Chapter 17: The White Jade Pillar That Holds the Sky
There is more than one person who has been wronged in Qinshui County.
Li Zicheng simply summoned Feng Qilong and asked him to re-examine the backlog of cases.
Although the gentry felt unhappy, they could not openly oppose it because they were all judged according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty. There was nothing wrong with it.
Dong Zhixian was out of sight and out of mind, so he left the master, the county magistrate, and Short Hair Xu to talk to each other and enjoy themselves in the backyard.
In the evening, more than twenty unjust, false and wrong cases were all clarified.
The people clapped their hands and cheered, running around shouting, a "thief Qingtian" came to the county, and the short-haired master really made the decision for the people.
Then Master Liu changed his mind and stepped forward to tell Short Hair: "Ten miles to the east of the county, there is a strongman entrenched in Fuhuling Ridge, causing harm to the village..."
Li Zicheng slapped the table and said, "Suppress!"
A sentry was sent the next day and they were back within an hour.
There are only about thirty people in Husband and Wife Ridge, so it's a waste of time to kill a chicken with a sledgehammer.
Master Liu also said that there are bandits in Jilin Mountain...continue to pay!
Master Liu also said that there have been more than a hundred bandits in Kongcang Ridge for many years, and many merchants in the past suffered from them.
Damn it to your grandma! This time Li Zicheng was too lazy to pay attention.
Kongcang Ridge is a hundred miles to the east, almost to Gaoping County. How long does it take to get back and forth? And right next to it is the Kongcang Fort Inspection Department. It's none of my business if the officials and bandits are angry.
…
On May 29th, reconnaissance cavalry came to report that Wang Jiayin's troops had reached Gaoping. They failed to attack the city, were pursued by the army, and were about to rush west into the mountains and forests.
It's time to look familiar.
Li Zicheng settled down the brigade, called Jia Fugui, and took only Liu Zongmin, Li Guo and a sentry Qingqi to contact him.
The revolutionary army rode westward for more than sixty miles and stopped at Duanshi Town at the intersection of Sancha Road.
Duanshi Town is the largest ancient town in the Qinhe River Basin.
At the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, after the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into Jin, the king of Jin moved here. 1 There was Qinshui in Jiyuan, Henan Province. Jin Wengong destroyed the original kingdom and moved them to Xinqinshui. Unexpectedly, the descendants of Jin Wengong also
Was sent here.
Duanshi Town is backed by Weishan Mountain in the east, with Mt. Keshan (Keshan) as a screen in the west. From north to south is the Qinhe River that has flowed for thousands of years. It is the only way for the eldest son, Gao Ping, Yangcheng, Zezhou, Changzhi and other counties to travel.
A very important road.
Commerce and trade have flourished here since ancient times, and it is known as the dry wharf in Qindong area.
Jia Fugui ran home first to see if the "robbers" had not arrived yet and it was still safe.
This fat man's ancestors made their fortune by selling salt, with assets of hundreds of thousands, and he was the big businessman of Duanshi Town.
In addition to the wealthy businessmen, there was also a big shot in the town.
Liu Dongxing, a native of Pingshang Village across the river, was the Governor of Hecao River in the Wanli Year and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. He was "upright and honest, and the conduct of the Qing Dynasty". He later died of illness at the river control construction site due to overwork.
As soon as Li Zicheng arrived, he first asked Jia Fugui to take his son Liu Yongqian and his family and settle them down to avoid disaster. He had no time to talk to them for the time being.
Jia Fugui tried his best to curry favor and filled the table with delicacies from the mountains and seas. Even the soldiers outside had half a catty of meat per person.
Just after lunch, Wang Jiayin's front team arrived outside the city, and the town was full of chaos.
When Li Zicheng climbed to the top of the earthen wall, he saw that what was coming was the original six teams. Li Yangchun, the Four Heavenly Kings under the command of Guo, the king of troubled times. 1 Jiaxian County surrendered to Sun Chuanting, and later surrendered to Li Zicheng, who died in battle with the Qing army.
Meet fellow villagers.
At the beginning, Li Zicheng's eight detachments blocked the official army alone, buying time for the defeated troops to escape, and won widespread praise.
When Li Yangchun first saw his savior, he was very enthusiastic.
The two chatted for a while, and then the rear groups arrived one after another.
There are many acquaintances. In addition to Guo Yingpin, there are also Tuo Yangkun from Team 4 Scorpions, Lao Zhang Fei from Team 5, Zhang Wenchao and others.
Li Zicheng also met Zhang Xianzhong, the Eighth King of Xiying, for the first time.
This young man rebelled again just a few days after Shaanxi surrendered.
There are also Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, and Laohui Ma Guangyu. These guys will be terrible in the future. Sooner or later, we will meet them in war.
Li Zicheng met with Wang Jiayin and said that Duan's town had old traditions and it was difficult for the army to harass him. Thirty jars of wine, fifty sheep, one hundred stones of grain, and five hundred taels of silver had been prepared on the other side of the river, specially for the big palm plate to catch the wind and wash away the dust.
While we were talking here, there was a noise next door.
Wang Jiayin has two generals under his command: Bai Yuzhu, the right chief, and Zijin Liang, the left chief.
Their nicknames come from "The white jade pillars that support the sky and the purple golden beams that support the sea."
Bai Yuzhugang and Liu Zongmin, after Li Guo informed them of their names, he was not happy anymore.
I have led thousands of troops, so I deserve this title. Why are you, a mere sentry commander, calling me Optimus Prime over me?
Li Zicheng originally gave Liu Zongmin the title of leader of the Autobots, but he did not want to offend Bai Yuzhu's taboo.
Liu Zongmin has a bad temper and gets angry immediately when he sees the other person being flirtatious. Decepticon Li Guo also rolls up his sleeves and wants to quarrel with Bai Yuzhu.
Li Zicheng and Wang Jiayin quickly came over to drink up their generals.
Wang Jiayin scolded Bai Yuzhu and blamed him for making a fuss out of a molehill.
Aren’t nicknames given casually these days? There are quite a few with the same name.
There are currently three families of the Eight Kings, and none of them wanted to change their names, so they had to distinguish the east, west, and south camps at the front; Gypsophila is also divided into No. 1 and No. 2. There are even more names with similar nicknames.
Wang Jiayin had known that the revolutionary army had 3,000 elite soldiers, so he deliberately recruited them. After a short rest, he ordered the brigade to cross the river and set up camp in Pingshang Village.
The villagers fled.
Anyway, Douzhuang, which Wang Jiayin was about to attack, was in Hexi, so it was a good idea to station him here.
Douzhuang started in the Song Dynasty. At that time, Dou's daughter was the concubine of Zhezong of Song Dynasty, and she became a relative of the emperor. As a result, the Dou family prospered.
After the Dou family declined, the original servant Zhang gradually came to the fore. The two surnames were married for generations.
Zhang Wudian was the chief minister of Dali Temple in Nanjing during the Tianqi period. When he retired in old age, the emperor specially promoted him to the title of Minister of the Ministry of War.
This old man once served as an official in Shandong. He had doubts about the saying that "Mount Taishan is forty miles high", so he went to measure the exact height. He was also a talented person. He died eight years ago.
Zhang Wudi's three sons all have great fame.
The eldest son, Zhang Quan, was the patrol commander of Liaodong during Wanli and was stationed in Liaoyang, but the city fell and he died.
The second son, Zhang Yi, was a Jinshi. He had a reputation for talent but had not yet served as an official. The third son, Zhang Xuan, was a civil servant. He "did not seek official advancement, but worked hard to be benevolent and righteous, and was known as an elder."
Junior figures——
Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Quan's daughter, married to Sichuan and was Qin Liangyu's daughter-in-law. Last year, she joined the Qin Dynasty in Beijing with the Baigan soldiers. If the two daughters say it is false, take it seriously if the plot requires it.
Zhang Daojun (Jun), the son of Zhang Quan, relied on his father's merits to lead the Jin Yiwei and command his affairs.
Sun Chengzong and Zhang Quan were Jinshi in the same field. Seeing that they were old friends, they once recommended Zhang Daojun to "manage and refine in Zelu" and supervise the manufacture of "imitation Western cannons" for the imperial court.
"The suffering of the pass is even more due to the lack of iron. Iron cannot be smelted without refining, and if it is refining, one third of it will remain, and the cost of transporting the iron will still be there.
Shanxi Waijie was quite skilled in craftsmanship, but Zhang Daojun, who was in Jinyi because of his father's hatred of Weixue, wanted to get the right size, so he decided to use the iron in Lu. He received only more than 30,000 gold, but compared with the Ministry of Construction, he saved more than 10,000.
The cost of transportation for his troops was not shared. Jin produced mules, but Guan also needed mules, so he bought mules for transportation, saving more than ten thousand gold. When mules were used again, their workmanship was even better than expected."
Zhang Daojun finally spent more than 26,000 yuan in silver. In more than a year, he "made a total of 2,033 Fran cannons, 16 pursuit cannons, 10,245 sub-cannons, and 100 sub-cannons."
One hundred and eighty-two cannons, 10,214 three-eyed muskets, 7,511 waist knives, and two prisoner-killing cannons. I bought 17,000 kilograms of black lead and cast iron.
Two hundred and seventeen thousand catties."
After Zhang Daojun finished his errands, he repeatedly asked for credit, and finally annoyed Emperor Tianqi.
The cabinet secretary said: Zhang Quan died in battle under the imperial edict, and the imperial court has its own public opinion. Zhang Daojun cannot calculate clearly, and his department has been under review for a long time. He must have discovered the shortcomings of his situation. How can he be resentful? He was dismissed from his post and returned to his hometown...
The price of iron here in Shangdang is as cheap as mud. Next door is a salt production area, and private salt is as cheap as dirt. However, one pound of iron can only be exchanged for two pounds of salt.
Therefore, it is not a piece of cake for Zhang Daojun to just steal a few hundred silver.
After Lao Zhang was dismissed from office, he worked hard and quickly, but soon he was reinstated and even promoted.
…
Douzhuang is four miles away from Duanshi Town and two miles away from Pingshang Village. You can get there just by walking.
The next day, the peasant army surrounded Douzhuang in an instant.
Wang Jiayin only knew that the Zhang family was rich, but he didn't know how difficult Douzhuang was to conquer.
At that time, Zhang Wudian was a mature man. After his son died in Liaoyang, he said, "There will be chaos in the sea, and the world will be troubled from now on. It will not only happen in one corner, but we need to take precautions in advance."
After he returned to his hometown in his later years, he built a fort outside the small village built by Dou family in the Song Dynasty, with the Tai Chi teaching ground as the center.
The wall is three feet high, five feet thick, and 1,008 steps in circumference. There are battlements, forts, and lookout points built at the top of the wall. Five-story watchtowers are built at the four corners, with windows on eight sides, allowing a panoramic view of the mountains and rivers outside the building. If there are any invading enemies, There is no hiding place for dozens of miles away.
The four city gates in the east, west, south and north are tall and narrow, not wide enough for a car. Outside the four gates, there is an urn city on each side, which is tall and proud.
The four gates in the city do not collude with each other, and each is divided into its own area. It is self-enclosed to prepare for the loss of one gate in the event of war, without causing harm to the other gates.
There is a stone street in the city, 5 feet wide, and residential buildings are equipped with cross-street corridors on the second floor between independent houses, with light and dark connections, and are connected to each other to facilitate escape in case of emergency.
Douzhuang Fort is stronger than most county towns.
Yesterday, when Li Zicheng's men arrived at Duanshi Town, the people of Douzhuang panicked first. Because many of the leading figures were working as officials outside and there was no backbone in the family, they wanted to abandon the village and flee to the mountains.
Mrs. Huo, Zhang Quan's widow and Zhang Daojun's mother, said to everyone: "If you go out to avoid thieves, your home will not be safe; if you encounter thieves when you go out, you will not be able to escape, and you will only be laughed at. If you stick to the city, you will be fine. If anything happens, you will die." It is better to be at home than to die in the wilderness."
So the villagers launched their cannons, manned their muskets, and stationed themselves on the wall.
It was Wang Jiayin's turn to have a headache.
I was just driven here from the Lu'an Prefecture area. As the leader of the alliance, I am disgraced. Now I have to start business as soon as possible to boost people's popularity. No matter how difficult it is, I have to bite the bullet!
"Siege the city!"
More than twenty large and small cannons fired furiously for a moment, and then several groups of peasant soldiers rushed towards the city wall carrying ladders.
Douzhuang immediately opened fire.
The Franchise can be regarded as a breech-loading cannon, which can be loaded quickly. It can shoot dozens or hundreds of projectiles and knock them over when they fly out.
Outside the wall, there was a lot of wailing.
Another group of peasant troops left the formation and attacked again.
These hungry people cannot reason with common sense. They may collapse at the first touch, or they may not be afraid of death. This chapter has been completed!