Chapter 1150 Everyone does their own thing
Zheng Fan couldn't react for a moment: "Brother, didn't you just say that we would try to expel the Haihan people from Dengzhou, so why do we need to negotiate with them again?"
Chen Zhongsheng said: "Fushan County is now under the control of Haihan. Liao Jie and his gang will not take action until spring begins. In the intervening months, they must find some way to stabilize Haihan. If they really want to board the If there is chaos in the state, you, my brother, will be the first to suffer!”
Zheng Fan thought it was reasonable, and then asked: "Then if the Haihan people put forward some unreasonable conditions, such as the ownership of the Fushan Copper Mine, how should we deal with it?"
Chen Zhongsheng hesitated for a moment before responding: "You can discuss the possibility of cooperation with him in your private capacity, but you cannot make any commitments to him on behalf of the government!"
Zheng Fan understood as soon as he heard that Chen Zhongsheng wanted to stabilize the Haihan people while leaving a foreshadowing for future rebellion. Let him stabilize the Haihan people in his own name, and when the time comes, he can declare openly that the copper mine will be nationalized with an official document. Of course, this time the official document was sent out and it didn't work at all. Whether this kind of measure can have the desired effect next time will ultimately depend on whether the Ming army's performance is strong.
But it is not as easy as Chen Zhongsheng's talk to actually handle this kind of thing. Talking at the top and breaking the legs at the bottom. To do this well, not only do you have to break your legs, but you also have to cross the sea to Dongjiang Town to deal with the Ming army, which is no longer under the control of the Ming Dynasty. You will even need to deal with the Haihan people in the future. touch. These matters were too involved, and Zheng Fan could not trust his subordinates to handle them, so he had to take action himself.
If it were someone else, there would probably be a chance of quitting the job. At worst, the money invested in it would be wasted. But Zheng Fan had no choice. The main reason why he was able to prosper in Dengzhou was because he had his brother-in-law, Chen Zhongsheng, the prefect, as his backer. If Dengzhou falls into chaos again due to the arrival of the Haihan people and Chen Zhongsheng's official position is affected, then Zheng Fan will no longer be able to easily control various business resources in the future.
Of course, Zheng Fan is not the most difficult person in Dengzhou City currently. The Dengzhou garrison had just suffered a defeat and now they still have to deal with the headache of cleaning up the mess.
After checking and counting, Guo Xingning's troops lost a total of 473 people in the two-day battle with the Haihan people, including dead, wounded and captured personnel who were unable to withdraw with the army to Dengzhou City, including ten officers at all levels. The remaining people. After Kong Youde defected to Liaodong, this was the military operation with the most serious losses for the Dengzhou garrison.
As the commander of the Shandong Dusi stationed in Dengzhou, the operation planned by Liao Jie was a complete failure. Not only did it fail to achieve the military objectives set in advance, but it also resulted in the loss of troops and generals, which was quite embarrassing. If Guo Xingning had not seen the opportunity early and decisively chosen to withdraw from the battlefield, the consequences might have been even more disastrous.
Regarding this operation, Liao Jie did not report to the Shandong Dusi in advance because of his entrustment. Unexpectedly, he was so severely tricked by the Haihan people. Now he had to keep the lid tightly closed for his opponent to prevent the news of defeat from getting out. Otherwise, if the superiors investigated the matter, he would inevitably be charged with "rash use of weapons and poor command". Therefore, Guo Xingning's troops were defeated and fled back to Dengzhou City. Instead of being punished, they entered the city in glory in the name of "paying the dues and triumphantly".
But the disaster this time was not something that could be completely covered up by just making superficial appearances when entering the city. Guo Xingning's men actually lost hundreds of people, and almost all the ordnance and supplies that his troops carried when they went on the expedition were lost in the process of escaping. Abandoned, in order to retain the establishment of this army, it is necessary to replenish manpower and equip all required ordnance. While handling these matters, we must also issue a hush-hush order to the people who successfully escaped from the battlefield and provide compensation to those who died in the battle and those who were captured. Only in this way can we effectively block the news and avoid the situation from getting too big to end.
No matter whether it is manpower, ordnance, or pensions, they cannot fall from the sky, but must be spent in real money to be effective. As for who will pay for the money, this is a huge problem for the Dengzhou garrison.
"Sir, it will take at least 20,000 taels of silver to deal with the follow-up cleanly. This... what should we do?" After Guo Xingning made some calculations, he informed Liao Jie of the result with a gloomy face.
Depending on the level of the military, the pensions for these more than 400 and nearly 500 people will cost nearly 10,000 taels of silver. The sealing fees for the remaining few hundred people will total 2,000 to 3,000 taels. In addition, the army will be recruited again and weapons, armors and other ordnance will be distributed. , no matter how much you save, you will still have to spend 10,000 taels of silver. The twenty thousand taels Guo Xingning said is already a very conservative amount. In actual practice, it is estimated that 25,000 taels will not be enough.
Liao Jie said with a dark face: "You ask me, who can I ask? Are you going to report to the Dusi Yamen that the Dengzhou garrison was defeated by a group of foreign merchants? I'm afraid that the money will not come down, and the official positions of you and me will be Just throw it away first! You should try your best to save the money you need, and then think of a solution later!”
What Liao Jie said about finding a way is to slowly extract this part of the money from military expenditures in the future through over-reporting, false reporting, short-term pay, etc. In theory, as long as Guo Xingning's establishment is still there, sooner or later it will be possible Recover this cost.
However, Guo Xingning did not agree with the method proposed by Liao Jie, and still complained: "Master Liao, twenty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, how can I raise it in a short time!"
Liao Jie picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip slowly, and said calmly: "Mr. Guo, you have gained a lot of benefits from the place during the more than a year since you were transferred to Dengzhou. Now you can use it properly." When it comes to money, you are not too stingy!”
Ming troops like Guo Xingning who were transferred from other places during the Denglai Rebellion were not much worse at plundering the place after the war than Kong Youde's rebels. More than half of the people who chose to flee south after the war were actually It was because he could not stand the oppression of these foreign Ming troops and was disappointed with the performance of the government after putting down the rebellion that he left his homeland. Liao Jie, Guo Xingning, and Shangguan Ye, a group of officers who were assigned to garrison in Dengzhou, more or less extracted a fortune from the people in this way.
Seeing that Liao Jie had said everything, Guo Xingning had no choice but to complain: "A humble position can only get you five thousand taels of silver."
Liao Jie coughed dryly and said: "Five thousand taels of silver? It's not even enough to pay the pension... How about this? After this matter is over, you can go to Chengshan Guard or Weihai Guard to garrison. Those border guards are short of major generals. If you go, you can strengthen the local defense against Haihan." Guo Xingning cursed in his heart when he heard this. Isn't this just the way he planned to kill Shangguan Ye? Shangguanye's troops suffered heavy casualties in the battle to attack Dengzhou, and they were unable to obtain enough military expenditures for reconstruction after the war. Although Shangguanye held the title of general, the number of troops at his disposal was only maintenance. At the overall level.
Liao Jie sent Shangguan Ye to Qishan Qianhu Station for two main reasons. The first was because his official position was high enough and he could control the situation by stationing there. The second was that the troops he led were not strong enough. There are many, and stationing there will not put too much burden on Qishan Institute, nor will it cause too strong a reaction from the Haihan people. Now Guo Xingning's situation is similar to that of Shangguanye. His troops have been reduced by half, and his morale has been severely damaged. If Liao Jie wants to send him to the Border Guard Station for a long time, there is basically no need to think about turning around.
"Then... I am willing to pay eight thousand taels for my humble position!" Guo Xingning knew that his future was at stake, and he did not dare to continue to be stingy, so he could only grit his teeth and increase the amount.
Liao Jie scolded: "How can such a petty person achieve great things? Let's do this, you pay ten thousand taels, and I will find a way to slowly deduct the rest from the military expenses allocated by the capital. You first comfort your subordinates. , Don’t let things get out of hand. As for the rest, let’s discuss it in the long term!”
These words made Guo Xingning's mentality explode again, and he silently gave Liao Jie a quality ten-shot shot in his heart. To come up with this money, he not only had to drain his entire family fortune, but also had to raise additional debt. As for the rest of the solution that Liao Jie said, it is hard for Guo Xingning to believe it now. He thinks that Liao Jie's rhetoric is just to force him to pay to keep quiet, and to cover up the defeat first to avoid being held responsible by the superiors. I really plan to spend additional money to reorganize this army under my command.
When Liao Jie decided to send troops to Fushan County to expel the Haihan people by force, Guo Xingning did not fully agree with this plan, but in the end he had to follow the order. As a result of the subsequent defeat, Guo Xingning believed that although he had failed in his command during the battle, Liao Jie, who proposed the action plan, should also bear part of the responsibility. However, judging from Liao Jie's reaction at the time, apart from trying his best to cover up the situation and reduce the negative impact of the defeat, he did not show any intention to take responsibility together.
Guo Xingning felt that although Liao Jie did not regard him as an abandoned son yet, it was obvious that this defeat had greatly reduced Liao Jie's trust in him, and he was even unwilling to devote too many resources to support his comeback. If he is more pessimistic, Guo Xingning believes that there is a high probability that there will be no chance to participate in the action against the Haihan people after next spring. The sad thing is that he now does not have enough strength to resist this seemingly unfair treatment, and has to follow Liao Jie's instructions. After all, if he wants to keep his official position, he cannot do without the protection provided by Liao Jie.
Compared with the Dengzhou government, which fell into complete passivity after the defeat, Haihan's current situation can be said to be easy. After defeating the incoming Ming army, Haihan did not deliberately hide the news. Both Fushan County and Qishan Qianhu Office successively learned that a Ming army from Dengzhou had suffered heavy losses in the county and had withdrawn in despair. Went.
Because Dengzhou Prefecture had previously issued an official document, Fushan County Government and Qishan Office also knew that the purpose of this Ming army coming to the local area was to expel the Haihan people. However, the result was that the local officials were greatly disappointed. The Ming army coming from Dengzhou Instead of driving Haihan away from this place, he kicked Haihan so hard on the iron plate that he became lame.
Afterwards, Haihan sent someone to bring a message to the county magistrate Zhang Pucheng, asking him to relax. The conflict between Haihan and the Dengzhou Ming Army would not affect the stability of the county - of course, the premise was that the Fushan County Government did not involve itself in the drama. When Zhang Pucheng received this news, he finally put his heart in his throat back into his stomach. He was originally worried that if the conflict intensified, Haihan would seize the county seat as a stronghold to fight against the Ming army, but now judging from the actual results of the battle, The Ming army couldn't even take over the mining area that Haihan had just started building in the wild. The gap in combat power between the two sides was so large that Haihan didn't need to move the battlefield to Fushan County to solve the problem.
Although this result can temporarily ensure the safety of the county, it can't help but make Zhang Pucheng feel a little sad. The safety of Fushan County is not because of the protection of the Ming army, but because the Haihan people don't want to bother. The world outside the county seat is no longer within the control of the county magistrate.
Shangguan Ye and Feng Fei in Qishansuo City also received greetings from Haihan's entrustment. As long as Qishansuo does not take the initiative to cause trouble, the two sides can still coexist peacefully. However, in the future, any action involving more than a hundred people in Qishan must be informed to Haihan first to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. In addition, Haihan also hoped that Qishan could abandon the Yantai Mountain pier on the south bank of Zhifu Bay and withdraw the Ming troops stationed there.
Shangguanye and Feng Fei had no ability to resist such an announcement that seemed like a suggestion but was actually irrefutable. The garrison strength of Qishansuo is not as good as that of the Ming army that fell into the hands of Haihan this time. If you want to take action, you must first weigh whether your weight is enough.
Shangguan Xi was shocked and couldn't help but think of Guo Xingning's current situation. Liao Jie sent a secret order in advance, asking him to choose an opportunity to cooperate with Guo Xingning's actions in Fushan County, such as leading troops to invade Zhifu Island while the Haihan people were dealing with Guo Xingning. However, this kind of war plan on paper had no chance of being implemented. Qishan Institute had not even received news that the Ming army had entered Fushan County, and Guo Xingning's troops had already been defeated and fled.
With such a useless record, Shangguanye knew that Liao Jie would definitely try to cover it up and not report it to the superiors. As the commander, Guo Xingning was probably going to be unlucky this time. It seems that the information sent back to Dengzhou City did not attract enough attention from Liao Jie, otherwise how could they be defeated so quickly.
The Haihan people had proven their determination and strength against the Ming army with actions. Although Shangguanye was unwilling to do so, he could only comply with the Haihan people's request and withdraw the garrison from the pier of Yantai Mountain to show cooperation. He was really not sure whether his opponent would create an excuse to attack Qishansuo City. It was a risk that could be avoided, so it was better not to provoke his opponent as much as possible.
At least the situation that should be investigated has been almost covered in the past few days - Shangguan Ye comforted himself.
However, Shangguanye never expected that on the second day after he ordered the withdrawal of the garrison at the pier, a huge fleet quietly left Zhifu Bay and sailed toward the northeast.
(End of chapter)