stubborn thief

Shang Kexi's analysis is very accurate.

However, he overlooked the oppressive feeling that the great monster that lurked in the northwest brought to half of the country.

In fact, the Ming army reacted very quickly this time. On the day the Yellow River breached its banks, Zhang Renxue, the general of Henan, realized that Liu Chengzong was going to attack Henan and immediately asked Shandong for help.

Before Zhang Tianlin's troops had even left Tongguan, Zhang Renxue's men had already crossed the Yellow River by boat and entered Shandong. At the same time that the Marshal's army was dispatched, Shandong Governor Yan Jizu received a letter requesting assistance.

The battle had just begun when Chen Hongfan, the coastal general, received a warning from Yan Jizu requesting reinforcements.

Chen Hongfan was an old and shrewd man. Even someone as slow-witted as Bai Dengyong didn't know what was going on, but he immediately realized: something terrible was about to happen!
The coastal navy, which had been idle for a year, boarded its ships in a chaotic manner on the second day. One after another, the warships waved their flags, and with supplies being delivered, they sailed across the Yellow Sea and headed straight for Lushun.

Previously, Chen Hongfan had no choice but to send troops, but now he has to choose between the Eight Banners Army and the Marshal's Army.

Moving the army to Lushun Port would not necessarily mean fighting the Eight Banners army, but if he stayed in Shandong, the court would definitely send him to fight Liu Chengzong.

In fact, Chen Hongfan was still unwilling to fight.

Just as Dorgon analyzed, in the dead of winter, who would be willing to send troops to fight if they weren't out of their mind?
Unfortunately, madness, mania, and actual brain hemorrhage—the three rulers of this world couldn't possibly have two pounds of good brains combined.

In Henan.

On the banks of the Chan River, north of the Luo River.

The majestic and sturdy city of Luoyang.

The alarm sounded from the Bell and Drum Towers.

With his guards and servants on horseback and swords at their sides, Chen Yongfu, a military officer from Henan, rode along the long street, heading straight for Lijing Gate.

Bright armor reflected the sunlight, and colorful tassels hung from the vibrant battle robes, bringing a splash of color to the closed doors and the bleak winter streets.

On the gate tower of Lijing Gate, the banners, damp with the morning mist, froze in the cold wind and hung heavily downwards.

Chen Yongfu pressed his hand against the battlements, his imposing gaze sweeping across the moat where shadowy figures were gathered.

That was the West Market outside the city. As the city bells and drums rang out, a troop of soldiers rushed down from the city walls and into the West Market, driving the merchants to close the market. For a moment, chaos erupted outside the city as buyers and sellers hurriedly packed up and sought refuge.

Since the fall of Tongguan, the sounds of camel bells and the sight of exotic goods from the Western Regions have become rare in the Western Market. Even decent large livestock have become much less common. Instead, only human traffickers who cannot sell their goods remain. Business continues, but it is not as prosperous as before.

In the past, human brokers were sellers who rarely appeared in livestock markets. They usually had a house in the city and only did some intermediary work. They would first find out the buyer, then find a suitable seller, go out for a trip, and negotiate in half an hour to complete the transaction.

Even those who were not well-informed, when they went to the livestock market, would act as sellers, fawning over merchants and wealthy men in the city in order to sell off their surplus goods.

In today's world, the roles of buyers and sellers have reversed.

In the freezing cold, those brokers, sitting under the shed, who were usually lowly and unsavory characters, actually acted like lords, looking at potential clients with repulsive expressions, picking and choosing, and putting on airs like buyers.

Those respectable families who barely managed to clean themselves up and put straw tags on their tags were like livestock; if they were chosen, they were overjoyed, and if they weren't, they were dejected.

Chen Yongfu's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, and the cold air he exhaled from his nose became a little stronger.

But the chill from the temperature hadn't yet dissipated, and a complex look of pity, helplessness, disgust, and exhaustion flashed across those sleep-deprived, bloodshot eyes.

Only caution and unease remain as one gazes into the distance.

The mass graves dug during Zhang Zhi's rebellion last year have been filled in, and new pits dug during the summer plague have been excavated, like wounds spread across the ground.

A funeral was taking place outside the city. The funeral procession, dressed in mourning clothes, carried the coffin along the river, scattering paper money all over the ground. Wild dogs with bloodshot eyes and scarred bodies were not afraid of people. They dragged bones across the river and were chased and beaten by people with mourning sticks.

Under the azure sky, withered trees in the gardens and sparse houses are scattered among the raised earthen ridges and cold, hard wasteland, creating a drab picture.

At the end of this painting, between the Luo River, the Chan River, and Mount Mang, lies an earthen wall with a circumference of forty li, like a winding giant snake coiling around the mountains and rivers.

Only when he saw the long wall did Chen Yongfu finally feel a sense of peace.

It was this long wall, built two years ago, that protected the residences and gardens of Luoyang and its suburbs during the Zhang Zhi Rebellion, allowing this land to retain its idyllic scenery despite natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Yes, it's a paradise on earth.

In the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Chen Yongfu became the Henan Provincial Military Commander, stationed in Luoyang, where he has remained for six years.

In those six years, Henan suffered from drought for six years, locust plagues for three years, two major floods, three epidemics, and two wars.

To this day, Luoyang, the capital of Henan Prefecture, not only protected the city itself, but also protected a suburb with a forty-mile-long wall, keeping the area as it was at the beginning of the drought.

Compared to the mutual looting and killing among the local strongholds, the Shaanxi bandits led by Li and Zhang broke into cities and slaughtered people when they passed through the area. Zhang Zhi led 100,000 men in like a plague, leaving behind a land full of corpses and rubble.

In Luoyang, even if someone is alive, they can still buy a straw marker; if someone dies, their family can carry a coffin and bury them.

Luoyang is certainly not the best, Chen Yongfu knew that.

This city is a living hell every day.

But in order to preserve this hell on earth, he was still willing to pay any price.

Because beyond that long wall, there are eighteen more levels of hell.

Seven days ago, Xin'an County, sixty miles away, was captured, and refugees fled for twenty miles, repeating the scene of the Zhangzhi Rebellion.

The gentry of Xin'an County, who fled to Luoyang, lamented that the rebels, relying on inside agents, had broken through three outposts outside the city and the city of Xin'an in a single day. Then, the inside agents led them to identify wealthy families inside and outside the city, and in a short time, they robbed them of silver, kidnapped beautiful women, abducted strong men, and seized livestock, leaving nothing behind.

In addition, poor families were not spared either. Horses, mules, and fodder were also forcibly requisitioned, but they were given a document with an official seal and a wooden sign that read "Requisitioned from Guanzhong Travelers".

Even worse, for those who are so poor that they rely solely on large livestock for survival, it would be better if they didn't complain. But if they start crying and wailing, they might not even be given any official documents or plaques, and they might just have their livestock and people arrested.

The refugee gentry poured out their accusations in tears, but Chen Yongfu clearly paid them no heed.

Because just three days after the fall of Xin'an County, more than a thousand cavalrymen swept across the wasteland in dust and dust, and traversed the frozen surface of the Chan River.

It was already dark when Chen Yongfu was unable to go into battle, but he ordered the soldiers guarding the city walls to be careful.

Unexpectedly, during the night, cavalrymen arrived from the west, each carrying a torch.

By the next morning, the cavalry had been reinforced by several thousand soldiers and divided into three routes to bypass Luoyang City. One route went to Mangshan to garrison Mengjin, while another route went along the Luo River to occupy Longmen.

Finally, we set up camp on the west bank of the Chan River, without any rush.

Some even waded across the frozen surface of the Chan River, carrying their flags, and climbed the long wall to peer through binoculars at the distant city of Luoyang. This was Zhang Tianlin's Guanzhong Brigade.

Within twelve days, the troops marched out of Tongguan, passing through Hongguan and Yanlingguan, and occupied Shanzhou, Lingbao, Mianchi, Xin'an and Yongning. They passed through unimpeded areas and marched eastward to capture Mengjin.

At this very moment, Zhang Tianlin has personally led his camp on the road to capture Sishui and Xingyang.

There weren't even any serious battles along the way. It was just that a few local strongholds, without knowing the situation, attacked Tangma out of greed, which led to their own deaths.

In some of the remaining counties, even before the troops arrived, local officials had already been captured by constables and surrendered the city.

Zhang Tianlin was initially quite pleased with the situation, thinking that the Grand Marshal was indeed the popular choice.

The people of Henan did not believe that Liu Chengzong was a well-known philanthropist in the surrounding area, which is why they voluntarily opened the city gates, captured or expelled officials, and welcomed the marshal's army into the city.

In fact, quite the opposite, the people of Henan felt that Liu Chengzong was a rare scourge in the world, and that his generals and army were even more beastly than he himself.

Resisting and holding out to the death only led to the massacre of the city, which is why some people surrendered the city.

Upon learning the truth, Zhang Tianlin was unwilling to stay there any longer. He simply instructed the guerrilla commander Ying Shan Hong to requisition horses, donkeys, and mules in various counties to replenish the army's supplies, and then turned around and led his troops to Xingyang.

In Henan, the people could not possibly have a good impression of Liu Chengzong.

Liu, the Grand Marshal, rose to power in no different from a bandit. His rebellion had little positive impact on Henan and even put immense pressure on the region due to the passage of bandits and Ming troops.

What truly made Henan Prefecture remember Liu Chengzong was the fall of Tongguan two years ago, when the entire Tongguan area was ravaged by war.

Subsequently, Liu Chengzong appointed a broom spirit as the general commander of Henan, who swept 100,000 people into the plague-stricken area, turning Henan Prefecture into a war zone and even crossing the entire Henan province to reach Fengyang, causing the Zhangzhi Rebellion.

That's my impression.

If we don't attack Henan, they will unleash terrifying demons and monsters to disrupt public order.

If the attack encounters resistance, the entire city will be slaughtered, and even after the killing is over, cannons will be fired in the empty city to annihilate the inhabitants.

For Henan, the Marshal's Mansion is generally quite distant from people.

In addition, after the Zhang Zhi Rebellion, drought, floods and plagues, production in the counties of Henan Prefecture had long since ceased, and the city walls and military equipment were in dire straits.

Even the commander-in-chief Zhang Renxue set up his defenses in Luoyang.

As for Xin'an County, the western gateway to Luoyang, the moment Marshal Juntangma saw the county's military preparations, the county immediately took stock of its combat readiness. It had 500 able-bodied men, 1,000 arrows, and 3 barrels of gunpowder, but the entire county had no regular troops.

What other options are there besides surrendering?
Surrender did prevent the supposed non-existent 'massacre,' but the situation didn't improve much.

Because the discipline of the Guanzhong Brigade, to some extent, is indeed not very good from top to bottom.

Before being reorganized into the Guanzhong Brigade, they were Liu Chengzong's elite troops, having won numerous victories in battles in Qinghai, Gansu, and Shaanxi, and their soldiers were quite well-off.

However, because they were stationed inside the pass, they missed the Lingdong War, which made their allies rich, and they were green with envy as they saw the silver bars in other people's hands.

During this expedition, Zhang Tianlin was unable to forcibly suppress the soldiers and ensure they did not commit any offenses in their path. Therefore, he gave the soldiers an outlet and tried to avoid touching the local grain supplies... The disaster situation in Henan was too severe, and the people's food rations were already scarce, so they could not be touched.

Therefore, if a wealthy family is identified, they should be plundered.

Requisitioning horses and mules from the local areas was the best solution he could think of that would satisfy both sides.

On the one hand, those who could still raise horses, donkeys, and mules were mostly wealthy households. Large livestock could also be used for military supplies. In addition, they could also cope with Liu Chengzong's punishment.

Liu Chengzong usually punished generals by punishing their horses; Zhang Tianlin had been punished many times and was very experienced in this.

Therefore, the complaints and tearful accounts made by the Henan gentry who fled to Luoyang to Chen Yongfu about the actions of the Marshal's army after entering the country were basically true.

For those people who relied on livestock for a living and could not survive without them, Zhang Tianlin's solution was to take them away directly as laborers accompanying the army to continue looking after the livestock.

From Zhang Tianlin's perspective, this was not about abducting civilians, but about taking living people.

However, not everyone in Henan opposed the Marshal's Office.

On Shaoshi Mountain in Dengfeng, some people were extremely excited about the Marshal's army's advance into Henan.

Shaoshi Mountain is where the Shaolin Temple is located, but it has now been occupied.

The person who seized it was named Chen Jindou, nicknamed Yidougu.

This name is well-known in Henan. It refers to the early Henan rebels who rose up in response when Li Zicheng and others were returning to Shaanxi from the Taihang Mountains and passing through Henan.

It was around that time that Chen Jindou joined the Fifth Battalion of the rebel army. Later, when the Fifth Battalion split up in Shaanxi, Chen Jindou followed Zhang Yichuan and became a member of the Marshal's Army.

Furthermore, when Zhang Yichuan was appointed as the General of Henan, Chen Jindou, along with Song Jiang and San Tiaolong, three local bandit leaders from Henan, were appointed as assistant generals by Liu Chengzong, becoming one of the generals of the five camps in Henan.

During Zhang Zhi's rebellion, the five camps in Henan were defeated. General Zhang Yichuan was chased into Fengyang by pursuing troops. Of the five adjutants, Song Jiang escaped into Tongguan, Ke Tianhu died of plague, Chong Tianzhu died in battle, and the whereabouts of the three dragons were unknown.

The situation was too chaotic at the time. The 100,000-strong army was in disarray, but Zhang Yichuan insisted on going to Fengyang to move the emperor's grave.

Chen Jindou always remembered the only time he met Liu Chengzong.

At that time, Liu Chengzong summoned him, Song Jiang, and the Three Dragons, saying that he appointed them as adjutants because they were generals from Henan. In the future, when the marshal's army entered Henan, they would need their familiarity with the people and the land.

Chen Jindou is well aware of his advantage: he is a native of Henan.

Once he entered Southern Zhili, without this, could his martial prowess and talent still surpass those of Liu Yiyong and his close associates under Zhang Yichuan's command?
Therefore, Chen Jindou was not separated from the Ming army, but rather he did not want to leave and deserted his post to hide in the Songshan Mountains, thus missing the opportunity to become a loyal minister of the Gu Yuan Zhenlong Dynasty.

After that, his men either died or fled, leaving only a few hundred remnants who ate tree bark in the mountains.

Later, after occupying the Zen temples and monasteries on Mount Song, his life improved. He re-established his camp on Mount Yuzhai, still calling himself a military officer, and befriended local bandits such as Yu Dazhong in the Dengfeng area.

However, despite having few soldiers and generals, he still acted like a mere adjutant, causing others to regard him as a petty thief and ignore him. If they couldn't avoid him, they would give him a meager amount of money and provisions to appease him. No one thought that this penniless fellow who had followed the Qin bandits in their early years and had now fallen on hard times could accomplish anything significant.

But Chen Jindou was not disappointed, nor was he in a hurry. He simply recruited desperate men to rebuild their strength and waited.

Waiting for the day when... Liu Chengzong enters Henan.

Now, Liu Chengzong has arrived! (End of Chapter)