Xiong Wencan was shocked: "What, Raozhou City is gone? Has King Huai escaped?"
"I'm afraid it's more likely to be bad than good," the messenger replied.
Xiong Wencan immediately collapsed and sat back, feeling as cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Civil servants have always looked down upon the vassal king. By impeaching him no matter what, he can continuously improve his reputation and political achievements, and the emperor and his ministers are also happy to see the results.
But it is one thing for civil servants to impeach the vassal king, but it is another thing entirely for the vassal king to be killed by rebels!
Southern Jiangxi has a tradition of rebellion, and northeastern Jiangxi also has a tradition of rebellion, because there are mountains and the people are poor.
Duchang County, which was occupied by the rebels this time, had a riot a few years ago. Gujian Mountain once nominally belonged to the tribe of the Duchang rebels. Raozhou Prefecture, which was occupied by the rebels, also had a riot. King Huai
All his family members were killed.
King Huai was also unlucky. After his whole family was killed, he returned to the palace and was not stable for two years. The city of Raozhou was again attacked by rebels.
Xiong Wencan's throat was dry and he asked: "Are the rebels in Raozhou Prefecture also under the banner of Zhao Yan?"
"No," the spy replied, "the person under the banner of Zhao Tianwang is the Ding thief of Duchang. This Raozhou Lu thief was originally a member of Ding Jiasheng. Because the indiscriminate killing did not suit the Ding thief, he split up his troops halfway. The Ding thief
After attacking Duchang County, the Lu thieves then went to attack Raozhou Prefecture. King Huai..."
"Keep talking, don't be secretive!" Xiong Wencan scolded.
The spy said: "The last time the rebels broke into the city, King Huai was robbed of all his savings. After returning to Raozhou, he exploited him wantonly. This year, Raozhou was first hit by drought and then flooded. King Huai still did not restrain himself, and the Chief Secretary was harsh.
As soon as the Lu bandits arrived, all the people in Raozhou rebelled, and tens of thousands of troops gathered in half a month."
Xiong Wencan had nothing to say. He could imagine what kind of life the people in Raozhou lived.
First there was a drought, then there was a flood. There was exploitation by the feudal lords before, and pressure from the government later. This is like a pot of boiling oil, which will ignite if it sticks to sparks. How could it not explode if someone takes the lead in rebellion?
To be honest, if the people of Raozhou do not rebel, countless hungry people will definitely come to Nanchang to beg. When tens of thousands of hungry people gather in Nanchang Mansion, it will also be a headache.
Things are even more difficult now. The Ding thief has occupied Duchang County, raised the banner of King Zhao, and imitated Zhao Han in fighting the landlords to divide the land. The Lu thief has occupied Raozhou Prefecture and has more troops, but killing innocent people indiscriminately is just that kind of tradition
Rebellious thief.
The government, on the other hand, was completely unable to conquer it.
There are still some officers and soldiers, but after many defeats, they have no intention of fighting and want to run away when they see the rebels.
Xiong Wencan could only wait anxiously. He had already written to Zhao Han, hoping that Zhao Han could help suppress the thieves. Don't talk about attracting wolves into the house, because Jiangxi was already surrounded by wolves, so Zhao Han could just suppress the thieves on the surface.
After waiting for several more days, the Datong army finally arrived.
Gu Jianshan led the navy and Li Zheng led the army by boat and docked directly outside Nanchang City.
Why are you stopping here?
Of course, you need money. To help the imperial court suppress bandits, it is normal to get a departure fee. There was a big disaster this year and the Datong Army had no food left, so Xiong Wencan had to express his gratitude.
In desperation, Xiong Wencan could only try his best to raise money, and even forced those big investors to donate money.
Originally there were some wealthy families who were interested in the imperial court, but with Xiong Wencan's actions, the gentry lost all thought of being powerful.
What does this mean?
The government and large households provided money and food to help the Luling Zhao thieves expand their territory!
There must have been numerous complaints from officials and gentry, but when the impeachment letter was sent to the capital, it was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no response at all.
After extorting a sum of money and food, Li Zheng immediately sailed from Ganjiang River to Poyang Lake and arrived in Duchang County in two or three days.
When Ding Jiasheng got the news, he immediately led his troops out of the city to greet him. Holding "Datong Collection" in his hand, he knelt down and shouted: "My Ding Jiasheng, I am willing to serve Mr. Zhao!"
Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng looked at each other and were both very surprised that this thief was really willing to surrender the city.
Gu Jianshan quickly helped him up: "Brother Ding, kneeling is not allowed in the town. All people in the world are created equal."
"The world is unified, this is also my lifelong ambition." Ding Jiasheng stood up and said.
When Gu Jianshan returned to the navy ship, Ding Jiasheng took Li Zheng into the city, pointed to the land outside the city and said: "More than two thousand acres of farmland have been divided around the county town, but my ability is limited, and chaos often occurs when the land is divided.
Please ask Datong officials to come over and preside over it as soon as possible."
Only then did Li Zheng believe that Ding Jiasheng was really one of his own, and said, "I can just write to the town and tell the town that Thief Lu from Raozhou is Brother Ding's old subordinate?"
"No," Ding Jiasheng said, "I am a scholar from Shimen Town. He begged all the way because of the famine and raised an army to rob the landowner of opening a warehouse for grain. But Lu Xiangyou, a private salt dealer, led his people to join forces halfway. I will restrain the troops.
We must not burn, kill or loot, but Lu Xiangyou killed innocent people indiscriminately. Many volunteers turned to this man. In desperation, we had no choice but to part ways with him. I led 3,000 people to capture Duchang County, and he led more than 10,000 people to capture Raozhou Prefecture.
.”
"Is this person extremely cruel?" Li Zheng asked.
Ding Jiasheng replied: "This man is a reckless man. He regards his brothers as brothers and the common people as grass. He is also greedy for money and lust. I traveled ten miles with him. This man not only robbed countless money and grain, but also kidnapped six women as concubines. He
He also robbed money and women, distributed them to many rebel leaders, and even lured my generals there. The people along the way were coerced by him. Every big family he met would be massacred at every turn."
"Deserves to be killed!" Li Zheng gritted his teeth.
After staying in Duchang County for one day, Ding Jiasheng left behind to garrison the city at Gujian Mountain. Li Zheng marched from Raohe and led his troops to attack the capital city of Raozhou.
The capital of Raozhou is the county seat of Poyang.
The waterway transportation here is convenient, and the porcelain exported from Jingdezhen must pass through the capital of Raozhou. The land is fertile, and the people's life should be extremely prosperous. Unfortunately, they have to support the Huai King's lineage, and who can bear the large number of descendants?
Li Zheng spread the news along the way that "King Zhao Tian's 50,000 troops are coming", and countless people looked forward to it.
On the way, there were even descendants of the old Zhu family who came to join us. The food rations of these descendants were deducted by the feudal kings and county kings. They were not allowed to engage in any business, and their resistance was not inferior to that of tenant farmers or military households.
Zhu Yirong, who once took the initiative to go to Fengcheng to become a thief, was also brought by Li Zheng this time. He served as a civil servant in the army and brought a group of clan members with him.
Arriving outside the city of Raozhou Prefecture, Zhu Yirong led the clan and publicized everywhere that the descendants of the Zhu family could also divide land and serve as officials.
After besieging the city for several days, more than 400 clan members gathered, each dressed like a beggar. Some of them were fleeing, but some were poor themselves.
"Can the clan really divide the fields?"
"Mr. Zhao, won't you kill all the clan members? This thief Lu will hunt down and kill the clan members everywhere."
"Will we be able to work and farm in the future?"
"..."
These clan members were chattering and asking all kinds of questions. For them, they were happy just being able to work and farm to support themselves.
Zhu Yirong smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao makes decisions for the people, and the lower-level clan members are also the people, so they are naturally treated equally. As long as they have not done evil in the past, clan members can also be officials, and clans can also divide their fields. For example, I am a clan member and have become an official under Mr. Zhao.
What are you still worried about? You first fill your stomachs in the army, and then disperse to help spread the word. In addition to treating everyone equally within the clan, you also need to tell the local people. Just say that Mr. Zhao is benevolent and knew that Raozhou Prefecture was affected by the disaster.
Food will be brought to help the poor people. As long as Mr. Zhao occupies Raozhou, all land taxes in Raozhou will be exempted this year!"
"Long live Mr. Zhao!"
"Long live Mr. Zhao!"
Hundreds of Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants stood there and cheered, many even cried with joy. They could finally be normal people from now on. Under the strict clan rules, they were not allowed to work hard to get rich.
These clan members ate openly among Li Zhengjun, and the long-lost feeling of fullness made them extremely happy.
Immediately, they became voluntary propagandists, traveling around the countryside to preach policies. When the same words were spoken from the mouth of the clan, their credibility increased exponentially.
Why?
Because every time he rebelled, the clan members were captured and killed.
Now Zhao Han not only does not kill the clan members, but also allows the lower-level clan members to serve as officials, and also distributes land to the lower-level clan members. The clans that are hated by the rebels are treated in this way, and ordinary people like them must also be treated well.
Li Zheng led a thousand soldiers and surrounded the city of Raozhou where 20,000 rebels were stationed.
He also divided his troops into several groups, each with a team of five hundred, and went to various places to attack the rebel bandits entrenched in the villages and towns. Along the way, people came to report how many rebel bandits there were in such and such a place.
Lu Xiangyou, who was a salt dealer, was originally trapped in the city and did not dare to come out.
When he saw Li Zheng dividing his troops, he thought it was a trick to lure the enemy, so he did not dare to act rashly. Moreover, he rewarded a large number of gold and silver beauties, for fear that the leaders under his command would surrender.
However, some things can't be suppressed.
When these leaders heard that King Zhao Tian sent troops, they were all trembling with fear and could not resist at all.
Half a month later, a force of 500 people came back after wiping out the target bandits.
Li Zheng sent people to shoot letters into the city, announcing that only the evil ones would be punished, and that all low-level officers and ordinary thieves would be properly accommodated.
The military morale in the city suddenly became more volatile.
Lu Xiangyou felt that he could not continue like this, so he summoned the leaders and said: "King Zhao is also a human being. Where are the heavenly soldiers and generals? There are only a thousand enemies outside the city, but we have 20,000 people. We can't defeat one out of ten? Follow me."
Go out of town and fight!”
These leaders, big and small, are not within the scope of forgiveness. They must either escape or fight. Lu Xiangyou has given many beauties and treasures, which they cannot take away, which makes them reluctant to part with them.
Then fight!
The next day, 20,000 rebels came out of various city gates, and there was even a congestion when leaving the city.
Many rebels fled immediately after leaving the city, and the rebel leaders were unable to stop them.
"Forward in formation!"
Fifteen hundred Datong troops formed a neat military formation and walked towards the city in a hurry.
"Heavenly soldiers are coming, run!"
Facing the rebels of the Datong Army, they were still half a mile away when they suddenly fled in a swarm. Hearing the shouts from outside the city, the rebels in the city became even more anxious and frantically tried to squeeze out of the city gate.
There were two city gates, and the urn city was crowded with people. In order to escape quickly, they started killing each other.
Lu Xiangyou was stunned on the spot, his mind full of questions. I had more than 20,000 people, and there were only more than 1,000 people on the opposite side. How come the whole army was defeated before the battle started?
When the news of the annihilation of the bandits came back to Nanchang, Xiong Wencan was very happy and immediately wrote a memorial to report his merits. The general content is: Raozhou and Nankang were hit by drought first and then floods. The vassal king and the government pressed for pressure, which led to civil unrest.
Under the coordinated command of the governor, the officers and soldiers defeated the rebels, but unfortunately King Huai died.
The memorial has not yet been sent, but the imperial edict has been sent.
Xiong Wencan made great achievements in recruiting the rebels, and was promoted to the right deputy governor of the capital. He was transferred to the prime minister of the six northern provinces and assisted the governors of the six provinces in exterminating the bandits.
Xiong Wencan held the imperial edict and wanted to cry: Your Majesty is confused, I really am not that capable!
