Chapter 67

The blue sea is rippling with blue waves. A small fleet of more than a dozen medium-sized fishing boats has been sailing all the way to the south.

In November, it was already very cold. Li Yuanqing, wearing a grey cotton padded jacket and a rabbit skin hat, looked out at the southern sea and let the cold wind blow over his face.

Around him, Chen Zhong is almost the same attire, but his look is colder than Li Yuanqing, I don't know what he is thinking about.

At this time, Guan Canghai cautiously came to Li Yuanqing and said in a low voice, "your honor, in another two hours, we will be able to see the land of Dengzhou in the evening."

Li Yuanqing nodded and said to Chen Zhong with a smile: "big brother, the bow is windy. Let's go to the cabin to warm up for a while."

Chen Zhong sighed and said in a low voice: "Yuanqing, I, my heart, always have some uneasiness. We, after all, are still the officers and soldiers of Daming. "

Li Yuanqing patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder and tried to soften his voice: "brother, we are officers and soldiers, but don't forget that we are motherless children now. The general's situation is not clear. He doesn't care about us. I don't want to think about it. We have to rely on ourselves to survive. Besides, you know better than me what the gentry in Daming look like. We're just looking for money, and we won't really hurt their lives. "

Chen Zhongzhong Zhong nodded emphatically, "Yuanqing, I understand what you said, but Ah. Sometimes, I often think that if I had been killed in Zhenjiang at that time, I'm afraid there would not be so much trouble. "

Li Yuanqing shook his head. "Big brother, if you die in Zhenjiang, you will lose the chance to revenge with the old slave forever."

Hearing Li Yuanqing mention the old slave, Chen Zhong's eyes suddenly sharpened, "Yuanqing, I'm not as good as you. However, you don't have to worry too much. I'm not a fool. Now, we are not only ourselves, but also our brothers. We must take them to live well. If you live, you will have a chance. "

In the evening, the fleet had seen the outline of the land, and the sky was covered with gray. After a while, it began to drift with small pieces of snow.

Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong briefly discussed that the fleet did not immediately dock, but stopped at a nearby uninhabited island for temporary rest.

Before leaving, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong, including the main officers of the two departments, all took part in the military discussion of the trip. They had a careful discussion on the destination of the trip.

At this time, different from the later generations, the economy of Shandong Peninsula was very developed. In this era, the coastal area of Shandong was actually a cold and bitter zone. The truly rich people had to go to Qingzhou plain, Jinan, the provincial capital, and Jining area to the south of the canal.

With the strength of Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong, these places are definitely not dare to go.

Although the Ming Dynasty was weak, it was a dragon after all. Although the emperor was young, he still firmly controlled the whole Ming Empire.

This trip by Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong is actually a crime of conspiracy to rebel.

But in order to survive, all this can only be avoided.

At this time, only 100 soldiers were under Li Yuanqing's command, while only 80 soldiers were under Chen Zhong's command, but there were more than a dozen ships, just to bring more supplies back.

At this time, along the coast of Shandong Peninsula, the two richest places were Denglai.

Due to their proximity to the sea, these two states have a large number of saltworks, which are the main pillar industries here.

If you want to make a fortune, the best way is to go deep into the hinterland. Even if you can't enter the cities of Dengzhou and Laizhou, but you can't go to the towns where private salt is flourishing, the effect will not be bad.

Daming has been stable for hundreds of years. Even when the Japanese pirates were rampant, they were mostly in the South and Denglai area, which was rarely affected.

In these two states, most of the main military forces are garrisons and garrisons, and there are very few real fighters.

At that time, the state of Ming Dynasty was that of Liao Dynasty, which was in the front line of war. The system of Wei Suo and bingtun was already dilapidated, not to mention the hinterland of Denglai.

More than a decade later, Kong Youde, a descendant of Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing and a member of the Dongjiang army, had been fighting in Denglai for several years. However, the imperial court could not win it. Instead, Kong Youde was able to successfully join the later Jin Dynasty.

At this time, although the situation was not as erosive as Chongzhen year, it was roughly the same.

If Chen Zhong and Li Yuanqing really want to come, they may not have no chance.

However, after all, they were still officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and Mao Wenlong was the real God behind them. Naturally, they would not stop the matter until they had to.

As long as we can sustain the brothers for a while, this is enough.

While the fleet was resting for a while, a dozen small boats were drifting around in the night.

In the cabin, the stove was lit, and the thick cloth curtain covered the sea breeze outside. Li Yuanqing leaned by the fire, looking tired.

Chen Zhong is carrying a small wine pot, constantly pouring wine, do not know what is thinking.

There's enough room for a dozen officers to gather in the bow for two men.

At this time, Chen Zhong poured another mouthful of wine, and suddenly said to Li Yuanqing, "Yuanqing, do you think the general can escape the attack of the later Jin Dynasty?"Li Yuanqing was stunned. He didn't expect that Chen Zhong's thinking would jump like this. After thinking for a moment, he said: "the Korean government should not let the post Jin army come here in a hurry. Of course, it may not help much. But if it can be delayed for a while, it is a moment. The general is a man of great talent and great vision. He must have a way to turn calamity into good fortune. What we need to do is to survive before we can reach the general. "

If Li Yuanqing remembers correctly, Longchuan was defeated by the later Jin army more than a month after the destruction of Zhenjiang city.

Later, Mao Wenlong continued his wandering career, and after a period of time, he finally established his foothold in PiDao.

According to the time in history, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong want to contact Mao Wenlong, at least after the new year.

Therefore, Li Yuanqing is not in a hurry to contact Mao Wenlong. At this time, the most important thing is to stabilize and even strengthen his own strength.

At that time, even in the face of Mao Wenlong, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong will be able to have confidence.

After the battle of Zhenjiang, there were not many old brothers and brothers who attacked Zhenjiang on that day.

Chen Zhong nodded silently, "I hope heaven will protect the general."

……

At dawn the next day, boats that had gone to explore the way returned one after another, and they also brought back the latest news.

At this time, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhongbu were located in the East Sea area of Dengzhou City, about 100 miles away from Dengzhou city.

There are dozens of saltworks, large and small, in this section of the sea near Dengzhou city to the West. There are several large saltworks, which are quite close to Li Yuanqing's goal.

The hundred Li sea area to the East is already a cold and bitter place with a small population density. There are also several salt farms, but most of them are small family workshops, which are not suitable for the climate.

Now, the goal is clear.

After careful deliberation, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong chose a large salt field 30 miles away from the east of Dengzhou city. This salt field is more than ten miles in size. Ordinary gentry and landlords may not be able to support such a big shelf. They must be rich or expensive.

However, it is too close to Dengzhou city. If you start rashly, there will be some mistakes.

After discussing with Chen Zhong, Li Yuanqing decided to send people to the salt field to investigate in the daytime and to inquire about the detailed information. In the evening, he would start again.

Soon, a few small boats led by their confidants headed for the saltern, while the large army crouched in the boat and waited patiently.

The sky gradually dark down, the day stopped the light snow and drift up, gradually have a big appearance.

The scouting boats have returned, and they have some more accurate data on the saltern.

Liu Dong, the owner of this salt farm, is a famous big family in Dengzhou. The son of Liu Dongzhu, who is very young, won the whole family and was worshipped by the great Confucianist and the leader of Donglin Party, Zuo Guangdou. This is the pride of Dengzhou people.

Father and son are in perfect harmony. In Dengzhou, the old Liu family is just like a local emperor. They are prefects and Tongzhi. Now when we meet Liu Dongzhu, we have to call him "old man".

As for the saltworks, perhaps their family is too big and their reputation is too high. On the contrary, the Liu family and his son do not attach much importance to the defense work of the salt fields. According to the intelligence reaction, there are no more than 30 guards in the salt fields, but there are hundreds of salt workers. This is a good opportunity given by heaven.

If Li Yuanqing, an ordinary gentry and rich family, had taken the salt field, he might have felt a little guilty, but he was actually a student of Donglin and the future pillar of Donglin. Who the hell would he do?

After a brief discussion, the team set out quickly and went straight to Liu's salt field.

Before midnight, the fleet has approached the saltern area. At this time, the snow in the sky is getting bigger and bigger, which has the potential to cover the earth.

Fortunately, it is not yet in the freeze-up period, and it does not have much impact on the fleet's actions.

The soldiers under the command of Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong are also middle-aged, and naturally they will not be afraid of the cold.

At this time, from a distance, the whole salt field is in a half moon shaped Bay. The surrounding terrain is flat and the bay is wide. It is really a treasure land.

In several parts of the Bay, there are high watchtowers with lights on inside. However, according to their layout, these watchtowers are not for monitoring the enemy's situation, but for monitoring the coolies inside.

Faced with this kind of defense, Chen Zhong was still a little unable to accept, "they, how can they be so careless?"

Li Yuanqing couldn't help laughing, "elder brother, this is Dengzhou, not in our Liaodi."

Chen Zhong responded with a long sigh, "Yuanqing, let's go. I'll take the lead myself

Of course, Li Yuanqing understood Chen Zhong's meaning. These days, his followers ate, drank and laza all belonged to Li Yuanqing. Naturally, Chen Zhong was not a freeloader, so he wanted to make more efforts in this war.

After they had known each other for so long, Li Yuanqing naturally felt relieved about Chen Zhong's strength, nodded, but whispered: "elder brother, they are all sons of the Han family. If they are not heinous people, they can leave their lives. Also, the brothers try not to speak, to avoid being heard of the accentChen Zhong nodded, "Yuan Qing, don't worry."

With that, he waved his hand and called the ship to the salt field.

Li Yuanqing also recruited Guan Canghai and Wang Hai, with his troops, quickly followed the past.

Chen Zhong's movements were very clumsy, and soon arrived on the coast. Before leaving, both men and horses had changed their costumes. They were not the battle clothes of the Ming army, but the ordinary cotton padded jacket and cotton trousers worn by the common people. In order to distinguish them, they all wore a white towel on their left arm.

It's snowing and windy tonight. It's hard for the guard on watch tower.

In this kind of weather, salt fields can't produce at night, and the vigilance has dropped by another point.

After a while, the lights of the two watchtowers nearby had some changes. Chen Zhong's people had already got it.

Naturally, Li Yuanqing would not waste his time. With a wave of his hand, he directly indicated that his troops would go to the main building complex of the salt field.

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