The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 398 Parting
The fourteenth year of Chongzhen.

July 12th.

The Battle of Songjin was the eighteenth day of the main confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Henan, Kaifeng Prefecture.

Yancheng.

Yancheng is located in the southwest of Kaifeng Prefecture and is already in central Henan.

Since the beginning of the twelfth year, the people of Qi County rebelled and the people rose up in arms.

Wars were often seen around Yancheng, and the city was even besieged by rebel troops several times.

The people and soldiers in the city supported each other and worked together to finally defend the city and prevented Yancheng from falling.

However, since the 13th year, when the Hanzhong army entered Kaifeng, the war came to an end.

But now, war has broken out again and military disasters have reappeared.

Some time ago, a disaster occurred in Linying County in the north.

The situation has been bad in recent years. Although there has been no locust plague, the drought has eased slightly.

Although the harvest is slightly better than last year, the imperial court has increased the levy again this year. How can we hand over more money and grain?
If we really pay all the money and grain, I'm afraid the whole family will have difficulty surviving the winter.

In rural villages, there are countless people who sell their children in order to survive.

Such things happened quite a lot in Yancheng.

In the past, wealthy families would often take advantage of this time to buy low and sell high, occupy land, and buy slaves.

But for some reason, the prices offered by the big landlords this year were much higher, and their attitudes were even very moderate, and they started to negotiate.

In many places, even the landlords voluntarily donated money and grain, provided porridge and grain.

Although it’s not much, it can at least relieve the emergency.

The big landlords no longer had their usual arrogance.

There are rumors among the neighbors in the market.

The reason why these wealthy families changed their attitudes was largely due to the Wanmin Army that was causing a lot of trouble in Southern Zhili.

After the Wanmin Army broke into the city, the first thing they did was to arrest all the wealthy landlords, officials and gentry in the city and put them to public trial.

If anyone has committed a great deal of evil and is running rampant in the village, all of them will be killed.

If one is kind and generous and does good to his neighbors, only part of his property will be confiscated and the rest will be returned.

Even though it received mixed reviews, at least it saved the lives of the tribe members.

Many people also became grateful to the Wanmin Army.

The trouble in Linying County was caused by debt collection.

I heard that the imperial court was using troops again and the Jiannu from Liaodong were attacking again.

The imperial court mobilized the elite troops from the nine borders to aid Liao, and the battle with the Jiannu was hard to determine.

According to the news we have received so far, the officers and soldiers on the front line have shown great momentum and a lot of good news have been received.

But all this is not good for them.

It’s not that it’s a bad thing that the court won the war.

But the court was not good at fighting wars.

Once a war breaks out, the imperial court will send more troops.

With increased taxes every year and collection demands every month, which household can sustain this?

Middle-class families became poor families, and poor families became destitute families, becoming destitute and unable to survive.

They can only leave their hometown and flee to another place to make a living.

It is hard to leave one's hometown, and people feel worthless when they leave their hometown.

The disaster that occurred in Linying County was caused by debt collection.

If the yamen runners failed to collect taxes, they would be punished by their superiors.

The yamen runners were very angry that they could not collect the taxes after being repeatedly urged. They arrested a few families as examples and wanted to return to the county government to report.

However, on their way out, they were stopped by their relatives and friends, who refused to let them go.

The bailiffs were furious and started quarreling with those who were blocking their way.

During the pushing and shoving, someone mentioned Li Yan and talked about Prince Xin's Wanmin Army and so on.

The scene fell into silence. The bailiffs immediately turned pale and ran away without caring about the prisoners.

Seeing the bailiffs change color and run away, most people did not react.

But someone in the crowd shouted that these yamen runners might have to go to the county government to report, which woke everyone up.

Everyone was trying to catch the fleeing bailiffs in a panic.

When the yamen runners fought back in the chaos, blood was shed and the situation became out of control.

By the time everyone present regained consciousness, several yamen runners had already stopped breathing.

If a county yamen runner was beaten to death, the matter would naturally become a serious matter.

The repeated demands for payment had already caused resentment among the people.

Now that they saw that the yamen runner had been beaten to death, everyone decided to go all out and followed the lead of several prestigious leaders.

A civil uprising broke out.

This sensational civil uprising swept across several towns within a few days, with the number of people increasing from hundreds to thousands, and then from thousands to the current tens of thousands.

It took only two months to expand from the original Linying County to covering more than ten cities in three prefectures.

Even a few days ago, the rebels captured Linying County.

The magistrate of Linying County committed suicide in the county government office, and almost all the wealthy families in the city were slaughtered.

There was a man in the uprising team named Sun Qiyun.

Sun Qiyun was originally an archer in the Inspection Office. He was generous and righteous, and he stood up for the weak and the weak. He was known in the local area for his chivalrous spirit.

After the civil uprising broke out, Sun Qiyun was elected as the leader by everyone.

Sun Qiyun became the leader and led his troops to occupy the deep mountains west of Linying County.

He ordered all the troops to raise the banner of equal distribution of land and exemption of grain tax, just like the Wanmin Army.

Afterwards, he selected strong and capable men and trained the various rebel troops.

At the same time, he ordered all troops not to plunder property and strictly prohibited harming civilians. Violators would be sentenced to death.

He said to the outside world: We have gathered together only to save our lives. My orders are strict and the poor people will not be harmed in the slightest.

People at that time called them the Begging Army.

The northern suburbs of Yancheng.

There were many people fleeing southwards on the official road.

The Qihuo Army caused a great stir in Linying in the north.

Although the Beggars' Army claimed that they had not harmed anyone, many people did not dare to risk their lives and property based on other people's empty words.

And the most important thing is, even if the Beggars' Army really did not harm anyone, the officers and soldiers who came to suppress them could not guarantee that they would not harm anyone.

Thieves pass by like a comb, and soldiers pass by like a rake.

Most of these fleeing people traveled in groups.

They are basically from the same clan and village.

The young and strong men were guarding outside with knives, guns, sticks and clubs, while the old, the weak, women and children were in the middle, either riding in cars or walking.

Everyone's face was pale, expressionless, eyes dull, they walked slowly and looked weak.

But this situation did not last long.

The people walking on the official road felt that the ground was beginning to tremble slightly.

Someone looked into the distance and saw a black line spreading rapidly from the end of the ground line.

"Troops are coming!"

I don't know who shouted, but all the people fleeing on the official road became panicked and ran away from the road.

Some people fled towards Yancheng County, while others fled in all directions, just trying to stay away from the official road.

However, the gates of Yancheng County were naturally closed and no one was allowed to enter the city.

Even if the people outside the city cried and wailed, it would be of no avail.

Since the beginning of the civil uprising, many cities have been breached because they allowed refugees into the city, creating gaps among the inhabitants.

The people below the city wall begged for mercy, only for the gate to be opened, but the people above the city wall hardened their hearts and refused to open the gate.

The scene was chaotic and terrible.

But soon, this chaos disappeared.

Because the black line on the distant horizon gradually became clearer.

Balls of raging fire were billowing on the official road, and red flags were fluttering in the strong wind.

Accompanied by the dense sound of horse hooves, a large number of cavalrymen wearing red clothes and red caps quickly passed by on the official road.

"It's Chen's army!"

Someone with sharp eyes recognized the flag of this army and shouted loudly.

The chaotic scene finally calmed down, and everyone's face showed an expression of surviving a disaster.

The Chen family army is the army under the command of General Chen Wang, who is responsible for suppressing bandits.

Chen Wang is a hero like Grandpa Qi and Grandpa Yue, who hates evil, is upright and loyal to the country.

When Kaifeng was besieged and rebels were causing chaos in Henan, it was Chen Wang who led the troops of Hanzhong Town to drive away those rebels.

He conquered the Jiannu in the north and fought against bandits in the south, and made great military achievements.

The Chen family army under Chen Wang's command had strict military discipline and never harmed the people.

The Chen family army is the troops from Hanzhong Town.

Not only can the Chen family army be identified by their flags, they can also be easily distinguished by their appearance.

The soldiers of Chen's army, whether officers or soldiers, all wore red clothes inside and red caps on their heads, and their entire outfit was fiery red.

Looking from afar, there was a sea of ​​fire and red light everywhere.

It must be the team from Hanzhong Town.

The headwind blew towards him, causing Chen Wang's battle robe to flutter continuously.

Looking back leisurely, I saw countless horse heads rising and falling in my field of vision, and the manes of the war horses were constantly tumbling in the headwind.

The dense sound of horse hooves was as shocking as the rumbling of war drums.

Further behind, a large number of infantrymen were marching slowly in neat formations.

The forest of spears gathered together, like rows of moving thorn forests, with cold light and murderous aura, which brought a huge visual impact to people.

Chen Wang pulled the reins lightly, and the chestnut horse on the lower left snorted heavily, then turned its head, left the queue, and went up a low slope on the side.

The officers and royal guards behind him also left the team almost at the same time.

As the main general, Chen Wang led the cavalry guards and stayed on the outer right side of the cavalry formation without integrating into it.

Therefore, leaving the official road did not cause any chaos in the large group of cavalry marching on the official road.

The tall general's flag stood on the low slope, attracting great attention, like a illuminating lighthouse.

Chen Wang's eyes swept across the four areas of Yancheng, and in just a moment he had memorized the surrounding terrain in his mind.

Chen Wang gradually learned this ability from years of fighting.

Where can ambushes be deployed, where is easy to fight, and where is the geographical advantage.

These are the basic skills for being an officer.

When facing the enemy on the battlefield, the situation changes rapidly and officers must be able to adapt to changes.

But there will be no war at the moment.

The Jialiangma and Yebushou troops marching forward had eliminated all enemies within a radius of thirty miles, and the road from Yancheng all the way to Linying was unobstructed.

The purpose of coming to Yancheng this time is not just to go north to suppress bandits.

Another purpose is to send the soldiers who have been with the army back home.

As Chen Wang dismounted, the officers and soldiers around him also dismounted.

"Even though I have sent you a thousand miles away, there will always be a farewell."

Chen Wang took the tea from the hands of the guard beside him, lowered his head slightly, and bowed to Ma Yuanshan and Ma Yuying in front of him.

At this time, the personal guard beside him also handed the two of them a cup filled with tea.

"We are still at war, and there is a ban on alcohol in the army. As a general, you naturally cannot break the law, so this time we will use tea instead of wine for our farewell."

The local soldiers have been away from home fighting for a long time, and it is time for them to return home.

After all, they were the troops of the Xuanwei Office, not the troops from the camps of various towns.

The Shizhu Xuanwei Office has always been loyal, and General Qin Liangyu has made great military achievements and is known as the pillar of the Southwest.

If there had been no Qin Liangyu, I'm afraid the southwest would also be in chaos now.

It is precisely because of the existence of Qin Liangyu and the existence of Shizhu and other Xuanwei offices that the situation in the southwest has become relatively stable.

The soldiers had been away from home for a long time and were homesick. They wrote to the court several times requesting to return home. After weighing the pros and cons, the court had no choice but to agree to their request to return home.

"When I was still at the Stone Pillar, I thought that no one in the world could match the strength of my soldiers and horses."

Ma Yuanshan took the teacup, turned his head to look at the neat marching troops on the official road not far away, and sighed.

“Only when you lead troops under the command of a general do you know what it means to look at the world from a well.”

"The commander-in-chief is strict in his military discipline and is deeply loved by the soldiers. He is also able to discipline himself. I admire him."

Ma Yuanshan looked straight at Chen Wang and said solemnly.

"It's just that the soldiers in the camp have been away from home for too long, and their hearts are restless. They really can't follow the general to fight in the south and the north."

He hardly looked up to any of the soldiers in the ordinary military towns.

He had seen the troops from the nine borders when the suppression campaign was launched inside the Great Wall.

However, many of the soldiers in the Nine Frontiers had serious ruffian habits, and it was common for them to loot and kill innocent people in order to claim credit.

Their combat effectiveness varies, and their quality varies.

Only the soldiers in Hanzhong Town are an exception among exceptions.

Following Chen Wang's camp can be said to have completely broadened Ma Yuanshan's horizons.

It turns out that guns and cannons can be used in this way, it turns out that strong armor and strong bows should be used in this way, it turns out that there are so many details to pay attention to when facing the enemy in battle and when conducting military training.

And most importantly, Chen Wang treated his soldiers equally and clearly defined rewards and punishments.

Just because they were soldiers from the Xuanwei Office, they were not forced to fight hard battles.

Chen Wang glanced at Ma Yuanshan, and then at Ma Yuying.

Ma Yuying was dressed in military uniform, carrying a sword and a bow, and was still as heroic as ever.

But when Chen Wang's gaze fell on her, there was a hint of evasion in her eyes.

"Life is like this, gathering and separation."

Chen Wang slowly drank the tea in the cup and smiled.

"I have ordered people to rush to Liaodong to inquire about my mother. There will be news within half a month. Once we receive the news, we will immediately send our clansmen to Shizhu to propose marriage."

As Chen Wang finished speaking, Ma Yuying's face and neck gradually turned red.

She is good at wielding swords and guns, riding horses and fighting, but she is not good at handling these relationships.

At first, she didn’t understand what Chen Wang meant until her brother reminded her.

Ma Yuying had not originally considered marriage.

The elders in the family did urge her, but after she asked Qin Liangyu for a word, she simply silenced all the voices.

But now, her thoughts have changed a little.

Chen Wang picked up the teacup with no tea in it and looked at Ma Yuying.

At the beginning, when he knew that Ma Yuying was a girl, he already had some ideas.

Ma Yuying was handsome, talented in both literature and martial arts, and a member of the Ma family.

If he could marry Ma Yuying, he could also use this to gain support from Shizhu and other places in the future.

And he just happened to be unmarried because of years of fighting.

In this era, not getting married and having no offspring is an extremely unstable sign for a power.

The generals under his command also hinted at it many times, both explicitly and implicitly.

It was at this time that Ma Yuying came into his sight.

Although he went there with a purpose in mind at first, Chen Wang really began to appreciate Ma Yuying later on.

"It's a long way to Shizhu, the journey is difficult and the mountains and rivers are harsh. Please take care."