The prefect of Hanzhong, the king, was in Taiwan discussing with his officials the imperial examination next year.
Butler Wang Zaitai rushed in and shouted anxiously: "Sir, there is an urgent military situation, and Feng County in Lueyang has already failed.
Sun Rujun, the garrison at Dashan Pass, has come to fight the thief in yellow you told us about."
When Wang Zaitai heard the news, he was suddenly shocked and spilled the tea in his hand.
"Master Zhou, what should we do now?" he asked in a panic.
Master Zhou Qisheng said calmly: "Master, don't panic, Sun Rujun explained in the letter that the people in yellow have just started to gain momentum and their number is not large.
Call in the person who reported the news, and I want to ask about the details."
A guard wearing shabby armor was brought into the house.
Many officials smelled the bloody smell on his body and immediately covered their noses with looks of disgust on their faces.
Only Wang Zhongce, who was hiding aside, carefully observed this hundred households.
"Mr. Magistrate, I am a member of a hundred households in Lueyang County.
At first, some gentry from Feng County came to Lueyang, saying that Feng County had been captured by thieves in yellow clothes.
The county magistrate asked us to help defend the city. We abandoned the guard post and went directly to defend the city.
The thieves in yellow were so powerful that we were completely unable to stop them, and the city was breached by them.
Master Qianhu led us to escape, and we rode horses and ran along the road to Hanzhong.
My horse can run faster and I will report the situation to you as soon as I enter the city."
Zhou Qisheng reprimanded: "Don't talk nonsense and talk about the important point. How many troops are there in the rebel bandits?"
Hundreds of households were frightened and stumbled, saying, "There are six to seven thousand thieves in yellow.
When they besieged the county town, they dug a trench and put something under the city wall.
With a loud bang, the city wall collapsed, and we couldn't stop it at all."
Zhou Qisheng asked this hundred households several more detailed questions.
He walked to Wang Zaitai and said: "Master, I have already figured out that the main force of the yellow-clothed thieves is to attack Lueyang.
We need to mobilize all the troops and horses to surround and suppress the thieves in yellow. After careful questioning, I found that there are only about 6,000 rebels.
Most of them are civilians and will run away when attacked by officers and soldiers.
We have more than 20,000 officers and soldiers in Hanzhong.
The anti-bandit forces are weak in combat effectiveness, but they develop and grow very quickly by coercing the people.
We cannot give them room to develop. Once they reach a large scale, they cannot be controlled."
Zhou Qisheng said in a low voice: "We have wiped out Wang Daliang, if you gain some military merits, you can be promoted to governor.
It’s just a matter of killing some military households, it’s so worth it.”
Wang Zaitai heard Zhou Qisheng's opinion and stroked his beard with satisfaction.
He said loudly: "Well, I will mobilize the Hanzhong Guards, Ningqiang Guards, Mian County Qianhu Station, and Bao County guest army Liu Yingyu's troops.
A total of more than 20,000 troops were deployed to surround and suppress the yellow-clad thieves.
Zhou Qisheng, take my private seal and coordinate all parties on behalf of my government."
Zhou Qisheng understood that Wang Zaifu, the prefect, asked him to command the battle.
He has experience and is not worried at all about not being able to fight well.
He knows better than some civilian officials and never gives random orders. He only cares about the general direction and allows the generals to express themselves freely.
Winning a battle is due to his strategizing, and losing a battle is due to the general's fear of the enemy and his cowardice.
…
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the collective power of civil servants was strong, and it was normal to use civil servants to control military affairs.
When a war breaks out in a place, the governor or governor has the greatest power and has the right to command the army to fight.
Under normal circumstances, the prefect of the king in Taiwan has no right to command the army, and the army is led by the guard.
But years ago, Wang Daliang rebelled, and the prefect of Hanzhong wrote a book on the stage, requesting the officers and soldiers in the mansion to exterminate the rebels.
Emperor Chongzhen and the cabinet approved Wang's request to stay in Taiwan. He was not a governor, but he already had the authority to command the army.
Wang Zhongce frowned when he heard Zhou Qisheng's plan.
He immediately came out and reminded: "Master Magistrate, the rebels have occupied Feng County, please pay attention to their attack from Lianyundao.
The generals of the guard were deprived of their pay for a long time, and only the servants had fighting strength.
Judging from the failure to exterminate Wang Daliang's rebels in the first half of the year, it can be seen that the guardsmen no longer have combat effectiveness and it is best not to take the initiative to attack.
As long as we stick to Hanzhong and contact the Governor of Shaanxi, Mr. Yang He, to attack from two fronts, the rebels will be defeated."
Zhou Qisheng immediately scolded: "How can you, a ninth-grade scholar, understand military and national affairs?
Lianyun Road is a wooden plank road. As long as there is only one defender left, a fire can burn down the entire plank road.
Food carts cannot pass on the plank road, and some places can only accommodate one person. How can a large army pass through such a place?"
Zhou Qisheng whispered: "Master Magistrate, when the Governor takes action, you will not only have no merit but also fault.
Don’t forget who Yang He is from, he is looking for our mistakes.”
Wang Zaitai glared at Wang Zhongce angrily, slapped the table with his hand, and said: "For the sake of King Rui, I will not punish you for disturbing the morale of the army.
Do your job well, educate the students in the government, and produce more candidates."
Wang Zhongce had no choice but to retreat, and others' words were of little use.
The king wrote the official document in Taiwan and stamped it with the official seal.
Order the guest army Liu Yingyu, the commander of the Hanzhong Guard Lu Tianshou, the commander of the Ningqiang Guard Lu Liang, and the commander of Qianhu Liang Ping in Mian County.
Let them send troops to put down the thieves in yellow.
…
Lu Tianshou, the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, was the first to receive the official document.
He frowned as he looked at it. He really didn't want to go to war. The risk was too great.
His confidants saw his doubts and advised: "Sir, can we shirk it?"
Lu Tianshou waved his hands and sighed: "It's too useless to be a military general. It's okay if you have a big boss behind you. How dare you refuse if you don't have anyone behind you.
If the prefect of the king impeaches me, I will have to shed my skin even if I am not dead."
He put on his armor and issued an order: "Gather your troops and horses, and we will send out troops."
Lu Tianshou sighed, unable to express the pain in his heart.
When a war is won, the credit goes to the civil servants.
The battles were lost because of the incompetence of the generals.
People will die in war, and the little silver reward given by the court is not enough to provide pensions to the servants and soldiers.
A lot of people died in the last attack on Wang Daliang, and the court gave him a lot of silver rewards, but he didn't see a penny.
After receiving the order, Lu Liang, the commander of the Ningqiang Guards, and Liang Ping, a Qianhu in Mian County, hesitated for a long time and had no choice but to send troops.
…
In Baoxian County, Liu Yingyu received the order and cursed loudly, saying: "The Hanzhong soldiers are too useless and cannot deal with Wang Daliang.
It was I who came to put out the fire for them. So many of my brothers died, but the court didn't even pay them pensions or reward money.
Now he still wants us to send troops, but we need to pay him money first."
"Sir, Zhou Qisheng, the master of the Wang Prefecture, came here, and he also brought over several boxes of silver.
It was said that the silver reward given by the imperial court had just arrived.
There’s more to come after this victory.”
Liu Yingyu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately stood up and said, "Take me to see Master Zhou quickly."
This kind of donor could not be neglected, so he immediately got up and went to the living room to greet him.
Zhou Qisheng came to Liu Yingyu with money, and he was very heartbroken.
This was just received by the magistrates who were rewarded with silver by the imperial court. They had not even divided the money yet, so they had to take it out.
But there was no way, he couldn't count on the local guardsmen in Hanzhong.
Wang Daliang rebelled, and the local guards were completely incompetent, so they relied entirely on the invited Liu Yingyu troops.
After Zhou Qisheng gave the money and was very polite, he and Liu Yingyu discussed the plan to send troops.
…
Su He stood at the head of Lueyang County, listening to the reconnaissance battalion commander Zhang Wansi's report on the enemy's situation.
"Commander Su, according to our interrogation of the detective horses sent by the Ming army.
The commander of Ningqiang Guards, Lu Liang, took more than 4,000 people, including more than 600 servants, and set out from Ningqiang Guards south of Lueyang.
There are more than 5,000 Hanzhong guards, including more than 200 servants.
There are more than 1,200 people in the Qianhu Office in Mian County, including more than 50 servants.
Liu Yingyu had more than 2,000 troops, almost all of them fighting.
They set off from Hanzhong towards Chencang Road.
There are also more than 10,000 corvees transporting grain."
After Su He heard the number of officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, he completely let go of his slightly nervous mood.
These officers and soldiers besieged the city, and he was fully confident that he could defend the city.
"There are more than 12,000 people, which is less than I thought.
This should be the majority of the troops in Hanzhong Prefecture, which have been attracted to us.
We do not seek to kill many enemy troops, as long as we can defend Lueyang, that will be victory."
Li Fengming took the information compiled by Su Changsheng and said confidently:
"Commander Su, the officers and soldiers of Hanzhong Prefecture are severely underpaid, and the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers is worrying.
Wang Daliang's small group of rebels were all eliminated by Liu Yingyu's troops.
We should pay most attention to Liu Yingyu's tribe. His gourd soldiers were armed with spears and fought very bravely.
The weapons and armor are not as good as those of servants, but the will to fight is much stronger."