Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 644

"Boom...boom...boom..."

In May, with the sound of evening drums, the people in Nanjing began to return home.

Not long after, the sky darkened, and the streets of Nanjing City were deserted.

In such a situation, the only place that can be brightly lit, apart from every household, is the Longjiang Wharf.

There are tens of thousands of tents stationed on the wide Longjiang Wharf at the moment.

There are many people living inside and outside the tent, and they are all people waiting to be relocated.

Although it was already dark, the relocated ships were still entering the port one by one, and then sailed out of the port with thousands of people.

There are more than a dozen such immigrant ships every day, and they can migrate 1 people every day.

They embarked on a steamship, and then embarked on a journey across the ocean with two supply sailboats loaded with coal and fresh water.

As the drought in Daming began to ease, people everywhere could basically live and work in peace and contentment. Therefore, the only people who would migrate at this time were those who were attracted by the high welfare of the feudal clans.

However, there are exceptions, for example, Qi State is the most conspicuous exception.

Many people don't even understand Qi's immigration policy, so they are scrambling to prepare to move to Qi.

The reason they did this is very simple, it is all because the current king of Qi has already begun to prepare for the feudal clan.

"Grandfather, why do you think we are going to the country of Qi?"

On a steam ship that moved to Qi, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy asked his grandfather in the seven or eight square meter room on the ship.

His grandfather was around fifty years old, and when he heard his grandson's words, he had a complicated expression on his face:

"My (our) life is given by King Qi. Now that King Qi is leaving, if we don't follow suit, our life will become more and more difficult."

"It was like this during the Wanli period, but I didn't go to the institute at that time."

"Now that there is a place to go, who do you think is moving away from house to house? Everyone is not stupid..."

The old man spoke the reason why he wanted to move in Jianghuai official dialect with a slight accent, and the young man nodded his head half-understanding.

"Rest early, there is still one and a half months before we can reach Qi..."

After the old man finished speaking, he also lay down on the upper and lower bed, and the young man cleaned himself up briefly, and climbed onto the upper bed nimbly.

The oil lamp in their room was blown out quickly, and other rooms were blown out one after another.

Against the dark night, the steamer sailed toward the Yangtze River, and finally headed for the depths of the magnificent Daming Ocean...

"This is the migration situation this month. The number of people has increased a lot. More than 6000 people migrate to Qi every day."

"The remaining 3000 people are basically relocated to Nanzhou, Jiugang, Luchuan, and various feudal clans."

"In addition, there are thousands of people coming from all over the country every day, and most of them are also going to move to Qi."

"Continuing with this posture, it seems that it will not be a problem to relocate 80 million people this year."

At night, in the dimly lit Nanjing Five Army Commander's Mansion, when Lu Wenzhao told the information he had found, Zhu Youjian, who was sitting in the main seat, also nodded.

Right now, immigrants from all parts of Ming Dynasty who want to move to Qi State need to migrate to Nan Zhili first, and then go to Qi State by boat.

Therefore, as long as the number of Qi immigrants in southern Zhili is counted, a more accurate migration scale can be obtained.

In the years without major disasters, there were still 70 million immigrants in Qi State. It has to be said that Zhu Youjian's personality charm has penetrated into the hearts of the people.

"Southern Zhili is the closest route between the mainland of Ming Dynasty and Qi State. I am not going to return to Northern Zhili. Let the concubine prepare to move."

Zhu Youjian explained the matter of moving, and then said to Lu Wenzhao:

"Generals in the army and officials in the court, if there are relocations, it is best to apply to the Dudu Mansion and the Ministry of Officials for transfer within six months."

"Yes..." Lu Wenzhao responded, and continued:

"Part of the Qin family and the Qi family, and everyone in the Cao family have applied for transfer."

"The position of the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army's governor's mansion will soon be vacant, and there are also eleven positions for the commander-in-chief below."

While talking, Lu Wenzhao took out a list, and this list made Zhu Youjian frown.

"Cao Wenzhao, Cao Wenyao, Cao Bianjiao, Cao Dingjiao, Li Zicheng, Li Guo, Li Zijing, Liu Zongmin, Li Dingguo, Qi Wulong, Zhou Yuji..."

Looking at the list in his hand, if it is difficult for Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao to leave, Zhu Youjian will be a little embarrassed if the remaining nine people want to leave, especially if Li Zicheng and Li Dingguo want to leave, it will be even more difficult for Zhu Youjian didn't know how to dissuade them.

"First transfer You Shigong as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, and then transfer Zhang Xianzhong, the commander-in-chief of Hexi, to the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army as the commander-in-chief of Yingzhou."

"Transfer Luo Rucai, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi, to be the commander-in-chief of Taixi, Ma Shilong, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, to be the commander-in-chief of Beiting, Zuo Guangxian, the commander-in-chief of Henan, to be the commander-in-chief of Hezhong, and Huang Degong, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, to be the commander-in-chief of Lingbei."

The generals transferred this time are mainly from the Northern Army and the Eastern Army, so Zhu Youjian's arrangement is also based on the Northern Army and the Eastern Army.

The only southern general who applied for transfer, Qi Wulong, the third generation of the Qi family, was not arranged.

Zhu Youjian had seen Qi Wulong's information, and he was actually considered a handsome talent in the southern army who could stand on his own at present, so if he was transferred to Qi State, it would cause Daming to suffer losses.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian is going to temporarily put Qi Wulong and Li Dingguo on hold.

They still need to exercise, and it is difficult to get opportunities from Qi Guo for this exercise.

Qi State has no enemies anymore, and some rebellious natives will also enter Qi State with rifles and be suppressed.

For the same rest and recuperation, Daming still needs to guard against foreign invasion, but Qi does not need it.

It is a waste of their talents to go to Qi.

Even though Zhu Youjian knew what Li Dingguo was thinking, he had to consider things from the overall situation.

Therefore, this time he felt sorry for Li Dingguo.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian sighed, raised his head and asked Lu Wenzhao:

"How is the handover between the officialdom and the imperial store?"

"It's all going on normally, and it shouldn't be a problem to end everything before the winter solstice."

Lu Wenzhao replied, which made Zhu Youjian's heart settle, but at the same time, Lu Wenzhao also reminded Zhu Youjian of one thing:

"Qi State encountered some difficulties in the development of the Twelve Prefectures in the South. The local natives were too resistant. The Governor of Mandu asked to add [-] battalions of troops, or transfer a batch of rifles from the interior of the country."

"We can't expand the army. As for the rifles, we will transfer [-] of them first." Zhu Youjian said without hesitation:

"Arms expansion is easy, but disarmament is difficult."

"Let Man Gui and the others wait for three months, and then send troops to suppress the rebellious natives after the rifles are adjusted."

"In addition, we should also pay attention to the methods for the native tribes. The natives with writing and culture should be scattered and migrated, and those without writing and culture should be absorbed."

"If you encounter a tribe with writing, culture, and strong resistance, all of them will be wiped out, and there is no need to play!"

Zhu Youjian expressed his attitude towards the natives, and Lu Wenzhao bowed when he saw this, and at the same time said:

"Currently, there are 260 registered households in the Qimin Dynasty, of which more than 420 households are all Han people, and the rest are local people."

"The population under the Qi State has reached more than 460 million people, and the annual ration demand has reached more than [-] million shi."

"Now the amount of arable land in Guochao has barely reached more than [-] million mu, and the basic ration problem can already be guaranteed."

"However, Frangji still needs 300 million shi of food rations every year. It is estimated that the State of Qi will need the support of the court for two years to meet the needs of the country and the Frangji country at the same time."

"In addition, Tang, Ji, and Huai also sent people to Tokyo City to ask when the grain trade contract can be signed."

When Lu Wenzhao talked about Qi, Zhu Youjian explained without hesitation:
"Protect the people first, then Franji, and finally the Three Kingdoms."

"The trade contract with the three countries can be signed immediately, but the effective time must be after next year's autumn harvest. In addition, the amount of food is gradually increasing, and it is impossible to complete it in one step."

"It's enough for you to let Xia Yunyi arrange these things."

"Yes, I understand."

After talking about the last government affairs, the two stopped discussing government affairs, but changed their minds to chat about some past events.

Just a few days after they chatted, after several years of parting, a train carrying homesickness also drove from Datong Mansion to Shuntian Mansion.

"Woooo..."

The sound of the siren echoed in my ears, and most of the people in the car were already asleep. All of them were wearing mandarin duck battle jackets, with long-lost calm on their faces, and fell into a deep sleep.

These are the soldiers of the Western Expedition Army who got the leave, and like them, Li Dingguo, who was wrapped in a blanket but couldn't fall asleep while looking out the dark window, was also eligible for the leave.

The 24-year-old Li Dingguo looked a little more mature. He looked out the window quietly, and seemed to have the answer in his heart, but he still wanted to come back and make sure.

Next to him were Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong who had put down the armchairs and were lying asleep.

The two also got their leave, and were urged by Zhu Ciran to return to Beijing at the same time.

Compared with Li Dingguo's homesickness, for these two people, after returning to Beijing, there will be endless government affairs waiting for them.

Maybe the civil servants would disagree with the two of them handling government affairs, but for their elder brother, he didn't care so much, he only knew that he was exhausted.

"Woooo..."

Time passed by little by little, and it was a full 640 miles from Datong Mansion to the capital. Even at the speed of the current new trains, it would take a full eight hours.

If there is no accident, Li Dingguo and the others will not arrive at Beijing West Railway Station until tomorrow afternoon (13-15).

Although eight hours is a long time, for those of them who haven't enjoyed peace for a long time, if they can sleep peacefully, sleeping for five or six hours is not a problem.

Amidst the snoring all around, Li Dingguo also gradually felt drowsy. After a while, he slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't have any dreams, but fell asleep directly.

When he woke up again, he was awakened by the noise around him.

He opened his eyes in a daze, and when he looked around, he realized that Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong had already got along with the soldiers, and chatted about some interesting things about the capital.

He looked away, only to find a wooden lunch box on the small table in front of him.

Not surprisingly, this should have been put down by the more careful Zhu Cijiong.

Li Dingguo took a sip of water, soothed his bitter mouth, and then opened the lunch box to eat.

Today's train lunch box is fried eggplant with minced meat. There is a white paper next to the wooden box with the price of the lunch box written on it.

"Five Wen...it's about the same."

Looking at the price of the lunch box, Li Dingguo nodded secretly.

After eating, he took out a book and briefly read it.

Although the surrounding environment is noisy, it is nothing compared to the battlefield.

Li Dingguo was so immersed in the book that in his opinion time passed quickly.

"Woooo-"

When the long siren sounded, Li Dingguo also knew that the capital had arrived.

He closed the book, got up and shouted to the soldiers who were still chatting lively:
"When you arrive in the capital, you are ready to pack your own things and garbage. Don't leave work for the flight attendants. After returning home, you should rest well. Remember to go to the bank on the tenth day of every month to see if your military salary has arrived. If you haven't received it, go to Qi Wangfu Find me, and this vacation ends on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, so don’t forget to gather at the square of West Railway Station in the capital at the morning of the first day of the twelfth lunar month.”

"receive!!!"

A group of men shouted loudly, and then laughed, as if they were happy to be able to go home.

Soon, the train stopped, and the soldiers had already packed out a clean and tidy train carriage.

They got off the train with big bags and small bags on their backs. Some lived in the capital, and their parents were waiting at the station to greet them early. Some lived in other counties in Shuntian Prefecture, so they rented cars in groups to go home.

"Brother Li! Let's go home and rest for a day. If we have time tomorrow, we will go to the house to find you!"

Zhu Cixuan yelled loudly, and Li Dingguo waved his hands helplessly. He knew that with Zhu Ciran's character, it was impossible for the two of them to leave the East Palace easily.

"Head! Let's go!"

"go Go!"

The soldiers greeted Li Dingguo in the car, and Li Dingguo responded loudly. After watching all the brothers leave, he called a carriage with anxiety and drove towards the Qi Palace.

Along the way, he was so nervous that he didn't even pay attention to the changes in the capital. He was immersed in his own spiritual world, frowning tightly.

"General, Prince Qi's mansion has arrived."

In anxiety, time always passed quickly. Hearing the coachman's voice, Li Dingguo got out of the carriage and handed the five-cent fare to the coachman.

While receiving the fare, the coachman looked at Prince Qi's mansion with respect in his eyes.

He watched Li Dingguo enter Qi Palace with envy, and then drove away from the gate of Qi Palace with his mouth open.

With a heavy heart, Li Dingguo walked into the palace step by step.

Standing on the square of Chengyun Hall, Li Dingguo was in a trance.

Here, he seemed to see his own past, and saw how he grew up a little bit.

"Why are you standing here? Wang Daban and Cao Daban are waiting for you to eat..."

A familiar voice came from behind, and Li Dingguo subconsciously turned around to look.

What came into view was a beautiful and familiar figure, which can also be said to be Li Dingguo's nightmare when he was young.

"If it's my sister..."

There was a bit of bitterness in Li Dingguo's words, Yang Rushi came over after hearing the words, and took a close look at Li Dingguo.

As she walked, the scent of the sachet on her body was blown by the wind, and Li Dingguo sniffled unnaturally.

"It has grown a lot taller, and has grown up, more like a man."

Yang Rushi smiled and compared Li Dingguo's height with his hands, just a simple measurement, Yang Rushi smiled and said:

"Is it five feet seven inches (182.4cm)?"

"Five feet and eight inches (185.6)..."

As Li Dingguo said, he glanced at Yang Rushi's five feet one inch height.

In this era, women who can grow to five feet one are considered upper-middle class, and normal women are no more than four feet eighty-nine.

"Where's aunt?" Li Dingguo looked to the left and right, but he didn't see Yang Yuanai's figure, and felt a little curious.

"Her?" Yang Rushi covered his face and smiled, "You should be called Yang Niangniang."

"Your Majesty?" Li Dingguo was stunned for a moment, and then he came to his senses and said with a wry smile:
"I should have thought it was..."

Yang Yuanai has always liked Zhu Youjian, so much so that when Zhu Youjian introduced her to her when she was a little older, she was ruthlessly rejected by her.

In the end, Zhu Youjian had no choice but to accept another concubine Ping.

Yuan Xibing was very happy about this, after all, Yang Yuanai took care of the harem very well and could help her a lot.

"Let's go, I'm waiting for you to eat."

After Yang Ru said that, he turned around and led the way away.

Dressed in a white-gold corolla skirt and jacket, with large sleeves and a round neckline, Yang Rushi is very dignified. Li Dingguo followed her to the Palace of Cunxin, but Yang Rushi said on the way:

"You're a little late. Your Majesty and the others just left for Nanjing this morning."

"..." Hearing that Yuan Xibing and the others had gone to Nanjing, Li Dingguo's heart tightened, knowing that His Royal Highness was about to become a vassal.

"However, Brother Lang and the others stayed behind. His Highness said that they will not return to Qi until they finish their schooling."

"I was left to take care of them. I don't know if you are planning to go to Qi or stay?"

When Yang Rushi talked about the changes in the mansion, Li Dingguo kept nodding his head after hearing this, but even Li Dingguo himself didn't know about the questions she asked about whether to stay or not, so he could only shake his head and say:
"It depends on how His Highness arranges, but I guess His Highness will not let me go to Qi at this time."

Years of military experience has made Li Dingguo grow a lot. Although he knew that he could not go to Qi at this time, he still returned to the capital, wanting to get the answer given by Zhu Youjian.

"Alright, if you can go, I also have a companion."

Yang Rushi comforted Li Dingguo with a smile, and at the same time did not forget to say:
"A young man from the Qi Kingdom came to the mansion. His name is Xia Wanchun. He is very obedient. He is very similar to you when you were young, but his mouth is sweeter than yours."

"You don't have to worry about meeting. Today is Thursday, and he and Brother Lang have to wait three days before they can go on vacation."

While speaking, Li Dingguo and Yang Rushi had already reached the Palace of Mind.

When they walked into the Palace of Cunxin, Li Dingguo saw Cao Huachun and Wang Chengen who were quite old, and many things in the Palace of Cunxin were also taken away, and the furniture was completely new.

This is not difficult to understand. After all, the furniture in the palace was made by the emperor himself, so it is naturally impossible to keep it.

"Wang Daban, Cao Daban..."

Li Dingguo smiled and saluted when he saw the two, and the two also raised their hands to signal him not to stick to etiquette.

For the two, Li Dingguo is like their nephew, and for Li Dingguo, they are indeed like uncles.

"Come and eat, it will be cold if you don't eat."

Wang Chengen beckoned, and at the same time pointed out his bowls and chopsticks to Li Dingguo.

Li Dingguo and Yang Ru were seated, and the four of them quickly had a meal happily, and at the same time asked about Li Dingguo's experience in the past few years.

Li Dingguo picked out a few things, which made the three worried, but Li Dingguo laughed again:

"Actually, the current battlefield is not dangerous at all. There are only more than [-] brothers who died in this Western Expedition, which is much better than before."

Li Dingguo's words are not false. Since the fourth Northern Expedition to wipe out Jianlu, the Ming army began to equip rifles one after another, and the number of casualties was also greatly reduced.

There were many casualties in this Western Expedition, mainly due to the fall of the horse during the charge, and Li Zicheng's crossing of Congling.

Apart from these, the Ming army had almost no casualties on the frontal battlefield.

"Fortunately, after this fight, Guochao should be able to enjoy peace for more than ten years. Besides, I was also transferred back to the capital. Let's take a step and see."

Li Dingguo comforted himself, Cao Huachun also hesitated to speak, and said cautiously:

"Your Highness wants you to stay in Daming for a few more years. There is no war in Qi now. You just wasted your talent in the past."

"His Highness hopes that you can become a person who is good at everything, so Daming is your best stage."

"It won't be too late to go to Qi when you feel that you can do it yourself."

Cao Huachun uttered Zhu Youjian's thoughts, which made Li Dingguo's breathing almost stagnant for a second.

However, he quickly regained his composure, and comforted himself with an embarrassed smile:
"Since His Highness asked me to stay, then I will stay."

"Anyway, when I'm transferred, Wanzai and Brother Ran are probably still there, and they shouldn't stop me."

"Have King Yong and King Ding come back?" Yang Ru asked curiously, and Li Dingguo nodded:

"Come with me on the train, and you should have arrived at the palace by now, don't talk too much about them, let me tell you about Bro Lang and them."

Li Dingguo changed the topic and didn't want to talk too much about state affairs. Obviously Zhu Youjian's arrangement made him a little uncomfortable.

He knew that Zhu Youjian arranged for him to stay from the perspective of Daming. If there was no Daming, he should have gone to Qi.

"I'm telling you..."

Yang Rushi took the initiative to open up the conversation, and Li Dingguo listened with a smile, but the smile was a bit bitter.

However, it wasn't just him who suffered the unreasonable disaster, but also...

"Time is tight, don't delay, you can help me deal with it while eating."

In Chunhe Palace, Zhu Ciyun and Zhu Cijiong were warmly welcomed by Zhu Ciran as soon as they entered the palace.

Two thick stacks of [-]-part memorials were Zhu Ciran's welcome gift from his elder brother, and he even moved chairs for them thoughtfully.

"The pen and ink are all here, the ladies in the palace have already eaten, and I have also greeted Fan Niang and the others. You stay here to eat, and do a little favor for brother by the way. You can go back when you are done. Actually Not too much…”

Like a smiling tiger, Zhu Ciran pressed the two younger brothers on the chairs respectively.

The two younger brothers who have been in the army for several years have no power to resist in front of him. Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong can't help but look at each other, and can't help but think how this good big brother is stronger than the two of them when he sits in the capital every day...

Regarding this, Zhu Ciran also snickered watching this scene.

In order to prevent his two younger brothers from returning from school to take revenge, he strengthened his body every day, so that he could continue to let his two younger brothers "willingly" help him deal with memorials.

However, seeing the reluctance on the faces of Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong, Zhu Ciran muttered in a weak voice:
"Hey... why can't you treat me like Uncle Qi treated my father..."

　Tomorrow (May 5) will be on location, so the estimated update time is around 25 pm, sorry sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)