Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 197 Wherever the rebels go, the people welcome them wholeheartedly
He mustered up the courage to go downhill, as if jumping into a dark and unknown river.

However, even after he took hundreds of steps, no soldiers from the Beggar Army stopped him, and no scouts blocked his way.

In this way, he arrived at the queue a few dozen steps away without any hindrance.

What happened?
Doesn’t the Qihuo Army take any precautions against “outsiders” at all?

He subconsciously stopped and stared blankly at the long queue that stretched for miles. Tens of thousands of people moved forward like a long, winding dragon.

This team seems to be in disarray, but in fact it is well organized.

Elite soldiers, militiamen and civilians are perfectly integrated together, and regardless of their status, they are all busy working hard.

If someone falls behind, armed volunteers will come over to support them.

Thousands of farmers pushing chicken carts and pulling flatbed carts hurried along the muddy road, like a gray torrent flowing through the green and rejuvenated grassland.

Simple vehicles made by the people were loaded with straw bags filled with grains, beans and rice.

"Work harder!"

The people spontaneously helped push the cannons with donkeys and mules, or carried the ladders to the city walls.

Wang Chengqi could see that the total number of the Beggar Army was actually not large, and the several times more people were villagers who came voluntarily to assist the Beggar Army.

The villagers took one step at a time, encouraging each other to move forward.

These volunteers did not look like soldiers holding sharp blades, but rather like the neighbors' nephews joining the army to fight bandits.

Compared with those arrogant and domineering government troops who only know how to rob the common people, it is hard to tell who is a soldier and who is a bandit.

The atmosphere of harmony and mutual assistance among soldiers and civilians deeply impressed Wang Chengqi. He wanted to fit in, but did not dare to act on his own.

Suddenly, the wheels of a cannon cart fell into a puddle, and everyone worked together for a while but couldn't push it out of the hole.

Wang Chengqi quickly picked up a piece of gravel and quickly placed it under the wheel, helping to push the rear end of the car.

With everyone shouting and pushing together, the artillery cart finally got out of the puddle and landed on solid ground.

Wang Chengqi joined the auxiliary army unknowingly.

"Brother, are you new here?" asked a big brother who was also pushing a cannon.

"Yeah." Wang Chengqi was a little shy, his inner uneasiness still not completely dissipated. He also didn't know what the character of the volunteer army officer was like.

"You've found the right people by following the Beggars. I can't guarantee you'll get rich and live a comfortable life, but it's easy to have enough food for a few days by following the Rebels."

The eldest brother took out a cloth bag from his arms and handed it to Wang Chengqi. Wang Chengqi took it and found that it contained two steamed buns made of mixed grains.

Wang Chengqi's eyes suddenly widened and he swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva. His stomach, which had been hungry for many days, was growling, and he was eager to fill his stomach with these things immediately.

But the food was someone else's precious possession after all, so Wang Chengqi still stretched out his hand, "I can't just take something from someone else for nothing..."

"Just eat it." The eldest brother pushed the cloth bag back. "This is given by the beggars. You have done a good job pushing the cart for them, so it can be considered a reward."

Seeing that the multi-grain steamed bread had returned again, Wang Chengqi no longer cared about anything else and ate one in no time.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to snatch it from you. Haha, you look like a starving ghost. I just caught up with the beggars a few days ago, and I ate the same way as you."

The taste of the grain awakened Wang Chengqi's taste buds that had been dormant for many days. The steamed bread passed through his esophagus and into his stomach and intestines, giving him a long-awaited feeling of fullness.

However, a steamed bun could not fill his hungry body.

When he wanted to eat the second one, he suddenly thought of his family at home, so he wrapped the remaining one tightly.

He looked around as if he was guarding against a thief, and only stuffed the steamed bread into his arms when he found no one was paying attention.

"Well, just eat it. The rebels will give you enough food."

The elder brother's teachings echoed in his ears. Wang Chengqi nodded, but still freed one hand to press on his chest as if protecting a treasure.

Food is the key to survival in troubled times. If he collects more now, his family will have more to eat when he brings it home.

The kind-hearted elder brother told him that as long as he worked for the beggar army, he would have enough food to eat every day. If he successfully captured Xiangyang and robbed the granary and silver vault, he would be able to take a lot of money and food home.

As soon as he heard that he could share money and food, Wang Chengqi immediately became excited!

"Are all these people here just to get some money and food?"

"There are some, right?" The eldest brother's tone was a little hesitant. "When I followed here, there were not so many villagers. After we passed the border of Nanyang and entered the territory of Xiangyang Prefecture, suddenly there were thousands of people. These people pushed carts and spontaneously sent food to support the volunteers." "The beggars didn't think they were robbers. What if they were spies sent by the government army to make trouble, and what should we do if they dispersed the beggars?" Wang Chengqi thought to himself. When he rushed down the hillside, no one stopped him.

"Although I've only been here a few days, I've already figured out that the Beggar Army is relaxed on the outside but tight-knit on the inside. They appear to care nothing for friend or foe, accepting anyone who joins their ranks to push artillery or carry cargo. But in reality, they've already sent out scouts everywhere. Perhaps there are Beggar Army scouts on the road you're on.

They might be in a tree, underground, or in the river, and seeing you're just an ordinary person, they'll let you in."

Wang Chengqi recalled his experience of begging for food along the way, especially in the last one or two days, and he did have an instinctive reaction of being stared at.

The eldest brother felt that he had not finished speaking, so he added, "Have you encountered any soldiers along the way?"

"No."

"That's it. The Qihuo Army must have scared away all the officers and soldiers within a radius of dozens of miles."

"Then, in your opinion, can the beggars' army defeat the government troops in Xiangyang?"

"I don't understand military affairs, so I can't explain why. But I do know what it means to be in the right place. Look at the troops behind you. Why would the villagers dare to risk their lives to carry guns and cannons for the Beggar Army?"

"I want to eat enough."

"Wanting to have enough to eat is just one of the reasons. We've all been oppressed by corrupt officials and soldiers. Who wouldn't be angry? But how can the common people fight against the officials and soldiers? We can only endure it. Now that the beggars who dare to fight the government troops have arrived, we shouldn't take this opportunity to vent our anger."

Wang Chengqi was furious when he thought about the soldiers and officers who had almost robbed all his food.

Suddenly there was one more reason to help the Beggar Army suppress the enemy.

If he could follow the beggar army to break through Xiangyang and get some food, his Wang family would be able to survive the spring famine, and perhaps they would have a better life throughout the year.

Wang Chengqi felt energized when he thought about his family having enough food to eat this year.

Beggars, you must defeat the government troops!
……

Tens of thousands of people from all directions followed the beggar army all the way south to Fancheng.

When the defenders in the city heard that the Qihuo Army, which was supposed to be surrounding Nanyang 200 miles away, suddenly crossed hundreds of miles and approached Fancheng, they were so frightened that they lost all will to fight and fled in all directions.

The Qihuo Army easily captured Fancheng, which was only separated from Xiangyang by the Han River.

The Han River between Fancheng and Xiangyang is only two miles wide at its widest, but the river also blocked the Qihuo army's way to the south, and the artillery on the wall could also cover the surrounding water surface.

Yang Sichang climbed up the wall and looked into the distance, keeping a close eye on the specific movements of the bandit army on the other side.

Not long after the emergency letter from Nanyang arrived via carrier pigeon, the enemy army arrived at the gates of Xiangyang.

He didn't know whether Nanyang had fallen or the rebel army had abandoned Nanyang and chosen to flee south to threaten Xiangyang, forcing other government troops to return for support.

If it was the former, the bandits' combat power would have expanded to an extremely terrifying level. They would have been able to regroup and continue southward right after breaking through the city, and even the government troops would not have had time to react.

This cannot be suppressed by tens of thousands of government troops. It requires a regular army of 100,000 to wipe it out.

If it is the latter, the enemy army's strategy and tactics have been upgraded to the level of regular army, becoming more sophisticated and experienced, and knowing how to adopt the strategy of "attacking the enemy and then rescuing them" to disrupt the enemy's rhythm.

Once other government troops returned to rescue Xiangyang, they would most likely be defeated one by one by the bandits.

This risky strategy requires a large amount of accurate intelligence and sufficient military supplies.

The beggar bandits, who were clearly isolated and deep in the enemy's hinterland, not only did not slow down or weaken, but instead advanced all the way to Xiangyang.

It can be seen that many local counties and prefectures have been completely infiltrated by bandits. The people who were originally the subjects of the Ming Dynasty are now all owned by the beggar bandits, and they all provide the bandits with food, soldiers, and cannons.

Thinking of this, Yang Si couldn't help but feel angry and said that all those who helped the traitors should be killed!

Without the help of the treacherous people, how could the beggars have swept through several prefectures and counties in about a year?

Not only did the treacherous people not think of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, they even dared to help the tyrant to commit atrocities. Yang Sichang secretly vowed that as long as the crisis in Xiangyang was resolved, he would send loyal and righteous people to severely punish these treacherous people who had no emperor or father!

Just when Yang Sichang was filled with righteous indignation, the "public opinion" that he had never cared about came into play.

The bandit army that "enlisted" tens of thousands of civilians did not force a crossing directly, but instead dispatched troops to the west of Fancheng to start building a pontoon bridge.

Looking through the telescope, Yang Sichang saw that the most active people in building the bridge were not the armed beggars, but the unarmed civilians.

They volunteered to set sail, using their skilled boating skills to sail to the center of the river, completely ignoring the fact that they were helping the bandits attack the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)