I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 269 Baked Steamed Buns Are Too Fragrant
Chapter 268

As Cheng Jialong has been in the Ming Dynasty longer and longer, he has learned more and more about the Ming Dynasty.However, at this time, the eldest son Long Cheng of the Cheng family was very desperate.

Because, he found that his father Cheng Shijie had already done everything he could do, such as steelmaking. Liaodong now has 21 large and small steel factories, which can produce more than 8000 steel every month. Ten thousand catties, of course, this number is not much to be seen in future generations. After all, 40 million catties is 480 tons. After one year, it is only [-] million tons. This figure is only equivalent to one-third of the Han Steel Group. Low.

The increase in steel production capacity can fully meet the production needs of Liaodong. After all, the most produced in Liaodong is actually ordinary steel, which is mainly used in the construction of bridges and cement roads.

Anyway, Cheng Jialong found that many people already use steel products, especially many workers no longer use porcelain dishes, but use stainless steel tableware, mainly because stainless steel tableware is not afraid of falling, and porcelain tableware, once accidentally dropped or bumped, will shatter.

Cheng Jialong found that he could not intervene in Liaodong's gun bureau, ordnance bureau, and these military factories. His age was a flaw, and he couldn't do anything.

Now it's different, with Gao Jie's support, Cheng Jialong has an extra pair of white gloves.

"Gao Jie!"

"Under the door!"

"Do you want to make money?"

"In no mood!"

Gao Jie said truthfully: "The sect wants to lead the army!"

"Don't say you want to, I still want to lead the army, but the problem is that my father will not agree, at least until I am fifteen or sixteen years old, and it will take two or three years!"

Cheng Jialong smiled and said: "However, we can make money first, as long as we have money, will we still not be able to recruit soldiers?"

Now the eldest son of the Cheng family, Long Cheng, has also awakened. He already knows the invention of weapons, which cannot be produced by drawing a few pictures. Didn't fix the engine yet.

In this case, it is not so difficult to rub an armored vehicle by hand.

Gao Jie thought for a while, and thought that what Cheng Jialong said was very reasonable. Although Cheng Jialong was Cheng Shijie's eldest son and the only son at present, the problem was that in the face of power, the relationship between father and son would appear very weak.

"I would like to listen to the eldest son's orders!"

Cheng Jialong looked at Gao Jie and said: "You go to recruit people first, recruiting various types of work, blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, in short, the number of people must be controlled at least between 800 and [-]!"

"These people don't need to be recruited, and there are now more than 700 parts under the sect!"

Gao Jie did not hide anything, and told Cheng Jialong that when he escaped from Guide Mansion, he brought not only the Xing family, but more than 700 people with him.

"Is there a blacksmith?"

"Yes, my nephew Li Benshen is a blacksmith!"

"Then will he know how to make steel?"

"Yes, can someone who doesn't know how to make steel be considered a blacksmith? My nephew can fry steel, pour steel, and make steel in a crucible, but he is best at making steel. A piece of iron is forged and hammered repeatedly until it becomes Until it becomes a piece of fine steel. It’s just that this kind of steel is hard to come by, and it takes a whole year to make a piece of steel. Why, eldest son, do you want to make steel?”

Gao Jie also knew that Liaodong's steel was not only of good quality, but also cheap.

Cheng Jialong didn't actually make steel, he just wanted to cast a statue of a landmark in Jinzhou, such as asking craftsmen to cast a tall iron statue of Cheng Shijie fully armed. Since then, would the Liaodong Management Committee dare not pay?
If you have the right to use it, it will become invalid after the expiration date.

Cheng Jialong first planned to build an iron statue of more than ten meters in Jinzhou, and then earned the first pot of gold, and then planned to build bridges and roads. If this sign works well, then money can come in like flowing water.

In later generations, Cheng Shijie's hands could not be inserted into such a project, and Cheng Jialong naturally did not have such power, but the problem is, now that he has this power, who wouldn't sell Cheng Jialong's face?

Cheng Jialong said: "Get the workers ready, I'll find someone to design the drawings!"

Just when the eldest son of the Cheng family, Long Cheng, was concentrating on making money, Cheng Shijie led nearly [-] Ning's elite navy all the way south from Lushun to Wusongkou. It will take more than two months to walk, even at the speed of the Ning Haijun's mules and horses, it will take more than half a month, not to mention the rogues, all the tortoises have run away.

Cheng Shijie, who advocates efficiency, set off directly from the waterway at a very fast speed, and arrived at Wusongkou in just four days.Ning Haijun replenished food and supplies at Wusongkou, Cheng Shijie asked, "Where is Zhang Xianzhong's department now?"

"Report to the General, they are in Macheng!"

"Macheng?"

Cheng Shijie frowned slightly: "This Zhang Xianzhong guessed that the handsome is going to come by water?"

A month ago, Cheng Shijie received the news that Zhang Xianzhong was attacking Chizhou Prefecture.

This Chizhou Prefecture is roughly equivalent to Chizhou City and Tongling City (excluding Zongyang County) in Anhui Province in later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, Chizhou Prefecture belonged to Nanzhili. If Zhang Xianzhong was in Chizhou, it would be much more convenient, although Chizhou is far from Wusongkou It is about 900 miles, and with the experience of sailing on the Yangtze River with the help of sand boats, it takes at most three or four days to arrive at Chizhou from Wusongkou.

But the problem is that Macheng is in Jiangbei, which belongs to the junction of the three provinces of Hubei, Henan and Anhui. In ancient times, there was a saying that it was called the "three no matter zone".

If it was Macheng, Ning Haijun's naval forces would be beyond reach.

"Wu Sheng, how many carriages can you transfer here?"

"This... the last general can transfer up to three hundred vehicles!"

Wu Sheng smiled wryly and said: "Commander, you don't know something, the officialdom here is extremely bad, even if there are [-] carriages, the marching speed of the troops can't be increased!"

"This is my bad idea!"

Cheng Shijie said: "Military situation waits for no one. This commander and Zhao Dusi lead the cavalry in front, and the infantry and artillery follow behind!"

"However, Commander, the [-] cavalry of our Ning Navy may not be enough to deal with Zhang Xianzhong's tens of thousands of rogues!"

"To be honest, this commander never thought about fighting this battle at all. If Zhang Xianzhong can be resolved by means of war, then there is no need to solve it by means of war!"

Cheng Shijie was different from others. Even though Zhang Xianzhong dug Fengyang Imperial Tomb, Cheng Shijie was still not too angry with him. It is the person who is most vilified by them, the more likely it is the opposite.

The simplest example, Zhang Xianzhong died in 1646, and in the following 16 years, Sichuan's resistance to the Qing Dynasty was all based on ghosts.

The most important thing is that if Zhang Xianzhong really engages in a massacre, not only will he lose the support of the people, but all the people in his base area will be killed, which is tantamount to committing suicide... How did Li Dingguo persist for so long and even fight twice? The record of the famous king?It doesn't make sense at all! ! !

A famous example of framing: the legend of the "Seven Killing Monument" in the Qing Dynasty.The Qing Dynasty said that Zhang Xianzhong not only killed people like hemp, but also erected a monument at the place where he killed people. On the monument, it was written: "Everything is born to support people, and no one can do good. To repay the sky, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, Kill, kill!"

But later, Zhang Xianzhong's "sacred stele" was unearthed in a public cemetery in Guanghan.The inscription on the inscription is: "Everything is born with man, man has nothing with heaven, ghosts and gods are clear, think about yourself!"

It was by no means Zhang Xianzhong who created the tragedy of "a thousand miles away, but no human habitation", but the Manchu Qing army at that time.

In Cheng Shijie's view, slandering Zhang Xianzhong is actually the most normal, is it praising Zhang Xianzhong?Praise him as a fighter against oppression, exploitation, feudalism, and imperialism?
According to the information Cheng Shijie has come across so far, Zhang Xianzhong, the Eight Great Kings, is actually the most organized of the rogues, and his troops are more effective than Li Zicheng's.

Of course, Zhang Xianzhong is not a fun thing either. What he likes to do most is to arrest landlords and gentry and humiliate them to death. As long as the gentry falls into Zhang Xianzhong's hands, they will basically end badly. Death is the best end, otherwise To hang the flag is to insert a wooden stick through the dung door, use its weight to slowly fall, and finally die of pain.

Either they stood on the hot tiles and were scalded to death, or some gentry were thrown into the cesspool with only one head exposed. As long as they dared to raise their heads, they would be beaten violently.

Cheng Shijie led Ning Haijun all the way to Nanjing. After replenishing supplies from Nanjing, Ning Haijun began to divide his troops. Cheng Shijie led 900 cavalry, carrying dry food for half a month, and went straight to Macheng with light clothes all the way. Of course, Ning Haijun's marching speed was still Very efficient, there is still more than [-] miles of land from Nanjing to Macheng, and Cheng Shijie's troops only took three days.

Although it is not considered fast for the cavalry to run more than 900 miles for three hundred, the problem is that this is the southern region, where the rivers are like a net and the hills are densely covered. This is not on the prairie, where you can gallop fast.

At this time, there was smoke and fire everywhere in Macheng, and a large number of people panicked, helping the old and the young to flee to the county seat, while some powerful clans spent money to arm the young and strong, according to Wubi to defend At that time, a large group of rogues wandered through the countryside, searching for everything that could be eaten, or besieged Wubao, and a good place was tossed into chaos.

When Cheng Shijie passed a village, he found that there was not even a mouse left in the village, and it was eaten up, all eaten up.Cheng Shijie randomly walked into a house that looked good and wanted to take a rest, but he found that the gang of rogues had even torn the tables and chairs into pieces, and even swept away all the pots and washbasins.

Cheng Shijie couldn't help cursing: "Damn rogues, they are worse than locusts!"

Zhao Wencai, who was following Cheng Shijie, sighed and said: "They were all forced... But if there is a way, they will not be like this. Shaanxi has suffered from severe droughts every year, and they are poor, hungry, and crazy. Naturally, seeing things Just grab it!"

"When Shaanxi is in chaos, the Central Plains will be in chaos, and when the Central Plains is in chaos, the world will follow. Now Shaanxi is in great chaos, and bandits are raging in the Central Plains. This is just a prelude."

If Shaanxi is in chaos, the world will be in chaos, and there is a reason for this.Shaanxi is a strategically important place connecting North China, Southwest China and Northwest China. It is a solid barrier for the Chinese nation to resist nomads and a springboard for attacking the Central Plains and Bashu. Its gains and losses are directly related to the survival of the Central Dynasty.

Once Shaanxi falls into the enemy's hands and the army goes out of Wuguan, it can advance to the Nanyang Basin and penetrate directly into the Central Plains; in the direction of Puban, it can attack the southwestern part of Shanxi; In the direction of Guguan, it is possible to occupy the Sanchuan River Valley in Luoyang, without the risk of Weihan.This is the most favorable situation for contending for supremacy in the world.

This kind of posture is like a huge bow drawn towards the Central Plains, its potential energy is beyond words.Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang all followed this model to complete the great unification, and these are precisely the four most powerful dynasties in Chinese history; Shaanxi was hit hard by this, and the Song Dynasty, which was the most prosperous in the world, never revived. It changed from a central dynasty to a small court in a peaceful corner;
The Ming Dynasty, which has enjoyed the country for nearly 300 years, was also captured by the peasant army from Shaanxi and finally declared its demise... It can be said that once Shaanxi is lost, the central dynasty can basically be sentenced to death.

It is worth mentioning that New China also emerged from the rolling Loess Plateau in Shaanxi.

It seemed that the village had been completely destroyed and there was nothing left to use. Cheng Shijie had no choice but to sleep in this house with all the windows removed.

When Cheng Shijie slept until midnight, he heard Meng En's anxious voice.

"Master, it's not good!"

"what happened!"

"The bandits are coming!"

Cheng Shijie looked at the roof and said, "Go up and have a look!"

This village is built on a gentle slope. This gentle slope is about 50 meters. Standing on the roof, you can see far away. However, when Cheng Shijie climbed on the roof, his face was dull.

He saw a huge stream of fire, which was composed of tens of thousands of torches, coming from the direction of Macheng in the northwest. The stream of fire formed by tens of thousands of torches was very spectacular. When the torches are still, they are like stars falling from the sky and scattered all over the place. When they are moving, they are like a river of flames. The magnificent picture and the murderous aura soaring to the sky make people shudder.

Meng En said urgently: "Marshal, please withdraw quickly!"

Of course, Zhao Wencai was not afraid of these rogues. In fact, including Zhao Wencai, almost all the cavalry of the Ning Navy were very excited when they saw these rogues.You must know that Ning Haijun's military exploits are divided into two types, Jiannu and Mongols, who are decapitated for [-] mu of land, while rogues and bandits like this, decapitated for [-] level, only have [-] mu of land.

This was the military regulation formulated by Cheng Shijie before the establishment of the Ning Navy. In Liaodong, when the officers and soldiers of the Ning Navy chased down bandits and robbers, they were considered military merits, but it was not fifty acres of land, but ten acres.

In fact, in terms of combat effectiveness, it is not as difficult to kill a hundred rogues as it is to kill a slave. You must know that the guys in the hands of these rogues are not as good as the people of Liaodong.

Most of these rogues who come here are holding a sharpened wooden stick, or a dung fork, or a rake. They are all weapons of mass destruction. Even such weapons dare to attack Ning Haijun , I really don’t know how to write dead characters!
Zhao Wencai shouted: "Everyone is in position, ready to attack!"

Following Zhao Wencai's voice, Ning Haijun's cavalry began to line up quickly. Ning Haijun's black military uniform was the best cover in the dark.

The rogues on the opposite side did not notice the existence of Ning Haijun until they were three or four miles away from Ning Haijun. In fact, Cheng Shijie can now see that this group of rogues did not take the initiative to attack them, but assumed the task of diversion. Otherwise, it would not be the crying sounds of the old and weak, women and children, including children, from time to time.

Cheng Shijie held the binoculars, looked at these women and children who were already too thin, and swallowed the order to attack: "Stop attacking!"

"Master... yes!"

Cheng Shijie looked at Zhao Wencai and said, "Are there any Shaanxi people in our cavalry?"

"Have!"

In the cavalry unit of the Ning Navy, there are not many people from the Central Plains, but there are also many people from Shaanxi and Yulin.

Cheng Shijie said: "Let all the soldiers from Shaanxi, Henan and Shanxi come out and say hello to them!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Wencai returned to the cavalry formation, looked at the soldiers and said, "National from Shaanxi, come out!"

"Hoohoo!"

Following Zhao Wencai's order, about 400 of the more than [-] cavalry came out.

"Henan nationality, come out!"

This time there were only more than 200 people who actually appeared on the list.

"Shanxi natives are on the list!"

This time, three to four hundred people also came out.

Cheng Shijie looked at the 900 people and said: "The rogues on the opposite side are all refugees who can't survive. You also know that the real combat effectiveness of our Ning Haijun, once the swords are used, they have absolutely no chance of surviving. Go and persuade them to surrender! , I assure you that I don’t need to kill a single person!”

"Yes!"

As soon as the eight or nine hundred cavalry moved, the rogues on the opposite side realized that there was actually a cavalry under their noses.The rogues also looked at the cavalry curiously, as if they were looking at a monster.No way, the equipment of Ning Haijun is not quite the same as that of the Ming army. The black helmet on the oval helmet flutters in the wind, and the black armor looks simple and solid. It doesn't look like the Ming army.They looked at the scouts curiously, as if they were looking at monsters.

After a long stalemate between the two sides, Ning Haijun's cavalry began to shout: "Brothers on the opposite side, which battalion are you from?"

The leader of the rogues on the opposite side called: "We are under the command of the Eight Great Kings, a wall. Let me congratulate Jiuyi. From your accent, you must be from Yulin, right?"

"That's right, I'm from Yulin! From your accent, I should be from Qishan, right?"

He Jiuyi said happily: "Brother, have you been to Qishan?"

At this time, Meng En was afraid that Cheng Shijie didn't know who a wall was, so he explained: "This is the forward battalion under Zhang Xianzhong's command, and the owner of the battalion is Ke Wang, Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son, who is nicknamed a wall!"

It was Cheng Shijie's first time hearing that Sun Kewang actually had the nickname of a wall, while Li Dingguo had the nickname of Ten Thousand Enemies and Little Yuchi.

"I've been there, Qishan shaozi noodles, a must! Why did you come to Huguang?"

He Jiuyi sighed and said: "There is no way out, it's either drought or locust plague, crops are not harvested, taxes are getting heavier, and the government is getting harder and harder, everyone can't survive, so they have to flee famine everywhere, and live every day. "

"Yeah, it's really not easy to live these days... How about Macheng?"

He Jiuyi smiled wryly and said: "It's not that bad, Henan is also very poor... Tens of thousands of people rushed over, and those who walked in front looted all the food that could be eaten, and those of us who walked behind dug the ground three feet away I couldn't get anything edible, so I got some grass seeds by digging out the field mouse's nest, and I was half full. Now the army is preparing to besiege Macheng. If the county can be taken down, I can still eat a few full meals , if we can’t beat them, we’ll definitely starve to death.”

Cheng Shijie stepped forward and said, "Looting the village and besieging the county will kill people, so you are not afraid at all?"

He Jiuyi was silent for a long time before she said helplessly, "I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid, but...we're hungry!"

The sentence "We are hungry" is extremely poignant and sad, and Cheng Shijie is also moved by it.

"Aren't you afraid of Ning Haijun?"

He Jiuyi said: "What are we afraid of? Left and right are dead. If you can still eat a few full meals before you die, it will be worth it!"

What is a bad life?
What is broken pot broken fall?
Cheng Shijie's eyes were opened, he made a decision in a very short time.

"I'll find you a place to eat, do you want to?"

Cheng Shijie looked at the gangsters and said: "How about you farming the land for the handsome? You will have three meals a day, and you can farm for the handsome!"

"Is there such a good thing?"

The rogues couldn't believe it.

Cheng Shijie smiled and said, "Of course it won't be such a good thing. I'm very dark. If I plant land for me, I will charge [-]% of the rent. Except for food, you only have [-]% of the food..."

He Jiuyi said: "Give us [-]% of the food? How much tax do we have to pay?"

"You don't have to worry about the tax, I'm responsible for it!"

He Jiuyi asked again: "How many days of labor do we need to serve?"

"No need to use military service!"

Cheng Shijie said with a smile: "If I go to work, I will pay according to the regulations!"

He Jiuyi said: "Are you an officer?"

"That's right, my handsome Cheng Shijie!"

"You are Cheng...Cheng Yanwang??"

Cheng Shijie looked stunned, isn't Lu Yanwang Lu Xiangsheng's nickname?Why did you press it on your own head?
The cavalrymen of the Ning Navy drew out their sabers or raised their crossbows with a swipe, aimed at these rogues who were still at a loss, and shouted in unison: "Quickly surrender!"

The six thousand Ning navy cavalry roared in unison, their voices were like thunder, and their murderous aura was fully revealed.

This gang of rogues numbered in the tens of thousands, but they backed away in fear.What's the use of having more people?Take a look at their equipment, and look at their aggressiveness, how many times stronger than their own gang of beggars!
Some people wanted to run away, but the Ning Navy cavalry cooperated tacitly. Before they could escape, they spread out and surrounded them. There was a sudden chaos among the gangsters. Men were scolding, children were crying, and women were crying. While scolding, it became a mess.

He Jiuyi was so frightened that her vocal cords became distorted, and she hissed, "Brothers and sisters, these dog officers and soldiers will not give us a way to survive, and insist on forcing us to die. We will fight them!"

The voices of the rogues were sharp and their faces were distorted: "Fight with them!"

Each of them raised the ridiculously simple weapons in their hands, formed a circle to protect the women and children in the middle, and faced the powerful bows and crossbows of the scouts with their chests upright. Although their hands were shaking violently, none of them Abandon the guy and run away.

The people in the circle are all their parents, wives and children. They ran away. I am afraid that none of the wives and children will survive. Any man who still has a sense of responsibility will not do this.There is no way out, but to fight to the death.

Zhao Wencai frowned: "You are not our opponents, you should surrender! We don't want to kill people, so don't force us!"

Even though the heads of these rogues are worth ten mu of land, the problem is that nearly one-sixth of the soldiers of the Ning Navy are from Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, and they really can't do anything to their fellow villagers.

He Jiuyi poked his neck and said, "Do you think we will believe your nonsense? In Shaanxi, the dog official surnamed Hong also said that the descendant would not be killed, or that he would only punish the leader and not the blackmailer... I don't really understand these things. , Anyway, it’s very beautiful, but after we surrendered, he immediately killed us all!”

These rogues shouted one after another: "Many of our fellow countrymen were killed by Officer Hong Gou, and their deaths are unknown!"

"Many of Hui Hui's subordinates surrendered and were beheaded by Officer Hong Gou! Hmph, you still want to use this trick to deceive us? Just dream!"

"We would rather be killed by you on the spot than let you deal with us when we surrender! At least in this way we can die more clearly!"

"Everyone is a man, fight if you want, kill if you want, hurry up, and don't play tricks!"

Cheng Shijie looked at the gangsters and said, "If you don't surrender, this commander will use his unique skills!"

"Let the horse come here, it's not a man who is afraid of death!"

Cheng Shijie naturally did not order to attack, but directly said to the guard beside him: "Give me an arrow!"

Cheng Shijie stuck an arrow into the steamed buns and put them on the fire in front to roast them. After a while, the air was filled with the smell of roasted steamed buns.

The other Ning Haijun officers also understood Cheng Shijie's meaning, got off their horses one after another, and then took the cold steamed buns they carried with them, and began to roast them on the fire.

Once the steamed buns are roasted by the fire, the aroma will be released. After a while, the smell of roasted steamed buns in the air becomes more and more intense. Some Ning Navy soldiers even roasted the dried meat on the fire.

The scent is even more enticing.

As the scent drifted into the wandering bandits, there was the sound of swallowing saliva, and many children burst into tears.

The adults coaxed the child, but the child would not listen.

During the stalemate, a rogue woman in her 20s put her arms around an eight or nine-year-old boy and a four or five-year-old girl. She kowtowed to He Jiuyi: "Commander He, the child is really hurt!" No, how about I go and test those dog officials!"

He Jiuyi said: "You are not afraid that King Cheng Yan will take your life!"

"If he wants it, I will give it!"

The woman smiled wryly: "Isn't it just a life? We will die together, the family will die together!"

He Jiuyi fell silent. This woman is Han Shi, the wife of He Jiuyi's old brother Zhang Shaozhuang.

If Zhang Shaozhuang hadn't saved He Jiuyi's life, and He Jiuyi had sheltered him, even if the Han family survived, he would not be able to maintain his innocence. In He Jiuyi's mind, if Cheng Shijie could take a fancy to the Han family and make an allowance, it would be regarded as fulfilling He Jiuyi's friendship.

With the death-seeking mentality, the Han family took a pair of sons and daughters to Ning Haijun, and Cheng Shijie personally handed the steamed buns he had baked to the rogue woman as horse bones for thousands of dollars.

After Han took it, she didn't eat it, but looked at Cheng Shijie quietly.

Cheng Shijie smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's not poisonous!"

Mrs. Han knelt in front of Cheng Shijie: "I beg you to be merciful, please leave a note for our Zhang family!"

Saying that, Han handed the steamed buns to his son.

The boy who was so skinny took the steamed bun, gobbled it up, rolled his eyes from choking, Cheng Shijie handed over a water bottle, drank several sips of water, and finally recovered.

Cheng Shijie said: "This commander spit on a nail, he keeps his word!"

With that said, Cheng Shijie gave some steamed buns to Han's mother and daughter.

Now the sky is getting brighter and brighter, even without a torch, they can still see clearly. The rogues watched Han's mother and daughter eating baked buns and drinking water, envious.

"Commander He, I don't believe it anymore. These dog officials, this dog official will come out with so many steamed buns. Commander, I will go and see if they are sincere!"

"Commander, I'm not afraid of death, even if I die, it's worth it to be able to eat a mouthful of steamed buns!"

More and more rogues surrendered to Ning Haijun.

"Stop, don't move!"

No matter how He Jiuyi yelled, he even picked up a knife to chop people, but he still couldn't stop these rogues from surrendering. He Jiuyi and his personal guards were scattered by the rogues.

These rogues ran, throwing down the things in their hands: "We surrender, don't kill me, give me steamed buns!"

In the eyes of the rogues, these baked buns are really delicious.

As for whether Cheng Shijie was trapping or killing them, that was not their concern. For a bite of steamed buns, they would rather be beheaded after eating the steamed buns.

Ning Haijun didn't fire a single shot, and more than [-] bandits all surrendered.

(End of this chapter)