Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

"This...!" Xue Yong's question was difficult to answer, so Jin Xiong hesitated.If they can't be mastered, then what is the use value of Liu Guoneng and Jin Xiong in the Runing Army?It can be said that they have mastered everything, and there are always some people who have turned to old bandits, and they may not be willing to accept recruitment.

Seeing Jin Xiong's embarrassment, Xue Yong waved his hand and said, "I don't mean anything else by asking this question. I just want to tell you that the fleet of our Runing Army will arrive in Yangzhou in three days. Let Chuang Tatian take those disobedient The people are arranged by the water, and our Runing Army will help you clean it up, so it will be convenient for you to handle it in the future."

"Then where are we going next?" Jin Xiong repeated the old saying.

"Of course we went back. Do you still want to conquer Beijing?" Xue Yong scolded with a smile, "The wives and children of your leaders stay in Runing, but the wives and children of your subordinates are still in Dabie Mountain. Do you want to take them away?" Abandon them all? We have to pick them up! Our Runing Army has always done things in the right way, and we must arrange these women and children well."

Xue Yong's answer made Jin Xiong feel relieved, and he also smiled: "Then I'll go right away, let big brother get ready."

"Don't rush to leave! Let me finish my sentence." Xue Yong said again, "When we arrive in Yangzhou, you don't leave for the time being. I will tell you when we leave. Do you understand? Understood just go!"

On the second day of September, by the Yangzhou Canal.

"Big cabinet! You voted for the king this time. His people rushed to the front during the war, and let us brothers go up when we divided things. From now on, our brothers can live a good life."

The places near the Grand Canal are relatively rich, but this time, Liu Guoneng allocated these places to the newcomers, so these people are quite satisfied.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Ma Liu scolded with a smile. He brought hundreds of bandits to join Liu Guoneng in the Dabie Mountains. "What's yours and mine? They are all from the king. Brothers, search carefully and don't leave anything behind. Also, prepare two copies later and send them to the king and the eighth master."

"Big cabinet! We are separated, what should we do if the officers and soldiers in the city rush out?" Another bandit asked.

"They don't dare! Even if we walk naked under the city, those officials don't dare to leave the city. Don't waste your time, hurry up!"

"Big cabinet! Look!" Suddenly a bandit shouted.

Ma Liu took a look and saw several ships appearing in the distance of the canal.Although it looked far away, the speed of those ships was quite fast, and the outline of the ships could be seen clearly after a while.

"Assemble quickly! Go back to the king!" Ma Liuda shouted.And those bandits were running around like headless chickens.

"Boom boom boom—!" Although it seemed far away.But this is already within the range of the artillery, and the naval guns of the Runing Army roared one after another.The shells hit the houses, causing bricks and stones to splatter everywhere.The bandits were even more confused, and they fled the canal desperately.

Ma Liu was also running desperately until he was far away from the canal.He stopped and took a breath.Only then did he realize that the weapon in his hand had been thrown somewhere.But his left hand firmly grasped a piece.I don't know where I got the cloth from.

In any case, it was finally escaped.But at this moment, the sound of horses galloping suddenly came from a distance, and Ma Liu turned around to look, only to be horrified to find a group of cavalry from the army in the south...

Xue Yong made an agreement with Jin Xiong to arrive at a place thirty miles away from Yangzhou on the first night of September.The fleet of the Runing Army docked.He put more than 1000 cavalry on the shore first, and then marched towards Yangzhou at night.

On the second day, the eight gunboats of the Runing Army first bombarded the shore, and then the cavalry covered them.Killed the peasant army that Liu Guoneng thought was unreliable.Afterwards, the Runing army set up a camp in the city and confronted Liu Guoneng's peasant army.

Then the acting time began, and Xue Yong and Liu Guoneng's troops had a series of "battles".Anyway, there was loud thunder and little rain, but it helped Liu Guoneng get rid of some "thorns".The soldiers and civilians in Yangzhou City are so excited and soul-stirring!

"General! Fighting hard for days, the soldiers have worked hard. Today, this old man is here to thank the general on behalf of the old people in the city. Come! General! I will toast you first!" The head of the Lin family in Yangzhou raised his glass.

Nobody is a fool.After fighting for so many days, the people in Yangzhou City also saw that the Runing Army and Liu Guoneng's Peasant Army were not in the same gear at all.The reason for the stalemate for so many days is that the two armies have colluded?There is no evidence for that.But at least it shows that the Runing Army is staying strong.Why should we stay?The people in Yangzhou City can also imagine that they just want to add money.

The problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. Yangzhou city wants to send away the plague god as soon as possible, so that Yangzhou can restore its former prosperity as soon as possible.So the team that went out of the city to the Runing Army to reward them was basically composed of salt merchants.

The No. [-] salt merchant in Yangzhou, the Qi family, will definitely not show up, so the leader of the team is the No. [-] Patriarch of the Lin family.Unexpectedly, when they came to the Runing army barracks, Xue Yong received him very politely, and he put on a banquet and had a banquet alone with the head of the Lin family.

Seeing the toast from the head of the Lin family, Xue Yong also raised his glass.After the two had a drink, the formal topic began.

"General Xue, smart people don't speak dark words. This old man knows that your army has worked hard for days, and it has suffered a lot of losses. This old man patted his chest here, and asked General Xue to report the number. That shortfall."

Xue Yong smiled "haha" and said: "Maybe Mr. Lin has noticed that our Runing Army is quite war-weary, and the soldiers are unwilling to contribute, so we haven't driven the bandits away yet!"

The head of the Lin family didn't expect Xue Yong to be so outspoken, he was surprised: "What do you mean by the general?"

Xue Yong sighed, and said: "Although I am reckless, I also know what I say and keep my word. I have negotiated with Mr. Guo and Mr. Lu, and I only charge 8 taels, so I won't accept any more. I'm just acting, but I can't control the soldiers!"

"Why is this so?" The Patriarch of the Lin family was even more surprised, "I have heard for a long time that Marshal Wu manages the army well, how could such a situation happen?"

"They have anger in their hearts!" Xue Yong's expression became even more helpless, "My chief soldier loves soldiers like sons, and the soldiers are also loyal and loving. Originally, they could command like arms, but the soldiers heard that they came to aid Yangzhou , they can't even lift their spirits!"

After saying this, the head of the Lin family fell silent.As long as you think about it for a while, you will know that it has something to do with the salt industry.Could it be that General Xue is a drunkard who doesn't care about drinking?It's not for money at all, but for a greater share of salt goods?So the Patriarch of the Lin family followed the principle that a hundred words are worse than a silence, and kept his mouth shut, quietly waiting for Xue Yong's next words.

But after that, Xue Yong seemed to be a normal person, toasting to the head of the Lin family frequently, talking and laughing, as if he had never talked about this topic before.

In the end, it was the Patriarch of the Lin family who couldn't bear it first, and he said carefully: "In the past, we in Yangzhou had some misunderstandings with Marshal Wu, but all these years, the colleagues in the salt industry have followed Marshal Wu's rules and never dared to go overboard. , and have been friends for nearly ten years. So what do you mean, General?"

Xue Yong immediately became impatient: "I have told the old man. I am not asking for money, let alone salt." Then Xue Yong leaned over and whispered: "Pray for family!"

Back then, Qi Jia had a deep blood feud with Wu Shigong.For the sake of the salt business, the Qi family once sent people to assassinate Wu Shigong, and Wu Shigong also sent people to assassinate the father of the current head of the Qi family.Later, Qi's family also tripped Wu Shigong in the officialdom, but because the distance between the two parties was too far, they couldn't do anything to each other, so they lived in peace until now.

Originally, during Xue Yong's expedition this time, the task of removing Qi's family was not removed.But since he arrived in Yangzhou by accident, Xue Yong must find a way to remove this thorn in Wu Shigong's side and thorn in his flesh.

Although he had weathered many storms, the Patriarch of the Lin family still trembled.I didn't expect that Wu Runing to be so ruthless, blatantly wanting to use the bandit army to avenge himself.

But after calming down for a while, the Patriarch of the Lin family suddenly felt hot all over.If the Qi family ranked first is destroyed, wouldn't he become the boss?Moreover, the Four Great Masters in Yangzhou have become the Three Great Masters, so the share of each family's salt industry will increase considerably!

So Patriarch Lin's eyes lit up immediately, he also leaned over, and asked Xue Yong in a low voice, "What do you want to do about Qi's family?"

"Destroy the door!"

Xue Yong will not be merciful, if he wants to attack, he will kill the grass and roots.

This made the head of the Lin family frowned.It is easy to get rid of the current head of the Qi family——Qi Chun'an, but it will be a bit troublesome to kill the entire Qi family.After all, the Qi family is also deeply rooted in Yangzhou, and there is a huge network of relationships in the officialdom. It is very difficult to keep everyone in check.

Seeing that the head of the Lin family was hesitating, Xue Yong began to be a good person: "Mr. Lin, do you want to send some people into the city, and then claim that there is a riot in the city?"

"No need!" The Patriarch of the Lin Family refused flatly, "General, please wait for three days, and then I will give the General an explanation!" Of course, the Patriarch of the Lin Family did not dare to send the Runing Army into the city. Knowing that the Runing Army will turn Yangzhou City upside down?

After the Patriarch of the Lin family returned to the city, he immediately met with the other two Patriarchs in secret. Under their discussions and activities, the government officials in Yangzhou City suddenly dispatched and arrested the whole family of the Qi family on the charge of "trafficking in private salt".

However, Qi Chun'an, the head of the Qi family, seemed to have been prepared to commit suicide by taking poison before being arrested by the government officials.Almost all the male members of the Qi family "suicide in fear of crime" in the prison.A wealthy family that had been prominent in Yangzhou City for hundreds of years——Qijia, died just like that.

Xue Yong is also very trustworthy.When he received all the heads and 10 taels of silver from the salt merchants in the city (the Lin family and others sent an additional 2 taels), he immediately ordered Liu Guoneng to return westward to the Dabie Mountains.

The crisis in Yangzhou was lifted in this way.Afterwards, when the salt merchants settled their accounts, they found that they could still make a small fortune, while the officials in Yangzhou City, and even the yamen servants, made a fortune because the family property of the Qi family was too large. (To be continued..)