I have a cornucopia

Chapter 304 King Yang's Happiness
Duke Yansheng led the troops in the battle of Xiashi, holding a ten-jin heavy sword and going in and out three times, killing dozens of heretics...

He killed many Jianlu in his time.

So Duke Yansheng was also a fierce general!
But in the end, the fierce general could not withstand the artillery shells. Under the surprise attack of the enemy's artillery, he ended up on the battlefield covered in blood. When he was carried back to Haiyan, he was already a bloody mess. However, he should not die for a while, after all, the shrapnel shells of that time had limited power, especially the artillery shells used in the field, which were less than ten kilograms, and could not even catch up with a Type 60 mortar in modern times.

Fragments are more limited.

Of course, it won’t explode in two.

In short, Duke Yansheng can only be said to be seriously injured, although it was a very serious injury.

"He was hit by more than ten shrapnel pieces, one of his eyes was blinded, one of his legs was broken, and he suffered severe internal injuries and vomited blood. Duke Yansheng really suffered."

King Yang expressed his sorrow at the news.

"In that case, let's quickly send him back to Shandong to recover."

Her Majesty the Queen said.

She still had a good impression of Duke Yansheng. After all, in her impression, he was just a very sensible and seemingly kind old minister, not to mention that he was under the banner of revenge for her father.

"How can that be possible? The sea is rough and stormy, and he is seriously injured. How can he hold on? I'm afraid he will die on the ship before he reaches Shandong."

Yang Feng said.

The main thing, of course, is that he will definitely die.

In fact, Yang Feng was a little undecided about whether to let Duke Yansheng die in Jiangnan.

This was obviously Li Zhifang's doing, deliberately sending him to the battlefield and then killing him there, so that the Confucian Knights would have to replace the new Grand Master. The Confucian Knights were a system where each hall would publicly recommend someone, but Yang Feng had already said that he would not be the new Grand Master, so the result of the public recommendation would definitely be someone like Li Zhifang. He was capable, famous, and more importantly, radical. After all, they were all young and vigorous, and whoever was the most radical would definitely be the most popular, so the new Grand Master would definitely be the one who advocated war.

There is no need to worry that they will choose to withdraw their troops under pressure from the Tongshan Society. Even if the Tongshan Society really dares to do so, such a big leader can still bring about Tianzhu.

Duke Yansheng has died in the battle, and you old guys still want to withdraw your troops?
Duke Yansheng died with his eyes open!

These guys are actually now developing into nuclear advisors.

This is inevitable.

They are all young and vigorous, all are arrogant and full of self-interest, and their minds are full of expansion. Expansion can really bring them benefits. Let alone looting, the textile factories destroyed in eastern Zhejiang alone can cause a surge in Shandong's textile industry, not to mention the capture of Zhoushan, a fishing base.

This is not just a grab for money, but also a grab for resources, markets, and even skilled workers.

Many skilled weavers were forcibly captured and taken to Shandong by Li Zhifang and his men.

Not to mention the books in private libraries that outsiders are not qualified to read.

The first thing Li Zhifang did when he arrived in Yin County was to rob the Tianyi Pavilion of the Fan family and ship all the books in the Fan family back to Shandong. Now the books in the Fan family have been sent to the library built by the Confucius and Mencius Knights in Nishan. This huge library is now filled with books shipped back from various libraries in eastern Zhejiang, including a large number of books that cannot be seen outside. These are the cultural heritage of the gentry in eastern Zhejiang, and some of them are even orphan books brought to the south of the Yangtze River when the Song Dynasty moved south. These have been regarded as the internal collection of the Confucius and Mencius Knights. Except for these knights and their clans, outsiders can hardly see them, so that the knights' families can continue to monopolize Confucianism and the future imperial examinations or officialdom.

These guys are fighting for their own purposes.

"Then send it to Nanjing. However, we still have to take the sea route to Nanjing, and we have to pass through the militia territory if we take the canal."

Her Majesty said casually.

Yang Feng suddenly laughed.

"Yes, let him go to Nanjing to recuperate, and let him take the Grand Canal. You will summon him with an imperial decree, and no one can stop him along the way. Anyone who dares to stop him will be disobeying the imperial decree."

he said with a smile.

Her Majesty the Queen was confused for a moment, then came to her senses.

"You really want to harm him. I remember that he has always been very obedient. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is a good dog. He dares not disobey you. He gives you money and does whatever you want, even if it is not good for him. He has come to this point, and you still don't let him go. Do you have to let him continue to suffer?"

She looked at King Yang speechlessly.

Because the Duke of Yansheng, who was severely injured by the Zhejiang militia during the attack on Hangzhou, took the canal as an exhibition and then passed through the territory of the Zhejiang militia...

It’s exciting just thinking about it!
"Because bullying Duke Yansheng is the last bit of happiness I have left."

King Yang sighed.

"What about bullying me?"

Her Majesty the Queen said.

“Well, this is even happier.”

King Yang said with a smile.

Then he was picked up by Her Majesty the Queen.

……

After being bullied, Her Majesty the Empress immediately ordered the Jingnan Army to send Duke Yansheng to Nanjing to recuperate. After all, he was also a veteran of the Six Dynasties. He was the Duke Yansheng who inherited the throne at the end of the Wanli period, so he experienced Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi, Chongzhen, Yongchang, and Her Majesty's Kunxing. She directly used her own title as the reign title. After all, she was the first empress of the Ming Dynasty. Kunxing was also appropriate, as she was a veteran of the Six Dynasties. Such an identity certainly deserved the special care of Her Majesty the Empress, and she also issued an order to the Zhejiang and Suzhou Elders Association, requiring them not to make things difficult for Duke Yansheng and to ensure his safety when he passed through their territory. You can fight, but he is already so broken, so don't make things difficult for him.

It's just to give face to Her Majesty the Queen.

Her Majesty had to give face, so the Zhejiang Elders Association and Suzhou Elders Association all obeyed the order, and then the Duke of Yansheng, who was wrapped like a mummy, was loaded on a ship in Haiyan, and then escorted by a hundred soldiers, the ship sailed past the Xiashi where he was hit by the shells...

Of course, he would not be beaten to death. The Zhejiang Elders Association specially sent an elder to escort him.

But being scolded is inevitable.

At this time, newspapers all over Jiangnan were already calling him a "barbarian bastard."

Moreover, some censors from the Jiangnan faction have already petitioned to depose him as Duke Yansheng, and even the Duke Yansheng family of Qufu are no longer eligible to inherit. Even if the rumor cannot be confirmed to be true or false, the title of Duke Yansheng cannot be inherited by the Northern Kongs, and a Duke Yansheng should be selected from the Kong family of Quzhou to rule Qufu.

Therefore, all the gentry along the way were ready to greet Duke Yansheng to vent their anger.

He drove slowly towards Nanjing in this way, amid constant humiliation along the way. The frustrated Jingnan Army had to continue to be trapped in Haiyan. At the same time, because Zhang Jiayu withdrew without a fight, Jiangxi militia also recovered Shaoxing. But they also encountered trouble, because some Shaoxing gentry who had fled to Jinhua before came with Jiangxi militia. The latter put on the face of the Homecoming Group and shouted "Give me back what you took and spit out what you ate." Then, as expected, they were attacked by the stubborn people who had already been allocated land.

The Jiangxi militia certainly wouldn't get involved.

The imperial edict of Her Majesty was there, and it was endorsed by Yang Feng. Besides, it was impossible to give the land back to the gentry in Jiangxi, so they only recovered Shaoxing and Xiaoshan. But they stopped at Shaoxing.

Because there are already guerrilla groups of unruly people attacking their logistics.

Similarly, in Ningbo and other places, the unruly people have already formed their own government. In fact, there already existed a government during the occupation of the Jingnan Army. The original local officials and the local elders' association were all targeted. Naturally, the unruly people themselves nominated people they thought were prestigious to be local officials. Now these local officials have also raised the slogan of defending their hometown, and are defending various places with courage and bravery to block the Jiangxi militia and the returning home group.

The latter has little combat power.

After all, they have no money, no people, and even the clan is now their main enemy.

The Jiangxi militia had no interest in helping them, so although they recovered Shaoxing and other places, they actually only controlled a few cities. If they went out, they would be shot if they were not careful, just like the Japanese in Shandong 1944.

After all, being able to join the Zhejiang Gang and Zhejiang gentry is the greatest favor they have ever received.

But any more is unnecessary.

Even so, the Zhejiang Elders Association and the Jiangxi Elders Association actually signed several unequal treaties in exchange for their promise to give up some of their interests in the future.

The Zhejiang war situation entered garbage time again. The intervention of Jiangxi militia only helped Zhejiang gentry to recapture Shaoxing, but because the Jingnan Army had already plundered it, it was actually abandoned. Zhang Jiayu retreated to Dinghai, Zheng Chenggong still controlled Zhoushan, and Ningbo, which was still considered the Jingnan Army's territory, served as Li Zhifang's rear base, providing him with supplies and support.

The Susongchang battlefield also entered a similar garbage time.

Gao Yigong has stopped.

He was already very clear that his strength was not enough to open Changzhou.

Or their morale was low.

Of course, the militia was also unable to fight back. Although they had more elite troops, their numbers were limited and they dared not waste them in the attack. What's more, Gao Jie in the north had been eyeing them covetously. The situation west of Changzhou had already been like that. The gentry's homes had been ransacked and the land had been divided. There was no need to do too much for this. It would be enough to protect the parts that had not yet been killed.

Then it turned into a stalemate.

Moreover, because the Queen had issued an imperial decree that no city could be besieged on any battlefield, food had to be guaranteed to enter the city, and refugees had to be guaranteed to be able to enter and exit freely, so a siege was no longer possible.

The battle was becoming more and more demoralizing. This wouldn't work, that wouldn't work. Are you guys kidding? In the end, wars need morale. Previously, it was boosted by Li Zicheng's deadly anger. But after the attack failed, as the war dragged on, the morale brought about by the momentary anger was also worn out. Then something else was needed. The most common one was of course burning, killing and looting. But now it was not allowed, so morale began to lose.

Zhenjiang.

"That's why I say you just don't know how to use your brain."

King Yang looked at the generals in front of him with an expression of disappointment.

Gao Yigong, Li Laiheng, Yuan Zongdi, Tian Jianxiu, Wang Yuncheng, Sun Shoufa, Ma Qian...

The leader was Gao Yigong, who also had the highest title, a vassal king. The rest were Yuan Zongdi, Tian Jianxiu, both were county kings, Li Laiheng was the prince, and Wang Yuncheng, all three were dukes. Of course, there were more than just the three of them, after all, there were also second-level generals such as Hao Yaoqi, but they were second-level compared to Gao Yigong and others, and in fact, they were all dukes of the same level as Wang Yuncheng and others. Li Zicheng conferred more than 30 dukes in one breath, and even more marquises. He was much more generous than Zhu Yuanzhang on this issue, but he did not pay these guys salaries, and directly divided the land. For people like Sun Shoufa, even if they did not divide the land, they were actually equivalent to Jiedushi, so it would be better to be straightforward.

As for the vassal kings, they didn't even have fiefs; they were only promised that the land would belong to them after they conquered it.

Belongs to futures.

For example, Gao Yigong's King of Dai would fulfill his promise after he conquered Datong.

Li Guo, the King of Jin, would also fulfill his promise after conquering Taiyuan.

Only Yang Feng's title of King of Qi was given to him directly.

Of course, it would make no difference if he didn't give it to him. After all, Yang Feng's fiefdom was a piece of land in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. In fact, it was originally the Yang family's farming and reclamation area, and the other original civilians on this fiefdom only paid taxes to him.

I would have given it to him.

"It's normal that you can't take it down. I didn't plan for you to take it down. This area has been built with new-style city defenses at a huge cost. There are many artillery positions and countless cannons. It is difficult to attack by force.

But what you really need is the common people in this area. How did Lao Li lead you to do things in the past? Have you forgotten everything after just a few years of good life? Your advantage is that when the rebel king comes, you don't have to pay taxes. It is the common people who open the city gates to welcome the rebel king, instead of fighting against the city walls. "

Yang Feng continued to educate these guys.

"But that's what we did, brothers. We raided the gentry's house, gave the land to the common people, burned the usury and the indentures, we did everything we could, the taxes weren't due yet, but still no one opened the door for us.

These unruly people!"

Tian Jianxiu said angrily.

It was a bit weird to hear these words coming out of his mouth.

"That's because they haven't seen and know the benefits you've brought. The wheat harvest is coming soon. I'll ask the Queen to order a temporary truce. You should do better here and don't bully men and women. Help the people with spring planting and wheat harvest. Don't collect grain. Use money to buy military supplies from the people. In addition, ensure the flow of business and treat merchants equally. Although the commercial taxes at the checkpoints must be collected, you can't exploit the merchants. The people in the area you occupy should live better than the gentry.

Make sure the people over there are on your side.

It just so happens that I am going to Xi'an to build an imperial mausoleum for Chongzhen and Old Li, and also to bury them.

You have to go to the funeral, too.

Let’s use this reason to cease fire for half a year. If the people still don’t respond to you after half a year, then we will have no choice but to give up. But if the people really see your kindness and welcome you after half a year, then we can get back all our investment.”

Yang Feng said.

All the generals looked at each other.

"Yes, I have said it before. We can't rush things. We have to take it slowly. The money is in Suzhou. There is nowhere else to go."

Wang Yuncheng said immediately.

It can be seen that he really suffered a great loss.

The other generals agreed, of course, mainly because they really couldn't figure out how to win.

"Then it's settled. Her Majesty the Queen will issue an order to cease fire for half a year until the funerals of the late Emperor and Emperor Yongchang are over. During this period, you can also negotiate and try to coax them first."

Yang Feng said with satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)