When night fell on March 13, the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Zhen led Zhang Chen, Li Lu and two battalions of men and horses under his command, and rushed back to Lushunkou without stopping without dismounting.

As soon as he returned to the south city of Lushun, Yang Zhen did not go back to the inner courtyard of the main town house immediately. Instead, he followed Li Ji directly to the guest house on the side of the main town house to meet Fang Guangchen and Yue Qijie.

"Oh my, I thought it was the governor who returned home and sent someone to greet me, but I didn't expect that it was the governor who came to the Yin Hotel in person. The governor returned triumphantly, but he passed through the house without entering. How to do this, how to do it!"

When Yang Zhen entered the city, the news was immediately sent back to the town hall. The Yin Hotel where Fang Guangchen and the others stayed was in the courtyard on the side of the town hall. Hearing the noise, they knew that Yang Zhen had returned.

They packed up and were about to go to pay their respects. However, as soon as they left the room, they bumped into Yang Zhen himself in the yard, who had come back after a long journey.

When Fang Guangchen saw this scene, he immediately realized that this was what Corporal Yang Zhenlixian had done. At the same time, he also knew that Yang Zhen obviously attached great importance to this Yue Qijie.

Therefore, as soon as he saw Yang Zhen's face, he immediately exaggerated the unusualness of Yang Zhen's visit to the Yin Hotel. He quickly stepped forward, bowed to Yang Zhen, and said:

"Guangchen has met the Governor. He congratulates the Governor on the triumphant return of his army and congratulates the Governor on his new achievements. This great victory of the Governor is like a divine help, which makes Guangchen admire and fascinated!"

"Hahaha, this town was able to achieve such a great victory because, first, it relied on the great blessings of the emperor, and second, it relied on the lives of the soldiers. And third, it was also inseparable from the help of my father-in-law, Mr. Fang Shilang, and my dear brother, with your help in planning and strategizing."

Faced with Fang Guangchen's exaggeration and praise, Yang Zhen gradually understood the meaning, and quickly smiled and gave in. Seeing Fang Guangchen bowing to him, he stepped forward to support him and said:

"Brother Tingxian, there is no need to be formal. There is no need to be formal. Quickly introduce me to the distinguished guests from Dengzhou Prefecture, so as not to cause me to lose my etiquette!"

In fact, Yang Zhen had already noticed several people standing not far behind Fang Guangchen.

But at this time, the sky was dim and the lights were on. Yang Zhen couldn't see clearly from a distance, and he didn't know which one of them was the outstanding one.

When Fang Guangchen heard this, he stood up quickly and said with a smile: "Guangchen was negligent. The governor invited me inside, please come inside!"

While Fang Guangchen was talking, he turned around and made a gesture to invite Yang Zhen to go inside. Then he pointed at a tall middle-aged man with a calm demeanor not far behind him and said:

"This Mr. Yue Qijieyue is a guest from Dengzhou. This time, Guangchen was entrusted by the governor to deal with matters in Guanning and other places. On his way back, he made a special trip to Dengzhou City to pay a visit to Magistrate Yuan.

"It happened that Magistrate Yuan had arrived, and the hero had the same idea. He was planning to send someone across the sea to contact the governor, so he hit it off with Guangchen and entrusted Mr. Yue to cross the sea and come to pay a visit to the governor!

"Mr. Yue was elected in the 34th year of Wanli, but now he is the chief of the shogunate of Yuan Zhifu. He is both a teacher and a friend of Yuan Zhifu, and he is highly trusted and respected by Yuan Zhifu. Mr. Yue is fully aware of the land reclamation matters entrusted by the governor before.

Its gist.

"Mr. Yue once served as the governor of Kuizhou Prefecture in the southwest. Due to his military exploits in the southwest, he repeatedly moved to the north of Zhili as the Deputy Military Envoy of Bazhou. He was a man of both civil and military talents. He opened the town of Jinhai to the governor, recruited troops, and attacked the rear areas of the eastern captives in the north.

Strategy, I totally agree with it!”

Fang Guangchen took advantage of the moment he turned around to point out Yue Qijie's position to Yang Zhen, while also quickly introducing his identity and attitude to Yang Zhen.

"Haha, Fang Youyi has been praised too much. Nowadays, Mr. Yue is just a wandering cloud and wild crane. Thanks to Mr. Yuan Boying's respect, he was invited to temporarily serve as a teacher in his mansion. He definitely does not deserve such praise from Fang Youyi."

As soon as Fang Guangchen finished speaking, Yang Zhen saw one of the several people under the light of the lights on the opposite side walking towards him and saying loudly while greeting him:

"Especially in front of Governor Jin Haibo and Yang Dudu, the general who was ordered by the emperor to conquer the east, the military exploits in the southwest and the versatile civil and military talents are all worth mentioning. Fang Yueyi's praise is too much for someone to deserve, and he is too ashamed to deserve it!"

In a blink of an eye, the man came to him. Yang Zhen looked closely and saw that the man was tall but a little thin. He was wearing a green robe, which was fluttering in the wind as he walked.

His hair is somewhat sparse, but his beard is very lush. He has a dark face with high cheekbones and sharp edges. Although he is middle-aged, already in his forties or fifties, his eyes are bright and energetic.

Yang Zhen was sizing up the other person when he saw the man coming forward, bowed and said to himself: "I have met Mr. Zongzhen! I have heard about the reputation of Mr. Zongzhen for a long time. I am deeply honored to meet him today!"

"Hey - Mr. Yue, there is no need to be polite. There is no need to be polite. Yang has many things to ask sir. Sir, please, let's go to the room to talk!"

When Yang Zhen saw Yue Qijie bowing to him, he quickly supported him, then pulled him with a smile on his face and walked to the main room of the hotel courtyard.

Arriving at the door of the main room, Yang Zhen first asked Fang Guangchen to accompany Yue Qijie inside, and then he asked Zhang Chen to greet the other civil and military servants who followed Yue Qijie outside.

Then he asked Li Lu to arrange for the men of the Musket Battalion Grenadier Battalion who had followed him from Jinzhou City, and asked someone to invite Zhang Degui, the general soldier of the South Road Assistant Guard and the general manager of the Assistant Camp Affairs Office of the General Town Government, to come to the guest house.

After a while, Yang Zhen, Zhang Degui, and Fang Guangchen were the only ones left in the guesthouse next to Jinhai Town Hall, sitting around a table of food on the kang, eating and chatting with Yue Qijie.

They said they were chatting while eating, but in fact it was mainly Yang Zhen who ate, while the other three accompanied him.

It was already past dinner time. Of course, Zhang Degui, Fang Guangchen and Yue Qijie had already had dinner. Among the four, only Yang Zhen was tired and hungry.

But it was Yang Zhen's habit of being happy-go-lucky and not showing off, that made Yue Qijie, who had been observing Yang Zhen's words and deeds, nod his head secretly and be heartbroken.

But after three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Yang Zhen wolfed down his stomach, put down his bowls and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, sat cross-legged on the kang, and said to Yue Qijie:

"Mr. Yue, Yang is outside the pass and doesn't know much about the situation in the pass. Recently, he has led his army to fight on the front line of Jinhai. The situation in the pass is far away from the mountains and seas. You are from Dengzhou and want to come to Denglai, Shandong

We should even know the situation in Beizhi, but what is the situation in Guanli now?"

Yang Zhen originally asked casually, hoping to learn about the situation in Denglai, Shandong and other places from Yue Qijie's mouth.

After all, this Yue Qijie traveled all the way from other places to Denglai and had a deeper and more direct understanding of the situation within the customs than other people under his own command.

However, what he didn't expect was that after he finished speaking, Yue Qijie let out a long sigh, and his already dark-skinned face suddenly became even darker.

When Yang Zhen saw this, he quickly turned to look at Fang Guangchen, only to see Fang Guangchen smiling bitterly and shaking his head in silence after listening to Yang Zhen's words.

When Yang Zhen was wondering, he saw Yue Qijie, who was sitting cross-legged across the kang table. Without any warning, he got up, rearranged his clothes, and then walked to Yang Zhen and looked towards Yang Zhen solemnly.

Zhen suddenly knelt down.

"Dare you ask the governor to save the people of Li from dire straits!"

"this--"

Yang Zhen was surprised when he saw Yue Qijie's sudden behavior. He quickly turned to look at Fang Guangchen, only to see Fang Guangchen nodding towards him. He came to his senses and continued to say to Yue Qijie:

"What's the matter with this? Sir, please stand up! Sir, please stand up! Please save the people of Li. Above you are the emperor and the princes in the court, and below you are the parents and officials of various governments and counties. This town is far away from the mountains and seas, and we are helpless.

What can I do?"

Yang Zhen didn't know what the current situation was in Denglai, and he didn't dare to promise him anything at the moment.

Of course Yang Zhen wanted to immigrate from Denglai. The straight-line distance by sea from Lushunkou to Dengzhou Prefecture was only 200 miles, which was the most convenient immigration route.

However, the northern plague of the Ming Dynasty has appeared in many places, and has even begun to spread in some places. He does not want to accidentally bring the plague to his Jinhai Town Army.

Once this happens, all his previous plans may be lost due to such a careless move.

"The governor just asked how the situation is in Denglai, how the situation is in Shandong, and how the situation is in Beizhi. The governor treated Yue with courtesy, and Yue had to tell the truth based on what he had seen and heard recently."

Facing Yang Zhen's words of comfort, Yue Qijie remained unmoved. He still knelt there, looked at Yang Zhen sadly, and continued:

"On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Yue set off from Nandu and came all the way north. He passed through Jianghuai, Shandong, and Beizhi before entering the capital. What he saw and heard on the way was really tragic. From Huaihe north to Jinan, many towns died of starvation.

Once empty, the homeless people in the countryside kill and eat, the dead are sleeping together on the road, the living are crying and the market is prosperous, there are many people who abandon their homes and become bankrupt, and there are still those who sell their wives and children.

"What's even more frightening is that during the years of famine, malaria is prevalent, and people are infected and die in the morning and at night. From Shanxi to Henan, from Henan to Beizhi, every family suffers from the pain of zombies.

, there were howls and cries of mourning in every room, some people died after closing the door, some people were overthrown and mourned, the situation was extremely tragic."

When Yue Qijie said this, his expression became more solemn. He paused for a moment, raised his eyes and saw that Yang Zhen and others were listening attentively. Then he took a deep breath and then continued:

"In the middle of February, Mr. Yuan moved to the left to be the governor of Dengzhou. Yue had nothing to do in the capital, so he was invited by him and followed him. He passed through Tianjin Wei, Hejian Prefecture, Wuding Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, Laizhou Prefecture, and arrived at Dengzhou

As I saw along the way, although the plague had not broken out yet, the famine was just like in the west.

"In the past, in the city where water transportation was a thoroughfare, the people were displaced. Some gathered together to commit robberies, or led others to beg on the side of the thoroughfare. From Wuding, Qingzhou, to Denglai, one stone of rice was worth twenty-four taels of silver, but there was no market for it.

.Now the people’s hearts are broken, and the hungry people’s thoughts are confused, just in the blink of an eye!”

Having said this, Yue Qijie looked at Yang Zhen intently, raised his hands and said: "Yue's request to the governor to save the people of Li from dire straits is by no means empty talk, nor is it the dangerous talk of a political strategist!

"Yue heard that the Governor wanted to immigrate to reclaim wasteland and explore the Golden Sea. He admired the Governor's vision and mind very much. If the refugees from the northeast of Denglai Mountain could be transported across the sea to reclaim wasteland and farmland, not only the Governor would be able to feed and feed his troops.

, Denglai Mountain's direct route to the northeast can also avoid an imminent disaster.
Chapter completed!