nucmednet Chapter 695 1 Road to the West
Chapter 695 1 Road to the West
"Are you talking about that former subordinate of the rebel leader who betrayed Gao Yingxiang?" Liu Ye remembered this traitor. During the Battle of Qiuyu Mountain, the allied forces of Gao and Zhang suffered a major defeat. Gao Yingxiang fled into the dense forest and hid in a cave. It was this Huanglong who surrendered voluntarily and revealed Gao Yingxiang's whereabouts, allowing the pursuers to easily catch this big fish.
Wang Qinian explained, "After this person surrendered, we can neither give him an important position in the army nor discard him like trash, so it's difficult to settle him down. It would be more appropriate to send him to the capital as a liaison officer this time. It would be best if he could do something, but even if he doesn't do it well, it won't have much of an impact."
"This suggestion is good, let's go with it," Liu Ye agreed. Someone so unscrupulous, who would betray his former master without hesitation, shouldn't be given important responsibilities; who knows if he'll betray his new master next time? However, keeping him around serves as a cautionary tale, showing future adversaries the benefits of surrender and weakening their fighting spirit. Therefore, appointing him to a sinecure as "Director of the Beijing Office" is a good arrangement. Since he's only responsible for relaying messages from Beijing and has no contact with the Qionghai Navy's decision-making level, even if he's incompetent or even defectes, there won't be much of a loss.
Huang Long's future was thus decided. However, he was quite satisfied with the decision: wasn't he following Gao Yingxiang back then just to make something of himself? Now, he could go to the capital to "clock in" with the Qionghai Army's monthly salary, see the glamorous world, and enjoy a relaxed and pleasant life. Why not? The next day, he happily took a few people from the intelligence department and set off by boat, even earlier than those heading to the Northwest and Liaodong.
Liu Heizi was in the second group to depart. Unlike Huang Long, who traveled light, he brought a sizable fleet. In addition to supplies such as cotton cloth, medicinal herbs, liquor, and munitions, there were also two hundred men led by Huang Gan, the deputy captain of the special forces team. These men were sent by Liu Ye to protect the supplies and, incidentally, to bolster his reputation as the special envoy of the Qionghai Navy.
More than half a month later, the fleet arrived in Shandong and landed in Dengzhou.
At this time, Su Hongtu was busy reorganizing Shandong's officers and soldiers and training a new army. Lin Tianming was also busy cooperating with Liu Ye's plan to gradually control the entire Shandong province by starting with the army and helping Su Hongtu coordinate the relationship between the Shandong governor's office and the garrison troops in various places. Even though there was an imperial edict granting Liu Ye the power to control the Shandong troops and the Qionghai Army had a bad reputation, the reorganization plan involved the Shandong governor's military power and the livelihoods of generals in various places. Naturally, it would not be smooth sailing. There was no open resistance, but there were many hidden obstacles and even many frictions of various kinds. Of course, all of them were ruthlessly suppressed by the Independent Regiment.
Faced with this special task force heading to northern Shaanxi, Lin Tianming and Su Hongtu, though unable to personally meet with them, each sent their own men. After Liu Heizi landed, the officials of the Dengzhou and Laizhou governor's office treated them to a night's rest, then arranged for guides. Su Hongtu dispatched two companies from his independent regiment to escort them, all the way to the vicinity of Puyang in Henan province.
Although Shandong had experienced rebellions and invasions by the Manchus, it was currently under the "protection" of the Qionghai Army and the journey was relatively peaceful. Bandits were rarely seen, and although the prefectures and counties along the way were somewhat dilapidated, the people's morale was still quite good.
When Liu Heizi passed through Liaocheng, he chatted with the people working in the fields, inquired about their current situation, and wanted to make a comparison with Qiongzhou.
An elderly man told the soldier in charge, "The government is now encouraging agriculture and sericulture. People who fled during the war and the Tartar invasion are gradually returning and are now reclaiming the land that was previously abandoned. Although the court has increased the military and anti-Tartar taxes this year, making the taxes heavier, as long as the whole family works together and there is no drought or flood, we can still barely survive."
Another well-informed person chimed in: "I heard that a marquis has come to Shandong and wants to get involved in taxation. He says he'll collect taxes on our behalf, which is like making us all his tenants. If you calculate it carefully, the grain and taxes we pay will be less than half of what we give to the imperial court. If he really succeeds, our good days will begin."
It turns out that Qiongzhou's tax collection model has already been exported to Shandong. Liu Heizi thought, "The general is truly decisive." He asked, "Do you think this is reliable?"
The common people, unaware that this soldier was the Marquis's subordinate, chattered amongst themselves:
"I've lived most of my life and never heard of anyone going against the imperial court. Isn't what this Marquis is doing undermining the court? It doesn't sound like he's going to back down."
“How is he unreliable? I heard that he was the one who drove the Tartars out of Shandong, and he also made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion. He’s a very capable person! I think he can get this done.”
"Actually, none of you know that when taxes are collected on behalf of the government, the imperial court receives a full share. It's just that the taxes paid by the grain chiefs, the gatekeepers, and the officials are no longer paid. These middlemen are the ones who make the biggest profits. The marquis isn't dealing with the imperial court, but with these people. These guys swagger around in front of us, but they don't dare utter a word when they see soldiers."
Liu Heizi gave the person who said this a thumbs up and praised, "Brother, you're a wise man! You see things clearly."
Some young men eagerly said, "I heard that the Marquis's men are recruiting soldiers in the east; I'd like to give it a try."
An experienced elder then admonished him: "As the old saying goes, 'A good man doesn't become a soldier, and good iron isn't used to make nails.' The right thing to do is to work honestly in the fields."
Liu Heizi laughed loudly: "Uncle, serving the Marquis's army is not like being a beggar soldier in those garrisons. The pay is very generous. One year of service is equivalent to your whole family farming for two or three years!"
After learning about the local situation and incidentally giving Su Hongtu a shout-out, Liu Heizi left the chattering villagers behind and continued on his way.
After entering Henan province, the surrounding area gradually became desolate. Sometimes, after traveling for hundreds of miles, there was no sign of human habitation, but there were many skeletons along the way.
Huang Gan exclaimed, "Only after arriving here do I realize that Lingao is truly a paradise on earth. How can there be such a huge difference between the two places, even though they are both under the Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Heizi said, "Therefore, this country must be ruled by the general so that all the people of the world can live the life of the people of Lingao."
As the caravan reached the Xinxiang area, a few riders gradually appeared, peering in from afar. When they saw the heavy boxes on the carriages, their eyes lit up with greed. The accompanying guide said, "Sir, these are bandit scouts entrenched in the area. They target passing merchants and civilians. Without sufficient protection, a large band of bandits will arrive soon."
Although Huang Gan believed that two hundred special forces soldiers could handle the bandits, he was cautious and ordered: "Set up camp on the spot before dark. Those with weapons should keep watch on the perimeter and take turns on sentry duty."