In July of the eighth year of Chongzhen, there was a locust plague in Henan.
Locusts swept through Henan. The destructive power caused by the locust plague was greater than that of thousands of troops. As a result, Henan was covered with red scars and countless hungry people. Then, the terrible locust plague continued to spread.
Hebei, Shandong and other places are all prone to disasters.
The terrible locust plague has displaced countless people, and the threat of death from hunger threatens the people all the time. There are many cases of people exchanging children for food, and mothers cooking their daughters and then eating meat again.
The imperial court ordered disaster relief, but officials from all over the country were disobedient, and even worse, they took advantage of the disaster relief opportunity to make a lot of money. The spread of the locust plague and the disadvantages of disaster relief also caused more and more people to join the bandits headed by Gao Yingxiang. middle.
The power of rogue bandits increased greatly.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, also began to intensify his pursuit and suppression efforts.
Hong Chengchou's extraordinary generals, such as He Renlong and Ai Wannian, were all known for their bravery and resourcefulness. Cao Wenzhao, the chief military officer of Lintao, was the most brave and brave at the time and was known as "the best general of the Ming Dynasty".
After Fengyang was lost and the imperial tomb was excavated, although the generals in the Central Plains were not punished, everyone was humiliated. Hong Chengchou summoned the generals, and he only said these few words to his subordinates:
"Is it possible that none of the generals in the Central Plains can defeat Ding Yunyi who came from the wilderness in terms of fighting? In terms of bravery, is he worse than a boy who lives at sea all year round? I really don't have the face to see you all again."
All the generals were ashamed. Cao Wenzhao was furious and stood up and said: "Who is Ding Yunyi? He is just a fisherman on the sea. Now our generals in the Central Plains have been humiliated. Cao Wenzhao is willing to fight to the death with the rebels!"
Hong Chengchou was overjoyed, but he covered his face and said, "Go, go, let's see how you succeed!"
Cao Wenzhao immediately gathered his men and fought bravely in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei and other provinces. He successively chased and killed Dian Dengzi, Zhang Fei, Red Army friends, Li Dusi, Ke Tianfei and other rogue leaders, who were called "non-communists" by the rogues. Dai Tian Cao Wen Zhao".
Hong Chengchou was overjoyed when he heard the report, and praised Cao Wenzhao in front of his subordinates: "I have Cao Wenzhao, which is better than Ding Yunyi!"
This commander-in-chief Cao Wenzhao, who was "better than Ding Yunyi", indeed gave Hong Chengchou face.
He defeated the enemy in Suizhou and beheaded more than 380 people. After that, Hong Chengchou ordered Cao Wenzhao to enter the pass because all the rogue bandits retreated into the pass. Then he took the mountain road from Luxiang to Luonan and Shangzhou, and went straight to the civil uprising The army base area then entered Hanzhong from Shanyang, Zhen'an, and Xunyang. Cao Wenzhao arrived in Shangzhou. The bandits camped thirty miles away from the city, and the campfires were all over the mountains. Cao Wenzhao led his nephew to join general Cao Bianjiao and others in a night attack. They won. They pursued them straight to Jinlingchuan. The rogue bandits took advantage of the danger and faced them with thousands of cavalry. Cao Bianjiao shouted to trap them, and the people's rebel army was defeated.
Like his uncle, Cao Bianjiao was also the bravest of the three armies. When the bandits heard the name of General Cao, they were all frightened.
In a battle with rogue bandits, the enemy general ordered his men to shout: "Cao Wenzhao is dead!" in an attempt to deceive people. But in the chaos of the army, Cao Wenzhao's dragon and phoenix dancing with a spear immediately stabilized the morale of the army. Eventually, the passive becomes active and the enemy is defeated.
Cao Wenzhao reached the peak of his military career. But it was also the beginning of his end.
The battle of rogue bandits to encircle and annihilate Cao Wenzhao quietly began
Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng led their troops to Ningzhou westward, and joined forces with Guo Tianxing, Xie Zikuai, Chaos Wang and others who were active in Qingyang area to plan an ambush to encircle and annihilate Cao Wenzhao.
The rogue bandits first ambushed Ming deputy generals Liu Chenggong, Ai Wannian, and 3,000 men led by guerrilla Wang Ximing in Bajiazhai, Xiangle Town, Ningzhou. The Ming army was defeated, and Ai Wannian and deputy general Liu Guozhen were killed.
Liu Chenggong and Wang Ximing were seriously injured and escaped.
On the battlefield in Anhui that day, Ding Yunyi fought a bloody battle in Yingzhou, but Ai Wannian refused to send troops. Not long after, he died in the hands of rogue bandits. The soldiers and civilians who died in Yingzhou were able to vent their grievances a little.
After Ai Wannian and others died, Hong Chengchou, who was stationed in Pizhou, heard the news. He was worried and at a loss. He could only place his hope in his beloved general Cao Wenzhao. When Cao Wenzhao heard that Ai Wannian had died in battle, he was furious and drew his sword to chop the ground.
, cursed with angry eyes, and asked for orders to go to war.
Hong Chengchou said with great joy: "Anyone other than a general is not enough to defeat this thief!"
Cao Wenzhao led 3,000 troops to conquer, and the bandits laid an ambush in the Qiutou area.
Cao Bianjiao, Cao Wenzhao's nephew, led his elite troops in the vanguard. Cao Wenzhao led the infantry to the rear, and marched to Xianzi, Qiutou. The rogues ambushed the Ming army, cut it into two sections, and surrounded and killed them. Cao Bianjiao took the lead and killed him.
More than 500 bandits were killed. The bandits pretended to be defeated and retreated to the forest area to the east. The Ming army pursued them for thirty miles and reached Diaoling Pass. Seeing that the Ming army entered the ambush circle, the bandits rushed out from all directions and fought with Cao Wenzhao at
The troops of the Ming Dynasty were dispersed in Paiz'ao, Qiutou. It was difficult to look at the head and tail, and they lost their ability to fight. They suffered heavy casualties, corpses were scattered in the mountains and fields, and blood flowed into rivers, staining the villages.
The next day, the rogue bandits were led by the King of Troubled Times, with Li Zicheng in the middle, followed by Tianxing, and surrounded the Ming army again. Cao Wenzhao pursued the left and blocked the right, fought and retreated, and the rogue bandits lured the enemy west again.
When the Ming army marched to Saluo Village, the rogue bandits ambushed thousands of horses and surrounded them. Yafei Hedgehog gathered. The rogue bandits did not know that the one they surrounded was Cao Wenzhao. At that time, a soldier of the Ming army was bound, and they hurriedly shouted: "General, hurry up and save him."
I!"
A soldier among the bandits who rebelled from the Ming army pointed at Cao Wen and said, "This is General Cao."
The bandits were overjoyed and the siege became more urgent. Cao Wenzhao was exhausted and killed dozens of peasant soldiers. He fought for several miles and was seriously injured in more than ten places. He passed through the red mud city of Baozigou in Yancun and ran to Jijiashan. He saw nothing inside.
The general, with no reinforcements outside and no hope of breaking through, shouted:
"That day in Yingzhou, Ding Yunyi was also in trouble both internally and externally, without a single soldier to reinforce him. Today I finally understand his anger at the desperate situation where he died that day!"
After saying this, he drew his sword and killed himself.
In this battle, the rogue bandits led by Li Zicheng severely damaged the Ming army. Cao Wenzhao lost most of his troops, and more than 20 guerrilla generals and generals died. Especially Cao Wenzhao, who was highly valued by Hong Chengchou and was known for his good fighting skills.
He was defeated and committed suicide, which made the Ming army feel depressed and the rogue bandits cheered.
When Hong Chengchou heard the news of Cao Wenzhao's death, he burst into tears and said while crying: "My subordinate Cao Wenzhao is brave enough to rival Ding Yunyi, but Ding Yunyi can persist for nine days and nine nights alone in Yingzhou, why can't Wen Zhao persist?"
Now that Wen Zhao is dead, who can I rely on? When will the rogue bandits be defeated? Do you want me to go to Taiwan again to invite Ding Yunyi?"
Ding Yunyi will not come.
After killing Cao Wenzhao, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong joined forces to fight against Hong Chengchou in Guanzhong. In October, the rogue bandits failed to fight the Ming army, so Zhang Xianzhong and other troops left Tongguan. They divided the 13th Battalion and marched eastward. Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng fought in Weinan.
, Lintong, east across Huayin Nanyuan Jueling, and out of Zhuyang Pass. In November, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong joined forces in Minxiang, Henan, and jointly attacked Zuo Liangyu's army, advanced into Shaanxi, and approached Luoyang. They captured Guangzhou and Huoqiu.
Afterwards, advance towards Jiangbei.
At this time, Ding Yunyi had already arrived in Shandong with Huangfu Yunjie, Duan Saner and others.
Although Shandong is not as bare as Henan and other places, it is full of hungry people in the face of the locust plague. The locust plague is far more terrifying than the disaster of weapons.
Looking at the hungry people, Ding Yunyi couldn't help but shake his head and said: "Our Ming Dynasty is so turbulent, half of it is due to riots, and half of it is natural disasters."
Huangfu Yunjie sighed: "Since the Tianqi period, our Ming Dynasty has been experiencing constant disasters. Natural disasters have occurred almost every year. In this dynasty, the disasters have reached an unstoppable level. In the first year of the dynasty, there were tsunamis in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing.
In the second year, there was a great famine in Shanxi. In the third year, there was a flood in Shandong and an earthquake in Nanjing. In the fourth year, there was a big hailstorm in Hubei in May, and there was another flood in Shandong. In the fifth year, there was an earthquake in Lintao and Gongchang.
In one year, the Yellow River burst, and there were earthquakes in Nanjing, Sichuan, Shanxi, and Yunnan. In six years, there was a severe drought in the capital and Jiangxi, and there was a severe famine in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Huai, Yang and other places. In the seventh year, there was a great famine in Taiyuan, and people competed for human flesh. By this year,
But the locust plague spreads"
Ding Yunyi was frightened when he heard this.
In other words, since the first year of Chongzhen, there have been major disasters every year in the Ming Dynasty. With the ability to resist disasters at this time, the court was completely helpless in the face of natural disasters. Apart from tax reductions and tax exemptions, there was no other means. But tax reductions and tax exemptions were not
This also makes the national treasury, which has been in deficit for years, even more unsustainable, thus creating a vicious cycle.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Ming Dynasty was generally destroyed by violence and half by natural disasters.
**It can still be solved, but natural disasters cannot be saved.
Those hungry people who were dying of hunger suddenly saw a few horses approaching, and they all surrounded them, wailing and begging. Some even brought their sons and daughters, who were already skin and bones from hunger, and begged the kind-hearted master to give them some food.
Then you can take your own children away and serve as slaves and prostitutes from now on, whatever the master orders.
A 15- or 16-year-old girl is worth less than a steamed bun here!
Facing the hungry people begging for help, Ding Yunyi couldn't bear it. He was about to ask Duan San'er to provide some relief, but Huangfu Yunjie stopped him: "General, it's absolutely impossible. How many people can we save? The general only needs to take out one
With just a copper plate or a grain of grain, tens of thousands of hungry people will surround us, and by then we won’t be able to leave even if we want to.”
Huangfu Yunjie didn't say any more.
Ding Yunyi sighed, knowing that Huangfu Yunjie was telling the truth.
"General, I have to be the one to do the evil. Even if I suffer retribution in the future, I will admit it." Huangfu Yunjie gritted his teeth, pulled out his knife, scolded him repeatedly, and drove away the victims.
After finally emerging from the siege of hungry people, Ding Yunyi looked back again and shook his head helplessly.
There are so many victims, and I can't save a few of them.
Just as we were far away from the large group of victims, we were suddenly blocked by someone. An old woman and a girl about fifteen years old knelt down in front of the horse with a plop, kowtowing repeatedly: "Master, I am pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, pitiful.
They are all starving to death, they are all starving to death, please save my granddaughter, please save my granddaughter."
"Get up and talk." Ding Yunyi said solemnly.
The old woman stood up tremblingly, and together with her granddaughter, she seemed to be too hungry to stand still. Ding Yunyi pointed at the girl: "Where are her parents and brothers?"
"I'm starved to death, I'm all starved to death." The old woman's eyes were cloudy, and she may have dried up her tears long ago: "First, her mother starved to death and traded meat with her neighbors for food, and then her brother was kidnapped when he went out.
When we found it, it was eaten until only a pair of bones were left. The bones of my poor grandson were still there. When he was born, his father made him a bell. Then his father died."
Ding Yunyi, Huangfu Yunjie, Duan San'er and others felt horrified when they heard this. The most terrifying and saddest thing in the world is this.
"Master!" The old woman suddenly saw some hope and pulled her granddaughter over: "My little girl is only fifteen years old. She can help you wash and cook, and sleep with you at night. As long as you reward her with some leftovers.
, just don’t let her starve to death, sir, I beg you, please!”
"Your name is Xiaotu?" Ding Yunyi looked at the girl.
She was severely stunted and was so hungry that she staggered around. She was so scared that she hid behind her grandma, and then suddenly cried: "Master, please accept me. I can do anything and endure any hardship. What do you want me to do?"
I will do whatever I want. If you want to scold me, scold me, if you want to hit me, hit me. I beg you to give grandma something to eat. I will make cows and horses for you!"
Several grown men were almost in tears.
Such a miserable scene can only be described with the word "sad".
"Duan San, give them food." Ding Yunyi pursed his lips and said.
Duan Saner took out the dry food. As soon as the grandfather and grandson saw the food, their eyes lit up. They took it and stuffed it into their mouths with all their strength. They ate so fast that they choked and couldn't breathe, but they kept stuffing it with all their strength.
.
At this time, more than a dozen hungry people in the distance seemed to have discovered something at once, and they slowly walked towards here. Then, the temptation of food was huge, and more and more hungry people discovered that there was food here.
Over there, hundreds of people gathered at once, watching silently at first, and then, unable to resist the temptation of food, they walked towards here.
"No." Huangfu Yunjie shouted: "General, leave quickly, or something big will happen."
Ding Yunyi also noticed that something was wrong. He looked up and took a breath of air. There were only a few hundred people there a moment ago, but in an instant there were nearly a thousand people.
"Master, take Xiaotu away quickly." The old woman also realized that something was wrong, and piled Xiaotu in front of the horse: "Master, please let Xiaotu live, I will repay you by being a cow and a horse for you in the next life.
!”
Ding Yunyi knew that Xiaotu would not be able to survive here, and would end up like her brother in the future. He stretched out his hand and pulled Xiaotu onto the horse.
The hungry people discovered their purpose of escaping. They didn't know where the strength came from, and they ran towards here like crazy.
Once caught by them, these people will have no chance of survival.
"Xiaotu, you must listen to the master!" the old woman cried.
"Grandma!" Xiaotu burst into tears.
Ding Yunyi placed Xiaotu and a war horse in front of him: "Let's go, rush out!"
Several war horses also sensed the threat, neighed, raised their hooves, kicked up dust, and galloped out.
"grandmother!"
Xiaotu's cries spread farther and farther with the wind
Grandma smiled happily at this time
No matter what, my granddaughter's life was saved after all. As for whether I lived or died, there was nothing to care about. To be continued...