stubborn thief

Chapter 432
The fall and winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen was an extremely sensitive time.

The calls for the Eastern Expedition in the Marshal's Mansion became more and more loud, and the three sides of Shaanxi in the Ming Dynasty could also feel the huge shock, and the first to bear the brunt of the shock was Hong Chengchou, who was sitting on the seat of the governor of the three sides.

Hong Chengchou is a genius from a poor family.

When Hong Chengchou was a teenager, his life experience was similar to that of most poor children. His father and grandfather were all authentic farmers in rural Fujian.

When it was his turn, he studied at the rural school for five years at the earliest. After he was enlightened, his family was too poor to support him to continue his studies. At the age of 11, he dropped out of school to follow his mother to make dried beans and sell them in the streets. If there is no accident, he would also Will spend his whole life as a farmer.

But at that time, a very accomplished person appeared in his family. His uncle Hong Qiyin was a young scholar.

Because there is a ditch in front of the gate, this country school is called the Ditch Hall.

There are tens of millions of people in this world.

Some people have no ability, have opportunities, and strive for the top, just like Emperor Chongzhen in the Forbidden City.

Some people are incapable, have opportunities, and don't strive for the top, just like children who study in the academy but are eager to play.

There are still people who have the ability but no opportunity, and strive to be the best, that is, Hong Chengchou, a peddler who sells dried tofu from the academy but listens from a wall away.

Since he was of the same race and smart and studious, Hong Qiyin took this smart and studious trader as his apprentice, exempted him from tuition fees, and educated him for five years. Hong Chengchou recommended to Quanzhou County School to study.

Five years later, Hong Chengchou was admitted as a scholar, in the sixth year he was admitted as a scholar, and in the seventh year, the 24-year-old peddler who sold dried beans left his hometown and went to Beijing to take part in the general examination. birth.

As the saying goes, thirty old Mingjing, fifty young Jinshi.

On the threshold of Jinshi, Hong Chengchou is four years younger than Gao Gong, one year younger than Yan Song, and one year older than Zhang Juzheng.

Since then, in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Shaanxi, he has successively served as a doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, a minister of politics, a supervisor of food and politics, and a governor of Yansui. At the age of 39, he served as the governor of the three sides.

Yuan Chonghuan is dead, so Hong Chengchou is the youngest feudal official in the world. This position does not depend on anyone's favor, but that he can solve problems that others cannot solve, and he can solve troubles that others cannot solve. He can kill the thief who cannot be killed.

A crimson robe made out of a series of human heads.

Shaanxi still has a big problem that others can't solve, and he wants to solve this problem.

Regarding Hong Chengchou's arrival, Bai Yiqing, the governor of Gansu Province, and Yang Jiamo, the general officer of the military, did not dare to neglect. Even if they had received unnecessary orders, they still led the standard battalion to Gulang Shouyu Qianhu to welcome them.

From a distance, I could see the banners of honor guarded by the governors of the three sides, as well as the standard battalion soldiers huddled in front and back.

Yang Jiamo frowned unconsciously when he saw Hong Chengchou's standard camp.

The governor and the governor have their own standard battalion, and the generals of the standard battalion are usually the governor's cronies, but Hong Chengchou's standard battalion is unique. His standard soldier is Cao Wenzhao, who was punished for defeat in Ningzhou, but Cao Wenzhao Zhao's Liaodong army has been chasing and fighting fiercely for the past two years, and there are not many left.

Therefore, the standard battalion sits below the battalion commander Bai Guangen, and the main force is to surrender the bandits.

The transfer of talents in Shaanxi is becoming more and more regular. Frontier soldiers turn to bandits, bandits turn to frontier soldiers, frontier soldiers turn to bandits again, bandits are ordered back to peace, surrender and rebellion again, has become a normalized development trend.

The common people and soldiers learn warfare in the war, receive regular army camps and endurance training on the official side, and eat and drink enough to cultivate long-distance training ability on the bandit army.

In the end, if you die in fierce battles, or are lucky enough to survive training again and again, your ability will reach the pinnacle of perfection.

People go to high places, those who go against the law move, and the development of the situation changes dynamically. No one can change this trend that the rebel forces are weak and the officers and soldiers are short of food.

But Hong Chengchou interrupted this trend. As long as he surrendered to Hong Chengchou, it would be difficult to rebel because of the vote.

Surrender is easy, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, has always opened the door to accept surrender, but don’t imagine that after surrendering like fooling Yang He, he will be dismissed and returned to the peasants. If he surrenders, he must serve as a soldier. kill.

But if you surrender and want to be a soldier, that’s fine, don’t accept your surrender yet, go attack the rebel army, take the head of the leader of the rebel army, and be appointed as an official and rewarded.

Hong Chengchou knew that there were three bases for the bandits in Shaanxi. The first was the Qinghai Marshal's Mansion in Xining, and the second was the Yan'an Mansion... But Yan'an Mansion could not be poured in. Hong Chengchou knew that something was wrong there. The government is at the end.

The third is Iron Horn City.

Tiejiao City, located north of Huachi in Xichuan, Ziwuling, was the largest den of rebels since the first year of Chongzhen.

As early as the Liu Wu and Liu Liu eras, Iron Horn City, surrounded by mountains, was divided because of the height of the mountains and the emperor was far away. When Liu Chengzong went west, the brothers of the Shen family became the leaders of the western front of the rebel army, and even completely captured Iron Horn City. .

In order to break the siege after the death of his elder brother Shen Yiyuan, Shen Yikui colluded with the northern captives and invaders. On the day of the agreement, the whole army shaved off their hair and changed their clothes. All the captives were shaved.

It wasn't until Ke Feitian He Chongwei and Hao Lin'an occupied Tiejiao City that it returned to normal. The population already exceeded [-], and the land was divided for farming and animal husbandry.

However, the so-called good fighters have no great achievements. No matter how well He Chongwei and Hao Linan managed Iron Corner City, they did not go through a round in Hong Chengchou's hands, and they became the traitor Bai Guangen's nomination certificate.

In fact, Hong Chengchou's nomination certificate is the same as Shen Yikui's shaved hair and easy clothes. They both want a symbol.

Shen Yikui's soldiers shaved Mongolian braids. The braids were just a means. The purpose was to let everyone know that it was a northern captive, and the officers and soldiers would know that it was a head. Naturally, they could no longer surrender.

And Hong Chengchou's nomination certificate is just a means, the purpose is to tell the world that the rebels who work for me, Hong Chengchou, have the blood of the rebels on their hands, and they have blood feuds with each of you.

In other words, Hong Chengchou believes that the official army at this time is unreliable, because the official army may surrender to the rebels at any time, and only these surrendered rebels stained with the blood of the rebels are reliable.

Because it is difficult for them to surrender to the rebels, and at the same time, the serious generals who are their colleagues look down on them. They can only rely on Hong Chengchou, and they must win the battle and attack, otherwise, if they fail, the end will be disastrous.

Bai Yiqing and Yang Jiamo welcomed Hong Chengchou into Gulang, where they rested in the camp.

Gulang is a small place named after Gulang Gorge. It is surrounded by Wushaoling of Qilian Mountains in the south and Tengger Desert in the north. The complex terrain is the epitome of Gansu.

Specifically, Gulang Gorge, which is 65 miles long from south to north, is the most convenient place for north-south transportation, and this place has a width of [-] steps at its widest and only [-] steps at its narrowest.

And from here to the north, the vast oasis of Liangzhou suddenly opened up.

Therefore, the Gulang Gorge, where the post road leads to Sanfu and the gorge gate controls Wuliang, is the pass of tigers and wolves. Since the Han Dynasty was included in the territory, it has been a battleground for military strategists from Baolong You to the Western Regions.

In Gulang's yamen, Hong Chengchou summoned Bai Yiqing and Yang Jiamo into the yamen to discuss matters without washing away the dust.

The discussion is about repairing the fortress. Gulang used to be a land of no peace at the frontier. It has always been a place where frontier poems are abundant. However, in the Ming Dynasty, Gulang has become a peaceful inland area. The frontier fortress has not been repaired for a long time. Hong Chengchou came here this time for this matter .

He said to the governor general: "I have discussed in detail with brother Yuxuan, governor of Shanxi Province, about the matter of joining forces between Shaanxi and Gansu to defend against the enemy. Gulang is an important place for thieves to attack. It is advisable to transport troops, grain, guns and cannons into the city, and guard the dangerous pass to prepare for any eventuality."

Behind Hong Chengchou is a huge network of relationships. As early as during his tenure in Zhejiang, he married his newborn son with the daughter of Lin Yuji, a former minister of rites from Jinjiang, who returned home on leave. The grandson is engaged.

And Yuxuan is Chen Qiyu, the current governor of Shaanxi. He and Hong Chengchou were Jinshi in the same year, and the relationship between the two is very close.

Bai Yiqing asked: "The military sect also thinks that there will be a war in the coming year?"

"Brother, please call me Heng Jiu."

Hong Chengchou came from a humble background and was successful at a young age. He has never seen a senior officer younger than himself in the officialdom, but he has seen many subordinates older than himself, and he is very skilled.

He first smiled and cupped his hands, and then said: "It's not up to us to decide when to fight, nor is it up to Liu Chengzong."

He raised his finger to the bracket above his head: "God has the final say. This year, there will be no snow in Xining and Lanzhou in winter. If there is no rain in spring, no one can avoid this battle."

Bai Yiqing also thought so, he cupped his hands and said: "To tell you the truth, I have used the time in Hehuang, but so far I have not heard the news of those people being used by Thief Liu, and there is no information from the west, but I guess I will wait until now. After finishing the marriage, when the angel returns, there should be news from the west."

"Is there a room?"

Hong Chengchou frowned subconsciously, nodded cautiously and said: "Very good, I heard that the Qinghai Sea has not been splashed in these few years, and no news has come back from Hehuang. It is only a few years since Hong knew about the Liu thief Old news from before."

The so-called knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, he knew that sooner or later the court would go to war with Liu Chengzong, because he paid special attention to collecting intelligence, but this task was very difficult.

It's a bit paradoxical to think about it, Liu Chengzong was clearly the leader who was the first to come out, the first to succeed, and the first to separate the regime, but his news was a cloud of fog to Hong Chengchou.

Because there are too few people who have seen Liu Chengzong and the Lion Army.

Most of those people were brought into Qinghai. Even if they were not brought into Qinghai, they became local leaders. They either died in the war or ran out of Shaanxi to keep Hong Chengchou out of reach.

In order to collect information, he even sent people to Pingliang to look for King Han twice.

Pingliang Mansion has always been not peaceful. The envoy Hong Chengchou sent for the first time was kidnapped by bandits before entering Pingliang City.

The rogues were even more arrogant, and directly wrote a letter asking for a ransom to the Governor's Mansion of the Three Sides, and signed it as Dawang Jinchanzi.

At that time, Hong Chengchou almost had a cerebral hemorrhage when he saw this inscription. His army had killed six golden cicadas in two years, and Cao Wenzhao killed two of them alone.

This thing will obviously be reincarnated, because as far as he knows, the earliest Jin Chanzi was a blacksmith, and he disappeared within a day of the incident; the second generation of Jin Chanzi is Han Wang's brother named Zhu Qianyu, and the officers and soldiers have not found it yet. He, the third-generation Jin Chanzi, hit Cao Wenzhao's knife.

The third and fourth generations of golden cicadas are all strung on the tip of Cao Wenzhao's knife, and they should be crispy after deep-frying.

The fifth generation entered Yan'an Mansion and was sent to heaven with small landmines by the villagers; the sixth generation Jin Chanzi was a god of war, and led five little brothers to defeat Yang Qi's [-] army, and was finally beheaded by Yang Qi himself.

The seventh generation entered Tienjiao City and died in an internal strife with Hao Lin'an; the eighth generation was killed by Pingliang town soldiers, and the ninth generation ran away to Shanxi, where he collided with Fu Renxi, who had just assumed office. face to face.

General Fu Renxi is also a rising star. He was born in a good family who guarded the border for four generations. His status in Pingyang Mansion is equivalent to Yang Yanchang, the god of war in Yan'an Mansion. The failure was to chase down a box of gold from the giant bandit who looted Pingyang Mansion, but failed to catch up.

Hong Chengchou has been thinking about when the imperial court will hand over the military power in Shanxi to him. At that time, Yang Yanchang of Shaanxi and Fu Renxi of Shanxi will attack on two fronts, and keep the bandits until they cry.

It was considered unlucky for the ninth generation Jin Chanzi to meet Fu Renxi, and he died on the spot.

After all, the person who wrote the letter asking for a ransom should be the tenth generation Jin Chanzi. Does Hong Chengchou think it is possible that the person who wrote him the letter was really named Xuanzang?
Hong Chengchou has also learned a lot, and the envoy he sent to Pingliang Mansion for the second time was Cao Bianjiao. He said in his heart that my little General Cao has undeserved courage, and you, the golden cicada, will tie him up if you are promising!

Of course Cao Bianjiao will not be tied up. He got his wish and met Jiang Yingchang, the prefect of Pingliang, and then went to the palace to meet King Han.

It's a pity that Han Wang is like a confused person who doesn't know what to ask. He completely forgot about Liu Chengzong and has no interest in political affairs and current situation.

However, he was very interested in Cao Bianjiao, and tried his best to persuade Cao Bianjiao to stop making contributions and stay in Han Fan as his son-in-law, and give birth to a few more cubs who could fight. Maybe when the emperor will die, he will be promoted to be a son-in-law.

Xiao Cao was scared and fled.

Hong Chengchou didn't think too much about it, the vassal king just had the virtue of eating and waiting to die and give birth to cubs.

Fortunately, Bai Guangen surrendered. This is a small leader who followed Huntian Monkey in the early years. He had observed Liu Chengzong up close and had the experience of marching with him. He knew the state of the Lion Army at that time very well.

But Hong Chengchou has no idea about the current Marshal's Mansion.

Moreover, the Battle of Hehuang has proved that it is not beneficial to start a war with the Marshal's Mansion in Hehuang, so the battlefield in his heart is Liangzhou.

"If there is a war in the coming year, you must know that the western thieves are different from Guanzhong. They are better than horse mule artillery. They come and go like the wind and invade like fire."

Hong Chengchou told the two of the traits he knew about the western thieves, and said: "These two brothers should strengthen the defense of Gulang City to consolidate the foundation, and at the same time, loosen the Qilian Mountains and tighten the inside, so as to lure the enemy into Liangzhou to plunder and attack." .”

"Without the advantage of artillery and horses, use Gulang to block the enemy's retreat, guard Qilian, make it a turtle in a urn in Gansu, annihilate its elite soldiers in one fell swoop, and then take advantage of the victory to march from the east and north to Qinghai. It will be easy. "

After finishing speaking, Hong Chengchou stretched out his hand: "We will join hands to achieve immortality!"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)