Chapter 228: The Manchus and the Han attack from the north and south (Part 2)
Liangshan County is located in southwest Shandong, at the junction of Tai'an, Jining, Heze in Shandong Province and Puyang in Henan Province.
The most famous history of this place is Liangshan Marsh, which has been known to the world since the publication of "Water Margin". When Yang Youfang, the leader of Baji Sect, brought his people here, he felt a little uneasy.
Shandong is not short of heroes, and it is an exaggeration to say that everyone practices martial arts. However, it is a reality that everyone can get to know some martial artists through the contact of two people.
The local Bajiquan leader Hu Chengdong warmly received Yang Youfang. The two chatted for a while, and Hu Chengdong asked about Huo Chong's assassination of Yongzheng in Beijing. Yang Youfang immediately became proud, and his nephew Yang Wangfu participated in the battle. As Huo Chong's second apprentice, he made great contributions to his teacher Huo Chong.
"You really killed the emperor ?" Hu Chengdong still couldn't believe it.
"If he wasn't killed, why would the Qing Dynasty change the emperor? Haha." Yang Youfang laughed.
Hearing that his fellow disciple had done such a great thing, Hu Chengdong applauded again and again. Then he said, "My nephew has such a great master, you have to treat us to a drink."
"The wine has been brought." Yang Youfang made a gesture, and the people from Bajimen immediately brought in several jars of wine and a lot of food.
Hu Chengdong immediately called the people from Liangshan Bajimen, took the food down and cooked it, and set up a banquet.
The banquet was full of joy, with everyone eating meat and drinking wine. Yang Youfang had gotten used to this kind of life and wanted to talk to Hu Chengdong about something. However, Hu Chengdong was so happy eating and drinking that he didn't have time. After eating and drinking, Hu Chengdong was drunk.
Hu Chengdong didn't get up until noon the next day. Yang Youfang hurried over and finally had some serious talk.
Hearing that Yang Youfang wanted Hu Chengdong to lead the way and deal with the Qing army in Liangshan, Hu Chengdong rolled his eyes and said, "Brother Yang, this is a bit difficult for me. I never get involved with the government. If I lead you to fight against the government, what if the government finds out and sends people to fight us? What should we do?"
"Brother, the governor has never lost a battle against the Qing soldiers. The Qing soldiers will be killed in battle. What's the matter? How can these people jump out of the ground to cause trouble for you?" Yang Youfang was puzzled.
No matter how Yang Youfang explained, Hu Chengdong just made all kinds of excuses and refused to agree.
Yang Youfang felt that there was something fishy going on, so he asked directly: "What do you want? Tell me, don't make me guess, I can't guess."
Hu Chengdong chuckled, "Brother Yang, we have helped you get here, so why don't you give us a title?"
Yang Youfang sighed when he heard this. His nephew Yang Wangfu had mentioned this possibility before, but Yang Youfang thought his nephew was overthinking it. A countryman like Hu Chengdong shouldn't be so bold, but he didn't expect that it was just as Yang Wangfu said. This Hu Chengdong brother asked for an official position right away.
After talking for a while, Hu Chengdong insisted on getting a job. Yang Youfang had no choice but to leave.
After returning to Linzi, Yang Youfang saw Huo Chong and cursed Hu Chengdong for being dishonest. Huo Chong even suspected that Yang Youfang was trying to stab someone else. He had to persuade him: "Brother Yang, forget it. As long as they don't surrender to the Qing Dynasty, it's fine."
"They dare!" Yang Youfang shouted angrily.
Huo Chong had to persuade him a few more times, and then said: "By the way, Brother Yang. We are recruiting sailors here to open up a trade route to Japan. The clothes are ready, and the rest is to select some capable ones."
Yang Youfang was stunned. "No matter how good you are at fighting now, can you be better than a musket?"
That being said, Yang Youfang worked very quickly. He was harassed by the local tyrants in Liangshan, which made Yang Youfang very angry. But in Linzi, long before he met Huo Chong, Yang Youfang, the local tyrant, was a recognized figure.
After getting to know Huo Chong through his niece Qian Qing, Yang Youfang's status quickly improved as the status of his relatives and friends improved.
Just spread the word, and within five or six days, sixty or seventy people came. When they heard that they were going to go by sea, or travel a thousand miles, some of them were immediately persuaded to leave. Even so, there were only twenty or so young men left who had a close relationship with Baji Sect.
After testing these young men again, Yang Youfang selected twelve and sent them to his nephew Yang Wangfu.
Yang Wangfu was originally the magistrate of Linzi County. He had returned for training and was said to be appointed as the governor of Jining Prefecture. Although they were sent by his uncle, he had to meet them. Yang Wangfu just asked them to bring a letter to Yang Wangfu, saying that these people were going to Jimo to join Feng Yukuan's team.
Hearing that it was Feng Yukuan's elder brother who was in charge of this matter, Yang Youfang personally took him to Jimo. After arriving in Jimo, he asked around several times before being taken to the shipyard on the coast.
In the sea breeze, Feng Yukuan was seen leading people to supervise the construction of ships. Seeing Yang Youfang, he hurried over. At this time, the Han regime had ordered the cutting of braids. However, hair does not grow wildly. At this time, Feng Yukuan's hair is only half an inch long. Because he no longer shaved his head, his head with a lot of white hair made Feng Yukuan look very different from before.
When the two brothers met, they only exchanged a few words, and then Feng Yukuan called Yang Youfang and the young man to "change clothes" together.
This kind of clothing is very different from the clothing of the Qing Dynasty. Although it is a double-breasted style, it has a wide belt around the waist, and the middle garment is a double-breasted button-down shirt. There are two types of Maozi: one is a black gauze hat without wings, and the other is a large hat with a large brim around it.
Shandong guys are tall to begin with, and when they put on this outfit, they look majestic, as if they came out of a painting.
Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. Yang Youfang praised loudly and secretly wanted to get a set for himself.
"I want to get myself a set!" Feng Yukuan sighed, "Unfortunately, this is for government officials to wear."
"Are all of us considered government officials?" Yang Youfang was overjoyed. He had previously been reluctant to join the government because his niece and nephew were both government officials.
After all, Huo Chong had only a few people at that time, and Yang Youfang was afraid of failure. When he found that things were completely beyond his imagination, it was not so easy to become a government official. What's more, Yang Youfang was unwilling to start as an errand boy.
Yang Youfang was very satisfied that he could recommend a group of people to serve as government officials. He couldn't help but tell Feng Yukuan how hateful Hu Chengdong from Liangshan was.
Feng Yukuan had only heard of Hu Chengdong, but had never dealt with him. He could only advise, "Don't bother with people like that. They want to be an official, but don't want to help Brother Huo. Haha. But brother Yang, Brother Huo said this time that Japan has been dealing with the Qing Dynasty for decades. We have to be careful when we go there suddenly. You have to pick good people. Find people who can fight. If we are caught by the Japanese and handed over to the Qing Dynasty, we will be harming them."
"Yes, yes, yes. By the way, Brother Hu, what is this dress called? Is it an official uniform?"
"This, Brother Huo said, is called Feiyufu. It was the official uniform of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty. It looks really good!"
