After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 276 Advancing West
When Xu Zhenying's squadron returned to Jinzhou Prefecture, Liu Dazhuang, Zhang Qiuchan and others stationed in the west of Jinzhou Prefecture received orders to march westward.

When everyone saw this instruction, they couldn't help but feel happy!
Jiang Yongkang was fighting lively in the south, singing and advancing all the way, but they had to stay in Sanping County, helping to settle the believers from Gongzhou Prefecture every day. The soldiers were already scratching their skin and wanting to go into battle. !

Xu Zhenying's military order came at the right time!
Liu Dazhuang ordered Lu Fei to stay in Sanping County, and then he and Zhang Qiuchan advanced westward with an army of 10,000.

Starting from Sanping County, we passed through Gongzhou, then Liuzhou, and then Xizhou. Along the way, we experienced beautiful mountains and rivers, solitary smoke in the desert, and sunset over the long river. Unfortunately, there was no one for hundreds of miles, only wild animals and wild dogs.

It can be said to be deserted along the way, with occasional villages and only a few scattered people.

When they passed a certain village, they saw most of the people dead inside their houses. In the cold winter weather, it was snowing outside, and the bodies were frozen stiff. Several elderly and children died together.

Everything in the house was as before, including the stove, firewood, and fences, but there was no trace of human smoke.

Even the cows in the cattle pen seemed to have broken free from their ropes due to hunger and ran away to nowhere.

Occasionally, she would see frozen skeletons on the roadside, or bodies half eaten by wild dogs. Zhang Qiuchan would feel uncomfortable and would order people to bury them on the spot. But as we went westward, we found more and more dead people. Even after walking for days and nights, it was difficult to see any living things.

The sky was lightly snowing and gray. Ten thousand people were walking in the snow-capped mountains. There was not a single living thing in sight. A sense of silent depression spread among the team.

Zhang Qiuchan saw that there were hundreds of households in the village, but there were only a dozen or twenty people. It must have been the spread of the plague, and almost everyone in the village was dead.

"What kind of city does not have a city lord? Yesterday there was a king of Zhoushan, and today there is a city lord, what does it have to do with us?! All I know is that you came in from outside, and outsiders are not allowed to enter or leave our village!"

"Because our city lord has developed a special medicine for smallpox, you only need to make a slight cut on your arm and get vaccinated with cowpox. From now on, you will never get smallpox again. We, the people of Jinzhou Prefecture, will be able to cure smallpox in two to three months." We have been vaccinated one after another before, and this plague cannot spread to our Jinzhou government at all!"

"Folks, from now on this is no longer the territory of the King of Zhoushan! Your Da'an County has been captured by us, and from now on you are the subjects of our city lord!"

The group of them encountered little resistance along the way and arrived at the hinterland of Zhoushan King's territory.

Finally, when passing through a certain village, I met a dozen living people. Before they could get close, they were driven away by the villagers with hoes and sticks, "Go away, outsiders! Don't let us enter." Village——"

Even if they knew what would happen if the emperor was changed, they still couldn't make their lives better.

Someone ran away holding the crying child, "Master Jun, there is no food in our village! They just came to rob it a few days ago, and there is really no food!"

The villagers held up hoes, stood far away, and chased them away with fierce expressions on their faces.

Someone timidly replied: "So what if you know?"

When they saw thousands of people and horses behind Liu Dazhuang, the villagers were completely stunned. They fled in all directions, "Run! There are soldiers coming to steal food again!"

The villagers were silent, wondering if anyone believed what they said.

The word "smallpox" naturally aroused the villagers' tension. Someone immediately asked: "Why?"

Even when they arrived at the county seat, the population was still depleted. However, a few county magistrates even opened the city gates and surrendered when they heard that they were rebels from Jinzhou Prefecture.

This is the hinterland of the west, and the people are not well informed, so they have no idea about the major events happening in the world. Not to mention the rebels in Jinzhou Prefecture, they may not even know who the current emperor is.

They have encountered too many situations like this along the way.

When they heard that they were not soldiers of the King of Zhoushan, the villagers were a little stunned. "Where did a rebel bandit from Jinzhou Prefecture appear again? I have never heard of it! They are all rebels, so they are not good things! Leave quickly, don't expose smallpox Pass it here! Many people have died here. If you are not afraid of death, come here!"

Along the way, the villagers either died of illness, starvation, or freezing. There were more bones than living people!
"Our city lord is different from you, the King of Zhoushan!" Zhang Qiuchan has thin skin and tender flesh, and she has a smile on her face, so it is easy to gain the trust of the villagers. It is for this reason that Liu Dazhuang chose to bring Qiu Chan with him. Cicada walked with her. At this moment, she was following the instructions and said calmly and unhurriedly, "You know Jinzhou Mansion, right?"

"Jinzhou Mansion is almost five hundred miles away from your village, but we have walked all the way, and among the ten thousand people, not one has contracted smallpox. Do you know why?"

Almost all the villagers tried to drive them away, fearing they might have smallpox.

Zhang Qiuchan immediately got off his horse and tried to reason with them: "Folks, we are soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture, and we do not steal food!"

"I see there is a plague in your village, right?" Facing the frightened villagers, Zhang Qiuchan tried her best to look friendly, "You are lucky, you are not infected now, but this plague can pass It is airborne, and when the wind blows, it may bring smallpox from nearby villages. You may still be infected. If you are trustworthy, get vaccinated with our cowpox vaccine. We have doctors with us who can be responsible for vaccinating you. "

One of them, an older man, said: "How can there be such kind-hearted rebels in the world? They must have some agenda! Let's not believe them. They must be with the King of Zhoushan!"

"Yes, the cowpox vaccine! So many people have died in our village, and we have never heard of the cowpox vaccine! It's all a lie! You bring so many people, and you can grab whatever you want! But let me tell you in advance, our village There’s nothing left here!”

Liu Dazhuang knew that the people would not believe them so easily, so he could only shake his head: "General Zhang, plant our flag first."

Then he said to the people: "Okay, you don't want the cowpox vaccine, and we won't force you. But you have to know that now you are no longer under the control of the King of Zhoushan. The city lord's name is Xu Zhenying. From now on, you have to listen to our city lord!" People from Jinzhou Prefecture will come to take over your village soon, and you will have to listen to them whether it is farming land, distributing food, or bringing people from other places to settle in your village!"

The villagers didn't seem to understand, and they all looked at them with bewildered expressions.

The only thing I understand here is that their village will be managed by a person named Xu Zhenying.

But so what?
Only the old man trembled and said: "What do you mean, you still want to send people to settle in our village? All the people in the west are dead, who will come to our village? There is a plague here, who dares to come and die?! We These dozen people are just waiting to die here——"

"That is a matter for the city lord to consider. Don't worry, the city lord will divert the population and attract talents to settle here." Liu Dazhuang glanced at the desolate village. The wind and snow fell on his head. He stretched out his hand to gently dust it away and wiped the corners of his eyes. Tears, "Your village...will become prosperous again one day!"

Zhang Qiuchan ordered the grain officer to drop a few bags of things, and there was a "bang" sound, splashing snow on the ground.

Zhang Qiuchan looked around and saw that the people were still very resistant to her, so she said helplessly: "Here are a few bags of sweet potatoes. These are very hungry. You only need to eat two pieces a day to not feel hungry. Steam it over fire and eat it when it becomes soft. In ten days and a half, your new village chief and propaganda officer will arrive, and other food will be delivered by then - "

The villagers all looked at the bags of sweet potatoes on the ground in shock.

What do you mean?
Are you sending food to them?
Not to steal their food?

They couldn't understand, and they all looked at Zhang Qiuchan in shock.

"We will continue to attack the city. If you have figured it out and are willing to be vaccinated against cowpox, you can tell the new village chief. He will make arrangements." Zhang Qiuchan said, and was about to get on the horse, and the others also Leave in an orderly manner one after another.

They described themselves in a measured manner and looked intently, as if they really were not here to grab food!
Before Zhang Qiuchan left, he quickly turned back. When the dozen or so people saw the knife hanging on her waist, they shivered with fright. Some women even hugged their children tightly.

The child seemed to sense the mother's uneasiness, and immediately wriggled its little feet uncomfortably in the mother's arms, crying as loudly as a mosquito.

This is a mother who has just given birth. Her milk supply is insufficient, and even her baby's cries are soft, like a dying kitten.

The mother looked at Zhang Qiuchan with fear on her face.

Some people even closed their eyes in despair.

Zhang Qiuchan just quickly took off his cotton clothes, and then wrapped them in the woman and baby.

In the ice and snow, the woman didn't even have a pair of decent shoes, and her white bare feet stood naked in the snow.

On her ten toes, frostbite was about to suppurate.

Zhang Qiuchan only felt uncomfortable.

She handed her cotton shoes to her arms again.

The woman's eyelashes were covered with snowflakes, and she was looking at Zhang Qiuchan with misty eyes, full of confusion.

Zhang Qiuchan put a cotton coat on her and patted her shoulder again, "You have just given birth, so you can't catch the cold. When the new village chief arrives, tell him that he will give priority to what I, Zhang Qiuchan, said." I’ll give you something to do.”

The woman nodded confusedly.

Then Zhang Qiuchan got on his horse, turned and left.

Looking at the man's thin figure, for some reason, the old man suddenly shouted to them: "Don't go north! The people of the King of Zhoushan are all over there!"

After they left, someone blamed the old man: "Uncle Ma family, why are you still giving them directions?"

The old man remained silent.

Everyone looked at the messy horse hoof prints and footprints on the village road and fell into deep thought.

"You think...is the cowpox vaccine real or fake? Is there really anything in the world that can prevent and cure smallpox?"

"I think it's true. Otherwise, how could there be so many of them, how dare they go directly to us? And I think they are all very energetic, they don't look like patients -"

Some people are curious about other questions, "They just said that some new village chief and propagandist will come to our village? What does this mean? The rebel in our Beijinzhou Prefecture has been taken over?"

"That's what I'm thinking, right?"

"By the way, the leading general also said that someone will come to settle in our village later? Is this true or false?"

Someone has already gone to pick up the sweet potato bag on the ground, "It doesn't matter if it's real or fake! At least this food is real!"

—————————————————————

In Bianjing City, in the palace.

In the palace, which symbolized the pinnacle of power, there were several sounds of broken bowls and cups, and the serving maids and eunuchs immediately knelt on the ground.

"You Xu Zhenying, you actually took eight of my cities in one breath! Is this King of Zhoushan a vegetarian? You let Xu Zhenying take away two cities just because of a plague!" The Supreme Emperor Zhou Mian threw the battle report to the ground. The ministers below immediately knelt on the ground and did not dare to say anything. "See for yourselves, the rebellion in the west is getting stronger and stronger, and now it has become a serious problem for our great Zhou Dynasty! I think that Sun Qingchen is right, The danger of the Zhou Dynasty is not in Zhou Heng, but in the southwest! In just one or two years, they have grown to this extent! How about Sun Qingchen? Release it for me!"

The official of Dali Temple below was trembling and did not dare to speak at all. Only the emperor came to his rescue at this time: "Father, then...Sun Qingchen has already escaped from prison and escaped. This matter was reported to Dali Temple a month ago."

Only then did the Supreme Emperor remember that such a thing had happened before, but he hadn't taken it to heart yet. Thinking about it now, he was even more angry, "Yes! There is such a thing. It is said that he also became a thief, isn't it?!"

Everyone was as silent as a chill, not daring to speak.

Zhou Zhong was also a little scared when facing his furious father, so he could only keep silent.

But the resentment in my heart was even worse.

He couldn't help but think of the discussion he overheard among the servants in the imperial garden a few days ago. The common people were saying that the plague was rampant in the west and hundreds of thousands of people died. It was because there were two suns in the sky, which was against the rules of ethics. So he deliberately issued a warning of divine punishment.

Naturally, Zhou Chong could only beat the eunuch who was chewing his tongue to death with a stick.

But I felt a little unhappy in my heart.

He was a bastard in the family, and he had never been able to take the throne, not to mention that he had never wanted to be an emperor. How could he survive such a cruel struggle for power without a noble wife or a noble wife?

But his father still ignored his objections and tied him to the capital and placed him on the throne.

Ever since he became the emperor, he has been walking on thin ice every day, fearing with fear.

As for the reason, he actually has a clear idea.

The emperor's position...he hasn't been in it for a long time.

He was only temporarily pushed into this position to protect his father from a hail of bullets. When the court officials no longer objected, it was time for him to abdicate.

As for whether he can abdicate alive, it all depends on the slightest bit of family affection between father and son.

Now he is just a puppet in his father's hands.

How much power in the government can Zhou Zhong have a say in?
"How many troops are there in the southwest? Who knows?! Where are the soldiers from the Ministry of War? Talk! If we send another army to take back Jinzhou Mansion now, what are the chances of winning?"