When the sun fell on the 27th, the bandit general Xu Zhong led more than ten dead men out of Hecheng to attack the southwestern fortress of the siege. Arrows shot out like a heavy rain. He was shot dead on the spot. A white flag was raised in the fort, and Du Cheli led the remaining troops to surrender.
, the Hecheng War that lasted for more than a month finally came to an end, and the northern battle, which consisted of the defense battle on Changshan Island, the two attacks on Daheng Island and the Beitan encounter, also came to an end for the time being.
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In this battle, the Jiangdong Left Army successively wiped out and captured 12,000 bandits, which dealt a heavy blow to the She family's ambition to expand northward by leveraging the bandits' power in the East China Sea. It suffered only more than 2,200 casualties. As the situation in eastern Zhejiang deteriorated,
The performance is particularly brilliant.
Nearly two thousand surrendering troops were relieved of their armor and imprisoned in the northwest corner of the fort. The armored soldiers and local braves took over the Hecheng Fortress in the trenches, and together with the civilians in front of the recruitment formation, they gave out deafening cheers. Even those who were escorted to Chongzhou to serve their sentences
The exiled prisoners could not help but shout the name "Jinghai Du Jian Lin Fu", thinking to themselves: Such a person is truly the sweetheart of heaven.
"What kind of behavior is this? Let everyone take a rest," Lin Fu scolded the generals around him with a straight face, blaming them for indulging the generals. "Master Zhang is not afraid of the dangers of swords and soldiers. He has been supervising the battle here for more than a month and ranks first in terms of merit.
, what’s the etiquette of calling my name?”
Zhang Yan stroked his beard under his chin, narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Master Lin is too modest. Master Lin personally leads the troops to fight on the outside. He is hundreds of times better than me in every aspect..." Zhang Yan can take charge of the two Huaihe salt affairs for more than ten times.
Even though he was still young, Lin Fu's flattery was not in his eyes, but he had to admit that the "pig shepherd" who had once been looked down upon and looked down upon by the Southeastern scholars Qingliu, had become famous by virtue of his huge military victory.
He will become a hero in the land and will no longer be looked down upon by others.
Lin Fu laughed and walked with Zhang Yan and other generals to the place where Xu Zhong, the bandit general, was killed by an arrow.
When Xu Zhong died, his eyes were wide open. He was a brave general who was unwilling to surrender to the left army in Jiangdong. He led his troops to attack the fortress just to beg for death.
In Lin Fu's view, Xu Zhong's death was not a pity, and he even thought it was a troublesome matter. After all, in the eyes of the two thousand surrendering bandits, especially the old soldiers of Jin'an, Xu Zhong's death was tainted with strong colors of heroism and loyalty.
So that he can't simply cut off his head to end the problem, otherwise it will sow the seeds of disaster for the labor camp.
Lin Fu frowned and told Cao Zi'ang: "The general died bravely, so don't be scornful. Send someone to find a good coffin to bury him temporarily. If you have the opportunity in the future, you can ask someone to send him back home!" But in his heart, he felt regretful.
The coffin and twelve taels of silver.
Although Lin Fu implemented a different method of calculating merit within the Jiangdong Left Army, the main way to claim credit from the court was still the number of heads and the number of prisoners captured.
Compared with the 20 taels of silver rewarded for the head of a real prisoner, the head of a bandit from the East China Sea is not very valuable. The head of a bandit leader is only worth 12 taels of silver. Killing a bandit or taking a prisoner only costs 4 taels of silver.
Lin Fu secretly felt that it was a pity that Zhang Yan did not need to use military exploits to cover up his incompetence like Hao Zongcheng. Otherwise, he could secretly sell some heads or prisoners of war to him in exchange for some money to save Chongzhou. He thought that last year, a thousand heads were sold for two
The good thing of one hundred thousand taels of silver will probably never happen again in the future.
But seriously speaking, Zhang Yan cannot be considered an incompetent person.
Considering the current corrupt situation in the imperial court and the serious collusion between officials and businessmen among the salt lords, the salt profit in the Huaihe River can still be maintained at more than two million taels of silver per year. Moreover, with Delong and Chongguan favoring and trusting the two generations of emperors, we can see that Zhang Yan
Treating salt is a matter of ability for ministers.
Although he was a naked eunuch, he was one of the few capable ministers in the dynasty.
If Miao Shuo of Yudong Palace is the Empress Dowager Liang's spy in Jiangdong, then Zhang Yan is the emperor's minion in Jiangdong. One is to the south of Chongzhou, and the other is to the north of Chongzhou. What small tricks Lin Fu wants to do in Chongzhou, there is no Emperor Tiangao.
Far convenience.
There was a coffin in the camp, and Cao Ziang sent someone to take Xu Zhong's body away. Lin Fu accompanied Zhang Yan into the Hecheng Fortress, which had been searched. Song Xiaobo, as the governor of Hecheng Division, naturally couldn't be absent - his two or three hundred
After more than a month of hard work, his fat body has lost a lot of weight. Although he is much fatter than ordinary people, he no longer needs help when walking. I guess Zhang Yan has not given him a good life for more than a month.
"From now on, the defense of Hecheng will have to rely on Mr. Lin..." Zhang Yan climbed up to the top of the wall of Hecheng Fortress and looked at the surrounding trench walls. The small military fortress had been surrounded for more than a month, and it suddenly became the layout of a big city.
How could he not know what Lin Fu was thinking?
Not to mention the secret agreement made earlier, in the current situation, half of the eastern front of Jiangdong County needs to be supported by the Jiangdong Left Army. Lin Fu insists on occupying Hecheng, and Zhang Yan has no way to stop it.
"It is the duty of a lower official to guard the territory and sea," Lin Fu said, pretending to mention Miao Shuo unintentionally, and said, "When the official was in Shengsi, Lord Miao, the regular servant, also encouraged the official in the same way, and promised to invite the Longevity Palace.
I offer six thousand taels of silver as a donation to the Jiangdong Zuo Army. I don’t know the rules in the palace, so why don’t I politely decline?”
After hearing Lin Fu's words, Zhang Yan frowned, but in a flash he returned to normal and smiled: "Miao Shuo has this intention, how can Lord Lin reject it? Besides, Yu Dong also relies on Jiangdong's left army to defend Shengsi.
It’s time to pluck some hair…”
"Since Mr. Zhang said so, I will not refuse Mr. Miao." Lin Fu said.
Zhang Yan saw that Lin Fu didn't seem to be pretending to be confused, but was a little confused, so he said: "The Jiangdong Left Army did a great job in defending the territory in this battle. They wiped out and captured tens of thousands of invaders. The county officials rewarded them, so I won't say much. Besides, I won't say anything."
Mr. Lin has done a great job in protecting the salt, and I will specially report to the emperor to ask for a reward for Mr. Lin..."
"This, this, how can I afford to be a low-ranking official?" Lin Fucheng said fearfully.
"This is appropriate," Zhang Yan said. "Emperor Taizu once said that if rewards and punishments are not clear, how can we establish a country? The late emperor used his own officials to manage salt affairs. He once said that the salt and iron envoys are also the ears, eyes and minions of the Huaihe River. The Holy Spirit also said this
Send me to ask for credit for Mr. Lin, it is my duty to serve as my ears, eyes and minions..." At this point, Zhang Yan smiled slightly.
"I am willing to be Lord Zhang's pawn." Lin Futian said shamelessly, but in his heart, he thought that the emperor wanted to move the capital, so it was impossible to leave all the preparations to Yue Lengqiu. The Ministry of Internal Affairs might form a "South Zhang Bei Hao"
pattern.
Lin Fu's words seemed to be of great use to Zhang Yan, and he added: "Salt and silver are transported to Beijing every six months, and it is the time for transport again. However, the civil uprising in Jinan has endangered Yannan, and the road is dangerous. Now we can only take the sea route to Beijing.
, can I entrust the matter of transporting silver to Mr. Lin?"
"How can I refuse to serve the imperial court?" Lin Fu said.
"..." Zhang Yan smiled slightly and said, "Transporting silver is no more troublesome than transporting grain. It won't cost too much, but it won't make Mr. Lin's work in vain. How about thirty thousand taels of work?"
"How can I get paid for serving the imperial court?" Lin Fu declined hypocritically, thinking that Zhang Yan was indeed much more generous than Miao Shuo, and he refused to give in to him and took the initiative to expose Miao Shuo's six thousand taels of silver.
"The emperor can't send hungry soldiers, Mr. Lin, don't refuse," Zhang Yan said with a smile, "Although I am in charge of salt affairs for the court, every penny of the salt and silver I receive belongs to the official family. I cannot imitate Miao Shu without experience.
If the report is correct, I will privately support the military. I hope Mr. Lin can forgive me."
Zhang Yan hid his sword in his smile. He not only gave him a favor, but also did not forget to warn his ministers, especially those who did not share the same heart with the emperor. It was a taboo for him to have personal relations with the commander of the army.
Lin Fucheng said fearfully: "Xiaoguan is so confused that he doesn't understand the sense of proportion here. He even needs Mr. Zhang to remind him. Mr. Miao will definitely refuse him sternly."
Zhang Yan didn't care whether Lin Fu's words were true or false, and stopped talking about it. He looked at Song Xiaobo, the superintendent of the Hecheng Division, and said: "The banditry in Hecheng has been put down. Dafeng, we need the fodder for cooking salt in the Sheyang Salt District."
, I have to rely on you..."
The soldiers spent the rest of the month eating, drinking, and eating in the fortress. The peculiar smell in the fortress was pungent. Thanks to the cold weather, it was difficult for the disease to break out. However, it was impossible to house people without treatment. Zhang Yan also wanted to go north to inspect the salt affairs and left Hecheng overnight.
Lin Fu was exhausted from dealing with Zhang Yan, but he gained a lot.
"The emperor is still wary of the Empress Dowager Liang and the Liang family who have the merits of supporting two emperors. Chongzhou is sandwiched between the Lianghuai Salt District and the Yudong Palace, so there are opportunities for him to be a scapegoat," said Song Jia, dressed as a scribe
I have been with Lin Fu all day today. She is quite tall and has some charcoal powder on her face. She looks like a handsome counselor. She is slightly petite but looks like a follower. It's just that her voice is delicate and it's hard to hide it. She's bored.
After being silent for a day and following Lin Fu back to the camp, Song Jia spoke a little more openly and talked about the affairs of the inner court without any scruples. He said, "If the civil unrest in the Central Plains cannot be suppressed in a short time and the north and south are blocked, it will be Yue Leng."
If Qiu is not affected by Xiao Taoyuan, he will also be reduced in power. Cheng Yuqian, an incompetent man, only took the post of Secretary of the Jiangning Ministry of War based on seniority. If the emperor is a wise man, he will appoint Gu Wuchen to be the governor of Jiang Fang, so that he can control the left army in Jiangdong and general
Giving him the military power of the Jiangning water camp is the way to balance and win over."
Wang Chengfu also followed Lin Fu's camp to listen to the instructions. He knew Song Jia's identity as a woman and thought she was Lin Fu's beloved concubine. Hearing her talk like this when she entered the camp, his expression changed slightly. He didn't know if he should continue listening.
, it’s better to find an excuse to leave first.
Lin Fu dipped his fingers into the cold tea and wrote three words on the table for Song Jia to read. Song Jia was stunned for a moment, then frowned and began to think.
Wang Chengfu wanted to know what three words Lin Fu wrote on the table to make this woman shut up, but he knew that it was not time for him to know the secret yet, so he stood respectfully in the hall waiting for instructions.
"I heard that your wife and son have come to Chongzhou. I am busy with military affairs and have no time to care. Chengfu, please don't blame me for being neglectful." Lin Fu said to Wang Chengfu.
"Your kindness and kindness will never be forgotten by Chengfu." Wang Chengfu moved to the front of the hall and knelt down and said.
Lin Fu said: "It's time to use military merit to wash away your charges and let you officially come out to do things - I will directly ask the court to set up three inspection departments in Hecheng, Jiangmen, and Jiuhua to set up military strongholds.
In order to prepare for the war, the inspection team, the school captain, and the Hecheng inspection team have the heaviest responsibilities. In addition to building city docks, dredging river sections, accumulating grain in the fields, resettling households, and other preparations for the war, they are also responsible for preparing for the Hecheng city.
The director is transporting fodder to the salt area for frying the sea and boiling salt. I wonder if I can trust you?"
"Chengfu is willing to do anything for you, even if you die." Wang Chengfu kowtowed and said.
"Get up and talk," Lin Fu said. "In addition to the Jiangmen garrison, I will temporarily send Zhao Bao to lead a sentry to garrison in Hecheng. You are also familiar with Zhao Bao. He is still young and everything is under your control. If
If there is a dispute over something, it is quick to send someone to Chongcheng to ask for instructions. Setting up an inspection department cannot be done in a day or two. You first help Song Xiaobo clean up the Hecheng fortress and continue the transportation of grass to the north. There is no shortage in Hecheng.
The grass is just trapped in the difficult transportation. In the salt area, grass is collected for one fen, so the grassland households cannot make a living on it, so they are in extreme hardship. I will give an extra 1 fen for each fen, so that I can have the financial resources to hire more grassland farmers.
Cars, boats, mules and horses transport grass to save manpower and alleviate the difficulties of grassland households. You should do this first."
Lin Fu and Zhang Yan made a secret agreement that Jiangdong Zuojun would be responsible for supervising the transportation of seven million grasses northward every year. With seven million grasses and an extra subsidy of one yuan for each perimeter, it would be less than six thousand taels of silver. Lin Fu did not believe in the area.
Hecheng Caochang, which is almost the same as Chongzhou, cannot produce more than 6,000 taels of silver a year.
Lin Fu's actual idea was to induce Dafeng and the Sheyang salt area to gradually switch from boiled salt to sun salt, so that there would be no need to supplement the fuel required for boiling salt from the outside, and Hecheng's forage could be developed in large areas, and grain crops could be grown.
Cotton is a matter of great benefit to Italy.
At this time, he abandoned Miao Shuo and joined Zhang Yan because Zhang Yan was the key person who could influence this matter, and Miao Shuo was useless.