stubborn thief

Chapter 201
July 21.

On the fourth night when Liu Chengzong left Heshui County.

Jiang Yingchang received news in Heshui County that the lion camp soldiers pointed to Qingyang Fucheng.

Three hundred soldiers of the Qingyang Guard Banner set up an ambush at Zuogang, intimidated by the lion camp army. The soldiers collapsed without a fight, and hid in the barren hills. The command made Guo Zining commit suicide and apologize.

Liu Chengzong preached to Anmin, and in the early morning of the next day, he led his generals to the east mountain of Qingcheng with his father and brother, worshiped Zhou Zubu's mausoleum, and then moved south to Ningzhou.

At the same time, the vanguard guerrilla Yang Yanchang led five hundred tigers and entered Pingding Prefecture, Shanxi from Jingxing, and won the first battle.

The leader of the bandits who was defeated by him was Fan Shanyao, an old bandit from Shanxi Province, who gathered thousands of people to live in the Taihang Mountain area.

He was suddenly attacked by Yang Yanchang and defeated in a devastating manner.

Sometimes a person's self-confidence is very important. In Gyeonggi, he witnessed the tragic war to recover the four cities of Yongping and the Eastern Captives. Then he went back to Shanxi and fought with the leader of the bandit who had fought a looting battle for three years. There is no psychological pressure.

Five hundred versus two thousand.

The soldiers were divided into five sentries to press up, and the four sides collided with each other. They drove long and hard, chasing death and north.

Winning is simple and beautiful.

More than 80 people were killed, more than 400 people were captured, and nearly one of his men caught one.

On the edge of the battlefield, Yang Yanchang let go of his horses and sat on a rock by the side of the mountain to rest.

He finally ended the wonderful journey sent by the leader of the rebel army to King Qin.

The mission Liu Shizi entrusted to him was completed very quickly. Two hundred war horses were regarded as meat buns beating dogs, and the compensation was equivalent to trousers.

But for himself, the gains were great.

Appointed by the Ministry of War, he commanded the affairs and issued a scarlet official robe and a tiger patch.

Still in the third grade, he was promoted to general Zhaoyi with military honors as the captain of the light car, and was sent to guard Yan'an Prefecture as a general.

He felt that when he returned to Yan'an Mansion this time, he had to find a way to find the family tree.

I have been the person with the highest official position in the clan for about 200 years, and I have honored my ancestors.

But more important than official position is experience.

In the past in Yan'an Wei, seeing military households so hungry that they sold their wives and sons to survive, he felt nothing.

The military households have long been finished, at least the drought has made the scale of the ruin a little larger, expanding to Yan'anwei.

It can be from northern Shaanxi to Gyeonggi, and from localities to the capital.

He found that northern Shaanxi became like this, not because of the drought, not because of personal wealth, but because of the whole world.

The drought just turned northern Shaanxi into the weakest piece of land, crushed by pressure.

There must be a big problem in the world. He couldn't tell what the problem was.

I only know that if there are no major problems in the world, it is impossible for a person like him to be a tester with no real shortage last year.

"General, you have already asked, Fan Shanyao is an old thief."

The veteran came with a knife.

The veteran's name is Liu Xiangshan, but he is actually just a little older, and he has only joined the army for more than a year.

According to seniority, he is Liu Chengzong's uncle. He first studied ethnology for a few years, and later he was trained as a mechanical soldier by Liu Xiangyu.

Earlier, as Yan'an General Guard Banner, he took his three sons to King Qin of Beijing, and two of his sons died in the battle to conquer the four cities of Yongping.

One was shot by a surrendering soldier at the foot of Luanzhou City, and the other was beaten in the face by a Tazi soldier with a close bow when he was blocking deserters at night.

In exchange for two Tartars and three surrendered heads, Liu Xiangshan is now the head of the Yan'an camp, and his son Liu Chengguang is the head of the Yan'an camp.

Liu Xiangshan said: "This man was originally a bandit cutter, and he made his fortune in the seventh year of Tianqi. In that year, Zhang Shoucheng, the eunuch guarding Datong, took away the fodder money of Yanghe's pacesetters. The pacesetters mutinied and asked him to recruit a few soldiers. Fleeing between Datong and Taiyuan."

As he said that, Liu Xiangshan pointed to the captives kneeling on the ground and said, "This thief is a smart man. Seeing that the situation is not good, he led the team and ran away. Most of the captives are mountain people who were trapped."

Even if Liu Xiangshan didn't say anything, Yang Yanchang could guess that these captives had almost no equipment, only hunting bows, simple knives, and short spears, and more than 400 people couldn't even find a waist knife or armor, so they were not rebels at all.

"They are all hard-working people, so uncle let them go."

Yang Yanchang has always respected Liu Xiangshan, in fact he respects his subordinates very much.

The two tigers of the Liu family were fierce against each other, and he didn't dare to take advantage of it.

"You can't let it go, General, you forgot, General Cao said that all the profits of the war must be reported to him."

After being reminded by Liu Xiangshan, Yang Yanchang said: "Yes, yes, then send someone to report to General Cao."

Yang Yanchang's mind was very confused, and his mind was not on these matters.

Seeing that Liu Xiangshan nodded and agreed to deliver the order, he stopped him again: "Let someone else do this, I have something to tell my uncle."

Seeing his worried look, Liu Xiangshan nodded and handed over the order to others, asking the Liu family members to stand guard at thirty steps around, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Yanchang looked around and whispered, "I've already entered Shanxi, what should I do next?"

"Cao Wenzhao is right behind, let's put down the rebellion for the imperial court." Liu Xiangshan glanced at him: "What else can I do?"

Yang Yanchang found that Liu Xiangshan didn't understand, he shook his head and clicked his tongue: "It's not a problem to counter the rebellion. You can fight as many times as you like today. Du Wenhuan asked Cao Wenzhao to go through Shanxi and go to Fugu to beg Wang Jiayin. You really want to fight Wang Jiayin." ?”

If he could really fight, it would not be a problem to hit anyone. The problem is that Wang Jiayin is a big thief that even Du Wenhuan finds it difficult.

"What's more, after Wang Jiayin was begged, no one joined hands with Yan'an. Are you really planning to lead troops to beg for your brother and nephew?"

Yang Yanchang said this casually, but his eyes were fixed on Liu Xiangshan's face.

Liu Xiangshan was expressionless: "It depends on what the general thinks, what the general orders, and what our subordinates do."

After testing each other, there was no result.

Yang Yanchang swallowed, he could only be sure that Liu Xiangshan was telling the truth.

But I am not sure what Liu Xiangshan means.

This army, which originated from the automatic operation of the Yan'an Guard, changed a little due to the joining of the Guan Ning Army on the way back from King Qin.

Whatever he ordered, his subordinates would do.

After all, he gave the order, and his subordinates followed the order;
It was he who ordered Liu Chengzong to be beaten, and his subordinates killed him;

Or he ordered Liu Chengzong not to be beaten, and his subordinates killed him?

Now Yang Yanchang can't even figure out his own inner tendency to stand in front of high-ranking officials and generous salary.

Not to mention that the common people of the Liu family who hold actual military power have become generals, what will they think in their hearts.

What he is most afraid of is not Cao Wenzhao, not Wang Jiayin, not Liu Chengzong.

It was Liu Xiangshan and the Liu family in the army.

"Uncle Xiang Shan, we don't care about others, we are grasshoppers on the same rope." Yang Yanchang said eagerly, "I must discuss with you what to do."

Liu Xiangshan nodded slightly, with a sad look on his face, and said: "Cao Wenzhao must live, I want to go back to Yan'an."

Yang Yanchang echoed: "Yes, brothers, you must go to the ground to rest in peace."

He was talking about the death of 27 soldiers from Yan'an guards in Jingqin Wangzhong, and a sergeant who died of illness. The 28 corpses were all packed in coffins and carried behind by the king's own people.

Today's normal roads, no matter whether they cross Shanxi to Shaanxi or take the Great Wall to Yulin, can't go through, and the corpses cannot be transported home in advance.

On the road to Yonghe Pass, Shanxi was full of thieves; on the road to the Great Wall, Wang Jiayin turned it into a battlefield.

Although no one snatched the coffin even if it was a thief, the coffin needed horses and carts.

But now, Liu Xiangshan's meaning is obvious. Without Cao Wenzhao's Guanning Army, they alone would not be able to return to Yan'an without incident.

Unless you take off the mask of the officers and soldiers.

Yang Yanchang asked: "What about after returning to Yan'an Mansion?"

In fact, he just wanted to ask two things, how to deal with Wang Jiayin and how to deal with Liu Chengzong.

Dealing with them is not about fighting, but about how to maximize the interests of their army. Head-to-head confrontation with these two people, not to mention the benefits, may cost their lives.

Liu Xiangshan didn't know either, he sighed and said, "Let's take one step at a time. It depends on the king's own use. Follow Cao Wenzhao to hunt for thieves. I only have Chengguang as a son. Sooner or later we will all die."

"I also felt compelled to get rid of him."

Yang Yanchang's words were very accurate. He didn't want Cao Wenzhao to die, but only hoped that he could escape Cao Wenzhao's restraint.

There are not many generals in northern Shaanxi now. After Cao Wenzhao died, the court had to send him to run around.

Yang Yanchang may be the general in the entire Ming Dynasty who does not want to make meritorious service.

He is very satisfied with his current official position, and his mind is full of fantasies about returning to Yan'an Mansion. He stabilized the military of Yan'an Mansion on the surface, and Liu Chengzong secretly controlled everything in Yan'an Mansion.

Liu Chengzong went to Qingyang if he wanted to go to Qingyang, Shanxi if he wanted to go to Shanxi, and Guanzhong if he wanted to go to Guanzhong.

The two of them can fight for a lifetime, until the end of time, how wonderful.

But Yang Yanchang didn't know exactly how to get rid of Cao Wenzhao. He said: "We can only take one step at a time. If there is really no other way, we can only find a way to kill them."

Hey!
Liu Xiangshan looked sideways at him. How can you, General Yang, still be so vicious?

Sensing his gaze, Yang Yanchang smiled embarrassedly again: "It's just a chance, we should be more cautious, or don't do it, and do it cleanly...here comes."

The one who came was Cao Bianjiao, Cao Wenzhao's nephew, two years older than Liu Chengzong, young and promising, he followed his uncle to fight against the Eastern captives, and had already accumulated military merits and was promoted to a guerrilla general.

He didn't come by himself, he also brought a team of Liao soldiers, all of them held the ropes relaxedly, and obeyed the order to tie up the prisoners. Everyone was smiling, and it seemed that the military discipline was not very good.

On the contrary, Cao Bianjiao had a serious expression, and he stood upright while walking, walking with his head held high.

Yang Yanchang went up to meet him, Cao Bianjiao first bowed down and saluted, and then he got up and glanced at the prisoners not far away, and then said to Yang Yanchang: "General Yang, the deputy commander has an order to kill all the prisoners in the wilderness, there is no need to pack up and continue to advance."

After all, Cao Bianjiao handed out the sealed order with both hands: "This is a military order."

"Exhausted, beheaded all?"

After receiving the military order, Yang Yanchang read it in disbelief, turned his head to look at Liu Xiangshan, and turned to Cao Bianjiao as he spoke: "General Manager Liu, I didn't make it clear whether he was the messenger or not. These people are just coercing the mountain people..."

Cao Bianjiao cupped his hands and said: "General Yang, General Liu sent someone to send a message, but it is not wrong, but the military order is so, please implement it, and kill all the prisoners."

Yang Yanchang swallowed his saliva, his eyes roamed the faces of Cao Bianjiao and Liu Xiangshan.

He had never seen anything like it, nor had he done anything like it.

Even since the uprising in northern Shaanxi, he has never heard of any general who killed all the subordinates after defeating the bandits.

Even when the thieves defeated the officers and soldiers, they did not kill all the officers and soldiers who did not want to rebel.

Between the mountains and Shaanxi, nothing like this has ever happened in this land!
Everyone here joins the army and the bandits for the sake of living. In order to live, they have to fight each other, but when the fighting is over, even if the officers and soldiers confront the bandits, except for the leader, everyone else will surrender if they can surrender, and let go of those who cannot.

Although local people don't like it, local officials will give them land.

The imperial court's disaster relief was unfavorable and the salary was owed for many years. Everyone felt guilty.

The skin on Yang Yanchang's face was a little numb, so he could only use a smile to ease the embarrassment: "They are also from the same hometown as Shuai Cao and General Xiao Cao. Speaking of which, you are all from Shanxi..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Cao Bianjiao interrupted him sternly, "General Yang, we are soldiers and they are thieves. How can there be friendship between soldiers and thieves?"

Yang Yanchang looked at the captives who were tied up by the smiling Liao soldiers not far away. His mind was in a mess, and he couldn't think of persuading Cao Bianjiao to help the military orders. He tried his best to dissuade them: "They are just mountain people. General Cao looked at them. Can't you see it?"

"Not even a piece of armor was seized, and there were more than 70 bows, none of which was more than [-] catties."

Cao Bianjiao was indifferent, his face expressionless like a robot: "The military order is like a mountain, and General Yang wants to disobey it?"

Yang Yanchang is a person who has been hammered by reality.

I am used to being with smiling faces, for the rebels, for the allies, and for the subordinates. For more than a year, there is no one around him who can make him straighten his spine and talk.

No one can afford it.

But even if he is controlled by others, those people will give him face.

Only this time, Cao Bianjiao refused to enter, and he was very angry.

The smile on Yang Yanchang's face became colder, he almost gritted his teeth, and said, "Disobedience? What the hell is this? Disregarding human life!"

"I'm a general of Yan'an, not a fucking general of Yansui. If I want to kill you, go for it!"

Cao Bianjiao didn't speak, his face was still expressionless, he just looked at him fixedly.

After Yang Yanchang scolded, he regretted it.

This Cao Bianjiao looks very much like his uncle, and his physique is as strong as a calf.

He thought that this guy was about to go crazy, he might be a material for being a ghost under the knife.

But Cao Bianjiao didn't draw his sword. He just looked at him for a moment, turned his eyes away, and looked at the place where the prisoners were being escorted. After the prisoners were all tied up, he turned his head and arched his hands, nodded calmly.

"Impossible to take orders."

After finishing speaking, Cao Bianjiao raised his hand and waved it over there.

The Liao soldiers, who had been talking and laughing before, changed their appearance in a blink of an eye. More than 40 well-trained people scattered in all directions, stood in line outside the group of prisoners, and followed the captain's order, and each of them drew their swords and slashed at the group of prisoners.

For a time, blood flowed all over the place, and wailing was everywhere.

The soldiers in the Yan'an Camp were dumbfounded.

"General Yang, you dismissed the subordinates today to tell everyone that the subordinates are not guilty. Tomorrow, if the leader of the bandits threatens you, they will still obey. I will serve the king without fear of hard work. But if this fight continues, when will I fulfill His Majesty's orders. "

In the background sound of begging for forgiveness and crying, Cao Bianjiao looked at Yang Yanchang with a complicated expression, with pity and envy in his eyes.

He said: "General, do you know how many Liao people and Han soldiers outside the pass have threatened the Eastern captives and turned their heads to kill the Han people? There is no turning back for Donglu, so can we wait for Donglu's hair to grow back?"

"The coercion... deserves to die!"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)