"A great victory, a great victory in Liaodong, the Shandong army killed more than 20,000 Qing troops, Haoge, Daishan were killed, and Dorgon was captured." In Jinan City, several people were riding horses and beating gongs and shouting along the streets.

The people who heard this news looked at each other, and some people ran home excitedly and spread the news of the victory.

"General Zhao won the battle again. As long as General Zhao is in our Shandong for one day, we will not have to worry about military disasters in Shandong."

"No, now Shandong can't even find a bandit. It's all the credit of General Zhao. Moreover, Shandong's trial reform is also done by General Zhao."

"Isn't this what the governor did?"

"I am the governor of the Ming Dynasty, but the honest officials and masters used are all from General Zhao. In order to prevent those corrupt officials from making trouble, General Zhao also paid hundreds of thousands of taels of money every year."

"Try to make the improvement! Now there are no heavy taxes and no need to pay bank money. One acre of land is enough to pay twenty kilograms of grain every year. There is no need to send any man to the government to work on it!"

"The reason why our Xisanfu has been so prosperous in recent years is that General Zhao's textile factory sells much better than in previous years, and we don't need to use cotton seeds. In the past, one person had as many as fifteen acres of cotton, but now it's okay to plant forty or fifty acres of a person."

"General Zhao has sent troops to Liaodong to kill Jianlu. A head is worth fifty taels of silver. I wonder if I will recruit soldiers now."

"The fifty taels of silver are calculated based on land. The Shandong army stipulated that the Tatars' heads must be divided equally by the entire army, and the rewarded silver is calculated based on land. Only if it exceeds 300 acres will the silver be directly issued."

"What's the matter? As long as you kill a few Tartars, they will be dozens of acres of land. Moreover, after joining the army, there will be no need to pay grain. If you accidentally become heroic, General Zhao will also give 300 taels of silver and rice every month."

The people were talking a lot. The three Western prefectures, which were originally weak in influence, were now the people's desire.

All the gentry in Shandong paid attention to the battle situation in Liaodong, which was related to whether Zhao Yan could fulfill his promise. The great victory came, which disappointed some gentry who hoped that the Shandong army would be defeated in Liao.

At this time, the gentry in Shandong was very respectful to Zhao Yan on the surface and did not stop Zhao Yan from making any attempt to make a trial change in Shandong. However, it was the result of Zhao Yan putting a knife on their necks, smashing the silver and saying something else.

In fact, many gentry have a lot of resentment about trial reform, mainly because of the gentry in the East Three Prefectures, and the gentry in the West Three Prefectures is better.

The three Western Prefectures are located in the Golden Delta area of ​​the Grand Canal of Beijing and Hangzhou. Every inch of land is valuable. If Zhao Yanzhen touched it, he would definitely be attacked by a group of people.

However, the gentry of the Western Three Prefectures was also a little scared when facing Zhao Yan's rise. Who knows whether Zhao Yan will be involved in the Western Three Prefectures in the future?

At the same time, Zhao Yan ignored the sea ban. With the increase of offshore transport ships on Zhao Yan's hands, he shared the flow of some of the Grand Canals. Although there is no problem in the short term, if people are accustomed to taking the sea route, the economy of the three Western prefectures will suffer a major impact.

People in this era have not been short-sighted. The main reason why Shandong does not open up the sea ban is that some people are worried about the economic problems of the three Western prefectures.

...In Zhaojiabao, Zhang often went out to the military headquarters of Zhaojiabao to inquire about the war situation in Liaodong. As soon as the war in Liaodong happened, Zhang became worried about Zhao Yan.

Since March, people have been sent to Longkou twice, reminding Zhao Yan not to go to Liaodong in person, and just command in Longkou.

But strangely, Zhang, who had never asked in detail before, suddenly asked the situation in Liaodong in detail. The military personnel who stayed in Zhaojiabao did not dare to hide it at all, and patiently explained the situation in Liaodong to Zhang.

Since the beginning of spring, a new teacher has come to the girls' school in Zhaojiabao. In the past, the girls' college was led by Yuan'er, but it is not large in scale, with only more than 30 students.

The new teacher is very beautiful. When you look closely, it is Yan Yuyao, the daughter of the governor. Since Yan Jizu defected to Zhao Yan, Yan Yuyao has often come to Zhaojiabao. After the Chinese New Year, she also built a house in Zhaojiabao and lived in Zhaojiabao for a long time. She went to the girls' school every day to help Yuan'er with classes.

She even learned various courses from Yuan'er and became a good pair of sisters with Yuan'er.

Yan Yuyao was born graceful and well-educated, and was also the daughter of the governor. She was very popular with Zhang. Zhang often chatted with Yan Yuyao. Zhang liked Yan Yuyao the more she looked at Yan Yuyao. Although Yuan'er was also very popular with her, she bought it from the Jiaofang for Zhao Yan as a personal maid, so naturally she was not as good as the daughter of the governor.

"Yu Yao! Today I heard from the military headquarters that the situation in Liaodong is very good. Huang Taiji is trapped in North Korea by us. Well, there is Daishan. Haoge was shot dead in Zhenjiang. Now there are only one Duoduo and Jiergalang left in Liaodong." Zhang learned the news at the military headquarters and revealed to Yan Yuyao, "The man named Duoduo, holding an army of 60,000 or 70,000 in his hand, is now attacking Shenyang. What is his brother's name..."

"Madam, it's Dorgon." Yan Yuyao quickly reminded.

"Yes, yes, it's called Dorgon." Zhang nodded and said, "Dorgon also ran away from North Korea by boat, and then was completely wiped out by the navy. After Dorgon ran like this, Huang Taiji could not run out of North Korea by land and could not pass through sea."

"The military officials said that it is certain that the 70,000 Tartars' army was lost in North Korea. In addition, Zhenjiang killed nearly one flag of Tartar soldiers and 20,000 Mongolian and Han Eight Banners. The Tartars were already seriously injured, and there was no suspense to defeat Liaodong. As long as they were steady and steady, there would be no accidents."

"Madam, thank you very much. After all, my father is also doing things for the general now. If he is not clear about the battle situation in Liaodong, it is difficult to cooperate with the general in the court." Yan Yuyao explained.

"What are you thanking for some small things? Yan'er is still too young and is very impatient in doing things. Even the governor doesn't even inform him." Zhang took Yan Yuyao's hand affectionately and said kindly.

... "Win again. If you continue to win like this, no one in the world can control it." Governor Yan Jizu heard the news of the victory, and was mixed with joy and sorrow, "But since you get on this boat, it is naturally the best not to overturn."

"Sir, the lady is back." At this time, Yan Jizu's old slave ran to report. Yan Jizu immediately became energetic and said, "Please invite her in."

"yes."

Soon, Yan Yuyao, who was exhausted, walked into the study. When Yan Jizu saw her, he immediately asked: "Yaoer, what news is there in Zhaojiabao?"

"Dad, I heard from Mrs. Zhao that Liaodong is far from as simple as Zhao Yan's report." Yan Yuyao said to Yan Jizu as soon as she entered the study.

"Oh? Why is it not a simple method?" Yan Jizu asked in confusion.

"Huang Taiji's 70,000 army was blocked in North Korea. Dorgon fled by himself by sea and was then annihilated by the Shandong Navy. Huang Taiji lost his ship and could not walk by sea. He was completely blocked by the Shandong Army by land. Huang Taiji and his personal expedition were only a matter of time before it was destroyed."

Yan Yuyao paused and continued, "The Liaodong side has changed even more rapidly. Duoduo controlled the Jianlu army. At this time, his ambitions soared. He wanted to replace Huang Taiji and become independent, and he could not take into account the Shandong army for the time being."

"Oh! The situation is so good?" Yan Jizu was extremely surprised.

"Jianlu was already seriously injured at this time, and Zhao Yan made up his mind to fight steadily in Liaodong, and he would inevitably build a large bastion in Liaodong. The bastion has extremely strong defense capabilities, and is shorter than the city walls in all directions and is better built. It would be as solid as a cannon on it. As long as there are many castles in Liaodong, Jianlu would not want to fight back, and Liaodong would be gradually eroded by the Shandong army." Yan Yuyao speculated.

"Since the situation is so good, why don't Zhao Yan report to the court in fact?" Yan Jizu asked in confusion. Yan Yuyao thought for a moment and said, "Maybe Zhao Yan is afraid that his achievements will shock the master!"

"He is already very powerful at this moment," Yan Jizu asserted, "If ordinary military generals can be so good at fighting, the emperor will naturally be happy. But Zhao Yan himself will make money, and since he ignored the sea ban, he has even said that he is going to fight with a golden fight, and he is rich enough to compete with the country. A warrior who cannot control is full of tigers and wolves. How can the emperor not be prepared for it? It is not that the emperor is unkind and righteous, this is human nature. Last year, Zhao Yan and Hong Chengchou made trouble in the court. Who is the emperor favoring? However, Zhao Yan is not a surrender. Such a fierce preparation will definitely follow Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang's footsteps."

"As for what my daughter saw in Zhaojiabao, Zhao Yan was open and upright. Even if that day came, he would definitely be able to treat the Ming Dynasty royal family preferentially." Yan Yuyao said.

"Who will know what happens in the future? You can say this at home, but you must not say it outside." Yan Jizu said with some melancholy.

"This daughter naturally understands it." Yan Yuyao nodded.

"If it weren't for the great achievements that shocked the Lord, how could we not report the situation in Liaodong in truth? As long as the Shandong Army cooperated with the officers and soldiers in western Liaoning, it would probably not be difficult to capture Liaodong in one fell swoop." Yan Jizu thought in confusion.

"Dad, could it be... he wants to take the opportunity to occupy Liaodong?" Yan Yuyao suddenly thought of something and said to Yan Jizu.

"Well!" Yan Jizu thought for a moment, nodded and said, "It should be that way. As long as Zhao Yan swallows Liaodong, there will be no shortage of land. He likes to recruit people to settle down, but this Liaodong is the best place."

Yan Yuyao added: "If we cooperate with Liaoxi officers and soldiers to capture Liaodong in one fell swoop, the court will definitely send someone to take over. It will be much more complicated by that time. Isn't it such a simple thing for Zhao Yan to swallow Liaodong?"

"Look at this good news, how should we report it?" Yan Jizu took out the memorial that had been written and handed it to Yan Yuyao. Yan Yuyao opened it for a while and said, "We will report it to him as to how Zhao Yan wrote it."

"Then let someone send it to the capital." Yan Jizu nodded and immediately sent someone to spread the victory in Pidao and Zhenjiang.

...The Forbidden City is already spring at this time. There is a sea of ​​flowers in the garden of the palace, which looks extremely beautiful. Chongzhen strolls in the garden and watches the bees buzzing among the flowers, and his complexion is quite ugly.

It is now spring, but the progress of the suppression of the bandits is not going well. Gao Yingxiang broke into Shanxi, Li Zicheng retreated to Gansu, and Zhang Xianzhong broke into Huguang, and bad news comes one after another.

Fortunately, Gao Yingxiang, who broke into Shanxi from Hequ County, was soon picked up by Lu Xiangsheng to western Henan. After all, Lu Xiangsheng was in charge of Xuanda, and it was impossible for Gao Yingxiang to be unbeaten.

Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army had its own powerful weapons such as muskets, cannons, plate armor that Zhao Yan transferred, and instructors from the Shandong Army trained the army, which greatly improved its combat power. At first, Gao Yingxiang's troops thought it was Zhao Shaxing's Denglai Army, and Gao Yingxiang's mobs were killed by Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army and was about to collapse.

Unfortunately, the Guanning cavalry in Lu Xiangsheng's hands was transferred to Hong Chengchou by Chongzhen. The Tianxiong Army, which lacked cavalry, failed to completely annihilate Gao Yingxiang's troops. Gao Yingxiang fled to Hebei, and it was not within the combat range of Lu Xiangsheng. From Xuanda to Henan, the Tianxiong Army had great pressure on logistics supply.

In addition, the matter of suppressing the thieves was supervised by Hong Chengchou, and Lu Xiangsheng defended Xuanda, so Lu Xiangsheng withdrew from Xuanda at the end of the Henan border.

Gao Yingxiang ran to western Henan. Hong Chengchou considered the situation once the bandits fled into western Henan, so he arranged more than 40,000 officers and soldiers in western Henan. Although these officers and soldiers did not dare to fight with the bandits, they still had the ability to defend the city. This led to strict defense in western Henan. In addition, most of the poor were deceived by Zhao Yan to come to Shandong, and the people's "revolution" was not active. Gao Yingxiang spent a lot of effort to capture several towns, but did not attract many people.

Zhang Xianzhong's situation in Huguang was much better. Huguang is one of the areas with the highest degree of land annexation. The land of each vassal king in Huguang is extremely large. More than 70% of the land in Huguang is in the hands of the vassal kings, and there are many poor people here.

Zhang Xianzhong led his remaining troops to Huguang, and immediately formed a prairie fire. At this time, Huguang lost Lu Xiangsheng's command. Although there were many officers and soldiers, most of them were vulnerable.

The millions of taels left by Chongzhen were not even seen in the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers. The only effect was that no officers and soldiers rebelled and surrendered to the thief because of the shortage of wages.

Zhang Xianzhong grew rapidly in Huguang. Gao Yingxiang heard about this situation in western Henan and rushed directly to Huguang. Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong fought together and conquered seven cities in Huguang.

Chongzhen was extremely furious and ordered Hong Chengchou to immediately attack the attack. Hong Chengchou was in trouble at this time. The Guanning cavalry was obedient in Lu Xiangsheng's hands, but when it came to Hong Chengchou, he was extremely disobedient and violated the orders continuously, which led to several setbacks in Hong Chengchou's encirclement and suppression plan.

Except for the 20,000 people he brought originally and the 20,000 people Sun Chuanting was still useful, the rest of the officers and soldiers from all walks of life were mixed, and any chaos could be caused when they went to the battlefield.

Hong Chengchou, who was questioned by Chongzhen, quickly dispatched half of the officers and soldiers to go out to Shaanxi to suppress the bandits in Huguang.

The silver was smashed, but it was not effective. How could Chongzhen be happy? In addition, Chongzhen ordered Zhao Yan to help Pi Island, but there was no news yet. Logically, the order was issued in February. It was already March, so there should be a news coming! Chongzhen asked the Jinyiwei to check and found that Zhao Yan did not send troops to support Pi Island in February. Chongzhen was unhappy and caught a cold in the beginning of spring. The imperial doctor took him half a month to recover.

"Is there any news about North Korea and Pidao?" Chongzhen turned to ask the eunuch who was serving.

"I have not received any news yet," the little eunuch replied.

Chongzhen couldn't help but say angrily: "This Zhao Yan said that he had pacified Liao in three years. This time, Pi Island was attacked by Jianlu, but he didn't dare to go?"

When the eunuch on the side saw Chongzhen getting angry, he quickly lowered his head and did not dare to speak.

The more Chongzhen thought about it, the more angry he became. The imperial edict had been issued for a month, but Zhao Yan didn't even fart. It was obvious that he was not obeying the imperial edict. It didn't matter to others, but Chongzhen was very sensitive to Zhao Yan's affairs.

Even if Zhao Yan refused to obey the order, Chongzhen was helpless and could only feel powerless about Zhao Yan.

Just as Chongzhen was sulking in the garden, Cao Hua rushed into the back garden in a hurry and shouted while running: "Emperor, good news, good news."

"Oh! Where is the good news? Huguang's rebels have been wiped out?" Chongzhen was excited and asked Cao Huachun impatiently.

"Your Majesty, it's not a good news from Huguang, it's a good news from Pidao and Liaodong, look." Cao Huachun said and handed the memorial presented by Yan Jizu to Chongzhen.

Chongzhen quickly opened the memorial and read it. Cao Huachun stood aside and looked happy and said, "Emperor, General Jianwei not only captured nearly 20,000 Qing soldiers on Pi Island, but also fought with Jianlu in Zhenjiang, and captured 6,000 Zhenlu and 20,000 fake captives of Mongolian and Han, and also killed Prince Su Haoge of Jianlu and Prince Li Daishan on the spot. Later, he wiped out the Jianlu Navy at sea, capturing 4,300 Dorgon and Zhengbai Banner Zhenlu."

"Okay, okay." Chongzhen looked excited and laughed at the memorial: "Zhao Aiqing did not disappoint me. He sent someone to Shandong to inspect the head and prisoners later."

"It's the Emperor." Cao Huachun bent down, then took two steps back, and then turned around and was about to leave. However, before taking two steps, Cao Huachun suddenly stopped, then suddenly turned around, knelt in front of Chongzhen, suddenly sobbed, and said to Chongzhen with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, you are going to be the master of the old slave!"

"What you are talking about Wen Tiren's secret report?" Chongzhen asked.

"Please check clearly. After Qian Qianyi was arrested by Wen Tiren, he sent someone to ask for help from the old slave. The old slave did nothing! Wen Tiren submitted a secret report, "Your Majesty, I'm wronged!" Cao Huachun cried.

Since Wen Tiren became the chief minister, he has been obsessed with rejecting dissidents and attacking political enemies. He feels that he has made too many enemies, which may lead to revenge on others. In order not to leave a handle for others, he submitted memorials to Chongzhen and the relevant documents drafted by the cabinet have not been stored in the archives, attempting to destroy evidence of crime.

During the regent period of Wen Tiren's administration, countless people submitted memorials to impeach him. Not only did these people not defeat Wen Tiren, but instead caused fire to him. Some were dismissed from office, some were exiled, and some were even killed by sticks on the spot.

However, this time Wen Tiren submitted a secret report to Chongzhen, asking Chongzhen to deal with and severely punish Cao Huachun. How could Cao Huachun be so easy to mess with? The little eunuch around Chongzhen saw the secret report and hurriedly reported to Cao Huachun.

The cause of the incident was all because of Zhang Hanru's ground stick. The ground stick ran to Qian Qianyi's house and asked him to do a private matter. Qian Qianyi refused. This angered Zhang Hanru. He went directly to the capital to file a lawsuit, saying that he had made friends with a group of friends in the village, spreading strange theories and slandering the government.

Wen Tiren was vicious and vicious, and one of the manifestations was that he would never let go of those who offended him for the rest of his life, so he directly ordered someone to arrest Qian Qianyi.

Qian Qianyi sent someone to ask for help from Cao Huachun. Wen Tiren learned that Wen Tiren immediately added fuel to the fire and submitted a secret memorial to Chongzhen, demanding that Cao Huachun be severely punished.

(To be continued)
Chapter completed!