stubborn thief

To the east of Fengxiang Mansion, the army spread out and marched toward Xi'an Mansion in a mighty manner.

Zhang Tianlin, who was sitting astride the horse, sneezed and sniffed in annoyance. She frowned and looked at the ruins of the earthen village beside the official road that was filled with dust, cursing.

As the dust of the battle on the Fengxiang Plateau settled, the scattered soldiers looted and looted while fleeing for their lives, shattering the western part of the Guanzhong Plain into pieces. Liu Chengzong led his army eastward, and saw ruined scenes everywhere along the way.

Fortunately, this chaos went away as quickly as it came.

The largest group of defeated troops was the battalion led by Ningxia General Shen Guangxian.

Shen Guangxian had a clear goal. Since his collapse at night, he led his troops straight to Qianzhou to escape.

He and Liu Chengzong were also old acquaintances. Liu Shizi established the power of the Yan'an giant in Shaanxi and fought against He Huchen's Ningxia frontier army.

Shen Guangxian had always had a relatively clear understanding of the strength of the Marshal's Army. He was making small calculations and had no intention of defeating Liu Chengzong's strategy for Shaanxi head-on.

He was just thinking about using Liu Chengzong's help to defeat several generals, so as to create a shortcut for him to get promoted.

But no matter what he thought, he would never have thought that today's Marshal's Army would be so much stronger in combat power than the former Lion Battalion. It seemed that they, the elite soldiers and generals gathered in Shaanxi, were vulnerable.

The reason why he led his troops to Qianzhou instead of looking for Cao Wenzhao was because he felt that the east was safe.

In fact, it is true that the east side is a little safer than the west side, but it is far from the level of safety that Shen Guangxian wants.

He led his troops to Qianzhou to count the troops, and found that there were still more than 1,300 troops under his command of just over 2,000.

In front of him, there was a Qianzhou City that was not defended by the Marshal's Army, but also had no defense value.

This city had been destroyed by Zhang Xianzhong when Duan Fuxing was defending it. Even the city wall was blown down. Even if Shen Guangxian was full of courage, he would not dare to defend in this kind of city.

Not daring to stay for long, these Ningxia soldiers forcibly collected food from the people in the countryside for several days, and then ran non-stop towards Xi'an Fucheng, hoping to find Chen Qiyu.

They ran in great embarrassment along the way, and they did not dare to slaughter the horses that had broken hoofs, fell down, or died on the way. Instead, they allowed a small group of rebels on the outskirts of Qianzhou City to pick up the gifts of nature.

The rebels in Qianzhou were either rogues or local young men with martial arts and courage.

After Zhang Xianzhong and Shi Xiang led their troops to the west to support the Fengxiang Mansion war, the greatly shocked suburban gentry called on the young and strong to unite in training and protect their hometowns. A group of stock people trained in regiments and built strongholds in the large plains of Qianzhou. grew out.

They range from dozens to hundreds. They are hastily organized and short of soldiers and armor, and their ideology is full of provincial flavor.

The goal was not to resist Liu Chengzong's wolf-like army, nor to plunder all directions to fight against the Ming Dynasty, but simply to capture the bandits and do everything possible to provide insurance for the war-torn countryside.

The powerful troops and horses were so powerful that the people in various places could not resist the forced conquest of supplies. Fortunately, the Ningxia army was relatively gentle. They only asked for a few days of food, and a few surrounding areas could supply it.

However, when the divine light left, these people discovered that their horses had been injured and defeated, and they realized that they had actually made a profit.

Several Zhuangzi only provided more than a dozen stones of food, but more than thirty horses were killed, which was enough to feed the entire Zhuangzi.

However, compared to Qianzhou Minzhuang, Shenguangxian's luck was not so good.

Xi'an Mansion is a paradise for him.

As soon as they entered Xianyang, the Ningxia soldiers bumped into the cavalry under Wei Qian'er.

Liu Chengzong kept the men and horses of Wei Qian'er's camp on the north bank of the Wei River, responsible for keeping an eye on the army on the south bank of the Wei River. They were not guarding Xi'an Fucheng, but Zu Dale and Lu Xiangsheng.

As a result, Lu Xiangsheng defeated Li Zicheng in Huguang, and Zu Dale was frightened and went to Hanzhong Mansion to find Hou Liangzhu, the Sichuan general. All the banner guards near Xi'an retreated into the city, and the outside of the city became a paradise for Wei Qian'er's cavalry.

Looking at Xi'an Fucheng from a distance, Wei Qian'er was confused.

He really didn't know what he should do. The generalissimo's order was to guard the Weihe River, but there was no one in the defensive direction.

But he can't even attack the huge Xi'an city.

I could only imagine in my mind that Zhang Tianlin and Gao Yingdeng's two camps were killing everyone on the Fengxiang Plain, while I was leading troops stationed on the north bank of the Wei River, running out of food and supplies!

This is simply sinful!

But fortunately, Wei Qian'er is very good at finding work for himself.

He was born as a postman, and when he was free, he saw the post station in Xi'an Prefecture.

He couldn't afford to attack a big city like Xi'an, but small post cities were no problem for him. He immediately divided his troops into seven groups and attacked the seven post cities in Xi'an.

His camp is divided into seven groups, with more than 700 people in each group. It can be said that it is easy to deal with the weak Yicheng.

In one day, they captured five post and forty shops. Early the next morning, the remaining two post cities were also captured. They obtained more than 800 stones of rice and grain, more than 400 taels of silver, and surrendered four soldiers. There were more than a hundred horses and mules at the post station, which completely cut off the post roads in Xi'an and turned it into an isolated city.

These things were very simple for Wei Qian'er. He just followed what Liu Shizi did when he first met Liu Chengzong, and worked all the express delivery stores in the surrounding stations. He laid off these colleagues first, and then helped them find jobs again.

However, these postmen did not expect that as soon as they surrendered to Wei Qian'er, they would immediately face a big job - chasing the Ningxia army that broke into Xianyang.

Shen Guangxian fought with Wei Qian'er for a while, but was defeated. He turned around and continued to lead the remaining soldiers to flee north to Yaozhou.

At this moment, he had run away without thinking. Wherever he went, there were Marshal's troops. He ran to Yaozhou purely because of inertia.

As a result, Yaozhou is not an empty city.

There is a horse meat general Mi Layin in the city.

Compared with Wei Qian'er, who was bored and idle, Mi Layin's life was quite enjoyable.

At first, he received the task of smoking horsemeat in Yaozhou from Liu Chengzong, and he felt quite depressed as he watched the main army heading west and Zhang Zhending and Ding Guodong leading the troops north.

After reflecting for a long time, I still don’t understand what I did wrong, which made Liu Chengzong mistakenly believe that he had the potential to be a cook.

But later he was actually stationed in Yaozhou, and Mi Layin found out that he was a guest governor of Yaozhou, which was... quite interesting.

During these days, he counted the acres of land in Dingkou, measured the ownerless fields, summoned refugees to open up wasteland, and gathered craftsmen to make weapons and repair cities... When he had nothing to do, he even went to the state school to quarrel with the scholars.

At first, they were scolded and Mi Layin ignored them. Later, the state student members found out that Mi Layin was quite good at human affairs, so they mainly tried to persuade him to surrender.

In particular, a young student named Song Xutang scolded him the most fiercely.

Mi Layin was also very angry, thinking that you are such an unreasonable person.

I, Mi Layin, was the Commander-in-Chief of Suzhou Camp of the Ming Army from the beginning. The commander was defeated and I was surrounded in the post city. I fought with the rebels until they ran out of ammunition and food. I had no choice but to leave the city and surrender, and then continued to work as a soldier. That thing about wages.

An upright rebel officer has nothing to do with a bandit from beginning to end. You, a scholar, keep catching me and calling me a traitor. What do you mean?

Mi Layin was impatient after being scolded, so he ordered people to take Song Xutang to the prison in the state capital. He planned to lock him up for a few days and give him a beating if he didn't behave honestly.

Unexpectedly, Song Xutang was a very stubborn person. After entering the prison, he shouted that the traitor had revealed his true colors. He immediately went on a hunger strike, refused to eat and wanted to die.

Milayin also had no temper. He knew in his heart that the Generalissimo came to Shaanxi to govern the place. He was smoking horse meat here, not seeking merit but seeking no fault, so he released Song Xutang again.

He thought to himself, I am not the governor of Yaozhou anyway, let this silly boy scold him if he wants to, and wait for the commander to come over and slap Xi'an on the butt, leaving Yaozhou for the future governor to worry about.

Who would have thought that Song Xutang had just been released, and he was so proud of himself that he had convinced the leader of the bandits with his awe-inspiring aura. He was still stunned, and his servants came to cry.

Song Xutang was in Zhuangzi outside the city, and was looted by the Shenguangxian troops of the official army who had fled from the city.

The number one loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty in Yaozhou immediately defected and joined Milayin's army with several of his servants, applying to leave the city to fight against thieves!

Just as Gansu General Shen Guangxian led his remaining defeated troops to engage in guerrilla warfare with the two battalions of Wei Qian'er and Mila Yin on the land of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Chengzong also led a large army into Xi'an.

Just a month ago, Liu Chengzong defeated the tribes of Zu Kuan and Yang Zhengfang on the Xianyang Plateau. At that time, the county chiefs were still looking at them with cold eyebrows, treating them as crazy rats that were about to perish.

But this time, he once again entered Xi'an Prefecture with the power of victory. The cities along the way changed their previous postures. For example, Wugong and Xingping counties all opened their cities to surrender.

In places like Xianyang, even the magistrates still dare not open the city gates, but as soon as the letter of appeal came, the city officials quickly replied with respectful words. Zhao Jichang, the magistrate of Xianyang, even ordered his younger brother Zhao Jifang to lead the gentry in the city to decorate outside the city. Food and drinks were given to entertain the soldiers.

It's not surprising that Xingping County opened its city gates. Before Liu Chengzong surrendered, Zu Kuan's Liao soldiers looted that place on the outskirts, robbing all the people's hearts.

Wugong County was quite helpless. There were no officials there. When Liu Chengzong marched, the magistrate came to Beijing for a pilgrimage. When the war started, the squires and students gathered the people to form a regiment, led by a Confucian scholar named Han Shi. The defeat At the hands of Mo and Jing.

After Minzhuang was defeated, Wugong County was captured by Mo Yujing without experiencing a brutal siege.

But then, in Qianzhou, not far from Wugong County, Duan Fuxing defended the city. The massive siege there was very frightening. This time the marshal's army came back again. The gentry in the city, considering the people's wealth and lives, recommended Li Ju named Ma Mingshi. Officials led the troops to surrender.

Therefore, without a battle, Liu Chengzong successfully led his army to Xianyang, separated by a water from the isolated city of Xi'an under blockade.

The success of the march eastward exceeded Liu Shishi's imagination.

It was not because there was no resistance in the counties along the way. With the defeat of Cao Wenzhao's army, Shaanxi's offensive and defensive situation completely changed. The Marshal's Mansion became the uncrowned king of Shaanxi, and the Ming court's resistance became scattered "rogue bandits".

What puzzled Liu Shizi was that almost all cities showed a great tendency to cooperate.

Zhao Jifang, who went out of the city to host a banquet for the labor force, did not have the burden of being an official like his brother. As a student studying at the county school, Zhao Jifang accidentally revealed the whole story.

"The Marshal doesn't know something. Just because the elite soldiers of the Marshal's Mansion have been traveling westward for more than a month, the people of Xi'an Prefecture have already made up their mind."

Liu Chengzong initially thought that Zhao Jifang was trying to please him by being nice and obedient.

After all, he had only called here a short time ago, and the Xi'an Mansion had not been in chaos for a long time. How could people be calm?

Unexpectedly, after listening carefully to Zhao Jifang's words, he realized that Xi'an Prefecture in Xianyang and Xingping had already made up his mind.

It can't be said that this matter has nothing to do with him. He has to bear the main responsibility, but he really didn't expect such a result.

It was entirely because of the great battle in which the Marshal's Army entered Guanzhong that fighting broke out in all directions, causing chaos everywhere, leading to hordes of defeated armies and the rise of bandits.

The place where no officers and soldiers were stationed was in a bad situation, and stragglers and guerrillas continued to cause chaos. All day long, the people in the city heard the news that this was being robbed or that was being burned, as if they were frightened.

This is an indiscriminate disaster.

Places where officers and soldiers are stationed are even worse, such as He Renlong garrisoned in Ningzhou, Sun Shoufa garrisoned in Pucheng... It is impossible to suppress thieves. They simply don't have the ability. They can only maintain their lives by collecting food.

The pressure is put directly and equally on everyone.

Not to mention, there are some 'professionals' here, such as Gao Jie, the mountain harrier who abducted Li Zicheng's wife.

If people's resentment has a shape, the biggest resentment on the Guanzhong Plain at this time undoubtedly comes from Gao Jie.

He abducted Li Zicheng's five hundred soldiers and horses, and took Li Zicheng's wife Xing and his thug Li Hezi to leave the team. The purpose was very clear - to take advantage of the chaos in Guanzhong to join the Ming army.

There is no way, for him, life is always a gamble, and there is no room for sure winning.

If he stays in Li Zicheng's army and does not run away, he may not necessarily die. Li Zicheng may be obsessed with old feelings, but he will definitely die in society.

This is worse than death.

Liu Chengzong joined Liu Chengzong. Liu Chengzong had an old relationship with Li Zicheng, so he might have handed him over. If he was handed over to Li Zicheng, he would definitely die, which would be worse than not running away.

Anyway, after becoming the Ming army, under the current situation, Ming Dynasty has nothing to do in Shaanxi.

But there is still a slight difference between dying first and dying first.

The most important thing is that although Gao Jie is a rebel, his simple ideas still guide his behavior.

He believed that if he died in state affairs as a Ming soldier, it might be helpful to wash away his moral stains.

Then the question arises. These days, it is not easy to find a Ming general on the Guanzhong Plain who is willing to surrender.

To be precise, it’s fucking difficult!

His first choice was He Renlong, a fellow councilor from the same town. He contacted him through letters, and then he left Li Zicheng.

For this reason, he headed north from Shangluo Road, carefully avoiding the marshal's troops along the way and running to Yaozhou. As a result, Zhang Yingchang's fifth battalion collapsed on the spot and ran all over the ground.

Later, he planned to defect to General Bai Guangen, who was born in the peasant army. This time, he even sent a letter. Bai Guangen, who was stationed in Baoji, as if hiding from a debt, broke camp and entered Longxi before Gao Jie's messenger arrived.

Later, Gao Jie found out that He Renlong was stationed in Zhenning, and hurried to Zhenning. Only halfway through, He Renlong wrote back: "Brother, don't bother, brother, I can't protect myself now, you But if you come, I’ll be fine. If you come, I might die.”

Gao Jie felt aggrieved. He felt that maybe he should change his nickname from "Kite over the Mountain" to "Sangmen Xing".

In the end, Zu Dale, who went to Sichuan Commander-in-Chief Hou Liangzhu, was willing to accept him, but it was worse than no one would accept him.

Zu Dale didn't know who he was at all. He just thought he was a leader of the hungry people and asked him to disband four hundred men and send beggars to the official position of Chief Hundred.

In a rage, Gao Jie carried an iron bar and attacked Zu Dalue's military camp when he was being reorganized. He snatched the war horses and burned the army rations. Then he ran back to Xi'an and wandered back and forth in various counties.

Like an orphan. (End of chapter)