Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 498
Shandong, Cao County.

Li Huajing returned to his hometown in fine clothes, as the commander-in-chief of the Shandong regiment. He returned home with a furious horse in brocade clothes, and brought back more than a hundred servants with armored shotguns.

There is a constant stream of traffic.

Not only local officials, but also local gentry and great merchants came here, as well as many heroes of the rivers and lakes, village leaders, etc. Facing Li Huajing who was returning home, they all came to see Li Huajing as soon as possible.

"Brother is so majestic!" Li Huajing's nephew sighed.

One of his brothers said, "Yeah, I think none of these gentry officials would take us seriously."

Li Huajing stroked his beard, looked at the greeting post and gift list sent by the servant, and was also full of admiration.

"The visitor is a guest, open the door to welcome!"

In the flower hall, Li Huajing came out in a regular second-rank military uniform.

"Hello, Mr. Li!"

Huang Dengxiao, the magistrate of Caozhou Prefecture in Shandong Province in the Qing Dynasty, took the lead to say hello. As a civil servant, he was still the head of a government. The head of the army is very powerful, and Huang Dengxiao is also a newcomer. The Caozhou government under his rule is basically west of the canal and east of the Yellow River.

Since the Ming army invaded Shandong last year, Caozhou has become more and more chaotic. This year, Tianzi entered Denglai again. The Qing Dynasty even emptied the green camps in Shandong, and Caozhou government became more and more chaotic.

For the new admiral Liu Zeqing and the chief soldier Li Huajing, Huang Dengxiao naturally had to fawn on him. Whether he could secure the magistrate's position, or even keep his family and life, all depended on him.

Li Huajing glanced at the chubby magistrate, in addition to the high-quality silk and satin, on his gift list just now, there are two good horses, plus 800 taels of silver, it can be said that this gift is already thick enough.

"Huang Futai is being polite, and this town also said that we are going to pay a visit."

"Don't dare," Huang Dengxiao hurriedly said politely.

While speaking, a family member reported loudly, "My lord, Yanxi soldiers are prepared at Daotai, and Caozhou Yellow River Hall is here!"

These two are also important officials who are stationed in Caozhou. One is the Daotai of Bingbei, and the other is the Tongzhi of the Yellow River Hall. One is in charge of the military and the other is in charge of the river.

Even according to the usual practice, this Yanxi Bingbei Dao is the direct superior of Li Huajing, the commander-in-chief of the Caozhou Regiment, but now the two of them also came to visit him, knowing that their position is not stable, and Li Huajing is urgently needed. Wu Fu.

The servant handed over the gift list, and besides several gifts, there was also 800 taels of silver each, which was equivalent to the meeting gift for the prefect to meet the governor.

Li Huajing looked very proud.

Li Huajing is also a very legendary figure. His ancestral home is Caozhou, but later his family moved to Zhili. When he was young, he lived in Chengwu in Caozhou, Shandong. He became famous as a fast catcher, caught thieves and thieves, and later captured a big thief by himself, and was promoted to head trainer and leader of Xiangyong.

If it wasn't for the troubled times at the end of the Ming Dynasty, maybe he would have been a headhunter for the rest of his life, but in the last years of Chongzhen, the Central Plains was in turmoil, thieves were everywhere, there were many villages, and even the Tartars had repeatedly entered the pass and plundered Shandong. The gentry formed strongholds to protect themselves, the common people were forced to become robbers, and the heroes ruled the mountains as kings.

Li Huajing is already well-known in the local area. Although he is only a headhunter, he still has a lot of real power in the county. Especially in the face of this troubled world, he is still commanding a team of strong men, but he has a brain Very lively, not rigid, in the face of complex forces from all sides, he is fluent in all directions.

Even if you are ordered to suppress bandits and attack villages, you will often stay on the front line. Even if you capture the head of the bandit, you will usually let it go. Even when you meet those hungry people who are bandits, you will occasionally send mercy and help. Over time, there will be a Donate righteously to save money, and his good name is so good that even the green forests and rivers and lakes are admired, and ordinary bandits will not mess around in his territory.

Later, his name spread to the ears of Liu Zeqing, the chief soldier, who specially recruited him, intentionally wooed him, recruited him under his command, and gave him an official position. After that, he followed Liu Zeqing to be promoted all the way.

This time, he was awarded the post of commander-in-chief of regiment training.

Huang Dengxiao, Zhang Yutian, Gao Yuanmei and several fourth-rank civil servants didn't know that Li Huajing was famous in the local area, so they naturally had to take the initiative to show their favor, and they were counting on him to stabilize Caozhou.

Li Huajing accepted the gift unceremoniously, said some polite words, and then saw off the guests without leaving a meal.

The three fourth-rank officials had no choice but to get up and say goodbye, and the other smaller officials, such as Tongzhi, Tongju, and magistrate, could only hand in their hands beside them, without even a chance to speak, and left after presenting them.

These officials, big and small, walked out of the gate, and when they saw the long queue outside the gate, they couldn't help sighing, the world is in turmoil, otherwise, how could they bow down to the warriors as dignified fourth-rank civil servants?

"Deputy Envoy Zhang, look at these people, it seems that there are Yuyuan thieves."

The Yuyuan Thieves, who call themselves the Yuyuan Army.

As early as the Tianqi period, there were so-called Yuyuan thieves in the Puzhou and Fanxian areas of Caozhou.

According to legend, due to the continuous natural disasters and man-made disasters in Shandong in the late Wanli period, a large area of ​​cultivated land was abandoned, and elm coins fell to the ground and became big trees for a long time.During the Chongzhen period of Tianqi, many hungry people from Shandong gathered here.

At this time, the Yuyuan thieves, headed by Liang Min, Ren Qi, and Zhang Qi, numbered one million. They used the dense Yulin as a cover, and even used the technology of pits and caves in western Henan to dig criss-crossing pits underground. The passage is hundreds of miles long, and it is impossible for the officers and soldiers to encircle and suppress it.

At this time, under the rule of the Qing army, the Yuyuan Army not only did not weaken, but because of the turmoil and oppression, more people defected, and it has spread to Chaocheng, Guanchao, Yuncheng, Chengwu and other counties. The largest resistance force in the mansion has far exceeded that of ordinary villages.

Zhang Yutian, as a military officer in several prefectures of Yanxi Road, served as assistant manager with the title of deputy inspector, and supervised military affairs of soldiers, horses, money and food, and farming. The Yuyuan bandits were his biggest enemy.

Zhang Yutian also organized several battles to encircle and suppress the Yuyuan bandits before. It can be said to be a siege, but in the end, it turned into an attack by the Yuyuan bandits against the government army. , Even prefectures and counties have become unsafe.

And when the green battalion was transferred away, Zhang Yutian became even more like an ant on a hot pot. Now there is only a little Xiangyong left on hand, and he doesn't even have a general who can fight, so when Li Huajing came back, he immediately rushed over regardless of his identity. Come see me, the situation is too urgent.

In fact, Zhang Yutian had already noticed that among the people in front of the Li family's gate, some of them were obviously wrong, and there was something hidden on their bodies, but they didn't dare to say anything.

"Let's talk later, let's go!"

······
"Brother Li!"

"Brother Whale!"

"Big brother!"

"brother!"

In the flower hall, a group of heroes from the rivers and lakes and green forests came up to pay their respects. Facing this second-rank regiment training commander, these heroes were basically defined by the government as local bandits, rogues, etc., but they looked like brothers reunited after a long absence .

It's like a mouse greeting a cat.

Of course, these heroes are not stupid and bold, but before Li Zongbing returned to Caozhou, he had already sent his nephew and Liu Zeqing's nephew back to the front in secret, and took the initiative to visit various leaders one by one to discuss the plan of the uprising.

It was precisely because of the initiative of Liu Zeqing and Li Huajing that these leaders dared to come to meet them in person, otherwise, even if Li Huajing had contacts with these leaders before, no one would dare to take the risk easily.

Among the leaders, there are Liang Min, Yang Sanwu, Zhang Qi, and Ren Fuxing, the leaders of the Yuyuan Army, Pei Youzheng and Liu Sitong, the leaders of Datuzhai in Guan County, Wang Kuiguang, Ding Mingwu, Zhou Kuixuan,

Cai Naihan, Zhou Guixuan, Cui Sanleng from Gaotang Prefecture, Song Yadan, Chen Guozao, and Sanmaobiaozi from Xiajin County.

Ding Weiyue from Chenjialou in Dongchang Prefecture, Yang Yunshan and Zhang Yaozhong from Tangyi County.

They are all powerful.

For example, Ding Weiqiu was originally the training head of Shouzhang County. Like Li Huajing in his early years, he was born as a county catcher. Later, he also organized a cavalry team of thousands of people, selling salt and smuggling, and also robbing houses, becoming a local tyrant.

Li Huajing hugged everyone, very warmly.

Because they have already sent their nephews to visit the mountain and discussed major issues, so this meeting is also a formal alliance.

Those who can come are those who have reached an agreement and are willing to start trouble.

And the reason why the tyrants in these places are willing is also related to the fact that the Qing government has become more and more aggressive against them. Although the Tartars are busy at the moment to intercept the Ming army's northern expedition, sooner or later they will turn around and suppress them.

Liu Zeqing used to be the General Army of Shandong Province, and he had a complicated relationship with the Yuyuan Army and other local forces. He recruited them. Now, under the banner of Ming Dynasty, he even arranged for himself the title of Governor of Shandong Province, and sent people to recruit these troops again. , and even made a wish, anyway, all kinds of official hats are flying around, and the promise is open.

For example, several big leaders of the Yuyuan bandits are all Xu Zongbing, and they are actually awarded the deputy general of Xiezhen. Ding Weiqiu may be a deputy general. up.

Anyway, just open your mouth, and you don't need any formal orders or seals. You just write a letter of appointment, sign Liu Zeqing's name, and then affix the seal of the governor of Shandong that he privately engraved.

These local tyrants also know that Emperor Shaotian of the Ming Dynasty is now a martial artist, ZTE is expected, and secretly they are also doing private salt business with the Ming army in Huaiyang area.

This time the emperor collected Denglai, the Qing army abandoned Huainan, and the Shandong green battalion was also transferred. This is a great opportunity.

Liu Zeqing wants to call everyone to act righteously, to respond to the Northern Expedition, to support the master of the king, and to win wealth and honor together. Few of these powerful people who were former bandits, starving people, headhunters, landlords, and scholars could refuse.

You know, some people here, when Li Zicheng called before, they had defected to Dashun and accepted fake jobs.Some people are actually willing to surrender, but the tartars don't really mean what they say, and they even turn their faces and deny people.

"Bring the wine!"

"Today, I will form an alliance with all brothers in Jinlan, and make an alliance with blood!"

Li Huajing shouted loudly, Liang Min, Ding Weiqiu and others agreed happily.

(End of this chapter)