Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 405: Rebellious People
Ningbo government office, in the lobby, Zheng Cai and Qian Sufan sit on the upper left and right

On the left below are Huang Binqing, Zhang Mingzhen and other Zhoushan generals, and on the right are Gao Yutai, Shi Xian and other Guangdong officials who sneaked into the city to seize it.
Although the lobby had been cleaned, there were still traces of blood on the ground, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The government office had returned to calm by now, but outside it was still in chaos. From time to time, faint screams could be heard from outside the government office, but soon disappeared.
Zheng Cai, wearing a suit of iron armor, sat on the left, with a high-spirited look on his face. Seeing that everyone in the hall had arrived, Zheng Cai spoke directly.

"We were able to enter the city thanks to General Shi's bravery. The rebels in the city were caught off guard and had no time to burn the treasury. Now, all the warehouses in the city are under our control."

"After a rough inventory, the government and private warehouses in the city have collected more than 3,000 stones of raw silk and cotton yarn, and more than 15,000 rolls of silk and cotton cloth."

"These bandits are ignorant of the power of heaven and dare to rob the property of the court. The silk cloth and cotton yarn in the city must be the property lost by the Maritime Trade Bureau this time."

"I want to take none of these silks and cotton yarns and send them all back to the palace. Do you have any objections?"

After Zheng Cai finished speaking, he looked at Huang Binqing and Zhang Mingzhen below. Huang Binqing heard the amount of silk goods in the city, and a trace of greed flashed in his eyes. But when he saw Zhang Mingzhen next to him directly agreed, although he was reluctant, he had to agree.

The main reason for their expedition was because Ningbo had robbed the goods in the palace. Now Zheng Cai attributed the silk goods in the city to the lost goods in the palace. Who would dare to lay hands on these silk goods?
Qian Sufan, who was standing by, was also slightly surprised when he heard what Zheng Cai said.

Qian Sufan and Gao Yutai below looked at each other, and after hesitating for a moment, neither of them said anything to correct him, and the matter was settled.

In fact, everyone in the field knew that Zheng Cai was lying. The silk goods that were seized by the Maritime Trade Bureau had been taken away by Chen Tianchong long before the war. At this time, there was no commercial goods of the Maritime Trade Bureau in the city.

Moreover, the silk goods seized by the Maritime Trade Bureau this time were only 20,000 taels, and the silk goods Zheng Cai just mentioned, if added up, would probably be no less than 100,000 taels at market price. This was actually Zheng Cai sending money to the palace under a pretext.

Zheng Cai's vision is much longer-term than that of a small military leader like Huang Binqing. Zheng Cai has not forgotten the purpose of his military deployment this time.

The reason why he was willing to send out most of his troops this time was to make friends with the Guangdong Provincial Palace and leave a way out for himself.

Although a hundred thousand taels of silver worth of silk goods was not a small sum of money, it still could not blind his eyes.

Zheng Cai was actually being generous with other people's money. Although these silk goods were expensive, he didn't have to spend a penny. He could use them to make friends with the palace. What was the pity?

Zheng Cai saw that Huang Binqing and Zhang Mingzhen agreed, and a look of satisfaction flashed across her face, and then she spoke again

"In addition to the lost treasures in the palace, there are also a lot of stolen gold and silver in the treasury of Ningbo City."

"I plan to deal with these gold and silver items in this way. I will take 30% for myself, 10% for General Huang, 10% for General Zhang, and the remaining 50% will be handed over to the court by Governor Zhang and Lord Qian on our behalf."

Zheng Cai paused for a moment before continuing.

"This batch of treasures is not small in amount, and the army has not been able to count them clearly at the moment. We can discuss with Governor Zhang and Lord Qian later how much this batch of treasures should be. What do you think, Lord Qian?"

Qian Sufan frowned slightly when he heard this. Qian Sufan had been an official for many years, so he naturally understood what Zheng Cai meant.

The Ming army easily captured Ningbo this time, and all the government vaults were completely taken over. Zheng Cai was able to immediately count all the silk goods in each vault, but when it came to valuable goods such as gold and silver, he was unable to count them?

However, this matter was beneficial to the court. After thinking about it, Qian Sufan also did not say anything and directly agreed to it.

Qian Sufan looked at Zheng Cai who was smiling beside him. Although he was unhappy, he still had to admit that this person was indeed powerful.

Zheng Cai's distribution was shared by the palace, the court, and even the officials of Guangdong Province. It was difficult for people to refuse.

How can Qian Sufan refuse at this time? He can refuse it, but whether Zhang Jiayu wants it or not, whether Gao Yutai wants it or not, if they don't want it, will Shi Xian want it?
Moreover, Zheng Cai did not say that it was for them. What Zheng Cai said was that they wanted to serve the court. Could they decide on their behalf not to give it to the court?

Zheng Cai's distribution gave the palace and the government the lion's share, which naturally satisfied Qian Sufan and others, but the remaining two, Huang Binqing, were not so happy.
Huang Binqing looked unhappy and was about to speak out in opposition. Even Zhang Mingzhen frowned.
Zheng Cai saw the expressions of Huang Binqing and the others, but her face was calm, and she spoke again

"The treasury is ill-gotten gains looted by the Tartars, and should belong to the court. Now that the treasury is dealt with, it is time to deal with the affairs of the city."

"Just now the army reported that after entering the city, there were many fights and looting, causing chaos in the city. This fact should not be..."

"Whether it's me, General Huang, or General Zhang, we are all military commanders in the court. How can we turn our swords against each other just for a little money?"

Zheng Cai said this, waved his hand to appease Huang Binqing, who was extremely dissatisfied, and continued

"I have decided to divide the city into different areas. The East City and the North City belong to my army, the West City belongs to General Zhang, and the South City belongs to General Huang. We will each control our soldiers and confiscate the ill-gotten gains in the city in different areas. Do you two generals have any objections?"

Qian Sufan and Gao Yutai were shocked. They had just heard Zheng Cai mention that he wanted to stop the chaos in the city. Qian Sufan and the others nodded secretly. They felt that Zheng Cai was different from the rumors and had the demeanor of a famous general.

Qian Sufan and others thought this was a matter of course. Although the imperial court would not occupy Ningbo for long, since it had already captured the city, it should restore order in the city as soon as possible to show the benevolence of the imperial court.

But after listening to what Zheng Cai said, Qian Sufan understood what Zheng Cai meant. Zheng Cai did not want to quell the chaos at all, but to plunder the cities separately!
Qian Sufan's face became serious, and he immediately said

"We absolutely cannot do this. We are the imperial army. How can we rob a city?"

"Now that we have conquered Ningbo and recovered the imperial treasures, you generals should immediately restrain your soldiers and not allow them to plunder again."

Huang Binqing was still calculating whether it was worthwhile to only get one piece of South City. But after hearing what Qian Sufan said, he could no longer bear the anger in his heart and said in a cold voice:

"Master Qian, what do you mean by this? You're going to deny it right after you pulled up your pants?"

"The treasures of the palace have been taken back, but the treasures of our brothers have not yet been found."

"The brothers in the army received orders from the court and were on standby in the camp before the New Year. Tens of thousands of brothers did not even return home during the New Year, just to serve the court."

"We don't need these generals, but our brothers have traveled thousands of miles across the sea to fight. Now that we have captured the city, if we cannot plunder the city and give out rewards, how can we lead the army in the future?"

Qian Sufan's expression froze, he just glanced at Huang Binqing, then immediately looked up at Zheng Cai. When he saw the faint smile on Zheng Cai's face, Qian Sufan's heart suddenly sank.

The situation before him was clearly what Zheng Cai had calculated long ago. Zheng Cai had previously gone against his usual practice and generously distributed the silver from the treasury to the palace and the court. This was not because he was loyal to the country, but because he had already made plans to plunder the city.
The silver in the treasury is indeed not small, but how can it compare to the wealth of the city of Ningbo?
Qian Sufan instinctively wanted to use the treasury as a reward to stop the looting, but before Qian Sufan opened his mouth, he immediately realized that this matter was no longer possible.
The wealth in the treasury had already been distributed to the palace and the court. Even if the wealth had not yet been transported away, it was already the property of the court, so they had no right to deal with it.

Qian Sufan looked gloomy. After a moment of silence, he looked at Zheng Cai opposite him and said in a deep voice:
"We are the imperial army. If we rob the people in the city now, we will be no different from the Qing Tartars. This may hurt your majesty's wisdom."

Zheng Caishen glanced at Qian Sufan, thought for a moment, then turned his eyes and said

"Mr. Qian is right. Your Majesty cares about the people of the Ming Dynasty. We are also the imperial army. How can we rob the people of the Ming Dynasty?"

"But since I entered the city, I have seen that everyone in the city has shaved their heads and plaited their hair. Ningbo was originally a big city in the Central Plains, but now it is full of barbarians. It is really a pity."

"Mr. Qian is kindhearted, but there are no Han people in the city now, only Qing barbarians. What we are plundering are not the people of the Ming Dynasty, but the rebels under the command of the Qing barbarians."

Zheng Cai looked at Qian Sufan, who was in shock, and a smile flashed across his face. Then he frowned again and said to Huang Binqing and Zhang Mingzhen below, "Master Qian is right. We are the imperial teachers of the court. How can we harm the people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"The two generals will explain to the soldiers later that if they see anyone wearing a crown in the city, they must be loyal citizens of the Ming Dynasty. They must be treated with respect and honor, and must not be allowed to plunder. Do you understand?"

"General Zheng has thought it through. The soldiers under my command will never harm any civilians in the city. If any soldier dares to rob the civilians of our city, I will punish them without any orders from you!"

Huang Binqing's eyes turned, and he immediately understood what Zheng Cai meant, and immediately responded loudly.
Zheng Cai said that he wanted to stop the army from looting Han people, but in fact he was still ordering the army to loot the city.
Ningbo has been in the hands of the Qing invaders for many years. Now everyone in the city has shaved their heads. It is hard to find anyone wearing a crown.

Even if there are a few people who are determined to keep their hair, the worst that can happen is that they don't rob these few houses.

If we can find such a person, it would be a good thing.

If they really encountered such righteous people, they could even offer them up as sacrifices. As long as they sent them back to Guangdong Province, they might even gain a good reputation in the southern court for treating righteous people with courtesy.
Huang Binqing looked at Zheng Cai who was serious above him, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

At first, he only thought that Zheng Cai was arrogant and domineering, but he never thought that this thief could be so shameless and have the ability to confuse right and wrong. No wonder he was only a marquis, but this thief could become a duke.

Qian Sufan naturally understood Zheng Cai's intention immediately, but before he could speak, Zheng Cai's face darkened and he said

"This matter is settled. I know Lord Qian is worried, so I will order the army to open the city gates. As long as the people in the city hand over their money, they can leave the city. We only seek money and don't kill people."

"After those Tartars broke into the city, they treated the people of the Ming Dynasty badly. We are now opening the city gates and letting those traitors leave. This is already a great favor. Sir Qian, there is no need to say more."

Zheng Cai naturally understood Qian Sufan's intention. Qian Sufan just wanted to use the reputation of the emperor of Guangdong Province to make him give up the looting.

But after thinking about it, Zheng Cai didn't think there was anything wrong with what she did.

He donated 100,000 taels to the palace and distributed money to the court. Could it be that the Guangdong court would really punish these meritorious officials just because they robbed the traitorous people under the command of the Tartars?
Zheng Cai sent troops to show his goodwill to the Guangdong court, but he also had his eyes on the money in Ningbo. Now that the meat was at his fingertips, how could Zheng Cai not eat it?
If Qian Sufan was not representing the Guangdong Provincial Court and the Yongli Emperor, he would not have said so much nonsense to Qian Sufan.
If Qian Sufan was really just a minister under the command of Lu Jianguo, Zheng Cai would not even take out the money in the treasury. He wanted the money in the treasury and the money in the city as well!
After Zheng Cai finished speaking, he left directly on the pretext of military affairs without waiting for Qian Sufan to object. Huang Binqing also stood up and left without any hesitation.

Zhang Mingzhen hesitated for a moment, bowed to Qian Sufan and others, and then stood up and left.

Qian Sufan may think that these Zhoushan troops are arrogant and difficult to control, and their thug nature is hard to change, but Zhang Mingzhen and others also have their own difficulties. The soldiers in Guangdong Province have their own salaries, but the Zhoushan troops do not.
The soldiers of the Lu Jianguo Army on Zhoushan had trouble getting paid, not to mention eating. Now they had finally captured a big city. If they were not allowed to plunder, there would probably be chaos in the army.

In the lobby, all the Zhoushan soldiers left, and soon only Qian Sufan and the other two were left.

Qian Sufan looked down at Gao Yutai and said with a frown on his face

"We can't let them do this. Do you have any way to stop Zheng Cai and the others?"

"We can't stop them. We only have a hundred soldiers at our disposal, while Zheng Cai and his men have over ten thousand soldiers in the city. How can we stop them?"

"These soldiers have been besieged on Zhoushan for several years. Now they have suddenly captured such a big city. They are already furious. Now, let alone us, even if the Prince of Lu comes, we can't stop these hungry soldiers."

"Besides, I think there is no need to stop them. Ningbo has been conquered, and the court's plan has been largely accomplished."

"Whatever Zheng Cai and the others do now will not affect the overall situation, so why should Mr. Qian be the bad guy?"

Shi Xian had a casual look on his face. Although Qian Sufan and Gao Yutai had been arguing with Zheng Cai and others, Shi Xian just sat on the sidelines and did not get involved.
The only purpose of their coming this time was to capture Ningbo. Now that Ningbo has been captured, they have achieved their great success. Shi Xian no longer cares about the rest.
Yes, although it was Zheng Cai and others who sent troops to capture Ningbo City, the credit for capturing Ningbo went to Shi Xian, Qian Sufan and others.

Zheng Cai and his people are now the ministers of Lu, while Shi Xian and others are the official officials of Guangdong Province. The credit for breaking the city is naturally theirs.
Gao Yutai, who was standing by, was displeased when he heard this and said in a cold voice:
"What is General Shi talking about? How can this matter not affect the overall situation?"

"This time, the people of Ningbo are loyal and righteous, and they assisted the imperial court in breaking the city. If we allow Zheng Cai and others to plunder at this time, it will surely chill the hearts of the gentry and people of Zhejiang Province."

"If the imperial court wants to march north again in the future, who in Ningbo will be willing to fight for the imperial court? This is a matter of people's support, so it has nothing to do with the overall situation."

Qian Sufan and Gao Yutai were both from Ningbo, so they naturally did not want their hometown to be robbed by war.

Shi Xian looked at Gao Yutai, who looked angry, but his face was calm. He said

"Master Gao, what you said is wrong. The emperor is kind and benevolent, and the court is benevolent. How could the court do such evil things as robbing the people? The ones who are robbing Zhejiang Province right now are Zheng Cai and his Zhoushan bandits. What does this have to do with the court?"

"And don't forget, my two lords, we can't take Ningbo this time. It will eventually fall into the hands of the Qing invaders. Rather than leaving the wealth in Ningbo to the Tartars, it's better to let Zheng Cai and his men take it back to Zhoushan."

Qian Sufan and the others were also stunned when they heard this, and then they immediately realized that they were no longer officials of the Guangdong Province.
Each of them now wears the seal of the Lu Jianguo Dynasty, and is a real Lu Jianguo court official, and Zheng Cai and others are also real Lu Jianguo soldiers.

Even if the people of Ningbo wanted to hate, they would hate Lu Jianguo, and it had nothing to do with the Guangdong Provincial Court.

Shi Xian saw that Gao Yutai wanted to say something, so he waved his hand and said

"I just said this casually. It's up to you two gentlemen whether you listen or not. As for how to stop Zheng Cai and others, I really have no way to do it."

"If we really want to stop Zheng Cai and the others now, I'm afraid only Governor Zhang has a chance, but it's just a possibility. You two adults better not have too high expectations."

As the person in charge of the attack on Ningbo, Zhang Jiayu naturally followed the army, but Zhang Jiayu was not in Ningbo at the time.

The Ming army failed to capture Dinghai in one fell swoop this time. Zhang Jie, the general of the Qing army, is still defending Dinghai City.

Dinghai was the retreat route for the Ming army to retreat to the sea. After the Ming army failed to capture Dinghai, they split into two groups.
Yang Geng, Huang Xiaoqing, Zheng Zunqian and others led a 6,000-strong detachment to continue besieging Dinghai, securing the retreat route for the main army, while Zheng Cai, Huang Binqing and others led the main force of more than 11,000 people to Ningbo to break the city.

After the army was divided, Zhang Jiayu had to stay in Dinghai to supervise the battle in order to ensure that the three forces of Yang Geng and Huang Xiaoqing would not cause any trouble.
It's funny to say that the three armies that went into battle this time were all from the Lu Jianguo court, but in the end, only Zhang Jiayu, a minister from the Guangdong Province, could suppress these three armies.
Qian Sufan pondered for a moment, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he looked at Shi Xian below.

"General Shi, you lead your men to protect the homes of King Hua and others. These are all loyal gentry who are loyal to the court. Let's not talk about other things. At least, we can't let Zheng Cai rob these loyal officials."

"Sure. I have some friendship with Zheng Cai. If we just want to save a few families, there shouldn't be any problem."

Shi Xian nodded slightly. To be honest, Hua Xia and the others had made great contributions to their successful capture of the city. It was only a matter of convenience to save them at this time.

Seeing Shi Xian's response, Qian Sufan said in a deep voice:
"We cannot just sit back and watch this matter. I will immediately write to Governor Zhang and ask him to handle this matter."

Qian Sufan asked someone to bring him a pen and ink, and hurriedly wrote down what happened in the city, and then immediately sent someone to Dinghai.
Ningbo and Dinghai were only a few dozen miles apart. After Qian Sufan sent the letter, the messenger had returned by night.

Zhang Jiayu did not return to Ningbo, but sent someone to bring back a letter.
On the one hand, Zhang Jiayu ordered Zheng Cai and others to stop looting, and on the other hand, he ordered Qian Sufan and others to urge Zheng Cai and others to withdraw as soon as possible.

Although Zhang Jiayu gave the order, Zheng Cai and others continued to plunder as usual after receiving the letter.
Qian Sufan saw that Zhang Jiayu was unable to restrain Zheng Cai and others, and he was completely at a loss. He had to control his soldiers from participating in the looting in the city, and urged Zheng Cai and others to withdraw as soon as possible.

While Ningbo was in a frenzy, the Qing army's messenger for help had already escaped the siege and rushed towards Shaoxing.
(End of this chapter)