Chapter 15 Open the door to meet the thief or fight to the death
Back in Han Mansion, Li Zicheng made a simple rotation model of the solar system and the Earth-Moon system, and taught them observation and calculation methods.
Turning on the mechanism, several small balls began to rotate. Erhan was so excited to see it and shouted that it was wonderful.
"Don't study this urgently. The sun and moon won't run away for a while."
Li Zicheng rolled up his arms and sleeves, "Brother Yu Gong, Zhao asked me for advice on the true meaning of Tai Chi."
How can you pass up a master and miss him?
Han Lin didn't refuse and settled the matter with a few polite words.
He stood in a circle with his hips, and used the skill he had accumulated for thirty years to perform a move called White Crane Spreading Its Wings.
Li Zicheng knocked him down with one punch.
Float away.
…
There are many things to see and do in Jiangzhou, but it’s a pity that we don’t have time.
Wang Jiayin is about to burp, so it’s important to go and look familiar first.
Li Zicheng and others rushed to catch up with the revolutionary army brigade by the Hui River near Yicheng. They set up camp on the spot and went to the countryside to collect food.
Shanxi farmers are also suffering.
Although the severe drought did not begin to spread until the following year, the imperial court——
"Yan Huang's faction was eager to spark a fire, but it was difficult to transfer. Although the price in the court was calculated at 220,000, the actual cost among the people was more than one million. There was an official who wanted to pass the exam, the old and the new were urged, and the wife was sold, and the heart was torn out.
Knock the marrow, the skin and bones of the people are gone. Today, the spring rain has not touched, the wind and haze are changing day by day, the people's hearts are anxious, and the situation is precarious. The weak turn to the ravine, the strong can't speak with anger..."
It can be seen that man-made disasters are greater than natural disasters.
First, starting in the second year of Chongzhen, the Shaanxi peasant army gradually crossed the river and entered Shanxi.
In the northwest region, it was mainly Wang Jiayin who crossed the river and entered the meander; in the southwest region, the peasant army was divided into two groups, one group attacked Jizhou, Xiangling, Taiping, Quwo, and the other group attacked Pu County and other places.
Then the rebel army divided into two groups: the west group attacked Shilou, Yonghe, Jizhou, and Xixian; the east group attacked Fenxi, Huozhou, Zhaocheng, and Hongdong.
Then the local hungry people in Shanxi also rebelled. "Now that the army has been raised, those who threaten to follow will be at risk."
The response of Shanxi officials was not to eliminate the "thieves", but to shirk responsibility first.
So much so that later it was said that the country of Jin was originally peaceful and the people were safe, but the changes were all attributed to Shaanxi officials who "took Jin as a beggar". They also went to the imperial court to ask "instruct the Qin Zhifu to drive them back to Qin, and then discuss the suppression of Fu."
It’s really a joke to drive the peasant army back to Shaanxi from Shanxi first!
However, some people who understand have said: "In the beginning, those who invaded the Jin Dynasty were Qin people; today, those who invaded the Jin Dynasty are half Jin people. In February and March, one-tenth of those who followed the thieves, and in June and July, three-tenths of those who followed the thieves.
So far this winter, fifty-six out of ten have become thieves... If you want to get rid of the thieves in Jin, you must not first care for the poor people in Jin..."
But for what purpose? Who wants to pay for it? It’s just a talk.
Therefore, the Shanxi officials' wishful thinking could only be to drive the converts out of the country, then they would have done their duty and everything would be fine.
Another reason is that Datong Town has to defend the border, and the inland Shanxi Town is full of second-line soldiers. Their bows and horses are exhausted and they are powerless. The guardsmen are directly old farmers and can be ignored.
But Shaanxi itself is too busy to take charge of Shanxi.
Cao Wenzhao also only carried out guerrilla attacks on the front line of the Yellow River. After recovering the meander of the river, he continued to pursue the defeated troops nearby and did not go too far into the Jin region.
In May, the Hequ occupied by the peasant army for half a year was broken by Lao Cao and Wei Yunzhong, the governor of Xuanda, and Wang Jiayin broke through.
On the 24th, he passed Yueyang County and entered the Taiyue Mountains. 1 Poor Shanxi, Yueyang, which had been called Yueyang for more than a thousand years, was snatched away by Hunan when the country was conquering the country.
At present, Wang Jiayin and other peasant troops should be staying in Tunliu, Changzi area.
Li Zicheng didn't need to follow him. After all, he would know five hundred years later, and he would just go to Qinshui and wait for him.
In the evening, my old friend Tuo Yangkun came to join us. This guy gathered more than a thousand horse steps.
There is no problem if you want to join forces, as long as Li Zicheng sends a supervisory army. Otherwise, if the military discipline of Tuo Yangkun is improved, the revolutionary army will inevitably take the blame.
Tuo Yangkun was naturally unwilling and made excuses the next day to lead his team to leave first.
The revolutionary army then headed west into the mountains.
The Taiyue Mountains to the west, the Taihang Mountains to the east, and Wangwu Mountain to the south form a circle of mountains surrounding Shangdang Highlands.
"The earth is extremely high and is in the same party with the sky, so it is called Shangdang."
"Living at the top of Taihang, it is the backbone of the world. Viewed from Hanoi, the mountain is ten thousand feet high; viewed from Chaoge, it is like black clouds halfway up the sky. That is, Taiyuan, east of the river, is also outside the mountains around the toe.
Its situation is extremely dangerous in the southeast, and if one man holds the pass, it will be difficult for all armies to overcome it; in the northwest, it is extremely dangerous, and it will be easy for me to go there, but difficult for the other side. It is not the most victorious place!"
There is a basin in the middle of the Shangdang Highlands, which is suitable for farming and rich in minerals.
If Shangdang can be occupied for farming, there will be no problem in raising 50,000 soldiers, and they will be fully equipped with guns, artillery and armor.
But, it’s difficult!
It is not easy to compare with Zhu Yuanzhang. There are prerequisites for building high walls and accumulating grain to slowly become king.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a civil war among warlords such as Timur (Wang Baobao), Polo Timur, Li Siqi, Zhang Liangbi, Kong Xing, Tolebo, etc., and their own people were the first to fight. This is why all the anti-kings can gain power.
a reason.
In particular, Wang Baobao probably killed more Yuan troops than he killed peasant troops.
Liu Futong covers Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong and other places;
Xu Shouhui lives in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places;
Zhang Shicheng lives in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places;
Ming Yuzhen has Sichuan and Yunnan;
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang, who succeeded Guo Zixing's team, was still confined to a small area in Chu County and Hezhou in central Anhui.
There were a group of outstanding people in front of him to help bear the firepower, and Zhu Yuanzhang had the opportunity to lust after him.
Therefore, the situation is different, and Li Zicheng cannot imitate cats and tigers.
Let's take a step at a time.
Wuling Mountain is a branch of the Taiyue Mountains and the watershed between the Fen River Basin and the Qin River Basin.
The revolutionary army traveled through the Wuling Mountains and arrived in Qinshui on the 27th. This small and remote county was suitable for surgery.
The perimeter of the county town is two miles and one hundred paces, the height is two feet and two feet, the moat is one foot deep, and there are only three gates in the east, west and north. The armed force in the city has one hundred and ten yamen.
Li Zicheng sent out three sentries and stationed them outside the three gates.
The Qinshui County government office is filled with gloom and gloom.
The county magistrate, Master Dong, was gathering a group of gentry to discuss countermeasures.
"Everyone, let's make an idea. If you have the money, some will contribute the money, and some will contribute the people and the strength. You all know that bandits are tyrannical, and once they break the city, everyone will be destroyed."
While everyone was chirping and offering their opinions and suggestions, a government servant rushed in.
"Sir, the thief shot a letter."
"..." The gentry immediately shut up.
After Dong Zhibiao read the letter, his brows furrowed even more tightly.
Liu Daqiu asked: "In the Ming Dynasty, are the traitors trying to persuade them to surrender?"
The magistrate sighed and was about to tear the letter into pieces, then thought again and handed it out.
Liu Daqiu took it and looked at it, shaking his head and saying nothing.
Shang Ningyi, Zhao Wanbi, Wang Zi, Wei Silian and more than ten people looked at them one by one. Some of their faces were as usual, some were frightened and uneasy, some were dejected, and some were secretly happy...
Dong Zhixian coughed and said, "Everyone, whether you want to open the door to welcome the thief or fight to the death, make your decision early."
If there is no letter from the traitor, the county magistrate will naturally fight to the death to serve the court. Now, there is still a glimmer of hope.
Zhao Wanbi said: "Thieves cannot be trusted..."
"Don't be rash!" Jia Fugui hurriedly stepped forward, "It is related to the safety of the whole city. Please send someone to communicate with me. If the revolutionary army really did not commit any crime, why bother to kill all the elders in the city?"
Wei Silian sarcastically said, "Is the rich man worried that his money and food will be confiscated? Your family is far away in Duanshi Town, why are you worried?"
Jia Fugui argued: "How many people are there in the city? How can we defend it? Soldiers from Pingyang Guard, Qinzhou Qianhusuo, and Ningshan Guard have all gone to Lu'an (Changzhi) to protect the prince. Our small county can count on the army to come save?"
King Shen's original fiefdom was in Shenyang, and in the sixth year of Yongle's reign it was changed to Changzhi.
At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang set up three guards on the left, middle and right for the princes' sons. Based on a full complement of 5,600 guards, this would be 16,800 people.
However, Zhu Di, who had usurped the throne and started his career, was really worried about the three guards and horses in the hands of his brothers. So he made changes when he could and withdrew when he could.
There are currently twenty-eight princes in the Ming Dynasty, and only Prince Shen still has a bodyguard - the Shenyang Central Guard.
But the few thousand remaining people were doomed.
At the beginning of this month, Ma Guangyu and other peasant troops who first entered the Shangdang moved to fight in the Lu'an Prefecture area. The prince's Shenyang escort - who were actually all veteran farmers - were "annihilated".
Chongzhen was furious about this and immediately dismissed Wei Yunzhong, the governor of Xuanda, who made you ineffective in suppressing the thieves!
It was important to protect the prince, so almost all the surrounding troops went to Fucheng.
Therefore, Qinshui County, which is located in a remote mountain ravine, cannot wait for reinforcements in a short time.
Shang Ning stood up, raised his hands and clasped his fists, "But it depends on the Ming government's decision. If we fight to the death, the students will go to the city to help defend; if we negotiate for payment, the students are willing to go out of the city to face the thieves."
"..."
All the gentry expressed their opinions, and as a result, 30% were willing to fight to the death, 30% wanted to negotiate peace, and the remaining 40% were hesitant.
Without the help of the gentry and local tyrants with money and food, the defense of the city would be defeated.
Mr. Dong was so worried that he went back to the back hall to discuss with his master again.
After hearing this, Mr. Liu said carelessly: "The Ming Dynasty does not need to worry, the peace negotiation is just a temporary measure. The most important thing at hand is the summer tax! As long as the money and food are collected, the world will be peaceful. Bandits are making trouble everywhere, why can't we just make trouble here? ?”
Dong Zhibiao calmed down for a moment, then sighed, "If I pay the money, I'm afraid I won't be able to hide it from Shang Xian."
Mr. Liu smiled and said: "Don't worry too much, Mr. Dong. In officialdom, one more thing is worse than one less thing. As long as the money and food are put into the treasury and the county seat is not lost, why do the gentlemen of the state government care about this?"
Dong Zhibiao was still a little hesitant.
Master Liu continued to enlighten: "The bandits will not plunder or kill people when they enter. Everyone in the county outside the city is safe and sound. If they wanted to take the city, they would have come to attack, so why make peace? Let's buy peace and deal with it before we deal with it."
Dong Zhibiao thought over and over again and made up his mind.
Make two preparations. On the one hand, arrange defense matters, and on the other hand, prepare for peace talks with the bandits.
Soon, Shang Ning went out of the city to confront the thieves with a reply from the county magistrate and his parents' spiritual tablets. This chapter has been completed!