Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 176 Li Rubai Li Ruzhang

Under the leadership of a Chinese battalion officer, Huang Laifu led his sergeants to his camp.

At this time, the surrounding area of ​​Ningxia Township was filled with the endless barracks of the Ming Dynasty counter-insurgency army, each of which was divided into several roads according to the location of the town gates.Above and below the city, there is a murderous atmosphere.

The Yinchuan area of ​​Ningxia has convenient irrigation and dense river networks, and has always been known as the frontier of the south of the Yangtze River.Near the town of Ningxia, there are lakes of various sizes, such as Jinbo Lake and Three Pagoda Lake, which were called in the Ming Dynasty.

In the past, these lakes were surrounded by fertile and prosperous lands with many villages and towns, but now they are mostly destroyed by war.Not to mention that all the local residents fled, most of the houses everywhere were burned down. As far as the eye can see, there are ruins and walls. In some places, the houses are still emitting green smoke until now.

Huang Laifu was riding on the horse, looking at the town of Ningxia not far away. It can be seen that the terrain of the entire town is like being in a bottom of a pot, no wonder it will be broken by water battles in the near future.And like all the towns in the border towns of Ming Dynasty, the towns in Ningxia are also very thick and deep. The whole city is covered with green bricks, with many towers on it. It is estimated that the city's circumference is more than seven miles.And there are many gates, with a complete defense system.

However, after several months of fighting, the city walls of the town were already in terrible condition, and most of the towers were burned down.The city walls are also riddled with scars, most of which were hit by artillery fire. The city walls are full of destroyed battle ladders, and there are bloodstains everywhere.Show the ruthless side of the battlefield.

The tents of Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang and others were set up in the northeast direction, and Huang Laifu rushed to join them.His army went all the way, attracting countless surprises, envy, jealousy and other gazes along the way.

In the eyes of the Ming army camped everywhere along the road, this army has bright armor and a mighty military appearance. Whether it is a man or a horse, they are all well-nourished. It is in stark contrast to their tattered armor, disheveled face, and exhaustion. .

Bursts of discussions continued to come.

"Where did this army come from? It's so mighty and murderous!"

"Looking at the appearance of their people and horses, they must be well-fed every day, and they don't have to worry about food and salary, right? Did you see that, even their mules and horses are fat and big."

"I'm afraid it's the servant of a general officer. You see, from the officer to the soldier, everyone wears iron armor and everyone rides a horse. How much money does it cost?"

"That's right, I don't have that iron armor as a general, but they have a pair of iron armor for any random soldier..."

"Have you seen the auxiliary soldiers behind them? I'm afraid they are the servants under the gate of our army. It's nothing more than that?"

"Look at the banner, it's a guest army from Shanxi Town. Does anyone know which general named Huang in Shanxi Town is so rich?"

"How do I know? This is to ask General Yang of our family. He is literate and often reads court newspapers and the like..."

Amidst the discussions and gazes of the soldiers along the way, the [-] fortress soldiers in front were all riding on horseback, with their heads held high, advancing proudly all the way, and the [-] auxiliary soldiers behind the team , is also urging the escort to escort the mules, horses, food, military equipment, and followed closely with a flushed face.Of course, compared to the proud faces of ordinary soldiers, Huang Laifu had a calm expression, riding on a tall horse, talking to the Chinese battalion officer who was leading the way from time to time.

Since Liaodong Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, and Shanxi Town will come in the future, the trilateral reinforcements will be controlled solely by Admiral Li Rusong, not by Governor Wei Xuezeng, so the brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang who arrived earlier did not follow Wei Xuezeng's instructions. In order to show the difference between the two factions, the barracks set up by the two brothers were slightly away from the Daming barracks camped in various places around the city.

The Shanxi town reinforcements led by Huang Laifu were also under the control of Admiral Li Rusong, so naturally they had to camp next to Li Rubai's and others' tents.

Not far from the north gate of Ningxia Township, next to a canal in the northeast, there used to be a small village called Crescent Moon Village. There used to be civil structures in the village, and courtyard houses with flat roofs and no tiles. However, after the war broke out, the people in the village Most of the houses have been destroyed, and only a few houses are left in good condition. As for the villagers in the village, they have already fled.

The two brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang, one as a vanguard officer and the other as an escort officer, lead thousands of people. At this time, the barracks of their army are surrounding the Crescent Moon Village.

At this time, Li Rubai, as a general, and Li Ruzhang, as the commander of the capital, and the rank of the commander of the capital, their official positions are far inferior to Huang Laifu.And the two of them had also heard the news of Huang Laifu's arrival. Although they were the younger brothers of the admiral Li Rusong, they were always curried and flattered by others wherever they went, but they were not rude when it came to military ceremonies. The "own" soldiers and horses came, so the two of them came out of the barracks from a distance with some relatives and servants.

Soon, the two saw Huang Laifu's armored cavalry rolling towards them with flags like clouds. The majestic appearance of the army and the murderous aura radiating from its bones surprised both of them.

Xuanfu is one of the strongest towns in the world, with more than 15 officers and soldiers and more than 5000 horses and mules.Including the main soldiers, guest soldiers, Beijing Yunyin, garrison grain, and salt quotations, the imperial court allocated nearly one million taels of food and salaries a year.With plenty of soldiers and enough food, the two always thought that the soldiers and horses sent by their Xuanfu were the strongest army in the world, but they didn't expect that there was a soldier and horse from Shanxi Town that could be comparable to their own.

The closer the Wuzhaibao army came, the more aggressive it became. Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang could see clearly that everyone in this army was tall and strong, well-nourished, and well-equipped.If it is said that the servants led by himself and his eldest brother Li Rusong also have such qualities, the ordinary soldiers in Xuanfu Town are far from being able to catch up with such quality equipment.

Especially the three hundred armored cavalry rolling in ahead, even among the three thousand servants under elder brother Li Rusong, I am afraid that only a few hundred people can be found with such equipment and vigor.I don't know if this army is all servants of Huang Laifu, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town.

Li Ruzhang said: "Second brother, I often hear people say that among the most powerful armies in the world, only the Jizhen army trained by Grandpa Qi in Jizhen, the Xuanfu army of elder brother, and the Liaodong army led by daddy can be called that." For a strong army in the world, I never thought that the Shanxi army would be so strong."

Li Rubai said thoughtfully: "That's right. I heard from the mansion newspaper that Huang Laifu was very good at farming in Shanxi Town. He earned a lot of money and food in a year. He didn't need the imperial court to transfer money at all. I didn't expect him to be so good at running the army. Yes. We ignored it. I should have thought of it. Last year, the Di newspaper reported that Huang Laifu, a Wuzhaibao guerrilla in Shanxi Township, defeated the captives, beheaded thousands, and was finally promoted to the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi Township. If he was not good at running the army, There is no such achievement... Well, then Huang Laifu is here, fourth brother, let's go up to greet him."

Here, Huang Laifu also saw Li Ruzhang, Li Rubai and others coming up. He jumped off the horse and stepped on the ground with heavy steps. Jiang Dazhong greeted him with a smile.

When everyone came in front of them, Li Rubai took the first step with a smile on his face, cupped his fists and saluted Huang Laifu, and said: "Li Rubai, general of the Xuanfu, and his fourth brother Li Ruzhang, met General Huang Laifu, who defeated the captives in Wuzhai Fort. , Rubai has heard of his great name for a long time, and it is a great fortune to see you today."

Li Ruzhang also cupped his fists at Huang Laifu, and said in a muffled voice, "The last general, Li Ruzhang, the governor of Xuanfu, has met General Huang."

Huang Laifu smiled and said: "Don't dare, I'm sorry, the two generals are here to meet you."

Both sides looked at each other, Li Ruzhang and Li Rubai looked surprised when they saw Huang Laifu was so young, and at such a young age, he held the position of deputy chief military officer, so others couldn't help being jealous.And looking at the appearance of this surname Huang, he is a typical soldier like them. Why is he earning so much money by farming?

And Huang Laifu also looked at the two brothers carefully, only to see that Li Ruzhang and Li Rubai were both in their forties, with rough expressions, typical of a family of generals.But Li Rubai's demeanor will be smoother, while Li Ruzhang will be more bold and rough.

Li Chengliang's family are all generals, Huang Laifu came from later generations, their reputation has already been heard like thunder, and now the two are in front, Huang Laifu is even more careful.

According to Huang Laifu's review of the relevant history of the Li family, the Li Rubai in front of him is the second son of the famous general Li Chengliang, and he was a family of Jinyiqian under the shadow of his father.Then, under the shadow of his father, he was given the command of Tieling Weidu. He successively served as a guerrilla in Miyun, a general in Huanghualing, and a deputy commander in Jizhen. He is now a general in Xuanfu town.

In history, Li Rubai led his troops to aid Pyongyang and captured Kaesong in the Korean War not long after. Tongzhi, the governor of the later Jin Dynasty, succeeded him as the general soldier of Guizhou. This was the glory of his life.

However, in the battle of Saerhu in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Rubai's performance was surprising. At that time, when Nurhachi launched the first attack on the Ming army, there were only twenty cavalrymen of Nurhachi standing in front of Li Rubai's army.However, Li Rubai, who led an army of tens of thousands, never broke through the line of defense formed by the twenty cavalry, and never went to the city of Hetuala until he received the order to withdraw from Yang Gao.And Nurhachi never seemed to be planning to attack Li Rubai, but chased and killed Li Rubai symbolically once when he was retreating.The level of tacit understanding between the two parties is so high that it is impossible not to suspect that there must be something strange in it.

Some people suspected that Li Rubai's selfishness was at work, so he deliberately retreated without a fight, because his wife was the daughter of Nurhachi's younger brother Shuerhaqi, and they had a son. As a guard, I don't know who will fall in Liaodong?
In any case, in the end Li Rubai was impeached and returned to Beijing, Tianqi committed suicide in his house in the first year, and the glory of the Li family came to an end.

As for Li Ruzhang, as the fourth son of Li Chengliang, history records that he was brave and good at fighting. When he conquered Ningxia, his subordinate He Shien took the head of Qibai in the fire, captured Qibai's second son, and pursued with Ma Gui to the Mongols in Helan Mountain. He won more than [-] first-level titles, and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of Guangxi.He is a typical son of a Ming general.

These historical materials flashed through Huang Laifu's mind like electricity. On the surface, several people laughed at each other. A soldier who has just turned 20 years old, it is not an exaggeration to say that his experience and thinking are in his 30s."

He clasped his fists and said, "General Huang has worked hard all the way here, please come to the camp to rest."

(End of this chapter)