Dominate the Country

[Please collect, please…]

As the leader of the Shouyuan Sect in Yuzhou, Zheng Zhilun’s ‘realm’ has long transcended the class of charlatans and moved towards a wealthy gentry. Among the secret churches of the Qing Dynasty, there were of course those with the purpose of anti-Qing, such as the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan and Chu, which Chen Ming was familiar with; but there were also many with the purpose of ‘enjoying life’, such as the Zheng family in front of Chen Yi.

The Zheng family preached for the purpose of making money, which was very common in the secret sects of the Qing Dynasty. Even some of the ‘leader’ families had been exposed for many years. The Qing government knew it clearly and would not arrest them, but let them live comfortably.

This is just like the Yuzhou government, like the relationship between the Lu’s Camp and the Chen’s Army, black and white are not really clear-cut.

The position of the leader of the Shouyuan Sect in Yuzhou was passed down from generation to generation in the Zheng family. Zheng Zhilun had lived a decent life as a gentry since his ancestors. They won't fight and kill. You should know that Yuzhou, a direct-controlled prefecture, is evaluated as "chaotic and busy" by the Qing government.

-- It is located at a strategic point, and the place is a thoroughfare; the government affairs are complicated and busy. This is the so-called "chaotic and busy".

Yuzhou is not like Ruzhou. Ruzhou is "chaotic and difficult" in the Qing court's classification. It has five subordinate counties, and the three counties of Jiaxian, Baofeng, and Lushan are all "difficult" - that is, the people are tough and there are many murders and robberies!

Therefore, the Chen family army was able to recruit the most basic assets from Ruzhou, while the Zheng family, which has been operating in Yuzhou, a wealthy place for a hundred years, is so insignificant in terms of military strength.

Outsiders have no idea how much the Zheng family has. Although Chen Yi found the door, he didn't know what Zheng Zhilun's identity was. According to rumors in the dark, the main income of the Zheng family comes from two major sources: one is the income from missionary work; the other is the gray business that it does not see the light of day. The Zheng family is a well-known big boss in the surrounding road, and their reputation is not bad. This thing makes money faster than the silver bank.

Of course, the Chen family will not find the Zheng family to "sell the stolen goods". The strength of the dark camp outside must not be underestimated, but in terms of the myriad of connections, the newly established dark camp is ten streets behind the Zheng family. The Zheng family can buy a large amount of sulfur from outside without any expression, and then transport the sulfur to Yuzhou safely. In this regard, ten dark camps are not as good as the Zheng family that has been operating for a hundred years.

"This transaction is of great importance to our army. The Chen family will remember the kindness of Master Zheng." Chen Yi saw that Zheng Zhilun's people had made a good estimate, and he clasped his fists and said to Zheng Zhilun, who was smiling. The Zheng family received the money, and the last procedure before the goods were shipped was completed.

Zheng Zhilun entertained Chen Yi very warmly. The four small boxes of jewelry were only half of the deposit. The amount paid by the Chen family for this transaction was worth ten thousand taels of silver. How much did the Zheng family spend to buy the more than 10,000 kilograms of sulfur? The price of sulfur itself is less than 1,000 taels. This is the price after the price of sulfur skyrocketed after the Chen family army started the uprising. All the way to Yuzhou, the Zheng family used a lot of connections, and it was all money that was spent on passing the checkpoints by taking the dark road, not any friendship or face. But after counting all the arrangements made by the Zheng family, plus the value of the sulfur itself, the total value of the Chen family's batch of goods did not exceed 3,000 taels of silver. The profit from this transaction alone is enough to cover the Zheng family's income for half a year.

How could Zheng Zhilun not take a fancy to Chen Yi in front of him?

He knew how strict the Qing government was in controlling sulfur and saltpeter on the ground in Henan at the moment. The Chen family army was said to have sharp guns and armor. Zheng Zhilun had never fought a war, but he could imagine the importance of gunpowder. Sulfur was a military necessity for the Chen family army, and it was not a one-time deal.

Zheng Zhilun didn't expect to take over all the sulfur business of the Chen family, but as long as he could do three or five deals a year, the Zheng family would make a lot of money.

"It turned out to be the Lu's Camp!!!" Zheng Zhilun, who was still drunk, drank a bowl of sobering soup and became shaky. He said to the two people around him: "I said that the Lu's Camp was so lucky. They were the first to bear the brunt of the attack in Yingqiao Town. It was a blessing that they were not completely wiped out. They were able to escape with so many people. It turned out that the Chen family wanted to give them a way out..."

"Boss [one of the titles of the White Lotus Sect leader], with the protection of the Lu's Camp, our batch of goods will be safe."

"No matter how tough Ma Jinhong is, his group can't beat the soldiers of the Lu's Camp..."

Ma Jinhong, the imam of the Yuzhou Tianfang Sect, these Huihui who believe in the true God are the biggest and most stubborn enemies of the Shouyuan Sect Zheng family in the past hundred years. The Qing government was also happy to see the Muslims and Shouyuans fighting each other, because they didn't like either of them.

"It's fine that the Yuzhou government has connections with the Chen family, but the Lu's Camp is also a pawn of the Chen family." Zheng Zhilun was impressed by the Chen family's generosity. Now the Fu Han General's Mansion is really powerful in the Central Plains and famous in all directions. "It seems that we have to contact and deal with the Lu's Camp more in the future..." While the Chen family can still jump around, doing more business is the greatest benefit.

Obviously, Zheng Zhilun is not optimistic about the future of the Chen family army. Even though the Chen family army has now collapsed the Shaanxi Green Camp and the Henan Green Camp, the Qing Dynasty is in its prime, and psychologically it feels too strong.

...

"Crack..."

In the middle of the night, a loud thunder woke up Chen Yi from his sleep. He sat up suddenly from the bed and looked around the room. Oh, yes, he remembered that he was drunk and was sent to the bed by his men. Then he heard the sound of rain outside.

It was raining. It was thunder just now.

Chen Yi put on his clothes and got out of bed. As soon as he woke up, he felt his bladder swelling. After peeing comfortably, Chen Yi walked to the window and pushed it open. A cool dampness hit him.

The rain outside was very dense. It was raining hard. "I wonder if it will affect tomorrow's shipment?" This was the first question Chen Yi thought of. Then he thought of the battle in Yancheng. How was Chen Ming fighting against the 13,000 Qing soldiers from Runing?

Unconsciously, the Chen family was no longer worried about Chen Ming leading the troops to fight.

The battle of Linru Town was like a turning point, which completely stimulated the reputation that Chen Ming had accumulated from victory after victory. Many people in the Chen family regarded him as a young marshal who had won every battle. For example, Chen Yi was no longer worried that Chen Ming would lose the battle and ruin the entire Chen family, but was just thinking about how the battle went.

Although it was still "waiting" and "uncertainty", Chen Yi had the confidence that Chen Ming would never lose. This confidence may not be noticed by Chen Yi himself, but only reflected in his "abnormal" calmness.

In the entire Chen family army, in Lushan and Baofeng, Chen Ming himself has unknowingly become the synonym of victory. Now more than once, someone has compared Chen Ming to Li Laoer, the Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. There are indeed many similarities between the two.

The same father is the head, the same family capital started, and the same self-led troops to fight;

Of course, there are many big differences between Chen Ming and Li Shimin. His cheap elder brother Chen Gang is not a threat to him at all, and his cheap father Chen Hui likes him a hundred times. Chen Ming's position as the heir is as stable as Mount Tai.

Countless people compare Chen Ming and the Chen family with the Li Tang of the past. This is not a curse that Chen Ming will turn against Chen Hui and kill his brother and nephew in the future, but an expectation that the Chen family can create a foundation like the Li family did in the past, and that Chen Ming can also be like the Qin King Li Shimin in history books and legends, winning every battle and conquering the country.