Chapter 266: First Move and First Opportunity Part 5
"Brother, I don't believe those two women," Zhao Xueer said seriously as soon as she saw Wan Lei during breakfast that day,
"I don't believe them either," Wan Lei said casually.
"If you don't believe it, then why take them in? If they stay in Beiping City, they will be a disaster sooner or later," Zhao Xueer also said,
"I can distrust people, but I won't disbelieve the facts. Every piece of information they tell us will be reviewed by our Jingzhong Guards and confirmed to be accurate before we accept it," Wan Lei wiped his mouth and said, "Wait a moment. You accompany me to meet people, don't always put on a good face, they are here to give us information,"
"I know, you talk a lot. From my perspective, you can't expect them to give you all the information at once. With their nature of only taking advantage and refusing to suffer losses, they will definitely whet your appetite bit by bit. Bargaining with you," Zhao Xueer flattened her mouth and then immersed herself in drinking her soy milk.
Zhao Xueer was used to eating the soy milk and steamed dumplings made by Fu Wei, and she was holding it in her mouth. She had been eating breakfast made by her servant Aunt Li these days, and she obviously didn't like it. After a few bites, she stopped eating. Fu who was sitting next to him When Wei saw her, he thought she was petty about Wan Lei taking in the Liu sisters, so he smiled and said: "Xue'er, you have to watch your brother Wan carefully for a moment. He is still injured. Don't let outsiders know." Too close,”
"Sister Wei'er, don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one, not even a fly, can come within ten feet," Zhao Xue'er promised, slapping her chest. She was so smart that she naturally understood the implication of Fu Wei's words. Lei, don't let those wild bees and butterflies get close to him,
Wan Lei couldn't understand this meaning, but he just laughed it off. Women are always a little nervous sometimes, especially since Wan Lei was injured, there were fewer opportunities to get romantic with her. She It’s not surprising that some people are suspicious,
However, Fu and Zhao have formed a sister alliance so quickly. In the future, I'm afraid...
"Brother, I heard from Brother Zhao that today the Peiping Army began to storm Shanhaiguan. I heard the sound of artillery this morning. I wonder if we have won a complete victory now." Seeing that Wan Lei looked a little strange, Zhao Xueer looked for a topic and said,
"Commander Zhao has brought more than 20,000 troops and 30 artillery pieces. If he can't even take down the small Shanhaiguan Pass, I will have to knock him on the head," Wan Lei said calmly, because the battle situation has long been in his mind. Shanhaiguan is just the first phase of the mission. Next, the Peking Army will march into Liaodong.
"Hey, it's a pity that you were injured, otherwise we could go into battle ourselves, that would be fun," Zhao Xueer said with a longing look on her face,
"Sister Xue'er, with your martial arts skills so high, you can disguise yourself as a man and become a general like Mulan," Tang Sai'er, who was sitting next to her while eating, said in a childish voice, but her mother, Aunt Li, glared at her and whispered. He scolded: "Speak when adults, children don't interrupt,"
"Haha, Sai'er has even heard about Mulan. There is progress, there is progress," Wan Lei laughed and said: "But no matter how hard you pretend, your sister Xue'er can't pretend to be less than a man. There is nothing you can do. Who will let you know?" She is so pretty, so I can only force her to stay at home and have a baby,"
Everyone at the dinner table burst into laughter after listening to Wan Lei's words. Zhao Xueer blushed and argued forcefully: "Who said women have to steal men's clothes to lead the army? Don't underestimate women. Pingyang in the Tang Dynasty was not fair the same way. Can you lead the women's army to fight in all directions?"
Although she was a bit reluctant, she was still happy in her heart because this was the first time that Brother Wan praised her beauty in front of everyone.
In fact, according to the aesthetic standards of the time, Zhao Xueer is not pretty. Her skin color is darker, and she lacks the charm that a woman should have, but is a little more wild. This kind of sunny beauty is in the bright future. It is not very popular in the morning, because the rich and wealthy families all choose Xiaojiabiyu-type wives, who know books and respond to gifts, are gentle and considerate; poor peasants choose women with big waists and round arms, who are able to work and have children. She is a healthy type. Meimei is actually the annoying type,
However, everyone has their own preferences for carrots and cabbage, and Wan Lei just likes the sunny type. Those ladies who stay at home and stay in the house, even if they are as beautiful as flowers, he doesn't call very often. Instead, it is Zhao Xueer who bickers with him every day. , the more he looked at it, the more he felt that he looked at each other.
After a hasty breakfast, Wan Lei went back to the study to deal with some accumulated military affairs. Although he did not care much about government affairs, he was in charge of the military expenses of the Peking Army, and he had to personally handle various detailed accounts every month. , this is one of his methods to control the Peking Army, so he will never delegate power to others.
The Peiping Army has won successive victories. In the past few months, whether it is military merit rewards or casualty pensions, it has been a large sum of money. If it had not found several new copper mines, allowing the coin mint to continue to operate to mint copper coins in exchange for silver, otherwise Wan Lei really can't afford such high military expenses.
The so-called coining is actually the issuance of currency. Since the Qin Dynasty, every dynasty has minted copper coins as the main currency, supplemented by precious metals such as gold and silver. The Ming Dynasty was rather strange. Due to the shortage of national silver reserves, copper coins were minted at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. , later it was discovered that copper production was insufficient, and banknotes were forwarded,
The imperial court dared to think of printing a string of numbers on some paper and use it as money, but the people were not fools and would not want such a thing, so they still mainly used copper coins, which were minted privately at the coin mint in Peiping City. A large amount of copper coins flooded the circulation market in the Ming Dynasty, which would inevitably cause inflation. However, this would not affect Beiping Province. Instead, this financial method could be used to rob the Ming Dynasty of invisible wealth.
Beiping alone is fat and the world is thin. It is because of this invisible economic plunder that Beiping Province can get at least 300,000 taels of silver per month. This is why Beiping Province can have enough funds without collecting land rent and land taxes from the people. Reasons for maintaining the normal operation of military and political departments,
"Sir, the person you invited has arrived." Just after approving these accounts, a loyal guard came in to report,
"Let them come in," Wan Lei organized a bunch of documents on the desk, asked Zhang Yan who was sitting aside to file them, and asked Aunt Li to prepare tea and snacks. At this time, several Jingzhong guards led the Liu sisters in He went to the study room, but Jingzhongwei was not at ease with the Liu sisters, so he did not leave there.
"Sit down," Wan Lei motioned for the visitor to sit down, and then said, "You two had a good rest last night."
"Very good, thank you for your trouble, sir," Liu Wan said,
"I have sent someone to clear out a small house for you. It is in Nuhong Lane, only a few hundred meters away from here. Someone will take you there later. It's just that the furniture is a bit old, so you can only make do with it." In fact, there are many houses in Beiping City. The house was left by the original owner, and the furniture is fully furnished. However, it has been unoccupied for a long time, so it is inevitable that it has become a bit decayed.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we have a shelter from the wind and rain, we will be satisfied,"
"There's only so much help I can provide you. If you want to live a good life and get ahead, it's all up to you." When Wan Lei said this, he pointed at Zhang Yan sitting beside him and said, "This This is Commander Zhang. You will be under her control from now on. She can’t speak. All you have to do is meet her. No need to be polite."
Liu Wan also knew about the Jing Zhong Guard and Zhang Yan, the commander of the Jing Zhong Guard, but this was the first time she saw him. Zhang Yan wore a mask on her face, white gloves on her hands, and was wrapped in a There was a suffocating sense of mystery, and even the well-informed Liu sisters were frightened by it.
With such a mysterious and slightly terrifying commander, one can imagine how terrifying the Jingzhong Guards are, and the actual leader of the Jingzhong Guards is Wan Lei. This man appears to be upright, but there is no way to know the degree of terror behind it. ,
"Mr. Wan, the little lady wrote some information about the rebels and the Ming court last night. I would like to ask you to read it." Liu Wan did not dare to call Wan Lei a son anymore, but called him sir like the others, because Wan Lei was behind the scenes. His terrifying strength made her can only look up at him,
Wan Lei took a large stack of paper written in small characters presented by Liu Wan and read it carefully. According to what Liu Wan wrote, the so-called rebel army, with Wang Jingangnu as its leader, under the banner of the White Lotus Sect, The purpose was to overthrow the Ming Dynasty headed by the false King Ming. It originally had nearly 180,000 troops.
The rebel army was divided into two armies. One was the West Route Army led by Wang Jingangnu. It had the largest number of troops, with 160,000 troops, mainly refugees from the Huguang, Jingxiang and Jingxiang areas. After the incident, this army raided eastward to capture Wuchang. After Wuchang, go south along the Yangtze River to Jinling.
The other army was led by Mrs. Liu, with a total of about 20,000 land and water troops. It started from Zhoushan Island. The army crossed the sea by boat to attack prosperous places such as Songhang, Zhejiang. The navy took the Yangtze River estuary and went upstream, together with the land army. March westward, preparing to join the Western Route Army heading east and encircle Jinling together.
Since the uprising had been prepared for a long time, many civil servants and generals in the Ming Dynasty had been bribed. Therefore, at the beginning of the uprising, wherever the rebels went, the Ming army rebelled and fled, and they did not encounter any decent resistance at all. , the rebel army attacked the city and pulled out the village to pull the people. The rebel army grew rapidly.
The rebel army was like a spark that started a prairie fire, but leaders at all levels began to become a little overly optimistic. They all believed that Jinling City was just around the corner and that it would be easy to replace the Ming Dynasty. Some leaders became arrogant and began to fight for power and profit. There were many internal contradictions in the rebel army, mainly the Han Dynasty. The power struggle between the Ming Emperor Jingang Nu and the Prime Minister He Miaoshun,
Although Jin Gangnu claimed to be the emperor, the real power of the army was in the hands of He Miaoshun. He Miaoshun actively cultivated his personal power. Among them, Li Faliang and Monk Yuanqing, who came to persuade the Peking Army to surrender, were He Miaoshun's cronies. However, Mrs. Liu and her The East Route Army led by He Miaoshun made it clear that he would submit to the Jingang Slaves, so He Miaoshun did not dare to go too far.
There were internal cracks in the rebel army, but the Ming army was not too optimistic either. The palace in Jinling City was blown up with artillery by Mrs. Liu's men. As soon as this news came out, the world was shocked. Some local military generals who held military power were ready to take action. Those feudal princes who were sealed away were also coveting the throne.
The vassal kings either established themselves or formed factions with military generals, and the Ming Dynasty began to split. Although Emperor Jianwen had already spread the edict to the world, proving that he was still alive, those who had raised their own troops would not believe it at all, even if they believed it. Now, I also used the slogan "King of Diligence" and kept rushing to Jinling.
Of course, the Ming court would not be so stupid as to think that these people really came to King Qin. It is said that it is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away. Once these so-called King Qin troops arrive in Jinling, they may not leave again. Therefore, on the one hand, the Ming court must Facing the flanking attack of the rebels, on the one hand, we must also be wary of the so-called "King of Qin" army. In short, if the house leaks, it rains all night, and the boat breaks, and the wind blows.
The situation in the Central Plains and Jiangnan was in chaos. Various factions, large and small, were busy fighting for the throne. Naturally, they had no time to pay attention to the Peking Army. Therefore, the Peking Army could stay out of the matter. Of course, small-scale conflicts are always inevitable. After all, the world is in chaos and thieves are everywhere. ah,
But for Beiping Province, it would be great if the world is in chaos. As Wan Lei expected, many people have fled because they were affected by the war. This is a great opportunity to gather the refugees. After all, the large land in Liaodong will soon be Once it is obtained, a large number of refugees will be needed to enrich it.
"Ms. Liu, do you know many officials and businessmen in Shandong and Shanxi?" Wan Lei suddenly asked,
"I know a few, not too many," Liu Wan didn't know why Wan Lei would ask this, but she had to answer honestly,
"It would be nice if you know someone. If the Central Plains is hit by this war, the people will definitely be displaced. Although they are people of the Ming Dynasty, they all have the same ancestors and roots. I can't bear to sit back and watch. I want to send some people to Shandong and Shanxi to gather them. Bring the refugees back to our Beiping Province for resettlement so that they can live and work in peace and contentment." Wan Lei did not hide his thoughts,
"Mr. cares about the common people and is a blessing to all people in the world. The little girl immediately prepared a list for him. These people can be used, but there may be some people with low character who only care about money and not people," Liu Wan Knowing what Wan Lei wants to do, simply put, it is to use the network of connections and use the back door method to attract refugees.
"Life is priceless. As long as it can save people from fire and water, it doesn't matter how much money is spent."
"Okay, little lady, we will draw up a list now," Liu Wan said no more and immediately agreed. Anyway, she knew many officials. Which ones were greedy for money and which ones were not? Which ones could be bribed and which ones were truly noble? She had already had a feeling in her heart. The account was taken, and some corrupt officials also had information that fell into her hands. This network should not be used in vain.
"There's no rush, you guys have settled down first, and it's not too late to draw up a list," Wan Lei waved his hand and said to a loyal female guard beside him: "The house should be cleared by now, you can take Miss Liu to have a look. , By the way, you will serve as their life guide for this month. If they don’t understand something, you are responsible for informing them or handling it on their behalf."
"I understand," the female guard stepped out expressionlessly, then raised her hands to the Liu sisters and said, "Hello, you can call me Sister Liu. Now please come with me."
"What kind of life guidance? You're obviously sending people to monitor you," Liu Fei, who had been silent, muttered in a low voice, but when Liu Wan pulled her, she obediently stood up and left.
After leaving Wanzhai, the loyal female guard led the way with an expressionless face, introducing the names of the streets passing by from time to time, a bit like a tour guide. All the streets and alleys in Beiping City are spread out straight, with commercial and residential houses on both sides of the street. They are all square houses, and there are small street signs with street names at the entrances of alleys.
Since it was getting late, the residents were all busy with their work, and there were not many pedestrians on the street. Soon, the three of them came to an alley with a signboard of "Nvhong Alley". This alley is home to Most of the people here are senior weavers and embroidery workers invited from the south of the Yangtze River. Most of them are female workers, so it is called Nvhong Lane.
There are more than 20 families in Nuhong Lane. Since they are all senior technicians hired with high salaries, these families have high incomes and high living standards. Judging from the red lacquered doors facing the street, we can see how wealthy these families are. It is evident,
The residence of the Liu sisters is located at the corner of the street. It is a small courtyard house with two main rooms, four side rooms and a kitchen. It is enough to live in. The yard is also very large. There are two jujube trees in full bloom, attracting countless bees. Butterfly, full of vitality,
Although there is no well in the yard, tap water is installed at the street entrance, and water is very convenient. In Beiping City, only high-end residential areas such as Nuhong Lane, Jixian Lane, Jiangjun Lane, Yonglie Lane, etc. have running water installed at the street entrance. After all, steel pipes are very expensive, and the collection and transportation of tap water also require costs. We are currently unable to build a water supply network to transport water to thousands of homes.
"You guys go in and take a look first. If you have any dissatisfaction, please report it directly," the female guard who led the way said expressionlessly. However, she did not enter the room, but stood at the door like a doorkeeper.
"Xiao Fei, how is this house?" Liu Wan looked at her future nest with some excitement.
"It's okay to live in," Liu Fei shrugged. It wasn't that she was dissatisfied with the house, but Wan Lei's attitude. Not only did he not look like a polite and virtuous corporal, he also showed no mercy for them. It was too much for them to live in such a simple house. Forget it, I didn’t even send anyone to serve them, but I actually told them to be self-reliant. Really,
Liu Fei used to be a well-known courtesan in the south of the Yangtze River. As long as she wanted to, it was not impossible to get a golden house to live in. Now she has been "reduced" to the point of having to rely on her own efforts. A fallen phoenix is really worse than a chicken. Liu Wan naturally sees that her sister Although she was dissatisfied, she could not suppress the ecstasy in her heart.
"A home of gold and silver is not as good as one's own thatched cottage. I used to have good food, clothing, shelter, and people to serve me, but I had to smile and flatter people. The kind of smiling life that welcomes people and gives them away is beautiful on the surface, but it's bitter in my heart." "The most miserable thing is that there is no future and no hope for life."
"Sister, I understand, but no matter how you look at it, that man named Wan looks like a good person, not someone who can achieve great things. Take this time for example, everyone is busy fighting for the world, but he is busy fighting for refugees. Not only are those refugees taking up food rations, but they are not easy to control, aren’t you asking for trouble?” Liu Fei said with some dissatisfaction.
"A truly shrewd person will not show it on his face. That guy looks loyal and kind on the surface, but who knows what he is planning in his heart. We can just watch."
"It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, sister, you are better off, Pan An is in the eye of the beholder. I am not ashamed to say good things to others even before I am married." Liu Fei made a face and walked away with a smile. It made Liu Wan blush for a while.
"You little girl, let me talk nonsense and see if I don't tear your mouth open,"