Chapter 516: Returning home

When Li Meng was still a general, Zhang Chengye was already a thousand general in Jiaozhou Camp, but now Li Meng is already the Duke of Qi, with nearly ten generals and generals under him. Zhang Chengye is just a garrison.

When the Tartars invaded Shandong, Zhang Chengye made great contributions. The peace between Yan and his wife was his credit, but today he was just a garrison, and he was also responsible for local security. This was really speechless.

It is really appropriate to describe Zhang Nanshan as a person who cannot support the wall. Others are trying to make progress in the Jiaozhouying system, so they can accept strict military discipline and arduous training in this system. However, when Zhang Chengye rebelled, he was a lustful person.

Once people like to enjoy themselves, they can't be energetic and strive for progress. It's not to mention that they are greedy for life and fear of death. The marching speed maintainer of Jiaozhou Camp has always been Zhang Chengye.

When Dorgon led his troops to Shandong, the Tartars' vanguard was very close to Zhang Chengye's station. Zhang Nanshan was still too late to learn the news, but after he learned the news, he fled desperately and the Tartar cavalry could not catch up with him, which also set a new record for the marching of the Jiaozhou camp troops.

Originally, he accidentally saved Yan and his wife. Li Meng was rewarded with me and was preparing to promote him to be a guerrilla, but before the appointment and removal order of the base camp was issued, Zhang Chengye was reported to Li Meng's desk that he had greedy for military pay and had a vacant amount.

Eating empty amounts and drinking blood from soldiers is a trait of the Ming Dynasty's soldiers and horses. It is an extremely taboo thing in Shandong. If Zhang Chengye made such a mistake, he would certainly not be promoted.

Zhang Chengye's troops were directly under the jurisdiction of the Jinan camp. When Li Meng saw this notice, he directly ordered the personal military camp to arrest him and prepare to behead him after interrogation.

The Nanshan bandits were very informed. After learning about this, they were so scared that they lost their souls. On the one hand, they filled the deducted military pay and the empty amount of the troops, and on the other hand, they asked to the door of the Prefect Yan to tears. After all, they were the benefactor who saved their lives and made up for the money. Prefect Yan also asked for a few words for him.

At that time, this matter was not widely spread. After making up for the money, it was considered a meritorious person. Li Meng directly demoted Zhang Chengye's position to the top.

After this incident, Zhang Chengye also found that although the Jiaozhou Camp saw the money flowing everywhere, there might not be many places to make money, and the various greedy tricks among the Ming officers and soldiers he had known before were completely useless.

Zhang Chengye's mind was also weakened about the future of the Jiaozhou Camp. When he was rebelling and rebelling, he only had a lot of money left in his hand. Although he was not proud, he was a general of the Jiaozhou Camp after all, and many people still had to sell some face, which was related and capital. In a prosperous place like Dongchang Prefecture, Zhang Chengye did some goods from north to south, and after a few years, he became a rich man.

Despite the changes in the Jiaozhou Camp, Zhang Chengye has been sent to the cold palace. The heads of each army are considering the promotion, and Zhang Chengye is not considered in it.

But there is a rule in Shandong that every county and state must have a permanent military officer according to the rules. This military officer may not be in charge of garrisons, but nominally commands all non-garrison troops in the place, such as the village guards and armed salt deputies of the village village in the town, etc. A county has a thousand general, and the state is a garrison. Each prefecture has a Dushi. This setting is actually to accommodate military generals who retreat from the Jiaozhou camp or have no place to be surrendered. It was originally a idle position, and many places were vacant.

Zhang Chengye's affairs were different. Although he was demoted to a general, the 300 people under his command were still the old brothers he followed back then. It was no longer a big deal to endure this in the field army, so he simply asked for help and converted his team into an armed salt steward.

Although Zhang Nanshan is not popular in Jiaozhou Camp, he is a veteran after all, and he can still send the request directly to Li Meng's desk.

More than 300 people, that is, the size of a squadron of armed Yanding, was the local security force. Li Meng simply transferred him and specially arranged to go to Linqingzhou. Because Linqingzhou is a big city, two squadrons should be placed among them. It is safe to have another one to restrain and monitor.

Although he was doing a mess in the army, as an armed salt ding, it was a rage. Zhang Chengye was originally a local tyrant and had a lot of business. If there were any disturbances in the whole place and theft, it was hard to hide it from him, let alone those smuggling goods and trafficking of private salt outside the city. In this way, Zhang Chengye actually accumulated a lot of credit in the armed salt ding position.

No one was relieved to let Zhang Chengye continue to be promoted or to be the armed salt dean in charge of a government, so he simply asked him to make up for the void position of the Linqing Prefecture garrison. In name, he managed the troops in this state, but in fact he had the power to control the three hundred people and had a high status, which was a joy.

Zhang Chengye, who got this position, also understood that his career was probably over. He was almost forty years old and had a wealth of money. He was not disappointed. With this identity as a protective umbrella, he would be able to do business and enjoy wealth with peace of mind, and he would have no regrets in his life.

Every day, he enjoys sex, sex, and luxury, which has become Zhang Chengye's daily life. On the night of the Maitreya Rebellion, he was sleeping well in the Hutian and Hu in the largest brothel in the city.

Hearing the noise of the generals outside, Zhang Chengye was awakened from his dream. A warrior like him, who was born in a rampant family, was extremely sensitive to such things. When he heard the soldiers outside panic and people shouting "Maitreya came to the world, the Buddhist son came to the world" and "killing Li Meng to achieve peace", he understood what was going on.

He was wearing a garrison robe that was usually swaying everywhere, so he naturally didn't dare to wear it out. If he went out, he would definitely be killed by someone.

Zhang Chengye was indeed a bachelor. He went to another room with a knife, forced other clients to take off their clothes and exchange them for him, and then ran out secretly.

Although the military forces under the Jiaozhou Camp system are busy all day long and are training every day, the people and officials living in Shandong have a sense of security. No one will think that something has happened. They all think that under the protection of Jiaozhou Camp, Shandong will definitely be extremely safe everywhere.

With such a paralyzed mentality, the situation was suddenly difficult to control. The magistrate's yamen was attacked in one go. Fortunately, the magistrate and others ran away quickly and fled into a nearby yard. A group of yamen runners held sticks and swords on the wall, and became a stalemate with those people.

Armed Yanding was together with the small arsenal in the city, and his performance was even worse than that of the prefectural yamen. The guards who were on guard were dealt with by several believers. When the secret scepter sent out the news, the vanguard of the Ming army, composed of those vicious strong men, had already rushed into the camp with those defeated soldiers of the Ming army.

However, this camp is also in some fixed arrangements. For example, when the enemy attacks, a temporary defense line can be built to support it.

The armed salt stern in Piansheng City was Zhang Chengye's team. The military discipline was a little loose and the various regulations were not implemented so sufficiently. As a result, all the arrangements were useless. Instead, they were rushed in and suffered heavy casualties.

Fortunately, this professional soldier is better than the believers who are blindly rushing outside. At the end, he barely formed a formation and retreated to the arsenal to support him with great difficulty.

After all, this Nestorian was not a real Buddhist son. After all, he had a lot of things that he had to do at night, but he didn't do. For example, Zhang Chengye, who was wearing civilian clothes, showed his identity when he arrived at the gate, and asked the soldiers guarding the city to open the door with nervousness there.

Seeing the garrison coming, he was still a backbone. He quickly opened the door. The civilians in the city might not dare to go out of the streets and escape from the city. They only dared to stay at home tremblingly, but the envoy sent by the magistrate when he was surrounded, and Zhang Chengye ran out in the chaos.

The magistrate and the armed Yanding were besieged and stabilized the situation quickly. On the one hand, they tried their best to resist there, and the spirit of the Maitreya scholars was lost. Although one side was besieged and the other side was resisting, they were still deadlocked. At this time, the Nestorian did not continue to dispatch people to attack, but instead put on a yellow robe and went to the magistrate's ruling to ascend the throne to the emperor. And he used the emperor's "jade seal" to stamp the "edict" and sent it out. He thought that the people and officials everywhere must have seen this edict.

This is the absurdity and ridiculousness of the cult. The Nestorian was giving orders with high ambitions in the magistrate's yamen, but Zhang Chengye rushed back with the armed Yanding and the village guard team outside the city.

Linqingzhou is a canal transport hub. There is also an armed squadron of salt dynasty on the canal dock outside the city. There are also 500 military farm guards who are dispatched according to the rules, with a scale of nearly a thousand people.

Zhang Chengye was anxious at this time. If he had made mistakes in Lin Qingzhou, he would probably have been beheaded by military law for his dereliction of duty. Moreover, his wealth in the city was still rich. When Zhang Chengye thought about the money he had earned was ruined so much, Zhang Chengye's eyes turned red.

The guards of his void position also had the right to mobilize their armed forces at this time. The soldiers stationed outside the city were also a little nervous when they heard the news. Zhang Chengye's order was considered a backbone.

At this time, Zhang Chengye was also a desperate person, and led the soldiers into the city. He first ordered the soldiers guarding the city gate to close all the city gates, and then led the armed Yanding and the village guard team to kill him.

Although the Maitreya Sect has strong men who have defected everywhere, such as the Jinyiwei, the Ming Dynasty's defeated soldiers, etc., when encountering the trained semi-formal armed forces such as the armed Yanding and the Guarding Team, they are no match for them at all.

The two sides were killed and defeated after just one encounter. The next step was to arm the Yanding and the guard team divided into small groups of small groups to chase the remaining enemies and fugitives in the city. Zhang Chengye and the rescued magistrate began to command the gathered people to put out the fire.

It’s ridiculous that the leader of Nestor Ninjan was caught and tied up in a solid position. When things came to an end, Young Master Jing realized that the past few years were just delusions and was about to be in trouble, but now it’s too late to think about anything.

However, it was getting late, and the messenger sent by Linqing Prefecture to report the news could no longer catch up. The messenger naturally did not know that the situation in Linqing Prefecture was stable. He ran all the way and spread the news to Liaocheng in Dongchang Prefecture City. The prefect of Dongchang Prefecture was naturally shocked and hurriedly sent someone to send an urgent emergency report to the general.

When they learned about the safety of Linqing City, the expedited messenger could no longer recover it. Everything here was handled according to the rules. The believers who participated in the rebellion were detained. Those who were guilty of the great crimes were executed first. The culprit, the Nestor and a group of senior officials, were put into prison vans and sent to Jinan.

The messenger sent to tell the story was really good. When talking about the Maitreya religion gathered people to attack the yamen and military camps, the generals of the Jiaozhou camp looked nervous when they heard it. When Zhang Chengye ran away from the brothel, everyone burst into laughter. When Zhang Chengye led the people back, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

At this point, even after finishing speaking, the salted man bowed and turned around and walked out of the Qing Military Hall. After the atmosphere in the room paused for a moment, he began to make fun of laughter and lively again.

Compared with the military generals below, several senior executives sitting on Li Meng's table, including Fang Yingren, knew that this matter was not that ridiculous.

Li Meng had a calm face and had nothing to be happy about. He checked what the department was doing. There was such a big noise under his eyelids, but he didn't notice it at all. Fortunately, Zhang Chengye had the courage to kill him back at that time. If he was panicked and timid, he would run away.

Although the possibility is not great, if Linqingzhou is really in chaos, the news will quickly spread to all parts of the north and south along the canal. At that time, he happened to be out of battle, and I am afraid that the situation in Shandong will be difficult to deal with. Zhang Chengye saw that he was so vulgar and had no courage to fight. However, thinking about his achievements in maintaining public order in Linqing and his performance in this matter, he could arrange to do things in other aspects.

The atmosphere on the table was quite awkward. Several people knew that the handsome man had a bad temper now, so he didn't dare to speak out. It was Li Meng who spoke first:

"Mr. Yuan, Zhang Chengye, the garrison of Linqing, will join the inspection department to do things. First, be Jiang Xianchuo's deputy. Reward for merit, and punish for merit without merit!"

Yuan Wenhong quickly recorded it, and Li Meng pondered for a while. This time the question was about Fang Yingren beside him, and speaking to his subordinates was completely different from those who were similar to guests. Li Meng asked:

"Fang Tongzhi, what about the temples and Taoist temples in Yangzhou?"

The question was quite vague, but based on what the messenger said just now, Fang Yingren knew what to answer and answered very respectfully:

"If you are the Duke of the Republic, according to the rules, these temples and Taoist temples are exempt from taxes. Many people hang their land in the temples, and some people directly worship temples and Taoist temples. They are always a way to reduce taxes. Many large temples and large temples are big landlords, and there are many people under their command and tenants."

Li Meng nodded, but turned to Yuan Wenhong on the side. Although he didn't say anything, Yuan Wenhong understood in his heart and quickly replied:

"Master, because the Kong family is here in Shandong, there are not many big temples and Taoist temples. There are only a few Taoist temples on the Aoshanwei side, which is almost the same as our own offerings, so I feel relieved."

Aoshanwei is in the Laoshan area. Most of the Taoist temples and Taoist priests there are from military families and have a very close relationship. Li Meng did not believe in gods, and the military generals did not believe in anything. However, the female family members of the inner houses and those older ones had to worship incense and seek some blessings and safety. Jiaozhou Camp moved to Jinan City, and several Taoist temples also opened lower courtyards in Jinan City.

Hearing this, Li Meng nodded and said:

"Since the places of monks such as temples and Taoist temples also benefit from the land, they must also have corresponding obligations. In the land under this rule, the taxes paid by monks are equivalent to ordinary people and must not be exempted. In addition, they will issue documents to the Inquiry Department to keep them at the affairs of underground sects and not be taken advantage of by others!"

He seldom did this in all dynasties. After hearing this order, Yuan Wenhong wanted to persuade him, but he was not in a good mood when he saw that Li Meng was not in a good mood, so he hesitated but still didn't say anything.

That night, the generals of Jiaozhou camp also parted with joy, but Li Meng was always thinking.

When the group arrived in Yanzhou, after meeting Kong Sande and local officials during the day, Li Meng called Yuan Wenhong in the evening and ordered:

"Mr. Yuan, do Chahar and Tumot believe in the Red Cult or the Yellow Cult?"

It is very simple to check this. There are so many bustling cities like Jiningzhou that are from north to south. Just find someone who has been to the grassland.

It took less time for Jiaozhou Camp to bring the news back. Originally, the Chahar tribe and Mongolian tribes believed in the Yellow Sect of Tibet, but when Lin Danhan was still alive more than ten years ago, he converted to the Red Sect. This change of faith caused the division of the various departments on the grassland.

The so-called Red and Yellow Cults are all branches of the Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Buddhism. When the Mongolian Yuan first emerged, although the iron cavalry was dominant in the world, there was no culture that was commensurate with its strength. The ethnic group was relatively close to that, and the relatively developed Tubo culture began to be actively and passively accepted by Mongolian tribes.

Tantric lamas have a very high status in various tribes. The lamas of each religion have even second only to the Khan of the tribe. However, for the barbaric Mongolian Tartars, these relatively high-level lamas have many cases equivalent to the role of senior civil servants and have a great impact on the policies of each tribe.

"Can you send orders to the temples under your jurisdiction to let the monks there go to the grassland to see it? If you can persuade the Mongolian princes and princes to worship them like those lamas, it would be a great achievement. I will give you a reward."

Li Meng's idea was indeed a bit whimsical, but he also had his considerations. Religion has been passed down for thousands of years. If it is handled well, it may be a helping hand, but if it is not handled well, it is a disaster. This small incident in Linqingzhou was caused by the contempt of the underground sects.

Yuan Wenhong thought for a while and said in a dilemma:

"Master, the monks in the temple are either poor and cannot be a monk and ask for food, or enjoy the best of their kindness. Who would have the heart to go to the bitter and cold place outside the border? The villain thinks that no one would be willing to go."

Li Meng sighed, leaned on the back of the chair, and spoke slowly:

"The Mongolian Tartars outside the pass spoke their Mongolian language. The Lamaism and shamanism they believed were completely different from our Han people. If they did not use the same thing as the same thing as them, they would probably be rebellious if there was a slight recurrence."

When Yuan Wenhong heard Li Meng's statement, he was quite shocked. As the chief clerk of Jiaozhou Camp, he was still focused on the battle that had just ended. How to settle the place, and the handling of prisoners of war, but he did not expect that Li Meng had already thought so far.

This is the so-called heart of the world. Indeed, the Central Plains and the North can no longer find enemies worthy of being opponents. If nothing unexpected happens, the south will no longer form any resistance. The enemies and opponents that the general needs to consider are just outside the barrier.

Yuan Wenhong pondered for a moment, bowed and said:

"The prince understands the thoughts of the Grand Marshal. Please give the prince some time. Although such a monk is difficult to find today, he may not be able to find it. When he finds a suitable candidate, he will report to the Grand Marshal!"

Regarding Li Meng's victory, the world's victory was decided, and the various tracts under Li Meng's rule showed completely different reactions. Shandong, as the base camp and the foundation, performed very calmly, because the people and officials here were already used to the victory of the Grand Marshal, and they also had this confidence.

At present, the civil servants from top to bottom in Shandong, except for congratulating the Grand Marshal on his victory in accordance with etiquette, were busy with work settlements for the 17th year of Chongzhen and the second year's budget. Higher-level officials were studying the details of land sales in Henan. No matter how their attitudes towards Jiaozhou Camp were, they began to think about whether they could be trained in a certain position in the fields in various places, because many seniors who took this path had been sent to various prefectures and counties to be officials.

If there is something different, it is that the atmosphere of the New Year in Shandong this year is a little stronger than before, and people can celebrate it more happily.

When the troops led by Li Meng arrived in Qihe County, letters from all over Shandong began to fly in like snow. The contents of the letters were the same. One was to congratulate the general on his victory, and the other was to ask the general to seek greater wealth. At first, some people talked about Li Meng's destiny, and at first, some people talked about the various strange phenomena when Li Meng was born on the Thousand Houses of Xuejia Island that day, and most of the dynasties, this kind of thing was always indispensable.

Shandong's attitude towards this is that it does not show any position and allows it to develop, and does not take a look at these flattering and strange things. Of course, we cannot refuse coldly. Nowadays, people everywhere are eagerly looking forward to Li Meng, and they cannot lose the "loyalty" of local people.

On the morning of November 8, the 17th year of Chongzhen, the west gate of Jinan City was opened. The inner gate of the Duke of Qi's mansion, the officials from various yamen in Shandong and Jinan Prefectures, and the officers under the general Zhao Neng of Denglai were arranged in two groups outside the city.
Chapter completed!