Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Chapter 3966 Even Hand-Cranked Generators Exist

Wen Huanzhang said, "Just stagger the sending times in the morning, noon and evening, and I'll try to create a private chat channel."

The fixed time for sending and receiving telegrams each day was quite arduous for telegraph operators due to the inaccuracies in current clocks.

If the other party goes online relatively late, the other party will have to keep sending messages.

After my hands were sore from typing so much, the other party finally replied online that evening.

Moreover, it will not be used for civilian purposes for the time being, nor will it be open to the public.

Once Wen Huanzhang improves the hand-cranked motor, or once the provincial capital city develops a small hydroelectric generator.

At that time, the Ministry of Works was tasked with developing a civilian telegraph system.

Zhao Yuan's final idea was to separate the grain transport army and post stations from the Ministry of War, and then separate the civilian telegraph system from the Ministry of Works.

These should be separated and formed into a separate post office!

……

The war to destroy Goryeo did not require many troops.

Three thousand field troops and five thousand garrison troops, a total strength of eight thousand, is sufficient.

However, some private merchant ships were requisitioned, all of which regularly traded with Korea and Japan.

While awaiting orders from the imperial court, the civil and military officials of Liaoning dared not mobilize troops without authorization, but they could still advance the allocation of provisions.

Grain from the granaries in various parts of Liaodong was transferred to Gaixian County and then transported by sea to the north bank of the Datong River.

At the same time, the Ming army was also gathering in Pyongyang.

Such obvious troop and supply movements could not be kept completely secret, and soon Korean merchants relayed the news back.

The governor of Goryeo's West Coast Province, Baek Gong-mi, was so frightened that he frantically sent letters to the military government seeking help.

Facing the onslaught of the Ming army, the western coastal region was the first to bear the brunt.

The three prefectures of Saikaido are Huangzhou, Haizhou, and Yangzhou, and these quaint place names are clearly borrowed from China.

Yangzhou is very far away; it's already bordering the Han River.

Huangzhou City is very close, only about a hundred miles from Pyongyang.

Jeong Jung-bu transformed the central government of Goryeo into a cabinet and ministry system, but he was too lazy to change the local official positions, and they were particularly strange and interesting.

Provincial-level administrative regions followed the old system of the Tang Dynasty, using the term "dao" (道).

In the early years, just like in the Song Dynasty, each circuit had a transport commissioner, but for some reason, this was later abolished and replaced by the very retro "prefectural governor".

In addition, there were governors, inspectors, and so on.

Below the Dao level, there are prefects, governors, and county magistrates, not much different from the Song Dynasty.

"Why hasn't the imperial court sent reinforcements yet?" Bai Gongmei asked anxiously.

Zheng Shiyou, the prefect of Huangzhou, sneered: "A bunch of military men are busy fighting for power in Kaijing."

"They don't trust local civil servants and probably think it's fake news."

"How could reinforcements possibly arrive so quickly?"

"How should we deal with this?" Bai Gongmei asked.

Zheng Shiyou shook his head: "I don't know. As for military matters here, you'll have to ask Commander Xin."

Commander-in-Chief Xin Jia said, "Without money and provisions, the soldiers are all starving. How can I lead troops into battle?"

The governor in charge of governing Saikaido is a central government official who currently resides in the capital and has no real power.

There was no actual governor of Saikaido; power was divided among several "envoys."

The most important among them were the Provincial Governor and the Military Commander—which can be understood as the Provincial Governor and the General.

This commander, Xin Jia, was already seething with resentment.

When civil officials were in power, there was a shortage of food and salary; when military generals seized power, the problem still arose from insufficient food and salary.

The central court has entered an era dominated by military figures, but local areas are still controlled by powerful clans.

Chapter 3967 Same old soup, new skin

For local military commanders, this so-called era of warriors is nothing but a change in name only!

Xin Jia's meaning was clear: he was willing to fight to the death, but he needed to get the civil officials and powerful clans to bring in the provisions as soon as possible.

Bai Gongmei said, "The Huangfu family is already persuading the various clans to provide grain."

"Tell them to gather the grain before they come back to me!" Xin Jia said, turning away in a huff.

The most powerful clan in Hwangju, Goryeo, was the Hwangbo clan. The fourth wife of the founding monarch of Goryeo was from this clan.

She was the daughter of Grand Commandant Huangfu Tigong, and was known as Empress Dowager Shenjing.

Due to the coup d'état by the military, all the prominent members of the Huangfu clan had been killed in Gaegyeong.

The most prestigious and talented man from his hometown of Huangzhou went to Kaijing to serve as a civil official in name only.

Huangfu obtained a cabinet minister, a minister, two vice ministers, a Hanlin scholar, three censors, and a whole host of other official positions.

The person currently in control of the situation in his hometown is an old man named Huangfu Minzhong.

“Uncle, the money and grain of my Huangfu family are all earned through our own hard work. Why should we give them to those military men as provisions?” A middle-aged man was the first to object.

Another person immediately chimed in: "That's right! The Ming army is invincible; they even destroyed the Jin dynasty."

"How could those old, weak, sick, and disabled people in Huangzhou possibly stop such a fierce and powerful army?"

"What's the difference between handing over money and provisions to them and throwing them directly into the sea?"

"Moreover, if the Ming Dynasty annexes Goryeo and finds out that we provided money and food to support the garrison, the Huangfu clan will face extermination."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone else said, "I manage the family business. Ever since the Ming Dynasty occupied Pyongyang, we've been able to do business and make money with those Ming merchants on the south bank of the Taedong River."

“In recent years, the income from the various branches of the Huangfu clan has been equivalent to several years’ worth of income in a single year.”

"Why not just surrender the entire Huangfu clan to the Ming Dynasty? Why bother guarding this broken ship of Goryeo?"

The Huangfu clan, which owned half of Huangzhou, split into several large and small branches.

Huangfu Minzhong, who was already sixty years old, had killed a prominent member of his family because of a rebellion by military men.

He then took the opportunity to become the clan leader of the Huangfu clan.

Regardless of his prestige or ability, he could not control the various factions.

With none of the various sects willing to provide funds and provisions, Huangfu Minzhong could only sigh helplessly.

After a long argument, Huangfu Minzhong said, "Let's send someone to make contact with the Ming Dynasty."

"If we can preserve half of the Huangfu family's land and wealth, we are willing to pledge our allegiance to the Ming Dynasty."

"Otherwise, we must provide funds and supplies to hold off the Ming army!"

“You should know that after the chaos in Pyongyang, the surviving powerful clans there were unable to reclaim their land.”

"The Ming government distributed land to poor families and commoners, and even the former lowly people were able to get land."

The representatives fell silent, weighing the pros and cons.

They thought the Goryeo army was too weak and definitely couldn't stop the Ming army.

But they were also afraid that the Ming army would come and confiscate their land.

How to choose this?

……

A young man named Huangfu Ying crossed the river and found Li Yi, the prefect of Pyongyang.

Li Yi didn't even bother with pleasantries and directly offered his terms: "If the Huangfu family abandons the darkness and embraces the light, they can obtain commercial privileges and be granted some special licenses."

"You can keep all your wealth."

"However, 80% of your shops and farmland must be confiscated."

Chapter 3968 The Compound Surname Huangpu

“You must renew your employment contracts for the servants you keep in your household.”

“All the tenants and serfs under your control must be released and made free.”

"This... isn't that a bit too harsh?"

After hearing about the terms of service, Huangfu Ying was already tempted to recruit soldiers to resist.

Li Yi said, "With the heavenly army arriving, do you have any other choice?"

"If they persist in their stubbornness, they will lose 20% of their shops and farmland!"

Huangfu Ying said, "This matter is of great importance, and I need to go back and discuss it with the clan elders."

Huangfu Ying quickly returned to Huangzhou and explained the Ming Dynasty's conditions, which angered the various branches of the Huangfu clan, who then launched into a tirade of curses.

Then came the internal disputes. Some people wanted to raise their own troops to defend against the enemy, some wanted to donate food and supplies to the garrison, and some were afraid of death and wanted to accept the Ming Dynasty's conditions.

There was no consensus, and no conclusion could be reached through discussion.

That very night, some people smuggled themselves across the Daedong River to represent their branch of the Huangfu clan and accept the harsh conditions imposed by the Ming Dynasty.

Some people also donated money and provisions to the Goryeo soldiers, and even recruited soldiers on the spot to defend the city.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Ming army's inland river warships on routine patrols of the Datong River suddenly opened fire on the troops guarding the south bank.

Subsequently, countless civilian boats requisitioned carried Ming soldiers across the river to begin their battle.

There are several Goryeo fortresses on the south bank of the Daedong River, all of which are already under defense.

The garrison soldiers no longer had to work to earn money and were finally able to receive rations. They had been stationed in the fortress for more than a month.

As soon as the cannons fired, everyone scrambled to escape!

They were willing to stay inside the fortress simply to make a living; how could they possibly fight desperately to defend it?

The first batch of Ming soldiers who crossed the river had just boarded the ships when the Goryeo garrison on the opposite bank had already fled.

Most of the defenders fled home to their hungry wives and children, waiting for the war to end so they could go out and find work again.

Some generals, along with a small number of elite troops, fled all the way to Huangzhou City.

In fact, the only person who crossed the river here was Zhang Yi, the general of Pyongyang, with only three thousand men under his command.

The other 5,000 Ming soldiers took ships directly to Haizhou.

Three thousand Ming soldiers encountered no resistance and marched to the walls of Huangzhou, a hundred miles away.

They recruited Korean people along the way as laborers, claiming that they would be able to eat their fill every day and receive a peck of rice as a resettlement allowance.

After receiving a peck of rice, the people on the south bank cheered and jumped for joy, considering themselves people of the Ming Dynasty.

They were also sent out to recruit people, spreading the word and bringing in more Goryeo people to work as laborers.

Huangzhou City.

Governor Bai Gongmei, Commander Xin Jia, and Prefect Zheng Shiyou led a group of Goryeo civil and military officials to the city tower.

They were accompanied by other officials and local powerful families.

Outside the city, there were only five hundred Ming cavalrymen, who were sent as the vanguard to persuade the enemy to surrender.

Bai Gongmei asked, "Commander Xin, there are only a few hundred enemy troops outside the city, while we have more than ten thousand soldiers."

"Could we go out of the city to fight and kill the enemy's vanguard?"

Xin Jia smiled wryly and said, "Of our more than 10,000 soldiers, half were recruited temporarily, and many of them only have a stick in their hands."

"The truly elite force numbers only about a thousand men. How can they possibly fight against the Ming Dynasty's cavalry?"

"It seems the only option is to defend the city to the death," Bai Gongmei sighed.