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

Chapter 790

Lao Bai Niu: 300 million words, history has turned a new page.

……

In February of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Henan, Kaifeng Prefecture, Tongxu County.

It's mid-spring, when everything is recovering, the flowers are blooming, and it's a good time for spring plowing. However, this year Henan is still full of drought and severe disasters. People are dying and fleeing.

In fact, even if the drought situation improves, it is impossible for Henan to recover in the short term, because the order has been lost everywhere, there are refugees everywhere, and there are so many bandits and poles, how can the people stop and farm with peace of mind?This is also the horror of not suffering from poverty but suffering from anxiety.

The dry ground was covered with dust, and it was white everywhere. The bark of the trees that could be seen had been stripped off by the hungry people, and the roots of the grass that could be seen had also been dug up by the refugees.Between the sky and the earth, there seems to be only a piece of withered yellow, and the wind blows it casually, and it is dust all over the sky.

This is an elm forest, the bark of the trees has been stripped at least up to the waist, revealing the bare white trunk.There were also weeds surrounding the trees and spreading into the distance, with a few corpses and bones lying among them. Suddenly, a sound like a broken gong came from the other side of the forest.

"Your Majesty asked me to patrol the mountains. After touring the northern mountains, I inspected the southern mountains. I inspected the eastern mountains to kill passers-by. I inspected the western mountains to watch the sun. My king has three heads and six arms. I snatched my little girl and carried it on my back. I am so pitiful that my mouth is fat." Pharynx, when will I be able to stand up and become a king."
Then there was another majestic chorus: "In the future, I will be the king of the mountain, and I will not patrol the mountains when I become a king. Mother, babble, babble, babble."

Sing in unison: "Yi Ya Yi Ya Yo, Yi Ya Yi Ya Yo..."

The singing sounded like an ocean of passion. Following the singing, a group of people and horses turned around. Among these people, more than 300 rode horses, and the rest were infantry. The big flag fluttered in the wind, with three words crookedly written on it: "Mountain Patrol Army."

There was an even worse flag flying beside it, with the words "Walk the Way for Heaven" written on it, and several small holes had been broken on the side of the Heaven and the Way.

However, although these people are dressed in shabby clothes, they are in good spirits. Only a small part of them are disheveled, and everyone has weapons, either broadswords or spears, and there are even two teams of 50 infantry, carrying bird guns , but also full of young and strong.

This is rare in the local area, and even in the nearby armed forces.

They walked in a queue, and they all walked happily while singing in a neat and passionate voice.

At this time, there were three strong men in the lead, one of them was full of flesh, with a rough expression, wearing a wool coat, with a bow and arrow backpack on his waist, and a waist knife.

The other person has a peculiar appearance, with a pig nose, high eyebrows, and a big face on one side and a small one on the other, which is impressive at first glance.

Of course, this kind of appearance, according to the ancient saying, means that the face has a strange face, or looks ancient. He wore a cotton-padded jacket, a felt hat, a bird gun on his shoulder, and the same thing on his waist. With a waist knife.

There was also a tall man with a pale complexion, wearing a dark blue long cotton jacket and a six-in-one hat.It stands to reason that he looks handsome, but the two mustaches on his lips ruined his image, making him look like a master with evil eyebrows and mouse eyes, with a short gun stuck in a wide cloth belt.

But it was Kong San, Lao Hu, and Huang Weijie.

The three of them came to Tongxu, Henan Province in October last year. They first mixed into a small group of poles, and made a living by fighting each other and killing each other.

Now all parts of Henan are in utter chaos, the power of the government has long since disappeared, and the people everywhere are either tyrannical and powerful to protect themselves, or refugees and hungry people gather in dens one by one.

The folks are no longer well-off and have no self-protection power. Families gather together. In this chaotic environment, of course, it is impossible for everyone to farm with peace of mind. If they want to survive, they have to attack others and plunder. food and clothing of others.

It is as if countless small Three Kingdoms were formed in Henan, where big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat small shrimp. There is only survival, no humanity.

Relying on their own skills, the three of them quickly stood out from the group of poles. Lao Hu even used his ability to plot against his boss. Once when he was fighting with other poles, he shot the little leader to death with one arrow.

After returning to his small village without a leader, with the support of Kong San and Huang Weijie, Lao Hu became the village owner very smoothly. Kong San and Huang Weijie were the second village owner and the third village owner respectively.

The three of them can also be regarded as division of labor and cooperation. Kong San trained soldiers and selected elite and reliable soldiers as his own soldiers. Huang Weijie was in charge of logistics, and Lao Hu was in charge of the overall situation. A natural leader candidate.

In mid-November, the three of them formulated the plan of "walking the way for the sky, protecting the environment and the people", and also named the "Mountain Patrol Army" to vigorously suppress bandits in Tongxu County, gradually eliminating the small gangsters in the territory. Pirates, plunder their harvest, and strengthen their own strength.

While looting, he also distributed some food and rice to relieve the hungry refugees. He soon became famous, and many hungry people came to seek refuge. Lao Hu's name of "Treading the Earth Dragon" quickly became famous in Tongxu.

The common people in the territory are spreading rumors that a group of righteous bandits appeared in Tongxu, just like the Xiaoyuanying in Suizhou at this time, they don't kill people indiscriminately, they only plunder wealth and gather crowds, even the local county magistrate Fei has a good impression of them, even The intention is to recruit security and give them an official position.

Considering that I was going the wrong way, after recruiting, it would be difficult to carry out follow-up work. Lao Hu, Kong San and others refused, but they also maintained a tacit understanding of mutual peace, and they could go to the county town to buy some items from time to time.

And because it was just to suppress the bandits and eliminate the big and small poles, several richer thick fortresses in Tongxu also had a good impression of this force, and gradually after Lao Hu and others became stronger, they were also willing to lend them food and pay protection fees .

These fortresses are all gathered by local big families. The fortress walls are tall and thick, and the defenses are tight. People with the same surname of the clan gather in them, and the cohesion is strong. It is very difficult to capture such a fortress. They are willing to make friends, Lao Hu and others Of course I am so happy.

After the new year, Lao Hu and others have even more soldiers and horses. There are already nearly a thousand infantry and more than 100 horse soldiers, all of whom are still young and strong.

A steady stream of support was sent from Kaifeng and other places, such as some grain, some iron materials, waist knives and spears, some three-eyed guns, bird guns and so on.

Although these weapons, such as the blunderbuss, are simple blunderbusses that have no fire door device, have different calibers, and cannot use fixed-loaded paper tube ammunition, they are still considered excellent. Among the bandits, having such weapons is of course even more powerful.

In the eyes of everyone in the village, the three village owners are people of great ability. They have a wide range of contacts and a wide range of contacts. They are always able to obtain all kinds of materials needed in the village, so that their own strength continues to grow.

Of course, this kind of support is not without conditions. It is one of their "main businesses" to collect women and children and send them to the Duhufu. At present, in many places in Henan, regardless of officials and bandits, they are doing this kind of "business". , the "business" is bigger.

Because of the continuous support, since the beginning of the year, the "Mountain Patrol Army" has extended its tentacles overseas, and the number of soldiers and horses has increased.

During this rush, the habitual bandits and bandits collected from various places are constantly being exhausted. For example, all the familiar faces in Xiaozhai at the beginning have disappeared, and they are replaced by newcomers. staff.

Countless fights are inevitable, and the three of them are considered lucky, and they are still alive. Of course, wounds and wounds on their bodies are inevitable. Life and death are fate, and the three of them have already seen it.

At this time, the three of them were all grinning with big mouths, looking like thieves, and it was not at all obvious that they were the elites of the intelligence department.

At the same time, there were a few thrashing chickens and ducks hanging on Lao Hu's saddle, behind Kong San's horse was a grunting fat pig, and behind Huang Weijie's horse was a desperately struggling ewe.The three subordinates are also carrying the rice, carrying the burden, all laughing happily, just like a group of bandits who have just returned from robbing their houses.

Everyone couldn't help being unhappy, yesterday their "Mountain Patrol Army" led by the three village owners fought a big battle with the "Chuangsantian" forces in Wei's territory. Zhu Tu, more than 2000 weapons were seized on the spot.

There are more than 60 stones of grain and rice, more than 1000 taels of grained silver, and many colorful satin, mountain silk, cotton cloth, pig and sheep wine, etc. How can it not make people happy?

After this battle, the prestige of Dazhai Lord "Treading Dragon" will be spread not only in Tongxu territory, but also in Weishi, Fugou, and Taikang counties. As a subordinate, it will be better to have a strong backer You can survive in troubled times, right?
But to be honest, the failure of "Crossing the Sky" is inevitable. It seems that there are few people, but they are elite. There are only 350 cavalry with horses. Although most of them ride donkeys, mules, or Those who ride bad horses, but have good war horses, there are fifty riders, and they are the personal soldiers of Dazhai Lord led by Master Kong Ye of the Second Village.

There are still 500 infantry on our side. Although only 1000 people were dispatched this time, the sharpest blunderbuss team came out to fight, and a volley of 20 blunderbusses was defeated in the first round of "Crossing the Sky". After a disastrous defeat, more than 2000 young and strong were scattered after more than [-] people were killed or injured.

Confucius led his personal guards to attack again, and the rest of the cavalry followed, and the defeat of "Crossing the Sky" was in sight. A woman and child who can't run, this is a great source of wealth.

Their main business in the village is "human trafficking" first, "weapon processing" second, and "protection fee collection" third. As for the villagers who have nothing to do when they are free, they grow wheat and beans nearby, which is just a sideline.

Among the more than a thousand women and children villages, the unweds were divided, and the rest were sent to Kaifeng Fucheng, where they could exchange for a lot of supplies they needed.Well, the only thing to be careful about is Chen Liu's "She Po Tian" gang, they have long been jealous of their own "business", this time on the way back to the army, be careful of them blocking the way and robbing them.

This group of people is nothing. They sold out their wives and children, and robbed women and children everywhere in exchange for resources.

After returning with a full load, everyone in the "Mountain Patrol Army" was elated, and the "Military Song" was sung loudly. Only the women and children of the "Crossing the Sky" subordinates who followed behind were frowning.

The mountain patrol army under the "Treading Dragon" is good at everything else, but they like "trafficking people". I heard that those women and children who were recruited were sent to Shanxi to enjoy blessings. I don't know if it is true or not. The future is unknown. They were uneasy.

Turning around the woods, suddenly there was an urgent report from the guard horse soldiers in charge of detectives: "Shepotian is dispatched in full force, waiting not far ahead, there may be more than 3000 people."

(End of this chapter)