stubborn thief

Liu Chengzong led the army northward.

On the night when he ate horse meat and burned it in Maoling, Zhao Jichang, the magistrate of Xianyang, sat in the city for the whole night.

In fact, compared with the officials in the counties in Guanzhong, Zhao Jichang was quite familiar with Liu Chengzong. In his early years, he used Liu Chengzong as a teaching material.

He was a native of Jiezhou, Shanxi, and was a civil servant in the first year of Tianqi. After passing the imperial examination, he served as an evangelist in Jiexiu County. Jiexiu belonged to Fenzhou Prefecture, and there was a Fenzhou guard nearby.

Zhao Jichang was teaching in Jiexiu, and happened to catch up with a group of Shaanxi thieves meeting in Qingjian. He immediately planned to divide his troops into six groups to invade Shanxi. At that time, Liu Chengzong was one of the leaders of the six groups. He led his army to invade Shanxi and moved between Xizhou and Xizhou. The Shilou area of ​​Fenzhou Prefecture.

Fenzhou Guards' military discipline was not good. Not only did they lose to Liu Chengzong on the battlefield, but after the war they were also sentenced by Liu Chengzong for killing good people and taking merit, and executed more than 400 people.

How strange is it that the officers and soldiers let the thieves be sentenced?
This incident had a great impact on Fenzhou Prefecture at that time, especially the name Liu Chengzong, which became a joke at gatherings among the Shanxi scholar class.

Because in their eyes, the content of Liu Chengzong was puzzling.

Liu Chengzong was very powerful and powerful, but he was not professional at all as a bandit.

When he entered Shanxi, he stopped doing business. He pursued and attacked the local gangsters in Shanxi. He was more motivated to suppress the bandits than the official army. When he was done, he took down the Fenzhou Guards who were called official soldiers but were actually harmful to the people.

Highlight the goal of suppressing troops and bringing peace to the people.

Therefore, among the six leaders back then, the others were all bandits, except Liu Chengzong. In Shanxi, people called him General Liu.

Zhao Jichang was teaching the county scholars in Jiexiu. He heard about Liu Chengzong's behavior through hearsay, so he told people everywhere that General Liu was a rebel and what he did was very popular.

At this moment, the battle taking place east of Xingping and west of Xianyang was also very satisfying to many Xianyang people who were watching the excitement.

The vast majority of the people didn't know who was coming from the west or who was coming from the south. It didn't matter who was the official army or the rebels. It didn't matter to the people watching the excitement.

People only knew that a group of Liao soldiers came from the south bank of the Wei River and ran to the outskirts of Xianyang to set fire and loot. They also said that they were rebels who attached themselves to the rebels.

This matter is a logical problem for the people of Xianyang.

The people knew that they were not rebels, and the Liao soldiers said that they were rebels who were attached to the rebels. They also looted in the suburbs, and then they were driven away by the Da soldiers.

Asking: Who are the officers and soldiers, and who are the rebels?
The answer is obvious. There is no doubt that the Liao soldiers who came first were rebels, but they had obviously claimed the title of king, and they even said back that the Ming Dynasty was a puppet court and they were rebels.

And the soldiers who came later were obviously servants from the north who were attached to the imperial court!

Dabing galloped to the side of the busy people, scaring away the people. Instead of pursuing and looting, they seemed to be a little frightened and at a loss. When they were done, they picked up the stuffed skin dropped by the vendor from the ground with a look of regret, and ate it. The belly is round.

Who else could control the Mongolian soldiers so well except those well-controlled and shrewd servants of the generals?
So when the people saw that the army from the south was defeated and dispersed, and a group of troops surrendered, they clapped and cheered on the plateau, as if they had won the battle.

People asked one after another who was this general who could command the golden-winged roc.

"Ugh!"

Others don't know who it is, but Zhao Jichang, the magistrate of Xianyang County, knows.

Then who is the general? It is Liu Chengzong who brought troops from the northwest to attack Guanzhong!

On the contrary, the Ming army was on the other side that crossed the Wei River north with [-] people, but was beaten to pieces within three hours.

Compared with the joy of the people of Xianyang, Zhao Jichang was shocked by the military power of the Marshal's Mansion.

And sweaty fear.

Because he, Zhao Jichang, is no longer the eunuch of Shanxi, but the magistrate of Xianyang County.

To live or die with the city!
As the magistrate of Xianyang County, Zhao Jichang knew firstly the geographical location of Xianyang City, and secondly he also knew Liu Chengzong's goal of entering Guanzhong.

Xianyang is known as the Nine Passes and the Nine Guards and the Nine Miles Mountain. There are nine city gates. Among them, the south gate faces the Wei River, so it is called the Weiyang Gate.

Only one mile southeast of Weiyang Gate is Xianyang Ferry, known as the largest ferry in Qin.

Xianyang Ferry leads directly to Xi'an Fucheng on the south bank of the Wei River.

Now that Liu Chengzong has entered Guanzhong and defeated and surrendered the Ming army's blocking troops on the Xianyang Plateau, the next step is obviously to attack Xi'an Prefecture.

Before attacking Xi'an Prefecture, how could Xianyang City be saved?

Within one day, Zhao Jichang sent three groups of horses to Xi'an Fucheng.

The first group complained to Chen Qiyu, saying that the Liao soldiers from Huguang had looted hundreds of households outside the city and burned down houses and houses.

The second group sent an alarm to Chen Qiyu, saying that there was a fight here, and hoped that the Xi'an government would send reinforcements to Xianyang City.

The third group told Chen Qiyu that the battle in Xianyang Plain was over and the imperial army was completely defeated. If no reinforcements were sent, the lower officials would have no choice but to serve the country loyally.

It's not that Xi'an Prefecture doesn't have troops. In Xi'an Prefecture alone, there are left guards, vanguards and rear guards, as well as a Qin vassal guard, and there are many banner troops.

But... Zhao Jichang was anxious when he sent someone to deliver the letter.

In fact, calculating the time, Xianyang is forty miles away from Xi'an. After the battle on the Xianyang plateau, the second wave of horses he sent may not have entered Xi'an city yet.

But Zhao Jichang didn't know what Liu Chengzong was thinking.

Although they clearly had a huge advantage, they did not pursue the victory to expand the results.

The marshal's army neither crossed the river to attack nor marched eastward to besiege the city. They actually broke camp and headed north without saying a word.

No matter what, as night falls, peace returns to the Xianyang plateau, and Zhao Jichang in Xianyang City finally puts his hanging heart back into his stomach.

Unexpectedly, after dark, the marshal's army turned around and a cavalry team came back from the north holding torches!
At first, there were three or five soldiers wearing red hats riding slightly short Mongolian horses and wandering around the countryside holding torches.

After the film, a majestic armored cavalry arrived. Everyone was wearing red cloth-covered iron armor, carrying tall helmets and spears, and they all rode majestic Qinghai horses with long poles like a forest. The knots on the chests of the war horses were illuminated by the firelight. The flesh casts a large shadow.

For a time, the bells in Xianyang City were ringing continuously, and the soldiers and people in the city rushed to the city. They looked at each other in shock, and their faces were pale with fear.

Here comes the Tiger Rider from the Marshal's Mansion!

Outside Xining Gate, Ma Ke lowered his eyes and looked at the figures on the city wall. He smiled and said to Zuo Guangxian beside him: "This guard general can't defend the city. He is far different from you and me."

Really don't say it.

Although the Marshal's Army had never fought a city defense battle, most of the officers in the Huben Camp and even the Marshal's Mansion had developed extraordinary eyesight.

They could tell at a glance whether the general could defend the city, and they even spoke eloquently.This ability was not due to their experience in attacking the city, but because of the Liangzhou city defense regulations given by Hong Chengchou.

Of course, when most people in the Marshal's Mansion came into contact with this book, it was not called this book, and the author was not Hong Chengchou.

Instead, he asked the marshal to guard the city. Everyone thought the author was Liu Chengzong.

This book is just like the book on famine relief and epidemic prevention, the telescope, the cashmere armor, the Yanling official sword, and the Hequ horse.

As long as a soldier performs meritorious service and is promoted from knight to third class to ninth rank to captain, no matter whether he is sent to the actual rank or not, all these things will be issued to his hands anyway.

Zuo Guangxian was happy when he heard this. He was a martial arts scholar from a landlord family in Yulin, and he had read this book before taking the martial arts examination.

The real name of the city guard book is "Shu Ming Shu", which was written by Lu Kun, the Minister of Punishment during the Wanli Period.

During the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty's private economy and national military were at a peak of prosperity and decline. At that time, Lu Kun had already seen the long-term shortcomings of the country, and he often criticized Wanli in official posts, and his words were extremely fierce.

It often appears in his memorials:
"Your Majesty has not been paying attention to the court for a long time. The people's hearts have become extremely lax, and the evil forces have been spying deeply. The guarding officers and soldiers should not tell stories."

"If you don't answer the memorial, there will be no first court meeting."

Or just yell directly if you are anxious:
"Your Majesty, I don't know that the world's wealth is limited to this amount. If you want to be rich, the world will be poor. If the world is poor, how can you be rich only?"

"Nowadays, people's lives are extremely haggard, but their purchases are increasing day by day, and they are seeking to punish people for a wide range of benefits. They have gathered the resentment of thousands of people into one word, and made nine levels of hatred all over the world. I am deeply saddened by this!"

In the 30th year of Wanli, Lu Kun already knew that there would be rebels in the Ming Dynasty in the future, and the world was peaceful for a long time. Everyone was like a sparrow, losing vigilance because of a stable life, and when the war came, they didn't know how to save themselves.

Therefore, he left many war and defense books wherever he served.

For example, he served as county magistrate in Xiangyuan and Datong, Shanxi, and carved stones in the city to tell future generations and people how to defend the city.

When he retired and returned home, he found the old city in Ningling, his hometown in Henan, even more distasteful. He felt that the city was really difficult to defend, so he proposed to expand the city and left a life-saving letter for his neighbors.

It's just that at that time, everything was cheap and people's lives were good, so no one took Lu Kun's unfounded worries seriously.

Even because Lu Kun proposed to expand the city, nine out of ten people in his hometown were scolding him, because expanding the city would require money and relocation, which brought a lot of trouble to people's lives.

No one cares about this life-saving book.

But later on when the city was expanded and Lu Kun was no longer there, the criticism of Ningling people towards him became mixed... Until now during the Chongzhen period, the people of Ningling lived in the new city expanded by Lu Kun. Thinking of this man, they must have It's all praise for him.

However, at that time, there was a Jinshi from Ningling named Wang Yin who was very interested in the life-saving book and engraved it, so that the life-saving book could be published.

What Zuo Guang saw first was the version engraved by Wang Yin.

However, because Wang Yin was fostered in Qiao's family in Ningling since he was a child, he was named Qiao Yin.

But now, this set of life-saving books passed through the hands of Hong Chengchou and fell into the hands of Liu Shishi. It was distributed to all military officers in the Marshal's Mansion and became an important book known to every household in the northwest.

Apart from anything else, Zuo Guangxian knew very well what was unique about this book.

This group of warriors from the Marshal's Mansion took a total of 500 people at random and stationed them in a county town for three months.

They may not be able to persuade the farmers and not pay taxes, but they may not have any problem at all in resisting an attack by thousands of people, as long as the difference in firepower is not so outrageous that they cannot defend, and they have food in hand, and they can defend for a year and a half.

Ma Ke took a casual look at the city and could tell that Zhao Jichang would not defend the city, just because the lanterns hung high on the city wall illuminated the guards brightly.

Zuo Guang first urged: "Okay, the commander-in-chief didn't ask us to attack the city. You don't care whether he can defend the city or not. Hurry up and shoot the message up."

Marco chuckled lightly, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot the letter up the city gate tower with a whoosh.

Zhao Jichang thought they were coming to attack the city, but found that the marshal's armored cavalry actually shot a letter on the city, and quickly ordered someone to take it down on a ladder.

For a time, the county magistrates and masters in the city gathered around Zhao Jichang, holding up fires for him to read the letter. The county magistrate also asked: "My lord, are the rebels trying to surrender?"

Zhao Jichang had a complex expression on his face. He read the letter over and over three times before handing it to the county magistrate and turning to look down the city.

I saw soldiers from the city leading donkey carts creaking to the city and unloading several boxes of goods.

"I really don't understand." Ma Ke shook his head and looked at the wooden boxes, then turned to Zuo Guang and asked: "Why did the commander-in-chief transport the wealth from Xingping County to Xianyang and let the Xianyang gentry redeem it... …Who would buy it if it’s not our own?”

Zuo Guangxian didn't say anything. He raised his neck and looked at the city. After a while, he said: "I think most of the gentry in this city will buy it."

Those boxes were filled with treasures plundered from Xingping County by Zu Kuan's tribe. After being selected by the Liao soldiers, they were basically small and valuable treasures.

When the war started, these things were hidden in the locust forest in the west and were guarded by more than 30 Liao soldiers. As a result, the battle was defeated. The Liao soldiers fled westward with their carts, but were caught by the Heshuote cavalry wandering in the west of Xingping County. The goods were delivered to Liu Chengzong's camp.

There are gold cups, silver cups, enamel jades, Luo hats and silk shawls, as well as some calligraphy and painting antiques.

These gadgets were of no use to Liu Chengzong, but he did not intend to let down Guan Ningbing's painstaking search, so he simply set a price and asked Ma Ke and Zuo Guang to transport them to Xianyang first, and asked the county magistrate to summon gentry to purchase them at a fair price.

The only thing that is very harsh is that Liu Chengzong's pricing is not gold, silver and copper coins, but rice grains, livestock and fresh vegetables.

On the one hand, due to the impact of the locust plague earlier, the price of food on the Guanzhong Plain has also skyrocketed; on the other hand, antique utensils cannot be bought at high prices these days.

The bottom line is that even if the price is parity, if the price is based on gold and silver, people who buy this batch of goods will actually still lose a lot.

But just as Zuo Guangxian expected, Zhao Jichang summoned the gentry in the city and quickly wrote back to the people in the city, telling Ma Ke and Zuo Guangxian not to worry. The city was discussing whether to send this batch of goods. Eat them all.

Because Zhao Jichang was moved at first sight when he opened the letter.

Liu Chengzong's first sentence in the letter was to tell him that the rebellious Zu Kuanbu cavalry had been defeated and expelled, and to ask him to take in the refugees and defend the city well to prevent the people under his rule from being attacked by the rebels again.

Let’s not mention for the moment that Liu Chengzong, as the leader of the rebels, felt inconsistent with what he said as a court official.

At least in Zhao Jichang's mind, Liu Chengzong obviously had no intention of besieging Xianyang.

If you don't attack, I don't need to think about fighting, defending, surrendering and escaping.

With this foundation, Zhao Jichang felt that it was not too difficult to negotiate other matters, such as asking the gentry to buy something.

While the city was discussing the purchase, Zhao Jichang heard the officer responsible for guarding Weiyang Gate coming to report: "Your Majesty, a rebel army came from the west, running very fast, and occupied Xianyang Ferry outside the city! "

Zhao Jichang thought badly: Xianyang City no longer wanted to defend the city because of this batch of wealth.

Liu Chengzong, Liu Chengzong!
You'd better capture Xi'an Fucheng quickly! (End of chapter)