weaving

Dewei, the Prime Minister of Wu'an County, has been acting as the Magistrate of Wu'an since Ji Youci, the former Magistrate, was appointed as Wei Huaibing Bei Dao. When he saw Yongning Bo again, he naturally fawned over him in the hope of being promoted to a regular position.

"I wish I could follow Uncle Yongning and do the work of pommeling the horse."

Fang Dewei tried his best to flatter Zhang Cheng and listened to him continue: "The people of Wu'an have been taken care of by Uncle Yongning, and they have given him porridge and food to survive the cold and hungry winter. They are all grateful for my uncle's kindness. We, all the people in Wu'an, are willing to serve you. I will go through fire and water and risk my life to death."

Wu'an Juren Li Guangqi also said at this time: "Yes, uncle. I, the Wu'an squire, are also grateful for your kindness. The brave army traveled thousands of miles from Xuanfu to aid Henan Province. To show my heart, I, the Wu'an squire, are willing to donate food. One thousand two hundred stones of grain will be used to help the army suppress the bandits, and to organize the villagers to assist the suppressed army and transfer military supplies."

"it is good."

Zhang Cheng applauded loudly and said: "If you and the officials and the people are of one mind, why worry about the bandits not being wiped out? In order to encourage the officials and people in Henan and boost the morale of the officers and soldiers in suppressing the thieves, I should immediately write to the court to ask for credit and reward for you and the officials and people of Wu'an."

As he spoke, he ordered Zhang Chengfang, who was accompanying him: "Chengfang, take two silver medals for meritorious service, and give them to Fangxian Cheng and Li Juren to show their merits and encourage future generations!"

"Here."

"Fang Dewei thanked uncle."

"Li Guangqi thanked uncle."

"Oh. Don't be in a hurry to say thank you."

After the two of them stood up, Zhang Cheng then spoke again: "I will leave some troops in Wu'an, and all the grain and baggage transported from Gyeonggi and Shandong will be gathered in Wu'an, which will serve as the base of my Yongyi Army in Henan Province.

Everything depends on the help of the two of you, the responsibility of coordinated transportation, and the suppression of thieves at the front, so there must be no negligence! "

"Please be at ease, uncle. What I have told you is so big that Fang Dewei doesn't dare to be careless even if he tries his best."

"Okay, that's good. Before I left Beijing, the emperor had a decree to suppress thieves in Henan. However, if you have minor achievements, the court will not hesitate to reward you. I hope you two can deeply understand the holy will and do things well in Wu'an. .”

Zhang Cheng looked at Fang Dewei and Li Guangqi with expectant eyes, and added: "In this way, I can recommend you two to the imperial court and entrust them with great use."

If these words were spoken by other people, they might not carry much weight, but now when they are spoken by Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng, they are no different from the golden words of Emperor Chongzhen.

In addition to the hundreds of gold and silver medals in Zhang Cheng's hand that can be awarded third-grade civil officials and second-grade military positions, with the prestige that Yong Ning Bo has accumulated over the years, if he promises to sponsor him, even if he cannot become an official in the court, then He will definitely be cared for and protected by the Yongyi Army under his command.

You know, in this troubled world, nothing is more important than living, and being able to live well has become the first pursuit of most people!

"Uncle, the Prime Minister of Fang County and I have prepared some wine for you to catch up with the generals and wash your hands off. What do you think?"

Zhang Cheng looked at Li Guangqi with a smile and said, "Excuse me. The military situation is urgent. It is said that the bandits have pointed their troops to the north, with the intention of besieging Kaifeng again. You two are in charge of Wu'an, and I also feel that Don’t worry, I won’t stay too long and will rush to Cizhou to camp tonight.”

After he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something, and immediately added: "Baodu Zhang Fuzhen is coming with the Baoding army. You two must prepare the camp place in advance, as well as grain and horse feed."

"Yes. I'll take note of it."

…………

On April 28, outside Yuanwu County, there were many military tents, and the sound of people shouting and horses neighing came and went.

Yuanwu County was founded in the fifth year of Emperor Gaodi of the Western Han Dynasty. There is a Shanhu Temple in the east gate of the county. Within the Shanhu Temple, there is an even more famous ancient pagoda that was built in the fourth year of Chongning, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

This ancient pagoda is a planar hexagonal thirteen-story pavilion-style brick pagoda. The whole pagoda is nearly 16 feet high.

Because this exquisite pagoda is the treasure of the Shanhu Temple, it is also called the Shanhu Temple Pagoda. There is also an inscription in the Shanhu Temple, which records that this pagoda was rebuilt during the Xinchou period of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.

According to the record of "Rebuilding the Pagoda", Shanhu Temple is large in scale and contains the main hall and many monks. The reconstruction of the pagoda was presided over by Junshi, the leader of the Zhenhui Association, and Monk Shouwujie, and the good people Zhao Renkai, Zhao Jiushi, Zhao Jiusi and others were responsible for the construction. of.

Other ancient pagodas have an odd number of levels, but this tower is twelve stories high and has an even number.

The reason is that this place has been a yellow flood area since ancient times, and the bottom floor of the tower has long been silted underground, so only twelve floors can be seen on the ground, but there is actually another floor underground.

There was originally a tower gate on the north side of the Lingcage Tower, but it had long since been obliterated underground by the dust of history. Only the brick eaves and brackets of the tower were left exposed above the ground. The current tower gate is located on the south side. The first floor windows were remodeled.

Even when the pagoda was rebuilt during the Xinchou period of Wanli, only the upper structure of the Linglong pagoda was repaired, and the foundation was not excavated downwards, so now only the twelve-story pagoda can be seen.

In fact, there are two rather magical legends about Yuanwu County, which are related to King Chuzhuang and Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor who founded the Ming Dynasty!

One is the legend about King Chuzhuang and the Dragon God of the Yellow River. In order to become the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, King Chuzhuang personally led the army of Chu to attack Zheng. Once he encountered a storm on the Yellow River, he made a wish but only defeated the enemy, so he held a grand sacrifice. The Dragon God of the Yellow River, he later succeeded in defeating Jin and Zheng, so he worshiped the Five Dragon Gods of the Yellow River in Yuanwu as promised.

Today, on the West Street of Yuanwu County, there is a three-entry Wulong Temple. Because there is a large pond in the temple with five fountains that gush day and night, it is also called Wulong Pond.

There are three main halls in this Five Dragons Temple divided into three courtyards. The first row of main halls is dedicated to the Five Dragons "Linyu Cangsheng" hall of the Wu brothers. Inside, the Great Dragon King Wu Huan, the Second Dragon King Wu Chen, and the Three Dragons are enshrined side by side. The divine thrones of Dragon King Wu Bao, Four Dragon King Wu Qing and Five Dragon King Wu He. The second is the story about Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the City God. It tells the story of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, when Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to move his capital to Kaifeng or Luoyang, so he took the opportunity to travel the Yellow River by dragon boat. Sometimes some ministers considered it from a safety perspective. He said that the Yellow River has "three-foot-high waves when there is no wind, but the waves are as big as the sky when the wind blows." He advised him to take the land route instead.

However, Emperor Taizu regarded himself as the true Dragon Emperor. When humans and gods feared him, even the fierce winds and waves on the Yellow River had to be tolerated. His interest in traveling became increasingly high, and he did not listen to other people's persuasion at all.

When the dragon boat went upstream to the boundary of Yuanwu territory, a strong wind suddenly came up, and there was a huge smoke wave on the river. The wind and waves relentlessly attacked the dragon boat tirelessly, and the waves rushed into the cabin in a row. The situation was already very critical.

Emperor Taizu also changed his appearance drastically and regretted it endlessly!

However, when everyone was in despair, they suddenly saw a group of troops wearing the uniforms of the former Wufu Yamen suddenly appeared and surrounded the dragon boat. They held the dragon boat and docked smoothly at the dock on the north bank. Before Zhu Yuanzhang could give him the reward, , this group of people suddenly appeared but disappeared without anyone noticing.

Just at this time, he heard that the magistrate of Yuanwu County had come to greet him, and he realized that the team that rescued him before was actually the people of the God of Yuanwu City. Then he saw that the magistrate of Yuanwu was well governed, and the people were prosperous, the weather was good, the country was peaceful, and the people were safe everywhere. It was a peaceful scene, and I felt very satisfied.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, then decreed that the original Wucheng God should be granted the title of "Uncle Xianyou". He would be worshiped as a fourth-rank official, be awarded an edict, and build a government office. Then in the second year, he formally issued a decree stipulating that every state and county in the Ming Dynasty should set up a Chenghuang temple to worship the city god. The ancestors of the gods were worshiped together, and the incense continues to this day.

The Chenghuang Temple in the original Wu County town is located on the east street of the county town. There is a pair of large stone lions guarding the temple gate. The layout is from north to south, including the front hall, the middle hall, the worship hall and the main hall, with a total of four deep courtyards.

The East Street in front of the temple gate has always been one of the prosperous areas in Yuanwu County, mainly due to the prosperity of the Chenghuang Temple.

Yuanwu County is thirty-six miles away from Yangwu County in the east, eighty miles away from Xinxiang in the north, ninety miles away in the west, and faces Zhengzhou across the Yellow River in the south, about one hundred and fifty miles apart.

It is only about 200 miles away from Kaifeng City. However, this is only a straight line distance. In terms of the actual distance traveled by the army, it is almost 300 miles away. If we advance lightly and quickly, we can reach the gates of Kaifeng City within three or four days. .

Moreover, Yuanwu is located on the north bank of the Yellow River. Intruders can neither attack nor conduct effective reconnaissance here, so it is most suitable for hoarding large armies, equipment, food, grass and supplies.

Long before Yong Ningbo arrived, Chen Zhong had already led a group of soldiers and horses from the Mihe Battalion to rush to the north bank of the Yellow River more than 20 miles southeast of Yuanwu County. They cut down trees, dug ditches for drinking water, and arranged army camps and other preparations. .

Currently, there are only soldiers and horses of Chen Zhong's Suihe Battalion and Wei Zhice's Tengshe Battalion stationed on the bank of the Yellow River, while Zhang Guodong's Qinglong Battalion is stationed at a ferry twenty miles west of them.

At the same time, in the area from Yangqiao to Sunjia Ferry on the south bank of the Yellow River, Chen Zheng's Qinglong Camp soldiers and a portion of the Mangshan United Village Militia were stationed. They numbered about 4,000 people.

The leader was Yanshi Xu Yousi, the head of the Eastern Joint Defense Forces, who was one of the deputy chiefs, and the real leaders were Yang Shijie, the second son of the Yang family, the chief of the central joint defense training, and Feng Gang, a native of Gong County, the eastern training chief.

Although the armor coverage rate of their Mangshan militia is not very high, the firearms equipment rate is not low. At least compared to the officers and soldiers of various towns in the Ming Dynasty, it is not inferior to, or even better than.

The selection and training of these village warriors in Mangshan Village are strictly carried out in accordance with the standards of the Yongyi Army. Their organization is also similar to that of the Yongyi Army. They are divided into three battalions: West, Middle and East, and each battalion is divided into headquarters, divisions, bureaus and teams. , Class A unit.

After repeated training by Lieutenant Commander Tielin of the Dianhe Camp, Qian Commander Cui Shijie, He Kuan, Bai Shanzi and others, they were no less powerful than other Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers, whether in terms of energy, personal combat skills, or fighting in formation.

Within a hundred miles of Mang Mountain, there were few bandit villages, but they had all been uprooted and completely wiped out. What was missing was the baptism and tempering of a battle between the two armies.

Of course, some sacrifices are inevitable, but if there are no sacrifices, how can we become an iron army that dares to fight and can fight?

Zhang Cheng did not want to use so much energy and effort to build up the Mangshan militia as a decoration. Wasn't his operation just to raise a strong support for himself without spending a penny on food?

Although they are private soldiers of various villages in Mangshan area, since they have the name of a militia, they are subject to the control of the imperial government. They can naturally assume the responsibility of guarding the land of their hometown in peacetime, but in wartime they must obey Ordered by the government.

What's more, the selection and training of these rural warriors are all the responsibility of the officers and soldiers of the Yongyi Army. Not to mention that the military regulations, military orders, military songs and slogans are exactly the same as those of the Yongyi Army, and even their food standards are the same. All are strictly implemented in accordance with Yongyi Army standards.

It can be said that apart from the fact that the Mangshan Militia has not yet been officially included in the Yongyi Army, and the word "Yong" is written on the military uniforms, and the armor coverage rate is not up to standard, in other aspects it is no different from the Yongyi Army, and it can be attacked almost at any time. It can be fully integrated into the Yongyi Army system.

All this depends on how Zhang Cheng considers it!

Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng is currently at the Wulong Temple on the West Street of Yuanwu County, sincerely offering sacrifices to the five Dragon Kings of the Yellow River enshrined in the first major hall, and praying to the Dragon Princes to bless the Yellow River for peace and tranquility, and for the safety of the Yong Yi army sailing on the Yellow River.

Although as a soul from later generations, Zhang Cheng himself sneered at this and did not believe it at all, but in the era he was living in now, people had great faith in such gods.

Now that the war is imminent, most of the nearly 30,000 brave soldiers on the north bank of the Yellow River have to cross the river to station on the south bank. Zhang Cheng does not want any accidents to happen when crossing the river.

If there are rumors that it is caused by my disbelief in the power of ghosts and gods, wouldn't it be worth the loss?

At this moment, "rescuing the danger of Kaifeng and exterminating the two thieves who invaded Cao", these two closely linked matters have become the top priority of the Ming Dynasty. From the emperor and cabinet of the capital to the governors of the provinces, they all attach great importance to it.

However, it is important to take it seriously, and it is not known whether it is really dedicated to this end until death. After all, some things still have to be based on conscience. If someone really says one thing and does another, and is perfunctory, it will never be done. You won't see it easily.

Although Yuanwu County belongs to the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture, He Chongwu, the magistrate of Huaiqing Prefecture, and Ji Youci, Wei Huaibing Beidao, also came to Yuanwu County after a long journey. They came not only to pay homage to Uncle Yongning, but also to obey orders from the army. A plan to suppress thieves.

To put it more bluntly, the reason why He Chongwu and Ji Youci came in such a hurry was just to hug Uncle Yong Ning’s thick legs. As the parents of the ruling party, they were soberer than the mediocre Beijing officials in the court. many.

Only when you know the sufferings of the people in the world can you know the general trend of the world!

Both of them are living in the troubled times of Zhongzhou, and they see everything more clearly. They have long abandoned the little illusions left in their hearts. In their new understanding, whether they are the elders in the court or the leaders of the provinces, None of the ministers in the territory can compare with the generals who hold actual military power.

Because they understand that although poetry, calligraphy and etiquette can educate the world, they cannot keep the people safe in troubled times. In troubled times, they still have to rely on military commanders to stabilize the country!