The miserable scene that has not appeared for a long time began to appear in Jiaxing, Huzhou and Hangzhou Prefecture.

Liu Zeqing's army did not rush to Ningbo and Jiangning Camp to confront each other, but began to collect food and grass on a large scale in Jiaxing and other places. This task was issued with a rigid goal, and the goal was very clear, which was aimed at merchants and wealthy households, including some gentry. Liu Zeqing was not stupid. His reasons were very sufficient. The court wanted to eliminate the rebels and the army wanted to fight, but it was not possible without food and grass. If anyone could not complete the assigned task, it was the same as the rebels and they had to be arrested.

Liu Zeqing's move was very poisonous, leaving the exploited people with nothing to say, and there was no place to reach the abyss. Moreover, all the responsibilities in it were pushed to Su Tiancheng. The literati and businessmen wanted to complain because Su Tiancheng rebelled.

Liu Zeqing wanted money, but the officers and soldiers below wanted more than just money, and even people would not let them go. Even though he knew that such orders would continue, the officers and soldiers below would definitely go indiscriminately, but Liu Zeqing could not take care of so much. In his opinion, the best way to win over the army was to give the sergeants the greatest benefits.

Fan Jingwen went to Nanzhili and entered Hangzhou Prefecture directly. Although he came with an imperial edict, he was very low-key along the way, not to mention Wu Weiye and Yan Zizhang. There is still a large-scale liquidation in the capital. This time, it is unlikely to complete the task with Fan Wencheng. I don’t know what fate it will be when I go back.

Zhejiang Governor Li Jues specially hosted a banquet to entertain Fan Wencheng and Yan Zizhang and his party.

Fan Jingwen had no intention of having a meal. From Li Jues' report, he learned that Su Tiancheng was indeed in Zhejiang and led the soldiers of Jiangning Camp to attack, and the Jiangning Camp had already begun to take action. He occupied Ningbo Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture and Taizhou Prefecture, and it was bloodless. The air of Hangzhou Prefecture was filled with a tense atmosphere.

When Fan Jingwen learned about these situations, he was very angry and asked Liu Zeqing, who was stationed in Jiaxing. Why didn't he take action? Li Jues hesitated and did not say it out. Fan Wencheng was silent. How could he not know the reason for this?

As for Yan Zizhang, he is more clear about the reason here, but he is the identity of a criminal, so he will not speak out.

Wu Weiye originally wanted to speak, but his situation was not much better than Yan Zizhang. Seeing that Fan Jingwen and Yan Zizhang had not spoken, they naturally would not ask, or make any suggestions.

Li Juesben suggested that Fan Jingwen stay in Hangzhou Prefecture for a few days and have a little rest, but Fan Jingwen couldn't sit still. He didn't plan to stay in Hangzhou Prefecture. He was going to Shaoxing Prefecture directly, but there was something strange about Fan Jingwen. That is, the people in Hangzhou Prefecture seemed not so panic. They were just the officials in the government, who felt nervous, and the market was not affected too much. This situation was too strange.

It is said that Su Tiancheng led the Jiangning Camp to conquer Zhejiang. Zhejiang should be in chaos. Who doesn’t know that when the war is in chaos, the people are always at a loss. But seeing the situation in Hangzhou Prefecture, it seems that the war is very far away from here. Unfortunately, the actual situation is not the case. Shaoxing Prefecture, which is close to Hangzhou Prefecture, has been occupied by Su Tiancheng.

When Fan Jingwen and his party left Hangzhou Prefecture City, Li Jues was about to send escorts, but Fan Jingwen refused decisively. He was already determined to die. If Su Tiancheng was really preparing to start a massacre, he was willing to become the first person, and the identity of a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet would not be simple.

In fact, Fan Jingwen didn't know at all. The reason why Li Jues sent out soldiers was that he was worried that if the army led by Liu Zeqing accidentally met Fan Jingwen, something would definitely happen. As for the Jiangning Camp led by Su Tiancheng, Li Jues didn't have to worry too much. The military discipline of the Jiangning Camp is very strict. Although it occupied Ningbo, Shaoxing and Taizhou, these places were very calm, and even more peaceful than before. Merchants even continued to go to Hangzhou Prefecture to do business. Some merchants even began to move to Shaoxing and other places to do business.

The merchants have a very keen sense of smell, otherwise it would be impossible to earn money. Judging from these situations, Li Jues also had some strange thoughts in his heart. He even thought about following Fan Jingwen to Shaoxing and other places to see what the situation was. He also contacted Su Tiancheng and learned about this famous figure in the Ming Dynasty.

However, there are too many things in the governor's yamen. You should pay attention every day to see if there is an imperial edict from the emperor or an imperial edict from the court, and urge Liu Zeqing to send troops quickly. Fan Jingwen came to Zhejiang, but in fact he was the censor with authority. If he was not satisfied with the situation in Zhejiang and wrote his own book, it would be troublesome.

Of course, Li Jues knew a little about what Liu Zeqing's army did. It was impossible to say that such a situation in the past. The general of the Ming Dynasty was not very high. Although Liu Zeqing was the general and the right governor of the Governor's Office of the Five Army, he still had to be shorter in front of the governor who came from the imperial examination. Unfortunately, the situation is different now. With the emperor's imperial edict, he was entitled to the title of Minister of War. Everything he did was approved by the emperor, so Li Jues was not easy to interfere.

Many officials have already come to complain, telling the brutality of Liu Zeqing's army, telling the people that there is no way out. Li Jues knows the situation here, but he has no choice. At this time, he complains to the court, or even directly reports to the emperor, which may not be of much use. What the emperor and the court think of is that Liu Zeqing needs to send troops quickly and start fighting with the Jiangning Camp, and be able to defeat the Jiangning Camp. The rest of the matter is not a big deal.

Fan Jingwen was still paying attention to observation along the way. This observation didn't matter, and it was even more confusing to him. There were many people on the official road, who brought their families to Shaoxing Prefecture, and there were still a large number of people. Wasn't Shaoxing Prefecture occupied by Su Tiancheng? It should be very chaotic. Moreover, the people were born as vulnerable groups, and they were afraid of war and were too late to hide. Why did they go to Shaoxing Prefecture in groups?

Fan Jingwen asked several groups of people, but their attitudes were all vigilant. No one told the truth. Most of them shook their heads and left and continued on their way. They also realized that Fan Jingwen was an official and did not dare to say anything casually.

Two days later, when he was about to enter the jurisdiction of Shaoxing Prefecture, Fan Jingwen finally seized the opportunity. This time, the problem of Fan Jingwen was a weak old man over 60 years old. The old man rushed to Shaoxing Prefecture by carriage. It seemed that the family conditions should be very good, at least a merchant family.

The old man may have seen many worlds, and his eyes are full of wisdom.

The old man told Fan Jingwen very directly that most of these fleeing people were merchants, small businesses, and some people. Their destination was Shaoxing Prefecture, Taizhou Prefecture, or Ningbo Prefecture. Everyone's purpose was to go to the place led by Su Tiancheng and were unwilling to stay in the place controlled by the court. Many merchants knew that Su Tiancheng had rebelled and had become His Royal Highness King De, but many merchants were willing to go there, even if the court wanted to punish him.

When Fan Jingwen heard the old man say this, he was very surprised and really didn't understand the meaning.

The old man might have guessed that Fan Jingwen’s identity was unusual, so he simply made his words clear.

Last year, many places in Zhejiang encountered locust plagues. In addition, due to the drought, the fields were harvested without grains. Even the leaves of some trees were eaten by locusts. The people had no way to survive, and many merchants were unable to maintain it. After that, countless victims fled. Not only did the government not help the victims, but they also forced the people to pay taxes. The people would definitely not survive. There was only a dead end to stay in the local area. Unfortunately, the governments in various places, including Nanzhili, did not allow the victims to enter, nor did they provide relief. Later, the victims arrived in Shandong and received relief. The arrangements were very good. After the news spread, a large number of victims began to flock to Shandong.

The same is true for merchants. After it was difficult to maintain, many merchants began to look for colleagues who were doing business in Dengzhou, Shandong and other places, and actually received help. So the line between Dengzhou, Shandong and Zhejiang was implicated by merchants. Many merchants simply rushed to Shandong to do business. They were worried that after they arrived in Shandong, they would be exploited by the government. Unexpectedly, the government was very enthusiastic and took the initiative to provide convenience, which moved many merchants.

It is because of these things that Su Tiancheng's prestige in Zhejiang has increased unprecedentedly.

This time, Su Tiancheng led the Jiangning Camp into Zhejiang. Many merchants didn't care. They knew the situation in Shandong and knew that the Jiangning Camp was completely unreasonable and would not harass the people and merchants at all. So they did business as usual. Unfortunately, the court's actions made these merchants unable to bear it. It is said that the emperor asked General Liu Zeqing, who was stationed in Jiaxing, to conquer Jiangning Camp. However, General Liu did not see the troops sent to Shaoxing and other places, but sent troops to Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou and other places, and began to collect the so-called food and wages, and directly issued an order.

It was borne by merchants and some wealthy gentry families. Who could bear the silver for every 10,000 taels of silver? Moreover, these so-called imperial army not only demanded silver, but even the few beautiful women robbed them. At this moment, many merchants could not bear it. The only thing they could do was to escape to Shaoxing Prefecture and to Su Tiancheng. Moreover, many merchants knew that although the Jiangning Camp led by Su Tiancheng occupied Ningbo, Shaoxing and Taizhou, the merchants in these places still did business without any harassement.
Chapter completed!