Zhu Gui didn't expect that he would be so busy during this period. People came to see him almost every day, and everyone's identity should not be underestimated. However, in the end, he habitually became a hands-off shopkeeper and began to cultivate other people.
people.
In terms of leading troops to fight, he left it to the personal guards who had been following him, and in terms of official matters, he left it to the local bureaucrats in Datong Prefecture, mainly the county guards. As for the affairs of the Datong Chamber of Commerce, he left it to Liu Jing and those who
A representative from the Chamber of Commerce will do.
However, Zhu Gui still met the Taiyuan County Sheriff. This Taiyuan County Sheriff named Liao Qinghai was a thin-faced middle-aged man in his forties.
A Confucian official.
As soon as he saw Zhu Gui walking in, he immediately took a few steps forward and said, "Liao Qinghai, the governor of Taiyuan County, has met the king."
Zhu Gui sat in the first place and said to Liao Qinghai: "Why do you want to see me? Taiyuan and Datong are both vassals entrusted by the imperial court. Why don't you report to the imperial court but come to see me?"
Liao Qinghai smiled bitterly and said: "I have reported to the court many times, but I have not received any reply. I guess it is because of King Jin..."
Liao Qinghai didn't finish what he said, and there was a look of embarrassment on his face. After all, the reputation of King Jin was not good now, and the loss of Taiyuan's vassal prince meant that he lost his protection. He didn't know why the court hadn't assigned it yet.
Another vassal king.
Zhu Gui nodded and said nothing more about the matter.
"Then what happened in Taiyuan? As a county guard, is there anything else that can be difficult for you?" Zhu Gui said lightly.
"Your Majesty, you don't know. Taiyuan is no better than Datong Mansion under your rule. When King Jin was still there, he united the powerful people and squires in Taiyuan, and his life was pretty good."
"Now that the King of Jin is gone, the vision of those powerful men and country gentry has become unimaginable. Now almost all walks of life in Taiyuan are controlled by them, and the lower officials can't even mobilize the army."
At the end of the sentence, Liao Qinghai fell directly on the ground, looking like he was admitting his guilt.
When Zhu Gui mentioned the army, he immediately became energetic.
The biggest difference between Taiyuan and Datong Prefecture is that the original Jin King had a complete three guards and a full 30,000 troops, while Zhu Gui only had a pitiful 1,000 Yunzhou Army at that time.
Although he now has the right to form three guards, he will not be able to have enough people to fill this huge gap in a short period of time.
Obviously Zhu Yuanzhang will not give him any help, so all this requires Zhu Gui's own efforts, and Zhu Gui does not want to make up for it.
Therefore, adhering to the principle of queuing rather than indiscriminately, even if the garrison of the Datong Prefecture is completely transformed into his three guards, there will still be a gap of 25,000 people. Even if the previous salt dealers are added, there will still be a shortfall of nearly 25,000.
Thousands of people.
Although he was not interested in the fiefdom of Taiyuan, if he could take over the three guards of King Jin, it would save him a lot of trouble.
As for the so-called powerful men and country squires entrenched in Taiyuan, Zhu Gui did not take them seriously.
Recall that he came to Datong Mansion with only a few servants at the beginning, and it was entirely by his own means that he made his way into the world he is today.
So Zhu Gui said to Liao Qinghai: "Master Liao, please get up first. The responsibility for this matter does not lie with you. Since the imperial court does not have time to manage this matter, then I will take care of it. However, this matter still needs to be reported to the imperial court Bingming."
The details of this matter."
"That's it, that's it. I understand these rules. I'm here to replace the people of Taiyuan. Thank you very much, Your Highness." Liao Qinghai said sincerely.
"Okay, let's do this for now. You can go back first. I will go to Taiyuan in person in three days."
Zhu Gui said.
Liao Qinghai said some more polite words before leaving.
"My lord, do you really want to go to Taiyuan in person?" After Liao Qinghai left, Commander Zhang asked Zhu Gui respectfully.
"Yes, Taiyuan is also the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also very close to Datong Mansion. If there is chaos there, it will be very detrimental to our development." Zhu Gui said.
"I really admire your prince's foresight and foresight, but the situation in Taiyuan is not as good as that of Datong. As the capital of Shanxi, there are as many as half a million people in Taiyuan, and the powerful and powerful officials and gentry there are extremely complex. I hope your prince can act with caution."
Sheriff Zhang said very sincerely.
Zhu Gui looked at him in surprise and asked, "Did County Sheriff Zhang also serve as an official in Taiyuan?"
"Your Majesty's guess is correct. Before coming to Datong Mansion, Xiaguan served in Taiyuan for three years, so he knew some of the conditions there." Sheriff Zhang said.
Zhu Gui nodded and said, "Then how about you accompany me this time?"
"It is my duty to serve as an official."
…
After another two days, the bandit suppression team was finally ready to go. They had some robbed caravan guards as guides. Their target this time was a bandit den three hundred miles away from Datong Prefecture.
It does not fall within the scope of Yunzhou, and because of poor economic conditions, fleeing people often come to Yunzhou to ask for asylum.
In more than half a year, Yunzhou has attracted more than 100,000 refugees from surrounding areas, and its population has reached almost half of Taiyuan.
There were no less than a hundred people who came to see him off this time, and the two Qianhu who led the team were standing in front of Zhu Gui.
"If you encounter obstruction from local officials, you know what to do." Zhu Gui said.
"Yes, I understand."
The two Qianhu said with high spirits.
The members of the Datong Chamber of Commerce behind Zhu Gui kept nodding in praise.
"Let's go." Zhu Gui waved his hand.
This was the largest military operation that Zhu Gui did not lead, which made him feel a little uneasy.
However, something like this will happen sooner or later. The personal guard he has worked hard to cultivate over the past six months is just for this day.
Finally, the figure of the 2,000-strong bandit suppression team disappeared on the horizon. Zhu Gui called another two thousand households and asked them to lead a thousand guard troops and immediately go to station outside Taiyuan Prefecture.
The two Qianhu followed the order and went down.
Zhu Gui and Magistrate Zhang boarded a carriage that had been prepared nearby.
This is a caravan from the Datong Chamber of Commerce that is about to go to Taiyuan Prefecture. Zhu Gui plans to use this caravan activity to go to Taiyuan and wants to secretly investigate the situation in Taiyuan Prefecture.
Although Hu Shidao provided him with a lot of information in this area, these also formed a power distribution map in Zhu Gui's hands.
Zhu Gui even knew the number of members and leaders of the various forces entrenched in Taiyuan Mansion.