Mengshan Army

The mountainous area of ​​southern Shandong has always been a poor area in Shandong.Numerous khaki-colored villages are built on gray-brown hillsides. Even in early autumn, there is little greenery on the hillsides. The lack of water conservancy construction and deforestation have made soil erosion more serious in this area.The direct consequence is the destruction of the agricultural foundation and a large number of farmers falling into abject poverty.

However, in the southwest of Fei County, there is a fairly affluent area, that is, the area centered on Zhengjiazhuang. The Chang River flows from northwest to southeast, forming a small lake with a water surface of about 3000 mu ten miles east of Zhengjiazhuang. As a result, the food output of the surrounding Zhengjiazhuang, Baiwei Town and Chenjiaya Sanzhuang was significantly higher than that of other areas, forming a relatively rich area in a large area of ​​barren mountainous areas, and a large number of refugees fled here. On the one hand, it also promotes local prosperity.

However, the prosperity of this place has only reached a peak in the past ten years, and it was not like this before.Speaking of this, we have to mention the famous Baodu Gu.More than a hundred miles south of Zhengjiazhuang is the famous Baodu Gu.In Shandong and even the whole of North China, the meaning of Baodugu is synonymous with thieves and strongmen.Since Baodugu was completely wiped out by the government and army during the Qianlong period, this place has always been the base camp of thieves in southern Shandong. There are more than a dozen large and small thieves entrenched in the mountainous area of ​​hundreds of miles. There are three largest groups. It is said that there is another one The leader of the bandits is a woman named Zhao, who rides a horse and shoots a gun, and is extremely fierce.The government also has nothing to do with these strong men. The green battalion is too weak to go deep into the hinterland of the mountainous area to suppress them.

These are all legends, and no one knows the strength of the thieves, including the Yizhou government who is theoretically responsible for local security.

The wealth and prosperity of the Zhengjiazhuang area will of course attract the attention of the bandits in Baodugu. The people in this area have been suffering for a long time, and almost all the wealthy households have been victimized by the bandits.

It was after Zheng Jing became the owner of Zhengjiazhuang that he changed the decline of the thieves.Zheng Jing is the only son of Zheng Haogu, the richest man in Zhengjiazhuang. When he was young, he went to Jinan to do business. To Qingzhou, Qingdao and even Zhili.After capital expansion, Zheng Jing even went south to Fujian to buy tea mountains, opened up thousands of miles of tea roads, and became a powerful tea merchant.In his later years, Zheng Jing was stimulated by some kind of stimulus. He sold part of his business and returned to his hometown Zhengjiazhuang with a huge sum of money to repair the ancestral house and prepare to retire in his hometown.But after returning to his hometown, Zheng Jing didn't look like he was going to retire. Not only did he wantonly buy land, but the Zheng family was originally the richest man of this generation.He also set up many workshops and monopolized many businesses around him.

Zheng Jing not only makes money, but also spends it.For the sake of safety, he invested in the renovation of Zhengjiazhuang's village wall. Through his own relationship and his eldest son who joined the army, he bought hundreds of foreign guns from Qingdao Germans, recruited experts everywhere, and organized 500 people to protect the village. Yong, from then on, Megatron the four townships.Not only that, Zheng Jing also contacted the squires in Chenjiaya, Baiyan Town and other places, and set up the Sanzhuang Lianbao in the name of fighting Baodugu thieves.Each village pays money and people, and Zhengjiazhuang provides weapons uniformly, and the coaches of Zhengjiazhuang uniformly train the village braves of each village.Although this move encountered a series of oppositions, Zheng Jing formed Xiangyong to exploit the township extremely ruthlessly, and the per capita payment was about four taels of silver, which caused complaints from the people, but Zheng Jing was unmoved and insisted on running his Xiangyong armed force. Those who dare to oppose him will be fined at the slightest and lynched at the worst.The [-] villagers in Zhengjiazhuang who were rectified were submissive and dared not speak out.

Zheng Jing has no fame, unlike the leaders of the other three villages who are scholars of the eight classics, but Zheng Jing has two good sons, one literary and one military. Smart, with a vivid memory for reading, he was selected as a scholar at the age of 16, and then won the provincial examination all the way. After being a Jinshi, he was sent back to Shandong as an official. He was a county magistrate. In the same year, he was sponsored, and now he has entered the new army shogunate and became the guest of Cao Kun's guardian envoy. It is said that he is quite appreciated by Mr. Cao.With the entry of the new army into Jinan, Zheng Du's interrupted official career became more magnanimous, which also strengthened Zheng's family's prestige from another aspect.

Taking Chang Lake as the coordinate, Zhengjiazhuang is in the southwest, Chenjiaya is a little north, and Baiwei Village is separated by a mountain ridge in the west.Further outside, there are more than a dozen small Zhuangzi scattered scatteredly.

The complaints of various villages about Zheng Jing's army and military affairs soon disappeared.On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the 23rd year of Guangxu, thousands of people raided Zhengjiazhuang on Baodu Guxiang. Zheng Jing led the villager to defend the village wall, determined to resist to the end.The thieves heard about Zheng Jing's wealth, but they didn't find out that Zheng Jing had [-] foreign guns in his hand. The trench was opened and Chen Jiaya was plundered and returned to the mountain.Unexpectedly, with the sound of gunshots from Zhengjiazhuang, the two hundred villagers of Baiwei Town, led by the owner Xiao Guanyu, had already assembled.Relying on the familiarity of the road, he quietly touched it, first went to Chen Jiaya's side, Xiao Guanyu had a good relationship with Chen Chao, the owner of Chen Jiaya, and naturally rescued Chen Jiaya first.Unexpectedly, he happened to meet the thieves who were defeated from Zhengjiazhuang. Xiao Guanyu was also courageous. While sending people to contact Chen Jiaya, he organized Xiang Yong to shoot at the thieves who were climbing up. At Qicun, Zhengjiazhuang and Chenjiaya heard the sound of gunshots, they dispatched troops twice, and the three villages teamed up to defeat Baodugu's strongman!The bandits only left about [-] corpses, and seized more than [-] horses.

After this battle, Sanzhuang formally signed a joint guarantee agreement.Naturally, the most powerful Zhengjiazhuang is the leader.After the reorganized township soldiers defeated the bandits from the north after the joint protection of Sanzhuang, the severely injured bandits never harassed Sanzhuang led by Zheng Jiazhuang.

……

Chenjiaya was built on a hillside, facing Zhengjiazhuang ten miles away across a ditch.Standing on the edge of the ditch and overlooking to the south, you can clearly see the towering gate of Zhengjiazhuang and the flags curling in the wind on the gate.

Compared with the grandeur of Zhengjiazhuang, Chenjiaya looks a bit shabby.Zhuangzi occupies less than one-third of Zhengjiazhuang's area, and its population is only one-fourth of Zhengjiazhuang's.Zhengjiazhuang occupies the best flat land in Shili Baxiang, while Chenjiaya has to be built on the hillside. Fifty years ago, there was a large-scale fight between the two villages over land disputes, and it turned out that Zhengjiazhuang had the upper hand.Since then, the two villages have developed a grudge, and the villagers of the two villages have less communication and less intermarriage.It wasn't until Zheng Jing returned home from Jinan and went to Chenjiaya to pay a visit to Chen Chao, the owner of the village who was ten years younger than himself, that it was considered that he had moved at the "high level" of the two villages.In view of the threat of Baodugu thieves, Zheng Jing bought guns to organize the self-defense of the villagers, and donated 50 foreign guns to Chen Jiaya to help Chen Chao build Chen Jiaya's guard team.Due to Zheng Jing's generosity, Chen Chao was a responder to the Sanzhuang Alliance. Under his influence, Xiao Guanyu from Baiwei Town also joined the Sanzhuang Alliance, which greatly increased the strength of the Sanzhuang. The trained Zhuang Ding exceeded 800 People, this is the victory of Guangxu's 23rd year against Baodugu.

In the afternoon, Chen Chao, the owner of Chenjiaya who gave up his nap habit due to the Zhengjiazhuang tenant incident, returned to his village from Zhengjiazhuang over the ditch. Routine "patrol" every day.

The unhappiness was caused by Zheng Jing, the owner of Zhengjiazhuang.

After lunch, the villager Chen Gousheng came to beg Chen Chao, saying that Zheng Jing had put his in-laws in front of the gate of the village to show the public.Chen Gouzeng's daughter married Zheng Jiazhuang, and he was one of the few people who married Zheng Jiazhuang.

Master Zheng Jing can't see him, only Chen Chao can intercede.Chen Chao asked why, and Chen Gousheng said that Mr. Zheng was going to increase the land rent after the Spring Festival. His in-laws were Zheng Jing's tenants, so after a few arguments, Mr. Zheng was angered, and he ordered Zhuang Dingyi to come Displayed in front of the gate of the village.That is not an ordinary yoke, it weighs forty catties, if you stay on the yoke for a whole day, you will die.

Chen Chao immediately put down the bowl, and led Chen Gouzuo to Zhengjiazhuang to meet Zheng Jing.Sure enough, a villager was held in front of the gate of the North Village of Zhengjiazhuang. The early autumn sun was scorching fiercely, and the heavy iron-covered wooden yoke pressed blood marks around the man's neck, and he was a little unconscious.Several women and children knelt aside and howled and begged for mercy. The scene was extremely miserable.

Super Chen was soft-hearted. He was afraid of killing people, so he ordered Zhuang Ding of Zhengjiazhuang, who was holding a gun, to release them quickly, "They are all fellow villagers, why bother? Aren't you afraid of killing people?"

Zhuang Ding knew Chao Chen, "Master Chen, this is our master's order. I'm sorry, we can't listen to you unless the master tells you."

Chen Gouzeng was so anxious that he wanted to help his in-laws who were kneeling there, but Zhuang Ding drove him away, "For Mr. Chen's sake, otherwise you will be punished with shackles!"

"You are so ignorant!" Chen Chao has always treated his neighbors leniently, "What a big tone! You are not a government official, how can you punish the crimes of the villagers casually?"

"Master Zheng is the government." Zhuang Ding nodded at Chao Chen with a cock in his neck.

Chen Chao knew that Zheng Jing ruled the village with military law, and these Zhuang Ding were his private soldiers.Instead of arguing with Zhuang Ding, he hurried into the village to find Zheng Jing.But it hit a snag again. The housekeeper Zheng Jiazhu said that the master had already fallen asleep, and no one could disturb him, "Don't say it's Master Chen, even if the eldest son and the second son come back, we have to wait for the master to wake up before we can meet." Zheng Jiazhu appeared to be respectful , the arrogance in his bones is undisguised.

Zheng Jing won Baodu Gu for a while and became stronger and stronger.He became more and more strict with the subordinates, and the three neighboring villages that he accepted wholeheartedly in the past were also superior, with no room for accommodation.If it wasn't for Chen Gousheng's intercession, Chen Chao would not be willing to ask Zheng Jing, but the tragic situation in front of the village gate made Chen Chao really unbearable, "Steward Zheng, human life is at stake, and Chen has no choice but to ask Master Zheng to show his respect." They are all folks who bow their heads but don’t look up, why bother to hurt your peace for a few Douzuzi?”

Zheng Jiazhu chuckled, "Master Chen, what you said doesn't sound right to me. I know you're here for Cheng Daniu's business," he said, casting a glance at Chen Gousheng who was following Super Chen, and the marriage between the two villages There are not many of them, and Chen Gouzuo and Cheng Daniu are just a couple, "There is no rule, there is no such thing as a circle. Our master trains the bravery of the country and guards against thieves. How can we not want money? Cheng Daniu took the lead in resisting rent, how can the master discipline him? What do you think?" is not it?"

Recently, I don't know where Zheng Jing got the news that there is still a group of powerful people entrenched in Mengshan, which is more than a hundred miles to the northeast, and it is said that they are even more powerful than Baodugu.A few days ago, Zheng Jing summoned Chen Jiaya and other three villages to discuss to combine the brave men of the three villages into one group, saying that it was to guard against thieves in Meng Shanzhai.Xiao Guanyu said at the time that at the beginning of the year, he heard that Cao Kun, the governor of Caozhou, led thousands of elite soldiers to wipe out Mengshan Mountain in one fell swoop, and Sun Dewang's head was hung on the city wall of Yizhou. Where is there any strongman in Mengshan Mountain?In the words, there is the meaning of accusing Zheng Jing of false public affairs and selfishness.

Xiao Guanyu and Chen Chao were on good terms, and they had already discussed in private that Zheng Jing had gone too far, and it was because of his power in the government that he was confident in doing things.Otherwise, it would have been a big taboo to raise five hundred rural soldiers.Why is it necessary to expand the establishment now, to integrate Huzhuang Xiangyong from the neighboring village into Zhengjiazhuang?This matter was opposed by Xiao Guanyu, Xiao Guanyu's words were fierce, but Chen Chao was a kind person, and he smoothed things over in the middle, so it didn't hurt his face.Afterwards, Zheng Jing once said to Chen Chao, if Bai Wei is ignorant of current affairs, in the future the strongman will commit crimes, don't blame my Zheng family village for not saving him!

"I don't care about the rules of your Zhengjiazhuang. But if you want money, you can't ignore people's lives!" Chao Chen was upset, and his words were filled with anger, and he yelled at Zhengjiazhu, "Go to the north gate and have a look, people are going to die ! People’s hearts are made of meat, so you don’t care about the friendship between fellow villagers?”

"He has the courage to contradict our master, so he will naturally have a good body to accept the master's family law." Zheng Jiazhu lowered his eyelids and stopped talking.

Chen Gouzeng was so anxious that he knelt down, "Master Butler, please hold your hands high and let him go."

Zheng Jiazhu simply ignored Chen Gouxeng who was kneeling on the ground, as if this person did not exist at all.

Super Chen was furious, "Quickly tell Zheng Jing, just say that Super Chen has something to ask him! I don't believe it, it's so difficult for Super Chen to meet him! Brother Zheng! Brother Zheng!" Super Chen shouted at the top of his voice stand up.

Zheng Jiazhu turned pale with fright, "Master Chen, please spare me, you are trying to kill me."

Zheng Jing's figure finally appeared at the door of the main room, "What's the noise? Huh? Are there any rules! Oh, so it's Brother Chen﹍﹍"

"Brother Zheng is so arrogant! Brother Zheng, this Zhengjiazhuang is actually more difficult to enter than the gate of the government office." Super Chen pushed away the pillars of Zheng's family, rushed down the stairs and bowed his hands to Zheng Jing.

"It's noon, why are you panicking, and you want Brother Chen to come to my dwelling?" Zheng Jingpi returned the courtesy with a half-smile, "Let's talk in the room, please."

Finally, for Chen Chao's sake, Zheng Jing agreed to Cheng Daniu to kowtow and admit his mistake, and let the stubborn man go, "Brother Chen, these bastards are just trying to teach them some rules! The last time they collected donations from the village, he He just evaded in every possible way, and this time he took the lead in contradicting me again. If I don’t give him some trouble, thousands of farm laborers will be rebellious? You said that I raised five hundred elites to keep us safe, isn’t it because of them? It really pissed me off."

Chen Chao thought to himself, in a Zhengjiazhuang with 5000 people, it is absurd to raise [-] servants who are not engaged in production. The cost of raising soldiers should be spread to the householders, no wonder the villagers objected.However, this matter finally came to an end, and when Cheng Daniu was carried home by Chen Gousheng and others, Chen Chao bid farewell to Zheng Jing and returned to his own Zhuangzi.