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

Chapter 664 Tune the tiger away from the mountain

As early as when Li Zicheng, Ge, Zuo Wuying and others attacked Luoshan, Ding Qirui and others gathered in Xiangyang, Suizhou, Yingshan and other places, watching Sun Yingyuan die alone without support.

After all, Ding Qirui shouldered the important task entrusted by the imperial court. He once asked the Ming army to take the initiative to attack to break the siege of Sun Yingyuan. also."

He said so, and the other generals of the Ming army were unwilling to go out to fight, lest they be surrounded and sent for reinforcements. It wasn't until Sun Yingyuan died in battle, and the robbers and others led the army northward, that they collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Zicheng and other allied forces marched northward, capturing all the prefectures and counties of Runing along the way, and also tried to attack the prefecture Ruyang, but they failed to capture it, so they led the army to retreat. Ding Qirui and other troops also watched helplessly, helpless.

It has been repeatedly confirmed that Li Chuang, Ge, and Zuo Wuying's troops left Runing Mansion with the intention of forcing them to Kaifeng. Under the strict order of the imperial decree, Ding Qirui and others hurried north from Xiangyang, passing through Nanyang Mansion and so on. Head to Kaifeng Mansion.

However, according to the distance, they will not be able to reach Kaifeng City until at least mid-June.

……

When the Baoding army reached the north bank of the Yellow River, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were training their troops.

After the two returned from Henan Mansion, they settled in a place not far from Chenliu County in the southeast of Kaifeng City, by the Sui River.

These places are all plains. They used to be densely populated with towns and towns in Fuguo. However, after raids by bandits, every town was turned into ruins, with piles of rubble and weeds all over the ground. Occasionally, some people wandered in it, like a ghost town.

However, after the two earls set up camp here, because they severely cracked down on the bandits and wiped out some small groups of thieves and bandits around the camp, they also began to gather around the camp, or to do business, or to grow vegetables, or to take the opportunity to grow some food. Yes, it was much more lively than before.

Although imitating the Jingbian army, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen tried to enforce strict discipline and try not to disturb the common people, but they gathered near the barracks, and many common people were somewhat worried, after all, the reputation of the officers and soldiers was too bad.

But no matter how bad the order is, it is better than no order. Without the protection of the army, if you don't live in a big city, or if you don't have the ability to build a stronghold to protect yourself, there will be a lot of poles and bandits in the place, and the bandits will swallow them up. to the stomach.

These goods under the banner of "robbing the rich and helping the poor", "doing justice for the heavens", and "eliminating violence and safety" not only burned, killed and robbed the big households, but also did not spare the poor. Snatch it all.

The pretty little ladies from every household were robbed and ruined. Those who dared to resist were killed immediately, and those who did not resist were also killed for no reason. In addition, they robbed and killed each other. It was just futile to think about farming and living with peace of mind.

As the thieves raided back and forth, the power of the government became weaker. Now many places in Henan have entered the era earlier, and the protagonists of many novels like the era of the law of the jungle, the law of the jungle, and the prevalence of anarchism.

However, the reason why people are not beasts is that there is order and a certain moral bottom line. If we really talk about the jungle, it is often the end of the dynasty. .

Seeing that the army of the two earls is different, the people in the surrounding camps even suggested that they charge some fees. In this way, they are protected by the army and can effectively avoid the harassment of guards, soldiers, and green-skinned villains in Kaifeng City.

inside the camp.

"shooting!"

A few rows of blunderbusses pulled the triggers, and there was an endless crackling sound, the flames and smoke were loud, and the sawdust of the target in front of them flew across.

"it is good!"

Wang Tingchen applauded loudly, and asked his subordinates to bring the target, looked at the big holes in it, and laughed loudly: "The hell blunderbuss is the king blunderbuss, if you hit someone, how can you survive?"

Cao Bianjiao nodded: "The Donglu blunderbuss is indeed sharp, but Brother Wang, if you train like this, will it consume too much medicine? You know, we don't produce it, and this medicine is used for less than one shot. Although local There are gunpowder, not to mention the low power, and sub-powder bullets are often not suitable for the style, so we should save a little."

Wang Tingchen said: "It doesn't matter, there are more blunderbusses and medicines in the warehouse... Besides, didn't he say that when we fought against the Marquis of Yongning and Liaodong? The most important thing for blunderbuss soldiers is to train on a daily basis. Well, when fighting, it looks sharp. He also said that when he participated in the battle, every time his bird gunmen fired two or three shots, the battle was over."

Wang Tingchen said: "Of course, you can't sit and eat. Fortunately, you and I have a good supply of food and wages. Recently, the bandits have been suppressed and some money and food have been obtained. I heard that Sanjin Commercial Bank has set up a few in Pingyang Mansion and Lu'an Mansion in Shanxi Province. What kind of 'office' is it that sells guns and medicines, it's not far from Feng's place, hurry up and buy some medicines."

Wang Dou's experience is now widely spread, and the process of suppressing bandits when he first started his family has also attracted the attention of many interested people. Therefore, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen are fine, and they also sent troops everywhere to suppress bandits. Some money and food.

Don't underestimate those bandit villages. People who can build villages in various places in Henan are either powerful gentry or bandits. They often own hundreds of hectares of land and many cattle and sheep. Li Zicheng used to attack the villages in Shangluo Mountain Survival, often breaking through a stockade, can feed and drink the army for a long time.

When the officers and soldiers passed by, they often "borrowed food" from various villages.

When Wang Tingchen said this, Cao Bianjiao was more or less relieved. He found that in the two armies, the blunderbuss soldiers were a decisive battle force, so they relied more and more on mighty medicine.

"shooting!"

Another wave of bird guns sprayed a large puff of smoke and flames forward.

The two were patrolling the camp. At this time, there were horns in the camp, and the sound of killing was loud. The officers and soldiers were training, and the rising sun reflected on everyone, shining brightly.

These officers and soldiers looked tough, but obviously, their number was a little smaller than when they first went south, and it was not easy to replenish the number of people for training according to the Jing frontier army.

Moreover, the army of the two usually only drills for a while in the morning. One is that the weather is hot, and the other is that they have to practice for a long time. The food in the army is a severe test. There is no or little meat supply, which is obviously impossible.

Especially the pike soldiers and sword and shield soldiers who consume a lot of energy.

Only the blunderbuss, as long as there are seeds, the training time can last longer than other types of arms.

Just looking at it, suddenly a sentry came to report that Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, led the general soldier Hu Dawei and others, and came across the Yellow River.

Wang Tingchen laughed loudly: "Hu Shuai is here too, we must go to greet him."

……

On the second day, I also heard that envoys from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War came from Lu'an Mansion to escort a large number of excellent bird guns and sub-medicines from the East Road. They took the road of Shanxi, but they walked from this side, which was safer. .

Accompanying them was a team called the "Xuanfu Town Military Observation Group", which consisted of some Jingbian Army Zanhua, scribes, town governors, military officers, etc., and a group of Jingbian Army Bird Gunners accompanied them, leading the way. One of the characters is Zanhua Wen Shiyan who has the rank of Zuo Xiaowei, but he came to observe the war in Henan.

Taking others' short hands and eating others' soft mouth, Wang Dou sent [-] bird guns and a lot of gunpowder to the Ministry of War. The court could only hold his nose to recognize his weird request.

However, they also made a request that the regiment only had the right to observe, and had no other rights at all.

……

June [-]th, Taikang.

Taikang was more than 400 miles away from the southeast of the closed city, and there was a vortex flowing in the north. At this time, the city had already been captured by Li Zicheng and others. Along the banks of the vortex, there seemed to be endless camps.

Early in the morning, Li Zicheng took his subordinates and generals to inspect the camp, as well as the situation of the soldiers' drills. They have been staying here for a few days for the coalition forces. The main reason is that everyone has heard that most of the officers and soldiers have been reinforced, especially because there are many strong troops and generals in the camp. Doubts and worries arose.

For the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion, Li Zicheng paid close attention to the drills. This was a habit he had developed when he was in Shangluo Mountain. Of course, due to the limitation of supplies, their drill time could not last long.

For the infantry, it is mainly to practice spears. In the Ming army, the Yang family's marksmanship is generally used, fighting in formation, coming and going, just a few moves, and the same is true for the army. It is impossible for them to ask too much. It would be nice to stab forward and be able to form a good formation. Of course, tens of thousands of people practice spear formation, which is quite spectacular.

The more elite soldiers practice swords and shields, as well as bows and arrows.

"The ranks of the rebels are getting bigger and bigger."

Hearing the neighing of war horses and the shouts of killing, all the generals beside him were excited, only Li Zicheng sighed: "It's just that the food and grass are hard to support."

As soon as Li Zicheng said this, everyone was equally moved. Indeed, food and grass are hard to come by. Chuangjun divides the fields in Henan Province. They don’t pay for food for five years, and they can’t receive a single rice. Then more people and horses are added, and it is more difficult to increase food and grass, and the cycle continues.

Li Zicheng lamented the suffering of grain and grass supply more than once. In history, Hou Xun also said about Li Chuang's situation.

"... There are millions of thieves in the township. Now let's count 50 people and [-] horses. If a man's solar eclipse is one liter, and a horse's solar eclipse is three liters, the place where he goes will get [-] bells of millet a day." Also, there are thousands of miles of red land in the Central Plains, and there is no human habitation in sight. Since the past, it has been safe here..."

In order to support his huge "army", Li Zicheng had to keep fleeing and sweeping.

I've seen it everywhere, it's almost noon, and the heads of all ministries have already been invited.

"Let's go, whether to go north and push towards Kaifeng, it's time to make a decision today."

The old camp is located in a temple in the southwest of the city.

"I heard that King Chuang lived a frugal life and shared joys and sorrows with his soldiers. He ate coarse grains and wild vegetables and drank coarse brewed rice wine. That's true."

"Yeah, how can you say that there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, why does King Chuang treat himself so badly?"

In the main hall, several large banquets were set up, the leaders of Ge Zuo's five battalions, old Hui Hui Ma Shouying, Ge Liyan He Yilong, Zuojin King He Jin, Ruler Liu Xiyao, Fighting King Lin Chenggong, and Luo Rucai from Cao Ying. Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo and others who offered the camp were present.

The generals under each command are accompanied by the generals, guessing and punching each other, and drinking with each other.

In the banquet, the food and drinks were poor, and some chickens were killed temporarily to entertain the various leaders. Some people admired it, but some people didn't think it right. What was the reason for the rebellion? Isn't it just to live a better life?To live such a hard life, it is better not to rebel.

Especially Luo Rucai, who is used to enjoyment, no matter how difficult it is, he will never give up with the hundreds of wives, concubines, dancers and so on. He feels that it is really hard to swallow the simple food, but he is smooth, so naturally he will not show it.

Of course, eating and drinking are just a trivial matter when they come to discuss matters this time. After a hasty lunch, everyone sat down to discuss.

"The officers and soldiers are powerful, especially there are many elite frontier troops. If we really want to face each other head-on, the outcome is unpredictable."

Touching his two mustaches, Luo Rucai, who looks like a rich businessman, sighed.

(End of this chapter)