Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 32
At the gate of the city, Zuo Maodi had already sent someone to take care of it. Wang Yan and others were able to leave the city smoothly. After bidding farewell to Chen Zilong, they went straight to the river and crossed the Yangtze River that night.

The distance between Sizhou and Nanjing is more than [-] li, Wang Yan and the three of them rushed all the way, and they rushed to the outside of Sizhou within three days.

It was only ten days since Wang Yan left Sizhou, but when he returned to Sizhou city, Sizhou had already changed.

Sizhou is located in the south of Xuzhou, east of Huai'an, and Yangzhou. It did not directly face the Qing army, but as Henan fell into the hands of the Qing court, Sizhou's west gate suddenly opened, and it became the first place to resist the Qing army. line.

Originally, he was the only garrison in Sizhou City, but now a Sizhou General Soldier has been transferred, and the number of troops in the city has increased from 2000 in the Zhongyi Camp to more than [-].

After Wang Yan returned to Sizhou, he hurriedly called on his new boss, and then tried to raise money while training soldiers, while waiting for the news from Nanjing.

Time passed, and it was the end of March. He didn't wait for news from Zuo Maodi, but he waited for a transfer order.

In March, Li Zicheng led his troops eastward, and Zuo Liangyu, Marquis of Ningnan in Wuchang, who had been placed with high hopes by Ming Dynasty, fled without a fight. Secret edict, go to Nanjing for ambulance.

Zuo Liangyu slaughtered Wuchang, and then the whole army took a boat and went down the river eastward, which shocked the Hongguang Dynasty, and the emperor and Ma Fu were deeply frightened.

Zuo Liangyu's banner was "on the side of the emperor of Qing Dynasty, save the prince", but the prince who came from the north was a fake, why should he save him, and where did he go to Hongguang emperor.

The emperor had been on the throne for nearly a year, and his legitimacy was unquestionable. Zuo Liangyuming wanted to overthrow Emperor Hongguang and reorganize the imperial court in order to get rid of Ma Shiying, the chief assistant, and Ruan Dacheng, Minister of the Ministry of War.

The emperor and Ma Fu in the city of Nanjing naturally cannot allow Zuo Liangyu to come to Nanjing. The four towns in the north of the Yangtze River have gained high positions because of their contribution to the policy, so they naturally have to stand by the emperor.

In the face of Zuo Liangyu's menacing army, the emperor ordered Ruan Dacheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, to join forces with Huang Degong, Marquis of Jingnan, Liu Liangzuo, Uncle Guangchang, and Fang Guoan, General of Chikou, to mobilize a small force of soldiers from Sizhou and Huai'an to jointly wipe out the rebels. the left army.

The imperial court's military order was passed to Xuzhou, and the veterans of Gaojie's department all had their own territory, and no one was willing to fight Zuo Liangyu. Gao Yuanzhao, the son of Xingping, discussed with Mrs. Xing, and only Wang Yan of Sizhou was suitable, so he passed it down. The military order sent him south to help in the war.

Wang Yan received the military order from the general army, and his heart was filled with gloom. The Ming Dynasty was already in turmoil, and Wuchang Town, the strongest of the only five towns, launched a rebellion.

When he was in Nanjing, Wang Yan talked with Chen Zilong and others. He also thought about relying on Zuo Liangyu's 80 people to resist Li Zicheng's eastward advance and defend the upper reaches of the Yangtze River for the Ming Dynasty. .

Wang Yan was worried that this was not enough. The four towns in Jiangbei were already insufficiently defended against the Qing court. Facing the Qing army in Henan and Shandong, they were already a little helpless. Now they have deployed two towns to fight against Zuo Liangyu. As soon as the Qing soldiers went south at this time, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty face the danger of collapse.

Wang Yan returned to the barracks all the way in dismay, and now he can only pray that the Qing soldiers can give Daming some more time, so that Daming can defeat Zuo Liangyu first, and then fight to the death with him.

When such a thing happened suddenly, Wang Yan was about to go to the front line to fight to raise money for Xu Yanyan's ransom, so he could only temporarily put it aside.

At this time, he hastily wrote a letter to Xu Yanyan, asked someone to take it to Nanjing, and hurriedly assembled all the generals in the camp, preparing to go south to fight Zuo Liangyu.

Fighting a war is a hard job, and the generals in Xuzhou Town were unwilling to go. In order to give an explanation to the court, Mrs. Xing had no choice but to let Wang Yan, who had no foundation, go.

But after all, Wang Yan was the benefactor who avenged her husband, and Madam Xing felt a little sorry for entrusting him with the life-threatening work, so she sowed 5 taels of silver for the start-up fee, as well as a large amount of food, grass and equipment to compensate Wang Yan.

After Wang Yan wrote the letter to Xu Yanyan, many people had already gathered in his tent, all of whom were the main officers of the Loyalty Battalion.

"Ziyun, you take a hundred brothers, go to the treasury to bring these things back first." Wang Yan put down the brush in his hand, took out a warrant from his pocket and handed it to Qian Yifeng, "Bring more vehicles when you go, It must all be shipped back today.”

"Here! I take orders from this humble position." Qian Yifeng saluted, received the warrant, and retreated first.

This time the generals in Xuzhou were unwilling to go to the south, so they fell on the head of the Zhongyi camp, so there must be complaints in the camp, especially the 1000 troops under Li Taizhen, most of whom are locals from Sizhou, let them leave their hometown When fighting, you must be full of complaints.

Wang Yan can't ask every soldier to be as loyal and patriotic as he is, and he can go up the mountain of swords and down the sea of ​​fire for the Ming Dynasty, so he can only use some means.

Wang Yan thought very clearly that if an army wants to have a strong combat power, it must be united. If something goes wrong inside, it will be more dangerous than facing an enemy that is a hundred times stronger.

"You must have heard that the Zhongyi Battalion will go south to fight." Wang Yan looked around at the people in the tent and said, "I know that many people must have objections to this, after all, it is difficult to leave the homeland, and I understand it quite well. Therefore, if anyone does not want to go with me, I will not force it, so you can tell me as much as you want, but if there is anyone who shakes the morale of the army after we set off tomorrow, then don't blame the military law for being ruthless, do you understand?"

"I am willing to fight with the general!" After Wang Yan finished speaking, everyone hurriedly saluted, but there was something different in it. The officers who followed Wang Yan from Shandong all the way to kill were naturally sincere, but the local people in Sizhou, their expressions Not so natural.

Seeing this, Wang Yan didn't say much, and waved them all back out.

In the afternoon, Qian Yifeng brought back all the silver and food and supplies, and Wang Yan ordered the whole army to assemble on the school grounds.

The soldiers of the Loyalty Battalion followed their respective Chief Qian and stood in two on the playground, clearly separated.

It has been less than a month since Wang Yan became the garrison of Sizhou, and the time for Li Taizhen's men to belong to him is even shorter. Wang Yan has no time to control his 1000 men at all.

In this short period of time, Wang Yan also went to Nanjing, and the military affairs were handed over to Wang Wei, but Wang Wei and Li Taizhen were both generals, and Li Taizhen's qualifications in Gao Jie's army were older than everyone else, so Wang Wei couldn't control his men even more.

For such a person, if it was before, Wang Yan would definitely choose to win over and appease him, but since the trip to Nanjing, Wang Yan's desire to control his own weapons has become stronger, so although Li Taizhen has been under his command, it is not too much. It was an extraordinary performance, but Wang Yan still did everything he could to control his subordinates.

They are also members of the Zhongyi camp, and the old camp that followed Wang Yan from Shandong is naturally more elite. They are the essence left by hundreds of thousands of Shandong rebels after washing the sand in waves. In the first battle, he defeated Xu Jun, who was several times his own, and he can be described as an elite in all battles.Therefore, they stood in a heroic posture, exuding the chill and vigor that an elite should have.

The soldiers behind Li Taizhen were not the same, except for a very small number of Gao Jie old soldiers, most of them were local people who lost their land in Sizhou, or they were reorganized from the township bravery. They had not received much formal training, so they could barely stand in formation.

Standing in front of all the troops, Wang Yan looked at Youru's troops from the Zhongyi Battalion, feeling uneasy for a while, which further strengthened his determination to take control of the military.

"Soldiers, you must also know that the Zhongyi Battalion was ordered to go south to wipe out the leftist rebellion." Wang Yan looked around the army and said loudly: "I know that fighting is risking one's life, and the brothers must first have no worries."

"Bring it up!" Wang Yan turned his head and asked Qian Yifeng to carry the silver he had just brought back before the army, and opened it on the spot. The twelve pieces of silver ingots were neatly piled up in five large boxes.

So much silver gives people a strong visual impact.

Seeing this, the soldiers suddenly exclaimed and stared straight at the silver in front of them.

"Brothers who are willing to go out with the general this time, the soldiers will be given 20 taels of silver first, 30 taels of small flags, 50 taels of general flags, 100 taels of hundred households, and [-] taels of thousand households." Wang Yan pointed to the big box full of silver, He said loudly: "After the expedition, those who kill the enemy will be rewarded."

As a rule, soldiers' starting fee is three months' salary, and their monthly military salary is no more than [-] yuan. Wang Yan paid an extra year's military salary almost at a time, and the soldiers were immediately excited.

"In this expedition, what you are waiting for is not only money, but you can also be loyal to the court. The most important thing is that you can earn fame and honor your ancestors!" Wang Yan continued to incite.

Wang Yan's words made the sergeants excited, no mention of loyalty to the country, no mention of fame and fortune, just the white money is worth their death, and bursts of cheers burst out on the school ground: "We are willing to follow you!" The general goes to battle to put down the leftist rebellion!"

Wang Yan listened to the voices of the soldiers and looked at the performance of the soldiers. He was very satisfied in his heart. He waved his hand to silence the soldiers, and then said loudly: "But this general must make it clear in advance. If you take the general's money, you have to listen to it." If there is any violation of this general's order, it will be dealt with by military law!"

Wang Yan's reminder did not dampen the enthusiasm of the generals. He continued: "This time, we will fight in a foreign land and stay away from our homeland. I will force you all, just for the departure fee, but I can't give it."

"Now, officers and men, let's make a decision! Those who follow this general will come directly to receive the silver." Wang Yan waved his hand and pointed to an open space: "Those who don't want to follow this general can stand aside first. It will not be difficult."

Since ancient times, it has been a matter of course for soldiers to eat food. Soldiers joined the army not for any lofty ideals, nor to serve any emperor. Their purpose is very simple, to eat food and to get money.

Although Wang Yan didn't want to admit it, the fact is that most people don't know what family and country feelings are. Before there is no better way, he can only use this method to tie these sergeants to his side.

(End of this chapter)