Zhang Ke hurriedly invited the teacher in, I haven't seen him for a few years, Hong Fuyi's hair is gray, and his cheeks are crawling with age spots, as if something has stabbed Zhang Ke's heart, and his nose can't help but be sour.

"Teacher, you've worked hard for the past few years!"

"Hahaha, it's not hard work, let's be benevolent!" Hong Fu said with a smile: "When the old man was young, he looked forward to educating the common people and building a wide academy so that everyone in the world could read. ”

"Teacher, good ambition!"

"Hehe, if it weren't for Yongzhen, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to complete this ambition in my life, but now I'm finally off to a good start, as long as I can do it, sooner or later there will be that day."

"The disciple thinks so!" Zhang Ke said with a smile that he felt that he would not relax his investment in education.

Hong Shiki smiled and nodded, and suddenly his expression changed and he restrained his smile.

"Yongzhen, there are more and more people who are reading, but being a teacher is even more confusing. In the past, I always felt that I learned to become a literary and martial artist, and sold the goods to the emperor's family. However, the imperial court opened a department for three years, but there were only three or four hundred people, and I am afraid that it is not as good as one ten-thousandth of the world's scholars. Especially in Liaodong, young people have long studied not to take the imperial examination, they are to accumulate knowledge, to understand the world, and to realize their own value. In particular, the study of mind is prevalent, the three outlines and five constants are increasingly thrown aside, strange theories emerge in an endless stream, and teachers can't distinguish right from wrong for a while. ”

Hong Fuyi said with a sigh that Liaodong was nothing as a cultural desert, but since Zhang Ke promoted education, a large number of scholars have emerged, coupled with the influx of Western learning, Liaodong has no burden, and the ideological circle has suddenly become extraordinarily active.

Zhang Ke was naturally very happy about this, but the teacher was afraid that it would be difficult to accept, Zhang Ke wanted to explain a few sentences, but Hong Fu suddenly waved his hand.

"Yongzhen, it's not for you to change anything when you say this, but because the teacher thinks that the sea is inclusive, maybe it's me who is wrong!"

Zhang Ke never expected the teacher to say this, so he couldn't help but open his mouth wide in surprise.

"Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, Confucianism has absorbed the strengths of a hundred schools, and has integrated the concept of Buddhism and Taoism, which has long been changing. Now that it is a change unseen in a thousand years, the system of monarchs and ministers may not work. Yongzhen, do what you have to do, there is only one thing, you can't be sorry for the people, you can't be sorry for your conscience! Always torture your heart, for the teacher's words are all here, you should rest early. ”

After Hong Shiyi finished speaking, he turned around and left, but left Zhang Ke sitting there stunned.

The teacher's words couldn't be clearer, the mind has long had the idea of the reality of a hypocritical monarch, and it has evolved into a non-monarch ideology even more frantically over the years, and some people have even written books and criticized the monarchy.

In the face of these statements, Zhang Ke adopted an attitude of acquiescence and even encouragement.

Now that the teacher can say that he doesn't care about the monarch and the ministers, it is tantamount to encouraging himself to usurp power, and an old scholar can turn a corner, which shows that the time is indeed ripe!

Of course, this is not to say that there are no objections, but the objections have been reduced to a point where they can not be cared about.

In that case, what are you waiting for?

Destroy Li Zicheng first, and then abolish Zhu Youzhen, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, it's my turn to sit Zhang Ke!

This night, Zhang Ke slept very sweetly, he didn't even have a dream, and woke up. After freshening up, he changed into the prince's uniform. Zhang Ke personally led the generals to inspect the three armies in the school military field.

Zhang Ke personally led Ma Rufeng, Liu Shaoqing, Xie Chao, He An, the four general soldiers, plus Shen Yue, Zhu Qingbin, Du Qing and others, a total of 50,000 troops, left Tianjin.

Almost at the same time. Qiao Fu led 20,000 troops from Fengyang and entered Henan, while Yue Zixuan led Xuanda's men and horses, and with the cooperation of Lu Xiangsheng, he went south to Shanxi to encircle and suppress the Liukou.

After a long time, His Royal Highness the East King finally sent troops, and everyone in the world was shocked, I don't know when it started. The Yiju soldiers have become a guarantee of victory, and as long as they go to war, everyone can rest assured that they can wait for the news of victory.

When the news reached the capital, Chongzhen was also rarely happy. He specially ordered Zhang Ke to lead his troops to the capital to accept the summons of the Son of Heaven, and he wanted to reward the soldiers who went out on the expedition.

But wait for his will to be sent to Tianjin. The news I got was that Zhang Ke had gone south, and he asked someone to turn Chongzhen around, thanking the emperor for remembering. It's just that the thief is like fire, and he can't be delayed, so he can only go out immediately.

Seeing the echo, Chongzhen was so angry that he almost went crazy.

Zhang Ke is arrogant to this point, it is unreasonable!

He thought about it, but there was no way to deal with Zhang Ke, so he could only sulk.

Sending troops from Tianjin, all the way to the southwest, passing through Beizhili, passing through Weihui Mansion, and then crossing the Yellow River in the south, it arrived at Kaifeng.

is getting closer and closer to the destination, but what he sees along the way makes Zhang Ke's heart hang. It turned out that the Liukou opened the Yellow River and flooded Kaifeng, although it did not destroy Kaifeng City, but it caused the Yellow River to flood, and the people along the way were devastated. Large swathes of land are barren and homeless people are on the move.

What's even worse is that many prefectures and counties have no officials in charge, so naturally no one cares about these affected people. Occasionally, some kind-hearted landlords gave porridge for relief, but as soon as they heard that someone was giving porridge, thousands of people gathered and were so frightened that they immediately stopped.

For the victims, they will either be starved to death, or they will rise up and become rogues. There is no other way.

Seeing this, Zhang Ke secretly called it lucky, if he hadn't opened overseas channels and could transfer the people out, he wouldn't have been able to face these people.

Zhang Ke simply slowed down, set up resettlement bases along the way, dispatched people to protect them, recruited disaster victims, and resettled those who could be resettled on the spot, and those who could not be sent overseas, giving everyone a way out.

Food relief was provided to the victims who heard the news. It took three months for Zhang Ke to arrive in Kaifeng.

Before crossing the Yellow River, a group of people came to greet them.

"Xiaguan Hong Chengchou, meet Dongwang Chitose!"

Hong Chengchou?

Zhang Ke couldn't help but look carefully, only to see that the guy opposite was tall, fair-skinned, with three wisps of ink hair, and a graceful demeanor.

gave birth to a good look, but it's a pity...... But Jiannu is finished, he will never be a traitor again.

"Lord Hong, please get up."

"Thank you, Lord Wang." Hong Chengchou stood up respectfully and stood next to Zhang Ke with his head bowed.

"How is Kaifeng doing today?"

Hong Chengchou's face turned bitter, and he sighed: "Lord, the Kaifeng city wall has been soaked by the river, collapsed in many places, and needs to be repaired urgently. No matter how large a large number of refugees pour in, they also need to be appeased, and it is difficult for the officials and women to cook without rice, and everything is waiting for the prince to decide. ”

"Okay, let's go into town."

Zhang Ke, accompanied by Hong Chengchou, crossed the river with a large army and stationed in Kaifeng.

Entering the city, Zhang Ke found that the situation was far more serious than Hong Chengchou said, the streets were full of beggars begging for food, and the outside of every shop was crowded with people, there was a serious shortage of materials, lack of food and clothing, and many people starved to death every day.

"Lord Hong, how much grain is still in the city?"

"Lord Qiqi, it's only been two months, and it's ...... Only enough for military rations! ”

Zhang Ke sighed, although he was prepared, the reality was still so bad.

"Lord Hong, you can arrange it, take out a month's grain stockpile, and give relief to the people first, and the king will find a way to make up for the shortfall."

Hong Chengchou's hair is going to turn gray these days, the court has no money and food, and there are many refugees below, and the dignified governor even has to lower his voice and borrow food from some big households, which is simply disgraced.

Now that he finally has someone who can carry the matter, Hong Chengchou can't help but go down to deal with it.

Not to mention, Hong Chengchou is really a cadre, in half a day, the porridge factory was built, the beggar refugees had food to eat, and their mood was much more stable.

And with the continuous delivery of material resources, the people's hearts have finally settled down.

Less than a month after Zhang Ke arrived in Kaifeng, suddenly the alarm was everywhere, and countless investigations hurriedly sent letters to Kaifeng. Li Zicheng, the leader of the Liukou, led a large group of men and horses towards Kaifeng, a distance of only 200 miles.

Li Zicheng alone is not worth mentioning, and another character also emerged, that is, Luo Rucai, nicknamed "Cao Cao".

Speaking of Luo Rucai, he is not the most soldiers and the most powerful, but he is the most difficult among the rogues, because he is cunning and cunning, good at organization and coordination, brave and strategic.

There are many rogues, every time he comes forward to contact, gather everyone together, grab the county and seize the state, every time he lays down, he will organize his subordinates to distribute property and food, because of the fairness of things, in the rogue in a hundred responses.

This time, after Li Zicheng killed King Xiang, he went from Huguang to Sichuan, but he was sniped by the white pole soldiers, and he could not attack the hinterland, so he could only retreat to the northwest. Under Luo Rucai's instigation, Li Zicheng took the lead, gathered all kinds of rogues, gathered an army of five or six hundred thousand, and marched towards Kaifeng.

"Lord Hong, you have fought many times with the Liukou, but what do you know?"

Hong Chengchou said respectfully: "The prince is a soldier, how dare the subordinate get an axe." ”

"This king can't be unpredictable, Lord Hong just has to talk about it at will."

"Obey orders, my lord, the rogue fights, always take the hungry people as the lead, and use the sea of people to attack the city. If the court can't cope with the situation, they will find loopholes and take advantage. And once the imperial court officers and troops counterattacked, they would use foot soldiers and cavalry to drag them to the death, depending on the situation, if they were not defeated, they would immediately flee with the old camp. As long as you keep the elite, you can pull up tens of thousands of horses and make a comeback in a blink of an eye, which is really a headache! ”

Zhang Ke listened and couldn't help nodding: "This king is clear, send an order, and tell everyone to stick to Kaifeng and not attack blindly." I'm going to sit and wait for Li Zicheng to send it to the door! ”

One hundred and twenty miles away in Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng was holding a bowl of white rice with a few roasted chili peppers in it, eating it with a little bit of sweat.

The big curtain was opened, and Luo Rucai walked in from the outside.

"Hahaha, King Chuang, tell you good news, there are two more righteous armies coming, our men and horses have exceeded 500,000, and if you want to take Kaifeng, it will not be a problem!"

Li Zicheng put down his job and said with a smile: "Cao Cao is good at fighting, and I Li Zicheng is good at fighting, this time we will join forces to win Kaifeng, and let the emperor know how powerful we are!" (To be continued......)