Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 92 A new storm has emerged
It’s not that the government troops didn’t try hard, but they were defeated by the beggars.

Some gentry also felt that the beggars did win, but it was by no means as exaggerated as the rumored "800 defeated 100,000".

The government troops must have tens of thousands of elite soldiers and tens of thousands of auxiliary troops, while the bandits consisted of several thousand fierce bandits and tens of thousands of followers, totaling forty to fifty thousand people.

Although the government troops were still in the majority, the bandits had their own treacherous people to help lead the way, and they were familiar with the local terrain and water conditions, so it was not an exaggeration to say that they defeated the arrogant government troops.

The government troops suffered a crushing defeat and retreated today, and I'm afraid they won't be able to set foot in southern Henan for a year or two.

The gentry who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty could only watch the bandits grow stronger and stronger.

Originally, it didn't matter if the government army lost a battle. Victory and defeat were common in the military. As long as they learned from the lesson and mobilized more troops to encircle and suppress the beggars from all sides, they could still win.

But now is a turbulent time. The news of the invasion of the Eastern Tartars has spread to southern Henan, and there are also many news about the expedition against the remnants of the bandits in various places.

Even if the gentry did not understand military affairs, they knew the difficulty of fighting on multiple fronts.

The gentry in the occupied areas became increasingly anxious. The savior they had been waiting for so long had fled, and they could only continue to "submit" themselves to the bandits and endure humiliation.

The gentry in the "occupied areas" could flee elsewhere with their gold and silver, but their houses, shops, hidden fields, connections, and even the land left after paying the "fines" were "assets" that they could not take away.

How could they be willing to give up these assets?

In fact, the surviving gentry and the bandits did not have any deep-rooted hatred that could not be resolved. Things like "fines" and "confiscation of extra land" were just done.

What really displeased them was the bandits' bad attitude towards the gentry.

The gentlemen are all respectable people whose ancestors or this generation have been officials. Naturally, they are aloof and noble. It would not sound good to say that they are serving thieves.

You are a peasant, an unorthodox rebel. If you don't come and ask for help, you will actively "pursue" the master. Do you still expect the master to kneel down and "pursue" you, the bandit?

Think about it and you know it’s impossible!

If the beggar thief is like the rebel thief who wanted to become big before, he will be kind and polite to others, respect the wise and humble, and then declare that he will protect the lives and property of the gentry, and select several local gentry with good reputation to serve as "post-disaster committee members."

Taking advantage of this earth-shattering victory of "eight hundred thousand defeated by eight hundred thousand", they might be willing to follow the Beggar Army reluctantly.

With the military and gentry working together, they could turn the prefectures and counties in southern Henan into "iron walls" within two years, establish a long-term separatist regime within five years, and become hereditary kings within ten years.

Even if the imperial court were to spare some time to encircle and suppress the beggars, they would not be able to fight back in a short time.

Unfortunately, the bandits are stubborn and don't know the basic art of governing a country. They have not tried to hold a "talent examination" and have been hanging out with uneducated peasants all day long. They are really throwing away the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds. How can this achieve great ambitions?
The gentry naturally had no intention of joining forces with a rebel who could not accomplish anything.

"Old Yuan from the next county was killed by a beggar yesterday!"

"what?"

Those who heard this were shocked. Old Yuan was a member of the "Gentleman Alliance" and was a "great philanthropist with outstanding performance" who voluntarily stayed under the rule of the bandits.

When the bandits wanted to collect the unpaid taxes, he would pay them in full. When the bandits wanted to "exploit" the rich households according to the new tax law, he would also pay the taxes truthfully. After all, Old Yuan still had a large amount of hidden land in the valley on the south side that had not paid taxes, so he was not under much pressure.

Such a wealthy man who pays taxes on time should be considered a good citizen in the eyes of the bandits!

How could such a person and his entire family be suddenly wiped out by a beggar thief?

"The bandits led their troops straight towards Old Yuan's manor without hesitation, as if they had already investigated Old Yuan's background beforehand."

"Many good gentry attended the uprising meeting that day. There must have been a spy that night who took note of those who were friendly with the bandits..."

Most of the other gentry who dared to attend the meeting hid in the unoccupied areas and sent an insignificant bastard to participate. Even those who participated in person would flee back to Gushi as soon as possible.

Only those true warriors who are loyal and brave dare to stay in the occupied area and participate in the "uprising meeting".

Originally, the time and route of their meeting were secret, and the militia they mobilized were also from the side branches of the side branches, or they took several detours and asked an intermediary to hire a group of rough men, so it was impossible to leak the information.

"You damned traitor, you're snitching on people and harming them. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"So, it was because of internal rebellion that the government troops suffered such a crushing defeat?"

"Of course. The bandits are just a bunch of rabble. If they didn't use strategy, how could they defeat 100,000 government troops? The internal traitors are hateful, the treacherous people are hateful! And that kid from the Li family didn't even try his best, which is really hateful!"

"That's not true. Li Xiaoyou's militia was also badly defeated by the bandits. It is said that the remaining warriors were all recruited by the governor as officers and soldiers of the standard camp."

"Oh, being able to work for the governor is like stepping up to the heavens. It's a great bargain for those peasants."

A gentleman's tone was full of sourness. A lowly bastard could get close to the governor, while he, a talented person, had to hide from place to place and was in constant fear.

This world is so unfair!

"No matter what, the most urgent task right now is to find the traitor. I've been feeling something's amiss with the Cao family in Luoshan lately. Their behavior is very suspicious. Perhaps it's him..."

"Nonsense! Brother Cao has been friends with my family for three generations. How could he do such a despicable thing as selling out his friend for personal gain and serving a thief?"

"That's the Guangshan Luo family..."

"Don't make random accusations without solid evidence! It's disgraceful to start a fight among yourselves before we've even driven the bandits away! Everyone, be careful when you return home. If any of your nephews, nephews, or servants are secretly colluding with the bandits, they will be punished according to the family law!"

"In the final analysis, that young man Li is also implicated. I don't know how much money he has made these days. If he could just gather a few thousand local militiamen, it would give the government army a better chance of victory. But he only sent out 800 people!" "You're mistaken. Although that young man Li didn't send many local militiamen, the money and taxes he collected were used for visible purposes - reclaiming wasteland, mining, rectifying military farms, building bridges and roads, and forging weapons and armor. I think he is not only doing his job, but doing it better than the average county magistrate. If I were to become his official, I would definitely give him a very high evaluation."

"I see that during the autumn harvest, that brat exempted you from paying taxes and grain, so why are you always speaking for him?"

"Justice is in the hearts of the people. Everything that Li Xiaoyou has done has been witnessed by all of you. Even though I don't like his style of exposing others, I will admit that he did a good job on these matters."

The gentleman's remarks resonated with several people. Although everyone disliked stingy and harsh people, if the other party did good things, they were not animals and could see clearly.

Of course, some people gradually recognized Li Mu as the "general manager of post-disaster relief", while others insisted that Li Mu deliberately did not do "practical work".

"With a formidable enemy at hand, we should concentrate all our efforts on annihilating the bandits. No matter how many roads and bridges we build, or how much land we reclaim, when the bandits arrive to attack us, won't it all just benefit them?"

"When Li Xiaoyou let the bandits go, he signed a 'gentleman's agreement' with them not to engage in any conflict. This is what has kept the people here safe for months. Otherwise, how could you sit here and talk in peace?"

"Nonsense! It's obvious that he's colluding with the bandits. I'm afraid he's already secretly joined the bandits, guarding the county town for them and secretly providing them with supplies!"

"You're spitting blood!" Another middle-class grain farmer slammed the table and stood up. "I think you just want to drain the blood of Shangcheng and Gushi so that I can work for you!"

Another wealthy man echoed, "Whatever you say, your land and property have nothing to do with us. We contributed money and effort to help the government troops recover lost territory, but in the end we were defeated and gained nothing. I believe I have done my best. The two counties are peaceful and tranquil right now, and you still want to provoke the bandits? Then spend your money and fight them."

"You, you, you, you all! You are so short-sighted! You don't know that the lips and teeth are interdependent. If the bandits become stronger, you will enjoy the peace now, but in the future, will the bandits still allow you to live at ease?" Several other gentry who supported the faction of recovering lost territory stood up.

"That's dying for ourselves, dying for you, it's not worth it!"

"You brat!" A middle-aged gentleman couldn't help but swing his fist and hit the person sitting opposite him in the face.

"Hit someone!"

A gentry shouted and kicked a wealthy opposition figure secretly.

Several gentry from different factions immediately stood up and joined the fight, punching and kicking each other, tearing off their net scarves and hair buns, punching their waists, and some even directly biting their ears with their upper teeth.

The usually polite and respectable gentlemen now seemed to have turned into mad dogs and were fighting each other. The tables were overturned and the bowls and cups were smashing to the ground with bangs.

It was not until the owner of the village could no longer bear to watch that he called his family and servants to work together to pull the two groups of people apart.

"You are all respectable people who are well-educated. Why are you making such a mess?"

The two factions looked at each other, then at their own disheveled appearance and torn clothes, feeling humiliated and indecent.

So they all said goodbye to the master of the house and went back with their servants.

However, the gentry who were determined to recover their "ancestral heritage" were unwilling to give up and temporarily gathered together to discuss the plan to destroy the bandits.

The one with the most soldiers right now is Li Mu.

His family servants had expanded from 300 to 1,000 men, and in the name of county defense, he used the county finances to form a county militia of more than 1,000 men.

In this way, the boy has no less than two thousand soldiers capable of fighting.

However, the kid had countless tenant farmers who were cultivating the land and reclaiming wasteland under his command. With two thousand soldiers to lead the militia, and with the help of the gentry in terms of money, food and manpower, it would be no problem for him to raise a mixed force of ten thousand people in an instant.

As for Li Mu's other group of "householders" -

Those "naughty monkeys" with strange temperaments and inconsistent military discipline were called "death warriors" by the gentry who were kept by Li Muhua at a huge expense.

The eight hundred death warriors who had previously supported the government troops were newly trained and too young to withstand the bandits' night attack.

And they possessed the bravery that a death warrior should have, otherwise they would not have been able to rescue the governor and minister in the chaos.

It's a pity that all these troops are in the hands of Li Mu, and there is chaos here. No superior is willing to go to the front line to take up his post, so Li Mu's temporary position cannot be legally relieved.

This is like Dong Zhuo leading his troops into Luoyang. Who can legally get rid of him?

If these gentry who fled from other places want to recover their lost territories, they must have soldiers in advance. Therefore, getting rid of the brat's "general manager of post-disaster relief" or even getting rid of him himself is the top priority.

As long as Li Mu is eliminated, they will take control of the county government, and the county finances and the newly formed militia will be in their hands.

At that time, whether it is cooperating with the government troops to recover lost territories or punishing some gentry who are at odds with them, it will be up to them.

"But that little Li has retreated to his lair, leaving only the steward to guard the county town. We have no soldiers or brave assassins, so how can we fight that brat?"

"Sometimes, getting rid of a person doesn't require weapons; a letter can accomplish the task—" a gentry said. "There are two bandit groups operating southeast of this mountain. One is called the 'Ge Zuo Wu Ying' (Five Battalions) and the other is called the Meng Hu Ying (Five Tiger Battalions). Last year, they sought to recruit them, and I was the go-between."

"Oh—" the others suddenly realized, "You want to lure the bandits into attacking Li, so that both of them will suffer losses?"

"Yes, Lijiazhai has countless treasures stored up. They suffered heavy losses in the battle at the ferry, and the officials have also taken away their assassins. Right now, they are like a fat but defenseless chicken. Do you think the bandits will have any plans?"

"Great! Then I should also arrange all the affairs of the county. Once the bandits succeed, we will capture Li Mu's lackeys and take control of the county government!"

"If this plan succeeds, the day when we return home won't be far away."

The gentlemen looked at each other and smiled, and they all thought that this plan was very good and wonderful!
(End of this chapter)