Zhang Cunmeng and the leader of the eighth team discussed it and prepared for a big fight.
Zhang Cunmeng led the sixth and seventh teams to Huanglong; the second and third teams attacked Baishui; the fourth and fifth teams attacked Chengcheng; the first and eighth teams entered Pucheng.
Huanglong County is in the mountains to the northwest. At the end of the first year of Chongzhen, more than a dozen peasant armies including Wang Er, Miao Mei, Wang Jiayin, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Cumeng and Li Maochun gathered there.
Now Wang Er is dead; Miao Mei was killed by his subordinates because he was unwilling to surrender; Zhang Cunmeng conquered several tribes; and the rest followed Wang Jiayin to Shanxi.
Things are different and people are different.
Baishui and Chengcheng are equally easy to fight, but they have no oil and water.
Only Pucheng has not been broken into. Except for the area near Xiaotong Village, which was plundered by Wang Er, the rest are safe and sound. Moreover, this place is a hundred times richer than Bao'an County and has a lot of wealth.
Li Zicheng and Qian Sanwu discussed that this time the revolutionary army would still be the main attack force, and the loot would be 70% to 30%.
Money-minded children are happy, this business can be done, I know the truth.
Li Zicheng also said that he would send supervisors to his team to enforce discipline...
"That's unreasonable! The boss is so arrogant just after joining the gang? Come on, your mother!"
Qian Sanwu stood up, threw up his sleeves and left.
The first team is Zhang Cunmeng's die-hard old subordinate. He knows very well what Qian Yaner's virtue is, but he can't kick Li Zicheng out.
These days, there is strength when there are many people, and Zhang Cunmeng is very energetic and has no shortage of room to accommodate others.
He dispatched the second team again.
Zhao Sheng was easy to talk to and accepted all Li Zicheng's suggestions.
The two teams prepared for five days and set out on February 26th.
The Guanzhong Plain, a prosperous land, is known as the "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan".
What Li Zicheng saw along the way was sparsely populated and large areas of deserted land.
Baishui and Chengcheng counties were the places where Wang Er, the first rebel in Shaanxi Province, wreaked havoc. In addition, the leaders of various families came and went, and now the people's livelihood was in decline.
This is just one of the reasons.
The government's excessive taxation forced farmers to flee in large numbers. In order to collect the full amount of taxes, local officials ordered nine households to share the compensation if one household fled. If nine households fled, they would force one household to bear the burden alone. Even "people with young adults fled, and children were plundered in order to collect taxes."
.”
With so many twists and turns, it often happens that the entire village of farmers has fled.
It is obviously good land, but it is abandoned in vain. This is also an important reason for the "consecutive years of great famine". We cannot blame it entirely on natural disasters.
The discipline of the peasant army was uneven. Some only extorted the wealthy gentry and did not harm the poor people; some beat the local tyrants and opened warehouses to release grain; some burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of evil.
Having said that, isn't it just to become a master and bully men and women when people occupy land for the sake of kingship? Clear goals and strong execution ability... No one knows whether the head will still be on the neck tomorrow, so live one day at a time.
Li Zicheng doesn't have the strength to deal with those pests for the time being.
The soldiers marched forty miles and arrived at the Baishui River.
The river is two feet wide and not deep enough to be crossed by water.
Li Zicheng trained the engineering team and asked them to cut down trees and build bridges on the spot.
Not far after crossing the river is Gaoyang, an important town where merchants gather and is known as "Pubei Suoyin".
As soon as the army arrived, the twenty or so archers from the Inspection Department had already fled without encountering any resistance.
The word "inspection" can only be used for one month, because in April, "the seal of the inspection department will be changed to a simplified one - to violate the imperial taboo."
The taboo system is really bullshit.
During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, pigs were forbidden to be raised because they had the same name as Emperor Zhu. Within ten days, all pigs, big and small, from far and near were killed, and some were sold at reduced prices or buried. This absurd thing lasted for a long time.
long.
"Gongyang Zhuan·Yuan Min" records: "The Spring and Autumn Period is a taboo for respected people, a taboo for relatives, and a taboo for sages."
This is a "taboo" for saying good things but not bad things.
The name "taboo" began in the Qin Dynasty, developed in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
There are mainly four categories of taboos: avoidance of emperors, avoidance of superiors, avoidance of sages, and avoidance of elders.
When Emperor Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng came up, he changed the "first month" to "Duan Yue" because the standard way of writing the first month at that time was Zheng Yue.
Chang'e's original name was "Heng'e", but in order to avoid mentioning Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, the deity had to change her name.
In the Tang Dynasty, one of the six tribes, Hubu, was originally called Minbu but was changed to Hubu; Avalokitesvara was changed to Guanyin. Li Shimin’s grandfather was called Li Hu, and from then on “tiger” became “big insect”.
In fact, Li Shimin himself was quite tolerant and only avoided using the word "Shimin" together. The above were all done by his filial sons and virtuous grandsons.
The funniest thing is the three brothers Zhao Kuangyin. The eldest brother became the emperor, and the second and third brothers had to avoid changing their names. As a result, the second brother became the emperor again, so the third brother changed his name again. Hundreds of years later, the eldest brother was also renamed Zhao Kuangyun by Emperor Yongzheng Yinzhen.
Future generations who don't know the details will definitely be confused when reading ancient books, just like Bald Jiang's empty space or Chang Shenkai's ridiculousness.
In order to avoid the so-called taboo, Zhu Yuanzhang changed "Yuanlai" to "Yuan", which was simply allergic.
Copper coins of the Yuan Dynasty and previous dynasties have the words "Yuanbao" and "Chongbao" on them. Lao Zhu's coins also abandoned the words "Yuan" and "Chong" and always used "Tongbao".
Why did you drop "Chong"? Because Lao Zhu's original name was Zhu Chongba.1
After talking about the taboo of avoiding the emperor, let’s look at——
To avoid officials, "Only state officials are allowed to set fires, and the common people are not allowed to light lamps." To avoid sages, Qiu's surname was changed to "Qiu". 2
Avoiding elders - Du Fu's mother's name is Haitang, so he does not write poems about Haitang; his father's name is Du Xian, and there is no word "Xian" in his poems.
…
Every household in Gaoyang Town is closed and the streets are deserted.
Li Zicheng did not harass the local people too much. He only asked a few merchants to buy some grass beans at high prices.
Now the revolutionary army has more than 2,000 horses, donkeys and mules. It is not easy to feed these big animals. They are reluctant to ride horses even when marching on weekdays.
After resting for an hour at noon, the army continued to set off.
Li Zicheng pointed forward, "Brother Zhao, Yaoshan is a scenic spot that you must not miss. You should go and visit it."
Zhao Sheng couldn't understand. He couldn't help but said: "Brother, we have been delayed for several days. I have no objection to you saying we should unite the team. Then why not go straight to Pucheng now? Doesn't it make the other party defensive? I'm sorry.
Zhao is stupid, I hope my brother will make it clear."
Li Zicheng smiled mysteriously, "Brother, I'm just waiting to share the money and food. I know what I'm doing."
Zhao Sheng was helpless.
Yaoshan is a famous mountain in Guanzhong. It is an abrupt stretch in the plain, running from southwest to northeast, with a total length of about thirty miles.
"In the time of Yao, there were floods and all the mountains were destroyed. Only this mountain seemed to be floating", so it was named "Gufu Mountain". And because King Yao had great achievements in controlling floods on the mountain, it was later called "Yao Mountain".
The mountains are covered with verdant green hills, ancient cypresses and cliffs, springs as clear as mirrors, strange rocks all over the mountains, and simple and elegant palaces. There are many stone steles from past dynasties, inscriptions on the cliffs describing the past, and many cultural relics and historic sites.
There are about two to three hundred acres of cylindrical trees planted in the Tang Dynasty all over the mountain, with a total of no less than 300,000 to 400,000 trees.
There is a two-story pavilion built at the mountain gate of Yaoshan Mountain, with a pair of male lions lying on both sides, creating a solemn and spectacular atmosphere.
A rectangular stone is laid on the ground in the middle of the door, called "Shimian". It is the "Shimian" as the saying goes, "Have you ever seen the world?"
There are many ancestral temples in Yaoshan, which are simple and elegant, in Tang and Song style, and are very spectacular.
The legendary "Our Lady of Mount Yao" was the daughter of King Yao. She could call for wind and rain, cure diseases and assist childbirth, do good and correct people, relieve worries and eliminate dangers. She was later named "Mrs. Lingying" by the emperor.
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, also "hunted in Yaoshan".
Four of the five Tang tombs in Pucheng are located in Yiyao Mountain.
Li Zicheng and Zhao Sheng visited the mountains and rivers. After seeing the "Mrs. Lingying" temple, they stood on the top of the pole and looked south.
The plains are vast and the scenery is majestic.
Zhao Sheng couldn't help but sigh, "Yaoshan can be called Penglai Wonderland."
Twenty miles away from "Wonderland" is Pucheng.
Pucheng County, Jiuli San, beyond the north gate is Beiguan. The city gate tower is high and wide, and every corner is made of bricks. The pagoda of the North Temple is nestled at the top, and the pagoda of the South Temple is piercing the sky.
The two towers in the city protrude like strange peaks, like two swords thrust into the sky. They reflect each other and are so spectacular that they can be clearly seen even from twenty miles away.
"Pucheng County, here I come!"
Before evening, the army marched to Zaoyuan Village.
When setting up camp, the reconnaissance cavalry came to report that there were more than a thousand miscellaneous soldiers from the county.
Li Zicheng didn't panic.
One hundred and twenty miles to the northwest of Pucheng is Jinsuoguan; one hundred and eighty miles to the southwest is Xi'an; one hundred and thirty miles to the southeast is Tongguan; all of them are important places.
However, the government troops in the nearby area had almost no mobile forces.
Li Zicheng had at least twenty or thirty days to wait for the exchange of documents, the deployment of troops and generals, and the encirclement and suppression by the army.
As for the more than a thousand miscellaneous soldiers who came out of Pucheng, they should be regiment training led by Wuju people. They are also called Xiangyong. There is nothing to worry about!
Li Zicheng sent the left sentry first, and the right sentry moved on both sides to cut off his retreat. Later, he asked the scout cavalry to shoot a letter to the Wuju men.
Wang Wenchang read the letter: This fate is like a bridge, with flags flying. If you want to leave, please draw the knife immediately! 3
"What kind of nonsense is written in this mess? The thief is really just a piece of shit!"
Wang Wenchang raised his hand and said, "Left and right! Send my order to the generals to form an array and destroy the bandits!"
He regarded the revolutionary army as ordinary "rogue bandits".
But before the general's order could be passed down, a horseman came galloping to report: "Oh, big, big, big, general, army, it's not good, it's not good..."
There is no need for him to retaliate.
Wang Wenchang, a military officer, raised his head and looked into the distance. First, a black dot appeared, and then he saw clearly that it was a cavalry of bandits.
Suddenly I saw flags waving on horseback, and a large group of geese behind the bandits spread out, filling the wilderness in an instant.
The earth trembled, and a wall came crushing in, making it suffocating.
Wang Wenchang shook his hand, and the letter flew up; as soon as he closed his eyes, his heart fell to the ground, "Dead!"
Half of the more than a thousand mud legs fell to the ground, and half of them were fighting.
There were even a few timid people who were killed on the spot by the sound of horse hooves.
The rumbling sound came from far and near, and the sound of people shouting and horses neighing was deafening, and suddenly it gradually faded away.
Wang Wenchang sighed, "It turns out there is no sound of horse hooves in the underworld..."
"Big, big, big, big master, the thieves have escaped, we have won, we have won, we have won, hahahaha..."
Wang Wenchang opened his eyes, and the setting sun was like blood.
"...We won, hahahaha..." The house slave next to him was going crazy.
…
Li Zicheng smiled: "If a bunch of lambs are ready to be slaughtered and they don't resist, then there is no need to kill them indiscriminately."
If the knife cuts through the hard skull, it may chip. So, save yourself the trouble!
Wang Wenchang, a martial arts examiner, also saved his life. In the original timeline, he was beaten to death on the spot.
There is a Guandi Temple in Zaoyuan Village.
The temple was dilapidated and Mr. Guan was covered in dust. Li Zicheng gave the old gatekeeper one hundred taels of silver to repair it.
"I will come again in May and June, so please don't take the money for yourself."
"Don't dare! Remember Xiaodao."
…
In Pucheng, the county magistrate fell into his chair, half leaning, his eyes dull.
Dianshi reported carefully, "Sir, the fifth one was just dispatched from the south gate..."
"You still sent me a request, even though I knew you were being rounded up."
"..." Dianshi cried secretly.
"Old Ni, don't snatch that well from me in the backyard of the county government office."
"..." Dian Shi was speechless.
"Wenchang Gong's loyalty is a lesson... Alas, his heart, liver and lungs may have been fried by the bandits..."
"..." Dian Shi felt sad.
…
Wang Wenchang not only lived well, but also received fifty taels of silver for free.
"What do you mean by letting me go?"
"It means just take the money and get out of here! I haven't even eaten yet, so get out of here!"
Wang Wenchang walked away lightly, feeling really uneasy and like he was in the underworld.
He pinched himself hard, it hurt!
But, is this a bandit or a heavenly soldier? Why do you want to give me money? Aren’t the two sides hostile? Shouldn’t we fight to the death?
Not only did Wang Wenchang have silver, but the village heroes also received five taels each.
Everyone over there was going crazy with joy, but Zhao Sheng over here couldn't understand...
He sighed: "Brother, you are such a kind person. I can't figure it out..."
Li Zicheng laughed, "Money is a bastard! I also have 200,000 in my car, can I give you 100,000?"
Okay! I have a good appetite and can eat everything I’m given.
After thinking about it, Zhao Sheng shook his head, "Why bother?"
Li Zicheng replied: "Thousands of fertile fields can only provide three meals a day, and thousands of mansions can only sleep on three feet of couches. What do I want with so much money? It's just to take it from the people and use it for the people."
As he spoke, he took out a book from his arms and said, "This is the "Zengguang Xianwen" newly compiled by my brother. I think it is slightly better than what is circulated on the market, and I would like to ask Brother Zhao to correct it."
Zhao Sheng took the book and touched the cover, sighing with emotion, "Brother Fool has been studying the books of sages for thirty years, and he is penniless; I am a humble man from the countryside, and he is both civilized and military. The poem he wrote in Yaoshan alone makes me feel ashamed."
Shameful."
Li Zicheng put his arms around his shoulders and said, "These little tricks are not worth mentioning. Let's go, let's eat first!" This chapter has been completed!