Chapter 345 0340 [Martyre for the Country] (Additional update for the leader cry)
Huang Gai's retreat was very strange and inconsistent with his cowardice.
First let the civilians transport food and retreat, then let the country soldiers retreat slowly, and finally the Xiang army and the imperial army. It was not a swarm of swarms, but a three-day retreat. It can even be said that the retreat was orderly.
When Deng Chun and Li Jinyi crossed the river to pursue them, dozens of soldiers of the Forbidden Army stood on the mountain col, with flags fluttering faintly in the forest behind them.
"Should we pursue him or not?" Even Li Jinyi felt a little guilty.
Deng Chun couldn't understand either: "Go and invite Mr. Shi."
A moment later, Shi Yuangong trotted all the way here. He was also confused about the strength of the officers and soldiers, so he could only suggest: "It is important to occupy Jianzhou City, and then attack Jianmen Pass from the front and back."
Huang Gai stood on the mountain, watching the rebel army retreat to Jianzhou, and sat down as if exhausted.
The full set of armor of the dozens of Forbidden Army soldiers who blocked the mountain road did belong to the Forbidden Army. But the people in the armor were warriors recruited with heavy sums of money, and they were Huang Gai's only trump card.
He dug out hundreds of sets of infantry armor from the arsenal in Chengdu, and they were the kind with helmets.
Many of the armors were in decay, and only a few dozen sets were repaired and repainted.
Regardless of whether he can fight or not, at least it looks pretty bluffing.
Li Shi, a member of the Chengdu government who served as the secretary of the army, stood behind Huang Gai and said: "The envoy, the traitors have retreated, let's go."
Huang Gai's legs became weak and he asked his attendants to help him up.
There was indeed an ambush in the mountains and forests behind him. But their morale was low. When they heard that they could retreat, they all ran away in panic.
Li Shi asked: "Zhi Envoy, do you really want to withdraw from Lutou Pass?"
Huang Gai gritted his teeth and said, "If those wealthy families in Chengdu still don't provide money, food, and people, what's the point of me returning all the way to Lutou Pass? In the worst case, I'll be dismissed from office!"
Huang Gai had probably guessed the trick that Shi Yuangong had done to increase the number of troops.
But ordinary soldiers believed that the credibility of the government was too low. The more seriously Huang Gai explained, the more the soldiers suspected that he was lying.
Most of Huang Gai's soldiers came from lower-class civilians.
He thought that by giving him enough food and wages and giving him some encouragement, he could force him to fight. However, all the forts he set up along the way fled without fighting, which made Huang Gai feel a chill in his chest.
In fact, it doesn't matter whether Gao Jingshan offered Jianmen Pass or not.
The officers and soldiers lost their forts along the way, the food transportation channel was cut off, the communication between Jianmen and Jianzhou was also cut off, and Jianmen Pass has become an isolated city.
The poor performance of his soldiers made Huang Gai dare not fight out of the city, and he even had no confidence in continuing to defend the city.
The only hope is the wealthy families in the Chengdu Plain!
As the transportation envoy to Sichuan and the transportation envoy to Chengdu, Huang Gai could not recruit many soldiers or much food in the richest plain of Chengdu.
The reasons for those wealthy families are also very good. They have paid enough rice this year and paid free money once, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are increasing. It is impossible for them to pay free money for the second time, and since they have already paid once, then
No more conscription is allowed, because the free money is used to offset military service.
When the big family did this, the various small sects of the same family also followed the same example and resisted the government.
Even the small landowners and farmers who were separated united to resist.
Huang Gai did not dare to use force to conquer, otherwise chaos would break out in the Chengdu Plain before the bandits in Hanzhong were eliminated.
We must force the rich clans to take the initiative to recruit troops!
…
"It's not good, Deputy Commander Gao colluded with the bandits and surrendered with Jianmen Pass!"
"Jianzhou has been lost, Huang Zhijiao will retreat to Lutou Pass with his defeated troops!"
"If the red thieves cannot be defended at Lutou Pass, they will march into Chengdu."
"That red thief is very cruel. He kills people every time he takes a city. He wants to kill all the rich people."
"..."
Random rumors spread rapidly in the states and counties in the Chengdu Plain.
The news spread so quickly, of course, Huang Gai did it deliberately. He sent messengers to various states and counties to warn officials to guard the city, and randomly revealed some information. The subordinate officials then turned around and passed the news to the gentry and merchants.
Those aristocratic families finally became panicked.
A few years ago, 100,000 Lunan Yi rebelled, and at the closest point, they had reached 300 miles away from Chengdu.
When news came back that the officers and soldiers were retreating steadily, the aristocratic families still turned a deaf ear, as if these matters had nothing to do with them. When collecting rice and money for free husbands, they also withheld some and gave away the rest, and they ignored the rest all day long.
Complaining about another tax increase this year.
On the outskirts of Huayang County, the ancestral home of the Wang family.
The main seat was occupied by an old man named Wang Zhongao, who by seniority was the nephew of the late Prime Minister Wang Gui.
Wang Zhongao stroked his beard and said: "The Zhu thieves have caused chaos and have trapped Jianmen and Jianzhou. If Wulian and Zitong are lost again, only Lutou Pass will be able to resist the thieves. To avoid the loss of life in Chengdu, we should all work hard to serve the government
Send soldiers, money and food, otherwise the lives of all of you here will be in danger."
An old man named Fan Jun said angrily: "We still need to transport money and food? Can we pay less for food this year? Silk and silk are levied randomly for summer food, and the foot money for a first-class household has risen to 500 Wen. The money for buying and selling is doubled, and
The purchase money is doubled. There is no money for the He purchase money. The government only collects grain, and additionally collects the money from the land. When the imperial court conquers Liao, the husband's money is collected and exempted, and each of my descendants of the Fan family is allocated 40 guan."
"Over in Guan County, the dredging of Dujiangyan Irrigation, the laborers had been collected locally, and the money for exemption from labor was actually received here in Chengdu. There were also other exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes, dozens of them, and the government used various tricks to collect money. This red thief came to kill, and
We are asked to pay free money. Not only do we pay money, but we also help recruit rural soldiers! How can there be such exorbitant levies? By the way, I heard that the government is also planning to collect economic money. The Fan family will not pay anything for this economic money!
"
"That is, the government is extorting too much money," said an old man named Liu Keren. "The descendants of my little sect from the Liu family are already overwhelmed, and they come to the clan every now and then to borrow money. Borrowing is a bottomless pit, and not borrowing means losing benevolence and justice.
The clan elders are cursed by their clansmen every day!”
Another old man named Wu Yushi said: "Our Wu family is not as prosperous as your family. There have been no Jinshi for many years, and the family's land assets are also decreasing day by day. If the Zhu thieves come to Chengdu, it won't matter to the Wu family. You big families are watching.
Let’s do it.”
"What do you mean we just have to deal with it? Are you still a thief in the Wu family?" an old man named Liu Ying said angrily.
"Okay, okay, everyone, please be patient," Wang Zhongao quickly smoothed things over, "The red thieves are coming to kill, and no one can be pleased. All tribes must work together."
A group of old men were arguing back and forth, with occasional middle-aged people interjecting, but in the end there was no result.
They still want to continue to wait and see.
Huang Gai did not withdraw directly to Lutou Pass. He is still stationed in Wulian County. He is always paying attention to the trends in Chengdu.
Huang Gai was greatly disappointed by the reaction of the aristocratic family.
In anger, Huang Gai retreated again and directly retreated to Zitong County.
The aristocratic families are still quarreling, but they basically agree to send money, food and soldiers, but they can't reach a consensus on how much each family should contribute.
There are only three super-rich families, more than ten ordinary rich families, and twenty or thirty medium-sized families. Moreover, there are different clans with the same surname. How can you reconcile the chaos?
Huang Gai was so angry that he withdrew his troops again, and the whole army retreated to Mianzhou (Mianyang).
Now, the aristocratic family couldn't sit still, and held a meeting to discuss the results within a few days.
All ethnic groups and branches mobilized and formed rural soldiers to send to Huang Gai. Money and grain were transported to the front line one by one.
Together with Huang Gai's original troops, the number of troops instantly reached 30,000!
Moreover, many of the rural soldiers sent by these wealthy families brought their own weapons and were bound by blood and surnames. Their ability to fight in battles was not comparable to that of ordinary rural soldiers.
Huang Gai, who had enough troops and food, instantly became more confident and led his troops to Zitong County. He wanted to continue to move forward to regain the lost ground, but found that the pass in front had been occupied by bandits.
As for Ju Ming, Jianmen Pass has not yet been captured.
Ju Ming stood outside the Jianmen Gate, looking at the straight and steep mountain. There was no way he could do it.
Even if he cheats now, temporarily builds ten hot air balloons, launches into the air and drops bombs, it will not help. If it cannot be broken, it cannot be broken. When the People's Liberation Army enters Sichuan, they will have to bypass Jianmen Pass before attacking.
We can only wait for the internal strife among the officers and soldiers to surrender!
Of course, Ju Ming couldn't just wait around. He had already divided his forces and sent a partial division down the Jialing River to attack Langzhong and Nanchong.
…
Zhu Ming was impatient waiting at the foot of the mountain, and the defenders at Jianmen Pass were also suffering.
Again, even if Huang Gai did not abandon the defense of Jianzhou, Deng Chun and Li Jinyi would go around and seize several military strongholds, which would have completely cut off the access to Jianmen Pass.
"We will reduce meals from tomorrow, and the military rations can last for another two months." Huang Deyu said.
Gao Jingshan remained silent.
Huang Deyu said: "Why should Deputy Ambassador Gao be discouraged? The red thief came all the way from Hanzhong, and he had to consume countless grains on the way. He may finish his military rations before we do."
Huang Guan's grain collection took time, and it had to be transported slowly to Jianmen Pass. There was not much grain left in the pass.
Gao Jingshan gritted his teeth and said: "Huang Gai is incompetent. The food road has been cut off at Jianmen Pass for more than a month, but he hasn't even sent troops to break through it. He might have abandoned Jianzhou and fled!"
"That's not the case, he still knows how to fight," Huang Deyu said. "This man was my subordinate when he was an official in Shaanxi. He is not a mediocre official who ignores worldly affairs. He is just... a little timid."
Huang Gai had the highest official position, followed by Gao Jingshan, and Huang Deyu had the smallest official position.
But among the three, Huang Deyu is the oldest, and he has also been the calligraphy and painting teacher of the princes.
Gao Jingshan said: "The morale of the army is already unstable, and we have been deprived of food for a month. If we order a reduction in meals tomorrow, I'm afraid there will be a mutiny. Apart from the two of us, who in Jianmen Pass wants to fight? You and I both eat the king's salary.
You should die to serve your country, but the soldiers below are not people who live on salary."
"Try to appease them as much as possible. From tomorrow on, officers and soldiers will be one, and we will eat the same food as the soldiers." Huang Deyu said.
Gao Jingshan looked to the east: "There is more than one way to enter Sichuan. Since the Zhu thieves took the Jinniu way, will he let go of the Micang way? I'm afraid Bazhou is gone by now, and maybe the thieves have already reached the channel.
Prefecture (Qu County). If the thieves occupy Hezhou (Hechuan), then Shuzhong will be hopeless, and it will be useless for us to guard Jianmen."
The Gao family is a prominent family in Shandong. Gao Jingshan's younger brother Gao Jingyun was promoted to the rank of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple last year.
Do you want to surrender?
Gao Jingshan has been thinking about this issue. He knows what each of his soldiers is thinking. These days, he relies on providing sufficient food and pay to stabilize the morale of the soldiers.
The food route was cut off, and there were enemies from both front and rear. In such a difficult situation, if he dared to cut back on food, the soldiers would dare to rebel!
Although he was old, he still didn't want to die, especially when he was killed inexplicably during the mutiny.
In the evening, Gao Jingshan inspected Guancheng again. The complicated atmosphere permeating the army made him feel that he could not delay it any longer.
Gathering a group of reasonably obedient soldiers, Gao Jingshan went straight to Huang Deyu's residence.
Huang Deyu was eating and came out immediately when he heard the noise.
Seeing the situation outside, Huang Deyu did not curse angrily, but sighed: "You are the deputy envoy who has been transporting you all the way, are you so greedy for life and afraid of death?"
Gao Jingshan said: "I also thought about committing suicide and dying for the country. I have prepared the rope, but unfortunately I can't do it to myself. What about you? If you want to commit suicide, I will wait two quarters of an hour to collect the body. If you want to survive, I will tie you up."
surrender."
Huang Deyu thought about it carefully and said sadly: "My old wife and old servant were killed by thieves in Lizhou City. They have been with me for half my life. If they want to be alone on the road to Huangquan, I might as well go find them. I have been honest and upright throughout my life.
I don’t want to be stigmatized when I grow old. After my death, I will be buried with my old wife at Jianmen.”
"Resign!" Gao Jingshan bowed, turned around, and left silently with his soldiers.
Huang Deyu went back to his room to finish the meal, slowly took off his belt, and recalled the time when he was twenty years old, when he was a prostitute and paraded through the streets.
At that time, prices in Tokyo were not that high, and people lived happier lives. Although party disputes were fierce, there were no foolish kings and treacherous ministers to cause trouble, and everything was so beautiful.