Chapter 116 Does He Want to Rebel?

Liaoxi Corridor, Ningyuan City.

When He Kegang arrived at the governor's office, it was already dark.

Being summoned at this time must be something big.

The Liaodong native who had just been promoted to guerrilla general walked straight into the innermost courtyard of the government office, found the residence of Governor Yuan, pushed open the door of the study and went in, only to discover that four or five generals had already entered the room.

The leader was Zu Dashou, and the others included Xie Shangzheng, Zhang Cunren and others, all of whom were close confidants of the Liaodong governor.

The host of this place, Governor Yuan, sat behind the desk with his face upright. The generals were silent and the atmosphere in the study was quite solemn.

He Kegang hurried to the desk and bowed.

Governor Yuan waved his hand, and Zhang Cunren stood up, walked to He Kegang and told him about the great changes in Dongjiang.

"This, this, this~ Old Xu and the servants are all gone? Li Shuai is being too overbearing."

He Kegang was in charge of the Fu Biao Camp and was quite familiar with the relationship between the camps outside the Great Wall and the governor.

Xu Zoufu was a military household in Liaodong and was said to be a deserter from southern Liaoning. After the battle to defend Ningyuan, he was promoted to the position of Dusi Jianshu. He was a daring general in Ningyuan City and a trusted general of the governor.

This time, Governor Yuan transferred Xu Zoufu to Dongjiang Town to urge the reduction of troops. In fact, he also intended to collect evidence of Mao Wenlong's crimes and win over the Dongjiang generals and soldiers.

"Even if he has the royal command flag, he can only deal with fifth-rank garrisons. He cannot kill civil officials or military officers above that at will."

The old general Zu Dashou was a rule-abiding man. He was about to be executed for a crime, but fortunately, Governor Yuan, who was in charge of military preparations at the time, pleaded for him and he was able to make amends for his crime. Therefore, he cared a lot about the rules of the court.

"Is he planning to rebel? So he annexed Dongjiang Town and transferred troops from North Korea. He will wait until the road freezes solid in winter so that he can attack us all the way."

Xie Shangzheng, another close confidant of the governor, exclaimed.

Except for Zu Dashou who had participated in the attack on Sanchahe and Haizhou and won military merit for the recovery of Liaodong, the other generals in the study did not get any military merit from Marshal Li, so they were jealous.

"He has the intention to rebel, but I have no intention of forcing him to rebel. How can I break this situation?"

Yuan Chonghuan looked helpless. He planned to use Xu Zoufu to win over the naval soldiers in Dongjiang Town. Once there was any change in Liaodong, he could use the same tactics he used against the Tartars to deal with the mutiny in Liaoyang and Haizhou areas.

"Governor, you dare not say that Li has a rebellious heart. What he did in Korea was not a big deal, it was just an overstepping of the bounds. Once the governor launches the previously prepared strategy of cutting off the salary and grass, the court will definitely think that the governor forced the Liao people and Li to cause trouble. The soldiers of the entire Ningyuan City cannot bear this crime."

He Kegang advised earnestly that during the two or three months when General Li led his troops to hunt down Ajige to Korea, Governor Yuan sent garrisons, guerrillas and other military generals to Jinzhou, Guangning, Haizhou and Liaoyang, and used the method of adding sand to supervise the military equipment and soldier mobilization of the four places.

Among the civil officials, Bi Zisu and officials from Shandong and other places also took office quickly, and won the hearts of the Liao soldiers and people by paying salaries and opening porridge restaurants.

Yuan Chonghuan closed his eyes and thought for a long time before he said, "The only plan now is to report the situation in Liaodong, ask the elders and officials of the Ministry to reward the soldiers of the Vanguard Town generously, and ask the emperor to grant Li Hao the title of Marquis. We will stabilize the situation before making any further plans."

In fact, he wanted to cut off Liaodong's food supply now, but if the food supply was cut off, the people of Liao would surely rebel, which would be counterproductive.

Zu Dashou and others said that this method was feasible, but Xie Shangzheng and Zhang Cunren disagreed.

"Governor Yuan, it may be too late to make a decision. We must transfer the Qin troops that can fight here in the next two or three months to prepare for defense. Governor, please first ask Wang Jinglue to send troops to guard Jinzhou and Guangning City. We will put on a defensive posture, which may scare the Liao soldiers in Haizhou and make them dare not follow Li Hao to start a rebellion."

Xie Shangzheng retorted.

Zhang Cunren thought even more radically, "The three-party arrangement strategy proposed by General Xiong can still be implemented, and even the suppression of the bandits is not impossible. Mao Chenglu is a confused man. If he is given a generous reward, he will surely be able to attract the Dongjiang soldiers from Lushun, Haizhou and other places to serve the governor."

As a native of Guangning, he actually had always had secret connections with the Later Jin. The Eight Banners soldiers north of Shenyang had long been unable to hold on and wanted to surrender to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for the reward of being the commander of the Jianzhou Guard.

"Then I will send you to Guangning and Zhang Cunren to Jinzhou? You guys just stay there for a while. Zhang Cunren will be responsible for contacting Huang Taiji." Yuan Chonghuan was very angry about the murder of his confidant Xu Zoufu. He did not forget the Luo family members who were killed in the fall before.

This account will have to be settled sometime.

Xie Shangzheng refused on the spot, "Governor, you know my ability. Even with my two hundred servants, we can't even make a plate of food for Li Hao to chop. If I go to Guangning City, it will ruin your plan."

Zhang Cunren said nothing, obviously not wanting to go north to die.

The study fell silent again.

He Kegang couldn't bear to watch it anymore. He stood up from his chair, walked to Governor Yuan's desk and asked:

"Generals, you are judging others by your own standards. I don't believe that Marshal Li has any intention of rebellion. Please ask the governor to send me to Jinzhou. Marshal Li and I worked together in Ningyuan. Even if there is something wrong, I can persuade Marshal Li to turn back."

The governor of Liaodong agreed on the spot and asked He Kegang to take half of the troops of the Fu Biao Battalion to garrison in Jinzhou.

"Zu Zhenze is the governor of Ningyuan. Strengthen the city walls, dig deep trenches outside the city, and strive to continue to defend Ningyuan City in this severe winter. Zhang Cunren should not be idle either. Send someone to bypass Fuxin and go through the grassland to discuss with Huang Taiji. If the Liao soldiers change, if Huang Taiji leads the army to suppress the bandits, you can reward their family with the title of Dragon and Tiger General of Jianzhou Zuowei."

Governor Yuan had a very clear understanding of the combat capabilities of various forces in Liaodong. Now, only the Tatar soldiers could fight against the cavalry under the command of the general of Qianfeng Town in the wild.

The generals took the order and left, but Yuan Chonghuan still did not feel safe. He poured the water in the bamboo tube on the table into the inkstone pool, and while grinding ink he was drafting official documents to the Guancheng General's Office and the Ministry of War.

Dealing with Marshal Li is much more difficult than dealing with the Tartars. At least the Tartars cannot capture big cities.

……

Liaoyang City.

After reorganizing the Dongjiang soldiers, the temperature dropped sharply. In order to prevent the sea route from being impossible, Li Hao sent the Pidao Navy to transport 150,000 tons of grain to Lushun, and he led his troops to escort the remaining 300,000 stones through Fenghuang City, Benxi, and Taizi River to Liaoyang City.

The Korean laborers were sent back near Tieshan. The number of people brought back this time was enough. If they were asked to make another trip, they would have to consume several thousand more stones of food rations.

After learning that the general had returned with Korean grain, the Liao people inside and outside Liaoyang City spread the news, and the crowds who came to join in the fun almost broke down the gate of the general's mansion, which had been recently renovated.

"Marshal Li has been very kind to the Liao people, so it is understandable that the people are so enthusiastic."

In the meeting hall, Bi Zisu, who was sitting on the east side, explained to the general that compared with a few months ago, the deputy envoy of Liaodong looked seven or eight years older, and the white hair on his head was vaguely visible.

The governor spent most of his time handling official business in Ningyuan and Guancheng. Bi Zisu was the only one inspecting the affairs of Liaodong and southern Liaoning. He also supervised the officials who took office in various places. He also had to pay attention to pacifying the people of Liao. He was very busy during this period.

"I heard that during my absence, you cut off the individual salaries of the surrendered soldiers? And you also transferred away those generals from the Beijing camp?"

Li Hao had accepted too many surrendered soldiers before, and the number of soldiers in two standard camps was not enough. So, except for the soldiers in the standard camp, the rest of the surrendered soldiers only received a single salary. However, after less than two months, the civil officials cut off their salary and treated them the same as the common people who ate porridge.

"This is exactly what I want to report to General Li. There are tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers, but I don't even pay the dead soldiers and Tainikan monthly wages, and the court can't afford to support them. They can only be demoted to regiment training soldiers, just like the class soldiers. They get paid when they work, and they are treated as military households when they don't work."

Jinzhou, Guangning and Yizhou areas can still have a harvest this year, but only a few fields in Liaoyang and Haizhou areas produce grain. Even if the grain is transported from the south by sea, it is not enough to pay the surrendered soldiers' wages. Bi Zisu discussed with the general and the governor for a long time before they decided on a plan to convert the surrendered soldiers into militia soldiers.

"Then what's the matter with withdrawing Zhou Yuji and other brave generals? Without these people, we can't push north of Shenyang. There's no burning wasteland in Tieling. How can the Tartars have a good New Year?"

Li Hao vaguely felt that officials in Liaodong seemed to be on guard against him.

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(End of this chapter)