After the conclusion of the first Jiaodong Fuqing Conference, it was time for Deng Ming to leave.

During this time, Zu Zepu intercepted a large number of troops and grain plots allocated by the Qing court to the south, used them to piece together his own army, and declared to the court that he was going to crusade against Jiaodong again. No matter how fierce Zu Zepu shouted, Deng Ming knew that his purpose was just to be able to resist for a few more days when the Ming army attacked Jinan. Moreover, Zu Zepu did not have any confidence in this wish, otherwise he would not have sent people to Dengzhou to mediate the war between the Fuqing army and the Qing army -- the governor of Shandong spared no effort to persuade the Qing army to surrender to the Fuqing army, apparently in order to form a good relationship with the Fuqing army and pave the way for future Zhao'an operations.

In addition to taking this opportunity to get acquainted with the Fuqing Assembly, the Jinan government also allowed a large number of green battalion officers to enter the Fuqing Army. However, whether it is Zu Zepu or the Jin Gentry House, they all know that this recruitment still needs Deng Ming's nod in the end.

On 27 July, Jinan, Laizhou, and Deng Ming held secret talks.

"In the short term, I will not send a large army to set foot on the land of Jiaodong, and I will not launch an attack from Jiaodong." Deng Ming did not define the terms "short-term" and "army", but said that these issues would need to be resolved in subsequent negotiations. However, this guarantee is very important to Zu Zepu, only when Deng Ming makes this guarantee, the hawks in the Jiaodong gentry know that it is impossible to get assistance, so they will give up the attack plan and be content to accept the Qing court's recruitment with everyone.

"But the governor of Shandong should guarantee the autonomy of Jiaodong," Deng Ming continued, the first of which was intended to warn the hawks in Jiaodong, and this one to suppress the ambitions of the Jinan government: "to ensure that the status quo in Jiaodong is maintained with all its might." ”

"I'd love to settle all the specific issues with the governor of Shandong, but I'm afraid this can't be done overnight." In addition, Deng Ming also said that he should not be the subject of negotiations, and he prefers to play the role of a witness: "But I know that there is a person who has a very good reputation, and if he can recruit and support the Qing army, then the agreement will be fully implemented." ”

The plenipotentiary representative sent by Jinan looked at Deng Ming seriously: "Baoguo, please speak." ”

"The Yangtze River suppressed Premier Deng." Deng Ming mentioned Zhou Peigong's name without thinking. Zhou Peigong now holds the official rank of political envoy of the five provinces, and is a well-known expert on the Deng Ming issue. No matter how arrogant Deng Ming's army was, as long as Zhou Peigong arrived, he could quickly make up for the losses and eliminate the impact.

Hearing this, the plenipotentiary envoy of Jinan couldn't help but show a hint of admiration. He suddenly felt that the situation in front of him might be the legendary "sympathy", although the two sides are enemies of life and death, but they have unreserved trust in each other's character, it is said that this kind of thing can only happen between two truly powerful heroes.

"In other words, as long as Lord Zhou comes to handle this matter, will Bao Guogong be completely relieved?"

"Yes," Deng Ming nodded: "If Zhou Buzheng can concurrently serve as the political envoy of Shandong Buzheng and be responsible for the affairs of Jiaodong Zhao'an, then I will ignore and worry about this matter." ”

Even if the Fuqing army showed an obvious desire to be recruited, and Zu Zepu's desire was equally strong, there was still no guarantee that Zhao'an would succeed, because the two sides would be suspicious of each other. After Zhao'an, it is normal for capricious things to happen, coupled with the influence of Deng Ming, this kind of Zhao'an is likely to become a lose-lose, and the result is a bunch of heads and black gauze hats on the ground.

In order to piece together his crusade troops, Zu Zepu prevented many Qing soldiers from going south, and if Jieshu's "great victory" was not recognized, Jieshu would definitely publicize Zu Zepu's small actions behind his back to excuse his defeat. If the Qing court still intends to keep Jieshu, Zu Zepu will have to bear all the responsibility for Huaiyang's defeat - although there is a gap of thousands of miles, who made him a watchdog, and Jieshu is the young master.

Therefore, Zu Zepu not only had to ensure the smooth progress of Zhao'an, but also prayed all day long that the officials of Liangjiang would not fall into the trap, hoping that the imperial court would pretend to be deaf and dumb to Jieshu's defeat in order to save face.

"Although it is impossible for Beijing to listen to the rumors of Prince Kang's defeat, this must also be quelled, otherwise the so-called three people will become tigers, and the court may still be deceived." Unexpectedly, Deng Ming also mentioned this matter in person, and also broke Jinan's biggest concern: "In the past year or so, the governor of Shandong has scolded the governors and governors of Liangjiang, Huguang and Zhejiang, and reprimanded them for failing the grace of the monarch and deserving of death. If these governors also listened to the rumors and came out to accuse the governor of Shandong of intercepting troops, which was the reason for the small setback of the Qing army in Huaiyang, I don't know how the governor plans to deal with himself? ”

How to deal with yourself? This is simply incomprehensible, and it is impossible for Zu Zepu to refute it publicly, let alone say that Prince Kang or the auxiliary minister Ji Bilong is the culprit.

"I heard that the relationship between Zhou Bu's political envoys and the governors of the southeast is very good." Deng Ming smiled and added.

……

In this catastrophe in Shandong, the most tragic were the common people around Asan, who were repeatedly sacked by officers and soldiers and bandits, and a large number of people died at the hands of passing officers and soldiers and the rebels who requisitioned grain. Although Yu Qi thought of his hometown, the allies who rebelled together killed the people who couldn't open their eyes and refused to give food, and it was impossible for him to turn his face with his colleagues on the rivers and lakes for the sake of a few people. The Qing army not only took everything from the people, but also bombarded all the survivors into the mountains of Asan, just to accelerate the consumption of food for the rebels.

Now, the green battalion in the field left with Prince Kang, and as long as the local Qing army did not resist to the end and was not wiped out by the Fuqing army, they turned into the Fuqing army, and the worst one was to return to his hometown to farm with severance pay.

Yu Qi and the heroes joined the Fuqing Council, and if there was no accident, they would accept Zhao'an, and they would not have to worry about their lives in the short term.

And Prince Kang, Zu Zepu, and others, who ordered the slaughter and expulsion of the people, are alive and well, and may have forgotten all their original orders long ago -- the prince and the governor will not always care about the lives of thousands of grass people.

A large number of Asan refugees were brought to Laizhou after losing one of them, and a few of them were left behind as tenants by the local gentry, and a small number of able-bodied and good-looking ones also found their benefactors to sign the deed of sale, but the vast majority of them still struggled in the cold wind, barely surviving on a little alms.

After the Fuqing House approved the establishment of military cantonment in the forbidden sea zone, the refugees received slightly more rations because they needed these laborers to work in the forbidden sea zone. Deng Ming saw with his own eyes that the refugees were overjoyed, and he was glad that he finally had a way out, and kowtowed to the representatives of the House of Representatives who read out the news - if the House of Gentlemen failed to pass this resolution, probably no one would be willing to give alms indefinitely, and Asan Yuqi would not agree to the immediate return of the people out of military considerations. Strong men may survive the winter and become beggars until the threat of war is fully lifted, and they will not be allowed to return home.

There was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of tens of thousands of refugees with their families - these peasants had been forced to come to a completely foreign land, with nothing but ragged clothes. The decision to establish a military cantonment in the forbidden sea zone gave these refugees the opportunity to work to support their wives and children, and not to starve their families to death - just hearing the news made the refugees cheer with joy, and they had to endure cruel exploitation and oppression for the sake of this opportunity.

The Fucheong House has already announced a state-owned policy for land and sea in the no-sea zone, which prevents landowners near the coast from taking advantage of the opportunity to enclose land, so they will not have the ability to recruit tenants. Of course, the state-owned policy is also effective for these refugees, so the refugees do not have the opportunity to obtain their own land, and they will not be easily allowed to return to their hometowns when they join the military camp in the future.

"Your land has become a battlefield, and the rebels feed your horses with your wheat seedlings, and eat your ploughing cattle; Then the Qing army came, and they drove you out of your homes, burned down your houses, and forced you to drag your children and stumble towards Asan......" Deng Ming ordered the guards to gather these refugees and give them a speech: "When there is nothing to eat, your sons and daughters are eaten first, and finally Asan is lifted from the siege, and you are taken to this completely strange place again. In the future, if the Qing army comes, they will slaughter you; It may be better under the rule of the Fuqing and Ming armies, but you still don't have a chance to get your own land; Although it is not too far from your hometown, you will probably not be able to go back for the rest of your life, because Juntun needs a lot of labor......"

Listening to Deng Ming's speech, the silent crowd lowered their heads one after another, and their faces, which had become numb because they had suffered too much, showed sadness and sorrow again.

"Do you know why you have this fate?"

With Deng Ming's question, a small number of refugees raised their heads, and their eyes suddenly showed a raging anger.

"Because you don't resist." Deng Ming sighed. When he saw these refugees, he finally suppressed the urge to become a revolutionary.

"The proletariat of the whole world unites!" Deng Ming silently recited in his heart. He sometimes wanted to yell when he looked at the refugees, but Deng Ming always remembered that he was an imperialist.

"Because you can't resist." Deng Ming said in an accentuated tone. After finishing speaking, he pulled a western Sichuan businessman to his side and faced these refugees side by side: "If you don't want to be driven out of your hut again, if you don't want to work hard all year round and your children will starve to death in the end, well, this is the owner of Lou Hangyi Building from Sichuan, the owner of the arms store, he will often come to the Jiaodong coast to do business." You can buy bows and arrows, military crossbows, steel knives, and spears from him. ”

……

"I'm afraid these people earn less than ordinary tenants, right?" After the speech, Lou Hangyi asked Deng Ming, "How can they be willing to spend money on expensive weapons?" ”

"Yes, I'm afraid that their income is far less than that of ordinary tenants, and they will only be exploited more miserably in the military camp in the forbidden sea area, and there will be no patriarchs and gentry to intercede for them, or in other words, they don't know who to go to even if they want to intercede. So I think they might be willing to spend money on your weapons, and you can even sell them the latest firecrackers in western Sichuan on credit; I hope, and hope, that they will buy weapons from you, and then those hard-working refugees will gradually become rich and buy more weapons from you. Perhaps they will become the arms customers of western Sichuan, more enthusiastic than the gentry of Jiaodong. ”