Upon entering Zhenjiang, Lin Haifeng and his party crossed the river directly to Yangzhou without stopping.
Accompanied by Yangzhou garrison Xia Guan Youzheng Prime Minister Zeng Lichang, Xia Guan deputy prime minister Chen Shibao and others, Lin Haifeng inspected Yangzhou city defense. Along the way, he also saw the deserted streets due to the continuous fighting. There is no longer the lively scene of thousands of boats racing and merchants gathering here in the past, and it has lost the charm of a salt industry capital.
After descending from Meihualing, which houses the tomb of Shi Kefa, the anti-Qing hero of the Ming Dynasty, Lin Haifeng came to the Yangzhou Guarding Envoy Yamen, which was rebuilt from the former Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy Yamen.
"Count the tears of plum blossoms in the country's subjugation, and the hearts of old ministers in the bright moon. Even the Manchus were able to build a shrine to their mortal enemy, which is enough to prove the importance of loyal ministers like Shi Gong in history." Lin Haifeng looked at the people in the hall. Generals, "Who can tell me what the real purpose of this temple was in the Qing Dynasty?"
"Buy people's hearts."
"Just like what they call protecting Minngling, they are afraid that the Han people will rebel against them again."
Most of the generals are rough people. They know the general things, but when it comes to details, they know very little.
Li Xiucheng thought for a while, "The first person who thought of building a temple for Shi Gong was the Kangxi Demon Head, and he also exempted Yangzhou from corvee labor for several years. At that time, it was in the turbulent era of the southwest, and Wu Sangui of Yunnan was about to rebel. The Kangxi Demon Chief was afraid The Han people all over the world followed Wu Sangui and did this. First, they wanted everyone to forget the "Ten Days in Yangzhou", and second, they used Shi Gong's name to encourage everyone at that time to become loyal ministers of the imperial court. . It¡¯s totally a drunkard¡¯s intention. Otherwise, why didn¡¯t he build a temple for Yue Wumu?¡±
"You're right. In fact, it was just for my use." Lin Haifeng nodded and said with a smile, "Kangxi's move did play a certain role back then. In fact, many times, it's good Good and evil can transform into each other. Today, I picked up a scholar on the road and asked him. It turned out that he wanted to come to Zhenjiang to join the army, but I don't know which of your generals just refused to keep him, causing him to investigate. His head was chopped off."
His eyes casually glanced at the generals sitting on both sides, "Actually, why bother? Qingyao can pretend to be generous and erect monuments for his mortal enemies to win people's hearts. Our dynasty can even take in a scholar. No? Haha, it seems that we are too stingy after hearing this. In order to achieve the goal of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, we have to win over people's hearts. As long as he opposes the Manchu Qing Dynasty, even if he just wants to watch from the other side, we can make friends with him. . Many friends mean many paths." At this point, he raised his hand and looked at everyone seriously, "Listen clearly, I am not asking you to find a way out for yourself, otherwise, we will There is no need to pay homage to Shi Gong."
The generals looked at each other and laughed.
Lin Haifeng also smiled, "I know that you are all good. Now, I will tell you about the military arrangements of the Celestial Military Command for Yangzhou. For future development needs, Yangzhou's current 10,000 garrison plus The battalion accompanying this king is collectively called the Yangzhou City Defense Army. I am here to read out the order of the headquarters." He stood up and reached out to take the letter of appointment from Liu Xianghe, "appoint Zeng Lichang As the garrison envoy of Yangzhou; Li Shixian was appointed as the deputy garrison envoy of Yangzhou and also the commander of the city defense army"
After the order was read out, he motioned for the generals to take their seats, "The organization of the original six divisions in Yangzhou will remain unchanged for the time being, and the official titles will also remain unchanged. The three military commander positions will be cancelled. It is up to you to decide on the specific arrangements and report them to the headquarters for approval. . Chen Shibao is still the pacifier of Yangzhou."
He looked at Chen Shibao who was smiling and said, "It is true that the ten-mile-long street is connected with the market, and you can see the gods on the Yueming Bridge. Life is only suitable for death in Yangzhou, and Zenzhi Mountain is a good place for tombs. My parents, sir, know this Who said that?"
Chen Shibao was stunned for a moment, thought hard, and scratched his head, "Your Highness, it seems that the King of Heaven and King of the East have never said this, right?"
"Oh?" Lin Haifeng looked at Li Xiucheng and others who were laughing secretly, and couldn't help laughing.
"This is "A Long Journey to Huainan" by Zhang Hu of the Tang Dynasty." Liu Xianghe interjected.
Chen Shibao smiled sheepishly, "I'm a rough guy. I only remember the words of the Heavenly King and the East King. I can't remember anything vague."
His words immediately made everyone present laugh. Lin Haifeng pointed at him and finally stopped laughing, "My parents, I am saying that your Yangzhou is not as good as others said a long time ago. How can there be so many salt merchants gathering here? I heard that if the salt merchant laughs, he will rent it for the second half of the year."
Chen Shibao laughed and said, "Yes, Your Highness, those salt merchants who are said to have one million taels of silver in their homes are not considered rich. Your Highness will know if you take a look at their houses when you have time." He frowned again at this point. Frowning, "But if you want to ask him to get some money, it will take a lot of effort.". A few days ago, I received another official document from Beiwang Mansion, urging me to pay the money. Alas, now that there is Qingyao's Jiangbei camp outside, the salt transportation has basically come to a standstill, and I have to go there to get so much money for a while. "
Lin Haifeng seemed to look at him strangely, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair, "There are so many wealthy businessmen, are you going to rip them off?"
"Spare me, Your Highness," Chen Shibao smiled bitterly, "Your Highness has seen that a lot of people in the city had already fled before the heavenly army arrived. If you want money, you can do it once, but if you want to go down again, Yangzhou is afraid It¡¯s really going to become an empty city, so what¡¯s the use of us occupying it?¡±
"Well said, very well said!" Lin Haifeng clapped his hands repeatedly. He stood up and looked at the generals, "Who said that big bosses and mud-legged people must be short-sighted? Look at our General Chen, what he sees is Very far. What is the purpose of our heavenly army attacking cities and plundering land? We are not to destroy, but to build a paradise on earth. No matter where we go, we cannot make the people afraid of us. As far as the salt merchants who can stay in Yangzhou are concerned Take us as an example. They did not leave when the Heavenly Army came. Regardless of their personal motives, it at least shows that they still have some sense of trust in the Heavenly Army and know that we will not kill indiscriminately. Then we should do better. . The salt transportation is something that Qing Yao cannot hope to end. Therefore, we can tell the salt merchants that China will only temporarily impose a small amount of transportation tax, so that they can do business with confidence. This will also stabilize the price of salt in the two lakes. function to benefit the people.¡±
He lowered his head and looked at his watch, then smiled at the generals, "Okay, it's getting late. I have to go back to Zhenjiang first. If you have any questions, please contact me at any time. In a word, you must guard the door and ensure the safety of Tianjing. , to provide guarantee for the next move of the Heavenly Army.¡±
He then took Chen Shibao's hand and said, "We need to settle the lives of the people in the city. Also, you haven't allocated the fields to the farmers outside the city." Seeing that Chen Shibao seemed to want to explain something, he shook his hand to stop him. "I know that you will also have difficulties due to the war, but no matter how difficult it is, you must do it. The surrounding villages must be mobilized. You organize some people and go back to Zhenjiang. I will set up a temporary training class there. specifically to address this issue.¡±
"I obey, Your Highness!" Chen Shibao agreed happily.
"Is there a writer around you?" Lin Haifeng asked casually while walking.
"Yes." Chen Shibao looked at King An in confusion.
"When you have free time, learn more words from others, ask others to teach you to read more, and don't make weird faces all the time." Lin Haifeng glanced at him.
"I have a humble position" Chen Shibao grinned, then scratched his head and chuckled, "I obey, Your Highness. When Your Highness comes to Yangzhou again in a year, my humble position will definitely make Yangzhou become familiar with that person. Exactly the same.¡±
"Exactly the same?" Lin Haifeng laughed, "You, go back and ask your writer for advice, can you do it?"
"Of course!" Chen Shibao felt a little unconvinced as he watched King An mount his horse and leave. However, after what Wang An said, he really consulted his writer, he realized that he had a weird look again