On February 15, the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, in the vast and undulating Dabie Mountains, an endless procession was marching on the road beside the river valley. Looking down from the sky, although there were tens of thousands of troops in front and behind, but in contrast to the majestic mountains around it, Underneath, it still looks like a slender earthworm.
Two large red and yellow flags were lined up in the middle of the team. Under the big flags, the soldiers squinted and scanned the surrounding terrain.
"There's so much to see in this mountain."
Next to him, Zhang Xianzhong shook his upper body slightly on his horse, "It's just a place to hide from the officers and soldiers."
Ge Liyan chuckled, "The Sweeping King is behind you. When the officers and soldiers come, they will beat him Sweeping King first. Why should I hide from the officers and soldiers?"
Zhang Xianzhong glanced at him and said, "What about the mountain?"
"Last year, I went to Huoshan Mountain once and then to Yingshan Mountain, a round trip of more than 500 miles. This is my second trip to Huoshan Mountain.
This large mountain range extends from Henan to the north, Lu'an and Luzhou to the east, Huguang to the west, and Anqing to the south."
Ge Li looked at the river bend ahead and said, "I think so, whenever there are officers and soldiers chasing after us, we will go into the mountains. There are just a few roads along the river in the mountains, and we will find dangerous areas to guard. This is where Cao Cao came from. Don’t be afraid if you leave the mountain. You can go anywhere, and no one can block the many exits from the mountain.”
Zhang Xianzhong nodded and said, "It makes sense. If you choose this way, the officers and soldiers will not be able to pursue you."
"Otherwise, even if we occupy hundreds of miles of mountains, we can advance and retreat freely."
After speaking, Ge Liyan turned his head and looked at Zhang Xianzhong, "If you want to join a gang, I will end up in Yinghuo Mountain."
"If there are too many of us, I will starve to death in the mountains.
You just want to go out and rob, how long will it take for several states and counties to supply it?"
Ge Liyan came closer and persuaded, "If the grass falls, instead of burning and killing, there will always be three chief secretaries taking turns to grab the grain. The four prefectures and counties combined must be enough to support tens of thousands of people."
Zhang Xianzhong remained unmoved, "Flat ground is good. If you don't hide from the soldiers, you won't go into the mountains."
After hearing this, Ge Liyan knew that Zhang Xianzhong could not be moved, so he changed the subject and asked, "Then where are we going when we leave the mountain?"
"Back to Shaanxi."
"Hong Chengchou's stay in Shaanxi is not a good place. Wouldn't Henan be better? But are you still afraid of the hexagram calculated by the Stone Bridge Monument?"
"If Henan is not left, the gods in the temple of Shiqiao Monument will not work, and it is not accurate. I will chop up all his statues."
Zhang Xianzhong turned to look at the queue behind him and said, "My calculations are accurate. We dug the emperor's ancestral grave. The officers and soldiers will go east to Fengyang, and I will go west."
"It makes sense. You burned the imperial mausoleum, and I helped burn the Huangjue Temple. The Dog Emperor wants to help us kill many dog officials, and he has to force all the officers and soldiers to chase us."
Ge Liyan quickly decided, "Then Lao He will go back to Shaanxi with you first. If we encounter a group of generals on the way, can we cooperate with them?"
"The general's camp is not compatible."
Ge Liyan laughed twice, "Lao He knew that you two were competing for the music eunuch in Fengyang, so he asked first."
"What are the eunuchs fighting over donkeys and balls, and the music players doing?"
Zhang Xianzhong said expressionlessly, "What kind of person is Chuang Jiang? If he wanted it, I would kill him."
Ge Liyan agreed, "King Gao Chuang is here, so there is no harm in working together.
General Chuang is very angry. He has a plan to attack Fengyang this time. He pretends to be the big boss when he talks. When I wait for trouble, he doesn't think much and dares to ask us for things.
If it were me, Lao He, I still wouldn't give it to him.
But you are still ruthless, old man, so I just cut him off."
When Zhang Xianzhong heard Ge Liyan's words, he narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly.
He snatched a group of young eunuchs who played music in the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum. Everyone wanted to see the music group perform, and others watched it, but Li Zicheng hinted that he wanted to.
Zhang Xianzhong didn't even say he wouldn't give it, and just cut it off.
The two groups divided their camps and Li Zicheng returned to Henan. Zhang Xianzhong, Ge Liyan and King Sweeper went south together.
"Even if he wants to go south, the official road cannot reach so many people. There is still a sequence..." Before Zhang Xianzhong finished speaking, there was a sudden noise in front of him. The two stood up in stirrups, and the queue in front was interrupted.
The people and horses in front and behind were scrambling to escape. There were some figures shaking on the mountain on the right, and stones were rolling down the mountain. Several ox carts were moving slowly, but they were still within the range of the falling stones.
...The little boy was sitting on the bullock cart, looking up at the mountainside on the right, where several figures were working together to push a stone out of its original position, rolling it and smashing it down the mountain.
This was the third time today. As usual, the vanguard bandits burned down the villages along the way. However, the mountain people were much more vindictive than the people on the plains. After many mountain people fled up the mountain, they found their way to the top of the official road and kept attacking the advancing people with stones.
An army of rogue bandits.
(Note 1) Xiaowazi's spirit recovered very well. After defeating Huangmei, they stationed themselves in the city while the Sweeping King swept Susong and encountered a group of officers and soldiers in Susong.
This group of officers and soldiers was transferred from the south of the Yangtze River by Zhang Guowei to rescue Anqing. They were led by Wu Song commanding Zhang Qiwei. They came in a hurry, but the rogue bandits waited for work. As a result, the officers and soldiers were easily defeated at Fuchang Ridge, and Zhang Qiwei was killed.
Then the Sweeping King fought Pan Keda who came from Anqing. Historically, he was defeated on the outskirts of Tongcheng and even his horse was shot to death. He escaped back to Tongcheng with the help of a horse given up by a loyal subordinate.
Although he is no longer fighting in Tongcheng, his strength has not changed. With only a few hundred men, Pan Keda was naturally outnumbered and defeated back to Anqing. The resistance of the officers and soldiers in Anqing Mansion disappeared.
Because they were waiting for the King of Sweepers, Zhang Xianzhong and Ge Liyan stayed for a few more days. These days allowed the little boy to regain his strength. The redness and swelling on his arms gradually disappeared. His ankles have not fully recovered, but he can also walk slowly on the ground.
Unable to run, he could only sit on an oxcart during the march. While the old man was driving, the little boy paid attention to the movements on the mountains to judge the threat of flying rocks.
"Master, there are rocks ahead!"
The old man driving the cart struggled to hold on to the cow rope. The cow pulling the cart tilted its head and stopped with a low sound. A piece of flying stone bounced down the hillside, bringing up countless gravel and dust along the way, making a roaring sound, like a roaring river.
The rushing yellow dragon.
Huanglong quickly approached the mountain road. With a loud noise, a donkey cart a few feet in front of them was instantly swallowed up by Huanglong. Smoke and dust rose into the sky. The largest boulder just hit the frame of the cart. The sturdy wooden frame was like paper.
The paste broke into pieces and rolled into the river beside the road together with the donkey.
The flying pebbles fell like raindrops, and the little boy jumped off the oxcart with one foot, grabbed the frightened old man, and desperately got under the frame of the oxcart.
There was a loud banging noise on the carriage frame, and the cow brayed a few times and moved a few steps to the left.
The little boy's scalp was numb. The rocks flying down from the mountainside were much more powerful than those on the city wall. A stone as big as half a fist could kill someone.
After the voice subsided, the little kid quickly got out from under the bullock cart, regardless of whether his feet had yet to recover, and pulled the old man to run forward.
The old man suddenly broke away and went back to pull the oxcart.
"Let's go! No more bullock carts!"
The old man pulled and said anxiously, "Young man, you go first. You can't lose the frame. If you lose it, the team leader will behead you!"
The cow was frightened at this time and could not move no matter how hard it was pulled.
The little boy looked up and saw another stone rolling down the mountain. Although it was not as shocking as before, it was still fatal if it hit it. The bandits behind and behind screamed and ran away.
This time the stone was slightly lighter and kept bouncing on the slope. Every time it collided with the mountain, its direction would change slightly. The little boy had no way of knowing where the stone would land.
"Young man, you go first!"
As the old man struggled to pull the ox, he shouted, "I will pull the ox cart out so that you can sit on it."
The little boy turned around and was about to leave. After running two steps, he stopped. He turned around and glanced at the old man, then looked up at the falling boulder. After a moment of expression changing, he limped back to the bullock cart.
Help the old man pull the cow together.
Amidst the rumble of rolling stones, the little kid no longer looked at the momentum on the mountain and just focused on pulling the rope. The cow finally moved, and the cart slowly moved forward.
There was another loud noise, and the boulder that had just fallen fell on the official road behind the ox cart, creating a deep hole in the road.
The two struggled to drive the ox cart while clearing the stones on the road that blocked the wheels, and finally passed the dangerous section of the road safely.
The little kid's ankle was hurting again. He collapsed on the ground, and the old man came over to help him up.
"We are in the business of making a living. The animals and the frame are our lives and cannot be thrown away."
The old man's old and dark face was covered with beads of sweat. He helped the little boy onto the oxcart, looked at the little boy's face and sighed, "You are not a young man who will make a living in the future. If you encounter someone like this in the future,
, you have to run first."
The little boy gasped, "I didn't want to run away first, but my brother asked me to run away first, so he stayed in Tongcheng.
He asked me to kill everyone in Tongcheng, but I didn't succeed."
The old man shook his head after hearing this and went to drive the cattle in a muffled voice.
The little boy slowly lay on his back on the carriage, looked at the sky and said softly, "Tongcheng, I will kill them all next time."
...Note 1: "History of the Ming Dynasty": Anqing mountain people threw rocks at thieves, and many thieves died.