Li Ruolian, the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi Province, inspected the troops. He suddenly drew his sword and shouted: "The Zhao thieves in Luling have captured the state capital, burned, killed, and looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Now I have been ordered by the emperor to attack them. With the help of all the gentlemen, I am sure to win the battle in the capital."
!Leave off and set off!"
Li Ruolian is 69 years old this year. Historically, he was 78 years old when he led the imperial guards and died for his country while guarding the gates of Beijing.
If he had not been the eldest son of a military household and had to inherit the military position according to the law, he would definitely have taken the Wen Jinshi exam instead of this nonsense Wu Jinshi. His younger brother Li Ruogui was a Wen Jinshi and served as the minister of the Ministry of Justice during the Tianqi period.
Resign.
By the way, his younger brother Li Ruogui is said to have carried the young Emperor Tianqi in his arms, and was given the nickname "Golden-Armed Old Li" by Zhu Youxiao after he ascended the throne.
In Yuan Chonghuan's rebellion case, Li Ruolian was the presiding judge.
Li Ruolian didn't find anything wrong in the investigation. Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy and asked his boss Liu Qiao to interrogate him. Liu Qiao found evidence of Yuan Chonghuan's rebellion.
As a result, Li Ruolian was demoted by two ranks. After several years of hard work, he was slowly promoted back. Now he was finally left by Chongzhen to serve as the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi.
In mid-May, winter wheat harvesting began.
"Don't trample the crops!" This was the first order given by Li Ruolian.
Brothers Li Ruolian and Li Ruogui are both well-known upright officials. However, the capital to be an upright official is that their family is wealthy, and their ancestors occupied an unknown amount of military land. Before his younger brother passed the Jinshi examination, he sold hundreds of acres at a time due to insufficient money.
land.
"Zaixin Gong!"
When we arrived at the dock and boarded the ship, Governor Li Maofang and his minister Wang Siren took the initiative to come over and pay their respects.
Li Ruolian returned the favor with his hand. Although everything was unlucky for them, one thing was more satisfactory. That was that Chongzhen withdrew the eunuchs last year, but they have not sent them back yet, so they did not have to listen to the eunuchs from the supervisory army.
The three of them joined forces, with tens of thousands of infantry, and thousands of civilians recruited.
Wang Siren's navy could not accommodate so many people, so they had to use boats to carry food and grass forward, while the soldiers followed the boats on the shore.
When the farmers who were harvesting wheat saw the officers and soldiers arriving, they were so frightened that they hid far away and looked at these people with resentful eyes.
The three of them combined to train tens of thousands of troops, and at the beginning of the year they lost more than three thousand, so they rushed to make up the difference through emergency recruitment. How much money will this cost? The Jiangxi Third Division not only has to provide military salaries, but also deport taxes to the court, so they can only step up the exploitation of the people and impose excessive taxes.
More than a dozen types have been added.
Marching all the way south, these officers and soldiers had no time to plunder the people because they were in a hurry.
Ten days later, we arrived at Linjiang Fucheng.
(The previous article is incorrect. Linjiang Fucheng is not in Fengcheng City, but in Linjiang Town, Zhangshu City in later generations, sandwiched between Yuan River and Ganjiang River. Zhao Han must attack Linjiang Fucheng first before he can occupy Zhangshu Town. But there are so many mistakes
Chapter, the main plot cannot be modified, we can only assume that Zhangshu Town is ten miles south of Linjiang Fucheng. The real situation is just the opposite, please don’t take it seriously.)
"I have met Li Fushuai, I have met Mr. Li Zhen, and I have met Wang Qianshi."
The prefect, He Tianqu, led officials at the prefecture and county levels out of the city to welcome the arrival of the army. In order to save his life, he did not care about the distinction between civil and military officials. He also respected the commander-in-chief Li Ruolian.
Li Maofang asked: "What are the movements of Zhao Thief?"
He Tianqu replied: "The Zhao thieves have camped on the other side of the river ten miles away, blocking any passing ships. There is no way to find out the news for the time being."
"Commander Fu, set up camp first and then send spies." Wang Siren said.
Li Maofang nodded and said, "Okay, let's set up camp first."
He Tianqu said: "A few people came from afar and held a banquet here to welcome you."
Wang Siren frowned and said, "It's important to set up camp first."
As a result, Wang Siren was responsible for setting up camp, and Li Maofang and Li Ruolian were invited to the city to eat and drink.
This kind of eating and drinking is also necessary to get closer to each other, otherwise it will be difficult to cooperate in the next war.
The two sides set up camp ten miles across the river. Together with civilians, sailors and local warriors, the total number of officers and soldiers was more than 18,000.
On Zhao Han's side, the navy and the baggage team only numbered less than four thousand.
The next day.
Wang Siren personally led the navy southward, with more than 40 large and small warships.
As for Zhao Han's navy, there were only more than thirty large and small ships. More than ten of them followed Fei Ruhe to the west, and they could only temporarily avoid the enemy's attack when facing the navy.
Before Wang Siren arrived at the mouth of the river, he ordered the navy to stop. He did not dare to move forward for fear of being ambushed. If the rebel navy came out from both sides of the Gan River and Yuan River, his navy would be surrounded.
Standing on the bow of the ship, Wang Siren personally observed the enemy's situation, but the enemy camp stretched for two to three miles, with flags everywhere, and it was impossible to tell how many people were inside.
Zhao Han did not dare to send sailors to inquire about the enemy's situation, so he sent his only sentries to look across the river at the camps of officers and soldiers.
It's very pitiful that Zhao Han has been rebelling for so long and only has six horses under his command.
On the other hand, when those northwest bandits set up an ambush to kill Cao Wenzhao this year, they directly dispatched tens of thousands of cavalry (historical records record that the bandits had tens of thousands of cavalry).
Zhao Han's six horses were very precious and they were taken care of carefully. One of the mare's horses was pregnant and was left in Fucheng without being brought out.
The five sentinels rushed to the river and looked at the officers and soldiers' camp across the river, but they could not see what was going on either.
Both sides were caught blind, but the officers and soldiers took the initiative because Wang Siren's navy was more powerful.
However, Zhao Han occupied a favorable terrain, and Wang Siren's navy did not dare to cross the river mouth, so they could only wait for the opportunity for the time being.
The two sides began to confront each other, sending small groups of elites to each other to test each other's actual strength.
Two days later, Fei Ruhe led his troops back for reinforcements, leaving 500 Anfu soldiers in Fenyi County and Xinyu County each to guard the city.
Zhao Han's infantry suddenly exceeded 5,000. Although 1,500 of them were Luling peasant soldiers, their combat effectiveness was definitely more powerful than that of officers and soldiers.
After holding on like this for half a month, the summer harvest has entered its busiest season.
Unable to guarantee safety, the missionary group, farmers' associations and grassroots officials simply divided the fields in the newly occupied Xingan County. The tenants in Xiajiang County next door took the opportunity to revolt. Not only did they seize the county seat, they also came to request the missionary group to organize the land allocation.
Work.
Xingan and Xiajiang counties are mountainous, and only the land next to the Ganjiang River is relatively fertile. Most of the places are remote and remote.
Zhao Han was not in a hurry, so he simply captured these two counties and divided the fields during the summer harvest.
As for Xinyu, who owns iron ore, he divided it into two counties, temporarily occupying only the county seat, because the people who divided the fields could not get through and were easily attacked by the army and navy when they went north.
…
The confrontation lasted for one month, and the summer harvest was over.
Li Maofang ordered He Tianqu, the prefect of Linjiang, to immediately go to the countryside to collect grain on the grounds that the army was short of food.
After all, Linjiang Prefecture only has three counties: Qingjiang, Xingan, and Xiajiang. Zhao Han now occupies two and a half, and He Tianqu's actual control territory is only half a county.
Linjiang Prefecture is not a major grain producer. It was upgraded to a prefecture purely based on commercial taxes. It can only be regarded as a state in other places!
Li Maofang also asked Fengcheng County in the north to send food. If there was no food, he would give money directly.
The bandits must be suppressed, and the money must be made.
Historically, Li Maofang should be the governor of Shandong at this time. There are White Lotus cultists inside and Tatars watching outside. Under such circumstances, this guy dares to make money by suppressing bandits. By the time he clears out the White Lotus cult bandits in Shandong, he will have already
I made tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Linjiang Magistrate and Fengcheng County Magistrate were greatly troubled by Li Maofang.
However, the rebels were suppressing the territory, so they could only exploit the gentry, merchants and farmers and obediently send money and food to Li Maofang.
In the northern part of Qingjiang County, two thousand officers and soldiers were divided into several groups and went to the countryside in person to collect grain.
"Open the door, open the door!"
The door of a wealthy household was knocked open, and the officer leading the team yelled: "It is very important to appease the commander and suppress the bandits. Please immediately hand over 200 shi of grain and 100 taels of silver for military expenses!"
The squire of the household argued: "In order to suppress the bandits, we have been apportioned twice today, why do we need to apportion so much again?"
"This house is secretly collaborating with bandits, quickly enter the house to search for the rebels!" the officer shouted.
"Master, calm down, sir, calm down, I will go and raise food and grass." The squire was so frightened that he quickly begged for mercy.
Not only did he have to give money, but he also had to organize his own manpower to deliver the money and food to the military camp outside Linjiang Prefecture.
He treated the gentry, officers and soldiers fairly politely, but his treatment of the common people had no bottom line.
In the evening, when I stayed at a farmer's house, I saw a beautiful young girl and a young daughter-in-law. She broke into the boudoir and did whatever she wanted. Within a few days, more than ten women from good families committed suicide, causing complaints in the surrounding countryside.
Li Ruolian, the commander-in-chief, and Wang Siren, the officer-in-charge, went together to see Li Maofang.
"Governor Li, are you here to suppress bandits, or are you here to disturb and harm the people?" Li Ruolian scolded angrily.
A military commander angrily rebuked the civil servants for being too cruel...
Li Maofang explained with a smile: "We don't know when the bandits will be wiped out. The officers and soldiers do not have enough rations, so we must raise them early."
Wang Siren said angrily: "Why is the military ration not enough? It is enough to last for another two or three months!"
"Two or three months are not enough. We need to raise at least half a year's food and salary," Li Maofang said with a smile, "Don't worry, guys, someone is here to carry the box out!"
Two wooden boxes were brought out, each containing a thousand taels of silver.
"Shameless!"
Wang Siren cursed and turned around to leave.
Li Ruolian was so angry that his hands trembled, and he wanted to kill the governor with a knife.
Neither of them took money. After they left, Li Maofang sneered and said to herself: "Why are you pretending to be incorruptible? Where do you get the food and salary for your military training? Didn't you get it from the private sector? Are you incorruptible if you don't use your own hands?"
Li Maofang began to send money to civil and military officials. From the prefect of Linjiang to the magistrate of Qingjiang, and then to Li Ruolian, all the generals under Wang Siren were fed by his money.
As a result, everyone wholeheartedly supported Li Maofang and devoted their main energy to making money.
Anyway, the confrontation has been going on for a month, and the rebels have already attacked several times. Since the rebels don't dare to come, and I don't dare to go there, why not take the opportunity to make more money?
On the other hand, Li Ruolian and Wang Siren, two honest officials, were isolated by all officials, as if they were abnormal.
Wang Siren secretly found Li Ruolian: "Headquarters, we can't continue like this, otherwise we will lose the morale of the military and the people!"
Li Ruolian asked: "You have been working with him to suppress bandits for a year. This has never happened before?"
"Well, he did it before," Wang Siren sighed. "When we were suppressing bandits in Duchang County, he sent troops to plunder everywhere. I could only turn a blind eye. But now, the rebel army is only ten miles away."
On the other side, big trouble will happen if he does this!"
"What are you going to do?" Li Ruolian asked.
Wang Siren said: "The Zhao thieves in Luling are treacherous and have not moved their troops after a month of confrontation. They must have ambushes in Ganjiang and Yuanhe rivers. If our navy dares to cross the river mouth, it will definitely be attacked from two sides, most likely with a large number of small boats.
Carry out a fire attack. The navy cannot move, and the terrain is unfavorable to our army. My original intention was to send elite troops to go south by land and sneak attack Xingan County City occupied by the rebels. However, I sent out sentries several times and found that there were rebels along the river and at the mountain pass.
There is no way to bypass the checkpoint and make a sneak attack."
"If a sneak attack fails, how can we fight?" Li Ruolian had no battlefield experience.
Wang Siren said: "Cross the river and fight the rebels openly. We have an army of more than 10,000 people, and I have also trained 500 archers. It may be possible to win the battle. We cannot waste time here. My generals
Military discipline has been broken, and in the past two days, he has led his troops to plunder the people."
This is especially true for Li Ruolian's generals, who were originally recruited temporarily as commanders, from thousands of households to hundreds of households. These guys have never fought in any battles, but they are good at exploiting military households. Now they have been completely exposed by Li Maofang.
"Can we attack the enemy camp at night?" Li Ruolian asked.
Wang Siren shook his head and said: "It's useless, there are too many enemy sentry posts. Last time I led troops to attack at night, we were still three miles away from the enemy camp, and the bandits' sentry blew the suona."
"Then fight!" Li Ruolian clenched his fists.
In fact, Zhao Han's military rations are almost exhausted. They can last for a month at most. If they continue to delay, they will have to re-transport the rations.
However, Governor Li Maofang gave a divine assist, and military discipline deteriorated to the point where Li Ruolian and Wang Siren could not tolerate it, forcing the two to engage in a decisive battle in advance.
This place is ridiculous, it's either mountains or water, and both sides' troops are stretched thin. As long as they send more sentries to guard against sneak attacks, no matter how awesome the commander is, he won't be able to do anything good.
You can only be tough from the front!
And even if it is forceful, the officers and soldiers must take the initiative to cross the river.
Because Zhao Han's navy was not strong, he did not dare to cross the river to engage in a decisive battle with the officers and soldiers, for fear of being defeated by the officers and soldiers on the river. He could only prepare more warships and fireships based on the terrain where the two rivers converged, and surrounded the officers and soldiers who dared to cross the river mouth.
Navy.
Li Ruolian and Wang Siren approached Li Maofang and proposed a plan to cross the river for a decisive battle, and they immediately quarreled with Li Maofang.