The tenant farmers heard that what the Shaodong family said made sense. For so many years, they had never heard of soldiers coming out of Nanjing City.
If this is really a bandit or something, wouldn't it harm his whole family?
Li Zhicai tried to persuade him, his throat was almost dry from shouting, but the tenant farmers on the high wall were not moved at all.
He was so angry that he was about to issue a military order to attack the village, but a soldier quickly stopped him and said:
"General, please don't be impulsive. If you fire your bow, there will be no turning back. This is not the only family of powerful landlords in Yingtian Mansion who disobeys the order and resists. Doesn't the general want to attack and kill every family one by one?"
Li Zhicai thought about it and felt that this was reasonable. This matter was indeed extremely difficult.
Your Majesty has issued a strict order to deal with the big families in Yingtian Mansion who are disobeying the imperial court's orders and resisting the imperial power.
Judging from the current situation, there is no good way to recover taxes, money and grain, which can be carried out relatively smoothly.
Letting the army attack the village was just a military order, but he could not imagine the consequences.
Once these big players are cornered, they might actually dare to risk their lives against you. What will he do if a large-scale civil uprising is triggered? Such a situation is certainly not what His Majesty wants to see.
At this time, Li Zhicai was also caught in a dilemma. Although he had the emperor's edict, it was like a piece of waste paper and had no deterrent effect on these big households.
His biggest reliance is gone, and the only option left is the army. Unfortunately, with the current situation and situation, the army will only add chaos.
Li Zhicai now finally truly understood why His Majesty told him so emphatically that he must never underestimate the enemy and never attack easily if he is not prepared.
He always thought that these people were just rich at most, but he didn't expect that their courage and power were so great. They were not comparable to those in Nanjing.
If he retreats like this now, his reputation will definitely suffer a serious blow, and not only these big investors will despise him.
I am afraid that even his soldiers will have doubts, and it will definitely have an impact on his control of military power.
You led so many soldiers and horses out of the city in a mighty manner, and even boasted that you would lead your brothers to make a fortune in Haikou, but this is the result?
The most important thing is that it is difficult to deal with those Nanjing garrison troops whose eyes are shining and their saliva is drooling.
The pie has been drawn to them. If they cannot fulfill it, they will inevitably cause trouble. Next time I want to mobilize them to do things, they will not be so active and attentive.
The soldiers who had been following Li Zhicai for a long time could see his worries and worries at a glance, so they gave advice and advice:
"General, you must not let your impulse lead to irreversible consequences. When the war breaks out in the south and rebellions occur everywhere, Your Majesty may not be able to withstand such pressure!"
"Why don't we go back for the time being, send a fast horse north, ask His Majesty for instructions, and then make the next plan in accordance with the order!"
"Your Majesty is thousands of miles away, so he will not be able to know the changes in the current situation in time. In the opinion of his subordinates, it is better to report the situation in detail first!"
After hearing this, Li Zhicai was convinced. He immediately put down his dignity and issued the order to withdraw his troops.
At the same time, he sent out all the cavalry under his command to serve as messengers and issued an order to completely stop the operation.
Of course, this order is only for those who encounter obstacles. Of course, those who have successfully carried out the recovery work cannot be stopped.
When the people on the high walls of the manor saw the army beginning to retreat, they all began to cheer. They were celebrating their wit and bravery for saving the lives of their loved ones.
The faces of the two bosses, one old and one young, also showed meaningful smiles.
"Father, these idiots really don't know how to live or die. They hit our family with a can of oil. If we don't teach them a lesson, they really think they are a nobody!"
"Don't be careless. This Li Zhicai is not a weak and incompetent person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have killed Nanjing and made rivers of blood flow in the city!"
"He showed weakness and left this time because he was not completely sure. He could not afford the consequences of the turmoil. I believe he will come back soon!"
"You will select some smarter confidants later and spread them out. We will all have our people in Huai'an, Yangzhou, and Nanjing. Find out carefully what the imperial court's recent actions are!"
"You should also go out more and keep in touch with other families, and come up with a response as soon as possible to prevent any unexpected events!"
"Don't worry, father, I will definitely take care of these things!"
When Li Zhicai led his troops back to the Nanjing government office, the gate outside the government office was already blocked by water.
These people were naturally the young scholars and scholars in the city. Induced by the forces behind them, they finally gathered in large numbers and began to denounce.
Zhang Shize executed a few leaders at first, but he did not expect that they were not afraid at all, and the momentum became even greater. He had to dispatch troops to maintain order and avoid further escalation of the situation.
Li Zhicai came back angry and was thinking about how to vent his anger, when these people hit the muzzle of the gun.
He immediately ordered that all the scholars and scholars who gathered to make trouble and scolded them were arrested and sent to prison.
Tian Ergeng, who had been conducting surveillance and investigation work, also met with Li Zhicai at this time.
He told Li Zhicai all the information about Jin Yiwei. Now all the big families and officials in Yingtian Mansion have united together and are secretly gathering strength.
He said directly:
"General Li, nothing can be done anymore. For the sake of Your Majesty's overall situation and the stability of Jiangnan, we have to stop pursuing the seizure at the moment. We should immediately shrink our troops and stationed in Nanjing to take control of the overall situation!"
"As long as we stop immediately and firmly control Nanjing, they will have no reason to continue making trouble, and the situation will not be so tense!"
After some discussion, the three of them immediately jointly wrote a memorial and sent fifty cavalrymen north to escort the memorial.
Li Zhicai also followed Tian Ergeng's suggestion, took back all the troops, and returned part of the power to civilian officials.
Zhang Shize personally renewed his meeting with Wei Guogong Xu Hongji and Huaiyuan Hou Changyin, and tied them firmly to his side to ensure that the situation would not collapse!
In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Li Zhicai took the initiative and allocated part of the recovered gold, silver, grain and rice to reward the army, which could be regarded as wages during this period.
Although the scene of the two sides fighting each other was no longer there, the entire Yingtian Mansion was still plunged into a haze.
Civil commotions and uprisings have broken out in some areas. Both Li Zhicai and Zhang Shize knew that this was the work of big families and they were testing the waters.
But the two of them were not soft persimmons. They immediately dispatched troops to various places to redress the rebellion, and the situation was stabilized.