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

Chapter 410 Knowing
The defenders of Xinye City looked at the cavalry on the other side of the river with trepidation. Because they didn't know whether they were friends or foes, they didn't dare to act rashly at first. Later, seeing that Wang Dou and others were not hostile or looting, they seemed to be officers and soldiers. The little school went down to the city to find out the purpose of Wang Dou and others.

The little school received a heavy reward of five taels of silver, so he braced himself and came towards the army from the pontoon bridge.

When he walked across the pontoon bridge, Xie Yike waved his hand, and two guards galloped over and brought him directly over, during which time they also searched for waist knives and weapons.

The little school didn't dare to resist, honestly, but the closer it was, the more weak its footsteps, where did these military masters come from, not to mention the equipment, that kind of fierce aura, I'm afraid everyone came from the corpse mountain blood Crawling out of the sea, I don't know how many people were killed.

The little school was brought to Wang Dou's side, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "The little Xinye City Guard Banner Chief Ma Ziren has met the general."

Wang Dou knew that the formation of the Central Plains official army was slightly different from that of the Border Town, so he didn't care about his official name. He rode his horse and said softly, "You don't have to be afraid, this general is the general of the East Road of Xuanfu Town. Wang Dou, received the document from the Ministry of War, and went to Sichuan to destroy the Xian thieves. The army is tired and wants to rest in the noble land for a day."

How does the little school know Wang Dou's reputation?Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the guest soldiers were passing through the border, so he hurriedly said: "Yes, I will report to the superior right now, little one."

Wang Dou said, "Well, you go."

Glancing at Xie Yike, Xie Yike understood and threw a piece of silver: "Your reward."

The little school quickly took it in his hand, seeing that it was ten taels of silver, he was overjoyed, not only he was fine, but also made a fortune.

He kowtowed again and again: "Thank you, General, thank you, General."

Joyfully went back to report.

Soon, President Qian came again, with a few people who looked like masters. Seeing the power of the army, everyone was secretly shocked, but although President Qian was respectful, he asked to see the writing of the Ministry of War.

Wang Dou didn't make things difficult for this person, and let him read the official document.

Mr. Qian read the official document, and the master confirmed it was correct. He breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "It turns out that it is General Wang who has won the three armies bravely. The last general is rude. The last general Xinye guards the camp and Mr. Lai Bangxian, what does the general need? Just give an order."

Wang Dou didn't expect this person to know his name, so he glanced at him and said, "I'm sorry."

Then, under the leadership of Mr. Qian, they went to the place where the army camped and rested, but it was a few temples not far from the South Gate of Xinye City.There are many temples here, including the Dragon King Temple, Guandi Temple, Horse God Temple, Caishen Temple, etc., which are enough for three thousand troops to lay down.

Mr. Qian and Wang Dou respectfully spoke a few more times, saying that the guard and magistrate would come to visit soon, then left in a hurry to report to the superior.

Wang Dou ordered to set up camp and rest, when people moved and horses neighed.

The Shun Township Army has its own rules for camping, whether it is in the field or in a house.Don't say it in the wild, if you are in a house, one general and one street, follow the general.One side, thousands of generals followed, and finally the Chinese army unified it.The ministries are not allowed to mix, and the headquarters and teams are not allowed to mix. If they don't live with the team, they will be ruled by military law.

The army set up camp, they have already had rich experience, and all the ministries are orderly.Thinking in my heart, it is more than 100 miles from Xinye to Xiangyang. If I recharge my batteries today, I will set off early tomorrow morning, and I will reach Xiangyang in a day.

Not to mention Wang Dou's camp here, many people in Xinye City fled into the city, and when they saw that there was nothing wrong, they opened the city gate again, and people came and went, returning to a peaceful life, but inside and outside the city, there were many discussions about this place .

Some idlers gathered outside the camp to watch and point, but everyone was afraid of the officers and soldiers, especially the guest soldiers, and they didn't dare to approach, but just watched from a distance.

About half an hour later, the Nanguan was full of drums and music, and a group of people came with gongs and drums, but it was the magistrate of Xinye and the guards who led some gentry and village elders to visit Laojun. There were also two strong men carrying a fat pig, which struggled and barked non-stop.

Wang Dou went out to meet him, and saw that the county magistrate had a big head, wearing a black gauze, a green robe with a silk collar and a right lapel, a seven-grade 鸂鶒 patch on his chest, and a plain silver belt.

Zhixian is very obese, about forty years old, and next to him is Xinye Garrison, dressed as a general.The cloud-winged helmet is wearing a full armor, with the leaves of the armor exposed and clanging, but it is in the style of a clear armor. It also has a pair of arms and a waist knife hanging on the belt.

The magistrate and others came to the front and saw that the camp was densely packed, and they were shocked. They saw a general in front of him, wearing a gorgeous bright armor, with a sword hanging from his waist, an eight-petal hat on his head and an iron helmet, and a short mustache on his mouth. , with a majestic expression, sharp eyes like eagles of prey, followed by several generals, all of them are heroic and extraordinary, and they are even more awe-inspiring.

The magistrate hurriedly took a few steps forward, came out of the line, cupped his hands and said: "Xiaguan Zhang Youxian, the magistrate of Xinye County, has long heard that General Dingguo is loyal and fearless, and he is brave enough to win the three armies like thunder. See you today, three lives are lucky, three lives are lucky."

He shook his head and shook his head as he spoke, as if singing a carol.

The guard also paid a quick visit, when he saw Wang Dou's army earlier, he was already short, and when he saw Wang Dou's majestic appearance, he was even more obsequious and couldn't speak clearly.

It is said that the most important thing is to be an official, and the most important thing is to be a general. Wang Dou lacks both.

He started from Jingbian Fort, fought south and north for several years, covered mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and controlled the fate of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on the East Road.Waiting for the idlers to wait, seeing Wang Dou, he was three points shorter in imposing manner.

Wang Dou said: "You two are polite, please!"

Everyone entered the Guandi Temple and entered the main hall. The people who accompanied the magistrate also carried the belongings of the labor force to the square in front of the temple.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Zhixian invited Wang Dou to the city, saying that he would welcome the general to clean up the dust and have a banquet to rest.

Wang Dou waved his hand and asked, "I heard that there is a snack in Xinye called Pan Mian?"

Speaking of this, the oily face of Zhangzhi county blossomed into a smile, and said: "It turns out that the general has heard of our Xinye's ban noodles. Yes, this noodle is called Ban Noodles in Xinye. It is said that it was made by Zhang Yide, a fierce general of the Three Kingdoms. It is refreshing and chewy. , is famous far and near.”

Wang Dou nodded: "Okay, Zhang Zhixian, you arrange to make four thousand bowls of noodles, so that my soldiers can try it."

The magistrate froze for a moment: "Here, four thousand bowls..."

He was a little embarrassed. Although he was willing to spend the fee, it was not easy to make four thousand bowls of pan noodles quickly.

As soon as Wang Dou stretched out his hand, he took another bag of money from Xie Yike, and threw it in front of Zhang Zhixian: "I also know it's difficult, how about this, you take the money back to the city and mobilize all the teahouses and restaurants in the city, I will buy and sell fairly, and I won't Thanks to them."

Zhang Zhixian involuntarily lifted the bag, good guy, his hands were heavy, the sound of silver hitting inside made a clattering sound, he smacked his lips, this General Wang is really heroic.Also, look at their centaur armor, could it be someone without money?
He also thought to himself: "Earlier when I heard about Wang Dou, I still didn't believe it, but now I see him, he is a noble character, a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, with a charming demeanor."

For a while, I thought of making friends. If you quote one or two of such famous generals and such powerful troops, they will be of great benefit.

The guard looked at the magistrate, his eyes rolled, and he obviously had the same thoughts.

Zhang Zhixian worshiped again: "The general is conquering and suppressing the thieves, and the troops are far away. How dare you let the general spend money?"

Wang Dou said, "No problem."

He also said: "You prepare some large buckets, boil some hot water, and let my soldiers wash them. Let's count the expenses together."

Zhang Zhixian said: "Yes, yes."

He ordered his staff to come in, personally ordered arrangements in front of Wang Dou, and gave them the silver.

The staff members were extremely surprised, they walked out of the hall and whispered.

Soon, this matter spread inside and outside Xinye City. There was a sensation in the urban and rural areas for a while, and many restaurants and noodle restaurants inside and outside the city worked extremely hard. The soldiers took a comfortable hot bath, and then ate delicious noodles.

And Wang Dou's move also left a good story in Xinye, which is passed down as a good story.

Wang Dou also took a comfortable bath and changed into casual clothes. At this time, Zhang Zhixian and others have been waiting in the hall.

Wang Dou ordered the pig to be killed and made into braised pork, and each part was divided. Since the army was not fighting, everyone also drank some wine to relieve the cold.

The braised pork in the big pot, served with hot plate noodles in the big pot, has a tangy aroma, poured with simmered seeds, and eats it hot in the mouth, it is really very comfortable.

In fact, in later generations, Wang Dou once ate Xinye pan noodles, but at that time, the raw material of saozi still used red pepper, which was not popular at this time.Even so, the taste is not worse than that of later generations. It is obvious that it has its own unique substitute, just like there was no MSG in ancient times, and the broth was also very delicious.

Everyone ate and drank around a big table, Zhang Zhixian and Xinye Guards were present, watching Wang Dou and the generals under his command eat deliciously, they couldn't help but feel proud.

During the conversation, Wang Dou heard that the magistrate Zhang spoke with a slight Anhui accent, and he couldn't help but think of Dou Weiren, the magistrate of Wu'an County in Zhangde Prefecture.Hearing Wang Dou talk about the situation in Wu'an County, he couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Ming Qi has a great talent, but unfortunately his luck was bad and he was assigned to Wu'an County."

Wang Dou believed this. In terms of talent, he believed that Dou Weiren was superior to Zhang Youxian, but Xinye was stable and Wu'an was broken, and this had something to do with luck.In the general environment, no matter how high your personal ability is, it is impossible to recover.

Among them, Zhangzhi County repeatedly touted Wang Dou's series of achievements, and also mentioned the recent victory in Ruzhou, obviously he is also a person who cares about the current situation.

Wang Dou smiled slightly, thinking that the news of the great victory in Luoyang has not yet arrived, and you will be even more surprised after a while.

In fact, Zhang Zhixian was suspicious. He heard earlier that hundreds of thousands of intruders besieged Luoyang, and Wang Dou also led the army to rescue him. Why is he here again? Could it be that the intruders were defeated? This is impossible, with hundreds of thousands of troops.Or did this man surnamed Wang escape privately?This is not easy to say.

Wang Dou asked about Yang Sichang's situation and the movement of Xiangyang City.

Zhang Zhixian replied: "Yang Ge's army of [-] people is chasing straight into Sichuan, and the thieves can't escape with their wings."

He said again: "Xiangyang's military mansion is an important place. Salaries and armors are gathered in the city, and each gate is guarded by a lieutenant. There are King Xiang, the magistrate, and patrol roads in the city. They are as solid as gold. I haven't heard of any abnormalities."

Wang Dou nodded. Obviously, neither Xiangyang City nor the nearby officers and generals would have thought that Zhang Xianzhong would take the city lightly.

He pondered in his heart, according to history, because of Zuo Liangyu, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai went out of Kuimen smoothly and entered Huguang through Wushan without any hindrance.On the 25th of the first lunar month, he should have conquered Xingshan, killed the guard general Wu Guomao, and the county magistrate Liu Dingguo, and then marched east to Dangyang, on the Jingmen line.

In the process of winning the city of Xiangyang, Neiying played a very important role. After the incident in Xiangyang, the eunuch Wang Yumin, the eunuch who was ordered to investigate the accident in Xiangyang, said "spies lie in the city", and said "Ding Ding is full of thousands and hundreds of people, traveling to and from the city, I don't know if they are thieves or soldiers."

It can be said that no matter Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, or other thieves leaders, they are all very good at using secret agents and internal responses.

When Wang Dou was pondering, the generals of the Shun Township Army also exchanged glances. The generals cared so much about Xiangyang, could something big happen there?
Now the army has been spreading the word that General Dingguo descended from the heavens and stars, and has the ability to predict the future. Whether it was the 11th year of the Chongzhen War or the Luoyang incident, it all confirmed the general's foresight. If he made great contributions in Xiangyang, then...

……

In the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641), the second day of February.

Huguang, Chengtian Mansion, Jingmen Prefecture.

Jingmen is known as the gate of Jingchu, and there are many mountains and hills in the territory. At this time, in the Jingshan Mountain in the north of the state, an army is walking along the uneven post road.

Their equipment was not very good, most of the soldiers wore turbans and waist armor, all of which were cloth armor.Or wrap a turban, wear a crotch, wear hemp shoes, and wear a walking scorpion.Many people's clothes are tattered, and even the flags they are flying have many holes.

However, they are in good spirits. From time to time, there is a sound of laughter in the team, and there are often bantering songs:

"In the past, there was Governor Shao, who often came to the troupe to dance. Later, there was Liao who joined the army and followed me without fighting. Such a Yang Ge department, three days away from me."

Every time the song sounded, everyone burst into wild laughter.

The mountain road is rugged, winding deep into the clouds and mist. In the middle of the team, most of them are cavalry, with banners such as "Zhang and Luo" on them.After two strokes of the flag, a rough voice came: "The children are in good spirits, okay, this is what we want, so that we don't lose the prestige of my rebel army."

The person who spoke was a big man riding a well-oiled black horse. This big man was wearing a red-tasseled felt hat and a cloak. He was tall, a little thin, with a yellow face. What caught his attention was his long beard. The cheeks hang down from the mouth, probably two feet long.

A pair of big copper bell-like eyes flashed fiercely from time to time, and his expression was full of rebelliousness.

Beside this big man, also riding a horse, sat a middle-aged man dressed like a rich businessman, with two mustaches and flexible eyes.He talked with the big man from time to time, and they all spoke with a Shaanxi accent. It was Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai who were hated by the Ming court, and they were called "Xian and Cao two thieves" at that time.

The two were surrounded and suppressed by the army of the supervisor Yang Sichang, and adopted the tactic of "running to the enemy", all the way from Huguang to Sichuan, and from Sichuan to Huguang, which exhausted the chasing and suppressing officers and soldiers.

At this time Zhang Xianzhong cursed: "Donkey ball, since we occupied Xingshan, our rebel army has not taken down a city, and the army is short of food and grass. Master Cao, tell us, will we gain anything if we go to Yicheng?"

Luo Rucai pondered and said: "Jingxuan, don't worry, even if we don't get anything in Yicheng, we can still go to Suizhou and Yingshan. Now the officers and soldiers from Huguang are transferred to Sichuan, and there are many empty places for defense. Even if Huguang can't do anything, We can also go to Henan. I heard that King Li Chuang is developing well in Henan. He has a great momentum. He has 10,000+ troops. I heard that he will attack Luoyang. Now the officers and soldiers in Henan are being restrained. Nanyang Prefecture, Runing Prefecture and other places It’s all empty, my rebel army can do a lot.”

After Zhang and Luo captured Xingshan, they intended to attack nearby Fangxian, Zhushan and other counties. Unexpectedly, the governor of Yunyang, Yuan Jixian, was closely guarded, so he changed to Dangyang.Wherever the two men's army went, there was a lot of noise, and the local officials and residents were closely guarded. Xian and Cao had no chance to take advantage of it, so they went straight to Jingmen and Yicheng to see if they could take advantage of it.

Zhang Xianzhong said enviously: "Li Zicheng himself has been besieging Luoyang, which is the territory of King Fu, the uncle of Chongzhen's son. If Luoyang is taken down, the momentum of the invasion army will be great. Master Cao, do you think they can take it down?"

Luo Rucai said: "It's hard to say. Back then we besieged the city with King Gao Chuang's 10,000+ army. We fought for many days but failed to take it down. Luoyang is different from ordinary counties and counties. It is very difficult to fight."

I was quite envious and jealous. I and Zhang Xianzhong were chased around by officers and soldiers, fled from Huguang to Sichuan, and now they fled back. Li Zicheng and others took the opportunity to develop in Henan, and they developed smoothly, with so many soldiers and horses.

Zhang Xianzhong was also conflicted. He hoped that Li Zicheng would take down Luoyang and strengthen the power of the rebel army, but he also hoped that he would not take down Luoyang, otherwise the people who followed King Gao Chuang back then would come on top of him.

After that, the two of them were silent, and the army kept marching through the high mountains of Jingshan, and soon arrived at a local place called Lexian Bridge, which was a post station.When the post soldiers saw the thief coming, they ran away, but the post officer was caught by the sentry cavalry and brought to Zhang and Luo.

The post officer was chubby, white and fat, and kowtowed repeatedly when he saw it: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhang Xianzhong whipped the whip, and beat the post officer crying father and mother, he cursed: "Your mother's hair, I saw you are a corrupt official, a donkey ball, I chopped it off. My father gets angry when he sees these dog officials."

Immediately, an old battalion soldier came out, and amidst the miserable cry of the post officer, he slashed down on his neck with a knife.

I don't know if the soldier did it on purpose, but the knife didn't cut off the head of the post officer. The post officer held his neck, screamed and rolled on the ground, and the blood kept gushing out from the wound. It was steaming hot.

All the soldiers stood around laughing and watching until the postman didn't move.

It was almost noon at this time, and seeing that the subordinates were tired, Zhang and Luo ordered to set up camp at the post station. Immediately, all the troops cheered, and piles of people gathered around the post station one after another, or camped to rest. , or unloading the harness, trimming the wheels and horse handles, etc., there was a lot of noise.

The post stations in the heart of the Central Plains cannot be compared with the important towns on the nine borders, just like the chicken post, there are strange things in the city on Thursday, and the military post and post post are dual-purpose, and they also have defensive functions.A small post station like Lexian Bridge is only more than 100 steps a week, the equipment is very simple, and there are not many people.

So Zhang, Luo and some generals of their respective subordinates went in, lit several pots of charcoal fire, and took out wine and meat to eat and drink.

Luo Rucai is cunning and resourceful, nicknamed Cao Cao, and he is smooth, good at reconciling the relationship between various ministries, laying down the city, and his children and property are willing to share equally, so many peasant army leaders like to cooperate with him.However, he also has a problem, that is, he is greedy for money and lustful, and when he sees the beauty, he puts it in the tent, even if he is besieged by Yang Sichang's [-] troops, these beauties are not willing to discard them.

There are groups of wives and concubines in his tent, all dressed up in silk and satin, and he also raised a theater troupe and dancers with the army.

For a while, the post house was filled with the sound of silk and bamboo music, interspersed with the wild laughter of the crowd.

Zhang Xianzhong is from Dingbian, Shaanxi, and Luo Ru is from Yan'an, Shaanxi. The generals of the two are mostly from Yan'an, Mizhi, Yulin, etc., so the voices coming out of the station are mostly noisy with Qin accent.

Luo Rucai was covered with tiger skins, surrounded by beautiful women of different looks, feeding him wine and meat from time to time, tapping his legs and pinching his back.

When the wine was hot, Luo Ru felt a little emotional, and he said loudly: "The government has always called us thieves, and the foolish people have also called us thieves, thieves are thieves, what's wrong with being thieves? I think when Lao Luo was poor, even a daughter-in-law I can't even get married. Now look, the eldest lady of the official family, the daughter of the rich family, what kind of beauty do they have? Usually they don't even look at me, but now, who doesn't follow me and begs me? Be a thief Well, I like being a thief!"

Everyone laughed, only the women in the venue forced a smile, but no one dared to show dissatisfaction.

Zhang Xianzhong patted his legs and laughed loudly: "Master Cao, you are really a passionate seed."

Everyone laughed wildly again, Yang Chengzu, Wang Long and others under Luo Rucai's subordinates even hugged the woman beside him and kissed them vigorously, wantonly.

On the side of Zhang Xianzhong, there are generals Bai Wenxuan, Chuangshi Wang Ma Wu, Sanyaozi Wang Xingguo and others sitting beside Zhang Xianzhong. Ainengqi four people, known as the "Four Generals".

These four were all hot figures in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, especially Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang, who left a heavy mark in the history books.

Hearing Luo Rucai's words now, Li Dingguo, who should be called Zhang Dingguo at this time, frowned inaudibly, a little disapproving of Luo Rucai's words, he was about [-] years old, tall and tall, sitting upright, full of heroism Qi.

At the age of ten, Li Dingguo followed Zhang Xianzhong to fight in the north and south. He was brave, liked to read the art of war, and had a lot of strategy. People in the army called him "Xiao Chai King".

Because he often reads history books, he has his own cognition and views on world affairs, so he doesn't care much about Luo Rucai's speech style. However, he has fought for many years, experienced life and death, and raised his own city early, which has not been shown in color.

He drank a glass of wine slowly, his eyes glanced at Sun Kewang who was above him inadvertently, but he saw that Sun Kewang's eyes had just withdrawn from his face, and he couldn't help but shudder in his heart.Among the four righteous sons, Sun Kewang was adopted by Zhang Xianzhong since he was a child, and has a detached status, but he is cruel and jealous, and he has secretly targeted him because he threatened his status.

At this time, everyone in the station was very happy, Zhang Xianzhong said: "Happy today, the army is resting, and I will go to Yicheng tomorrow morning, I hope to have a good harvest."

Just as he was talking, an old battalion guard suddenly came in and reported a few words to everyone in the hall.

"What, Xiangyang's armaments are relaxed?"

Zhang Xianzhong sat up abruptly: "Is this military situation real?"

The sentry knight knelt down and said: "How dare you deceive the commander in chief, the news is absolutely true, if the commander in chief doesn't believe it, just call those brothers in for questioning."

(End of this chapter)