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The matter of Zhoujia Village has been perfectly resolved. At the request of the Minister of Civil Affairs Zhou Yuan, the court in Chenzhou tried Zhou Chenglong, the patriarch of the Zhou clan, and the elders of the first cadre. Attempting to collude with bandits and kill high-ranking government officials is a serious crime! Although Zhou Chenglong and others are usually powerful in the village, the villagers can only swallow their anger. Now, Zhou Chenglong and others are kneeling on the ground and being tried by the court, which makes the villagers feel incredible, but more importantly, it is a great joy. The mountain that weighed on their heads was finally removed. They were able to live a good life.

In the end, the result of the verdict was as follows, Zhou Chenglong was sentenced to death, several sect elders and evildoers were also sentenced to death, and the rest were also sentenced to more than ten years in prison or life imprisonment. All their family property was confiscated. Under the threat of death, Zhou Chenglong and others shouted out for injustice, but no one paid attention to them. After all, this time they are attacking high-ranking cabinet officials, and they are simply killing themselves! This is still the reason why everyone doesn't know that the Emperor Long Yufei is also among them, otherwise, Zhou Chenglong and others will definitely be exterminated.

When Zhou Chenglong and others were dragged to the execution ground like dead dogs, they were executed. The people of Zhoujia Village set off firecrackers, as if they were celebrating the New Year. Without the oppression of Zhou Chenglong and others, they finally don't have to be bullied anymore.

Taking this opportunity, government officials once again announced the government's new policy. Without the obstruction of Zhou Chenglong and others. This time, there are many people who signed up to immigrate to Nanyang and Australia, and more than 1,000 people in Zhoujia Village, half of whom have registered. They are considered to be poor. If you can go to Nanyang and live a good life, then what's so bad? Only some elderly people are reluctant to leave their homes.

Although Long Yufei did not come forward, he has been paying attention to this matter. He was very satisfied with the final outcome of the matter. And with the help of this thing. He also found a way to eradicate the power of these clans. In rural areas, the practice of private torture halls is very common among the patriarchs and elders. If the empire were to investigate and deal with this, almost all the clan forces would be eliminated.

Long Yufei specially issued an order to the cabinet, requiring the cabinet, the procuratorate and the court to cooperate closely to crack down on the local gentry who set up torture halls privately. Nothing to do with human life. Moreover. We call on the garrisons and police departments in various localities to give them their full support. Those murderers who disregard human life will be punished severely.

Long Yufei's orders were carried out, and soon in various parts of the empire, a blow was launched against the local clan forces. A large number of patriarchs or clan elders with blood on their hands were sentenced or even directly shot. This, on a certain course, caused social unrest. But. There was a strong bullet pressure from the army, and there was no major chaos. Plus after these clan forces were eradicated. The common people no longer have to be oppressed, everyone is happy about this, and the society is quickly stabilized.

Without the hindrance of these feudal remnants, the new policy of the empire was soon implemented. Countless people have signed up to immigrate to Nanyang and Australia, and the number of people who have signed up has reached the predetermined 50 million in a short period of time. The Empire's resettlement program was successfully completed, and the relocation of these people to the South Seas and Australia allowed these places to be developed quickly. The national strength of Xinhua will also be further strengthened.

Those who remain at home, the empire will not treat them badly. After the clan power was eradicated, a lot of fertile land and property were confiscated. This land was distributed to the landless and landless peasants. It also allowed the imperial government to save money on the purchase of land. In addition, those squires were almost all wealthy, and their family property was confiscated. According to the final statistics, the total amount of this fund reached 300 million Chinese dollars. As a result, the originally tight imperial finances suddenly became more abundant. The industrial and transportation plans of the empire were also carried forward. It's a win-win! The powerful methods of the imperial government also frightened others. The squires who had escaped the catastrophe had to sell their land to the government at a low price, so that it would not attack them. Although they are reluctant to give up their land, it will not be cost-effective if they put their wealth and life into it. These squires, after receiving the funds from the sale of the land, threw themselves into industry and commerce. Some lost everything, but others succeeded, and the empire's industry and commerce grew considerably.

Of course, that's all for later. After Emperor Long Yufei and his entourage left Zhoujia Village, they continued to go north.

By the end of April, Long Yufei and his entourage had arrived in Wuchang. The Yangtze River divided Hubei into two halves, and a treaty signed between the empire and the Manchu government, with Hubei north of the Yangtze belonging to the Manchus and south of the Yangtze belonging to the Chinese Empire. It's just that the area north of the Yangtze River is obviously much larger.

The Chinese Empire and the Manchu Qing Dynasty were ruled by the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River became the dividing line between the two countries. However, although a peace treaty has been signed, neither of the two countries will trust anyone, and they have deployed heavy troops along the Yangtze River. Half of the Manchu new army was deployed in Jiangbei, with a total of 300,000 men. It can be seen that the Manchu government was also afraid that the empire would tear up the treaty and attack the north of the Yangtze River. Although the Yangtze River is known as the moat, with the support of the Imperial Navy, the moat does not have much effect. The Manchus were almost incomparable to the empire in terms of navy. For this reason, they could only strengthen their forces on land as much as possible to resist the attack of the Chinese Empire. Of course, whether such a passive defense will be effective or not will have to pass the test of the battlefield.

The Imperial Army also deployed heavy troops along the Yangtze River, and three corps of the newly formed infantry corps were deployed along the Yangtze River. Among them, Wuchang deployed an army to defend the defense line from Yichang to Jiujiang. The Zero 1st Army was deployed between Jiujiang and Jiangning. The last army was deployed on the line from Jiangning to Shanghai. Although, the three infantry corps, with a total of only more than 100,000 people, are not enough to defend the defense line for thousands of miles. However, the Qing army on the opposite side did not have the courage to fight at all. The Imperial Army's Yangtze River Defense Line is actually just a name and does not have much significance. Rather than defensive, the Imperial Army is more on offense!

The Yangtze River moat blocked the imperial army, but it also blocked the Qing army. The Qing army, which did not have naval superiority, wanted to cross the river to attack the Chinese Empire, which was even more delusional. What's more, the 2nd Fleet and the 4th Fleet, which the Xinhua Navy planned to eliminate, were dispatched to Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake respectively. They will be transformed from a naval fleet into a river defense fleet. Responsible for the defense along the Yangtze River. After the subsequent new warships are put into service, these officers and men will be transferred back to the navy one after another.

With three infantry corps and two fleets, the Yangtze River defense line composed of the imperial army and navy can be said to be impregnable.

Wuchang is a historic town located south of the Yangtze River, across the river from Hankou and Hanyang. The so-called three towns of Wuhan refer to Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou. It's just that among the three towns of Wuhan, only Wuchang is under the control of the Chinese Empire, and the other two are under the control of the Qing army.

The headquarters of the 5th Army of the Imperial Army is in Wuchang, and the 5th Army has 5 infantry brigades and military headquarters, totaling more than 35,000 people. The commander of the 5th Army was Major General Zhao Mingfu, the former commander of the 5th Brigade. Zhao Mingfu was originally a brigadier general, but in the war against the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the 5th Brigade was outstanding, and when he was rewarded for meritorious deeds, he was promoted to major general and served as the commander of the 5th Army.

The 5th Army consists of the 5th, 23rd, 41st, 59th and 77th Brigades. Among them, the 5th Brigade is the oldest unit, and the 23rd Brigade is a new unit formed after the capture of Guangdong. The 41st Brigade was an army reorganized from the former Guizhou Green Battalion, which surrendered to the empire. The 59th and 77th Brigades are newly formed units that are currently undergoing intensive recruit training.

Long Yufei's sudden arrival shocked Major General Zhao Mingfu. He hadn't gotten this news before this, but he knew Long Yufei, and Li Hu, the head of the guard who had been following Long Yufei, had a very good relationship with him.

"Minister Zhao Mingfu see His Majesty!" After seeing Long Yufei, Zhao Mingfu hurriedly saluted Long Yufei.

"No courtesy, this time I am a private visit to Weifu, don't make a noise." Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhao Mingfu nodded.

"Tell us about the situation on the other side, shall you?" Long Yufei stood on the edge of the Yangtze River, looking north. Separated by a river, the Manchu Qing Dynasty to the north and the Chinese Empire to the south.

"Your Majesty, to the north is the 12th and 13th towns of the new army of the Qing army, with a total of more than 25,000 people. These Qing troops are not badly equipped. Of course, there is no comparison with us! Major General Zhao Mingfu said. For the Qing army, he didn't look very seriously. If the next war broke out again, he was confident that he would defeat the Qing army on the opposite side in one fell swoop.

"Haha, I know what you're thinking. Now, though, is not the time. The situation in China has just stabilized, and it will take time for us to build our country. In addition, the training of new recruits also takes time. Long Yufei knew that these generals were all eager to fight. However, now is indeed not the best time to go to war.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Major General Zhao Mingfu nodded.

"Before that, you must ensure the safety of the Yangtze River defense line, and you can't let a Qing army cross the Yangtze River." Long Yufei admonished.

"Your Majesty, the minister assures you that with our 5th Army here, the Qing army will never be able to cross the Yangtze River!" Major General Zhao Mingfu patted his chest and said.

Long Yufei did not stay in Wuchang for long, and left after three days, taking a warship of the 2nd Fleet and sailing down the river. (To be continued......)