Fenghou

Chapter 1224 Return
In the camp, Chen Qing received the surrendered general Li Cheng.

Chen Qing and Li Cheng have been dealing with each other for many years. Although they are enemies, he has a good impression of Li Cheng. First of all, he can restrain military discipline, not slaughter ordinary people, lead by example, love soldiers like sons, and fight very bravely. Feng, it's a pity that he was loyal to the Puppet Qi Army first, and then to the Kingdom of Jin.

Li Cheng knelt down on one knee and said: "Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing my life. I have nothing to ask for, but I beg Your Highness to let go of my humble position and return to my hometown to return to farming, so that I can end my life."

"Where is General Li from?" Chen Qing asked lightly.

"The humble job is from Chenliu County, Kaifeng Prefecture."

"Gui Geng this year?"

"Thirty-eight years old!"

Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile: "Not yet forty, only a few years older than me, are you going to return to farming for the elderly?"

Li Cheng didn't say a word, Chen Qing said again: "What should you write on the tombstone after a hundred years, the former capital of the Jin Dynasty ruled Li Chengzhi's tomb, do you think your children and grandchildren can be proud of it?"

Chen Qing's words were like a knife, piercing Li Cheng's fragile heart. He was already in tears, knelt down on his knees, and said with a choked voice: "I implore Your Highness to show Li Cheng a bright way!"

Chen Qing said slowly: "Go to Hexi to defend the border to redeem your sins! Maybe one day you will rebuild the Beiting Duhu for me. After you die, your tombstone will be engraved with the tomb of Han General Li Chengzhi, so that your children and grandchildren will be able to raise their heads. Be human."

"Humble job is willing to serve His Highness like a dog and a horse, and is willing to go to Hexi to guard the border."

Chen Qing immediately made Li the governor of Shazhou, led an army of [-] to guard Dunhuang, Shazhou, and waited for an opportunity to recover Beiting. Ten years later, Li Cheng, who had been promoted to Hexi Jiedushi, led an army of [-] to defeat at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain. The [-] troops from Western Liao recovered the Ili River Valley, and resettled Tingzhou, Xizhou and Yizhou. Chen Qingfeng made him the first Beiting Jiedu envoy and added Juechang Guogong, which will not be mentioned later.

Ten days later, three hundred Wanshi ships arrived in Licheng County. These ships went north along the coastline of Donghai Island, and then entered the mouth of Jishui River in Binzhou, all the way retrograde, and arrived in Jinan Prefecture.

The army carried all the seized money and materials onto the ship. This time, [-] large ships will go to the Yellow River, escorted by the Yellow River Navy, and sail directly to Shanzhou. It is a long way to transport the materials to Jingzhao, and it will take at least more than a month.

For more than ten days, Chen Qing has been meeting officials from various prefectures and counties on Shandong Road. Overall, Shandong Road is much better than Henan Road. First, it has not suffered too much war damage, and the people have not been displaced in large numbers. Secondly, the Yellow River has not broken its embankment and diverted its course. It has a huge impact on Henan Road, but less impact on Shandong Road. Thirdly, the society is stable, there is no unused land, the climate is good, and the agriculture is developed.

It was also for this reason that Wanyan Wushu valued Shandong Road more, but unfortunately he still couldn't keep it.

Of course there are corrupt officials on Shandong Road, but this is not Chen Qing’s business. The government issued a series of laws and regulations.

The main purpose is to abolish the taxes of the Jin Kingdom and switch to the Sichuan-Shaanxi Tax Regulations to greatly reduce the household tax, land tax, and commercial tax. Ten liters, all other taxes and taxes are abolished, and all counties are required to set up Changping stores to ensure the lives of the people at the bottom.

A series of tax policies were promulgated, and the whole area of ​​Shandong Road was jubilant, with every household beating gongs and drums to celebrate their new life.

Chen Qing immediately appointed Liu Cui as the envoy of soldiers and horses on Shandong Road, and led an army of [-] to occupy Shandong Road.

After the general arrangement of the military administration was completed, Chen Qing led an army of [-] to leave Jinan Prefecture and return to Guanzhong westward.

One point needs to be explained here, that is, after Li Cheng's [-] surrendered troops were reorganized, all of them were supplemented with the Western Army, which greatly increased the strength of Chen Qing's men.

The streets of Dangtu County are bustling and bustling. Since Dangtu County rebuilt the wharf, it has become larger and larger. It has become the second only port in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River after Yangzhou and Zhenjiang. Its throughput even exceeds that of Wuhu Port.

Dangtu County relies on water towers to get the moon first, and the business develops rapidly. Everyone in the county has jobs, every family can earn money, and the economy also prospers.

There is a Yuelai Inn near the south gate, the business is very good, and it is full of guests every day.

This morning, the shopkeeper was settling accounts in front of the counter. If he felt something, he raised his head and saw Proprietor Wang, who lives in the upper room on the second floor, appearing in front of him. The shopkeeper smiled and asked, "Prosper Wang, what can I do for you?"

Proprietor Wang is a businessman from Lin'an. It is said that he plans to invest and build a commercial firm in Dangtu County. During this time, he specially inspects Dangtu County.

"I heard yesterday that Dangtu will station a large number of troops. Is it true?" Wang asked.

The shopkeeper was stunned, "No! There are only three thousand Shaking Heaven troops. I haven't heard that there will be a large number of troops stationed. Where did the proprietor Wang get the news?"

"I was chatting with a local tea customer in the teahouse. He said that [-] troops were stationed more than a month ago."

The shopkeeper thought for a while and laughed, "That must be the Western Army passing by! After resting here for three days, I took a boat and left. I heard that it is going to Haizhou. Anyway, the Western Army often passes by to rest. We are used to it." , it will not be a permanent army.”

Wang Dongzhu was surprised: "The Western Army is resting, so there will be no conflict with the Shaking Heaven Army?"

"how can that be possible?"

The shopkeeper looked at both sides, and said in a low voice: "We all have rumors here that this Shaking Army is actually the Western Army. The wife and children of the commander Wang Qing came to visit him from Jingzhao. They lived in my shop at the time. I know that the two of them came from Jingzhao."

"I see. It seems that Dangtu County has a bright future. It is worth my money to buy land."

"It must be good! We all have a deep understanding, and the business will get better and better."

Needless to say, this Wang Dongzhu is a secret agent sent by Qin Hui. He is the nephew of Qin Hui's wife, Wang's family. was dismissed.

But with Qin Hui's support, he soon became the county magistrate of Xuancheng and the governor of Xuanzhou. Last year, he was transferred to the imperial court and promoted to Yushi Zhongcheng. This time, the emperor Zhao Gou ordered a secret investigation of Zhang Jun. The Yushitai and the criminal department were divided into four groups to investigate separately. Wang Huan personally led a team to Dangtu County to investigate Zhang Jun's situation in various places.

Wang Huan has been investigating for five days. The more he investigates, the more frightened he is. Many things are open secrets, but the court knows nothing about them. Feng Qianming, the magistrate of Dangtu County, is from Jingzhao. Belonging to the Western Army, the Three Thousand Shaking Sky Army appears to be Zhang Jun's private army, but in fact it is the Western Army in disguise, and there are more than a hundred warships. The chief general Wang Qing is also under the command of the Western Army.

The Western Army will rest in Dangtu County when it comes to the east by boat. Dangtu County is actually a stronghold of the Western Army, but it was concealed by Zhang Jun. This must be some kind of secret agreement reached by Zhang Jun and Chen Qing.

Obtained evidence from the innkeeper that the chief general Wang Qing was a general of the Western Army. Wang Huan realized that the problem was serious, so he led several of his men back to Lin'an by boat that afternoon.

(End of this chapter)