Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 194 Shanxi Rebel Army
Since the early years of Chongzhen, there have been Shaanxi uprising troops who could not bear the pressure and entered Shanxi. Since the third year of Chongzhen, as the elite soldiers from Shanxi and Shanxi were transferred to the king, there have been mutinies successively. The army successively forcibly broke through the natural barrier of the Yellow River, among which the northern Shaanxi uprising army led by the king of heaven Wang Jiayin was the largest one.

Shanxi is not the same as Shaanxi. Shaanxi in this era also includes a large part of Gansu in later generations. In addition to the Liupan Mountains in the east of Longdong, there is also the rugged Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi. The powerful and affluent Guanzhong Plain is guarded by a large number of officers and soldiers on both sides of the Weihe River. The area where the rebel army broke out is considered the most barren among them. It is impossible to feed the rebel army by relying on big families. Although this is the place where the rebel army rose, it is a pity that it is not gain a foothold.

Shanxi is different. It is true to say that there are eight mountains, one water and one field. The criss-crossing Taihang Mountains, Luliang Mountains, Hengshan Mountains, Wutai Mountains and other famous mountains and rivers all converge here in one province. There are only a few small towns in the middle of the mountains. The plains and valleys are suitable for farming. The conflict between people and land here even exceeds that of Shaanxi. After more than 200 years of land annexation in the Ming Dynasty, most of the fertile land surrounded by mountains was annexed by aristocratic families. There are countless poor households who have no place to stand. There is also the steep terrain, and the peasant armies from all walks of life are more comfortable dealing with the official army than in Shaanxi.

What's more, the burden on Shanxi's shoulders is the huge cost of harnessing the Yellow River every year. The military supplies of the three border towns of Xuanfu, Datong, and Taiyuan in the north, and the land mergers of the border towns are even more serious. The population that was encroached upon and guarded by the guards had no land to cultivate, and soldiers and bandits have become a chronic disease plaguing Shanxi. The sharp social conflicts make this place even as dangerous as Shaanxi.

Everyone knows that Shaanxi was the beginning of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, but they don't know that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the backbone of the uprising army, grew up in Shanxi.

Since Chongzhen fought the Yellow River in three years, the rebel army under Wang Jiayin's command has made great progress.

After crossing the Longmen Ferry in Hancheng and entering Shanxi in May, the huge rebel army first conquered Pu County as the first foothold, and then divided into two branches, the east and the west. Relying on the mountains to attack the Linfen Basin, the west line is to go north to Shilou, Yonghe, Jizhou, and invade the entire Taiyuan Basin, the essence of Shanxi.

Wherever the rebel army passed by, the disaster victims from all over the country really rose up, and their families followed each other. The 36th Battalion of the rebel army who followed Wang Jiayin across the river quickly expanded, almost doubling from the original 15, and showing a spreading trend. The scope covers most of Shanxi.

In May of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Hequ.

This place belongs to Taihang, it is the confluence of several big mountain ranges such as Zhoushan, the terrain is very broken, in May, it is the season when the vegetation in the mountains is flourishing, but a large valley is almost occupied by huge military camps, from Jackal Mountain here In the huge valley between the Ferry Mountain on the opposite side, simple sheds and tents are densely packed, and countless peasant troops walk through it amidst the hustle and bustle of people.

This is the main force of the Heavenly King Jiayin, with as many as 20 people, and no less than [-] to [-] troops capable of fighting. Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang, Chuang General Li Zicheng, Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong and other forces are all merged here, which seems extremely prosperous. However, Such a powerful rebel army, but at this time there is an indescribable anxiety.

In the northeast corner of the camp, which covers an area of ​​tens of miles, more than a dozen chiefs sat around together, each with an ugly face. The campfire swayed and danced, illuminating the yellow tiger face of Zhang Xianzhong who was the closest to him, making it extraordinarily ferocious.

In this time and space, because of the existence of Song Qingshu, Zhang Xianzhong rose up a year earlier than in history. Compared with Gao Yingxiang, Luo Rucai, and the old leaders of the rebel army, Zhang Xianzhong's qualifications are quite new. However, after crossing the Yellow River, the king of heaven, Jiayin It seems that they "pay attention" to him extraordinarily, and his men and horses have been used as the vanguard in all previous wars.

If it had been someone else, it would have been exhausted long ago. However, Zhang Xianzhong is Zhang Xianzhong after all. Instead of getting bigger and weaker, he became stronger as he fought. With his reputation, more and more people came to join him. Now he has soldiers who can fight There are as many as 2 people, and there are almost [-] vassals. Except for Gao Yingxiang, he is the strongest.

However, Zhang Xianzhong is not happy at all now. One of the two heart problems is bothering him, and the other is Song Qingshu. Just after crossing the Yellow River, Wang Jiayin immediately used his troops as the vanguard to face the Shanxi official army who came from Pu County. Heading eastward, attacking the city and conquering territory all the way, Zhang Xianzhong did not hold on to Hancheng for a day.

So far, Song Qingshu's news is vague, which casts a haze on Zhang Xianzhong's heart.

The second heart disease is the current form.

It is also related to Song Qingshu. I don’t know how his head grows, but the fables are so accurate. Just three days ago, the rebel army suffered a rather tragic defeat, and even took Hequ, an important town on the Yellow River, which was finally occupied. It was lost, and the person who troubled the rebel army was the person Song Qingshu had named and told him to be careful at the beginning, the deputy commander of Yansui East Road, the governor, Cao Wenzhao!

Cao Wenzhao actually didn't have many troops, only about seven or eight thousand, but he came from Liaodong, and he was a part of the Guanning Army, and his nephew Cao Bianjiao was also a fierce general. He fought in Hequ and fought successively. General Li Jinwang, Xue Rengui and more than [-] peasant army generals, two thousand Liaodong iron cavalry smashed tens of thousands of peasant troops, forcing the army to retreat to Qinshui, while Cao Wenzhao and several other army troops followed thereafter.

But at this juncture, the emperor's illness became more and more serious!
More than a dozen leaders waited around the fire for a long time with sad faces, when suddenly the door of the tent was opened, and a young and arrogant officer-like guy in carved armor came in.

"Heavenly King is ill! Tonight's meeting will not be held, everyone should go back wherever they want!"

After finishing speaking, regardless of the reaction of the big guy, he opened the tent and left on his own.

"Fucking fart! Wang Laoxin is obviously fooling around with that vixen surnamed Zhang again! Let me wait here for a long time, so the fuck is he letting me go?"

This is not the first time, Luo Rucai, who has always been cunning, was the first to open his mouth to curse. This resentment can be seen. In response to Luo Rucai's curse, even Wang Jiayin's confidant, right prime minister Bai Yuzhu Wang Jiaqing He also shook his head and spit.

"If it weren't for his sister, the vixen, I would have killed this guy long ago!"

What he was talking about was the arrogant officer who just came in, he was the younger brother of Wang Jiayin's favorite concubine, named Zhang Liwei, two months after entering the Jin Dynasty, the country gentry in Jizhou presented several beauties to Wang Jiayin, Zhang was one of them, After that, Wang Jiayin seemed to be dazzled by the current victory, singing and dancing every day. As for Zhang Liwei, he defected here a month ago. As soon as he arrived, Wang Jiayin was promoted to the front of the tent and led Wang Jiayin's soldiers. Not only is he arrogant and domineering, but he is also greedy. Even Luo Rucai, an iron rooster, has been blackmailed by him for money. As Wang Jiayin's confidant, Bai Yuzhu is very angry with him.

Zhang Xianzhong didn't even have the mood to scold him at this moment. If Wang Jiayin hadn't stared at him too strictly, he would have pulled the team away like the old Hui Ma Shouying and Ge Li eyed He Yilong. But it seems that there is a good opportunity in front of him , from Song Qingshu's fable, Wang Jiayin's death is approaching, with a gloomy face, Zhang Xianzhong has already begun to figure out how to get away.

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly felt a jump in his nerves, and immediately raised his head vigilantly under the nerve reflex, but saw Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng's uncle and nephew, who were facing him, nodded slightly to him, Zhang Xianzhong immediately felt relieved, and nodded in agreement So, both sides are tacit understanding.

Everyone scolded for a long time, and finally the Zuo Prime Minister Zijin Liang Wang, who is quite famous among the leaders, stood up to smooth things over for himself, and said with a smile: "Okay, everyone, maybe the king of heaven is really sick. Don't worry, everyone, we have 20, Cao Wenzhao only has less than 1 people, and he will be killed by the pile of people, everyone should go back first, and it will not be too late to discuss it in a few days!"

Wang Ziyong can be regarded as a good old man in the rebel army. He is not as selfish as Wang Jiayin. If the camp is short of food, swords and weapons, he will help if he can, and often leads troops to rescue everyone. Even Zhang Xianzhong owes him He has a lot of favors, which can be regarded as giving face to Zijin Liang, and a large group of rebel leaders who are cursing and swearing finally retreated with ugly faces.

Out of the tent, Bai Wenxuan, Feng Shuangli and four adoptive sons, Sun Kewang, Ainengqi, Li Dingguo, and the others had already waited nearby with their own soldiers, and took a last look at the middle of the 20-strong army, who ordered a large circle of officials The gentry copied out the bronze candlesticks, the big tent with the faint sound of music and dancing, Zhang Xianzhong hugged Gao Yingxiang not far away, then turned and left.

At this moment, completely unaware of the undercurrent surging underneath, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a crown on his head, Wang Jiayin really looks like an emperor, hugging a peach blossom-faced, delicate beauty in the tent, drinking and having fun .

"Come on, Your Majesty, are you drinking?"

The white jade-like small hands dexterously filled the gold wine glass with another glass of Fen wine, which is very famous in Shanxi Province. Wang Jiayin, who immediately hooked the peach blossom eyes, smiled all over his face, and took the wine glass from Zhang's hand in a hurry. Ziliu drank it all up, and then came to Zhang's pink face with a mouth full of alcohol, hehe lewd + smiling.

"Beauty, the Gu King has drunk wine, you have to let Gu Xiang take a sip!"

"Oh my lord, I hate it!"

Amidst the disgusting singing and dancing, Zhang Liwei, the tent conductor who had just gone to deliver the order, came back quickly with a gloomy face. He peeked in and saw that Wang Jiayin had turned over in a daze on the wine table. On the other hand, his sister pulled out her hand in disgust and shrank aside, winking at herself, Zhang Liwei retreated as if taking a reassurance.

On the edge of the tent, dozens of peasant soldiers and relatives had already sat cross-legged nearby, and there was no one at a distance. One general, Wang Jiayin's confidant, Wang Guozhong, had a rude Chinese character face full of anxiety. It has been a long time in front of everyone.

"General Wang, go! It's your turn!"

Hearing Zhang Liwei's gloomy voice coming out of the corner, this thick-skinned guy couldn't help but shiver. Then he stood up holding his knife, and led the people straight to Wang Jiayin's tent. With a knife!

When he came to the entrance of the tent, Wang Guozhong couldn't help turning his head back, and asked in a harsh voice, "Master Zhang, at the court, can you really..."

"My general was born in the fight against the Eastern Captives with Governor Yuan, and he promises everything, just go! Don't be verbose!"

As if he had finally made up his mind, he pulled out his knife abruptly, and led a dozen of his confidants, Wang Guozhong, to rush into the tent. It's going to be red...

(End of this chapter)