weaving

Chapter 1465 Under Control
August 6th, afternoon.

The rebel army gradually arrived around Xiangcheng. They lined up outside the city and swaggered around, but did not launch an attack.

At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), the rebel army quietly withdrew and disappeared without a trace.

Zhang Guangda, the general of the Yongyi Army stationed in Xiangcheng, immediately ordered scouts to be dispatched to investigate the whereabouts of the enemy army.

Before the scouts could report the enemy's whereabouts, General Wei Zhice of the Yongyi Army had already led the vanguard of the Tengshe Battalion to Xiangcheng.

About an hour later, before it got dark, the scouts returned one after another and learned that the rebel army had split up and headed towards Jia County in Ruzhou and Ye County in Nanyang.

Ye County could be ignored; but Jia County still had five hundred rangers led by the central military officer Gu Zhide, so he couldn't ignore it.

After confirming that one of the rebel forces had gone to Jia County, the Tengshe Camp left a 1,000-man infantry unit to garrison Xiangcheng to prevent the rebels from returning; while Zhang Guangda led 500 light cavalrymen, along with Wei Zhice and the other three 1,000-man units, to rush to the aid of Jia County overnight.

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On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, Tian Jianxiu, a general of the rebel army, was stationed in Changshe Town, fifty miles west of Xihua County. After being harassed by a small group of government troops, he immediately broke camp and headed south to Shangshui County.

In fact, this was not the first time that Tian Jianxiu's bandit troops had encountered harassment from government troops. Ever since he led his troops south from Xuzhou, the harassment from government troops had never stopped.

Strangely enough, the government troops were never seen at all, but as soon as the rebels stopped, the government troops would immediately appear around their camp and fire at them from a distance with bows, crossbows and muskets.

Although the government cavalry harassing the perimeter numbered only a few hundred, Tian Jianxiu dared not take the risk. Once he was entangled by the government troops, it would be difficult to escape once the main force surrounded him!

They marched south in this way, not daring to split up their troops to gather supplies. They could only move together as a large army, robbing whatever local strongholds they encountered along the way. They could only consider themselves unlucky.

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Liu Zongmin moved very quickly, making full use of the enemy army's mobility.

In the early morning of the third day of the eighth lunar month, they arrived at the city of Zhongmu, but did not attack the city. They simply circled the city, made some threatening remarks, and then retreated like the tide.

On the evening of the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, Liu Zongmin led his bandit army to the city of Zhengzhou. They looted the surrounding area until noon the next day. Although they did not encounter any significant resistance, they did not gain much.

After that, Liu Zongmin led his rebel army to gather grain in the Zhengzhou and Xingyang area. Apart from the government troops and spies that he could never shake off, he did not encounter any resistance or hindrance.

However, this situation changed fundamentally when Liu Zongmin led his bandit army into Mi County.

Since entering the territory of Mi County, the number of government scouts has gradually increased. The closer we get to the county seat, the more government scouts there are. There are even government infantry stationed in some earthen villages around the county seat.

Although Liu Zongmin was known for his bravery and fighting spirit, he was not a reckless man. Based on the intelligence he had, he judged that the government troops must have already entered the city of Mi County and were waiting for him to run into them.

Therefore, Liu Zongmin did not even dare to approach the county town. Instead, he turned west at Dazhou Mountain, ten miles to the north, and headed straight for the north side of Songshan Mountain.

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Just as Liu Zongmin had predicted, Zhang Guodong's Qinglong Battalion, a general of the Yongyi Army, had already laid an ambush in Mi County, waiting for Liu Zongmin to come to attack the city so that they could attack from both inside and outside and defeat his bandit army.

Unfortunately, Liu Zongmin was too cunning. Like a fox that had smelled danger, he had already entered Henan Prefecture before Zhang Guodong could react.

On the eighth day, Chen De led a thousand cavalrymen to Mi County, bringing with him the latest instructions from the Earl of Yongning: advance on Dengfeng County in Henan Prefecture, follow Liu Zongmin to recapture various counties in Henan, and finally join forces with Ji Zhiying in Song County to await further orders. Thus, the Yongyi Army smoothly entered Henan Prefecture without experiencing a major battle, laying a solid foundation for future control of the prefecture.

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On the eighth day of the month, Jiang Mingwu, the deputy general of Shanxi, led his troops to garrison Taikang County.

On the one hand, he pacified the fleeing villagers, and on the other hand, he ordered the surrounding villages to provide grain and manpower to help rebuild the city walls of Taikang County. He also sent out scouts to enter Chenzhou territory in advance to gather information.

On the same day, Wei Zhice's Yongyi Army reached Baofeng County and drove Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, to Lushan County; while Zhang Guangda led his cavalry and light cavalry to reinforce Yaoshan Puyi Pass.

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On the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, the rebel army led by Tian Jianxiu arrived at Zhoukou Town, which was 35 li east of Shangshui County.

Zhoukou Town, also known as Zhoujiakou Town, is located at the confluence of the Shahe River, Yinghe River and Jialu River. It is a typical town that "prospered because of water".

Legend has it that in the early Ming Dynasty, this place was just an inconspicuous little village with only a dozen or so households. At that time, Yongning Market and Ziwu Street were located on both sides of the Shahe River, and commerce was quite prosperous.

Therefore, a family surnamed Zhou started a ferry business here, and over time, Zhoujia Ferry Crossing became the name of this small village.

During the Wanli era, with the completion of the dredging of the Jialu River, Zhoujia Ferry naturally became an important distribution center for goods connecting the Jianghuai region to the south and Shanxi and Shaanxi to the north, finally becoming a "town where boats and carts converge, smoke rises from thousands of households, masts are densely packed, and water and land meet."

Special products from the southeastern provinces of the Ming Dynasty were transported from the Huai River to the Ying River, then to Zhoujiakou, and then northward along the Jialu River to Zhuxian Town, where they were sold in Zhengzhou, Bianjing, and other parts of Northwest and North China.

Meanwhile, copper and iron from Shanxi, mules and horses from Inner Mongolia, along with mountain products from western Henan, red dates from Xinzheng, and agricultural and sideline products such as grain, cotton, daylilies, sesame, oilseeds, and furs from eastern Henan, were either traded in Zhoujiakou or continuously transported to the southeastern provinces via the Ying River into the Huai River.

Zhoukou Town has nearly 2,000 residential households, more than 400 stationary businesses, and over 500 itinerant businesses, which shows the prosperity of Zhoukou Town's commerce.

This was also an important reason why Tian Jianxiu led his army here—he wanted to capture Zhoukou Town and plunder it, so he led his troops directly to Runing Prefecture to escape the pursuit of the Yongyi Army.

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However, Tian Jianxiu did not expect that the military order given by Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng to Li Fuming and Li Jiyu was that no matter how many times the rebel army broke through the local strongholds, the major commercial markets should be protected at all costs.

The reason why the Earl of Yongning issued such a military order was mainly because he wanted the land of the landlords in those villages, as well as the people who had taken refuge in the villages.

Otherwise, how could there be so many unclaimed fields for the Yongyi Army to requisition?
Who would cultivate the many fields that were converted into military settlements?
After all, food doesn't just grow from the fields!

It was in Zhoukou Town that Tian Jianxiu's bandit army encountered Li Fuming and Li Jiyu's "Two Li Allied Forces" in a battle.

The battle raged fiercely, lasting from dawn until dusk, a full four hours before it finally ended.

Although Tian Jianxiu's bandit troops did not collapse, they suffered heavy casualties against the well-equipped and well-trained Yongyi Army, especially the Yongyi Army's sharp guns and cannons.

Seeing that the plan to raid Zhoukou Town had failed, Tian Jianxiu dared not linger in battle and led his bandits away quietly that very night.

At this point, almost the entire territory of Kaifeng Prefecture was under the control of the Earl of Yongning!