lcionline Chapter 757 The Curtain Officially Rises
Chapter 757 The Curtain Officially Rises
On the eighth day of the eleventh month of the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign, while the Qionghai Army was holding back Dorgon and Hauge's large army with its marines, the main force was landing in Shandong. The entire Dengzhou-Laizhou region was transformed into a large military camp, with a massive fleet of ships stretching as far as the eye could see crowding the coast of Dengzhou. The landing of tens of thousands of troops and heavy artillery lasted for two whole days and two nights.
To support the Qionghai Army's northward campaign, Lin Tianming rolled up his sleeves and personally took charge, leading officials from Dengzhou and Laizhou to facilitate the army's temporary rest, resupply, and northward expedition. The entire eastern three prefectures were mobilized: the government took the lead in organizing, wealthy families contributed money and grain, and ordinary people contributed labor. Whenever the army passed through, carts carrying wheat, rice, pigs, sheep, and other livestock from various prefectures and counties followed the army, stretching for miles. The people lined the roads to welcome them, filling the streets with food and drink, and an atmosphere of close friendship between the army and the people was immediately created.
Liu Ye readily accepted his father-in-law's arrangement. This era was different from later times; for the local people, the fact that a large army passing through wouldn't actively disturb the civilians was already a huge relief. Accepting the local people's tribute to the army meant he benefited, the local population felt at ease, and everyone was happy—why not? Liu Ye wouldn't bind himself with the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention, or the rule of not taking a single needle or thread from the people; that would be too pretentious. Besides, feeding 50,000 soldiers would consume a huge amount of provisions. Although he had accumulated considerable wealth enough to support several large-scale military operations, being able to obtain supplies from the local areas and reduce the consumption of his own reserves was a good thing from any perspective.
At the welcoming ceremony outside Dengzhou City for the "Northern Army to Resist the Emperor," Liu Ye "moved"ly grasped his father-in-law's hand and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Xie. The people of Dengzhou and Laizhou are so kind to us; I am truly unworthy of such kindness!"
In public, to avoid suspicion, the two did not address each other as father-in-law and son-in-law, but strictly followed the rules of officialdom. Lin Tianming was an old hand and naturally knew what to do. He said solemnly, "The Marquis of Pingnan went north to defend the emperor, and it is my duty to do my part."
Both men were shrewd and adept at the ways of officialdom. Their conversation made it seem to an uninformed observer that the two had no connection whatsoever. The officials from Dengzhou and Laizhou stood obediently in the background, listening to the father-in-law and son-in-law's words with a sense of shame. No wonder the other man held a higher rank than them; their acting was so natural, they could never have been so convincing.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Tianming asked, "May I ask, Marquis Pingnan, how many days have you lingered in Dengzhou and Laizhou? Your army has come from the sea and is exhausted from the journey. Should you rest for a while to conserve your strength for the northward march to drive out the enemy?"
Liu Ye replied firmly: "A general eats the emperor's food and shares the emperor's worries; a soldier is raised for a thousand days and used for one hour. Now the rebel Li Zicheng is powerful and is approaching the capital. We are trusted by the emperor and summoned to the capital to defend the emperor. How dare we linger in Shandong? The Qionghai Army will land in batches and will only be allowed to rest for one day. We will set off immediately the next day without delay."
Upon hearing this, all the officials present breathed a sigh of relief, their slight resentment towards Lin Tianming's grand welcome and reward for the Qionghai Army vanishing instantly. Compared to the immense pressure that a large army's passage would place on the local area, what was this small sacrifice? If Liu Ye were to linger in Dengzhou and Laizhou under the pretext of supporting the emperor, demanding provisions and supplies, even scraping the land three feet deep wouldn't be enough, since Shandong was still recovering from the war, and its grain production was far from its former level.
This statement was passed around by word of mouth and reached the ears of the gentry and noble families in the surrounding area, who were greatly relieved.
The Wuqiao Mutiny was sparked by a conflict between Kong Youde's subordinates and local gentry over the demand for provisions, which escalated into a military uprising that affected much of Shandong. The prominent families, represented by Wang Xiangchun, managed to save face for a time, but lost their lives and fortunes in the chaos. From then on, the gentry class in Shandong both feared and hated the army, yet were powerless to do anything about it.
The Qionghai Army is now renowned throughout the land, far surpassing the Liaodong soldiers who are ostracized by the local Shandong people. Making these soldiers bow down and admit their mistakes for a mere chicken is utterly unthinkable. With the Qionghai Army's formidable strength, sweeping across the entire Shandong region would be a piece of cake. Moreover, Su Hongtu, at Liu Ye's behest, disarmed the local Shandong troops. Faced with this massive army, Shandong is utterly powerless to resist. No one dares to provoke these ruthless forces as the Wang family did in the past. The memory of wealthy families being destroyed and their women humiliated during the chaos of war is still fresh. If the Qionghai Army lingers in Shandong, they can not only extort money and provisions, but also have no means to abuse the women. Now that Liu Ye has personally promised to march north immediately, it undoubtedly relieves the gentry of a tremendous burden.
Liu Ye had not expected that his statement would cause such a significant psychological shift among the officials and gentry present. Amidst the "enthusiastic" welcome from the officials and people of Dengzhou and Laizhou, he led a contingent of his Imperial Guard, special forces, and troops from the First Army to be the first to enter Dengzhou.
In the afternoon, the main force of the First Army also completed its landing and moved into the new military camp outside the city—a masterpiece of Liang Xiaoming and a stronghold for blocking Abatai. According to the plan of the Military Advisory Office, after resting for a night, they set off first under the command of Liu Ye as the vanguard of the main army.
In ancient warfare, without modern transportation, it was unrealistic for tens or even hundreds of thousands of troops to advance side by side. Besides the dilapidated official roads, many roads were too narrow for large armies to pass through. Therefore, the directly subordinate troops and the First Army, totaling nearly 20,000 men, along with the Second Army of 15,000 and the Third Army plus the artillery regiment of 20,000, had to march in batches, maintaining contact at intervals. Given the combat strength of the Qionghai Navy, even if they encountered enemy activity, each unit could stand alone, enough to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
That evening, Lin Tianming approached Liu Ye to probe his son-in-law's opinion. He was eager to know if Zhu Dadian's assessment and predictions about Liu Ye were accurate.
Having come this far, Liu Ye stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Father-in-law, it's for the sake of protecting the emperor, but the situation is constantly changing, and I can't predict how things will develop. Anything is possible. However, you can rest assured that I will never jeopardize the foundation of the nation for personal gain. The fate of the Ming Dynasty will not change, and your position as governor will not change. However, the emperor may not be sitting on the throne anymore, so you should be prepared to be given an important post in the capital."
Lin Tianming was both surprised and delighted, and dared not ask any further questions. He was already bound to his son-in-law, and had no choice but to pray that his son-in-law could help him achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a high-ranking official.
The following day, Liu Ye kept his promise, and the first batch of troops indeed set off at dawn without lingering in Dengzhou or Laizhou. From that moment on, the curtain officially rose on the Qionghai Navy's dominance over the world.