On the "Liaoxi Corridor" that stretches thousands of miles from Shenyang (Shengjing), Liaoyang, to Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, and then to Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, there are countless men, women, old and young, wearing the unique style of Hou Jin Dynasty.
They were wearing mandarin jackets and even clothes worn by slaves. Some people did not even cut the whips on the back of their heads, so they pulled carts and carts, carrying large and small bags on their backs, and supported the old and young, slowly heading south.
This line of people is very long.
At least hundreds of thousands.
And almost all of them are thin, have a sallow face, or have a swollen body, and they don’t know if they can make it to the south.
Even so, it cannot stop their determination to flee to the south and return to the pass, even if they die on the way.
Because there is no food.
There is not a grain of food left. If you continue to stay in Liaodong, you will be waiting for death. It is better to leave Houjin and return to the south to find a way to survive.
famine.
An unprecedented famine!
Due to the abnormal climate this year, the rainfall in the north has decreased. If the grain production in Guan is only greatly reduced, the harvest in Liaodong outside the Guan is simply a failure. Not a grain of grain grows in the ground, and it either freezes to death or is drought-stricken.
The production reduction reaches 100%.
In fact, the self-sufficiency rate of grain output in Liaodong in previous years was not high. It was mainly supported by the livestock industry. Most of the grain was transported by merchants in Shanxi and purchased at high prices. Shanxi merchants made a lot of money.
Houjin also solved the problem of food shortage.
If you don't have enough money, you can go into the pass and rob, and you can also supplement some food and livestock.
But now that the eight Shanxi merchants are gone, other Shanxi merchants no longer dare to sell grain to Liaodong.
The army of the Later Jin Dynasty did not dare to enter the pass to rob again. If they dared to go again, the end would be that the entire army would be wiped out, and the Later Jin Dynasty would be destroyed.
That is, all channels for obtaining food from the outside are blocked.
Crisis can only ferment and break out internally.
As early as June, people were already starving to death.
In July, many people starved to death in Shengjing City.
In August, many tragedies of cannibalism occurred, and multiple grain-grabbing riots broke out, resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. Hou Jin's senior officials discovered that the millions of Han people in Liaodong could no longer be suppressed. They were so hungry that they rebelled.
On the edge, it will erupt like a volcano at any time.
Reluctantly, the senior officials of Houjin had no choice but to allow these Han people to leave and find a way out for themselves.
So the Han farmers who farmed and herded their cattle left.
The wrapping slaves who were waiting around him left.
Even the generals and soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Han Army were gone, abandoning Hou Jin's leaky ship.
On the way to escape now.
A little boy of seven or eight years old was sitting on a chicken bus. When the bus stopped to rest, he weakly asked an old and thin man, "Amma, can we go back to the south?"
"I don't know. Also, don't call me Ama or dad. We are Han people, so we have to use Han people's names." The old and thin man said.
"Okay dad, since we are Han people and the people in the south are also Han people, they should accept us and give us some food, right?" the child asked innocently.
"I don't know, I don't know!" The old man scratched the few hairs on his head (the braid had been cut off) and suddenly became a little ferocious and irritable.
"Dad, are we going to die? Where did mom go? Why didn't she go with us?"
"Your mother has actually been with us. She will support us to the south. No matter what, we will survive this time." The old man said with a strange smile, looking at the red man on the chicken bus.
bag.
"Oh~" The boy nodded in understanding.
…
The rear of the refugee procession.
Yue Tuo, the leader of the banner with the red flag, was leading about 10,000 elites of the Eight Banners, following these refugees, driving and killing several people from time to time, with the intention of deliberately driving these hungry refugees south.
"We should kill all these Han people!"
Shuo Tuo next to him said with a murderous and angry look: "When they arrived in the south, our land was no longer cultivated, and our cattle and horses were no longer taken care of. They might also join the Ming army, turn around, point their swords and guns at us, and want to chop us down."
Our heads have done great work, but keeping them is a disaster."
"Will killing them work?"
Yue Tuo shook his head and said: "We have no food to feed them, and even our own people are starting to starve. If we don't let them go, they will rebel and fight us to the death. Although we will win, the Jurchens themselves are young and strong.
There are only 30,000 people left, and there are only hundreds of thousands of old, weak, women and children. How many more times can we fight with the Han people? Letting them go is a last resort."
"But what if Guan Ning's army takes in these hundreds of thousands of Han people and sends them to attack us next year with these Han people as their guides? Can we withstand it?"
Shuotuo raised his biggest concern. These Han people were too familiar with Liaodong. If these people rebelled, they would be a huge threat.
"Even if we kill them all, the Ming army will still fight back to Liaodong in a year or two. We can't grow food, and the cattle, sheep and horses we can feed on our pastures are limited. The Eight Banner Mongolia also betrayed us immediately after the death of the Great Khan. Now in front of us
The biggest question is not whether to kill these Han people, but how to feed ourselves."
Yue Tuo said worriedly.
"Then keep grabbing!"
Shuotuo swung his riding whip and shouted with a fierce face: "If you can't rob the Ming Dynasty, then rob Mongolia. If you can't rob Mongolia, then rob North Korea. If you can't even rob North Korea, then rob those savage Jurchens. As long as
Keep robbing, keep killing! You can always find a way to survive."
Regarding his brother's words, Yue Tuo would have definitely agreed with his hands in the past. Robbery and killing are the way of survival of the Jurchen Eight Banners. They are a tribe of tigers and wolves, and the others are cattle, sheep, and horses. They should be punished by them.
Looting, killing and enslaving is the right thing to do.
But the Great Khan died. Huang Taiji, the Great Khan who had always been wise and mighty, died not long after returning to the north.
Before his death, he abdicated the throne of Khan to his brother Daishan, and asked Abatai, Dorgon, Duduo and other brothers to fully assist the left. There must be no internal discord or brotherly hostility, and the Jurchen Eight Banners must not be torn apart.
In addition, he warned not to attack the Ming Dynasty again, but to declare himself a vassal, cede territory and seek peace, and remove the title of Hou Jin and reduce it to a vassal state, or even to the Eight Banners Tribe. As long as the Ming army is not invited to come, no matter how hard you surrender,
OK.
The last step is to recuperate and increase the population. You have to work hard for at least twenty years. Only when the young people of your clan increase to more than 100,000 can you start fighting. And you can only take advantage of the opportunity. If the Ming Dynasty regains its strength, you will always be a vassal state.
Never have the slightest thought...
Regarding these instructions from the Great Khan.
Daishan and others nodded repeatedly, indicating that they would obey and let the Great Khan Huang Taiji pass away suddenly.
But this year's severe drought proves that the Jurchen Eight Banners' attempt to recuperate and recuperate is unworkable. Not even a grain of grain can grow in the ground, and people are about to starve to death. How can they recuperate and recuperate?
"Invincibility starts with sacrificing the ancestor"
So this time, brothers Yue Tuo and Shuo Tuo led 10,000 Eight Banners elites to follow hundreds of thousands of refugees, just to see if they could find opportunities and to see the Ming troops stationed in Songshan, Jinzhou and other places.
How will we deal with these hundreds of thousands of refugees from Liaodong?
If they refuse to accept the attack, they can mobilize these refugees to attack the city. When the attack is almost complete, they, the elite Eight Banners, can apply the final blow to capture Jinzhou and Songshan, and seize some food supplies to solve the food shortage in Houjin.
problem.
If the door is opened and the internal agents mixed into the refugee ranks can play a huge role, they can suddenly launch a sudden attack and cooperate with the internal and external forces. They can also capture the second city, seize more supplies, and then drive the refugees to continue southward until they are all consumed.
Until all the value is squeezed out.
In any case, regardless of whether the Ming army on the Guanningjin defense line accepts these refugees or not, their Jurchen Eight Banners are the winners.
Therefore, the thorny problem fell to Guan Ningjun's side.
…
Under Jinzhou City.
Tens of thousands of refugees from Liaodong have gathered, and they are making sad pleas:
"Save us!"
"We are all from the Han family."
"Give me a way to survive and some food."
"We are just ordinary farmers and have never done anything harmful to nature."
But these cries did not bring any sympathy or relief.
The city gate suddenly opened wide, countless horses' hooves sounded, and more than three thousand elite cavalry came out. The general at the head was Zu Dashou, who always liked to ride on two walls, but now he had no second intention.
He ordered with a murderous look on his face: "All young men with shaved heads will be killed! No one will be spared. These are the true Tartars of Jianzhou. Each one will be rewarded with five taels of silver, and then he will ask the court for merit!"
"Keep the pretty women and kill the rest!"
Puff puff puff~
The horrific massacre began.
Zu Dashou wildly waved the alloy knife in his hand and personally chopped off no less than thirty heads. While killing, he said ferociously: "Who asked you to surrender to Houjin? Who asked you to be obedient citizens of the Tatars? Who asked you to shave your heads?"
Damn it, you all deserve to die, no one can live!"
It didn't take long.
Except for a few female refugees, all the tens of thousands of refugees under Jinzhou City were turned into corpses. The refugees behind were frightened and ran away, or changed their way to Songshan.
…
At this moment, Songshan's defense line is down.
More refugees have gathered, the number may have reached 100,000, and the place is even more lively.
However, these refugees were not massacred. Instead, they received extremely warm hospitality and were all accepted. For some high-value refugees (such as craftsmen), the three generals Wu Xiang, Cao Wenzhao, and Wang Yinghui were inextricable.
I was so excited that I almost rolled up my sleeves and started fucking.
By the way, what's going on?
They are just a bunch of hungry refugees who are like burdens. Why are they fighting so fiercely?
"The Tangshan Iron Mine that I contracted requires at least 200,000 young miners. How about giving all the young miners to me? Besides, you two also have 40% of the shares in my mine, so why bother fighting with me?" Cao
Wen Zhao said.
"No, my Ningyuan Large Livestock Farm has to contract millions of acres of land to raise cattle and sheep. It requires tens of thousands of farmers and herdsmen. It also needs to recruit tens of thousands of young people to cut down trees, recruit craftsmen to build boats, and then organize fishing organizations.
The fleet going to the sea to fish... needs more manpower, not to mention that you all have shares in my property. Giving people to me means giving them to you, so there is no need to compete like this." Commander Wu Xiang said.
"My Zunhua gold mine and lime mine also need countless manpower. Why don't you give me all the women, children, and the elderly? Anyway, I only need to give them one meal a day. If they die, I will take them down." Deputy Chief Soldier Wang Yinghui said.
"You can do this, but you have to select all the beauties. There are many bachelors in the army. If you reward them with a beauty, their morale will be boosted and they will be more loyal." Wu Xiang said.
"Then give me five hundred, no, eight hundred for the beauty, and the rest of the old, weak, women and children can be arranged as you wish." Cao Wenzhao thought for a while and said.
all in all.
No matter how many refugees come from Liaodong, even if they are millions, they can all be accommodated, and no one will be wasted.
After all, Cao Wenzhao, Wu Xiang, Wang Yinghui and others purchased more than ten mines, livestock farms, workshops and other industries, which could accommodate a large number of labor resources.
Even if it cannot be digested, it can be resold to Tongzhou Commander Yang Yufan, Tianjin Commander Wang Hong, or even to the mines in Shandong at a low price, so there is no need to worry about being unable to process it.
This made Yue Tuo and Shuo Tuo, who had been waiting outside the Songshan defense line for several days with tens of thousands of Eight Banners elites, feel extremely puzzled and puzzled.
You must know that the Songshan Defense Line has absorbed at least 200,000 refugees from Liaodong, and more than 500 internal agents have been deployed. Why has it been so long that the internal agents still have not been activated, but there is no movement at all like a cow in the sea?
Feeling something was wrong, brothers Yue Tuo and Shuo Tuo had no choice but to lead their army closer to the Songshan defense line, hoping to learn more about the situation.
But they were still twenty miles away from Songshan City, so the alert sentry spotted them through binoculars and immediately lit beacon smoke to issue a warning.
The defenders on the Songshan defense line no longer chose to retreat this time. Instead, they sent 30,000 elite Guan Ning troops out of the city to fight in the field. After seeing that the Eight Banners army on the opposite side was obviously at a disadvantage in numbers, they scrambled to be the first to launch a charge.
Yue Tuo immediately ordered the withdrawal of the troops, but Guan Ning's army was chasing after him, unable to escape. Feeling extremely frustrated, Shuo Tuo suddenly ordered to turn around and fight. Ignoring Yue Tuo's order, he led three thousand men to charge.
There is no need to say more in the end.
All the elite troops of the Three Thousand Eight Banners were wiped out, and Shuotuo was knocked off his horse and captured alive.
Yue Tuo's eyes were splitting when he saw this scene, but he could do nothing but order a faster retreat.