On December 13, the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, it snowed just now in Zhengyang Town, Shouzhou. The ground was completely white, with only some traces of stepped flowers on the official road passing through the town.
Zhengyang Town is located at the intersection of Huaihe River, Yingshui River and Peishui River. This is the main transportation road of Shouzhou. To the northwest is Yingzhou, to the northeast is Shouzhou City, to the south is Lu'an Prefecture where he came from, and to the southeast
This is Luzhou, which has always been a prosperous commercial town.
This place was burned and destroyed at the beginning of the year, and the official road was in a state of depression. Nearly a year later, the town still has not regained its vitality. Only about 30% of the houses have been simply repaired. There are not many pedestrians on the road, but there are people everywhere.
A large group of skinny male and female beggars were waiting outside a dilapidated food shop on the roadside.
There were five people sitting in the restaurant. Yang Xueshi was grabbing a piece of donkey meat and eating it. The meat was a bit hard when chewed. This is also common. Generally, horses and donkeys are killed for meat after they are no longer able to work.
There was a sudden snap behind him, and several people around him stood up at the same time. One of them pulled out half of his knife.
Yang Xueshi looked back and saw that the ground was full of broken tiles. When he looked up again, he saw that it was all the bright color of the sky.
I couldn't help but curse in my heart. The shop must have been burned down at the beginning of the year and barely survived. The restaurant owner didn't know how to repair it even though he was doing business.
Although I was dissatisfied with this food stall, I only encountered this food stall when I came out of Huoqiu. It had hay to feed the horses, and there was no other choice.
"Don't be so panicked."
He waved his hands to his men, and they sat down and continued eating.
In addition to the four men in the restaurant, there were three people watching the horses outside in the hay shed. They were all selected by him from the cavalry bureau. They were aggressive people among the former postmen and husbands, or they were particularly clever. Three of them were
They all committed crimes and went to the Yamen.
After this reorganization, the cavalry reached its early 100s, and Pang Yu's requirements also changed accordingly. Things such as sending messages and other tasks were completed by Tang Ma of the Guards, while the cavalry mainly completed the task of sentry.
When recruiting garrison battalions, they need honest people, but they also require a certain foundation in horseback riding. Yang Xueshi feels that cavalry cannot be selected that way, especially the sentry cavalry who are investigating.
Rogue bandits are a special kind of enemy. The battle between the two sides is often not a typical battlefield. During the several outpost explorations, mainly in urban areas, it was inevitable to deal with people in the market.
People who have the foundation of horseback riding are all postmen and deliverymen, or long-distance traffickers. Most of them have been in the market, and they are a bit far from honest. Fortunately, there are not many people who can ride a horse. Using Pang Yu's standard recruitment
The people were not equal, and finally Pang Yu compromised and lowered the standards before allowing these people to join the cavalry bureau.
He originally brought more people with him, but on the third day after Tongcheng caught the bandit spies, Yang Xueshi set off with 30 cavalry, and got the transfer documents issued by Anqing Prefecture and Daotai Yamen.
Because the rogue bandits were active in Xinyang, Pang Yu's main task for him was to spy on Gushi and Huo Qiu, but in Shucheng he met Ma Kuai from Tongcheng, whom Yang Xueshi had known before, and from that person he knew that the rogue bandits had changed their route to Kaifeng.
Since the rogue bandits were moving north, Yang Xueshi could only move the reconnaissance direction northward, detaching ten of his men to go to Gushi, and the rest to disperse to Huoqiu, Yingzhou and other places. After completing the sentry reconnaissance, they each returned to Tongcheng.
Yang Xueshi led the way to Yingzhou himself. He planned to send only two people to Shouzhou. Further east was Fengyang, so he would not send anyone. After Fengyang was invaded at the beginning of the year, there were now heavy troops gathered, and the land near Fengyang
Barren, it was very poor before being invaded. Only the city was slightly prosperous relying on the imperial mausoleum.
Under this situation, it is unlikely that the bandits will go to Fengyang again. After having a meal in Zhengyang Town, they are ready to go to Yingzhou. Shouzhou managed to defend the city at the beginning of the year, while Yingzhou was defeated in one go, and Bishouzhou was
It's even more dilapidated, so I need to eat a full meal this time.
The owner of the restaurant brought the food over, and a sentry rider sitting next to him scolded him, "You opened the door to do business. If the tile surface is not good, I don't know how to repair it. What if it hits me?"
Yang Xueshi didn't even say hello. This sentry rider was named Chen Rulie. He was the messenger who used to hide in the mountains. He was the one who explored the ridge alone during the Battle of Shucheng Pass. He was hit by a few arrows in his back. He only lasted for half a month and returned to camp. Yang Xueshi had it handy.
reliable person.
The shopkeeper was an old man with gray hair. After hearing the complaint, he said, "Sir, please forgive me. This place was not an old house to begin with. I just do business here every day. I really can't afford to repair it."
Yang Xueshi interjected and asked, "Then if you live here, you won't be afraid that it will collapse and crush you at night."
"The master is joking, Zhengyang town is full of wild ghosts at night, how dare you live here? The little old man is from Houchun, a few miles away from here. At least he was not harmed by the bandits at the beginning of the year. He walks back and forth for ten miles every day.
If you can carry these few ingredients on your back, you can go back after selling them, and you can barely make ends meet.
I heard from some gentlemen who passed by yesterday that those bandits have gone to Kaifeng, and the Bodhisattva protects them from coming back again."
Chen Rulie pointed to the beggar outside, "You old man is only afraid of bandits, but aren't you afraid of these people coming in to rob you?"
"But I robbed it. After robbing the little old man, the door was closed. They didn't even have leftovers to look forward to. The beggar leader came over and said he wouldn't rob anymore. They also found hay everywhere every day. Those guests who wanted to feed the horses
If they are willing to eat here, they can make some money, and the young man can make a living."
The boss sighed angrily, "It's just hanging on to your old life, and living in this world has no flavor."
At this time, two sentries came over and said they wanted to drink. Yang Xueshi waved his hand and said, "Just ask the old man to get it."
The boss bowed after hearing this, brought half a jar of wine over, and went back to the stove to get busy.
Several sentinels shared the wine and drank heavily. Originally, according to military regulations, sentries were not allowed to drink, but at this time there was no suppression team, and Yang Xueshi wanted to drink some himself.
Yang Xueshi picked up the bowl with his right hand and put his left hand on the table. He had just picked it up halfway when he suddenly stopped.
Chen Rulie, who was also holding on to the table, also felt a slight vibration. He stopped for a moment, then lay down and put his ear to the ground.
"A large group of horses."
Yang Xueshi strode to the street. This was the west end of the town, but there were still many ruins of houses on both sides of the road, and the cavalry could not be seen in sight.
Several of his subordinates had already led the horses and were waiting aside. The large group of cavalry coming from the west were most likely rogue bandits.
A sentry said, "Let's go, Boss."
"Why are you panicking? No one saw it."
Yang Xueshi got on his horse and shouted at the beggars around the food shop, "If you want to survive, run to the countryside."
The beggars in the street had already noticed their abnormal behavior. After hearing this, the old man from the food shop turned around and ran away. The beggars rushed in and grabbed the remaining food in the shop, and then fled into the countryside.
.
As soon as Yang Xueshi hit his horse, he headed west, facing the direction of the cavalry. The others had to follow immediately.
When they reached the open area outside the town, Yang Xueshi stopped on the official road, took out a pair of telescopes from his trousers, and pulled them out into three pieces.
The rest of the people could already see the blurry cavalry squirming on the official road in the distance. Everyone was thirsty, hoping that Yang Xueshi would immediately give the order to retreat.
Yang Xueshi held up the telescope with both hands and remained motionless. The horse team was getting closer and closer. The mounts of several people also felt the danger. One horse was spinning in circles.
Everyone breathed rapidly and prayed to all the gods in their hearts. Finally, Mr. Yang put down his telescope, and everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
"There are about three hundred strong men in red clothes and red scarves riding horses, leading officials to make weapons, and no flags, trumpets or drums."
Yang Xueshi turned to look at the few people, "Li Simu and Wu Jun will return to Tongcheng immediately to report the news. There may be more than one trip. When you pass through Liu'an, don't pass through the county in the daytime."
The two men quickly agreed, hit their horses and ran eastward.
Another sentry rider asked tentatively, "Master, why don't we go back and report the news?"
Yang Xueshi glared at him and said, "When I go back, Pang Pang will ask which battalion leaders it is, and you can answer it! Each person in our cavalry bureau receives two to five dollars as monthly salary, and everything such as fodder, stables, saddlery, and veterinarians cost more than the infantry.
I can't even answer the question from the battalion commander when I go back, isn't it hard to hear what the infantry commander said?"
Chen Rulie licked his lips, "Happy, we have to keep him alive."
At this time, the cavalry got closer, and the rumble of hoofbeats gradually became clearer.
Yang Xueshi hit the horse and said, "Let's go to Huoqiu and wait for those who are alone."
...On December 16, the leaden clouds hung low in Tongcheng, snowflakes floated in the sky, and the mountains to the west were mottled.
There were sounds of gongs in the city, and soldiers were gathering in each village one after another, preparing to announce the news of the rogue bandits heading south. Tongcheng officially entered a wartime state.
Several horses galloped out of Nanxun Gate and headed to nearby counties to deliver messages.
Pang Yu stood outside the south gate, watching a few horses leave. Around him were a large number of soldiers and civilians working, digging large and small holes in the ground, or transporting the remaining wood from the ruins into the city.
in order to prevent bandits from using it to make engineering equipment on the spot.
Pang Ding in front of him whispered, "Master, the master and his wife still don't go to Anqing. The master said that someone in the city is sick and they have to buy medicine from him."
"Just explain it clearly. Everyone has their own choice."
Pang Ding raised his eyes and looked at Pang Yu, "Is this time more difficult and dangerous than at the beginning of the year?"
"Both Shouzhou and Lu'an have confirmed that the rogue bandits have gone south, and there may be a third and fourth route. Only the part that the sentries in Lu'an Prefecture saw with their own eyes, the rogue bandits marched for more than ten miles, and the total number of rogue bandits is very likely
Over 100,000, this New Year is ruined anyway."
After hearing the word "one hundred thousand", Pang Ding swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"Go to Anqing and remember to take care of things. Supervise the Caobang to purchase grain along the river and send scouts. In addition to the last arrangement, Wuhu and Zhenjiang also have to prepare. In addition, we need to recruit some trackers in Nanjing, Dangtu, and Chizhou to prepare for the rogue bandits.
To make a U-turn, the fleet needs to return to the upper reaches from the south bank of the Yangtze River."
Pang Yu paused for a moment and said, "There is a lot of money involved, so let Yinzhuang send someone to Nanjing to be responsible for spending it."
Pang Ding observed for a moment and then asked tentatively, "Is Miss Zhou suitable?"
"Liu Ruogu will send whoever he thinks is suitable."
"I understand. I will return to Tongcheng as soon as I finish sending the letter."
Pang Yu shook his head, "Follow the ship to Nanjing and take care of the food matters."
Ponting grinned, looking like he was about to cry.
Pang Yu smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "The bandits may have gone north from Luzhou. Don't forget that the young master is a stick god and is not someone to be trifled with."