When Qi Jin met Yuan Keli with the emperor's secret message, the fleet sent by Yuan Keli had already captured evidence of Mao Wenlong's smuggling.
Zhang Du had only been out to sea for two days when he encountered a ship flying the North Korean flag and in the name of a North Korean businessman.
After Zhang Du sent people to inspect the ship, they found a large number of animal skins, as well as precious mink, tiger and other furs on the ship.
After interrogation, it was discovered that they were Mao Wenlong's private servants.
After Yuan Keli confirmed it, he wanted to report it immediately to the emperor for his decision.
But his opinion is definitely to punish severely.
He even said bluntly in his letter:
"Mao Wenlong is too selfish. If his wings are full, he will become a big problem in the future. Please ask your Majesty to remove him from office on the spot."
But before his memorial was sent out, Qi Jin came with the North Korean envoy.
He didn't understand at first why the staunch emperor chose to forgive Mao Wenlong this time.
But after he read the letter, he realized what Zhu Youxiao meant.
"The weather in Liaodong is freezing cold and materials are scarce. Although there is continuous support from the imperial court, the environment is still harsh."
"Moreover, the Mao Wenlong City Mansion is extremely scheming, and most of his soldiers are ruthless gangsters who do not obey the imperial court's discipline."
"The old general is going to Zhenjiang this time to serve as the supervisor of Mao Wenlong. I think he will inevitably be confronted by him tit for tat."
Regardless of whether Yuan Keli was sincere or polite, Qi Jin felt a little moved in his heart.
When he was a teenager, he joined the army with his uncle, and fought hundreds of battles in the north and south throughout his life. His decades of military career had already made him see clearly the human-like nature of today's civil servants.
And when Yuan Keli met him for the first time, he was able to think about himself, which is really rare in this evil era.
"Thank you Futai for your concern. Since Qi has received the Holy Order, he has already been mentally prepared. No matter how difficult Mao Wenlong is to deal with, I will definitely keep an eye on him."
"Besides, there are Jin Yiwei and Yulin Army guards assisting me. I understand that Mao Wenlong doesn't dare to do anything to me. At most, he will only play some conspiracy."
"It's just that Qi has lived for decades and has never suffered any loss in this regard."
"It's just that at the moment of need, I hope that Futai can fully support Qi, and Qi will be grateful."
In order to increase Qi Jin's power and status, Zhu Youxiao specially selected two hundred soldiers from the imperial army.
As Qi Jin's personal guard of Biaoying, he went to Liao with him, and half of these people were his old subordinates, so there was absolutely no problem in commanding them.
This is also to prevent Qi Jin from being completely ignored in Liaodong, with only the title of Supervisor of the Army but no ability to issue orders.
Having soldiers under your command is completely different from having no soldiers.
After all, the feeling of being alone is really uncomfortable.
After listening to Qi Jin's words, Yuan Keli felt relieved. As long as he has His Majesty's support, nothing will be too difficult.
Yuan Keli still had great respect for Qi Jin.
Not to mention that he is Qi Jiguang's nephew, he has made a lot of achievements in the battles in his life, and he is an upright person. Such veteran generals are really rare in the Ming Dynasty.
"Don't worry, old general. If necessary, just send someone to deliver the message."
With Yuan Keli's guarantee, Qi Jin's confidence increased again, and he did not believe that he was not Mao Wenlong's opponent yet.
"In that case, I'll thank Futai first."
The two chatted a lot in the governor's office, and it wasn't until the twenty large blessing ships Qi Jin needed were ready that he set off for Zhenjiang.
The two envoys from North Korea had already carried the imperial edict issued by the emperor to the king of North Korea and embarked on the road back home with satisfaction.
On the ship, Yuan Keli and Qi Jin were still making final arrangements.
"In Zhenjiang and Pidao, the population reported by Mao Wenlong was only over 40,000. When I first saw this report, I was skeptical."
"After the supervision army goes, I hope to verify the true population of the local people as soon as possible, and then inform me so that I can prepare to receive them."
Since Mao Wenlong captured Zhenjiang and gained a foothold, he has continued to recruit refugees and fleeing military households.
He didn't believe that there were only tens of thousands of people left in Liaodong, a huge country.
Moreover, Mao Wenlong has as many as seven or eight thousand soldiers, and they are all young and strong men. If his population base is only 40,000.
It is absolutely impossible to recruit so many soldiers. This is simply nonsense.
The only reasonable explanation is that he made a false report.
And the twenty blessing ships that followed Qi Jin this time were to transport the people.
Mao Wenlong could only continue with this move. Even if he knew the court's intention, he could only stare blankly.
"Don't worry Futai, Qi will find out all the details and thoughts of Mao Wenlong so that he can't hide."
After the two chatted for a few more words, they said goodbye to each other.
…
…
Zhenjiang Fort
Zhenjiang is Mao Wenlong's military base camp. Based on the old fort of the Ming army, he expanded and renovated this military fort on the Liaodong border.
Now, more than 4,000 soldiers can live in the entire fort.
Outside the military fort is the residence of ordinary people, which was specially arranged by Mao Wenlong.
He also applied for six 1,000-pound Franco machine guns and hundreds of matchlock guns from Yuan Keli to form his own firearms unit.
This firearms force is now under the command of his adopted grandson Mao Yongshi. (Kong Youde)
The rest of the elite troops wearing cloth armor were either commanded by his confidants or Mao Youjie. (Geng Zhongming)
Even the thousands of households who followed him from Liaoyang all the way to lay this foundation still had less than a thousand men, which shows how much Mao Wenlong valued military power.
Mao Wenlong's life is now very smooth. With the help from the imperial court and Yuan Keli, he doesn't have to worry about food and supplies.
From time to time, you can go to North Korea to make tooth sacrifices, extort money, and make a lot of money.
Now that he and Lao Nu have reached a private peace agreement, he doesn't have to be constantly on guard against Lao Nu to conquer him like before.
Now it was the old slave who asked for help from him, and he had the absolute initiative.
"General, the supervisory army sent by the imperial court has arrived at the port. I heard that he is the former general of the Qi family army. His name is Qi Jin."
Mao Wenlong, who was drinking and having fun with a group of generals, immediately became serious when he heard the report from the messenger.
"It seems that the visitor is evil. I heard that there was a big move in Denglai a few days ago. The entire fleet went to sea. Could it be that they found us smuggling? Send someone to investigate?"
After Mao Wenlong thought about it, he felt that it was not what Mao Youjie said.
Even if the imperial court knew that he was smuggling, it would not be so fast. In just a few days, they would be able to respond and send people.
It's no different to think too much. He has never seen strong winds and waves. As the saying goes, when soldiers come to block the water, the earth will cover it up. You can see this person first.
"You all should be honest and respectful later. This Qi Jin is the nephew of General Qi."
"I got to know him when I was working under General Li. This man is also good at leading troops and fighting. He is not an idle person. Don't let him catch you."
After saying that, he put on his mink coat and walked out, obviously to greet him.