I

Wang Diaoding's hometown is in Weixian County (Weifang), Shandong Province, and the whole family was taken to the south by sea boats.

Although he has no worries about the future, he has the predicament in front of him.

In order to ensure the safety of the prince and princess, Wang Diaoding organized troops in Tianjin.

Thousands of refugees from Liaodong, more than a thousand Tianjin soldiers, including the families of the soldiers, the number has exceeded 10,000, and they robbed ships along the way and went south in a mighty way.

If there is not enough food, they will ask the government to borrow it.

The local officials in the coastal cities are still relatively friendly, and the wealthy households in the city will also help to collect some.

Zuo Liangyu is entrenched in Dongchang Mansion (Liaocheng), not a warlord, but better than a warlord. Guantao, Linqing, Wucheng, Yanggu, Gaotang... These are all his territory, and he even intends to occupy Jinan in the name of suppressing bandits.

At this moment, Zuo Liangyu stood at the head of the city, looking at the northern fleet with an uncertain expression.

They were all merchant ships snatched all the way from Tianjin. Due to the shortage of ships, there were also many small passenger ships, with a total of more than 300 large and small ships.

For the sake of the prince and princess going south safely, Wang Diaoding no longer cared so much.

Anyway, if he didn't rob the ship, the rogues, Tartars, and rebels would also rob the ship, and the merchants engaged in transportation in the north couldn't keep the ship at all.

"The flag of Datong?"

Zuo Liangyu murmured to herself, she couldn't figure out what the other party was talking about, nor did she understand the other party's purpose.

Moreover, Zuo Liangyu hesitated. He wanted to rely on Zhao Han, but he was reluctant to give up power. After surrendering, he could at most become a rich man.

"Let go quickly!" Wang Diaoding shouted out of the cabin.

The river ahead was blocked by Zuo Liangyu, and a large number of officers and soldiers left the city, and archers aimed at the fleet.

Zuo Liangyu went out of the city to negotiate, stood on the shore and shouted: "Who is your Excellency?"

Wang Diaoding replied: "A student at the Imperial Academy of Ming Dynasty, a professor of Jiangxi Bailuzhou Academy, Wang Diaoding!"

An official from Daming, and a person from Zhao Han in Jiangxi?

Zuo Liangyu was a little confused, and asked again: "Where are you going?"

"Nanjing!" Wang Tiaoding replied.

It really is Zhao Han's person.

Suddenly, Yuan Jixian came out of the cabin and shouted: "Yuan Jixian, the royal censor of the Youqin Capital of the Ming Dynasty, is here!"

Zuo Liangyu hastily made a bow: "It turns out that it is Mr. Linhou, I am far away to welcome you."

Ran Xingrang also came out of the cabin and shouted: "The palm seal of the Mingzong's mansion, Ran Xingrang, the son-in-law captain, is here!"

Zuo Liangyu was stunned for a moment: "My son-in-law?"

Ran Xingrang scolded: "Your Majesty wants to canonize Jiangxi Zhao Han as the King of Wu. I am ordered by the emperor to leave the capital. You should hurry up and get out of the river!"

"So it is." Zuo Liangyu suddenly realized.

This guy obviously wanted to go wrong, he thought that Chongzhen was trying to recruit peace, and wanted Zhao Han to lead troops into Jingqin King.

Zuo Liangyu asked, "What's on the boat?"

Wang Diaoding laughed and said, "Does General Zuo feel that His Majesty still has money to reward?"

"Angel Wang is worrying too much." Zuo Liangyu laughed awkwardly.

These boats had a deep draft, and Zuo Liangyu suspected they were goods. Even if it wasn't a reward from Chongzhen, it was from the few officials in front of him. He really wanted to destroy the fleet and rob.

Wang Diaoding said to Fu Shan, "Blow the whistle."

"Woo! Whoa! Whoa!"

The copper whistle sounded, and more than 300 ships stepped out of soldiers one after another.

Although the equipment was poor and the weapons were various, they were all capable of fighting, at least they could fight Zuo Liangyu once.

Zuo Liangyu ordered his soldiers to raise their bows as if they were facing an enemy, and asked, "What does Angel Wang mean by this?"

Wang Tiaoding smiled and said: "There are many bandits along the way. In desperation, I can only recruit soldiers along the way. Many soldiers here are Liaodong soldiers who fled into Shanhaiguan. They wanted to rebel and I recruited them."

Zuo Liangyu didn't want to create a conflict. Even if he could win, he would not gain much, and would lose troops instead.

He sighed and said, "Yanzhou has big thieves entrenched, with hundreds of thousands of troops, angels had better not go any further."

Wang Diaoding, Yuan Jixian, and Ran Xing made the three of them look at each other, not sure if Zuo Liangyu was cheating or if there were really some big bandits in Yanzhou.

At this moment, a fast boat from the south came.

The messenger jumped onto the shore and rushed over: "Uncle, there are changes in Yanzhou!"

Zuo Liangyu has been conferred the title of Dongchang Bo, an earnest Earl.

He called the messenger aside and asked in a low voice, "What changes have occurred in Yanzhou?"

The messenger replied: "The Yanzhou thieves fought the Zhao army in Xuzhou, and those religious bandits have been wiped out."

"Hundreds of thousands of people are gone?" Zuo Liangyu asked in surprise.

"All gone," said the messenger.

Zuo Liangyu asked again: "How many Jiangxi soldiers participated in the battle?"

The messenger replied: "Some say several thousand, some say tens of thousands, and some say hundreds of thousands."

Zuo Liangyu returned to the shore, laughed loudly and said, "Hahaha, even the angel who went south to seal the king, how could I lose my etiquette and accept five hundred stone grains as a meeting gift!"

Zuo Liangyu asked people to bring food, and at the same time, he ordered the troops to assemble. He wanted to take the opportunity to go south to occupy Jining and Yanzhou.

These are the places of the religious bandits, and they will not offend anyone if they are defeated, and the court can't find a reason to reprimand him.

Zuo Liangyu's current actual control areas are all brought by the bandits, and have never provoked the officers and soldiers.

This guy will soon occupy the Shandong section of the Grand Canal. In the future, no matter who wins the world, he can take refuge with the canal. If several parties are fighting for hegemony, he can still choose the side that is most beneficial to him to join him.

Zuo Liangyu never thought of being an emperor, his greatest wish was to be a marquis in the new dynasty.

After picking up five hundred shi of grain for nothing, Wang Tiaoding led the fleet to the south.

A few days later, Zuo Liangyu assembled a large army and went along the canal to attack the bandits' territory.

Every city was guarded by religious bandits, but Zuo Liangyu easily broke through the city with little resistance.

Yanzhou, Qufu, Ningyang, Jining, Jiaxiang, Juye, Jinxiang, Yutai... Zuo Liangyu quickly seized more than a dozen cities, doubling his actual control area in an instant, and he even sent people to welcome back the Confucius family in Qufu.

Yes, the Kong family ran away and were chased away by those White Lotus Sect members. Hundreds of Kong's descendants were killed by the White Lotus Sect.

So far, Zuo Liangyu has truly become a warlord, and one-third of Shandong belongs to him.

Just when Zuo Liangyu was expanding his army crazily, a few more ships came from the north, and they also said that they went south to canonize the king of Wu.

The person who led the team to the south was named Yao Minggong, Xiong Wencan's son and daughter's in-laws. He is currently a Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, an official prince and Taibao, and holds the title of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Zuo Liangyu was extremely puzzled: "Old Yao Ge, didn't the fleet that canonized the king of Wu go a few days ago?"

Yao Ming smiled and said, "That must be the fleet the princess is on."

"Princess?" Zuo Liangyu became more and more confused as he listened.

Yao Ming said with a smile, "Your Majesty has married Princess Kunxing to the King of Wu."

Yao Minggong didn't say that the prince also went to Nanjing. After all, this matter is too embarrassing, and if it spreads, it will easily cause confusion.

Zuo Liangyu thought about it again, he thought that Chongzhen had completely lost his face, and wanted to exchange his daughter for Zhao Han's support, and exchange the position of King Wu and his son-in-law for King Qin of the Southern Army.

Zuo Liangyu thought to himself: The monarchs and ministers of the Manchu Dynasty are still daydreaming, so Zhao Hanzhi is in the world, how can a mere king of Wu be able to dismiss him?

Zuo Liangyu didn't bother to stop these civil servants, eunuchs and factory guards in front of him.

Anyway, Zhao Han won't be there for the king to rescue him, so why is he stopping him? Don't offend the court and Zhao Han at the same time.

…

Xuzhou.

Li Zheng hit the edge of the Huaihe (Yellow River) and did not continue northward.

Due to repeated wars in the vast area on the south bank of the Huai River (Yellow River), some prefectures and counties are empty.

After Datong officials came, even if they recruited refugees to divide the land, it was not enough. They had to immigrate from the south to enrich the population.

Although it can alleviate the population pressure in the south, it will cost a lot of money and food. Zhao Han is unable to go north in the short term. He must first consolidate the newly occupied territory.

"Prince and princess?" Li Zheng thought he heard it wrong.

Wang Diaoding said with a smile: "The prince and princess are on board, and they are all sent to Nanjing. As for how to treat them, it's up to Mr. Zhao himself."

Li Zheng quickly said: "Okay, I will send five hundred soldiers to escort, don't make mistakes halfway."

Wang Tiaoding added: "On these more than 300 ships, there are thousands of refugees from Liaodong, and more than a thousand officers and soldiers from Tianjin, all of whom are accompanied by their families."

Li Zheng said with a smile: "Then just stay here. Some nearby states and counties are short of population, so they have to immigrate from the south."

There are more than 5,000 refugees in Liaodong, more men than women.

There are nearly 6,000 soldiers and their families in Tianjin, so there is no need to reorganize the family.

After tens of thousands of people disembarked in Xuzhou, Wang Tiaoding cupped his hands and said: "You don't have to go south, you can just divide the land and settle down here. The government will distribute the seeds and lend you cattle. Quilts, cotton clothes and other things to keep out the cold , I will also lend it to you, and after you are settled down, I will slowly make money and return it."

"Is it really possible to divide the land? The government gives the land for free?" Liu Mang asked.

Wang Diaoding said with a smile: "Not only will the land be distributed, but all the necessities needed for life will be provided. The distributed land is free, and the other items are only temporarily borrowed, and no interest is charged. You can repay some every year in the future."

"That's great too, Zhao Tianwang is benevolent!" Liu Mang was overjoyed.

Wu Huapu asked, "Can I be a soldier? I want to go back to Liaodong and take revenge on those sons of bitches!"

Wang Tiaoding explained: "After you divide the fields, some people will come to the villages and towns to train farmers and soldiers. They will cultivate when they are busy and practice when they are free. If Datong Zhengbing expands its army, it will give priority to drawing farmers and soldiers from all over the country, and will not directly recruit soldiers from ordinary people. "

Wu Huapu said: "How can I choose this? I only have one arm."

Wang Tiaoding sighed: "You can live with one arm, let's live a good life from now on."

"That's not going to work. I want to go back to Liaodong," Wu Huapu said anxiously. "I don't want to divide the land. You can go to Nanjing to meet Zhao Tianwang. Even if you dislike me for having only one arm, I can still be a guide in Liaodong. I know everything very well!"

Wang Tiaoding said: "I will only take you to Nanjing. As for whether you can see Mr. Zhao, it depends on your own luck."

"Thank you!" Wu Huapu cheered up.

He also has relatives, but only his brother, sister-in-law and nephew are left, and the life and death of the rest of the family are unknown.

The family has been separated for several years, and they may have been captured by the Tartars as serfs, or they may have died under the butcher's knife of the Tartars long ago.

Wu Huapu left his younger brother and his family behind, and went to Nanjing with the boat.

As for Liu Mang, he stayed in Xuzhou to divide the land. He didn't know that he had met Zhao Tianwang, and he even gave a few copper coins to Zhao Tianwang's brothers and sisters.

The people who came from Liaodong and Tianjin all cheered and celebrated when they learned that they could divide the land and temporarily borrow living supplies.

Although the following days are difficult and there are often droughts here, there is finally a hope.