A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 684 Desolation
In mid-June, Li Chuang's allied forces, who originally thought they were going to drive towards Kaifeng, stopped in Taikang. Not only that, but part of their army returned to the Runing Mansion, and the attack was urgent.

There is great chaos inside and outside Kaifeng City. In Ruyang City, there is Zhu Youxi, the king of Chong, where the vassal king is.

At this time, Ding Qirui, the supervisor, led the reinforcements from the four towns to Xuzhou, but they were slow and had not yet arrived in Kaifeng.

However, when the news came, they were the closest to Ruyang City. When Ding Qirui ordered Kaifeng generals to rescue them, Baoding governor Yang Wenyue and Henan governor Gao Mingheng tried their best to evade. run away.

Ding Qirui had no choice but to discuss with Zuo Liangyu, Yang Dezheng, Fang Guoan and others. At this time, the warriors are domineering and Zuo Liangyu and others are more difficult to command.

Ding Qirui was born as a scholar, he has no military talent, and he is more indecisive in dealing with things. At one time, he felt that what his subordinates said made sense, and at the other time, he felt that he was very close to the vassal, so he had to save him.

For more than ten days of swaying left and right, until the beginning of July, because the military situation in Runing Mansion was very urgent, he made up his mind to lead the army to rescue.

Of course, his subordinates are the most powerful in Pingzei Town, but Zuo Liangyu is unruly and unruly, and his subordinates have extremely bad military discipline, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of crimes.Fang Guoan is also a capricious person, the kind of slippery person who won't throw a hawk if he doesn't see a rabbit.

Yang Dezheng said he had a strategy. The nationwide military training was his proposal. He wrote to the court that the reason why the thieves were difficult to suppress was because they were erratic and mobile. The key to eliminating the thieves was to strengthen the local armed forces.

He suggested that the local government implement "judgment and training", and the government should remove the general judge and set up the post of training and equipment, which is equivalent to the rank of the garrison.

Lianbei and Lianzong are all affiliated to the magistrate, prefecture, and county magistrate, and are responsible for training rural soldiers.

In terms of the amount, each prefecture trains [-] rural soldiers, [-] prefectures, and [-] counties.

His letter was appreciated by the imperial court, especially Yang Sichang at that time, who proposed to implement it in Jifu, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi first, and then spread it to other places. As a result, Yang Dezheng was promoted from deputy commander-in-chief to commander-in-chief.

However, the implementation of this proposal is very ineffective. All localities are nothing more than falsely reporting a number of military training, and then desperately search for it under the name of "training salary", which adds fire to the already critical national situation. Less than the actual situation.

Moreover, their officers and generals in the hinterland of the Central Plains don't have many horses and have poor mobility. They often follow the bandits to eat ashes. Inextricably linked, in fact, it is all about fighting and fighting.

Or chop off the heads of some refugees and common people, and rush to report a great victory, clamoring for military rewards.

Yang Dezheng and Fang Guoan were ambushed several times by thieves, and many soldiers and horses under their command dispersed, but along the way they also surrendered many threatening and hungry soldiers. It's a thief.

And because the military discipline has become worse, the supply of food and grass is also intermittent, so most of the time, they rely on plunder to obtain military rations. The thieves also rob, and the soldiers also rob. Troubled by soldiers and plagued by bandits, the people want to cry but have no tears.

Although Yang Dezheng, Fang Guoan and others reported great victories, they did not achieve any great results. The bandits are still in a hurry to attack the Runing Mansion.

Yang Dezheng was ambushed again in Xiping. This time Yang Dezheng was in a terrible tragedy. Only a hundred and ten cavalry escaped under his command.

Zuo Liangyu fell to Shangcai and defeated the tens of thousands of bandits who were ambushing him. Although most of their horsemen ran away, defeating so many infantry was enough to make him proud. Moreover, he won tens of thousands of surrendered troops, and his momentum became even stronger. , making Ding Qirui more dependent.

The battle situation in Runing Mansion was resolved, several towns under Ding Qirui's command lost soldiers and generals, and only one Zuo Liangyu was saved.

The feudal lord is worry-free, with a great victory under his command, Ding Qirui is triumphant, but the current situation and the strategy of the thieves, Ding Qirui also feels that there is a lot of fog and can't be grasped. Not long after a large number of thieves went south, it was reported that hundreds of thousands of thieves were coming back Germany, even Xuzhou.

Guide is the hub of the Jianghuai River, and Xuzhou in the east is not far from the water transport, and from Guide, Xuzhou crosses the Yellow River northward, and directly enters Shandong and the north Zhili boundary. There is no room for loss. Ding Qirui was shocked and ordered Yang Wenyue, governor of Baoding, and Gao Mingheng, governor of Henan, came to the rescue.

At this time, he was in the Runing Mansion, quite far away, and his subordinates fought with the bandits. The soldiers were exhausted, and naturally they were confident, so they only ordered the officers and generals near Kaifeng to rescue, not to mention, there were also Cao Bianjiao and Wang Wang near Kaifeng. Courtiers, Hu Dawei and other strong troops.

……

When the "Xuanfu Town Military Observation Group" arrived in Kaifeng, everyone was full of curiosity about this observation group. The ambassador of the group was Wen Shiyan, who had the rank of Zuo Xiaowei.

The Chief of Staff of the Jingbian Army has Wen Fangliang as its ambassador, Han Chao, Zhong Xiancai, Zhong Tiaoyang, Gao Shiyin, Sun Sanjie, Li Guangheng, and Zhao Xuan as deputy envoys. It is under the Military Research Section of the General Staff Department, and at this time it is the head of the first section.

Wen Shiyan belongs to a person with a city mansion, personable, and good at making friends. A writer, Gao Mingheng, the governor of Henan, and Yang Wenyue, the governor of Baoding, can all deal with it calmly. Talk about everything.

He became a famous figure in Kaifeng City for a while, many people were overwhelmed by his knowledge and demeanor, and they rushed to be the first to be proud of him.

The staff officers who praised the paintings of the Jingbian Army were quite Confucian generals. Needless to say, in terms of temperament, many people mistook Wen Shiyan for a literati background, which is understandable.

Wen Shiyan didn't reveal his identity as a former warrior, but just said with a smile that the Marquis of Yongning has a great talent, and it is my blessing to serve him. Besides, he is not considered a warrior now, but an honorable man with an honorable status. Above civil and military, it is worth serving.

In private, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Hu Dawei all visited the observation group. After analyzing the current battle, the group praised it and believed that the bandits are powerful and their whereabouts are strange. Brake, wait for work with leisure, see the right time, and go straight to Huanglong.

It's just that they only have the right to observe in Kaifeng, not to mention the right to make decisions, and they don't even have the right to make suggestions. The officials in the city seem to be polite, but they can talk to each other and give pointers to the mountains and rivers. When talking about specific military strategies, they all look around. , quite a taste of keeping a respectful distance.

Wen Shiyan's approach was to influence strategic decisions through Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen.

The two are friendly with Wang Dou, and they are quite optimistic about the staff system in the other army. Besides, they are earls with noble status, ranking above Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, Gao Mingheng and others. Even if they are controlled by Ding Qirui and others in military affairs, they still have Great voice.

The fact that the Kaifeng army did not go to Runing Mansion is the result of their influence. Of course, this decision is also in line with the interests of Kaifeng officials and generals at this time.

However, after the army of thieves forced their way to Guide Mansion, the court could not sit still, Yang Wenyue, Gao Mingheng and others could not sit still anymore. Anyone with a discerning eye could see the importance of Guide and Xuzhou, and the court would definitely not allow the water transportation to be interrupted. Or even thieves poured into the border between Shandong and North Zhili.

Even if Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen suppressed Yang Wenyue and others, they had to listen to Emperor Chongzhen's personal decree. What's more, the strategy of "waiting for work with ease, seeing the right time, and going straight to Huanglong" also has practical difficulties.

Right now Li Zicheng has united with Luo Rucai, Sun Kewang, Ge, Zuowuying and other departments, with a public number of 70 and nearly [-] horse soldiers.After all, the fighting power of the Liu thief is not as good as when he was first rising.

In July, Li Chuang's army raged in the area of ​​Guide Mansion. Even though the mansion was deep and deep, it was difficult to capture it for a while, but the surrounding Suizhou, Ningling, Luyi, Zhecheng, Yongcheng and other places were successively captured, and the Chuang army was rolling. The horse team even went straight to Xuzhou.

Like Guide Mansion, these areas are also frequently flooded by the Yellow River, and the people are suffering unspeakably. If hundreds of horse teams arrive at random, tens of thousands of hungry people can be coerced. They plunder and attack the city. Some cities were captured in advance.

The horse team that broke into the army even rushed to the canal and burned some of the tank boats, which shocked the entire court.

In mid-July, under the strict order of the imperial court, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen led their troops eastward on horseback, and Hu Dawei and others stayed in Kaifeng Mansion to provide camera support depending on the situation of the war.

Walking along the way, you can see desolation everywhere, the surrounding fields are desolate, and the countryside is full of empty rooms. On the side of the road, you can see lying down hungry people from time to time.

Long-term drought, military disasters, and looting by bandits are everywhere in Henan, which is horrible.

However, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were a little numb, and went all the way south into Henan. I have seen too many such tragedies.

Knowing the importance of food and grass, they brought more food and grass in the army for this battle, but they did not have the supply camp of the Jingbian Army, and the transportation capacity was insufficient. The food and grass in the army usually lasted for several days, at most ten days, and most of the rest had to be Supported by the local government.

Gao Mingheng, governor of Henan Province, also promised Cao and Wang that they would do their best to supply grain and grass continuously.

The journey at this time, from Kaifeng to Guidefu City, is about four or five hundred miles away. After leaving Kaifeng and walking to Chenliu, many rogues and refugees appeared along the way. These hungry and red-eyed people wanted to rob their grain team , After the blunderbuss sounded in the army, they scattered with a bang.

About to go to Qixian County, not far from the border of Guide Mansion, there are many cavalry soldiers around, rushing to meet them from time to time, paying close attention to the situation of this army, if they pay attention to intelligence, no matter Zhang Xianzhong or Li Zicheng, etc. Not worse than Wang Dou, the difference lies in their respective detection abilities.

Cao and Wang were sentry cavalry in the army, and kept driving the bandit cavalry. Although their cavalry was stronger than the bandit cavalry, but there were too many thieves spying on them, and they were reluctant to release more of them after losses fight.

When the army entered the border of Suizhou, Guide Prefecture, groups of cavalry came to harass them, and even rushed to the rear to harass the subsequent escort team.

In order to cover the food road, Cao and Wang's army marched more slowly. The food and grass in the army were rapidly consumed, but the replenishment from the rear was intermittent.

After entering the territory of Suizhou, not only the bandits' cavalry, but also their troops, and the hungry people who threatened them, all appeared frequently, rushing from Suizhou, Ningling, and Zhecheng, sometimes even fighting for several days.

Their cavalry team is very flexible, and often sees the situation is not good, and escapes immediately, and the rest of the hungry people who are threatened will be killed, and they will feel uncomfortable. Moreover, the current imperial officials and censors are very strict with the warriors. If there is a fault, it is often ten times , expanded a hundred times, and attacked them in groups.

After they were released, these hungry people turned around and became thieves again. After being recruited by the old thieves, they turned into trouble again in a blink of an eye, and even robbed their food team.

Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen felt like they were stuck in a quagmire, and they felt that there were thieves everywhere, and the frequent battles continued day after day, and the soldiers felt exhausted physically and mentally.

Moreover, there are so many cavalry teams invading the army, and the anti-sentry cavalry battle is quite effective. The two of them only felt that there was a lot of fog in front of them, and it was difficult to know where the bandit enemy's old camp was, their plans and so on.

In particular, thieves frequently harassed the grain team, and it became more and more difficult to supply grain and grass in the army.

Some villages and towns that had established their own villages for self-protection were even more hostile to the army coming from the east. They did not provide food and grass, nor did they provide information, leaving the two with money and no place to buy food. Some villages provided some food, but it was a drop in the bucket.

Under such circumstances, the officers and men in the army have already begun to plunder the countryside in order to obtain military rations.

Regarding this, both Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were silent at the same time, and only one day Wang Tingchen sighed to Cao Bianjiao: "Little General Cao, I regret going south to seek thieves, and I hope that I can go back to the north as soon as possible, and it is best to be transferred to Liaodong Town." , hit the Tartars."

Cao Bianjiao sighed: "Yes, brother Wang, I think so too."

On this day, when the army set up camp, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen sat in the camp unintentionally and patrolled around with their personal guards.

It is already August now, and after entering the border of Guide Mansion, [-]% of it is a wilderness plain, but the surrounding fields are scorched yellow, and many rivers and canals have stopped flowing. Not far ahead, there seems to be a village, which seems to belong to an incapable knot village in the village.

The two ran over and saw the village, a thatched adobe house with air leaks on all sides, crumbling to this side, and some mud walls are also full of holes.

Around the village, there are some open wheat fields, on which some winter wheat is sparsely planted. However, looking at the fields, they have been ruined badly. Even if everything goes well, there will not be much wheat harvested next year.

Some people in the village are mostly old and weak, all of them are in rags and their faces are withered and yellow. They either sit and stand numbly, some of them look like walking corpses, or weep in a low voice. Eyes on them.

In front of a dilapidated house, a bony old man sat on the stone steps with his eyes straight, muttering something. Beside him, his lame son was trembling. There was an obvious palm print on his face. Beside him, weeping bitterly.

Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen got off their horses, Cao Bianjiao walked up to the old man, and asked tentatively, "Old man, old man?"

The old man's eyes were still straight, Cao Bianjiao sighed, and the courtier next to him said loudly: "Hey, old man, what are you talking to? Let me tell you, this is...someone..."

The old man still didn't answer, Wang Tingchen said: "Deaf."

The old man said something suddenly, Wang Tingchen said loudly: "Well, what did you say?"

The old man's voice became clearer, with a trembling local accent, he said, "The old man doesn't understand."

Cao Bianjiao said softly, "Old man, what do you want to say?"

The old man said: "The old man doesn't understand. All his life, the old man has followed the rules, followed the laws of the king, and never dared to default on the royal grain and state taxes... Why, I was a clean man, but I was punished in the end? My old woman was killed by the police. Oh, son, I was also beaten by them. A few days ago, my daughter-in-law was robbed by thieves. Today, the last remaining food and rice in the family was also robbed. It is the officers and soldiers of your camp... ..."

He was referring to the camp of Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen. He stood tremblingly and burst into tears: "Cao Shuai, Wang Shuai, I know you. You fought the Tartars with the Marquis of Yongning in Liaodong. You are heroes. But why? , you want to take away the last living rice from my family? Why do you want to hurt my son?"

"The thieves are ruining the common people, Cao Shuai, Wang Shuai, are you planning to train the army to ruin the common people?"

He wailed loudly, causing the surroundings to sob, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen stood blankly, Cao Bianjiao opened his mouth, he had thousands of reasons, but facing the old man, these villagers were speechless.

Wang Tingchen beside him also avoided looking.

In the end, Cao Bianjiao sighed: "Leave some silver, each household will leave some."

After getting on the horses, everyone left the village. Cao Bianjiao couldn't help but look back, and saw that the old man was still crying bitterly, and his figure was quite bleak.

(End of this chapter)