A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 251 Xu Yue'e's Conspiracy of Qing Soldiers
On the first day of December in the 11th year of Chongzhen.

Early in the morning, there was commotion in the Xuanda camp, and the densely packed vehicles, mules and horses in each camp were ready to set off for Xingtang.

It is easy to do things with food and grass, which is related to the food problem of the whole army. After receiving the news from Wang Dou yesterday, Lu Xiangsheng and others couldn't wait, and wanted to escort Wang Dou's food and grass stored in Xingtang back to the camp.The distance from Xingtang to Zhending Mansion is eighty to ninety miles, even if each car is fully loaded with grain and grass, they can return within two or three days.

At this time, most of the Qing soldiers were going south, and the Xuanda army was gathering not far from the Tang Dynasty. It stands to reason that it is unlikely that the Qing soldiers would intercept the grain and grass.However, Lu Xiangsheng and the others were cautious. In Wang Dou's army, in addition to the battalion supply team and the supply teams of each subordinate, Wang Dou also let Li Guangheng lead four hundred cavalry to guard along the way.

In addition to sending out his own auxiliary soldiers, mules and horses from each town, Lu Xiangsheng also dispatched [-] cavalry from his own supervising battalion, as well as Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, and also dispatched hundreds of Ding knights, all led by his own generals. There is nothing wrong with the arrival of Baoliangcao.

This time entered the twelfth month of the lunar calendar in Ming Dynasty, and the north wind was howling, and the freezing cold made people shiver as soon as they went outside the house.Everyone's head and face are covered tightly, and the exposed skin, if possible, is coated with thick oil to prevent it from being cracked by the wind.

The transportation of food and grass was mainly managed by Wang Doujun, the general manager of the supply chain, Zhong Tiaoyang, but he did not wrap his head and face like rice dumplings, wear iron armor, and wear a red cloak behind him, standing in the cold wind like the auxiliary soldiers of each battalion. , just exhaled a thick white air, constantly commanding the soldiers in the battalion to step up preparations for departure.

Wang Dou confessed to Zhong Tiaoyang and Li Guangheng: "Cousin, Mr. Li, I will leave the matter of food and grass to you two."

Zhong Tiaoyang said solemnly: "Don't worry, General, everything will be safe."

Li Guangheng also boldly said: "Even if there are Tartars intercepting the grain road, the general will kill them all."

Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town over there, also confessed to Guo Yingxian, his own general in the Chinese army. Guo Yingxian smiled and said, "Haha, it's better to have a Tartar come and kill him."

The people called Ma Ni, and the baggage vehicles of each battalion, as well as the cavalry guards, came out of the camp in an endless stream, and Wang Dou, Lu Xiangsheng and others were sent outside the camp.Although Zhending in winter is bleak, it has a desolate beauty. Looking at the endless plain ahead, Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Dou and others all hope that their trip will go well.

……

On the second day of the lunar new year, a few Ye Bu Shou rode their horses into the camp of the Shun Township Army. When Wang Dou received the information from Wen Daxing, Ye Bu Shou's chief, he was discussing military affairs with the generals in the tent.

It is common for Wang Dou's army to release tens of miles when marching, and hundreds of miles when sentrying. After receiving this information from Zanhuang territory, Wang Dou looked at it for a long time, his expression seemed to be pondering.

Wen Fangliang said tentatively: "General, what's the matter?"

Wang Dou smiled and said, "It's the matter of Xu Yue'e who fled Shun Township that day. She has news."

Passing the information to Wen Fangliang to watch, everyone in the tent was excited when they heard it. In fact, the matter of Xu Yue'e was considered a hot topic in Shun Township Castle.Her life experience was bleak, but after learning the skills in Shun Xiangbao, she became a deserter and went to Zanhuang County, Zhending Prefecture to become the king of the mountain.

Her feelings are sympathetic, but her law is intolerable. In the first half of this year, after Wang Dou received the news from Korea and North Korea about Xu Yue'e, he ordered South Korea to arrest Xu Yue'e.Unexpectedly, Xu Yue'e was erratic, and Han Chao and others could not find her exact whereabouts, so the matter was left alone. Unexpectedly, they got Xu Yuee's information now.

Looking at the information written in his hand, Wen Fangliang made a fuss and said: "It's terrible, this little lady is terrible."

Han Zhong snatched the information from him, opened his bull's eyes to look carefully, and then said, "This little lady is amazing!"

Everyone in the tent passed it on and read it, and they were all amazed.

According to the information, Xu Yue'e had renamed her horse bandit subordinates "Slave Killing Army", fought against the harassing Qing soldiers several times in the territory, and beheaded nearly 200 people.After the local government heard the news, they intended to recruit Xu Yuee's entire army, and offered generous salaries to high-ranking officials. The local magistrate and the generals of the guards even visited them in person, but Xu Yuee did not intend to move.

The intelligence also collected some anecdotes, saying that Xu Yue'e took advantage of her own cavalry and familiarity with the local terrain to frequently ambush and attack small groups of Qing troops, with footprints all over Yuanshi, Gaoyi, and Lincheng, and achieved fruitful results.Among the captives captured, many were skinned alive. There is also a strange method of torture in the "Slave Killing Army", which is to use the matchlock of the bird gun to saw off the calves of the Qing soldiers, which is appalling.

The "slave killing army" didn't want heads. After they tortured the Qing soldiers to death, they nailed them to big trees to show the public, and engraved the three bloody characters "Xu Yue'e" on their chests and stomachs.As a result, some bold local officers and soldiers found another way to make money, that is, to find the corpses of Qing soldiers who died everywhere, and then cut off their heads and go back to claim credit.If you chop a few back, you can get promoted and make a fortune.

Therefore, Xu Yue'e and others received excellent reviews from local officers and soldiers.Of course, these officers and soldiers did not dare to touch the corpses of those Qing soldiers, and still let them hang on the tree, otherwise the "slave-killing army" would anger them, and they wanted their own heads.

This ability to fight and act ruthlessly made Xu Yue'e an awe-inspiring existence in Zanhuang County. The name of "Xu Niangzi" was spread far and wide, and she was the same as the overlord.

"Humph!"

The information was passed to Chi Dacheng, the governor of the town. After he carefully read the information, he snorted heavily, and immediately stopped everyone's excited discussion and whispering.

Chi Dacheng said coldly: "I learned my skills from Baoanzhou, but went outside to be the king of the mountain, showing off my might, how can I be decent?"

Wen Fangliang smiled and said: "Chi Zhenfu, Miss Xu is also a hard-working person. She is a weak woman, it is rare to be able to do this."

Everyone in the account said yes.

Chi Dacheng still said coldly: "Military discipline is like a mountain. In our Baoan Prefecture, both men and women must strictly abide by the military laws. If everyone is like Xu Yuee, who learns the skills and becomes a deserter, why is our Baoan Prefecture an army?"

Wen Fangliang smiled awkwardly, and stopped talking. Since Chi Dacheng heard the old-fashioned words in Shunxiang Castle, arguing with him was just asking for fun.

Wang Dou was silent for a long time, and said: "Chi Zhenfu, according to our military discipline in Baoan Prefecture, how should Xu Yue'e be punished?"

Chi Dacheng said without hesitation: "After being arrested, he will punish the Thirty Army Batons, confiscate the land, and expel the whole family from the border of Baoan Prefecture."

Speaking of this, he was stunned for a while, and everyone suddenly realized that there seemed to be loopholes in it. The relevant military laws and regulations seemed to be ineffective in punishing Xu Yue'e's situation.

Chi Dacheng saluted Wang Dou solemnly, and said: "General, the Disciplinary Law of our Anzhou Army needs to be amended. This is the dereliction of duty of the lower officials. After returning to Baoan Prefecture after the war, the lower officials will add it."

Wang Dou nodded slowly, looked around the crowd and said: "Xu Yue'e once deserted for my Shun Fort. According to the laws and regulations of our Baoan Prefecture Army, she needs to be punished. There are many slave-killing warriors under her command. She will be recruited. Who wants to go?"

Chi Dacheng stood up and said, "I am willing to go."

Wang Dou nodded and said, "Okay, Chi Zhenfu, I will leave this matter to you."

Chi Dacheng saluted solemnly, then sat down straight.

Many people in the tent looked at him worriedly, this old guy is rigid and doesn't know how to adapt.Don't go to Xu Yuee's stronghold and beat Xu Yuee's army sticks in front of her subordinates, and be torn to pieces by a group of wolf-like horse thieves.

……

On the afternoon of the second day, Hengshui.

The surrounding area of ​​the city was densely covered with Qing army tents, and flags of various colors were flying. Even in Hengshui City, the flags of the Qing army's Zhengbai flag were flying.

Since November, the Qing army has successively captured Hengshui, Wuyi, Zaoqiang, Julu, Jize, Yuanshi, Lincheng and other cities. government and other places.Countless people's homes were destroyed, and their children's property was looted.

The original Hengshui Prefecture Yamen of the Ming Dynasty has now inserted a huge woven golden dragon banner. The spacious hall is full of Qing generals in gilt armor. The scalp on the forehead and the back of the head also have a slender money rattail pigtail.

The Zhengbai Banner Ba Yala soldiers in mercury armor were patrolling outside the hall, and there were loud voices in the hall one after another.Those words, if it is Ming people, of course they can't understand, because they speak Manchurian.An Altaic language family originated from the Mongols and passed on from the West. Both language and writing are completely different from the Han people in the Central Plains, and they are also different from the Han Chinese characters of the Jurchen in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Among the generals of the Qing Dynasty, the owner of the Zhengbai Banner, General Dorgon, was ordered to sit on both sides of the head, and the owner of the Zhenghong Banner, General Yangwu Yue Tuo.On the left side of the lower head, the flag holders of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, Duduo, the master of the Bordered White Banner, Du Du, the master of the Bordered Red Banner, and Jierhalang, the master of the Bordered Blue Banner, sat proudly.On the right side of the lower head, the leaders of the Eight Banners Mongolian Banners sit separately.

"Our soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were invincible. In the two months since we entered the customs, we have penetrated thousands of miles, captured dozens of states and counties in the Ming state, killed Ming's defenses, over a thousand generals and hundreds of officials, and captured hundreds of thousands of people and money. After the first year of Deyuan, our warriors of the Qing Dynasty can come back full of plunder."

It was Dorgon who spoke, and his words caused all the generals present to howl.

Yue Tuo, sitting on Dorgon's right, also smiled reservedly.There is also Ji Erhalang, the owner of the Xianglan Banner at the bottom, who considers himself to be senior, so naturally he can't be as happy as the little Maotou present, so he caresses his whiskers and nods slowly.

"Taking advantage of this great victory, our warriors of the Qing Dynasty must muster up more courage, continue to go south, and then send troops to Shandong to break through Jinan!"

Dorgon's words made everyone elated again.

Afterwards, Dorgon's words made everyone quiet: "What is worrying is that Lu Xiangsheng, Minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty, has already led the army to the south. Similarly, Gao Qiqian, the supervisory army of the Ming Dynasty, also led tens of thousands of Guanning troops to gather in Zhending Prefecture. "

"Gao Qiqian is nothing to worry about, but Lu Xiangsheng is quite good at fighting, and there is even a famous general Wang Dou under his command..."

There was silence in the hall, Wang Dou repeatedly smashed the Eight Banners Manchurian Bordered White Banner and Bordered Red Banner, and even the Eight Banners Mongolian Second Banner.That is, when Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou led the army to Gaoyang last month, even Dorgon did not dare to touch his edge and took the initiative to avoid it.

※※※

Old White Bull:
I remember that since the writing of this book, many book friends have asked: Do matchlock guns need a trigger?

I answered categorically: Yes!
(End of this chapter)