Li Xingzhi did not let go of the property of the Confucian Mansion because he slept with Miss Confucius, and while loading the materials and craftsmen, he also collected the valuable antiques and jade and various calligraphy and paintings in the Confucian Mansion.

There are too many materials obtained this time, but fortunately, there are thousands of mules and horses, and the difficulty of transportation is not great, and there are many craftsmen in the Confucian Mansion, and there is no shortage of manpower to drive donkeys and mules.

For the sake of safety, Li Xingzhi led Yang Biao to lead the first town and the Han army to escort the property and the clansmen of the Confucian Mansion back to Dengzhou first, while he led the Manmeng green flag and the iron man soldiers to Ziyang.

Ziyang is the capital city of Yanzhou, different from Jinan City and Laizhou City, Ziyang is one of the best fortified cities in Shandong.

The circumference of the city is fourteen and a half miles, the wall is three zhang two high, one zhang five wide, the arrow tower, the watchtower, the urn city are all available, in addition to the city also deploys 48 large and small artillery.

The Dongyu entered the Kou in a big way, approaching Qufu and Ziyang, which made the people of Yanzhou panic, after all, this time it was the Dongyu who slaughtered millions of soldiers and civilians in Jinan and Qingzhou.

After receiving the news of the entry of the Eastern Captives, Deng Xifan, the prefect of Yanzhou, immediately discussed the matter of defending the city with Wang Weixin, the counselor of the supervising army, Ding Wenming, the deputy general of Shandong, Li Changqi, the governor of Yanzhou, and Hao Fangsheng, the prefect of Ziyang.

In fact, there is nothing to discuss, that is, to mobilize the people to rush to repair the city and rectify the equipment, but although Yanzhou is the government, because the money and grain of Caoyun are collected by Jinan, and now it is the beginning of the year, the money and grain of the city treasury were urgently transferred to Beijing before the year, and there is not much money in the city now.

As the saying goes, a penny is hard to beat a hero, although the officials in the city have the heart to defend the city, Deng Xifan and other officials have also emptied their savings, but they cannot maintain the youth and strength of the requisition and the expenses of the people.

Without money and food, there is no morale and military morale, and Deng Xifan is also a clever woman who has no rice to cook, so she has to mobilize the gentry in the city to donate.

However, the gentry of Yanzhou are inextricably linked with the Confucian government, and they do not take the government in their eyes at all, taking the reputation of the Holy Duke of Yan, and Deng Xifan and others are not good at forcibly apportioning, so they have to focus on Zhu Shouyong, the king of Lu in the Ming Dynasty.

It is a matter of the life of the family, the Qing army is in the city, Zhu Shouyong did not guard the money and grain at home like other vassal kings, but sent the prince Zhu Yipai to bring 8,000 taels of silver and 300 stones of grain to reward the soldiers and civilians of Yanzhou, and at the same time inspect the city defense.

However, this amount of money and food is tantamount to a drop in the bucket for the huge Yanzhou City.

Facing the stingy King Lu, Deng Xifan knelt down in front of Zhu Yipai, and said earnestly: "When the ministers heard that the city was not defended, the nobles in the city cherished their money and loved themselves. Whoever is in the city, my life is also; Those who bribe bribes are also the lives of men. I can't kill him, but hope that he will kill me? The palace can scatter and accumulate to boost morale, the city can still survive, and the life can still be guaranteed; Otherwise, once the general trend is gone, the jade will be embered, and there will be no regret! ”

"Bastard, the public eats the Ming Dynasty, and he should be loyal to the country, and my Lu Fan can provide some money and food, and I have done my best to be benevolent and righteous, but I am not satisfied, it is ridiculous, Yanzhou is not rich in the Lu Domain."

The prince Zhu Yipai is the third son of Zhu Shouyong, and unlike the other vassal kings of the Zhu family, he doesn't care about a little money and food, he wants fairness.

"Deng Fuzun, there is still some money and grain in the hands of this lord, if you are not too little, this lord will be sent to the city later, it is not that my father is stingy, but my father can't listen, and the prince also knows about the Tang Domain, and my father really doesn't dare to violate the laws of the court."

Zhu Yihai, the sixth son of King Lu, explained apologetically, what he said was also the truth, the court has always been disgusted with the vassal king's private friendship with the local government and interfering in government affairs.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Qing court prince Azig led the troops to plunder Jinggi, and Zhu Yujian, the Tang king of Nanyang, scattered all his family wealth to launch the Nanyang army and civilians into the Weijing division, all the way to the death battle with the peasant army in Henan, and his army arrived in Ruzhou, Chongzhen's holy decree came, and Zhu Yujian, who was dedicated to serving the country, was abolished as a concubine on the spot and sent to the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum.

There are lessons from the past, even if Lu Fan has the intention to serve the country, he does not dare to violate the laws of the imperial court.

"Alas! Thank you for your generosity! ”

Zhu Yihai's words were all on this, and Deng Xifan had nothing to say, so he had to order the officials to go to the gentry's house in the city for help.

"The imperial court is rich all over the world, how can you ask me to wait for the people to pay?"

"My Zhang family has passed down poems and books, where can I have any money to help?"

"Why is there tens of thousands of money and grain in King Lu's mansion, and why do you need me to wait for the people to pay?"

"We small people have so much tax money every year, so we have raised you incompetent mediocre officials."

The gentry of Yanzhou are angry, it is a matter for the court to resist the Tartars, these incompetent dog officials do not protect the township well, and they actually found us, does this still put the holy master in their eyes? Do you still take the Holy Father in your eyes?

The small gentry in the background scolded the court one by one for competing with the people for profit, and those side branches of the Confucian family even scolded in front of them, and even swaggered through the market with the tablet of the holy master, all in all, when they paid taxes, they were the gentry class who could not pay taxes, and when the court apportioned, they became the people again, and their personal property was sacrosanct citizens.

The helpless Deng Xifan can only do as much as he wants, but fortunately, there are more than 1,000 officers and soldiers in Ding Wenming's hands, and these soldiers and horses are all veterans who have fought with the peasant army, and they are barely enough to defend the city.

At the end of February of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Li Xingzhi led the Manmeng Green Banner and the Iron Man soldiers to enter the city of Ziyang.

To tell the truth, after taking the money and grain from the Confucian Mansion, Li Xingzhi was much less interested in attacking Ziyang, after all, Leiden had 300,000 soldiers and civilians, and there was no problem with the money and grain obtained this time to supply Leiden for several years, and after he returned, he would have to build a shipyard, a firearms workshop, and other matters.

It's just that since it is a false claim to be a Manchurian and Mongolian soldier, then it is necessary to show the prestige of the Manchurian and Mongolian soldiers, how can he go to the capital city and not attack it?

When the Qing army approached the city, Yanzhou prefect Deng Xifan, Shandong deputy general Ding Wenming, supervising army counselor Wang Guowei, prince Zhu Yihai and other Yanzhou officials boarded Yanzhou Dongcheng to investigate the military situation of the Qing army after hearing the report.

When they saw that the Qing army under the city only had about 3,000 infantry, they were all relieved.

Zhu Yihai said suspiciously: "The Tartar chieftain came with light soldiers, this is not to put my Yanzhou in his eyes, just with these cavalry, there are no siege equipment, how can they break through my Yanzhou fortified city, this Tartar chieftain Yuetuo can't not know?" Could it be that they still have backup? ”

He is not the prince of the vassal king, and it is not a taboo to go to the city to watch the enemy.

"Your Highness, the Tartars have always been treacherous, and it is only right that we should hold on to the city."

Wang Guowei, the senator of the supervising army, peeked at the prince Zhu Yihai in front of him, and secretly praised in his heart, this prince of the Lu clan has some knowledge, and he is more than a little stronger than the rest of the clans in Shandong.