After the Houjin Tatars led by Dorgon and Hauge retreated from Shandong, they did not continue their conquest in the Gyeonggi region. Instead, they took the Gubeikou route and left the pass. This made everyone in the imperial court heave a big sigh of relief.

From April to August, the Hou Jin Tatars entered the customs and wreaked havoc for about five months. The Central Plains area suffered huge devastation. The crops in the fields were plundered by the Hou Jin Tatars, and countless people were destroyed.

The people in Gyeonggi and Shanxi, who were already struggling to survive the hijacking by the Jin Tatars, had almost no way of survival.

The Ming Dynasty also suffered heavy losses. The first batch of nearly 200,000 troops rushed to the capital, including part of the Liaodong Frontier Army. Its army commander and governor of the three frontiers, Lu Xiangsheng, was killed in battle. The 200,000 troops lost nearly 160,000 people. Returning to

There were less than 40,000 people in the capital, but the army led by Liu Yuliang, the successor as the Commander-in-Chief of the Military and Horses, did not suffer much losses. In fact, the army led by Liu Yuliang did not meet the Hou Jin Tatars at all. Later Jin Tatars took the road

When heading to Gubeikou in Tongzhou, Shunyi and Miyun areas, the army led by Liu Yuliang only followed from a distance and would never fight with the Houjin Tatars.

Of course, after the Hou Jin Tatars withdrew their troops from Gubeikou, Liu Yuliang did not forget to report the good news to the emperor and the court. At the same time, he also indirectly demonstrated his own contribution. As for whether he really deserved the credit, no one can tell. Anyway, the army was trailing all the way.

Then the Golden Tartars at least acted as a deterrent.

The Battle of Jinan has not been publicized, which makes people feel strange. In fact, everyone knows that if the Denglai New Army had not been defeated in the Battle of Jinan, the Jin Tatars, Dorgon and Hauge would not have been able to withdraw their troops in a hurry.

of.

Wu Zongrui did not leave Dengzhou immediately. For nearly half a month, he inspected various places in Dengzhou and Laizhou. Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Denglai, and Zeng Yongzhong, president of the Denglai Chamber of Commerce, were always with him. During this period, Lu Xiangsheng and Zeng Yongzhong

They all made suggestions to let Wu Zongrui report the actual situation of the Battle of Jinan to the emperor and the court, but Wu Zongrui refused.

This also made Lu Xiangsheng and Zeng Yongzhong understand Wu Zongrui's thoughts better.

Back in Dengzhou, Wu Zongrui checked into the Yin Hotel. The governor's office was where Lu Xiangsheng handled government affairs. Wu Zongrui would not work there. It would have an influence on Lu Xiangsheng, and it seemed nondescript.

Wu Zongrui was very satisfied with the results of the inspection. The people of Dengzhou and Laizhou had almost no concept of the emperor and the imperial court in their minds. They knew very well that everything they got came from the former governor of Denglai and the current governor of Jiliao.

Master Wu Zongrui, if it were not for Wu Zongrui, they might have died long ago.

As for the Denglai New Army stationed in Dengzhou and Laizhou, they were even more loyal to Wu Zongrui.

Faith is a must, and loyalty is also indispensable. Otherwise, the foundation established by Wu Zongrui will be equivalent to a castle in the air, unable to take root at all. The slightest disturbance will disappear without a trace.

The people are actually very simple. They don't care who the emperor is. As long as there is someone who can help them live a stable and prosperous life, they will remember him in their minds.

It is a pity that the Ming Emperor Zhu Youjian did not understand this, let alone do this.

When Liu Ning entered the room, Wu Zongrui was packing his things. He planned to return to Liaodong. Seeing that the midsummer season was over, it would be autumn soon, and the temperature in Liaodong would drop significantly. It was the right time to go back.

"Sir, someone came to visit outside the Yin Hotel, saying that they came specially from Jinan Fucheng."

"Oh, who came from Jinan Fucheng to visit me? Didn't you ask?"

"My subordinates have asked, and the person who came said that he wanted to see the Lord, otherwise he would not tell his story."

Wu Zongrui shook his head and looked at Liu Ning to speak.

"Since I am unwilling to tell my history in front of you, then I don't have to meet you. Liu Ning, please prepare yourself. We will leave Dengzhou tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and return to Liaodong. There are still many things in Liaodong.

We can’t waste any more time waiting for us.”

A smile appeared on Liu Ning's face.

"Sir, my subordinates have long thought about returning to Liaodong. It has been half a month since the army set out from Dengzhou. They must have arrived in Liaodong long ago. I still feel strange why Governor Liao did not write a letter asking about the situation.

.”

Seeing Liu Ning's comfortable smile, Wu Zongrui also smiled.

"Liu Ning, please tell me whether the artillery bureau needs to be relocated to Liaodong, or whether an artillery bureau needs to be built in Liaodong."

Liu Ning shook his head repeatedly.

"Sir, I think it is better not to relocate. Liaodong is not as stable as Dengzhou and Laizhou. Besides, Liaodong is still very poor, and there is not so much money to invest in the artillery bureau."

"That's true. It will take some time for Liaodong to stabilize. Okay, there is nothing to do today. Let's call the guards and you will follow. We will walk around on the street and find a restaurant to eat."

Liu Ning touched his pocket and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Wu Zongrui couldn't laugh or cry.

"Okay, Liu Ning, I didn't think about asking you to pay money. You, after you get the salary, you have to keep some for yourself and give it all to your family. Isn't it hard to go out without money? I think this battle

Don’t take the rewarded silver. Leave it here with me. When you need it, talk to me and withdraw it directly.”

Liu Ning waved her hands repeatedly.

"Sir, my subordinates don't dare. My wife knows that after the battle, she will be rewarded with money..."

Wu Zongrui put on a straight face, looked at Liu Ning and spoke.

"Liu Ning, you were not like this when you just followed me. What's wrong now? Is the mother-in-law at home too powerful? Then I will help you vent your anger. When you go back, you will teach your mother-in-law a good lesson.

Knowing how to learn these three obediences and four virtues, you are so lawless. No matter what, you are the commander-in-chief and the commander-in-chief of Laizhou..."

Before Wu Zongrui finished speaking, Liu Ning already had a bitter look on his face.

Of course Wu Zongrui knew the situation of Liu Ning's wife. To say that Liu Ning's wife had a bad temper, she was devoted to Liu Ning and had no objection to Liu Ning taking concubines. She also gave birth to two fat sons. At home,

Their status is naturally different.

"Okay, Liu Ning, I'm just saying this. I don't want to care about your family affairs."

While talking, Wu Zongrui walked towards the front yard of Yin Hotel. Liu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed him, waving his hands as he walked to signal the guards outside to follow him.

When Wu Zongrui was hanging out outside, he was always in plain clothes and would never wear official uniforms. In fact, many times, even in the government offices, Wu Zongrui did not always wear official uniforms. Liu Ning and others had long been accustomed to this.

Just as I walked out of Yin Hotel, a muscular man came over from a distance.

The muscular man was quickly blocked by the personal guards around Wu Zongrui.

The man suddenly knelt down and spoke loudly.

"The younger one was ordered to come from Jinan Fucheng and brought a letter. The younger one came on the order of the master..."

This sturdy man was very smart and did not tell who his master was, nor did he call out to your lord.

Wu Zongrui looked at the man kneeling not far away and spoke to Liu Ning beside him.

"Bring the letter over, I want to see who wrote it."

Liu Ning walked over and took the letter. The muscular man stood up and turned to leave.

The bodyguard was about to control this strong man, but Wu Zongrui waved his hand, signaling that it was no longer necessary.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Wu Zongrui frowned slightly.

"Liu Ning, you wait here, I will go to your room to see who the letter is from."

Liu Ning nodded and quickly ordered several personal guards to follow Wu Zongrui into the Yin Hotel.

Returning to the room, Wu Zongrui opened the letter and read it ten lines at a time.

"It's strange, King Zhu Youshu of virtue, why is he writing to me? Don't you know that the local vassal king cannot make friends with the ministers in the court? Don't you know that he is surrounded by royal guards?"

The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty are very special beings. They have royal blood, but they have always been fed like pigs. They have no worries about food and clothing, but have no freedom and can only move around in their fiefdoms. For example, the king of virtue, Zhu Youshu, has his fiefdom in Jinan.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was very rude to these feudal kings. He not only sent a lot of royal guards to watch every move of these feudal kings, but also allowed the ministers in the court to impeach these feudal kings at all times.

Wu Zongrui would not care about the letter written by Zhu Youshu. In his impression, there was nothing extraordinary about this Zhu Youshu, and he did not leave any anecdotes in history, which was very different from the Fu Wang Zhu Changxun whose fiefdom was in Xi'an Fucheng.

After flashing back to the Ming Dynasty's imprisonment of many vassal kings, Wu Zongrui calmed down and began to read the letter in his hand carefully.

A few minutes passed, and a smile appeared on Wu Zongrui's face.

"It turned out that they wanted to give me money. On the surface, they said they wanted to do business, but in fact they just invested money. It seems that this Zhu Youshu has no special duty. It's strange. Why is this Zhu Youshu not mentioned in the history books?

.”

Of course Wu Zongrui was happy if someone was willing to give him money, not to mention the money given by the German King Zhu Youshu. This Zhu Youshu probably saw the performance of Denglai's new army in the Battle of Jinan, so he wanted to gain some connections in the court.

Zhu Youshu was quite smart. The letter only mentioned business matters, and it was mainly aimed at the Denglai Chamber of Commerce. The Ming Emperor and the court did not allow the vassal prince to participate in politics, and did not even say that the vassal prince was not allowed to do business.

The strong man who delivered the letter just now must be Zhu Youshu's confidant, otherwise he would not be able to bear such an important task.

Only then did Wu Zongrui understand why the strong man wanted to hand the letter directly to him.

As he walked towards the outside of Yin Hotel, Wu Zongrui murmured to himself.

"It's interesting. It's also a good choice to get in touch with the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. Maybe they will play an unexpected role at some time. Besides, they have a lot of money. If they don't use it, it will be in vain. Anyway, their money comes
Chapter completed!