In Juan County, Zhang Chong only stayed for four days before leaving. He took Dong Fang and Dong Zhao with him, and promoted Xi Shen as the acting envoy of the Heji Army to take charge of local work.
Zhang Chong was not very satisfied with Xi Shen. He was somewhat gloomy, but among the many senior officers of the Heji Army, he was the most suitable. So Zhang Chong could only put aside his personal feelings and I chose Xi Shen.
The time left for Zhang Chong was very limited. When he rushed to Juan County, most of the Yellow Turban troops in Runan had already retreated. Zhu Jun, the right commander of the Han Dynasty, led the main force of more than 10,000 Han troops south to Runan. He stayed behind in Runan. The Taiping Army was powerless to resist, and the newly promoted Runan Qu Commander Huang Shao could only lead his army back to support.
But not all Xiaoshuai left with Huang Shao. He Yi did not leave. He chose to stay and fight against Aocang with Zhang Chong. The reason was very simple. He could no longer stay with Huang Shao.
When the old Qu Commander Peng Tuogang died in battle, it was He Yi who was the first to come to the scene. He was also the one who secretly made connections to inherit the position of Runan Qu Commander, but unfortunately, he was still inferior to Huang Shao after all.
When he failed to seize the throne, He Yi knew that he had to arrange a way out for himself. Now that many Qu commanders were there, Huang Shao only inherited because of himself. He did not have enough prestige, so he did not attack He Yi. But if they wait for their entire army to attack you Nan, then the life and death of He Yi will be in Huang Shao's hands.
So He Yi chose Zhang Chong to form an alliance with him. Moreover, he had already heard that Aocang's grain piled up like a mountain and there was no end to it. At this time, whoever had food could attract hungry people and increase his power.
As for the divine envoy Ma Yuanyi, after another persuasion by Zhang Chong, he also decided to go north to Aocang. There were two factors that changed his decision. One was the news from Nanyang, which let him know that the water on Nanyang Taiping Road was already very deep. , if he goes again, the gain will outweigh the loss. The second one is that major changes occurred in the Hebei headquarters, and he needs to go north as soon as possible, and the closer to Hebei, the better.
This change is that the great virtuous master has not summoned all the commanders in the army for several days. Many people doubt whether the arrow wound suffered by the great virtuous master before has relapsed.
At this time, Ma Yuanyi needs to rush back to his headquarters as soon as possible. As the successor chosen by the great virtuous master, Ma Yuanyi needs to be by Zhang Jiao's side at this time. Regardless of public or private matters, he needs to have personal stability.
Of course, the Digong generals and the Renggong generals can also preside over it, but there are many factions in the army, and some direct descendants of the Tiangong generals are not very happy. The religious power is left to the side system, which is not in their interests.
For this reason, Ma Yuanyi agreed with Zhang Chong and decided to join forces together and march north to attack Aocang.
So Zhang Chong solved the problem in the Heji area and rushed back to Yingyang without stopping.
Yingyang is already very close to Aocang, only more than 200 miles away. But before attacking Aocang, some preparations are still needed.
Because Aocang is the most important place in the world. Those who occupy Aocang in Xingyang can not only control and cut off the river to facilitate canal transportation, but also get sufficient supplies of corn. People with insight regard Xingyang as a battleground for military strategists. Because of this, Once the Taishan Army really attacks Xingyang, it can be seen that the Han soldiers in Hebei will fight their way south.
In history, very few people have succeeded in attacking Xingyang from Guandong. The rebel armies of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang attacked Xingyang and failed; during the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, Xiang Yu failed in his battle for Ao Cang. The former King of Jibei of the Han Dynasty rebelled and attacked Ao Cang. warehouse, failure;
The final analysis is because this area is an important area guarded by the Han Dynasty. Opening the Luoyang arsenal, sending troops from Sanhe, and eating grain from Aocang, it is really difficult for the anti-Han forces in Guandong to conquer. And even if they are conquered, the Han army can still retreat to Chenggao.
If you fail again, you can retreat to Gong and Luo. Even if you fail again and retreat, you can still retreat to Guanzhong, where there are many dangerous passes such as Xin'an, Mianchi, Hangu, Taolin, etc. These hundreds of miles are dangerous, and everything can become a
Key points of Hanting’s defense.
But there is still good news. In this generation, Aocang's military equipment is weaker than in the past. In the past, at least five thousand fine armors were stationed in Aocang all year round, but now there are only some Aocang officials, and this is Zhang Chong
Opportunity.
The reason for this is that the former Han Dynasty was based in Guanzhong, while the current dynasty was based in Guandong.
The capital of Guangwu is Luoyang, which is only a few hundred miles away and is in the middle of the world. Once the world changes, it will be attacked from all sides. There are eight passages on all sides of Luoyang that can lead to Luoyang. In order to guard these eight passages, the Han court needs to fortify everywhere.
.In the Pre-Han Dynasty, the capital was Chang'an, which was defended on three sides and controlled Shandong on one side. And this side was Xingyang, so the Pre-Han Dynasty had much more troops in the Xingyang area.
Having said this, in order to increase the winning rate of conquering Aocang, the first thing Zhang Chong needs to do is to find a guide.
Zhang Chong was completely unfamiliar with the Xingyang area. He had no idea where Aocang was built. And almost all the soldiers in the army were from Qingyan. Like Zhang Chong, they all stared at the Xingyang area. It's funny.
They are the wise men in the army, He Kui, Zhao Da, Fan Chang, Yan Zhuang, and Tao An. Speaking of which, they all know how important Aocang is, but none of them have ever been to Aocang.
But Zhang Chong was lucky and finally found the leader. They were a group of prisoners from the Battle of Yingyang.
At this time, due to the deal with Ruying Huangjin, the number of prisoners under the Taishan Army had exceeded 20,000. This number caused the Taishan Army to consume more than half of the corn captured from the Han army's camp.
But these costs are worth it, and detailed manpower statistics show its effect. The chief secretary, Yan Zhuang, discovered that more than a thousand of these prisoners were from the Xingyang area. They had all been transferred to Aocang millet before.
A disciple of Huangfu Song's army.
Zhang Chong returned to Yingyang and had a heart-to-heart talk with these people to understand the situation in Xingyang in order to open a breakthrough.
----------------
"So, you are all Aocang's disciples?"
At this time, in front of a bonfire, Zhang Chong was sharing food with the dozen or so people present in front of a cauldron where horse meat was boiled.
And on the periphery of their circle, there were hundreds of people squatting in a dark mass. They were all staring at the fleshy man in front of them, with curiosity, fear, ambition, and all kinds of thoughts.
After giving everyone a piece of horse meat as big as a fist, Zhang Chong sat back among them. He took a handful of green onions, one bite of meat, one bite of green onions, and the juices flowed from the meal.
Seeing these people staring at him, Zhang Chong said fluently:
"Eat everything, it doesn't matter. Eat enough first. It doesn't matter if you are full before doing anything else."
Then he started eating again.
Seeing this, other people also began to immerse themselves in making. To be honest, with their status, how could they have a chance to have dinner? They still ate meat!
There were a few thoughtful people present who guessed something and shed tears, but still started eating.
No matter how they die, they want to eat a meal of meat before dying.
For a while, there were popping and popping sounds next to the campfire.
Eat! That’s the biggest thing. No matter what you do in life, you just want to take a bite!
After eating the meat and drinking the soup, Zhang Chong touched the oil around his mouth. This oil was lard, specially added. Not to mention, even if the horse meat is not delicious, it is still delicious with the lard.
.
Seeing that everyone had almost eaten, Zhang Chong continued to ask:
"Are you all just followers?"
The thin dog next to him, who had just finished eating meat and was licking his fingers to recollect it, hesitated for a moment after hearing Zhang Chong's question, and then confessed:
"General, I am not."
After all, it was because of the huge difference in status. After this person said this, he had a lot to say later, but when he saw Zhang Chong's probing eyes, he suddenly let go.
What am I not? What should I say next?
Zhang Chong poured another bowl of broth into his bowl and comforted him:
"Here, have a sip of hot soup."
The thin dog hummed and took another mouthful of hot soup. The physical satisfaction calmed his nervous spirit. Although he still stumbled, he finally said what he wanted to say.
"General, I'm from Xingyang County, and I used to be a member of the family. But later, our pavilion chief insisted on saying that this year's distribution was still there, and sent me here for transfer, and then came here. There are many people here.
They all came in the same group as me."
Zhang Chong naturally understands this kind of distribution. Didn't he rely on this water transportation to make his fortune?
But from what this person means, he has already sent one before?
"Where did you go before?"
"A few of us were transferred to Kyoto before. A batch of Yuebu will be transferred there, and the pavilion chief conscripted us and sent them to the capital."
Hearing that these people had also been to Kyoto, Zhang Chong joked:
"Okay, we're going to Shangluo now. I've never been to Kyoto at this age. Tell me what it's like to be in Kyoto?"
The thin dog who was teased by Zhang Chong felt embarrassed, touched the back of his head, and then said darkly:
"General, we don't know what Kyoto is like. There are just so many people, so many. But I always feel like they look like rats."
This was interesting. Zhang Chong scooped another bowl of broth for the thin dog and motioned for him to continue:
"We were sleeping on the street corner at that time. We saw many well-dressed people who looked like important people. In order to meet the important people, they all crowded under the wall with us. When we saw the important people walking on the street, they also lay down on the ground and pressed their faces against each other.
Earth. Isn’t it said that all people in Luoyang are superior to others? But I think these people are similar to us, they are all like mice, and they cannot be seen as real people."
"Okay, that's right. These people are indeed like rats."
Zhang Chong patted his thigh, smiled, and wanted to continue asking. Someone in the crowd suddenly cursed:
"Damn the Yudong gangsters, you are the rats."
Hey, unexpectedly, there was someone in the crowd who was from Kyoto. Zhang Chong hurriedly asked this man to come out and let him talk more. This man who cursed was much stronger than the thin dog, but he was just a tall and thin man. Before
He just didn't get angry at people for calling them Luoyang people, so he scolded them back. Now that he was called out by this bandit, he realized that he was in trouble, and his legs and knees were throbbing.
Seeing Zhang Chong's encouragement, the man trembled and said:
"That one, he is the rat. The poorest people in the mountainous area of eastern Henan are the ones who breed bandits. An uncle of mine went to the east to do business and was killed by them."
When the man mentioned bandits, he suddenly realized that he was dead. Aren't these yellow turban thieves also bandits? His calves were no longer cramped, but his forehead was dripping with sweat.
But Zhang Chong didn't take it seriously. He grabbed the man and walked to him, handed him the bowl he just drank from, filled him with another bowl of soup, and encouraged him:
"Come on, tell me, are you from Kyoto?"
This tall and thin man had a bit of cleverness. He knew that the thieves were not harming him, so he felt at ease. He took a sip of the broth first. It was so fragrant. You should drink this stuff while it is hot. It will become fishy when it is cold.
He hasn't had broth for many years. No, if he thinks about it again, tears will fall. He can't let the thieves see his fragility.
The man finished drinking the broth and sighed:
"Back to the general, I used to be from Luoyang, but now I am just a disciple of Aocang. My family used to open a wine shop in Kyoto, but then the business collapsed, and the whole family was sent to be a disciple. The four men in my family were exhausted.
There are three of them, and I’m the only one left.”
The scolded thin dog originally wanted to scold this man in return, but now he became silent when he heard that this man's family was extinct.
Zhang Chong patted the man on the shoulder.
What happened to this person reminded everyone of the situation in their own homes, which was actually similar.
There was an old man in the crowd, and the one Zhang Chong paid the most attention to. This man's surname was Zhao. It was said that he was very influential among these disciples, and they all respected him as "Master Zhao". He had been drinking broth without saying a word.
At this time, Mr. Zhao was in a trance after hearing what the Luoyang man said, and suddenly added:
"Everyone is born in Luoyang and dies in Mangshan. But who knows that in terms of suffering, we Xingyang people suffer less? It is true that in eastern Henan, as this Kyoto native said, bandits are born out of poverty.
But why? Sixty percent of eastern Henan is mountainous, and the limited land is occupied by wealthy families like the Zheng family. So for the rest, the strong ones make a living by plundering in the mountains, and the weak ones can only work as Han court officials.
The disciples were attached to the enemy all day long, and in the end they either died in the ravines, or they were whipped to death because they bumped into the nobles for some unknown reason. From this point of view, what the Luoyang people said is that we Xingyang people are indeed all rats. In this dark place
Here, we can just live on."
Master Zhao said to Zhang Chong:
"The misfortune of us Xingyang people comes from those two rivers and one warehouse. Every year, the big river and the Jishui River are full of water boats. At that time, those of us in Xingyang will be forced to work hard to pull fiber and transport it. The corn mountains in Aocang,
But we outside the warehouse often starved to death and died of exhaustion. In the end, our tiredness only brought more food to those noble people’s desks. It’s really sad.”
Zhang Chong understood why Master Zhao had such a strong influence on these disciple groups. This person's ability to tap hatred was as good as Zhang Chong's. This was a talent.
After Master Zhao said this, he suddenly asked Zhang Chong:
"General, does your Taishan Army really allocate land to the poor?"
Zhang Chong nodded and casually nodded to a guard mixed in the crowd:
"He has been with me since Laiwu. He can tell you about it."
The guard who was called out was full of vigor and vigor. When Qu Shuai called him by name, he told the truth:
"Well, our land in Laiwu has already been divided. Each household is divided into forty acres of land, and if there are more than four people in the family, each additional land is divided into ten acres. If you choose to join the field guards, your family's land can be cultivated for others.
If you can join our Taishan Army again, you can still get money."
As soon as this condition was mentioned, the whole audience was in an uproar. They had never imagined that the condition would be so good. Just give them something they could never touch in their lifetime?
Everyone was immersed in the dual poles of ecstasy and doubt.
But Zhang Chong frankly told everyone:
"To be honest, the land I gave to everyone must have powerful blood. I dare to give it, but you may not dare to take it."
Zhang Chong's words directly extinguished most people's illusions.
Yes, can we take those lands? It will kill people if we take them.
This was not enough, Zhang Chong continued:
"And even if you have the courage to take it, half of everyone present will probably die. Because when the time comes, the Han soldiers will come to kill us, the powerful will come to kill us, and even your clan leader will use clan laws because you have land.
Come and kill us. So don’t even think about this place."
"Why?"
Suddenly a word came, it was the thin dog at the beginning, he said again:
"Why?"
"Why for what?"
"Why do you look down on us Xingyang people? General, what you said, don't these Taishan people not exist? Do the Taishan people get a share, but we Xingyang people don't? Are we Xingyang people afraid of death? General, you
Just give it to us. I’m not afraid of being poor, but am I afraid of death? For a hard-working person like me, if I’m lucky, I can still work for a few more years, but what awaits me then is a dead end. It’s the same death, but what can I save for a piece of it?
It’s worth it if the land of your descendants must die.”
This thin dog looked skinny, but I really didn’t expect it to be so strong. Everyone present nodded, yes, what are they thinking about, cherishing their lives? The most unworthy thing about them is this
Death. But now I have the opportunity to earn a family fortune, and the price is this trivial death. What a blessing.
So, first someone said:
"General, just tell us what you want us to do."
"Yeah, just say it."
…
People are asking for orders everywhere. As long as they can get land, no one cares what the bandit leader wants to do with them?
Oh, at this time Zhang Chong was no longer a thief in their eyes, but their hero.
Seeing that the morale was already strong, Zhang Chong said:
"Okay, then you will follow me and fight in Xingyang. I, Zhang Chong, swear that all of you will be assigned a piece of land of your own."
"good"
The disciples present surrounded Zhang Chong in several circles and volunteered to lead the Taishan Army back to Xingyang.
In the next few days, the Taishan Army has been stocking up on marching rations and rushing to make large carts. Those Xingyang disciples were specially organized into a battalion. Although these people look thin, their chests are close to their backs, but they are all doing fiber-stretching.
, it’s about winning food, having strong muscles and bones, and having a collective consciousness. As long as you have enough food, you will be a first-class good soldier.
Moreover, the Taishan Army has not been idle these days. Taking advantage of the military vacuum of the Han Army in this area, it has been constantly clearing out the rural tyrants in the countryside of several nearby counties. These rural docks had already known the outcome of the Yingyang Battle, and saw the Taishan Army deploy troops.
He didn't dare to resist at all, so he took the old and the young and rode an ox cart to the city to escape.
Therefore, in just four or five days, the heroes from the surrounding Fenqiu and Sicheng counties all took advantage of the situation. Some occupied the dock walls, or led people to defect. For a time, Yingchuan was full of rebels, and those who were interested even entered the rivers and seas, gathering together.
Enter the Yellow Turban Base Camp in Yingyang.
The bell of fate is ringing again, and the corona of the times is stirred again.
This time, Zhang Chong is going to charge into the world!
This time, he wants to change his established destiny!
This time, he wants the rooster to sing and the whole world will know!