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

Chapter 772

In leap November of the 15th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's army marched southward in a mighty manner, pointing directly at Xiangyang.

At this time, it was Zuo Liangyu's tribe who guarded Xiangyang. During the battle of Zhuxian Town, the Ming army was defeated because of Zuo Liangyu's escape. .

At the same time, the feeling of uneasiness made him desperately recruit and recruit Luo Qingzhuang, especially after receiving the news from the Xuanfu Times, the kind of accusation and ruin made Zuo Liangyu furious, and at the same time accelerated the process of recruiting Luo soldiers. pace.

What kind of bandits and local bandits, Qingpi loafers, never refused to come, and soon the number of people under his command reached 10, known as 30.

However, the imperial court has a limited number of salaries, so the soldiers who exceed the salary are all collected from the local people. The Ping bandits looted at will, killed people at will, plundered people's property, raped their wives and daughters, and did all kinds of evil. The people of Xiangyang suffered greatly from it. Liangyu hated it to the bone.

The local people were preparing to respond in groups, and only waited for Li Chuang's army to arrive, they would open the door and surrender the thieves.It is impossible for Zuo Liangyu not to be aware of the situation in Xiangyang Mansion, and he also revealed in the post, "At this time, the people's sentiments are responding, and the momentum is boiling."

After the battle of Zhuxian Town, he had no fighting spirit and only built ships in Xiangyang Prefecture. When he saw that the situation was not good, he fled along the lower reaches of the Han River.They were working hard, but unexpectedly, the people of Xiangyang hated Zuo Liangyu to the bone, secretly set a fire, and burned all the ships Zuo Liangyu built.

Zuo Liangyu was furious and shocked at the same time, a group of merchant ships happened to pass by, and Zuo Liangyu immediately snatched these merchant ships away, loaded with a large amount of military supplies, and the stolen women's belongings, and asked his son Zuo Menggeng to transport them away first.

He himself led the army to defend Xiangyang City and Fancheng, intending to fight Li Chuang here. After all, this was his territory, and Zuo Liangyu was unwilling to give up until the last moment.

Li Zicheng's army marched into Huguang. On the way, he published the very famous "Call to Suppress the Soldiers and Peace the People" written by Gu Junen, according to the article.

"In order to suppress the soldiers and secure the civil affairs: the Ming Dynasty was benevolent, favored the eunuchs, paid heavy grades, corrupted taxes, imposed heavy punishments, and could not save the people from fire and water. The army was exhausted, the people's wealth was plundered, the wives and daughters were raped, the marrow was sucked and the skin was peeled off. This book The tenth generation of the camp was a good farmer, eager to promote benevolence and righteousness, and save the people from misery. He came to Huguang in person and sent a sign to inform: the soldiers and the people should not be panicked, and everyone is safe. If anyone in the camp kills good people without authorization, the whole team will be killed. The people have a sense of victory. Changming to welcome my master Wang, I will use it more heavily, and the rest will not get military uniforms, and it is difficult to separate jade and stone. This is the call."

This proclamation hit the hearts of many soldiers and people. At this time, the military discipline of the officers and soldiers is unspeakably corrupt, and the folk songs about bandits combing the soldiers are rampant everywhere. .

Du Yinxi, a famous official in the late Ming Dynasty, once said: "I know that those who drive the people of the world and follow the thieves will do everything they can..."

It can be said that the situation of the military injury at that time.

At this time, because Li Yan and other literati joined Li Chuang's army, the military discipline was relatively strict. Li Zicheng even issued an order: "Anyone who kills a person is like killing my father, and a person who rapes a woman is like my mother."

The orders and prohibitions in the army are in stark contrast to the officers and soldiers at that time, so many people have completely different attitudes towards soldiers and thieves.

"When thieves go to other towns, there are those who are waiting on the way, those who are paid for food, and those who are rewarded with bows and arrows... they are happy to be attached to far and near, and they don't look at them as thieves..."

Regarding the officers and soldiers, in the middle of the twelfth lunar month of the 14th year of Chongzhen, the officers and soldiers led by Zuo Liangyu arrived in Yuzhou in the snow. And the price is also rejected."

In addition, this essay is very clever, it only talks about suppressing soldiers and reassuring the people.It also emphasizes military discipline, and those who kill good civilians will be killed by the whole team. Therefore, wherever the call is made, not only the common people are excited, but even the gentry are watching.

A large number of secret works entered Huguang before the army, and the folk song "Chuang Wang didn't pay food when he came" was sung everywhere. As soon as Li Zicheng's army entered Huguang, the people burned incense and saluted, and offered wine to welcome them. Especially the people of Xiangyang Prefecture volunteered to act as guides for Li Chuang's army. .

At this time, Zuo Liangyu's army was densely defending Xiangyang City and Fancheng, and those guides led the intruders to bypass Zuo Liangyu's fortifications and cross the Han River from the entrance of Baima Cave.

The upper part of Baimadu is the Pu River, the lower part is the Wujia River, the second crossing is Jiaji, and the upper reaches of the Han Dynasty. It is about [-] miles west of Xiangyang City. .

When Li Zicheng's army was fighting to cross the river mouth, the local people rushed to the death to carry guns for them, and assisted the brigade to cross the beach. Zuo Liangyu watched Li Chuang's army come around from outside the line of defense, as if the German army of later generations bypassed the Maginot line of defense. , the mood of the French.

He had no intention of fighting, so he broke out of camp and fled quickly. Before leaving, he did not change his bad habits, burned, killed and looted in Xiangyang Mansion, burned huts, razed wells and stoves, left no chickens and dogs behind, and thousands of miles were empty.

After Zuo Liangyu ran away, all the Xiangyang officials also fled. Li Zicheng took Xiangyang City without any effort, and then divided his troops into Zaoyang, Yicheng, Gucheng, Guanghua Zhucheng, and De'an Prefecture Suizhou and other places.

On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 15th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's army went south from Xiangyang again. The news spread to Jingzhou. Zhu Changrun, king of Minghui, Chen Ruimo, governor of Pianyuan, and various civil and military officials fled at night on the eighth day of the eighth day. There was no one at the city gate.

On the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Zicheng's army entered Jingzhou. The people of Jingzhou slaughtered pigs and sheep, and raised flags to welcome them. On the [-]th day, Li Zicheng killed the whole family of King Xiangyin who had surrendered.

……

At this time, Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, and Qian Zhong, the commander-in-chief, chose Yunji Chengtian Mansion to present and protect the mausoleum. This place was originally Zhongxiang County, and it was the fiefdom of Zhu Youhang, the father of Emperor Jiajing. It was upgraded to Chengtian Mansion, and two guards, Chengtian and Xianling, were set up to defend.

At the time of the twelfth lunar month, Xiangyang, De'an, and Jingzhou fell together, and a crane came to inherit the sky to protect the Xianling Mausoleum. It was accompanied by Li Zhensheng, the imperial censor Li Zhensheng, Zhang Fengzhu, the sub-inspector's deputy envoy, Shen Shouchong, the left-behind general Shen Shouchong, Xiao Han, the magistrate of Zhongxiang County, and others.

Song Yihe started the provincial examinations, and within ten years he held the festival axe, and his achievements were tabooed by others. Yushi Wei Zhouyun slandered Yihe, especially when Song Yihe visited his supervisor Yang Sichang, because Yang's father was named He, he wrote on the famous post "Song Yiniao" is cited as a joke.

In fact, the public is rich in economics and well versed in opportunistic opportunities. He served as the governor and made great achievements. The pole, added by the prestige, the bandits and bandits fled watching the wind.

The bandits attacked Runing in the south and rushed forward to rescue them. Runing City had fallen, and Zuo Liangyu's army harassed Xiang and Fan, and a crane scattered them.Under the twelfth lunar month, hundreds of thousands of Li Chuang's troops came to Chengtian Mansion. The father bowed his armor and worked hard with the generals every day. The Ling army built a city with trees.

However, Li Chuang's army burned it with accumulated salaries, smoked Chunde Mountain, Song Yihe and others retreated to the Fucheng, and Zhang Fengzhu, the deputy patrol envoy, walked into the mountain.

Hundreds of thousands of Chuang troops besieged Fucheng. Song Yihe did not disarm his armor at night, and encouraged all the troops to fight for five days and nights.

However, the hearts of the people were against each other, and the local people were indifferent to the officers and soldiers. When the vanguard of the invading army arrived in Chengtian by boat, some local residents wrote "Welcome to the king" on the gate, and some prepared to open the gate of Xiguan to welcome the intruders into the city.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the 16th year of Chongzhen, the local people opened the gates of the city, thieves swarmed in, Chengtian Mansion was destroyed, the general soldier Qian Zhongxuan died in battle, the Fubiao camp was exhausted, Li Zhensheng, the patrol censor, was captured, and Yang Yongyu, a doctor of Qin Tianjian surrender.

Song Yihe went down to fight in the streets of the city and killed several thieves with his blade. Afterwards, he was awarded the title of governor. Qiu built a shrine and erected a memorial tablet.

……

After Li Zicheng captured Chengtian, he changed Chengtian Mansion to Yangwu Prefecture, continued to march eastward, and captured Hanchuan County on the 16th day of the first lunar month in the 120th year of Chongzhen.

Zuo Liangyu's tribe fled all the way from Xiangyang to Wuchang, but their heels were not yet firm. Seeing Li Zicheng's army rolling in, they continued to flee down the river to Jiujiang.

At that time, people said that the Zuo army's evil deeds: "First of all, the small people can't set up their own boats, and they put their houses on the grain boats. Thousands of families can rely on the grain boats. If they are generally plundered, one soldier boards the boat, and a hundred people Please order, the sound of swords and people's voices, fish flying in disorder, what a pity! On the [-]th, the whole division went eastward, mast sails covered the river, and the sound of sour weeping was connected ten miles away. The two counties were fortunate to have a little rest."

After Zuo Liangyu's troops fled, Li Zicheng's army took the route of Liujiage, captured Hanyang Mansion on the [-]th of the first lunar month, and captured the four or five thousand ships.On the [-]th, they crossed the river to attack Wuchang. Due to the rapid flow of the river and the fact that most of the troops were unfamiliar with water, many boats were sunk by the wind and waves, and many thieves were drowned alive.

Fear of the mountains and water in Huguang and Jiangnan flooded the hearts of many soldiers who entered the camp. Most of them were from Shaanxi and Henan. After arriving in Huguang, they were actually very unaccustomed to it.

At that time, Luo Rucai and others argued with Li Zicheng, thinking that going south to Huguang was not suitable for the development of their camps and ministries.

It was also at this time that Li Zicheng decided to stop the large-scale raid on Huguang, and returned to Xiangyang via Yunmeng County.

……

Because of the brilliant results of the Southern Expedition and the capture of the Chengtian Mansion, Li Zicheng was not satisfied with his ambitions, and his officials also urged Li Zicheng to become the emperor. Li Zicheng was tempted, but Niu Jinxing believed that the time was not yet ripe, and there was also Dr. Qin Tianjian who surrendered. Yang Yongyu was equally frightened.

To show his loyalty earlier, he asked Li Zicheng to excavate and destroy the mausoleum. Unexpectedly, when he just dug, there was a thunderous rumble in the whole valley, scaring many bandits digging the mausoleum out of their wits. Yang Yongyu was also very frightened.
At this time, he also believed that there was a difference in the mausoleum, which proved that the dragon spirit of the Ming Dynasty was still there, and it was not yet time to become emperor.

Because Yang Yongyu claims to know astronomy, geography, rites and music, and the art of war, he is also a mysterious doctor of Qin Tianjian. Li Zicheng has a lot of trust in him. Although he is moved, he still obeys Niu Jinxing and his wishes. Advocate civil and military marshal.

At the beginning, Li Zicheng sacked the city and plundered a lot of land and did not defend it. When he crossed the Han River and drove into Jing, he saw that there was no soldier.

So Xiangyang was changed to Xiangjing, Chengtianfu was changed to Yangwu Prefecture, King Xiang's Palace was built, Changyi Mansion was built, troops were divided into guards, and officials were divided into duties. , Penal, and industrial six governments.

In addition, Yu Shangyou was the minister of the official government, Xiao Yingkun was the minister of the household government, Yang Yongyu was the minister of the Li government, Qiu Zhitao was the minister of the military government, Deng Yanzhong was the minister of the criminal government, and Yao Xiyin was the minister of the labor government. official.

In terms of locality, each province has a defensive envoy, and each government has a magistrate. According to the complexity of the affairs, officials such as magistrates and magistrates are set up as appropriate. Officials such as the master book, each official issued a letter of seal and payment.

In terms of the military system, further rectification was carried out, and the five battalions were improved, divided into five battalions: center, left, right, front, and rear, and divided into five battalions, and the colors of the flags were divided. The standard battalion used white flags, and the flags were all black. Followed.

Set up the chief and deputy generals, the generals, and Tian Jianxiu and Liu Zongmin as the generals.Tian Jianxiu was generous and able to win the hearts of the people, so he was appointed to be the admiral of all camps. Liu Zongmin was qualified and experienced, to act as Li Zicheng's right-hand man and command the central government's pro-army.

With Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Li Guo, and Liu Xiyao as the commanding generals, Gao Yigong and Li Yan lived on the left and right, and trusted each other.

The Fifth Battalion is mainly used for siege field operations, and there are also local guards, first from Jingxiang, then from Chengtian, De'an, Jingzhou, and gradually to Runan. , within two thousand guards Jingzhou City.

Niu Wancai, the mighty general of Tongda Weiyou, has [-] cavalry, and Zhang Li, the captain of Shuaibiao, has [-] sailors to guard Yiling.The handsome and mighty general Wang Wenyao guarded Lizhou with six thousand soldiers, and the general Yangwu Wei Guoyi guarded Anlu with three thousand soldiers...

One by one, the troops were divided into garrisons, and military officers such as captains, brigade commanders, department commanders, and sentinel commanders were also set up in places above the county level to command the local armed forces.

In May of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's Xiangyang regime sent officials to set up offices, extending from the south bank of the Yellow River in the north to Lizhou, Anxiang, Huarong and other places in Hunan in the south, with a considerable scale.
In terms of people's livelihood, it was announced that "no urging subjects" and "no grain collection for three years", provided cattle and seeds for the poor, and ordered the protection of cattle. During the event, Li Yongmao said in the title book: "Thieves are forbidden to kill people, and pay for their lives. And it is agreed to kill one ox and pay ten horses."
He also said: "The thieves used the prohibition to kill the peasants, and the Zhang officials set up officials to confuse the people's hearts and establish a foothold."

In the same year, Zhu Yixin, the inspector and supervisor of Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang, also said in the memorial book: "The thieves also gave cattle breeds to relieve the poor, the livestock and animals, and farming and mulberry. Attaching soldiers, the situation where the thieves have food and the soldiers have no food..."

Li Zicheng urgently needs a large number of officials to establish the Xiangyang regime, but the gentry are mostly on the sidelines and have doubts and fears about being a thief.

When Li Zicheng started the examination in the first month of the 16th year of Chongzhen, the title was "Two of Three Parts of the World". Then he ordered those who evaded to be sentenced to death, and then said: "If anyone does not take the test, his family will be slaughtered."

Because of the compulsive nature of the examination, scholars have no freedom to refuse to participate in the imperial examination, and all students have no choice but to do so. However, on the day of the examination, there are those who are angry and yell at the essay, some who are sentimental and cry bitterly, and some who are afraid of disaster and respond to their fate Unruly.

Li Zicheng was angry again, and said loudly: "I cut off your generation like mowing grass, but we are benevolent and righteous, and the killing is not military. We only kill those who scold and cry. Those who do not make the rules will have their ears and noses cut off. Once the department is opened Imprisoned for life."

At that time, many unruly people had their noses and ears cut off, and the gentry were even more frightened, saying: This is the disaster of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the Wu Kingdom of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

They fled one after another, and the local talents needed by Li Zicheng have been vacant for a long time.

There is also Yu Shangyou, the servant of the official government, who recommends a list of Jingzhou gentlemen, who will be recruited by himself. Jiangdong Juren Chen Wance and Li Kaixian are among the recommendations.

(End of this chapter)