Chapter 350: The leisurely time in Jining

Fifty whips, and even if you don’t kill people, it is a very excessive requirement for the salt dings of the armed salt ding team. According to the execution standards of the salt dings, almost twenty whips will make the human skin burst, and thirty whips will be beaten to death. As a result, although the two children of the Confucius Mansion hugged their lives, they were unable to stand up after being sent back to the Confucius Mansion, and there was no good piece of meat on their bodies.

"The children of the Confucius Mansion are inherited by sages. These two shameless people who sell private salt will be dealt with by Yan Shenggong. The local government will punish them slightly. I hope that the Confucius Mansion will be upright and will never do anything that will humiliate the great sages and gods."

When Yan Ding sent the man back to the Kong Mansion, he said this openly. For the Kong Mansion, these words were no less than fifty whips that whipped the two children.

The sound of slap in the face was slapped on the face of Kong Mansion. The salt dicks directly beat the two of them, and then carried them on a stretcher in front of the main gate of Kong Mansion, at a distance that was not violated etiquette and taboos.

Although "trafficking in private salt" has always been a huge profit, it is the most humble and most despised industry, and it is even more a violation of the country's salt administration law, which is really unprovoked.

Li Meng is now a general in the province with the rank of general, but the government and the public criticized him, and the literati on the other side always mentioned this saying, "Li started from a humble state and was in a humble state."

There are also jokes that literati talked about after dinner, saying that a famous family in the capital wanted to recruit Li Meng as their son-in-law. Who would have thought that the respected clan leader of the family, and immediately slapped the proposer, that is, his son, and said righteously, "Our clan has been upright for a hundred years, how can we marry such people and humiliate the family style."

The actual situation is that there are indeed news that officials from the second rank or above in the capital have wanted to marry, some want to marry their daughter to Li Meng, and some want to have children and relatives with Li Meng.

That was very attentive, and no one said anything like "the beginning of a small matter" or "the slap in a low position"...

The area around the Confucius Mansion is either the land of the Confucius Mansion, the side branches of the Confucius Mansion and the tenant farmers, or the official business dealings or the scholars who study abroad, they are still inseparable from the Confucius Mansion.

These two children of the Confucius Mansion are still close to the branch. They have always followed the second son of Yan Shenggong to do business. They have always been decent figures in the Confucius Mansion, but today they are directly called for guilt. They are said to be trafficking in private salt.

This crime is really a bit shocking. The saint's children actually trafficked in private salt, and the person who sent the stretcher was just four ordinary soldiers in civilian clothes, because they were carrying the stretcher and didn't even take a weapon in their hands.

The Yansheng Gong of Confucius' Mansion is not as rich as the kings and princes. He does not have the so-called three guards of the vassal kings, but there are still guards under the system of two or three hundred people.

Moreover, the population of the strong men in the area controlled by the Kong Mansion also had to be calculated by 10,000 yuan as the unit, but after these four soldiers in the civilian clothes put down the stretcher, they took out the proclamation and read it loudly, with their accent still in the official language of Jiaozhou accent. Some of them came closer to read it and found that the proclamation was taken down.

The soldier obviously memorized the notice before coming over. Such soldiers, without weapons, were only four people, who were just in front of the Kong Mansion. He unscrupulously opened the face of the Kong Mansion.

This crime seems to be obvious. It is said that it is a taboo for the respected person. The unworthy children of the Confucius Mansion do not have land today. However, the local governments have to cover up one thing. Today, they are told so clearly, and the Kong Mansion listens silently. What makes people even more unbearable is that they have to punish silver. Then the butler of the Confucius Mansion cries with a sad face, but he still gives the silver bills respectfully.

If you don’t give this, your next fate will be almost certain. There are so many villages outside the Kong Mansion, and you may have been rushed in and killed a few of them. You even said that you are hiding bandits and give them to them obediently!

He was slapped in the face and dared not fight back. He also smiled and respectfully followed him. Many scholars who came from studying abroad felt that something in their hearts collapsed and turned around and left.

Usually, the Kong Mansion of Suli suppressed tenants, and even the small landlords around served the Kong Mansion obediently. They relied on wealth and power, and also rely on the sacred halo inherited by the saints on the Kong Mansion. But today, at least in front of many people, this sacred halo was mercilessly deprived of its essence.

Whether it was a scholar or a nearby tenant farmer, after this incident, they all had an idea. The Confucius Mansion turned out to be a paper tiger, and it looked scary outside, but it turned out to be that.

When the Li and Luo coalition forces passed Zhengzhou and rushed east to Zhongmu, their actions became slower. This was expected. The opposite side was 400,000 officers and soldiers gathered for several months. The upcoming war almost determines the future fate of the refugees and the court.

He had to be cautious. The Li and Luo coalition forces continued to adjust their arrangements, and Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Hao Yaoqi and other outstanding generals who entered the camp began to change to the forward position.

At this time, Luo Rucai was also unambiguous. His third wife Yang Chengzu and the fourth wife were both the most capable players, and they were all transferred to the front.

The huge size of a million troops is not something that can be adjusted by means of adjustment. In order to strive for stability of the army, we simply stop moving forward, slow but ensure safety.

In contrast, the officers and soldiers of Zhuxian Town were still as still as mountains, and the refugee army came from west to east. The officers and soldiers led by Zuo Liangyu and Ding Qirui also changed their formations and prepared to fight.

But the troops led by each person are indistinguishable from the front and back, almost on the same line, because no one is willing to be the vanguard in the front army to fight the refugee army first, and everyone is willing to be the rear army, so that they can run first when they escape. Since they want to be in a position that is easy to escape, they are unwilling to fight in front.

If the enemy is entangled and argued, I am afraid that before the enemy arrives, their own troops will be in chaos and fire. Everyone is simply on the same line. After reporting this news to Jining, Li Meng was humorous once. This matter is very similar to an official word I heard in modern times, called ranking regardless of order.

Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan in Kaifeng City, and Chen Yongfu, general, looked at the officers and soldiers of Zhuxian Town so lazy, and they really had no confidence at all.

When the army gathered, I felt a little confident when I saw the officers and soldiers so powerful, but when I saw the officers and soldiers stationed there, they were just consuming the food and money supplies that were hard-working in Kaifeng City and through the Yellow River. How could the officers and soldiers be reliable in this way?

As a result, the governor Li Xianfeng went to the Zhou royal palace in private. The next day, the north gate of Kaifeng prefecture opened again and went to the capital to ask for help, saying that Kaifeng city was in danger and asked the court to send troops to rescue him.

There were so many soldiers outside the city, and they were even saying that they were critical. What was the intention? Although with the memorial of the governor of Henan and the sincere request for help from the King of Zhou, Emperor Chongzhen believed the words of the vassal princes and relatives, but there were no soldiers available at the moment. Besides, the officers and soldiers of Zhuxian Town had not yet fought and the outcome was unknown. How could they send officers and soldiers at will? Isn’t that an ominous act?

The court temporarily suppressed the memorials, and outside the war. The most worrying thing at present is the situation in Nanzhili. The momentum of Zhang Xianzhong and Ge Zuo Wuying has been stopped. It seems that there is no danger this time, but the trouble is the written lawsuit. The memorial of Nanjing eunuch Lu Jiude is conclusive, saying that Shandong soldiers and horses are hiding evil intentions and do unexpected things in the name of suppressing bandits. The army entered Nanzhili, and the soldiers and people were panicked. For some reason, they asked the court to punish them heavily.

Not to mention, the court cannot control such a powerful military leader. Behind him is Li Meng, the general of Shandong, who has always been a low-key one. Since he was "praised" by Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, Shandong's verbal battles have been no less. The capital has always been like a sieve for keeping the news confidential.

I don’t know how the news was leaked. Lu Jiude’s memorial was only two days ago, and the memorial sent by Shandong on a fast horse has also arrived, and his words were very intense.

It is said that Shandong soldiers and horses fought bloody battles in Zhengyang Town, Fengyang Prefecture, and killed the enemy. The two Huai Rivers were empty. It was originally a matter of defense in Qingzhou. But the soldiers and soldiers of Qi and Lu fought bravely to defend the Ming Dynasty's confidant place. However, the powerful eunuchs in the court were jealous of the virtuous and capable, and slandered the superiors.

Doing this will make the patriotic and loyalty of Shandong soldiers, and will make the loyalty and bravery of the officers and soldiers in the world? The memorials are really stable and full of literary talent. The officials and ministers in the court are silent and dare not say anything else. The military generals under the word "chill heart" are commonly used, and the meaning is also clear. If the court does not agree to the local requirements put in my memorial, I will make trouble.

Shandong's troops are on the south side of the capital, and the cavalry can reach the capital in one day and one night. If the trouble starts, things will probably be out of control.

What's more, Shandong's troops are all reasonable and legal, and no one can find any faults. For a moment, I can't tell who is reasonable or unreasonable.

The judgment is like this, but the court has been in trouble. Since the February of the first lunar month, the canal transportation has begun to collect Lijin. All Chinese officials in the court, who have industries, are more or less affected by this policy, and have lost some money. Shandong General Li Meng has been domineering and illegal since he is now clearly rebellious and has a bad intention, and has said all the powerful words.

Every day, there are memorials to ask the court to rectify Shandong's military affairs, and not let Li Meng, a lowly and ungrateful person who is not etiquette and law control the military power. At court meetings every day, someone asked the court to send someone to replace Shandong general Li Meng, otherwise the court would probably have unexpected disasters.

But when it comes to whom to send to Shandong to rectify military affairs and arrange for the replacement of Shandong Governor to manage Shandong General Li Meng, everyone was silent and said, "Where did you go?" What if the other party turned against you and chopped people down."

Liu Zongzhou, the right censor, rarely said a few fair words. He said that just guessing is useful, and seeing Li Zhendong's actions are completely in accordance with the rules and regulations of the court. Even if there are things that cannot be seen, they are just taking advantage of the loopholes in the system. There is no big mistake in doing things at present.

And he asked a question very bitterly, if the thief Zuo Liangyu did this, what would you say, and would be so passionate.

Judging from the actions of Shandong soldiers and the reports uploaded to the capital, Zhengyang Town indeed blocked the revolving attacks of Zhang Ni and the bandits of the fifth camp of the Ge Zuo. This is a real merit. If the court really wants to issue an order to denounce or criticize it, it may really disappoint the hearts of loyal ministers and soldiers in the world.

Liu Zongzhou was a great thinker in the late Ming Dynasty. He was very famous in his knowledge and had profound real talents. Such a person could not help but speak without any scruples and was a little straightforward.

As a result, the government and the country were in a big uproar, saying that Li Meng was a local military general, but he knew the affairs of the court. Maybe someone informed him, and the informant naturally stood close to Shandong.

In fact, this debate was a complete farce. In the end, it was the Qing Dynasty in the capital that came to a full-scale juncture. According to the conventional law, Emperor Chongzhen rarely withstands such pressure and often had to declare decrees or other decrees. Who would have thought that Liu Yuanbin, the admiral and eunuch of the Beijing camp, had been in the military camp outside the capital, and hurried to the place where the ministers retired from the court after they discussed the matter.

"The capital is only the 20,000 soldiers led by our family can fight, but these 20,000 soldiers are worthless in front of his Shandong soldiers and horses, and they cannot be carried on the scene. Don't say it here as you please. If you really cause any trouble, our family will not be able to protect this capital."

After saying this, the important officials and important officials in the room were quiet. Everyone was scolding and cursing in the open, and they were always a eunuch party hat. However, when dealing with this occasion, everyone was polite and honest. Liu Yuanbin introduced the Beijing camp outside the city, with more than 20,000 Chu troops in his hands, and was the most combative soldiers outside the capital, so he made a name for himself. It was not an exaggeration to call him Pingfan in the capital.

Liu Yuanbin said this and made things clear. Everyone finally knew in their minds that the rules of civil and noble martial arts were probably not easy to use now. Whoever has the big fist is right now.

You should know that what Shandong General Li Meng did was done under the rules, which gave the ministers in the court a misunderstanding. They believed that by reasoning and playing with methods within the rules, they could make the other party surrender. Only then did they realize that the other party's behavior was completely supported by huge strength, and behind the huge strength, there was no possibility of blocking it.

The period of waiting for the outcome of the Battle of Zhuxian Town was the most boring period since Li Meng led his troops. At present, the Dengzhou army led by Zhao Neng has also begun to mobilize. In the name of the outside world, it was to restore the space for the Qingzhou army to leave. However, it is now concentrated on the border between Jinan Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture. The troops in the Jinan Camp began to move toward the border between Zhili and Shandong in the north.

The armed salt saline in various places and the village guards of the military farms are all ready to follow up at any time. In general, the Shandong soldiers and horses everywhere are ready.

We are just waiting for news from Li Meng, but the Li and Luo coalition forces are adjusting, and Zhang Xianzhong and the Fifth Battalion of Ge Zuo in Southern Zhili are also shrinking and adjusting.

According to the prior arrangement, if Shandong troops want to move, they must follow after these troops are launched. But now there are adjustments everywhere, and Li Meng, the person who is in the middle, is also idle.

Jiaozhou Camp is already a machine that can operate accurately. As long as the order is issued, people and the collective will operate and mobilize according to the daily rules. Instead, Li Meng doesn't have to worry about anything. If he wants to do it, he just needs to ask about the progress every day.

At this time, there were two senior officials around him, one was Wang Hai, the chief general of the guard, and the other was Huang Ping, the leader of the Shandong Salt Gang. Currently inquiring about the news in Henan is Jiang Xianchuo, the deputy of the Shandong Salt Gang.

This period was really too casual. Looking at the Yanzhou Army led by Zhang Jiang, whether it was a proofreading or a temporary random inspection, it was found that Zhang Jiang, the Yanzhou Metropolitan Police, was meticulous and could not find any problems. The Jiaozhou Camp's external battle was a rotation system, and there were few opportunities to make military achievements outside.

If the military generals want to be promoted in this system, they can only focus on training. Shandong's system can be said to be the most efficient and ruthless place in the Ming Dynasty.

However, this money is rarely used to Li Meng's personal enjoyment and support from his family, and is all used in the construction of the army and civil affairs. The financial situation has always been quite tense, and it was not until the regulations for the transportation of the canal lijin were released that they became slightly more abundant.

After spending so much money, the soldiers had enough food and drink and still had 100% of their military pay. Li Meng naturally hoped that the money would be spent in real places.

He has always been very strict in training. Whenever he arrives at a place, if he has time, the first thing he does is to look at the training of this unit. Some people have been demoted from the position of General Qian to an ordinary soldier because of their slack training. The boss of General Qian was also deducted military pay. The following is a reprimand.

In Li Meng's system, these military generals have almost achieved their best. If you take another step forward, you can only continue to follow Li Meng's plan.

So what Li Meng asked for was seven points, and the following was ten points.

Staying leisurely in Jining, quietly watching the movement of the world, either patrolling the military camp or chatting with talented men such as Sun Chuanting.

As for food, accommodation and enjoyment, the Lijin Bureau supervised Kong Sande and various merchants in Jining Prefecture had to try to please him. It was very comfortable. Li Meng even thought about bringing several of his family members in Jinan Prefecture to come here. After finding that he had this idea, he was also shocked and wondered if he was too idle.

The day I found out that I was idle, a messenger came in the afternoon. This time, in addition to those from Henan, there were also a group of people from Jiaozhou.

On the other side of Henan, the Li and Luo coalition's provocateurs and the officers and soldiers' provocateurs have already begun to fight. However, there is still some time before the war between the two sides. Yuan Zongdi and Tian Mixiu led 50,000 troops suddenly heading towards the southeast. I wonder if they are going to attack the officers and soldiers from the flanks.

In comparison, the news about those people in Jiaozhou has made Li Meng more interested. He said that he had been out for a long time and Father Federer returned in early June.

There were not many people following Father Federer. According to those who reported that, that is, the thirteen foreigners, the Netherlands War of Independence had ended at this time. Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands (The Netherlands) and other places were in a period of stability. Moreover, those who could not survive in their own country could go to their own country colonies to seek life and adventure.

Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands all have their own colonies in Asia. In the colonies, these white people seem to be in heaven. So what are you willing to take risks in the mainland?

That is, the various missionaries of the Jesuits, Calvin Church, and Protestantism, upholding their beliefs and being driven by religious fanaticism. This is the Ming Empire that has traveled thousands of miles to them. The world is bustling and is for profit, and foreigners are also humans, so there will naturally be no exception.

Including Federer, there are fourteen, and it is still unknown how much professional knowledge he can have. Li Meng was a little disappointed. I remember that in modern times, I heard a few young colleagues occasionally talk about this novel of time and space travel. Anyone who returns to history, as long as he is in an era when Europe has developed, no matter how bad he is, there are still a few foreigners who are not open to it.

These foreigners were either proficient in making artillery, understood simple machine tools, or officers from a well-known European legion, with a love for Chinese civilization. Regardless of personal gains and losses, regardless of the dangers and deaths of joining vulnerable forces, they resolutely got together with the time traveler.

Perhaps those people were seen as powerful people who traveled through modern time and space. So for the sake of the status of this foreign country, foreigners took the initiative to lean on them.

This person is really incomparable to people. Li Meng did not do anything wrong with his own consciously. There were millions of people and hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Shandong, and at least he had a full stomach under his hands. The troops in his hands were also the most advanced and strongest army in the Ming Empire. Why did he never see any foreigners coming to join him?

Moreover, there were many foreigners in the Ming Dynasty. Even in such a critical situation, the capital and Nanzhili were the richest places in the world. Europeans and Arabs had merchants, missionaries, and so-called roninists all came here to take risks, preach, and conduct business.

However, no one has ever considered Shandong. It was a province with constant chaos since the Ming Dynasty's independence. It was sandwiched between the center of the empire and the richest province and was forgotten by everyone.

I remember that I still gave the priest Federer a lot of gold and silver, saying that he was a useful talent without stinging money, and invited them to him. It seemed that the effect was not good.

Li Meng didn't think about it for a long time, so naturally the people who came to report the news from Jiaozhou did not dare to disturb them. They were standing respectfully beside him. The news of the return of the priest Federer was not enough to make these people hurried over to tell General Zhendong that their commander Li Meng.

The person who came to report the news was the garrison of Jiaozhou City, a battalion general, and the battalion was the basic unit of Shandong soldiers and horses. If a soldier in Shandong could become the battalion general, he would become the most prominent part of the Jiaozhou general. Without other opportunities or making unparalleled achievements, it would be difficult to move forward.

Because Jiaozhou has the earliest salt farms, private ports and various salt offices, it is full of military households and civilians, and lives a good life. Basically, they are all relatives who are close to Li Meng and do not have military farms, so the position of the Yingqian General, who guards here, has a higher status in the Jiaozhou camp system.

This garrison made great contributions in the Battle of Wosu during the day. It was said that he was the first to be the first, but General Qian of Ying was injured. After the war, he simply turned around and transferred him to the garrison in Jiaozhou. This position was not so much a military general but a local official.

This place was for him to recover from his injuries and rest well, but today, the guard also rushed over, and it must be something big.

"Master, the man who came back with Master Federer, when he came back this time, he heard something on the boat and talked privately. A leader of the Salt Gang also went out, thinking that the matter was big, so Bei Zhi rushed over and reported to the adults."

Sun Chuanting turned his back to the person in the room. At this time, he had taken off his iron mask and was drinking tea slowly there. In his position, no one would come to see the appearance of this "iron-faced man".

Li Meng nodded, but the Jiaozhou garrison did not speak, bowed and reported, "I brought the person I heard, and asked him to explain to the general."

After greeting, a young man outside walked in respectfully. Although he was wearing a military uniform from Jiaozhou Camp, his skin was dark. He had been staying at sea and in the south for a long time and was shining from the sun, but the young man was not a Han man, but he looked like a white European man.

After entering the house, he kowtowed to greet him first. The courtesy was done in full and orderly manner. He knelt on the ground and said respectfully:

"Master, on the way back, I was basking in the sun on the deck one day. I heard several sailors talking in Fujian dialect, saying that after coming out of the port in Jiaozhou, I would go to the Qing Kingdom to the north."
Chapter completed!