After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shandong once again fell into the scorching heat. The scorching summer heat was scorching the entire land.
Since the Chongzhen period, Shandong has suffered no less.
The invasion of the Qing Dynasty caused the entire Shandong people to crumble, and the taxes in Dingkou were drastically reduced. As a result, many vassal kings were eliminated from the country.
Drought, war, and banditry made the entire land of Confucius and Mencius seem to be in chaos, making it difficult to extricate itself.
Of course, the Yellow River, which once flooded from time to time, now flows into the sea from the Huaihe River, and lacks a large amount of water for irrigation. In the end, it does more harm than good for Shandong.
As the seat of Kinki and protecting the canal, the size of the army in Shandong has reached 40,000 to 50,000. There are even nearly 10,000 Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Jinan to guard this strategic location.
"Damn it!"
Wu Sanfu looked at Jinan City in the distance, feeling extremely tired both physically and mentally.
The thin coat directly exposed the general's belly, his face was tanned, and a lot of sweat dripped from his forehead to the insteps.
The horse was also sweating from the heat, which made him feel very distressed.
From Yangzhou to Jinan, even though there are canals along the way, it would be extremely uncomfortable to be chased by people.
At the same time, returning from a defeated battle also left him with a shameful face.
"Let's go!" The mighty army stirred up a lot of dust.
Outside Jinan City, Ding Wensheng, the governor of Shandong Province, and a large number of civil and military officials came to greet him.
As for garrisoning the Eight Banners, they are in Dezhou and Qingzhou, naturally not in Jinan.
On the side, Shao, the famous chief envoy of Shandong Province, has a slender beard and is extremely elegant and upright.
He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi's reign and came from a noble family, but he was extremely respectful to the governor Ding Wensheng who was a scholar and did not dare to slack off in the slightest.
Without him, he is from Liaodong and has surrendered long ago. Now he is one of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, and the status of the Han Banners is very different.
"Fu Xian, why do you want to cater to Wu Sangui like this?"
Shao Mingshi stood on one side and whispered: "He returned defeated and should be punished."
Ding Wensheng had no expression on his face and said with a chuckle: "He has tens of thousands of soldiers at his disposal and has not lost much. This is his confidence."
"What, what do you think of King Pingxi?"
"No."
Shao Mingshi shook his head quickly: "I just think that we in Shandong are struggling with money and food. Now we have to support tens of thousands more cavalry, and it is inevitable that we will be overwhelmed."
"As things stand now, we can only persevere."
Ding Wensheng sighed softly: "We still need them now..."
After these words, the two of them stopped talking.
Soon, King Pingxi, who was wearing armor and majestic, led his Guan Ning cavalry and came in force.
The majestic horses and sturdy temperament impressed Shandong civil and military officials deeply.
"Thank you for your warm welcome!" Wu Sangui looked good.
Seeing such a grand welcome ceremony, I couldn't help but smile on my face.
In this way, the banquet will be full of fun.
Within a few days, Ding Wensheng became unhappy.
"Fu Xian, it is Wu Sangui who pushed too hard, so I have no choice but to come and complain."
Shao Mingshi, the governor of Zuo, gritted his teeth and said angrily:
"Only two days after arriving in Jinan, King Pingxi came looking for me and wanted to reward the army with one hundred thousand dan of rations and one hundred thousand taels of silver. It's really ridiculous."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands and kept walking: "Although it is the autumn harvest in Shandong, the money and grain shipped to the capital has increased by 20% compared to last year. The rest, excluding the Eight Banner garrison, has already been divided."
"Now in the treasury, let alone one hundred thousand taels, even if it is ten thousand, I can't get it out."
"King Pingxi has come back after a long journey, but he still has to give him some money and food."
Ding Wensheng then walked a few steps, raised his brows, and said, "Give him five thousand stones of food and five thousand taels of silver for the time being, and then we can stabilize the situation."
"If there is anything left, tell him. We are still spending it."
"From now on, the money and food will be paid every month. Don't give too much."
"I understand." Shao Mingshi's expression changed.
"But, what should we do in the next few months?"
"Then go grab it or borrow it!"
Ding Wensheng waved his sleeves and sat down, minding his own business: "This is the responsibility of your chief envoy regarding money and food matters. I don't have the ability to teach you."
Shao Mingshi sighed and frowned.
Qufu.
For thousands of years, the Confucius Mansion has been entrenched here, almost becoming a state within a state, with branches all over Shandong, and its influence can be said to be no less than that of the imperial court.
The local gentry may not care about the imperial court, but they have to consider the words of the Confucius family.
Therefore, after the Manchus entered the country, Yanshenggong once again retained his title and continued to be rich and powerful.
Of course, don't deify him too much or be too harsh on him. There are too many spineless people like him in the late Ming Dynasty.
"What borrowing food?"
Kong Yinzhi, the Duke of Yansheng, was shocked when he heard this and stood up from the chair of the imperial master.
"Isn't there no return?"
Facing the magistrate of Qufu, Kong Yinzhi said unabashedly: "It's better to just rob it openly, and we can still win sympathy."
Speaking of this, we have to mention Qufu County.
Starting from the Tang Dynasty, people from the Kong family served as county magistrates one after another. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the rule of hereditary appointment of the Kong family began.
The county magistrate of Qufu was completely chosen by Duke Yansheng, and then approved by the court. Even the emperor only had the power to remove him.
It lasted until the Qianlong period, when more than three hundred years of hereditary history came to an end.
Therefore, when the magistrate of Qufu faced Duke Yan Sheng, he was like facing his parents. He was frightened and obeyed his advice.
"Master, these Manchus are different from us Han people. They are cruel. Have you forgotten what happened back then?"
After hearing this, Kong Yinzhi immediately remembered the scene when Shandong invaded and couldn't help but shudder.
"My lord, according to the information I got, the governor wants you to set an example. With you taking the lead, how can others dare not to contribute? Then it will be clear what he wants."
"Alas, there are thousands of people living in the mansion, and there are vines and branches. No matter how much land there is, it can't be used."
Duke Yan Sheng sighed in embarrassment and said: "But in order to show the Confucius' loyalty to the emperor, I am willing to offer a thousand taels of silver and three thousand stones of food and grass."
The magistrate of Qufu's eyelids twitched.
The Confucius Mansion, which owns tens of thousands of hectares of land, has tax exemptions and exemptions, and this small amount of money and food is really not enough to scratch the itch.
"Master, your intention..."
"Why, it's missing?"
Kong Yinzhi endured the heartache and continued: "Then I will give you three thousand taels of silver and five thousand shi of grain. No more. The grain depot is empty. I am afraid that next year the whole government will be hungry."
“It’s indeed quite a lot!”
The Qufu County Magistrate reluctantly said.
"Humph, tell Governor Ding that this is just this one time. If it doesn't happen next time, the Confucius Mansion won't have any food left. If we continue to persecute you again, I will write to the court."
Kong Yinzhi said with anger on his face.
With Yan Shenggong taking the lead, the province's food collection was much faster and could barely be spent.
But for the bureaucrats, their interests have not yet come out, and they must make it more difficult for the people.