stubborn thief

Chapter 548 The Fate of Liangzhou

Ever since Gao Yingxiang and other leaders broke through Shaanxi and entered the Qinling Mountains, there was a confrontation between the Marshal's Mansion and the official army, and hundreds of thousands of peasant troops had a rare chance to recuperate.

During this period of time, the peasant army was not idle, but their actions were relatively small. They spread across Jiezhou and Huizhou in Gongchang Prefecture and Ningqiang Prefecture in Hanzhong Prefecture. Those with power occupy the county government and issue orders, ordering two or three families of the people to raise a soldier; those who suffer losses from the confrontation with the government and the army recruit soldiers on the spot, collect materials and make ordnance.

Generally speaking, there are no government offices in Xihe, Liangdang, Wenxian and other places, and it is up to the leaders of each family to divide the land for reclamation, and there is a posture of land division.

There were only dozens of peasant armies, and most of them had no subordinate relationship. Even a big leader like Gao Yingxiang had no ability to command and mobilize other leaders. When things happened, they all relied on gatherings to discuss, and the efficiency was very low.

At the same time, there is a chance to recuperate, and without the threat of foreign enemies, the leaders of the militia that used to be grouped in the past are divided again. In view of this situation, some leaders have the intention to follow Liu Chengzong's example and start the establishment of the government to make the trilogy more regular.

Among them are represented by Li Yangchun, the Four Heavenly King, and Fatty Zhang, the neat king. One of them occupies Xihe County and the other occupies Ningqiang Prefecture. yamen.

However, the two dared to open a mansion and build teeth, not because they were brave, on the contrary, because they were timid.

Ordinarily, the power of the two is actually not small. The Four Heavenly King Li Yangchun, who is known as the commander-in-chief, reorganized his troops and formed three battalions. The neat king Zhang Fatty was even more powerful than him, and organized four battalions of troops.

Regardless of whether the army is elite or not, the tens of thousands of men under it should not be underestimated. The main reason for them to establish a government is to find a way for themselves... The leaders of the peasant army met several times to discuss and follow up. The Marshal's Mansion cooperated in the battle, but the frontline generals who sent people to contact the Marshal's Mansion ignored them.

It's not that the Marshal's Mansion is not what it used to be, and they don't look down on the old brothers who plan food in the ground.

The main reason is that the leaders of the peasant army did not dare to approach Liu Chengzong directly, and secondly, they had no way to directly approach Liu Chengzong.

Liu Chengzong is also well-known in the peasant army. People call him Marshal Hengtian. He is very famous, but not many people have really dealt with him. Even if they have met, they know that Marshal Hengtian is crazy. You are proud, notoriously withdrawn, with his tail up to the sky.

In the past, when there were only a few hundred people under his command, he didn't like to fight with others.

What's more, they are all leaders, so it is difficult to convince others.

People like Luo Rucai, Zhang Tianlin and others were really led by Liu Chengzong from birth to death. From being chased by the officers and soldiers to running all over the place, they have tasted the sweetness.

These leaders gathered in the Qinling Mountains today have never received the favor of Liu Chengzong. They have led the team to live up to now, all relying on their own skills. Why do you follow you if you are powerful? Power is very empty to them, because Their lives these years are too exciting.

Maybe today is still a small leader with only a dozen brothers. Tomorrow, when he conquers a village, there will be hundreds of people following him; It takes only one day for a man and a horse to become famous all over the world.

Therefore, although the Marshal's Mansion and the peasant army's garrison are adjacent, the two sides have not had much contact. It is because Liu Chengzong feels that he cannot afford so much food and grass to recruit all 10 horses; Talk about cooperative operations.

So everyone generally tries to contact Zhang Zhen, the general of the Ganzhou camp, the bee tail needle.

Zhang Zhen has been with many people, old acquaintances are everywhere, and they are also generals, who belong to the senior generals who can speak in the marshal's mansion.

People at the level of generals in the Marshal's Mansion, except for the Mongolian nobles, those who were born in Shaanxi were all the monsters who followed Liu Chengzong in the uprising at the earliest. Those old guys' status in Shaanxi Green Forest is too high. Liu Daojiang, Shen Yikui, Hong Junyou, Wang Huhu, and Yang Qi are relatively low in seniority.

Within a few months after Zhang Zhen came back from Gansu with Liu Chengzong, he had already met several groups of township party members from Qinling, and he sent them all back with gifts.

It's not that Zhang Zhengou sees people as inferior, he said in his heart that my marshal is a marshal, and you cats and dogs come here with the name of this king or that king, and even open your mouth to support tens of thousands of stones and rice grains, which makes it very difficult for me!

So Li Yangchun and Fatty Zhang set up a mansion to build teeth. Let's change the title to Chief Military Officer, and then pass a note to the Marshal's Mansion.

Of course, it cannot be said that we are afraid of the Marshal’s Mansion to the outside world. We feel that the government order is unreasonable and we need to standardize management. In the future, the brothers will be the regular army of the Xihe Zongbing Yamen and the Ningqiang Prefecture Zongbing Yamen.

This is actually an expedient strategy for them to occupy this place and recharge their batteries. They really need a place as a base. Although Xihe and Ningqiang Prefectures are small, they can be covered by the Marshal's Mansion to divert the attention of the officers and soldiers. , for leaders like them who are not big or small, it is a good roof to shelter from wind and rain.

But for others, such as Gao Yingxiang, it's not that he never thought of being like them, but he knew that he had too many people, even Liu Chengzong couldn't afford to support them, and the small land at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains couldn't last long. Provide them with quarters.

So there is no need to think about opening a government and establishing a tooth. What Gao Yingxiang wants to think about is to fight out. His goal is Sichuan.

It's not that Gao Yingxiang hasn't considered the issue of whether he can enter Sichuan or not, but for him... even whether he can enter Sichuan is a problem. Isn't it too early to think about it?

What's more, he is not the young Liu Shizi, he is 44 this year, how many years can he live?If you can't come out, you won't come out!
The leaders of the younger generation are more aggressive. The Chuangjun Fifth Battalion headed by Li Zicheng has already formulated a plan to invade Guanzhong, Henan and Yunyang. However, the Chuangjun Fifth Battalion is also a loose alliance gathered for survival. No, Zhang Yichuan, the sweeping king among them, sent someone to find Zhang Xianzhong, hoping that he would introduce Liu Chengzong on his behalf.

Zhang Yichuan believed that Liu Chengzong, the real leader of the rebel army, would definitely be interested in his plan to invade Fengyang Mansion.

Zhang Yichuan was not such a crazy person. He gave himself this name. At first, he just wanted to sweep away the dirty things in the world. He is not the only sweeping king.

In the Qinling Mountains alone, there is a sweeping king named Cao Wei who was born in northern Shaanxi.

In the Red Scarf Army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was Wang Shicheng, the sweeping king, and Liao Hui, the sweeping king during the Zhengde period, both of whom were revolutionary sages.

Revolution is not a new word, and the meaning of this word has never changed. Not to mention the Tangwu Revolution in Zhouyi, but in Li Sancai's memorials during the Wanli period, it is said that the rebels are spying on the magic weapon and will plan revolution.

Because of these, the title of Sweeping King brought Zhang Yichuan a great sense of mission. He wanted to be the first to jump out, declare war on the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, and dig up the grave of the old Zhu family!
It's just that he never imagined that Zhang Xianzhong would also like to do this big job, but this thick-eyed guy actually slandered Liu Chengzong and almost sent him to Siberia to grow potatoes.

Fortunately, Zhang Yichuan and Liu Chengzong didn't know what Zhang Xianzhong was thinking. When the ceremonial officials in the marshal's mansion ran to the residence of King Sweeper and told him that the marshal wanted to see him, Zhang Yichuan was so happy that he told his subordinates to take care of his family. He took a team of servants to Lanzhou on the spot.

On the other side, Wang Ziyong received the news faster than Zhang Yichuan, and he was more excited. He rushed to Lanzhou almost immediately after receiving the order.

However, during this period of time, the most interesting thing for Liu Chengzong in Lanzhou City was that Li Hongsi from Liangzhou sent someone to deliver a letter to him.

And not just one.

Since Chinese New Year, Li Hongsi first sent people to send letters to celebrate the New Year, and then sent people to send people to send letters to celebrate the Lantern Festival, and then changed it to a letter every five days, and now it is a letter every three days.

At the beginning, the tone of the letter was quite blunt, saying something strange like "Qinghai Marshal's Mansion exists because of the grace of the emperor", Liu Chengzong simply ignored him. Respectful, we are talking about the friendship of the Shaanxi Township Party.

For Li Hongsi, the last diehard general of the Ming army in Gansu, Liu Chengzong knew why his mentality had changed—Liangzhou was out of food.

If the time is pushed back three months, Liu Chengzong would have to have a good chat with Li Hongsi whenever Li Hongsi expressed any intention of surrendering the city, and he would have to wait for an officer with real power to lead the army.

But now, at this time and that time, Liu Chengzong did not personally meet the envoy who delivered the letter to Li Hongsi at all. He even specifically told Li Ya that even Zhang Xianzhong could not personally meet this matter, and it was enough for Zhang Kewang to receive the envoy.

The environment is different.

Liangzhou City itself is very important to Liu Chengzong. The Wuwei Oasis where this city is located is stuck seven inches above the Marshal's Mansion. It cannot be connected together, and Gansu has no way to become the rear of the Marshal's Mansion.

But under the general environment where the locust plague invaded the entire northwest, Liangzhou City was not so important to Liu Chengzong.

Originally, Liu Chengzong farmed in Wuwei Oasis when he besieged Liangzhou. The army must fight him in the field.

This was an obvious plan, and Li Hongsi could see it, but he had no choice but to go out of the city to grab this batch of grain—that is to say, a field battle that would determine the fate of Liangzhou was already doomed.

However, the locust plague that swept across the northwest wiped out all the food on the Wuwei oasis. Liu Chengzong lost the magic weapon to lure the Liangzhou defenders out of the city to fight in the field, and also lost the desire to capture Liangzhou.

After all, it is not an empty city. There are [-] soldiers and civilians in the city. If the grain planted outside the city is successfully harvested, the Ming army is defeated in the field, and Liangzhou City is taken down, this batch of grain can be used by the soldiers and civilians of Liangzhou City, and everything will go well. .

Now that this batch of food is fed to the locusts, Cao Yao's Gansu Governor's Mansion is barely self-sufficient relying on the sheep brought in from the Tianshan Mountains. After a locust plague, there is not much food left in Hexi, not to mention that Liu Chengzong is also used to passing the news through Qilian Mountains. Gansu is not required to provide support.

There are many disadvantages in capturing Liangzhou, but there is only one advantage: it can make the territory map of the Marshal's Mansion look better... To be honest, it doesn't look good enough.

This made Li Hongsi's position in the confrontation extremely embarrassing.

Now it's not his turn to not want to fight in the field, but even if he wants to fight in the field, no one will fight with him.

The most embarrassing thing is that Liu Chengzong did not attack the city. In fact, Li Hongsi wrote to Liu Chengzong for no other purpose at the beginning, just to let Cao Yao stop pushing towards Liangzhou City.

Cao Yao is a very unscrupulous person, and now he is in charge of Gansu in a high position, but to be honest, the whole of Gansu has been planed out of the Wuwei Oasis. One piece of population is equivalent to a county in Beizhili, but the territory is vast. If there is no such thing as locust plague, His daily work is actually no different from other general officers.

But he is not envious of Liangzhou at all. Since the locust plague, he has sent people to shoot letters into Liangzhou city every now and then. , Never take advantage of the locust disaster to add insult to injury.

What you say is very obedient, but you are actually cursing people here, because there is no food outside the city of Liangzhou, the locust plague has no impact on people, and even when the locusts crossed the border, they even added meals to the soldiers and civilians in Liangzhou, but Ganzhou and Suzhou With land and food, they are the ones affected by the locust plague.

He said what he said before, meaning that if you send troops to attack Ganzhou at this time, you will add insult to injury.

Such words are useless in the face of war, but out of the tens of thousands of men under Li Hongsi's command, half of them are left to defend the city, and even five thousand soldiers cannot fight.

In fact, Li Hongsi didn't have so many people in his hands. In the twelfth lunar month of last year, Liangzhou City experienced an internal strife and drove Cao Wenzhao's army to Ningxia.

Originally, when the food in Gansu was getting less and less, his soldiers in Gansu were quite critical of Cao Wenzhao, a guest army from outside Gansu. If they had known that they were so hungry in Liangzhou City, they might as well have followed Mr. He Go to Monan to fight Donglu, people talk well in the city, why do you say you shoot him, a reckless man?

But there is nothing to say, anyway, the soldiers and civilians in the city could see it at that time, and the grain planted by Liu Chengzong outside the city was growing green, and it could be supplemented by a wave.

Until the locust plague came, Liangzhou was not like other places. The people’s homes were in the farms in the outskirts, and they, the soldiers, were all in the city. The locust plague came roaring, and there was no time to react. The grain fields were almost destroyed in an hour, and everyone was dumbfounded. up.

Later, the conflict broke out as the guest army forcibly requisitioned the food in the city. The big families in the city had already lent a lot of food when they were defending the city, and the ordinary people only kept enough food. Now that the food outside the city is gone, the reinforcements are also gone For the matter, the army still had to forcefully confiscate food, and the people expressed their grievances to Li Hongsi, a local general.

Li Hongsi can't say anything. If he doesn't collect food today, he will be slaughtered by the hungry army tomorrow. In desperation, he can only let Cao Wenzhao lead his troops to Ningxia to find Hong Chengchou. Of course, the words are good, let General Cao They went to rescue soldiers, but everyone knew that there were no rescue soldiers—the locusts came from the east, and Ningxia was also hit.

What's more, the people of Liangzhou now think that their poverty and hunger were brought by the governors, generals, and generals of the Ming Dynasty, but people like Li Hongsi knew that it was actually brought by Liu Chengzong!
Because it is said that the people in Gansu may be able to support themselves, but the frontier army in Gansu has no self-sufficiency. They have always relied on Lanzhou for military supplies. There is no way for the army to find a second person who can provide them with food.

To be honest, if he could choose, rather than writing a letter to ask Liu Chengzong, Li Hongsi hoped to lead his troops to find Hong Chengchou, but the problem was that he was the deputy general of Gansu. If Gansu was gone, what would the deputy general do?
Now the war horses, donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep and livestock in Liangzhou City are almost wiped out, and the food confiscated in the city is about to run out. More than 3 soldiers and civilians are out of food. Life.

Liu Chengzong is the only person on this land who can save them.

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)