Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 167: The Black Flag Army, the Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

The news of the Red Turban Rebellion, the sudden death of Duke Yansheng's entire family, and the extermination of the Kong family in Qufu was immediately transmitted to Jinan via urgent reports.

Yan Jizu was stunned.

This is big news comparable to the burning of the Fengyang Imperial Tomb.

No, it was a political incident more serious than the destruction of the imperial tomb!
At that time, Fengyang Governor Yang Yipeng was sentenced to "abandonment in public" by the angry emperor because he failed to rescue in time. He died a miserable death.

Now, the "Premier of Six Provinces" Xiong Wencan has been dismissed from office and charged with crimes by His Majesty for his poor performance in suppressing bandits in Huguang. He is about to be arrested and imprisoned and sentenced to death.

What governors, governors-general, prime ministers, and chief ministers of the cabinet... The emperor would dismiss or kill anyone in anger, and I don't know how many high-ranking officials he had killed.

It is said that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. The emperor is impatient for success but lacks patience. He treats his subjects harshly and is very suspicious.

There is no reward for a job well done, and if you make a mistake you will be killed. If this continues, who will dare to be loyal?
Everyone is just trying to protect themselves and fish in troubled waters.

Shandong Governor Yan Jizu was well aware that the "sudden death of a member of the Kong family" in his jurisdiction was a major incident and that their lives were in danger.

Even if he tried his best to quell the bandits and atone for his sins, it was God's blessing that he could land safely.

But the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be forgiven.

All the scholars in the world would secretly poke his spine, put the blame on him, write articles and history books to insult him for ten thousand years, and scold him for not being able to preserve the bloodline of the saints and being a scum of Confucian scholars.

When Yan Jizu thought about the curses that would accompany him throughout his life like swords and would even follow him after his death, he wanted to hit his head against the wall in the yamen to thank the world.

After much deliberation, Yan Jizu finally held back and decided to do his best to save the situation in Shandong before the court learned of the "bad news".

When he was young, he was an anti-corruption pioneer who fought against everything. He impeached this person for redundant staff and waste, and impeached that person for embezzling military pay. Since he became the governor of Shandong, he has done his best to do his job.

Although he cannot be called the upright "Hai Gangfeng", at least he is not a corrupt and law-breaking insect.

Since Your Majesty has granted him the power of governor, he has the responsibility to suppress this rebellion.

The Red Turban rebels were able to capture Qufu either because they had internal and external collusion, or because there were so many of them that they defeated the garrison and captured the county town in one fell swoop.

If it's the former, there's no need to worry about it. Just send troops to crush it and it will be over.

But the latter would be terrible.

The Qufu garrison had at least a thousand soldiers and had the advantage of defending the city. According to the combat power of ordinary bandits, it would take five or even ten times that of theirs to break into the city.

After making such an estimate, Yan Jizu speculated that there were at least more than 10,000 Red Turban rebels.

Even if he led 3,000 troops south to fight the enemy, his chances of victory were not certain.

If the bandits used the money and food from Duke Yansheng to recruit soldiers, they could gather tens of thousands of soldiers overnight, and his three thousand soldiers would not be enough.

As for the troops of Liu Zeqing and Ni Chong stationed in southern Shandong, Yan Jizu did not dare to believe it.

This group of people were avoiding war and protecting themselves all the time. When the Tartars approached Hejian, they hid in western Shandong. When the Tartars invaded Shandong, they retreated to southern Shandong.

Apart from these "Running Generals", Yan Jizu only had a foreign army stationed here to use.

Black Flag Camp.

Everyone knew about the Black Flag Battalion's heroic record of sweeping across the Eastern Tartars, but Yan Jizu also knew that the Black Flag Battalion had suffered heavy losses, with only two-tenths of its elite soldiers remaining, and its commander having suffered multiple arrow wounds.

Unless half of Shandong Province fell, he would never "force" General Li to fight to the death.

What's more, they are just guest troops who are determined to return home. Even if they can be used, they are only the 1,000 Black Flag Army auxiliary troops who will be transferred to Dengzhou, and their combat effectiveness may be average.

However, when Yan Jizu was still hesitating about mobilizing troops, a general from the Black Flag Battalion had already come to him.

The other party's name is "Li Si", a young general who had previously made great contributions by killing the enemy and now serves as a guerrilla.

"My general was filled with grief upon hearing of the tragedy in Lunan, and felt deeply that the rebels were arrogant. Even though he was wounded by arrows, he was willing to lead the troops to fight for the people of Shandong and crush the rebels in Lunan!"

"Absolutely not!" Yan Jizu felt ashamed at the other party's initiative. "Your commander has sustained multiple injuries. You must not move! If the wounds burst and something unbearable happens, how can I explain this to His Majesty and the soldiers of the Black Flag Battalion..."

"My general was promoted to the rank of second-rank military officer at the age of twenty, a life of great honor. He always taught his soldiers to always remember whose food they ate and whose wages they used.

The military pay and food all come from the poor people. It is they who have supported the entire world with their blood and sweat. Now that our parents who provide us with food and clothing are suffering, why don’t we dare to fight for the people?

"No! I won't allow it! His Majesty has clearly stated that General Li must not be allowed to suffer any more misfortunes. The three thousand soldiers under my command are elite and brave enough to crush the Red Turban rebels!"

"There's no need to persuade Governor Yan anymore. My commander has already ordered the entire army to assemble. Even if Governor Yan disapproves, we must march south to crush the bandits!

The general said: "Why would I waste my life for the sake of my country and my people? Even if I die fighting in Lunan, I will be considered loyal to my king and sacrificed for my people. Although I have only read a few books, I know the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness taught in the sage books..." "Good!"

Although General Li suddenly gained a high position at the age of 20, he was never humble or arrogant, nor did he behave arrogantly or barbarically.

He could have stayed in Jinan to recuperate, but he still went out to fight the enemy despite his injuries.

General Li is truly a "true hero" today!
Yan Jizu's eyes were red and tears were welling up in his eyes. He was almost on the verge of a mental breakdown in front of the guerrillas.

General Li really cried to death.

Even if the soldiers of the Black Flag Battalion occasionally offended the gentry and wealthy families—

For example, they would beat up the sons, nephews, and servants of the gentry in the street, fight with soldiers from the standard camp who were not paid for their meals and cause deaths, or rush into the yamen and beat up the clerks.

But compared with other soldiers who rob and kill innocent people, these restrained behaviors can be regarded as "great good people."

There are even many rumors in the market that the Black Flag Battalion is more "decisive and swift" than the officials, and those who are punished are the evil people who collude with officials and businessmen and harm the common people.

Although the common people applauded, the gentry and powerful people felt that the Black Flag Camp was arrogant and domineering.

The gentry and powerful people entrusted their connections to write letters to impeach the soldiers of the Black Flag Battalion for their arrogance and lawlessness, and even impeached General Li himself for failing to control his troops and should be demoted.

However, Governor Yan thought these were all exaggerations and wrote a letter to defend General Li, saying that it was probably because General Li was seriously injured and unable to enforce military discipline personally that the arrogant and powerful generals became undisciplined.

If General Li recovers from his injuries and regains his strength, he will immediately correct these brutal behaviors of beating gentry and beating up clerks.

However, His Majesty kept all these "nonsense" in his possession and did not publish them. The "letter" he sent was only a symbolic reprimand for General Li, without imposing any substantial punishment.

His Majesty seemed to be saying to these bureaucrats and gentry, I have scolded you enough, so you should not push your luck any further and directly reveal your intention of "protecting your own people" and "taking sides".

Rather than saying that His Majesty is afraid of the arrogant and lawless soldiers, it is better to say that he is happy to see the Black Flag Battalion do something that conforms to the stereotype of a warrior.

General Li was one of the few capable generals since the Chongzhen period, and he was also well-trained to fight against the brave soldiers of the Eastern Tartars.

General Li himself was neither noisy nor impatient, did not take empty salaries nor drink the blood of soldiers, was not greedy for money or indulge in wine and women, and did not kill innocent people to seek credit. Any civil or military officials who made friends with him admired him and were happy to be close to him. His moral standards were close to those of Confucian scholars.

If such a "moral man" makes several more great achievements, until his merits surpass his master, even Zhu Youjian, who is convinced of the Black Flag Camp, will become suspicious again.

General Li wants nothing, so shouldn't he plot to take over my kingdom?
Wang Mang was humble and loyal before he usurped the throne. Sima Yi was also a veteran minister of three dynasties before the Gaopingling Incident, serving Liu Yu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Yang Jian of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Zhao Kuangyin of the Later Zhou Dynasty...

General Li is only twenty years old. If he fights for the country for another ten years, who in the world can surpass him in prestige?
Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty will also produce a Zhao Kuangyin wearing a yellow robe?

Fortunately, the domineering behavior of the Black Flag Camp, "with bad intentions but good results", temporarily dispelled the doubts of Zhu Youjian and other officials.

The pursuit of money, sex and power makes the soldiers of the Black Flag Camp look like weak people.

A person who has bad relations with bureaucrats and gentry is unlikely to achieve anything great.

After all, the gentry are the pillars of the world, and the army that does not cooperate with the pillars of the country is just warlords and bandits.

Even if they raised the flag of rebellion and swept across several prefectures and counties to create a huge momentum, the Ming Dynasty would have enough money to unite with the gentry to suppress them.

Moreover, the arrogance and domineering behavior of the Black Flag Army soldiers came from their "bravery and good fighting skills" and their successive victories.

I am afraid that even General Li himself will gradually find it difficult to suppress such fierce soldiers. There will definitely be some fierce generals who think they are "all-powerful" and "unwilling to be under others for long" and eventually leave the Black Flag Camp.

The imperial court would just split and disintegrate the Black Flag Army in the future, dividing the tens of thousands of Black Flag Battalions into several units that were loyal to the imperial court and that would check and balance each other.

This way, the country can preserve the seeds of brave soldiers, and General Li will not fall into the dangerous situation of "overshadowing his master". It is really the best of both worlds.

General Li and Governor Yan were unaware of the "good intentions" of the officials in the court. They only knew that southern Shandong was in danger and they had to send troops to support it.

So Governor Yan took over as the "top leader" of the army, leading the Governor's Standard Battalion and thousands of Black Flag Battalion soldiers along the canal south to Qufu.

The Black Flag Battalion had a large number of auxiliary troops and prisoners, and from time to time hired militia to help transport food and fodder. The governor didn't even notice that the Black Flag Battalion was missing more than 2,000 soldiers.

At the same time, Liu Zeqing and Ni Chong, who were determined to suppress the bandits, encountered the Red Turban rebels who were "reported by a pack of wolves".

Except for some players who stayed in Qufu, the Red Turban Army dispatched 2,000 troops to fight.

The three parties met in the plain and hilly area north of Yanzhou, and discovered traces of each other's troops.

Who took action first and who the Red Turban Army should attack first became a confusing question.

(End of this chapter)