Li Guo rode alone on horseback and entered the county town to sign up for the new village chief. He also asked Yuan Zongdao to find out any new news.
Li Zijing continued to guard the old house, while Li Zicheng took the other two people to the base area.
The more than 20 dilapidated cave dwellings on Xishan Maoshang have been tidied up, and the jujube trees are green and full of vitality.
Li Zicheng had just praised Liu Zongmin a few words when he turned around and saw the flattened grain bag.
"I'm sorry! How many of you are there? You ate a bag of noodles in four days?"
The others were a little embarrassed and lowered their heads silently.
Liu Zongmin rubbed his hands and smiled, "White noodles are delicious."
In the past few days, everyone ate well and slept soundly. Li Mantian and his three children played, played, and sang to entertain them; Gao Guiying, Yue'e, and her daughter were washing and mending clothes. Their little life was beautiful.
Zhang Nai brought out a plate and said, "Dad, I left some mutton snack for you."
"Damn! Did you buy a sheep?" Li Zicheng's voice rose loudly and he jumped up and down anxiously.
Liu Zongmin slowly moved back and explained: "It's just Li Cheng. His family is too poor to open the pot, so I gave him some millet."
At this time, Li Zijia had finished half the plate of dumplings in the blink of an eye, "Brother, it's so delicious! I can't even eat it during the Chinese New Year."
"..." Li Zicheng had nothing to say.
How easy is it to raise a few people?
Liu Zongmin retreated to the horse, touched its mane, and said, "I'm convinced, it's my brother who can do it."
As he spoke, he grabbed the reins, put his foot on the stirrup and started to turn it up.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh..."
The war horse shook its head, took two steps back, and threw Liu Zongmin to the ground.
"Ouch..."
The audience laughed.
"I still don't believe it..." Liu Zongmin was stubborn.
"If you don't know how to ride, don't show off!" Li Zicheng stopped him.
If you get hit by a horse's hoof, you may break your bones if you don't get it right.
Zhang Nai asked for a fight: "Dad, I can ride a donkey. Can you give it a try?"
Li Zicheng said impatiently: "Stay there for a while. Also, don't yell about daddy and daddy in the future. It will not worry anyone."
Zhang Nai scratched his head and did not dare to speak.
Li Huimei next to her covered her mouth and snickered.
"Don't just stand around. Gu Kecheng goes to eat dumplings; Liu Zongmin leads people to clear out the abandoned land behind."
After Li Zicheng made arrangements, he turned around and returned to the cave dwelling.
Gao Guiying waited and prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and Lao Li took up the pen and wrote four characters - Infantry Drill Code.
…
In the evening, Li Zijing came running.
"Brother, Ai Juren gave you two hundred taels of silver..."
Father Ai Zhao sailed to the west on time, and the scholars who gathered at Cuifangzhai last time were surprised and happy to hear this.
Li Banxian's words really came true.
This also means they have a bright future.
Ai Yuchu personally brought silver and satin to Changmao Temple to "visit the immortals".
Li Zijing pushed his brothers away and went away, collecting his things. The donkey also accepted them with a smile.
I was so sleepy that I gave him a pillow, and Li Zicheng was worried that he had no money to spend.
…
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Li Guo didn't come back for a long time.
On the fifth day of the lunar month, there was still no sign.
Li Zicheng was no longer calm and sent Liu Zongmin into the city to find out the news.
The sixth and seventh days of the lunar month passed again, and once again there were no human beings.
Li Zicheng was so worried that he took Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Gao Yigong, Gu Kecheng and a few others and ran to the county.
Unexpectedly, I met those two guys halfway.
Li Guo and Liu Zongmin were riding horses and singing sour songs, looking at ease.
Li Zicheng said angrily: "What should I say to you? Especially Liu Zongmin, if you ask for news, no matter what the situation is, you must come back quickly and let me know. This person is anxious to wait!"
Liu Zongmin argued, "You are not allowed in or out of the county town, and there is nothing I can do about it."
Just a few days ago, when Li Guo entered the city, the peasant army Zijinliang and Huntianwang came northward from the gate of Mizhi one after another, causing people to panic.
Naturally, the county seat was under martial law.
Liu Zongmin still relied on his familiarity and sat on the city wall on a hanging basket. It was difficult to figure it out again, so it was delayed for two days.
Li Zicheng was speechless at this elm head. The blacksmith was not a scout after all.
Liu Fangliang suggested: "Brother, how about we join the gang too?"
"No, no! That group of people can't accomplish anything and have no future."
It was impossible for Li Zicheng to defect to others before pulling up his own team.
He knew that Zijinliang and King Huntian would no longer be able to survive and would leave Shenmu for Shanxi at the end of the month.
After all, the Shaanxi frontier troops are not given for free. This year and next, the peasant soldiers in Shaanxi will fight to the death, surrender, or cross the Yellow River to avoid the limelight.
Li Zicheng planned to train his troops in a low-key manner first, so as not to start an uprising rashly.
Li Guo also brought up the county government to urge compensation for the three horses at the inn.
Li Zicheng said disdainfully: "I owe money for work, food, and money, so why are you so anxious about horse money? Just pay attention to his request!"
Everyone turned around to Xishan Mao.
Li Zicheng was very busy in the next few days.
Compiling a training syllabus, designing clothes, bugles, flags, firearms... I scratched my eyebrows and beard, it was a mess without any focus, and I felt dizzy.
It was too hasty.
Li Zicheng simply put aside his chores and thought about it for a day, and then he slowly sorted out his ideas.
On March 12th, Tian Jianxiu arrived late.
Unfortunately, his youngest son died young, and everyone comforted him.
Li Zicheng finally thought of holding a meeting for them.
On the wasteland.
Li Zijia, Li Guo, Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Gu Kecheng, Tian Jianxiu and Gao Yigong sat in a circle.
Li Zicheng drew out his flowered horse sword and thrust it into the soil.
"I'm going to gather everyone together to have a heart-to-heart talk and make some things clear. If you are willing to work with me in the future, we are brothers. If you want to quit, we will pay for it. We will still be brothers when we meet again."
Liu Zongmin shouted: "What nonsense! What do you want to do here if you don't want to do it? You are in charge, we will finish our work as soon as you say something."
Li Zicheng raised his finger and pointed, "Stand up."
Seeing his elder brother's serious expression, Liu Zongmin didn't dare to smile playfully and stood up awkwardly.
Li Zicheng continued: "Thanks to the respect of all brothers, I have a few words to say. If you can't do it, please find another way."
"First of all, what are we going to do? Remember, we are not grabbing money and food, bitches!"
"..."
Everyone was confused and looked at each other.
You don’t want money and food, and you don’t want beautiful women either. What do you want?
If you don’t want to do anything, why don’t we get together and ask for help?
Liu Zongmin was about to speak but stopped.
Li Zicheng waved his hand, "We want revolution!"
Next, he elaborated in a long speech what revolution is, why revolution is necessary, and how to revolutionize.
"Book of Changes": The revolution of heaven and earth came into being in four seasons. The revolutions of Tang and Wu followed heaven and responded to people.
Therefore, changing dynasties is called revolution.
Since the Ming Dynasty cannot feed the people, and cannot kill all the people, then the Ming Dynasty will not be destroyed, and the "rogue bandits" will not be eliminated.
Liu Zongmin seemed to understand. He raised his fist and shouted: "Rebellion is justified! Revolution is innocent! Kill the capital! Take the bird's seat!"
His legs were already numb from standing, and he was about to sit down after shouting the slogan.
Li Zicheng shouted, "You! Stand!"
The young man's wild nature is hard to conquer and needs to be beaten hard.
Liu Zongmin made a bitter face, while others wanted to laugh but dared not.
Li Zicheng continued: "The line of our revolutionary army is to rely on poor peasants and farm laborers, unite with middle peasants, restrict rich peasants, protect small and medium-sized industrial and commercial workers, and eliminate local tyrants and evil gentry!"
"The program of the revolutionary army is to eliminate civil strife and exterminate the Tatars; to equalize land rights, help the poor and restrain the rich; to overthrow the corrupt Ming Dynasty, and to establish a sovereign empire in which scholars, peasants, industry and merchants participate in politics together."
"Revolution is not a child's play. Once you join the revolutionary army, you must strictly abide by the three major disciplines and eight points of attention..."
Follow orders in all actions; do not take advantage of the masses; all seizures must be returned to the public.
Speak kindly; buy and sell fairly; return borrowed things; compensate for damaged things; do not hit or curse people; do not damage crops; do not molest women; do not mistreat captives.
Li Zicheng gave another long speech.
"...Let's talk about this for now."
The audience was stunned for a moment, and then began to blink at each other. What did the master just say?
Gu Kecheng asked cautiously, "Brother, are we about to kill officials and rebel?"
Originally, he only wanted to rob homes and homes.
Li Zicheng laughed, "Afraid? If we keep to ourselves, the government will act arrogant and ride on our necks to shit. But once we dare to fight hard, the government will ask for it!"
"Of course, the time has not come yet and we cannot raise the flag openly."
"Brothers, life is hard! Look at yourselves, and then think about your relatives and neighbors. Which one of you has not had enough to eat? That kind of life is worse than a pig or a dog."
"When people go to higher places, water flows to lower places. To put it bluntly, revolution is about changing the way of life, and then you have to fight hard!"
……………………
Thanks to the boss Jadeite and Zhai Orangutan for their support.
……………………
Chapter 19, The Lost Lamb
There are two prerequisites for the outbreak of revolution -
The first is that the imperial court cannot rule normally.
Specific manifestations include loss of control at the grassroots level, serious corruption, serious internal strife, and serious external threats.
The second is that ordinary people cannot live a normal life.
It manifests as difficulty in making a living and the hope of rising is blocked.
If all the above conditions are met, the success of the revolution will be easy; if most of them are met, the road to revolution will be somewhat tortuous, but the future is bright.
The Ming Dynasty is now a broken ship, and it will be destroyed sooner or later.
Li Zicheng strengthened their determination to rebel, and he spoke so earnestly that his words were drooling.
"..."
"A good man dies on the battlefield, a bad man dies on the kang."
"With your parents, you are at most a prince, and with a woman, you are at most a prince-in-law. Do you have such parents and women? No. But by yourself, you are nothing more than a beggar!"
Everyone laughs.
"There are three ways to go now. The first is to 'borrow money and grain' from the rich and powerful; the second is to break up the gang; and the third is to starve to death. Neither the second nor the third is good, only the first
The road can be walked."
Finally, we get to the content that everyone is interested in.
"Brother, who should we go to to 'borrow money' first?" Li Zijia was eager to give it a try.
Li Zicheng said: "Rabbits don't eat grass near their nests. To be on the safe side, it's better to choose a place seventy or eighty miles away. Gu Kecheng, go back and ask about the wealthy and unkind big households south and west of Huaiyuan Fort. We won't be unprepared.
It’s a battle. We’ll start after we’ve calculated the total.”
"Brother, look at it! It's all on me." Gu Kecheng looked excited.
They don't understand the principles of revolution, and they can only be down to earth by "borrowing money and food".
Then everyone went their separate ways——
Gu Kecheng and Li Zijia went to check the market with ten taels of silver funds;
Liu Zongmin and Li Guo took twenty taels into the city to find weapons and manpower;
Gao Yigong also brought a few taels of silver back to Huludan to greet his younger brother in advance;
Tian Jianxiu and Yuan Zongdi set off for Xi'an with two hundred taels of silver.
Because Li Zicheng wrote a letter to Tang Ruowang in Xi'an.
The content is nothing more than words of compliment and admiration, and congratulations on the opening of the first church in Xi'an.
By the way, I asked him to help me purchase a batch of telescopes and pocket watches.
Sun Yunqiu from Jiangnan is only two years old now and has no time to study optical problems - some people use crystal to grind glasses; Guangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and other places have not yet developed the watch industry.
In fact, telescopes and pocket watches are of secondary importance. Li Zicheng could easily create similar products that were a hundred years advanced with just his hands.
The important thing is to establish a relationship with Tang Ruowang.
Most of his disciples and disciples are well-versed in Western learning and have a background in imperial examinations. They are well-rounded in arts and sciences. It would definitely be a big help if that group of people could be won over.
Li Zicheng originally wanted to give Tang Ruowang an oil painting self-portrait to show off his skills, but it was troublesome to mix the paint and it took him a while to get it right.
At the end of the letter, Li Banxian once again used his magic skills and bluntly stated that Tang Ruowang would be valued by the court and would be called to the capital to compile the almanac this autumn.
He also told him that the European War would continue for more than ten years and would end with the defeat of the Habsburg Dynasty.
The bait is given, it depends on whether Lao Tang can take the bait.
Tang Ruowang was naturally overjoyed when he received the letter.
He didn't expect that there was a lost lamb in the poor mountains and valleys of northern Shaanxi. Moreover, this lamb was quite wealthy. Perhaps it was another person similar to Wang Zheng? Can you also fund the establishment of a calling hall?
Of course you can't let it go.
Tang Ruowang immediately sent the foreign Japs Zeng Dezhao and the Japanese Japs Qu Shiglu to pay a return visit.
Eating and sleeping in the open air all the way.
As a result, when the two of them climbed up to Changmao Mountain, their hearts dropped when they first saw Li Zicheng. He turned out to be just an insignificant village chief.
He lives in a shabby cave dwelling and wears patched burlap clothes.
There are various signs that the person they came to pay a visit to is a genuine mud-legged person.
The two of them couldn't help but feel discouraged.
By the way, there is also a nondescript couplet posted on the door, which makes people confused.
First couplet: Cold eyebrows pointing at a thousand fingers
Second line: Bow down and be a ruzi ox
There is no horizontal batch.
After exchanging a few words, Li Zicheng enthusiastically welcomed the two Japanese into the cave, and deliberately turned his head to look at the newly hung title on the wall.
He sighed and said: "I have no ambition, but now I am just a rough guy. I am alone and weak, and it is difficult to move forward!"
"Mr. Li is young and promising..."
The ghost guy turned his head to look while being polite.
On the silk paper, there is a large character written with flying dragons and phoenixes——
and and and
Man, earth and heaven
Fenfenfen
Dou dou dou
Its its its its
Lelele
nothing nothing nothing
Poor poor poor
"What is struggle?"
"With five thousand soldiers, I am against an army of one hundred thousand; if I can defeat the exhausted soldiers, I can use them as new horses. If we want to survive, we must fight!"
"What a struggle!" The two Japanese clapped their hands in appreciation.
Li Zicheng said with excitement: "The teacher once taught me a saying, in this world, there is no need to fight hard. Those who do not understand hard struggle have no hope of survival."
"Well said! Great teachers make great disciples!"
"The teacher also said that if what you see is big, your ambition will be big, and if you aspire big, what you learn will be big. If you think big, if you do big, you will be a great person."
How could a mud-legged man say this?!
However, this is nothing.
What shocked the Portuguese devils was that a rural governor on the other side actually knew the situation in Europe very well.
Qu Shiglu never expected that there would be such a person hiding in Qiongshan Valley.
He was born into a family of officials, and his grandfather was the headmaster of the Yongle Dadian.
His father is even more of a "talent".
His father's brother married the daughter of a minister, but they did not have sex because of his father's death. As a result, his father and his sister-in-law hooked up.
His father was kicked out of the house and had nowhere to go. Hearing that the foreign Japanese knew how to make elixirs, he went to learn from Matteo Ricci.
Naturally, the elixir was not made. Instead, he learned Euclid's geometry and translated a volume of "Elements of Geometry". 1 "Elements of Geometry" was very important in the emergence of the axiom-proof-theorem system. Later sciences are all based on
This theoretical system is established as a framework.
The third uncle of Qu Shiglu was also a lost lamb, and he went to Jiangxi to consult.
The third uncle's son was Qian Qianyi's student, and he was in the household department. A year ago, he was squeezed out by Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru and others. Both master and apprentice were demoted, and then they went back to their hometown to build a garden.
Li Zicheng was knowledgeable and eloquent, so Zeng and Qu put aside their prejudices and chatted happily with each other.
Qu Shigu met a close friend and chatted with Li Zicheng about astronomy, geography, and even playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting. It was a shame that they met so late.
After talking about the current situation that day, he couldn't help but sigh: "China occupies one-tenth of Asia, and Asia occupies one-fifth of the world. Outside, there are nine out of ten people like Chixian Shenzhou. But the world's people look at the sky like a frog in a well, and they look down upon the world.
To call them all barbarians is pitiful."
Li Zicheng took the opportunity to say: "So, revolution is the only thing in today's world."
"What is revolution?"
“Abolition of the old and establishment of the new, fighting against heaven and earth, is called revolution.”
Qu Shigu thought for a while, shook his head, sighed and became speechless.
The two Japanese soldiers lingered for a few days. Before leaving, Li Zicheng gave them another fifty taels of money.
By the way, I asked them to bring a letter to Wang Zheng in Xi'an Mansion.
Mr. Wang took the examination ten times before he won the Jinshi. He had just joined the religion at that time, and he happily said, "Today's success is a gift from heaven."
Lao Wang is also considered a figure, with profound knowledge, and is said to be the "Northern King of Southern Xu (Guangqi)". He was captured during the Dengzhou Incident, and Kong Youde let him go home. When Li Zicheng conquered Xi'an, he went on a hunger strike and died.
The content of the letter to him was nothing more than another show of pretense——
It will come back in February next year, be careful of Kong Youde.
When a nail is broken, a shoe is lost; when a shoe is broken, a war horse is broken; when a war horse is broken, a general dies; when a general dies, a battle is lost; when a war is fought,
A battle was lost and a country was destroyed.
Old Man Wang looked confused after reading the letter.
He will serve as Dingyou in February next year, so it makes sense to become an official. But who is Kong Youde?
What does it mean when a nail general subjugates his country?
Of course Old Man Wang didn't know that within a few months of his going to Dengzhou, a chicken would cause a murder.
The Ming Empire was destroyed by "eating chicken"!
Ignoring Old Man Wang, Li Zicheng continued to train his troops.
"Step together...Liu Zongmin, don't rush for passwords! We have them all! Step together~ Let's go! Ya'er, duck'er, yeah..."
"Li Zijia! If you raise your legs so high, you're going to beat the fat chicken!"
"If you want to kill your wife! Stomp your steps! Pay attention to the distance! Tian Jianxiu, don't squeeze the child out!"
"Look ahead!"
"Take a break!"
"Tell me about it!"
Li Zicheng looked at the messy footsteps and sighed, "Didn't I teach you that you have to stand at attention after speaking? Of course you have to stand at attention and listen when I want to speak. Do it again... stand at attention... take a break... make comments!"
"Gu Kecheng did a good job and deserves praise. I have memorized all the essentials of the movements. Go down and practice more."
It was finally over, and the minions breathed a sigh of relief.
If they had a choice, they would rather kill people than train. Things like the horizontal and parallel bars are fun, but standing in a military posture is uncomfortable.
Liu Zongmin said noisily: "Brother, you haven't seen that Gu Ke is obsessed with practicing magic in Chengdu. He wanders around whenever he has free time from morning to night."
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel more and more addicted the more I practice, and I can’t stop for a moment.”
Gu Kecheng was happy in his heart, but a little embarrassed on his face.
Li Zijia complained: "Brother, this training is too expensive. Look..."
Li Zicheng was too lazy to look, and waved his hand, "Go and make straw sandals yourself. Also, the reward valley can be made into a pair of thousand-layer soles."
Gu Kecheng scratched his head and ears with joy. He had never worn such good shoes in his life.
Zhang Nai shouted: "Godfather, I have to practice to see if I have cloth shoes."
"Yes! If you practice well, you will be rewarded."
"Come on, sing the "Military Discipline Song" again and then we will be dismissed."
"Every revolutionary soldier must remember and prepare..." This chapter has been completed!