Ming Zuo

Chapter 417 The Fate of Liaodong

The north wind is piercing, and the turbid waves are raging to the sky.

On the boat going south, Huang Long's mood was the same as this early winter, and he didn't know what was waiting for him in front of him.

Shen Shouyue brought the news of Dengzhou, Huang Long did not dare to neglect, and immediately summoned the generals to discuss the countermeasures.

But the reaction of the generals made him quite frightened.

"Sir Shen, how is my family?"

Shang Kexi, the director of Shuangdaoying, asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

Denglai is the rear of Liaodong, so the family members of the Ming army in Liaodong are basically settled in Dengzhou.

After Dengzhou was captured by the rebels, Huang Long and others were so anxious to counterattack because they were worried about their family members.

At this time, it was learned that Dengzhou fell into the hands of another group of traitors, and the Ming army in Liaodong was unstable.

Fortunately, Shen Shouyue brought good news.

"Everyone, rest assured. Even though Zuo Menggeng wanted to rebel, he took good care of your family members and did not murder them. General Zuo said that if you remain loyal to the imperial court, he will send your family members here."

"Sent for what? Waiting to die?"

Li Xiaoxi, the constable of Changshan Island, complained, and even got the approval of many people.

Why did they send their families to Dengzhou?
It's not because Liaodong is hard and precarious.

Hearing his subordinate generals talking, Huang Long had to speak out.

"Now that Zuo Menggeng also has the heart to betray the imperial court, let's talk about what we should do."

Shen Shikui, who was sitting on an equal footing with Huang Long, had his eyes blurred and asked Shen Shouyue, "Master Shen, how does Zuo Menggeng compare to Kong Youde and others?"

Shen Shikui was Mao Wenlong's in-law and the elder of Dongjiang Town, so when the situation reached this point, he was a little embarrassed.

Although he hated the rebellion of Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng and others, he also had little trust in the imperial court.

Therefore, after the sudden appearance of Zuo Menggeng, Shen Shikui decided to wait and see.

Shen Shouyue told the truth and told the situation of the Huangxian War.

The generals in Liaodong learned that the Dongjiang rebels, who had been defeated by the Guan Ning army, were defeated, and they were lost in the hands of Zuo Menggeng.

Others are still hesitant, but Huang Long's confidant Weiluan has no concerns.

"Zhongzhen, if we continue to be loyal to the imperial court, can Tianjin Wei supply the same supply as Denglai?"

Immediately, everyone's eyes widened, waiting for Huang Long's answer.

For these people in Liaodong, Zuo Menggeng's rebellion and occupying Denglai is nothing.If the court can continue to provide enough supplies to Liaodong from Tianjin Wei, they can still fight to the death for the court.

I am afraid that Tianjin Wei will not be able to do this, and the imperial court will not be able to recover Shandong.

At present, it seems that the court is really helpless.

Guerrilla Xiang Zuolin said worriedly: "The Tianjin Navy was trapped by the rebels earlier, and all the ships were captured. Even if they wanted to support us, where would they come from?"

The people in Liaodong were even more distressed, and they were all pessimistic about the future.

Tianjin Wei was originally far away from the islands in Liaodong, and Tianjin Wei was behind the capital, and it had no output of its own. The required materials had to be transported from various places. What would be used to protect Liaodong?

Therefore, counting on the imperial court to support them through Tianjin Guards is tantamount to fooling around.

But the situation in Liaodong has been decided, without the support of land, it is a rootless weed.There is no need to fight with money, and it won't take long for him to collapse.

It cannot be said that there are no loyal people among the generals in Liaodong, but the real dilemma is in front of them, and they have to think more.

Shang Keyi received Shang Kexi's signal and hesitantly opened his mouth.

"Zhongzhen, the situation in Liaodong is like this, I really have no power to return to the sky. Why don't you..."

He wants to surrender.

Not only him, but there are not a few people who are moved by the rest of the generals.

Huang Long looked carefully and found that his confidants Weiluan, Fan Hualong, Tan Yinghua and others all had their eyes dodged, obviously quite moved.

The hardships of Liaodong have already worn away the will of these people.

They can still stay here, but it is their duty, and they are afraid of the court's punishment.

But now the imperial court is too busy to take care of itself, and even the rebellion in the mere Dongjiang Town cannot be quelled, which has also given everyone a deep and sober understanding of the weakness of the imperial court.

In troubled times, in order to survive, it has nothing to do with loyalty and morality.

It is difficult to disobey the public opinion, and Huang Long understands that he can't change anything if he just goes his own way.In a hurry, it is impossible to say that these generals will follow the example of Dongjiang's rebellion and attack him.

But Huanglong has a strong temperament, how can he be easily submissive?
In his previous life, his family was detained in Dengzhou by the rebels, and he would rather watch his family be killed by the rebels indifferent, which shows his loyalty.

The difference now is that they are not facing the Dongjiang rebels or the Houjin Tartars, so Huang Long understands that the overall situation is more important.

After thinking about it, he decided to follow Shen Shouyue to Dengzhou and interview Zuo Menggeng in person.Of course, it was also to test Zuo Menggeng's reality.

Although Zuo Menggeng defeated the rebels, as far as he knew, Zuo Menggeng was no more than a soldier of the same army.

If it is found that Zuo Menggeng is not strong enough, Huang Long said that he can't make up his army to help the court to pacify this.

Following him down south, there are Shang Kexi and Shen Shikui.

The journey was not far, and the three soon arrived in Dengzhou.

Entering the water city and seeing the empty space inside, the three of them understood that Dengzhou would not support Liaodong in the future.

Shen Shouyue led them to the governor's yamen, only to see Zhang Jimeng.Moreover, Zhang Jimeng was wrangling with people and bargaining, without the prestige of an official.

"Tax-free for three years, it's already a good deal. Don't take a look, the poor people here are about to become pants."

It was a young man who was arguing with him.

"Four years, no matter how little it is, it's really impossible. Our Lu family invested real money and went to your backcountry, and we can't do business at a loss."

The three Huang Long were led to sit down and watched Zhang Jimeng discussing business with others, all feeling strange.

When will the officials of Daming still do this?

Then they remembered that this was not Daming, but a traitor's territory.

The person who bargained with Zhang Jimeng was Lu Hao.

Lu Hao has now fully taken over the Lu family's business. Toefl's expansion and comprehensive construction on Xinjun's side has resulted in a general demand for masonry. As a result, the Lu family's masonry business has grown bigger and bigger.

This time, Zhang Jimeng took over Dengzhou, and of course he had to build it well, so he contacted the Lu family, hoping that the Lu family could build a masonry factory locally.

First, it can provide bricks and stones for local construction, and second, it can provide people with jobs and improve people's livelihood.

For such an invitation, the Lu family was of course very happy, and Lu Hao personally went there.

But since it is business, there is nothing to talk about. The two sides are arguing with each other, and they will compare each other with each other. It seems that the solemn and solemn yamen has been turned into a vegetable market.

There was a lot of debate here, and hearty laughter came from outside the door.

"I said that you, Lu Guangyue, are really stingy, do you have to force our Mayor Zhang to death to give up?"

Zhang Jimeng and Lu Hao didn't change their faces, but laughed.

"Zuo Zhongheng is here!"

Huang Long, Shang Kexi, and Shen Shikui next to him couldn't help but get nervous when they heard the words, and at the same time, they were also curious about the legendary Zuo Menggeng.

I saw the curtain at the gate slammed to the left and right, and then several powerful guards filed in and seized the four corners of the house.

Another tall and burly young man like an iron tower entered with high spirits, his angular face was full of dust, but he was also like an evil tiger roaming, and the beasts were easy to change.

But this person was dressed in a blue coarse cloth shirt, and only a pair of oddly styled cotton shoes under his feet.

If it wasn't for this man wearing a big cloak, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference from an ordinary soldier.

Is this Zuo Menggeng?
The words of Zhang Jimeng and Lu Hao proved their guesses.

"Zhongheng, how is the front line?"

Zuo Menggeng took off the felt hat and handed it to Fu Yijian. He smiled and said, "Everything is safe. In half a month, we can leave Laizhou."

His eyes wandered and he saw Huang Long and the others beside him.

Seeing the opportunity, Shen Shouyue hurriedly introduced: "General Zuo, this is Huanglong Huang Zongzhen, this is Shen Shikui and Shen Zongrong. This is General Shang Kexi, Secretary of the Shuangdao Capital."

The three men had distinct positions, but Zuo Menggeng looked at Shang Kexi at first sight.

Bah, you big traitor!
He didn't even think about it, what kind of virtue was he in his previous life?
What's more, Shang Kexi is not yet a traitor, and without him changing history, in the follow-up battle of the Wuqiao Mutiny, Shang Kexi was really active and brave, fighting for the first place.

Shang Kexi was also stunned by this complicated and inexplicable look, and did not know what his relationship with this General Zuo was.

Fortunately, Zuo Menggeng remembered the business and said with a smile: "You all came from a long way, and you must not be here for dinner. I believe you still have many doubts, and some new things just arrived today. Come with me, I believe that after reading it, You'll make your own choice."

Having said that, he turned and walked away.

This vigorous and resolute style made Huang Long and others quite uncomfortable.

But the future is at stake, and they are still helpless to keep up.

(End of this chapter)