Walking out of the inn, Li Yan looked up at the scorching sun in the sky and shook his head slightly.

As the location of the Henan Provincial Governor's Office, Kaifeng Prefecture City, the ancient capital of the Eight Dynasties has obviously declined. There are not many people living in the city, and the gentry and wealthy families have moved away long ago. The remaining are ordinary people who do not have much money in their families. What is even more incredible is that the huge Kaifeng Prefecture City has no government office that can convince the public.

After Li Zicheng occupied Kaifeng Prefecture City, he established an official here. After the Dashun army captured the capital, the status of Kaifeng Prefecture City became more and more important. Local officials also did their best to do things. Unfortunately, the Dashun court made Kaifeng Prefecture City a mess. After being exploited, the rich left here to go to the south to avoid disasters. Many of them began to oppose Li Zicheng and the Dashun court openly and secretly, causing the Kaifeng Prefecture City to wither quickly, and the local governments gradually lost their prestige and became like bandits in the eyes of the people.

After the news that Li Zicheng was forced to evacuate the capital in the Battle of One Piece. After the news that Li Zicheng was forced to evacuate the capital reached Kaifeng Prefecture, the soldiers of the Dashun Army stationed here quickly evacuated to Luoyang and met with Li Zicheng. The governors, prefects and county officials appointed by the Dashun court also followed the evacuation in Luoyang. Most of the people left behind were low-level officials and officials who were doing specific matters in the government. There were no tigers in the mountains and monkeys were domineering the king. The officials who stayed continued to vigorously implement the order to chase the money in order to obtain more money. They focused their attention on the ordinary people in the city, which led to a significant rebound in the people in the city.

You should know that the Dashun Army has evacuated Kaifeng Prefecture, and the government has lost the support of the army and is no longer tough.

When Li Yan came to Kaifeng Prefecture City, the governments at all levels in Kaifeng Prefecture City had stopped chasing wages, and the people no longer paid many taxes. The government had no money or food, and the officials could not get their salary. Naturally, they were lazy. The people did not care about the government. The entire Kaifeng Prefecture City entered a state of disorder.

Li Yan did want to gain a foothold in Kaifeng Prefecture and turn it into one of the places where the Dashun court could rely on. Although his inner beliefs were shaken, Li Yan did not intend to betray Li Zicheng completely. He knew very well that Li Zicheng gradually grew stronger until he captured the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Li Yan played a key role. As a scholar with the reputation of a scholar, doing so was a death sentence for beheading and could not be forgiven by the court.

He came to Kaifeng Prefecture City with ambitions. The actual situation frustrated Li Yan and went to the disorderly state of the city. He quickly extinguished the raging fire in Li Yan's heart. He concealed his identity and found an inn to stay in.

There are fighting or even fighting on the streets every day, and the government does not care at all, which leads to the danger of everyone in Kaifeng Prefecture. Instead, the rogues seized the opportunity and came out to make money.

Li Yan fell into a complete confusion. He wanted to go home and even more wanted to see Hong Niangzi. Unfortunately, all this was unrealistic at the moment. Although his hometown was Qinglonggang, Qi County under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture City, it was even more chaotic than Kaifeng Prefecture City. He was alone and could have been killed by bandits if he was not careful. Besides, after the Dashun Army withdrew from Fengfu City, local gentry and wealthy families organized and implemented local management under the banner of supporting the Ming Dynasty. If he was captured by local gentry and wealthy families, he would definitely not have good results.

It was even more joke to go back to Li Zicheng. Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others could not tolerate him. Li Zicheng also became patient and trusted with him, a hero in the past. Even Liu Zongmin, who had the best relationship with him, Li Yan, became close and distant. If he went back at this time, it would be like giving him a head.

When the news of the Battle of Wuqiao reached Kaifeng Prefecture, Li Yan was first ecstatic, and then even more confused.

The imperial army defeated the Eight Banners Army in Wuqiao, which means that Li Zicheng and Dashun Army stationed in Luoyang could get a temporary breathing and did not have to rush back to Shaanxi. The Eight Banners Army is likely to dispatch the army to Shandong and other places to fight. If the imperial army confronts the Eight Banners Army, Li Zicheng may even make a comeback and attack Beizhili and the capital with strong force.

Not long after, the news spread to Kaifeng Prefecture City. Li Zicheng did not lead the Dashun army to counterattack Beizhili, nor did he even leave Luoyang Prefecture City. The Eight Banners Army did not attack Wuqiao and Shandong and other places in large numbers. The imperial army that won the Battle of Wuqiao was not moving. The situation in various parts of the north was still confusing, and no one knew what would happen next.

Li Yan felt at a loss, and he suddenly felt that his personal power was so small.

A noisy sound came from the front, and Li Yan snorted and prepared to go and take a look.

"Your Majesty, you should be careful, the streets have never been peaceful."

The voice of a friend came from behind him. Li Yan paused, sighed, turned his head and walked into the inn. It was better to have less things than to have more things at this time. Li Yan is not a peerless master, and he was only able to get beaten when he came up in groups of three or five.

The money he brought was enough. The inn we stayed in was responsible for food and accommodation, and it cost two cents of silver every day. When Li Yan entered the inn, he gave the shopkeeper ten taels of silver, so he could stay for nearly two months. In addition, his attitude was humble, and he became a little familiar with the shopkeeper and his friend after a while.

Entering the lobby, Li Yan sat down with some depression. The shopkeeper who was settled at the counter looked at Li Yan, who was sitting alone, shook his head, and did not go forward to disturb him.

"Get out of the shopkeeper, or we will smash your inn..."

The roar from the door made the shopkeeper inside the counter tremble. The shopkeeper quickly put down the account book in his hand and walked out quickly.

Li Yan stood up and followed the shopkeeper outside the inn outside the inn.

A dozen strong men stood outside the inn, with the two leading men crossing their waists, looking ruffian. The guy covered his cheeks with his left hand, with a look of horror on his face, and a trace of blood stain on his mouth.

The shopkeeper who walked out clasped his fists at everyone.

"What's wrong, is this guy offended you? I'm here to apologize to you..."

The shopkeeper squeezed out a smile on his face and clasped his fists at everyone.

"Shopkeeper, you guy is ignorant, let's teach you a lesson."

As soon as the ruffian on the left finished speaking, the ruffian on the right spoke.

"Shopkeeper, listen, starting today, you have to pay silver every day, pay two or four cents of silver every day, and count it at thirty days a month, and it is twelve taels of silver every month..."

The shopkeeper's face turned pale in an instant. He looked at the people in front of him and spoke with a sad face.

"Everyone, everyone, I'm a small shop and a small business. I'm almost unable to maintain it. I can't get so much money at once..."

Before the shopkeeper could finish his words, the gangster on the left came forward, rolled up his sleeves, squinted his eyes and spoke.

"Shopkeeper, don't you want to take out the money? Let me tell you that this area is under our control. If you can't get the money, it's easy to say, then don't open a store here and leave it to our brothers..."

The shopkeeper's lips were trembling and he couldn't speak. The people in front of him were obviously rascals. The shopkeeper had seen them before and occasionally gave them some money. Unexpectedly, the situation changed so quickly that these rascals actually began to take charge of the local area and collect money.

The merchants in Kaifeng Prefecture were extremely miserable. The Dashun court issued a order to chase wages. No merchants of all sizes could escape and would have to take out a lot of money. Otherwise, they would be imprisoned in prison and suffered inhuman torture. After finally getting through it, the rascals in the city emerged again. At the beginning, these rascals went to each shop to harass and demanded some small money. In the mind of getting money to avoid disasters, each shop gave some small money.

The situation was unpredictable. Most of the gentry and wealthy families in Kaifeng Prefecture had long fled. Some went to Nanzhili and Shandong, some went to Huguang and Jiangxi and other places, either to visit relatives and friends, or to move out completely. Most of the people who stayed were small merchants, without power and power, and they were doing business honestly on weekdays.

These small merchants have no ability to deal with scoundrels at all.

Seeing that the shopkeeper did not speak, the gangster became impatient and reached out to push the shopkeeper.

"What's wrong? The shopkeeper, don't want to take out the money? Then don't open a store. This inn is for us brothers..."

"Stop, you are so chaotic in broad daylight, aren't you afraid of the king's law..."

Li Yan finally stood up, walked to the shopkeeper, and looked at the man in front of him.

The gangster was stunned for a moment, looked at Li Yan, and then looked around Li Yan, confirming that Li Yan was alone.

"Oh, it's interesting. Who the hell are you? Are you asking for death if you care about our brother's affairs?"

The gangster stretched out his fist while talking.

Li Yan reached out and twisted the fist of the gangster. He had been in the army for a long time and had already developed good skills. A mere gangster rogue is definitely not his opponent.

The gangster whose fist was twisted changed instantly, and he turned his head and yelled.

"This idea is a bit pissing, brothers, let's go together..."

The gangster on the right calmed down, waved his hand to stop everyone who was about to go forward, and clasped his fists at Li Yan.

"Brother, we are collecting money here, it has nothing to do with you. If you want to join the group, we will follow the rules..."

Li Yan glared at the crowd and looked at the people who were about to come forward.

"You don't have a king's law, and you still want to pull me into the group and dream..."

The gangster's expression changed, a vicious light burst out from his eyes, and he reached out to take out the machete from behind, and the rest also took out various machetes from behind.

Li Yan's mind buzzed. If he had a fight, he would still have a chance. As long as he defeated two rascals in the lead, the others would not dare to act. But they didn't follow the rules at all. They would just be machetes, which would cause death.
Chapter completed!