The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 357 Bandits
September 15, the second year of the Tianqi reign, Shijiashan, Hequ County.

Lush pine forests extend from the foot of the mountain to the mountain pass. On the dilapidated post road leading to the mountain pass, a long winding dragon slowly moves westward.

This group of bandits consisted of about three to four thousand people. They had just arrived from Pianguan County. Most of them were young men, and there were also many strong women. They all wore red clothes, and very few wore armor. Their weapons were mostly swords, spears, maces, long axes, and short spears. About 20% of them were archers. At the end of the team there were even a few French cannons, which were pulled from the top of Pianguan City.

At the front of the bandits was a large apricot-yellow flag with the word "Li" on it. Under the flag were several sturdy men, and their horses were stronger than those around them. A bearded Khan wearing a purple arrow coat reined in his horse and stood in the center, with a burly official next to him pointing at the mountain pass.

The team stopped and started, and from time to time some old and weak people fell behind. When they looked closely, they were lying on the side of the road, spitting blood from their mouths, and died with blood coming out of all their orifices.

Hunger urged this group of refugees to hurry on their journey. No one cared about their teammates who were infected with the plague. Not eating their corpses was already the greatest blessing for the living.

Ten steps away on the post road, following closely behind the bandits, the refugees were like ants moving house, carrying pots and pans, tattered clothes, and looted food, pushing and shoving, crowding together, moving westward at a snail's pace. From time to time, the crying of children and the shouting of women could be heard from the crowd.

"The donkey ball and the dog government troops were all scared and fled. The Kaiyuan army also fled. From now on, Shaanxi and Shanxi will be our world."

The bearded man in the purple quiver pointed the tip of his whip slightly forward, and was about to command the bandits to enter the mountain pass when the burly official next to him said in a deep voice:
"General Li, I see that the terrain of Shijia Mountain is dangerous. The pass ahead is very narrow at first, but it becomes open half a mile ahead. It can be said that one man can block the passage of ten thousand men. If the government troops set an ambush here and plot against us, I'm afraid..."

The official who was speaking was one of Li Xianzhong's fierce generals, named Zhang Jinxiao. He was originally a scholar in Yan'an Prefecture, but because he failed the examination many times and could not become a juren, he suspected that the examiner was deliberately making things difficult for him. After he failed for the fifth time, Li Xianzhong happened to start an uprising in Yan'an. In a rage, Zhang Jinxiao stabbed the examiner to death, burned down the house, and defected to the Chuang camp, becoming a vanguard general under Li Xianzhong.

Originally, in history, Zhang Jinxiao had always been under the command of Zhang Xianzhong. Later, when the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, he continued to fight with Li Dingguo and drifted to Chongqing. He persisted until the fall of the anti-Qing base in Kuidong, and was killed in battle in Kuidong in the 1655th year of Shunzhi ().

However, due to Liu Zhaosun's time travel, history has changed a lot.

I don’t know where Zhang Xianzhong is now, but what is certain is that Li Zicheng is now being treated as a bandit and is being imprisoned in the Xi’an prison, where he is being severely beaten by the jailers.

The two rebel leaders who replaced them were Zhang Zicheng and Li Xianzhong, who had been mentioned repeatedly before.

The fate of bandits in the late Ming Dynasty was very different from that in history...

Let’s talk about Zhang Jinxiao, a man with a hot temper. His fate would not be as tragic as in history.

Because the Kaiyuan army would most likely end the life of this irritable scholar early in the Shanxi and Shaanxi areas.

A bear didn't wait for the failed scholar to finish speaking. He became furious, raised his eyebrows, and his beard began to shake violently.

"Donkey ball! Ambush? I've fought from Shaanxi to Shanxi, and back again, a thousand miles round trip, and yet has any government soldier dared to plot against me?! Donkey ball! Zhang Jinxiao, you bastard, are you up to something else? I'm telling you, don't let your imagination run wild. There's plenty of money and women in Hequ County. If you go too late, I won't give you any!"

Although Zhang Jinxiao was born a scholar, he was a fierce man. Seeing Li Lai's rude words, he dismounted and angrily said to a bear:

"What did you say? I was sent by the King of Rebellion to aid you. The King of Rebellion said that the Kaiyuan army has not been killed yet, so you need to be careful everywhere. If you ruin the King of Rebellion's plan, don't blame me..."

A bear suddenly jumped off the horse and swung its sandbag-like fists at Zhang Jinxiao.

"Donkey ball! I'll let you talk nonsense! How dare you use the King of Rebellion to pressure me!"

Zhang Jinxiao was not afraid at all. He rolled up his sleeves and started fighting with Li Lai.

The big men nearby stepped back a few steps, leaving a space for the two leaders to fight freely.

One bear was sturdy and his punches and kicks were as fast as the wind. Zhang Jinxiao's turtle fist was even more extraordinary. The two sides fought for more than ten rounds, and it was difficult to determine the winner. They had to sit on the ground and gasp for breath.

"No more fighting? Donkey polo?" "No more fighting, donkey polo!"

The two men cursed at each other, then climbed back on their horses and looked up at the Shijiashan Pass together, as if nothing had happened.

At this time, the two scouts who had been sent out hurried back. Both cavalrymen were also dressed in red. They came straight to the yellow flag and said to Li Lai and Zhang Jinxiao:

"The damned soldiers have all fled towards Hequ County. Twenty miles west of Shijiashan, all the way to the foot of the county, the roadside is littered with discarded weapons, armor, iron armor, and flags."

Li Lai clapped his hands and laughed:

"Armor! My old camp is in need of armor. I'll have the servants pick it up later and have the commanders of each camp distribute it. With armor, I'll dare to attack Taiyuan!"

The bandits were organized into patrols. Each patrol had a general, and the general had two assistants, one named Baozhuqi and the other named Gaozhao.

Below the sentry are the chief, the old captain, the captain, and the chief. The cannon fodder at the bottom is called the servant. Usually a chief leads seven or eight servants.

Li Lai grabbed the collar of the servant next to him, took two pieces of silver from his arms, and threw them to the two sentries. The sentries thanked him repeatedly and turned to leave.

Zhang Jinxiao stopped the scouts and asked, staring at the cavalry, "Didn't you encounter the Kaiyuan government troops?"

The horse soldier glanced up at Mr. Zhang and said impatiently, "There aren't even any civilians fleeing on the road, so where did the government troops come from? If you don't believe me, Mr. Zhang, go ahead and see for yourself."

Li Lai laughed loudly, whipped his horse's belly, and drove the horse forward quickly. When he passed by Zhang Jinxiao, he snorted at him:
"Donkey ball, you are even more timid than a woman. When we catch up with the Kaiyuan army and rob them of their silver and food, don't even think of taking a single drop!"

A bear said this, then drew the long sword from his horse's back and waved it in the air, shouting to the guards behind him, "If you want silver and women, follow me and kill us as far as Hequ County. I will give you all the women and silver that the Eight Vajras didn't take away!"

More than a dozen personal soldiers from the old camp roared like the wind. Each of them rode three horses, and both the horses and the men were covered in armor. Their equipment was obviously much better than that of ordinary bandits. After the old camp caught up, the ordinary horsemen also followed. Five or six hundred horsemen were like a black torrent, and quickly poured into the narrow and cramped Shijiashan Pass.

"A bunch of idiots."

Zhang Jinxiao spat and cursed at the group of cavalrymen who were leaving in a cloud of dust.

A personal soldier followed behind and approached the scholar, his eyes shining as he said, "Master, do you want to follow him? This bear has a big appetite. If he takes down Hequ, I'm afraid he won't leave us with even a bone."

Zhang Jinxiao jumped up and slapped the guard on the forehead, pointing at his nose and cursing:

"Why are you following us? Are you so anxious to die and be reborn? The Kaiyuan soldiers are very fierce. Even the Northern Tartars (Mongols) are no match for them. Thousands of them are guarding Hequ. They have muskets and artillery, but no way to retreat. How many people will die before we can attack them? If a bear wants to fight, let him fight. We should not touch this tough guy. When he is tired and has used up all his artillery, we will go up and massacre Hequ City! We will rob all the silver and women... Our people will make way for a bear to pass first. It will be an hour away from them. If King Chuang asks about it, we will say it was Li Lai who was advancing rashly."

The personal soldier rubbed his head, smiled wickedly, and waved to the cavalrymen behind him. A group of riders from the old camp dispersed to the side of the road, letting the ragged refugees go first.

"Hahaha, the master is a literate man after all. Unlike that bear, he is very smart."

Zhang Jinxiao slapped him again and cursed at his personal guard:

"What's the point of reading and writing? I'm a scholar. If it weren't for the jealousy of the officials, I would be a Jinshi Hanlin and a member of the cabinet. Donkey, donkey, don't talk nonsense if you don't know!"

(End of this chapter)