In the long yellow sand and windy smoke, hundreds of horsemen abandoned their helmets and armor, without even a flag, and fled southwards for their lives from the boundary of Weizhou where thousands of herdsmen lived.
"Hong Chengchou, your ancestor!"
Ningxia guerrilla Liu Fangming was surrounded by more than ten officers. He didn't even have the energy to curse, so he just ran south.
With a distance of two or three miles behind him, the guest cavalry from Changping was in hot pursuit.
Liu Fangming was one of the participants in the Ningxia mutiny.
Originally, he knew that a mutiny was about to happen, but he just restrained the soldiers and did not want to interfere with it.
The reason for the mutiny in Ningxia should be very simple, that is, there is no food and no pay for soldiers.
Last year, there was a rat plague on the Yinchuan Plain. Hundreds of thousands of rats were linked end to end with their tails in their mouths, eating seedlings in the farmland, and they were not afraid of contact with people.
People say that rats are not afraid of humans anymore, they are rat demons.
Most of last year's crop seedlings were gnawed by rats, and this year there is no support from other places. There is no food and no money. Of course, the Ningxia soldiers have to make a fuss.
But it was just a bit of a fuss.
Because Ningxia is a military town with close ties between subordinates and superiors, there has always been chaos. The underlying reason is that the generals were dissatisfied and drove the soldiers to kill outsiders who dissatisfied him.
The reason is that generals in Ningxia generally benefited the most from the process of converting military camps into civilian fields. Their families have vast fields. When soldiers are hungry, they will immediately seek help from their superiors, or borrow money, or
Borrow food.
Officers generally also borrow, and there is no reason why they should not borrow. Those who borrow money and grain are soldiers, not tenants.
Agriculture depends on the weather, and even if the upper limit is set, the lower limit is still low.
If a tenant who owns fifty acres of land asks the landlord to borrow forty taels of silver, or a farmer who owns fifty acres of land borrows one hundred taels of silver, it goes without saying that the landlord will know at a glance that he has no intention of paying it back.
Because I can’t afford to pay it back even if I want to.
The relationship between soldiers and generals is different. Historically, generals have regarded this as an opportunity, an opportunity to win the death of others.
However, Hong Chengchou's move to seize civilian land and reshape the military garrison really shook the foundations of Ningxia generals.
So much so that some middle- and senior-level military officers like Liu Fangming also considered joining the mutiny.
It's not that they thought they could succeed. After all, the more than 10,000 guest troops around Hong Chengchou, although they were defeated and remnant troops, were actually elite troops fighting in the North.
Therefore, many smart people appeared, just instructing their subordinates to join this mutiny, and using their influence to add fuel to the flames.
Liu Fangming is one of them. His family and relatives own 170 hectares of land in Ningxia.
There are not too many, but they are all irrigated paddy fields next to the Han and Tang Dynasty Second Canal in the Ningxia Plain. Rice is grown, and they are Hong Chengchou's key targets.
Therefore, he was only happy to see this mutiny, not that he thought that the mutiny had any hope of killing Hong Chengchou. After all, there were too many guest generals and foreign troops around Hong Chengchou, as well as the official positions of governors on three sides of the court and several general soldiers. This group of forces was not
A mutiny can wipe it out.
Like him, many military officers were extremely disgusted with Hong Chengchou's control of the Qing army.
To put it bluntly, Hong Chengchou cleaned up the Ningxia military camps not for the Ningxia army, but for the Ningxia Fifth Battalion to fight in Guanzhong and kill many people. He bullied the orphans and widowers at home, took away the people's fields and gave them to his Hong Junmen.
The guest army vacates the position.
It was an open robbery, and even this method of robbery was not as good as Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Mansion.
The army in Ningxia is very familiar with the policies of the Marshal's Mansion. After all, the soldiers and generals on both sides are very familiar with it.
Especially after the fighting broke out last year, the Zhao brothers in the Jinglu Guard were all Ningxia soldiers, and many of them even wrote and delivered letters through the border wall.
The Marshal's Mansion distributed land to the Qing army. As long as the local people could not afford to resist, they would allocate land from rich families to poor people in the area, so that the very rich and the extremely poor could be reconciled, and everything could be done.
Their soldiers from other places were only responsible for suppressing the recalcitrant landlords and would not interfere with the local land.
Because it’s the same in their hometown.
The first batch of wandering frontier soldiers went to the pirates' homes, drove the pirates into Uzang, and divided the pasture land on the sea. The homeless people became ranchers.
Because of this, wherever the marshal's army went, although there were people who raised troops to resist, there were also people who pinched their noses and sold or divided the land first.
After all, it is difficult for an individual or a clan to fight against the army. If you divide the land yourself, you can at least decide who will give it to distant relatives, relatives and friends, or even to your tenant farmers. At least you can get a good reputation.
Hong Chengchou's Qing military garrison took private property that had been designated as civil land by the imperial court and had title deeds, and harvested public land to support guest troops.
Is this Ningxia soldier willing?
Liu Fangming did not expect the mutiny to succeed. Like him, many military officials just hoped that the mutiny would scare Hong Chengchou and stop him from thinking about the land.
However, they underestimated Hong Chengchou's determination. They didn't care about any mutiny and did not negotiate terms with the mutinous frontier soldiers in the streets.
Hong Chengchou directly led Yansui Commander-in-Chief Yu Chongxiao into Biao Camp and closed the camp gate.
Even several generals in Ningxia and Ding Qirui, the military commander, went to Biaoying to ask for instructions to negotiate terms with the rebels, but they were all rejected by Hong Chengchou.
Everyone knows that mutiny, mutiny and rebellion are three situations.
"What are you talking about? This is rebellion!"
Hong Chengchou directly characterized the mutiny as a rebellion, and immediately ordered Zuo Liangyu, Zhang Yingchang, Cao Wenzhao and other guest generals to enter the town to suppress the rebellion.
The second order was given to the guerrilla generals in Ningxia, asking them to restrain the soldiers and send people into the city to announce that the soldiers had returned to camp. The city was under martial law and no one was allowed to go out on the streets.
The order was extremely strict. Commanders Zuo and Zhang were asked to lead the troops to seize the city's defenses. If they were not allowed to enter the city, they would launch artillery attacks on the city. After an hour of retaking the defenses, they would kill whoever was on the street.
Not only did Hong Chengchou not change his will due to this mutiny, he even became more determined to take advantage of the counter-insurgency opportunity to vigorously promote the cleanup of the military settlements. Anyone who resisted would be participating in the rebellion.
Just two words: suppression.
When Liu Fangming saw this situation, it was obvious that things had changed in Ningxia. Hong Chengchou had no intention of becoming the governor of Ningxia at all. Instead, he imitated Liu Chengzong and ran for the local emperor, so he quickly led his people to escape.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! It's still too late to run away, the land is definitely gone, at least you can protect your fame and fortune.
As a result, as soon as they gathered a group of hereditary guards to escape, they were informed. Xu Yong of Zuoying Biaoying led the pursuit, running from Ningxia across the Yellow River, chasing Weizhou all the way, and approaching the border wall.
"Quick, Xiantu leads the cavalry and runs to call the door. The guard of the side wall is called Yang Yanchang. He once fought under the banner of your Majesty. Ask him to come out to rescue people quickly. You can also let us enter the wall!"
Liu Fangming shouted while running, and a young general beside him, Zuo Ding, rode out and galloped towards the side wall.
The man who ran away was named Ma Xiantu, who commanded the affairs of Ningxia. His father was Ma Shilong, the former commander-in-chief of Ningxia. During the Jisi Incident, he held the Shangfang sword and controlled the armies. Yang Yanchang, Wang Ziyong and others were under his command at that time.
Ordered.
Yang Yanchang is currently the staff general of the reinforcement battalion under Wang Wenxiu, the chief military officer of Longxi Province, and the second border wall in the north of Guyuan Town is his defense zone.
However, when Ma Xiantu ran to the middle of the city to call the gate, Yang Yanchang was not at the side wall. Only his subordinate Qian Zong Xiao Guangdou led 200 people to garrison the castle.
When the soldiers heard that they were reporting to Commander Qian Xiao Guangdou, Ma Xiantu's heart dropped. He didn't know this person.
Who knew that in just a moment, the gates of half the city would be opened, and a heroic military officer would gallop forward on horseback.
He couldn't see clearly even when he was far away. When he got closer, Ma Xiantu squinted his eyes and said, "Aren't you dead?"
Who is the name of the person who came here, Xiao Guangdou? He knew him. He was clearly the grandson of Xiao Rulan, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Shaanxi Army, and Xiao Guandou, the commander of the Yan'an Guard.
Xiao Guandou also knew Ma Xiantu, so he got off his horse and asked, "It's hard to explain, why is my brother running here?"
It was unlucky to say that when Liu Chengzong was causing trouble in Yan'an Mansion, Xiao Guandou's grandfather Xiao Rulan passed away, and he stayed at home with his father Xiao Zhuo to observe filial piety. In the meantime, because Liu Chengzong was nicknamed "Tiger General", the imperial government called him over to inspect him.
During this process, Yang Yanchang paid a visit to the King of Qin and returned to Fushi County and Yan'an Wei, all of whom were surnamed Liu.
Xiao Guandou, like Yang Yanchang, was controlled by Ren Quan'er, the mastermind behind the Yan'an Guard, and Xiao Guandou was managed separately from his father Xiao Zhuo and uncle Xiao Pei. Xiao Zhuo was put in Semen Qianhu Station, and Xiao Pei and Xiao Guandou were put in Yan'an Guard to accompany Yang Yanchang on fishing
.
This was fine at first, until last year, Ren Quan'er and Yang Yanchang successively led their troops to defect to Liu Chengzong, and Xiao Guandou could no longer survive.
He also has two uncles, Xiao Si is the commander of the Jinyi Guards, and Xiao Yi is the commander of the Jinyi Left Guards. They are both in Beijing.
As for the three of them who stayed in their hometown in Yan'an, their father Xiao Zhuo originally had an official position in the capital, but was dismissed in the third year of Tianqi. Then his uncle Xiao Pei, who had been playing at home all his life, was suddenly assassinated by the imperial court and became a member of the Yan'an Guards Household.
In short, the three members of their family are all people who live on the merits of their ancestors. They have some abilities, but they are not great, and they have no ambition.
After discussing it, the three of us decided that it would not be feasible for us to drive Liu Chengzong out of Shaanxi and die for the country. Since we were not too happy about it, we might as well rename half of our funerals. It would take as long as we can fool him.
The last newspaper sent to the court by the Yan'an Prefecture last year stated that Ren Quan'er, Yang Yanchang, Liu Xiangshan, Liu Chengguang and others started a rebellion, and that thirteen military attachés of Shixun Shilu, including Xiao Guandou, Xiao Pei and Xiao Zhuo, suppressed the rebellion.
Defeated and killed.
Ma Xiantu didn't have time to ask Xiao Guandou at this moment. He just said: "Where is General Yang? We are here to defect. There are also guerrilla generals and commanders behind us. There are more than a dozen guards and more than 400 troops. Can you let us go into the city to escape?"
, Zuo Liangyu’s soldiers are chasing after you!”
Xiao Guandou was confused: "Zuo Liangyu rebelled?"
At this time, Liu Chengzong of Xi'an Prefecture had received news of the Ningxia mutiny, but Longxi Road didn't know about it yet. Everything was business as usual on their side.
"Why should I run if Zuo Liangyu rebels? I am the one who rebelled!"
Xiao Guandou was stunned for a moment without being very smart, then sniffed twice, and then nodded with great satisfaction: "You rebelled well!"
After that, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Hurry up and follow me into the city!"
Not to mention how excited Xiao Guandou was. The status of Ma Xiantu's father, Ma Shilong, was almost the same as that of his fourth grandfather, Xiao Ruxun. This guy had already rebelled. Doesn't this mean that he was right to be coerced into rebellion?
But at this time, Xiao Guandou became more cautious.
He lingered outside the city for a while, until he saw half of the soldiers on the city raising their flags, and then he led his horse to enter the city with a plan.
This was his arrangement before leaving the city. He was worried that the enemy would deceive the city, so he asked his uncle Xiao Pei to gather soldiers in the city, tell the news to the Red Castle south of the border wall, and ask Yang Yanchang to occupy the border wall quickly.
There was no way, under Yang Yanchang's command, Xiao Guandou had no rebellious intentions at all.
First of all, the three of them were just hanging around in the Ming Dynasty, but they had the opportunity to display their talents in the Marshal's Mansion.
Xiao Guandou served as the general guarding the city outside the border wall, Xiao Pei led the troops on the front line, and Xiao Zhuo set up fields in Liwang Fort and Heishui Garden in the rear. Everyone got what they wanted.
Secondly, Yang Yanchang may not be very interesting in other abilities, but he is very good at controlling generals.
Because he himself was the one who was controlled in the past, and through personal experience, he knew how to do the most disgusting things.
Ma Xiantu entered a city for a moment, and after drinking two ladles of water, Liu Fangming and others came running over covered in dust.
Xiao Guandou originally wanted to put them into a city, but he didn't expect that in such a short period of time, Yang Yanchang's order came through the border wall.
"Mr. Xiao Qian, General Yang has an order not to allow them to enter half of the city. Let them continue to the south and enter the second border wall. The general has already climbed the second border wall."
Just when Xiao Guandou conveyed the news of Ma Xiantu to the Red Castle on the other side of the border wall, Yang Yanchang also received an order from Wang Wenxiu. There was a mutiny in Ningxia, and he was ordered to go to the city to patrol and defend.
Not long after Yang Yanchang left the city, he received news from Xiao Guandou and learned that Zuo Liangyu's troops were following him. He basically confirmed the authenticity of the Ningxia mutiny and immediately gathered his troops and reported the news to Pingliang Mansion for help.
On the way to the second border wall with his 700 soldiers, Yang Yanchang sent a series of orders to Xiao Guandou to the north. The first one was to let Xiao Guandou defend half of the city by himself and put Liu Fangming and others into the second border wall.
Just a moment later, the second order came, ordering Xiao Guandou to pack up all the large and small objects in the city and immediately evacuate half of the city when the Ming army arrived.
Half City used to be a city. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Qingshui River swelled and changed its course, destroying half of the city wall next to the water, leaving only half of the city, hence the name.
Although only half of the city wall remains, the other half is protected by a river. Between the two side walls, it is still considered a large-scale fortification with defensive capabilities.
The reason why Yang Yanchang changed the military order in just a moment and asked Xiao Guandou to abandon the city defense was because he joined his confidant Liu Xiangshan.
Chief Qian Liu Xiangshan and General Manager Liu Chengguang, father and son, are the main combat power of Yang Yanchang's battalion.
Before they came, Yang Yanchang only planned to let Xiao Guandou defend half of the city and put Liu Fangming and others into the side wall so that the Ming army could not catch up and retreat on their own when the defense was tight.
But Liu Xiangshan and Liu Chengguang could not stand Yang Yanchang's cowardice.
The father and son were relatives of the generalissimo and speculators in troubled times.
Because he was bloody with King Yang Yanchang and used the head of a Eastern captive to gain fame on a horse, he served the Ming Emperor and was not very enthusiastic about joining Liu Chengzong.
Also because they followed Yang Yanchang and were forced to join the army in an unattractive manner, the father and son are still just bosses, trying to hold back their energy and want to do something big.
Liu Chengguang met Yang Yanchang, and the two sides combined more than a thousand troops. During the march, he asked Xiao Guandou that the pursuers were only more than a thousand cavalry. He immediately clasped his fists and said: "The battle is about to begin, we must take the lead first."
"Why didn't the general order Xiao Guandou to abandon the city and keep the Ming army? The Qingshui River to the west of the city can protect against infantry and cavalry with strong bows, but it cannot protect against artillery. They are pursuing them and cannot bring heavy weapons. We have six
A great general, pull out the side wall and attack his left town of Changping!"