Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 157

The scorching sun in June began to scorch the land of Guanzhong harshly. Some weeds finally grew in the field and the sun-dried leaves began to curl. The air in the distance was steaming upwards like a steamer, and the vision was blurred. Between heaven and earth, there is only a round of fireballs hanging in the sky, followed by high slopes of loess everywhere.

In the middle of June in previous years, on the barren high slopes of loess, mu of sorghum wheat should grow as tall as a child who can make soy sauce, but now, all kinds of weeds grow in the ditches. , Occasionally one or two missed wheat seeds sprouted, growing crookedly, and the old grazing man who drove his flock on the hillside in the past has disappeared even now.

Where are the sheep?They were robbed by the officers and soldiers, or kept firmly in the sheepfold by the landlords, and they dared not let them out at all. What about people?People in the army, in order to live through tomorrow, take a few more breaths, take up weapons and fight the government for the final battle.

This is already the tenth day in Yan'an Mansion after Song Qingshu's death!

Seven days ago, Du Wenhuan's army once again appeared in Zhidan County. This time, there were more than 7000 officers and soldiers. Now more than half of Prince Xiangbei's army has returned to their respective stations, refilling the army's mobile troops. Du Wenhuan There are now more than 9000 people in the hand, and they are as fierce as He Renlong, as fierce as a tiger, and Li Bei and other famous and powerful generals at that time.

When Li Tiezhu brought the news back, Song Qingshu nearly fell into the steelmaking furnace, declared martial law that day, pulled all the animals out, and was ready to escape at any time.

However, the main force of nearly 2 officers and troops did not attack, but stagnated in Zhidan County, and the horses were grazed outside the county seat, no less than [-] horses, and the soldiers were not restrained, and wandering stragglers could be seen everywhere .

In ancient times, there were many battles where people were so deliberately relaxed on the surface and secretly raided. Although the officers and soldiers seemed lazy, Song Qingshu was still extremely nervous these two days, completely stagnating army training. More than 400 troops were stationed in the southeast of the city. In response to the surprise attack by the government army, all the old and weak production captains were also called up, ready to call the big guys to retreat at any time.

But a few days after doing this, there was no danger. The officers and soldiers seemed to turn a blind eye to Song Qingshu's department, and completely let Song Qingshu hang around in Yan'an Mansion.

On the ninth day, Wang Guowei, the supervising army sent by the heavenly king Jiayin to monitor Song Qingshu, couldn't bear his timidity. He came to find Song Qingshu early in the morning and wanted to retreat immediately, but he still had some waste paper and cotton collected. The blunderbuss was not finished yet. He gritted his teeth and faced tremendous military pressure. Song Qingshu still did not retreat. Until noon on the eleventh day, he finished what he could and brought everything with him as much as possible. Only then did the Song Qingshu Department completely abandon Yan'an Mansion, and it was also like a hasty march away from Hancheng.

At this time, Song Qingshu's army really felt like a shotgun change. The front army was Xing Hongniang's more than 100 cavalry leading the way, each wearing excellent official chain mail, holding a three-meter long spear, and a saber in his waist. Be as spiritual as you are.

Behind them are more than 2000 strong men recruited from various ministries. Those messy and tattered clothes disappeared, and they were replaced by uniform khaki paper armor. Although there was no helmet on their heads, Song Qingshu forcibly ordered their hair to be shaved off. For the most part, each of them only kept the small crew cut of the later generations, which looked quite energetic.

Body, hair and skin, by parents. Although there was a haircut in the Ming Dynasty, many literati would ask the barber to have it trimmed every once in a while. However, such a short shave still aroused a lot of opposition. , but Song Qingshu gave only one reason, hygiene!

These days, I am busy fleeing and fighting wars every day, and I have no time to take a bath for a year and a half. The messy long hair is the most prone to lice, fleas and other vampires. A flea bites a patient, and then runs to other people to suck blood. All kinds of diseases are like this It spread, and the summer is so hot, long hair is really a torment. Seeing that Song Qingshu was the first to get a haircut, the soldiers under his command had to shave off their hair one by one. Not to mention, it was really cool in this way .

And there is another indescribable benefit, the khaki paper armor and the flat head have become the unique symbols of Song Qingshu's army. If anyone wants to escape, he can be recognized by the officers and soldiers at a glance. The uniform clothing adds to the team's identity Feeling and cohesion, these are soft powers.

Now there are more than 2000 people with knives on their shoulders, and they are neatly lined up in four rows. They really look like an army, although they have not yet been tested in actual combat.

These people are led by Song Qingshu, Xing Laoguan, Zhang Erlianzi Diandengzi, and Liu Zongmin. The little bosses underneath are also direct descendants of Funiu Mountain, and their loyalty is quite reliable, but Song Qingshu is not in the Chinese army.

In the back, there are a large number of old and weak vassal families. Originally, there were more than 3000 to 5000, and those under Dian Dengzi's command increased to more than [-] to [-]. expanded to seven thousand.

More than 7000 old and weak people migrated collectively. The grandson supported the grandfather, and the daughter-in-law supported the mother-in-law. Walking in the harsh sun, everyone was panting and sweating profusely. Every breath seemed to exhaust the strength of the whole body. The scene is also quite tragic.

There are nearly 100 carts in the old camp, more than 40 carts are carrying food supplies, and the remaining 60 carts are full of people.

Hard work is not easy for anyone, even the old people can’t take care of it. These carts are driven by craftsmen, skilled women help make paper armor, and blacksmiths build and repair weapons and equipment on bumpy carts. , here, almost became a mobile factory.

Even Caiwei, Han Juan, Miss Li, and Qiaoer were also in these cars, helping to paste the paper armor.

In the end, more than 500 people were all dressed in paper armor, and everyone had a horse, but each had only one firecracker. These people were the most elite troops under Song Qingshu's command. The veterans under the command of Zhao Sheng, who are a bit of a light, use the most reliable army to rear up. Once the officers and soldiers chase and kill them, they can use the mobility of the cavalry to entangle them to buy time for the front army to return to fight or escape.

Song Qingshu was in the middle of this team, leading it together with Scarface.

The peasant army is always clean and tidy. They packed up their last belongings and made some rice balls and pancakes to eat on the road. In less than half an hour, the peasant army of tens of thousands of people had already evacuated Yan'an Mansion. The state capital was left behind, and looking back at the khaki-colored city wall, Song Qingshu's heart was full of reluctance.

Although it's only half a month, these sixteen or seven days are really a rare comfort here. For the displaced refugees, even a day of rest like this is a luxury. How long will it take for a place?

Finally, he took a reluctant look at the dim yellow city on the Loess Plateau. After all, Song Qingshu led the horse and joined the army, and left here without looking back.

Almost as soon as the peasant army left, Zhidan's official army quickly went south, and marched to Yan'an Mansion in two days. The scholar and landlord who had been hiding for many days in the city, and Ma Maocai, the magistrate of Yan'an Mansion, who was released by Song Qingshu Immediately greeted them happily like welcoming the liberators.

However, this is not a good thing for Yan'an Mansion.

Long-term arrears of wages, this time going north to King Qin, several mutinies broke out in a row. The poor and frightened frontier army almost entered the city, and immediately started looting, and the peasant army robbed all the wealthy households. Officials and soldiers can't rob at all, but the civilians are the ones who rob.

There was billowing smoke rising from the top of the city again, but this time it was not the beating of hammers, but the cries and screams of the people of Yan'an Prefecture, with cold sweat on his forehead, and the magistrate Ma Maocai ran to the village outside the city himself. In the barracks, go to see Du Wenhuan, the chief soldier of Yansui.

"My lord! General He and General Hu are in disarray in the city. They are looting houses, robbing the children of good people, and raping and looting everywhere. I beg you to clean up the military discipline quickly, otherwise Yan'an Mansion will be destroyed. !"

As soon as he entered the tent, Ma Maocai shook his official robe miserably, clasped his fists and bowed and shouted inside.

You must know that in Daming, the status of civil servants is much higher than that of military commanders. Even though the magistrate is a fifth-rank official, he is far less than the second-rank official of the general soldier. He greatly damaged his face.

But even so, Du Wenhuan, who was looking at the military map, still looked absent-minded, and said copiously: "My soldier knows, thank you, Mr. Ma, for reporting, and I will go to restrain the troops later, Mr. Ma, please go back! "

"The military situation is on fire, please go now, my lord!"

"My soldier said I got it! Master Ma, please call back." This time, Du Wenhuan finally raised his head, but he was still impatient and dealt with Ma Maocai with an unkind face.

The screams behind him can be heard clearly in the southeast camp, not only the parents of Yan'an Prefecture, Ma Maocai is also a native of Yan'an Prefecture, this is his home, heartbroken, Ma Zhifu bowed heavily again , but said threateningly.

"Du Zongbing sent troops to plunder, aren't you afraid that I will give you a copy?"

"Master Ma, please help yourself!"

This was completely embarrassing, and Du Wenhuan finally showed his ferocious face, and said with a sneer: "Master Ma, you have been trapping a thief for more than half a decade, be careful of the censor's inspection!"

The conversation came to an end here, and Ma Maocai shook his sleeves angrily and turned around to leave the military tent. Before he could take two steps, he heard Du Wenhuan talking to himself disdainfully.

"This soldier, if you don't let him grab the lead, how can you fight desperately?"

What happened to the Ming Dynasty?How about a thief?Hearing these words, Ma Maocai was completely stunned, staring in astonishment at the black smoke billowing, and the city under his control that was heading towards hell step by step.

But he didn't know that there was an official who would miss him. At this time, Song Qingshu's army had already rushed for more than 200 miles, and he was also fighting for survival.

In Yichuan County, the city walls were already covered with defenders. The densely packed Ming army shouted and threw rolling stones and arrows, facing the attack from the sky. Song Qingshu was also standing on the front line, brandishing a saber, desperately Roaring.

"Siege!"

(End of this chapter)