Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 357 The scapegoat

After Liu Ye's impassioned speech, the tone was set, and no one questioned it anymore.

Yan Guang asked, "Is your main purpose in going to Shandong to gain military merit or to attract more people? If you want to settle down in Shandong, where would be a suitable place?"

"The two-year mutiny created a large number of homeless refugees. Qiongzhou Prefecture is sparsely populated, so immigration is the primary goal. Of course, we can't let go of any military achievements. I also want to find an opportunity to promote my rank of adjutant general! As for where to settle down, it's hard to say right now, but I already have a target in mind: Dengzhou."

Sun Yuanhua asked in surprise, "Dengzhou?"

“That’s right. With the connections of Mu Tianyan, the Governor of Guangdong, we can establish a relationship with Xie Sanbin, the Censor-in-Chief of Shandong. I’m planning to push him to the position of Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, so that we can freely enter and leave Dengzhou…”

Sun Yuanhua pondered and said, "But Dengzhou and Laizhou are military towns, and the governors of Dengzhou and Laizhou cannot have absolute power. Even if our people can freely enter and leave Dengzhou City, they cannot openly station troops there. So how can we talk about taking root in Shandong?"

Liu Ye replied, "Well, I have a plan regarding Dongjiang Town. It's said that Dongjiang Town is mainly composed of Mao Wenlong's descendants and former subordinates, all from Liaodong, and they are of the same lineage as the rebels in Dengzhou. Now, the rebellion in Dengzhou has lasted for nearly two years, and Dongjiang Town is also in chaos. The general Huang Long, sent by the imperial court, has been killed by the mutinous soldiers on the island. The deputy generals stationed on the various islands of Dongjiang have their own agendas, and some have spread rumors that they plan to cross the sea from Dengzhou into Shandong to join forces with the rebels..."

Sun Yuanhua asked, "But what does this have to do with us? Moreover, Dongjiang Town has a cold climate and barren land. It can grow ginseng, but not grain. Its food and salary depend entirely on Dengzhou and Laizhou. So where does it get the confidence to attack Dengzhou and cut off its own retreat?" He had once served as the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, so he naturally had the right to speak on this matter.

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Whether the generals of Dongjiang Town will unite or send troops to Dengzhou is not important. What is important is that this possibility exists, and for the imperial court, it is a threat that cannot be ignored—they are just taking the blame for us. Mr. Sun, let me ask you, in the Shandong area, is there a decent navy to defend against an attack from Dongjiang Town?"

Sun Yuanhua shook his head: "Apart from the naval force stationed in Dengzhou, there is no decent navy in the entire Shandong or even Beizhili. It's a pity that the main city of Dengzhou fell, and this navy also fell into the hands of the rebels. The navy of Dongjiang Town is quite powerful..." At this point, he suddenly realized, "General, do you want to use the threat of the Dongjiang Town navy to gain the opportunity to station troops in Dengzhou?"

"That's right. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Even if the rebels in Dengzhou are quelled, the Dengzhou navy will certainly not be able to hold on. At that time, the new governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou can submit a memorial stating that if Dongjiang Town rebels and sends troops to attack, Dengzhou will have no navy to resist. He can request the establishment of a new navy or the transfer of naval forces from other places to be stationed there permanently. I am willing to help allocate a navy to garrison Dengzhou for the court. The food and pay can be deferred for now. Do you think the court will agree?"

Yan Guang praised, "This plan is brilliant. However, as the general just said, the reason for going to Shandong to participate in the suppression of the rebellion is also the threat from Dongjiang Town. If the garrison uses the same excuse again, won't it arouse suspicion?"

Liu Ye scoffed: "With such a good scapegoat, why not use him? Who dares to question him? Let him quell the rebellion! Let him stop the Dongjiang naval force!"

Yan Guang had a bold idea: "General, I have another plan. Let's go all out and surround Dengzhou, leaving one side open, so that the remnants of the rebel army can go out to sea and return to Dongjiang Town in the north. Let Dongjiang become even more chaotic and completely break away from the control of the court. This way, we can highlight the importance of the naval force stationed in Dengzhou, and no one will dare to say anything. This is called nurturing a bandit to enhance one's own importance."

Liu Ye blurted out, "No way." Historically, the rebels did indeed set sail from Dengzhou Shuicheng, but they didn't flee back to Dongjiang Town. Instead, they surrendered to the Tartars, bringing Huang Taiji advanced cannons and cannon-making craftsmen. This fundamentally altered the balance of power between the Ming and Qing armies, greatly enhancing the Qing army's siege capabilities. Knowing this was one thing, but now that he did, he couldn't give Huang Taiji this opportunity to pull off such a feat. Not only could the rebels not be allowed to sail, but a way had to be found to sink their ships along with the cannons to eliminate any future threat.

Yan Guangqi said, "Why not? The more chaotic Dongjiang Town is, the more advantageous it is for us!"

Liu Ye couldn't reveal the real reason, only vaguely saying, "Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, and other rebel leaders fled from Dongjiang Town. They've always been at odds with the island's generals, so they might not necessarily return to Dongjiang; they might even surrender to the Tartars..."

Seeing his insistence, Yan Guang gave up the suggestion.

Liu Ye changed the subject: "In order to create an opportunity for the Qiongzhou Camp to send troops, Governor Mu will submit a memorial to the court recommending that I be transferred to lead the navy to quell the rebellion. Miss Lin will also write to her father, Inspector Lin, asking him to recommend me to Zhu Dadian, the Shandong Governor in charge of the army that is in charge of suppressing the rebellion. The correspondence will take some time, so we can take this opportunity to make preparations..."

Liang Xiaoming asked, "Isn't it just about taking ships and soldiers to fight? What else do you need to prepare?"

"We need to prepare to accept refugees! I can't just bring over a few thousand people and call it a day. I need tens of thousands. If we don't prepare in advance, where will they live? How will we manage them? And if we send them to reclaim wasteland, where will we choose to settle them?"

Liang Xiaoming exclaimed in astonishment, "My God, tens of thousands of people? How many people are there in the entire Lingao County? Isn't this like several Lingao Counties being relocated here at once?"

"And most of them were young and strong," Liu Ye added. "In the chaos of war, those who were physically weak would not have survived long ago. Most of those who survived were young and strong men."

Yan Guang said solemnly, "In that case, we must prepare enough ships for transport and ensure that the provisions are in place. Otherwise, the refugees will starve to death on the way or suffocate from being too crowded on the ships. In the end, all our efforts will be in vain."

Sun Yuanhua added, "We also need to be fully prepared to accept refugees. So many people can't live in the center of the county town to avoid conflicts with the local people. They need to be settled in more remote places..."

Liu Ye immediately made a decision: "That's right, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. Then Mr. Yan will be in charge of organizing the transport fleet. If Lingao doesn't have enough, we'll requisition civilian ships from Guangdong. I'll have Governor Mu issue you the order. Mr. Sun will be in charge of arranging the resettlement of the refugees. We'll build a resettlement area south of Lingao to avoid them from living together with the local residents. If there's no time to build multi-story buildings, we'll build one-story bungalows."

Shi Ying, who had been silent until now, said, "General, should we conduct a selection process after landing in Bofu, choosing strong and capable young men to join the army in preparation for our future expansion?"