Han Shizu

Chapter 769 Desperate
Xuelu Town is located in the west of Jingzhao, [-] miles to Wugong County in the southwest, [-] miles to Xingping County in the southeast, and less than [-] miles to Fengtian County in the northwest. It was named after Xue Rengui, a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty.

Because it is located among the three counties, the transportation is convenient. Since Hanxing, it has become a famous town in Jingzhao. There are hundreds of trades in the surrounding three counties and even Li County, which is far to the northeast. Traders gather here to trade grain, local products, mountain products, Livestock, seeds, tools, etc., have developed into the largest town in the west of Jingzhao in the ninth year of Qianyou.

However, this prestigious Jingzhao town has already shed its cloak of prosperity, allowing the rebellious army to abuse and trample on it wantonly. Under the scorching sun, it is full of desolation, and the town is in chaos.

Wang Shun's rebel army ran across the counties, killing and plundering the people, plundering the people, and forcing the good to become bandits. After going west, they will naturally not let go of this famous town.There is one thing to say, the expansion of Xuelu Town is also due to the credit of some Shu army prisoners, who participated in the hard labor of the rebel army, and many people were arranged to build roads and ditches.

However, no matter how hard it was to build it back then, it is now easy and wanton to destroy it.The only good thing is that before Wang Shun came west with his people, most of the townspeople who heard the news abandoned their homes and businesses, fled to the county town, and took shelter of the government to avoid disaster.

Even so, in Xuelu Town, the rebel army also searched out a large amount of buried money, silk, and grain. The ability to scrape the ground seems to be an innate ability for bandits.

So far, excluding the casualties, there are still more than [-] rebels temporarily entrenched in Xuelu Town.Among them, nearly half were born as captives.Wang Shun tried his best to centralize the surrender, but because of being scattered in various places, the state capitals in Guanzhong adopted strict control measures, which ultimately failed to allow him to create a situation of "[-] Shu soldiers in chaos in Guanzhong".

Even so, it was quite a means for him to bring together nearly [-] old soldiers.

The rest, except for a few rogues and criminals who were born with evil causes, are all ordinary people coerced and persecuted by the rebellious army.In the early days of the "Uprising", Wang Shun did not think about massacres, and even intended to confuse the people in various villages. He used the slogan "the imperial court tyranny, the inequality between the rich and the poor" to recruit manpower and expand the team.

However, it turned out that Wang Shun was thinking too much.Up to now, the taxation of the big man is not too light, and the corvee is endless, but it has not reached the point of squeezing the people's power too much.As for the people in Guanzhong, it was rare for them to live a stable life for a few years, and with King Yong's reputation outside, and the chief envoy Hu Yanke calming down the government, how could anyone be willing to follow Zheganshu to rebel against the man-made great man.

After understanding the truth, Wang Shun decisively changed his strategy, and began to use force to plunder money and food.There are too many random soldiers, and the backlog of hostility in the chest makes it even more bloody.

During the period when the army was first raised, taking advantage of the negligence of the government and the dispersal of the garrison, when Zhao Hongyin mobilized troops and horses to suppress the chaos in the east, the chaos army, like Wang Shun's name, swept the counties smoothly, Unstoppable.The county governments can only collect the people to defend themselves, and the Weihe Plain has become a fertile ground for the rebellious army to gallop.

Xianyang, Xingping, and Wugong were all attacked by him. Although they failed to break through the city, they also gained momentum.However, with the passage of time, the mobilization and deployment of the officers and soldiers was like a net that strangled his throat and killed him, and he could not break free.

Wang Shun once made a bold move to attack Wugong County, regardless of the casualties, and almost let him break the city, but Fengxiang's Han army came too fast and rushed without hesitation, which made Wang Shun's plan come to nothing.

Knowing the power of Han cavalry, under fear, he decisively withdrew his troops, crossed Moshui eastward, and burned the pontoon bridge. Even so, thousands of rebel corpses were left behind in martial arts.

Afterwards, the situation took a turn for the worse for Wang Shun's "rebel army". Two thousand Han cavalry came from Fengxiang to the east, led by Han generals Ma Renyu and Murong Chengtai.The two were mobilized from Longzhou and ran all the way for more than [-] Li. After a short rest in martial arts, they crossed the Mohe River and followed suit.

Drive and kill all the way, like hunting, constantly compressing the activity space of the rebellious army.If Wang Shun hadn't sent people to occupy Xuelu Town first as a response, I'm afraid there would be no place for them to stand in the Weihe Plain, and without Zhao Hongyin coming to the west, Ma Renyu and Murong Chengtai would be enough These thousands of rebellious troops were defeated.

However, there are advantages and disadvantages. Although there is a foothold, it also restricts the hands and feet, and is trapped in the city of sorrow, waiting to die.

On the outer edge of Xuelu Town, under the arrangement of bandit army officers with military experience, some fortifications were repaired, but they were crude and simple. Fortunately, the town's earthen city is still solid, built with three-component soil, and can be relied on.

However, thousands of rebellious troops stationed in the middle appeared to be very crowded and chaotic.Morale is low and people's hearts are in a state of confusion. If it weren't for the repression of those Shu soldiers, the bandit army would have dispersed by itself.And the army can be maintained, for the sake of resisting the official army, it is only because of an idea of ​​survival.

On the low town gate, there are a few simple flags scattered scatteredly, with the characters "righteousness" and "king" written on them.There are few armors, no weapons, and four words are almost written on the soldiers' faces: mob.There are a lot of earth and rocks, which are obviously ready for the Han army to attack.

Many thieves showed despair and were immersed in a depressing atmosphere.There are constantly battalions composed of Shu army prisoners, patrolling among them, not only to check the enemy's situation, but also to monitor the forced miscellaneous soldiers.

Some people rudely preached among the miscellaneous soldiers, to the effect that they were already members of the "rebel army" and were considered rebellious by the government. If they didn't want to die, they had to take up arms to resist, otherwise, they would fall into the hands of the government. After liquidation, there will be no place for burial
In the center of Xuelu Town, in the original government office, there were also some bandit troops crowded together. Compared with most of the bandit troops, they looked more refined, equipped with more iron tools, and some even wore armor.This team was naturally formed by the thief leader Wang Shunxuan. They were all veterans of the Shu army and the backbone of the rebellion army.

The entire rebellious army was organized into eight battalions by Wang Shun. Wang Shun called himself a general, and he led the army. There were four "generals" under his command, who were worshiped as commanders.

The scorching sun shines brightly, and all evils retreat.And Wang Shun, the leader of the "Rebel Army" who was sitting in the town office, was discussing the military situation with his brothers, and his heart felt cold.

Wang Shun was in his thirties, tall and thin, with a sallow complexion, and looked very unhealthy. He was originally a low-ranking officer in the Yuhan army of the Shu army. He was injured and captured during the battle between Qin and Feng.It was also because of his injury that he was not selected into the Huaiwei or Huaide Second Army.Otherwise, his fate might be to go another way and become the pawn of the big man.

"General, we have been trapped in Xuelu Town for three days, and the situation is not good!" One of the thieves said to Wang Shun with a solemn expression: "Hurry up and think of a way, if you drag it on, the rebels will die!"

"Brothers are also afraid. Those Han people are restless and their hearts are in turmoil."

"I'm afraid the officers and soldiers are mobilizing and coming to attack us, we can't sit still!"

A group of people chattered and talked about the difficult situation, and their emotions seemed very tense. They no longer had the pride and joy of the first uprising, and they were full of hesitation and despair about the future.

"Or, let's escape from Xue Lu Town as soon as possible!" Someone suggested.

"How do you escape? There are cavalry officers roaming outside, who can strangle us at any time. We have cut off all contact, and we don't know what the situation of the other rebels is. Where are we going?" someone retorted.

"There is not much food right now. If we stay any longer, we will all starve to death without the government and army attacking!" Someone reminded.

"If I knew this earlier, I should grab some food!"

"How to rob? Now in the surrounding villages and towns, there is nothing to rob and nothing to kill. Besides, if you go out, you will die!"

"Still have to go!"

"How? Where? Going out is death!"

"That's better than waiting to die here!"

"At the beginning, before the officers and soldiers reacted, they should have fled south to Mount Zhongnan, maybe they could survive!" Someone said with regret and resentment.

"Why didn't you talk about it that day, you just cared about killing, robbing, and playing with women!" one person scolded.

When faced with the crisis of survival, the brains of a group of people seem to be sharpened, and they can see the situation more clearly.

"Enough!" Finally, Wang Shun spoke, with a particularly gloomy face. After a moment of silence, he looked around and sighed: "Now, we are staying in Xuelu Town, and we still have defenses to rely on. When we leave this town, They will be hunted and killed by the Han army like prey. We have raised our troops this time to fight to the death, and we have survived, and we have lost nothing but death. What is the use of lamenting when things have come to this point?"

"Or, let's surrender." Someone reminded weakly.

After speaking, Wang Shun glared at him: "Stupid! Confused! These days when we raised our troops, we broke down the city, killed officials, plundered the people, and committed such things. Can the imperial court let us go? Even if we are spared I am afraid that I will be sent back to do coolies and labor, and the supervision will be even stricter, and the work will be more tiring and harder, and I will die of exhaustion sooner or later! I will die sooner or later, it is better to die happily!"

As soon as these words fell, everyone present was intimidated, and Fang's thoughts of surrender were quickly suppressed.Wang Shun's words make sense.

Silence, again silence.Still a thief leader, looking at Wang Shun: "General, no matter what, you make a decision, whether you live or die, we will follow you!"

(End of this chapter)