The Qing army in Jiangxi had no fighting spirit, and after being counterattacked by the Ming army, it completely lost its attack. So it ignored the Ming army's actions. After entering Huguang, the Ming army was like walking on its own territory, and no enemy troops came to harass it anymore. The garrisons in Huangzhou Prefecture and other places were already plundered by Hu Quancai. After Zhang Changgeng retreated to Wuchang, he summoned all the remaining yamen runners. Now the prefectures in several prefectures in Hubei are as unprepared as defenses, and even the government soldiers who clean, dig gutters, and transport garbage are in short supply. Don't say it to attack the Ming army, if the Ming army does not attack them, they will burn high incense.

In the county towns of Hubei, which are even worse than those in the prefectures, many of the county towns cannot even raise the troops to guard the city gates. Faced with such a dangerous situation, many county magistrates escaped from the yamen and camped in the wild with only a few remaining soldiers, ready to retreat at any time.

Deng Ming was also a little hesitant about how to deal with these prefectures. Although the Ming army in Huguang currently has a great advantage, no one dares to say how long this advantage can last. If these cities are occupied and cannot stand, the people in these places will likely be plundered by the Qing army that came to the subsequent journey. This trip to the southeast further deepened Deng Ming's concerns. All cities liberated by Zheng Chenggong were robbed by the Qing army who came to "recover" the city without exception.

The guards were all very clear about Deng Ming's concerns. When they were stationed under the city of Nanjing, Deng Ming saw some parents who came to Nanjing to find their daughter. One of the mothers impressed Deng Ming particularly: the Zhenjiang woman whose daughter was unknown was in the dark saw the Ming army's flag, suddenly became crazy and furious, and rushed over desperately to fight the guards who were hindering the camp gate.

The woman was attacking the Zhejiang Army's military camp. The Zhejiang soldiers at the camp strictly abide by Zhang Huangyan's rules. After seeing that the other party was a commoner, they tolerated it again and again. Finally, they put the crazy woman in uniform. At that time, Zhang Huangyan had already arrived at Deng Ming's army. After hearing the movement, he thought it was the Ming army who harmed the people, so he hurriedly rushed out to inquire about the incident. It was finally clear that the woman had no grudges and grudges with the Ming army, and her daughter was also kidnapped by the Qing army.

After the Ming army reluctantly comforted the woman, he took her to the female camp to search, but in the end he still couldn't find her. The desperate mother cursed at Ming army again: "If you kill a thousand-sword pirate, don't come if you don't have the ability." When the Ming army first arrived in Zhenjiang, the people in the city welcomed each other. Thinking of the lively scene at that time, the mother was even more angry and hated: "If you can't beat it, just leave. What should we do? What should we do?"

Deng Ming, Zhang Huangyan and others were speechless and had no solution. Finally, they wanted to give the mother some money so that she could go home safely, but the woman threw the silver given to her by Ming Jun on the ground and left without looking back. A soldier saw her head straight to the river and threw herself into the water, and in a blink of an eye he lost his trace.

Although the other Zhenjiang who came to look for someone was not as excited as the mother, his eyes were not friendly when he looked at Ming Jun, and he was full of sorrow and helplessness. At least a few lucky people were caught by their daughter in Deng Ming's female camp. The rest of them originally planned to go to Nanjing to try their luck, but because the Ming army was outside the city, the Qing soldiers guarding the city refused to let them enter the city.

Some people lived outside Nanjing, intending to wait until the Ming army left before trying to find people. Some people turned east and went to Suzhou and other places to find the whereabouts of their relatives. Since Deng Ming did not have it, their children might have been plundered by the troops who were loyal to each other, and they would be trafficked to Suzhou. Deng Ming knew that the chances of these people to find relatives were very slim. For these common people, this kind of search for relatives would also make them lose their fortunes. In the end, it is very likely that the children were not found and their parents had no way to survive.

"The next time the Prince of Yanping comes again, the people of Zhenjiang will probably not welcome him." Deng Ming commented in a low voice at that time. Not only Zhenjiang, but other cities that were looted may also be the case. Now seeing the empty prefectures and counties in Hubei, Deng Ming said to the guards: "If we take these cities and eventually give up, the elders of Huguang will not welcome us again in the future."

"We have already taken down Zhongxiang, Xiangyang, and Gucheng. Do you plan to stick to these places?" Li Xinghan asked.

"I hope to convince the people to retreat with us and withdraw back to the Three Gorges. However, this large-scale migration may cause many people to die halfway, and they may not be willing to go with us." Deng Ming felt that things were very difficult and there was no mature solution yet: "I think we can just pass by the Huangzhou Prefecture. We cannot convince so many people to go with us. Even if someone is willing to go with us, we don't have enough food and ships."

Deng Ming planned to send a small number of soldiers near various cities, asking them to pay a certain amount of military rations to the Ming army without occupying them.

"It is easy to deal if they are willing to give it, but what if they don't give it?" Ren Tang could understand Deng Ming's mood, but he felt that this plan had great hidden dangers: "Even if the admiral does not intend to clear the Tartars in Hubei immediately, they must make these local officials fear power and despise. If they refuse to provide food and grass, the admiral must attack them and make others feel scared; if they meet the admiral's requirements or not, the result will be the same, and those stubborn Tartar lackeys will look down on the admiral."

Deng Ming thought for a while and nodded: "Since that's the case, then we might as well not go to find them."

"I'm afraid this is not appropriate." Ren Tang continued to analyze to Deng Ming: "Now I am strong and weak, and some county magistrates have even escaped from the city. Now they themselves know that they will definitely not be able to defend the city. What should we do if these cities? Will the admiral send people to ask them to provide food and grass for our army? If the gentry in the city is unaware of the situation, for example: There are brave people who want to fight to the death to earn fame from the barbarian court and kill the envoy sent by the admiral, and the admiral will not retaliate against the enemy? Will the admiral attack the city?"

It's okay to say Nanjing, after all, the city is high and the pond is deep. No one would think that Deng Ming would worry about the fate of the people in the city. But if he didn't even dare to ask them to provide food and grass when passing by these cities, Deng Ming's mentality of being afraid of being timid will be seen through by others, and the Qing army will definitely use this to make a fuss in the future.

"Ren is not in charge of the army," Deng Ming sighed. Although he did not want to cause disaster to the local people, he did not have enough strength to let him act completely according to his heart. After considering it, Deng Ming felt that if he did nothing, he would be irresponsible to the Ming soldiers who served him: "Send envoys to all counties and towns along the way, and order them to take the initiative to provide food and ships to our army, in exchange for me not to attack their city. Order the envoys to be careful not to enter the city to spread messages so as not to be ambushed. If anyone dares to reject our request, then we will attack the city."

"Affect the order." The guards responded in unison, and soon Deng Ming's order was conveyed. While advancing, the Ming army ordered nearby villages and local tyrants to provide military supplies to the Ming army.

Two days later, Deng Ming's concern had not happened yet. There was no powerful man, and the gentry dared to refuse the Ming army's request. While strengthening the defense of their fort, they sent people to send pigs, sheep, wine, large trucks full of food, and local guides to the Ming army. What Deng Ming needed was that these powerful men showed a tame attitude. They did not need a lot of supplies, as long as they showed enough symbolic meaning.

After pleasing the servants of the powerful and gentry in these places, the Ming army passed by their forts and mansions with strict discipline, and would never do evil on their land.

"This is the so-called officers and soldiers, the spirit of the king's army." Ren Tang had discovered that Deng Ming was not good at winning people's hearts, so he tried to explain various precautions to him. Local tyrants and gentry contributed materials to the Ming army in exchange for verbal praise and indestruction from the Ming army. Through this transaction, the tyrants told the Ming army that they would be neutral in the battle for hegemony in the Ming and Qing dynasties; while the Ming army expressed their recognition of their gentry status and acquiesced to their neutrality.

"The old thief Hong Chengchou built a five-thousand-mile defense line to consolidate the river defense to prevent the entry of the king's army in order to isolate the contact between the king's army and the gentry. But as long as we do it properly this time, the scholars in Huguang will know that we are a dignified king's army, not a bandit who does not understand the rules." Ren Tang was very satisfied with the performance of the Ming army. Deng Ming's behavior would be spread through these people's mouths. As long as this armed march was carried out a few times, even if it was not a siege of cities and land, it could effectively eliminate the fear and hostility of the powerful Huguang to the Ming army. This not only reduces the difficulty of restoring Huguang in the future, but also facilitates the establishment of rule: "But if someone dares to disobey the admiral's order and does not even give him a face, then even if he tries to lose his troops and loses his generals, he will uproot his family."

Compared with local tyrants, the county town is more troublesome. As an official appointed by the Qing court, the county magistrate's resistance was much stronger, and the refugees were lucky and hoped to rely on defending the city to seek a better future for themselves.

"Now the Huguang area is extremely empty, maybe they will surrender, but if they don't accept it," Ren Tang was afraid that Deng Ming would be soft-hearted again, so he gave him vaccinations again and again: "If the admiral wants to attack less and die less, he must not be polite to the county town that is stubborn."

"I understand." Deng Ming accepted the opinion sincerely and began to reflect on his behavior: Why did he leave such an impression on Ren Tang? Before, when he was in Gucheng and other places, Deng Ming had never been ruthless about resisting the Qing army.

However, before issuing an ultimatum to Huguang Prefecture, a secret envoy from Wuchang rushed to Deng Ming's camp.

"Ju Ren Zhou? A rare guest, a rare guest." Deng Ming looked at the old acquaintance in front of him, feeling that the other party showed some majesty that he had never had before, and there was more confidence in his eyes: "What's the important thing about Ju Ren Zhou coming?"

"I'll congratulate the Admiral on the great victory." Although it was early October, Zhou Peigong was still waving a folding fan in his hand. After saluting Deng Ming, he sat steadily on the chair for him.

Since learning that Deng Ming had returned, the incoming envoys from the eastern part of Huguang rushed to Wuchang Prefecture in a group; after the Ming army passed through Jiujiang and other places, Jiangxi also sent people to call the police to Wuchang. After hearing the news, the Governor of Liangjiang did not exclude the reinforcements, but instead sent negotiating expert Zhou Peigong to take action. Some of Zhang Changgeng's newly promoted confidants were also on board. Zhou Peigong was ordered to rush to the downstream of Wuchang at night, fully responsible for the defense work of each prefecture.

At this time, Deng Ming had only a few guards around him, and Ren Tang was among them. Before Zhou Peigong arrived, he was discussing with Deng Ming how to speak the proclamation to the prefectures. Other guards had met Zhou Peigong, but it was the first time that Ren Tang was not aware of the friendship between Zhou Peigong and Deng Ming. Deng Ming and others did not expect to see Zhou Peigong so early. These days, Ren Tang was busy teaching classes, so he didn't know the transaction under Wuchang City. He knew that Zhou Peigong on the opposite side was an enemy but not a friend, but when he saw the other party's calm attitude, Ren Tang secretly felt sorry for him and praised him in his heart: "What a courage."

"Supply tea to Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Peigong took two sips of tea calmly before saying slowly: "I am here to ask the Admiral for the debt."

"Own debts? What debts are wrong?" Deng Ming was immediately confused.

"It's a redemption fee," Zhou Peigong smiled slightly and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve: "This is a bill, please read it."

Deng Ming did not notify Zhou Peigong before leaving Wuchang. If Zhang Changgeng had refused to pay the bill after learning that Deng Ming had left and felt that it was not dangerous, Deng Ming would not be surprised. But what he did not expect was that Zhang Changgeng not only continued to pay the city redemption expenses, but also caused the Ming army to owed huge debts.

After taking Zhou Peigong's bill into his hand and reading it, Deng Ming suddenly felt that his head had become two big, and hurriedly shouted: "I'll invite Hu Shuai to discuss matters."

Li Laiheng quickly rushed to Deng Ming's camp. After he entered the tent, Zhou Peigong also got up and bowed: "Tiger Success."

"It turns out to be Zhou Juren." Li Laiheng immediately recognized the person and immediately smiled: "June Zhou is so happy recently."

"It's good to drag Hushang's blessing, it's good to be together at home..." Zhou Peigong took out a box of brocade from his arms like a magician: "I heard that Hushang's birthday is coming soon, so I have prepared a special gift, I hope I can accept it with a smile."

"Mr. Zhou is polite." Li Laiheng said refusingly: "It's not easy for Mr. Zhou to spend money."

"It's just a little bit of caution, it's not worth much money." Zhou Peigong did not allow Li Laiheng to refuse and forced the brocade box to him. Although he couldn't see what was inside, he knew that it was absolutely not cheap just by looking at the exquisite brocade box outside: "When Hushang returns to Wuchang, the governor will also give him a birthday gift."

Seeing Li Laiheng chatting with the Qing army envoy opposite him about family matters, Ren Tang felt confused: Is this still an irreconcilable enemy? Why do you look like an old friend with deep friendship?

Li Laiheng refused but had to put away the brocade box, walked to Deng Ming, and then glanced at the bill. His expression suddenly changed, and he almost jumped three feet high, shouting to Zhou Peigong: "How come I owe you so much money?"

At this time, Zhou Peigong had already sat down again and was drinking tea slowly. After hearing Li Laiheng's question, Zhou Peigong smiled and said, "The Admiral and Hushang looked down, and they were all clearly written."

Deng Ming and Li Laiheng received more than one million taels of silver from Zhang Changgeng, and less than two million taels of silver. They soon redeem the city fee and Zhang Changgeng switched to grain, cloth, and ships to pay, but his kickbacks were still charged gold. Later, Zhou Peigong persuaded the Ming army to accept armor and weapons, and at the same time, he won 25% of the kickbacks for Zhang Changgeng (including Zhang Changgen's sealed funds). With the 10% of the agency fee of Zhou Peigong, the Ming army would give the Qing army a total of 35% of the rewards.

When Zhou Peigong came to discuss weapons, armor and increased kickback rate, Deng Ming had already gone to Nanjing, so he didn't know about this. Li Laiheng was still there at that time, but several teams of Ming troops had already sneaked through Wuchang at night. Li Laiheng was anxious to go back to the army. Weapons and armor were in urgent need, so he did not bargain and agreed to Zhou Peigong's request.

As Zhang Changgeng kept delivering goods, the Ming army stayed in Wuchang had to return large amounts of gold to the Qing side. As the gold price continued to rise, the amount of silver in the Ming army's inventory decreased sharply - Zhou Peigong cunningly reached an agreement with Li Laiheng: Zhang Changgeng only accepted gold kickbacks, and each tael of gold was fixedly converted into eleven taels of silver.

After learning that Deng Ming appeared in Nanjing, Zhang Changgeng did consider suspending the transaction for a while, but before he could make up his mind, he learned that the Qing army in Nanjing was defeated and even the governor of Liangjiang Lang Tingzuo was arrested by Deng Ming. So under the instigation of Zhou Peigong and other informed aides and gentry, Zhang Changgeng continued to trade with the Ming army.

Zhang Changgeng and Zhou Peigong were both hit by Deng Ming's sugar-coated shells. After the two confirmed that Deng Ming and Li Laiheng were not near Wuchang, they immediately made their sugar-coated shells to attack Li Laiheng's officers, including: beautiful singers, exquisite food, famous opera troupes, etc.

Although the officers left by Li Laiheng were loyal to him, most of them were illiterate. They had always been poor in their previous lives and had never had the opportunity to enjoy them. They could have fought with Zhou Peigong, who was knowledgeable and had a group of wise and gentry scholars behind him to give him advice. Soon, a group of officers who broke into the camp were successfully softened by Zhou Peigong and could not compete with the price of goods. Zhou Peigong not only successfully carried out several price-raising activities, but also successfully sold some high-priced goods to the camp: such as special full-iron spears, feather arrows equipped with barbs, etc. These weapons are indeed of higher quality, but the added value is also higher, not to mention that Zhou Peigong also asked for a lot of prices successfully.

Now Li Laiheng's left-behind troops have not only returned Li Laiheng's money to Zhang Changgeng, but also moved Deng Ming's half (the agreement between Deng Ming and Li Laiheng was 21 or 5), but also owed Zhang Changgeng a huge debt of 18,000 taels of gold. According to the current price of gold in Wuchang, it is about 300,000 taels of silver.

Li Laiheng didn't have so much money at all. Most of the money he brought was used for his subordinates to marry. Some of the 200,000 yuan that Deng Ming gave him in Nanjing was used for it. He also bought some ships, but now there are less than 100,000 taels of silver left. Not only can he not repay the debts owed to Zhang Changgeng, but embezzling Deng Ming's silver is also an astronomical figure? Li Laiheng immediately announced loudly: "I want to calculate it carefully."

"Please give me some advice." Zhou Peigong nodded in agreement: "It should be."

Soon someone took the abacus, and Li Laiheng sat next to him and watched his subordinates start checking the accounts one by one.

{Piaotian Literature www.piaotian.net Thank you for your support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Chapter completed!