Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 16 The Rebellion
Cao Bianjiao led his men to a village ten miles outside the city of Lushi County. There was no one in the fields outside the village, and the whole village was quiet.

After arranging for people to investigate, Cao Bianjiao got off his horse and found a cool place to sit on a rock to rest.

He is 21 years old, with a dark complexion, a wide mouth and straight nose, and piercing eyes.Wearing mail armor and an eight-petal iron helmet with red tassels fluttering on the helmet.

Cao Bianjiao is the nephew of Cao Wenzhao, general soldier of Lintao. His father, Cao Wenyao, was killed by an arrow when he followed his brother Wen Zhao to fight in Xinzhou in the third year of Chongzhen. He was 16 years old that year and had already fought with the army.After his father died in battle, his uncle Cao Wenzhao treated him as if he was his own, and loved him very much. He specially arranged for his family to teach him martial arts with brave warriors, and he himself guided his battle strategy.

Cao Bianjiao has grown rapidly under the careful teaching of many elders, and his martial arts are even more amazing.Accurate in archery, good at using horses and spears, and has the courage that is beyond the reach of everyone.What's more, he and the thieves have a hatred of killing his father. Whenever he goes to battle, he will rush to the front and be brave.In the past two years, his reputation has risen, and the thieves fled in anticipation. They called him and his uncle Cao Wenzhao General Cao, and they were very afraid.

After a while, he turned back to Cao Bianjiao all night, got off his horse and knelt down on one knee and said, "General, there is no one in the village, only dozens of civilian corpses were found!"

Cao Bianjiao stood up when he heard the words, told him to get up with a sullen face, and then ordered Qianzong Wan Yongming to send Yebushou to explore the way ahead, and then led the crowd into the village.

After entering the village, what everyone saw was a miserable scene. The originally small village was full of corpses.There are old and weak women and children, as well as young and strong, it is horrible.Only a few houses were destroyed.

After Wan Yongming got off his horse and looked through several corpses, he came to Cao Bianjiao and said, "It's all caused by the weapons of officers and soldiers, it should be the work of the rebels!"

Cao Bianjiao said with a sullen face, "Send someone to bury the body. Everyone find a place to rest and see if the well is dry. Take the time to eat and feed the horses! Send out more sentries within a five-mile radius. Let's move on after the horses come back!"

The war has been chaotic for a long time, and everyone has gradually become numb to this kind of thing, so they acted separately, waiting for the night of the investigation ahead to return.

The soldiers found a fairly tidy courtyard, and Cao Bianjiao entered and sat on a marching stick.A soldier handed the coconut scoop, and he took it and raised his head and took a gulp, then let out a comfortable breath, wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth, looked up at the sky, and it was around the end of the day, leaving the sky It's too early to be black.

The soldiers brought dry cakes and pickles, and Cao Bianjiao ate them in big mouthfuls. Wan Yongming hurried into the yard with Yebushou who was going to explore the way.

Ye Bushou knelt down on one knee and said: "General, the rebel Xu Laichao is attacking the county seat! I saw from a distance that the city is defended by civilians, and I can't resist the rebels at all. I guess it will be half an hour later." It will fall into the city!"

Cao Bianjiao stood up and asked, "Where is Xu Laichao's army?"

"General, the formation of the rebel army is scattered, and the ants are attacking the city. The banner of the Chinese army is behind the formation, and the defense against the rear is weak. Maybe I didn't expect the commander-in-chief to make such a quick decision, and I didn't expect our army to come here so fast!"

"Hmph, a bunch of mobs! He, Xu Laichao, usually fights with Zongbing You in smooth battles, but he can't even defeat bandits in a single battle, so he dares to mutiny! I will send him to see the King of Hades today!"

"Wan Yongming, a certain person led [-] cavalry to attack the Chinese army! The remaining [-] are divided into two groups, and they are surrounded by left and right! After a certain person kills Xu Laichao, you will yell to surrender so that one person can get away! Chen Yongfu probably will soon When it arrives, his subordinates are all infantry, and then let him set up camp on the spot to take care of the descendants!"

Wan Yongming knew that this master liked to fight the battle the most, and he had great admiration for Cao Bianjiao's bravery, so he took his orders and left without saying a word.

Under the city of Lushi County, Xu Laichao sat on a high chair outside the tent, watching his men attack the city.

Although there is a lack of siege equipment, the county wall is not high and there is no moat. The officers and soldiers cut down trees to make more than a dozen simple ladders, and held up shields to attack. Archers kept shooting arrows at the top of the city. From time to time, there was a miserable howl after being hit by an arrow.

Xia Zuxun, the magistrate of Lushi County, stood at the top of the city with a sword in his hand, in official clothes, and loudly directed Min Zhuang to throw stones down.On a ladder, there was a burly man in heavy armor, holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other. After blocking a stone with the shield, his head popped out from the top of the wall, and he was about to climb to the top of the wall.Several young men rushed forward.Some were hacked with knives and some were stabbed with spears. This man swung his shield with his left hand, blocking all the swords and guns, exerting force on his waist and legs, and jumped onto the top of the wall.Immediately afterwards, he swiped the knife in his right hand, and the sharp blade cut the throat of a young man with a gun. Slowly falling limp, seeing that he is no longer alive.

The young men nearby were already petrified, and the figure of an officer and soldier appeared on the ladder. If the officers and soldiers climbed up to the top of the city from here one after another, the city would not be able to hold it.

At this moment, there was only a bowstring sound, and a three-edged iron arrow shot at the officer and soldier climbing the city, hitting the eye socket, and he fell backwards with a loud cry, hitting the body of another officer and soldier who was about to climb to the top of the city. The two fell off the city wall together.

The young and strong defenders of the city came back to their senses, several people picked up a thick piece of wood, and smashed it down on the ladder, only to hear a scream, and the officers and soldiers on the ladder were smashed down.

The man who shot the officer and soldier was Wang Zhirui, the patrol inspector of Lushi County.As an inspector of the county, he has fifty patrolmen under his command. He usually likes martial arts, and he often trains his subordinates. He has wiped out a few small groups of bandits with the county magistrate, but he is quite effective in combat.

This time when the officers and soldiers attacked the city, he brought all his subordinates to defend the city. If there were no patrols like him, the city would have collapsed if only these strong men defended the city.

But even if the patrols had some combat power, they still couldn't be compared with regular officers and soldiers. In less than half an hour, more than half of the fifty patrols had been killed or injured, and Min Zhuang had even more casualties. He reckoned that the city would not be able to defend.But as an official of the imperial court, if he can guard for a moment, it will count as a moment, at worst, he will die in the city in the end.

Wang Zhirui shouted loudly: "Throw away the ashes, quickly!"

The patrolmen and Qing Zhuang picked up the gray bottles from the top of the city and threw them down one after another. The clay pots filled with lime fell to the ground and burst open, and the lime inside scattered everywhere. Coughing unceasingly, they immediately swarmed back and fled.

The pressure of defending the city suddenly eased, and the young and strong patrols cheered in unison.

When Wang Zhirui came to Xia Zuxun, the county magistrate, both of them looked serious.They knew that the officers and soldiers were only blocked temporarily, and the next attack would definitely be unstoppable.

Wang Zhirui cupped his hands and said: "Sir, you can take your family and leave, I will lead people to block for a while, the thieves will not care about those who run away when they enter the city, they will definitely rob and then care about other things!"

Xia Zuxun was born as a Jinshi in the third year of Chongzhen, and he is already the second in Lushi County.

He said sternly: "I was appointed by the imperial court to be an official of the parents of this county. I have the responsibility of guarding the land. If I escape alone and the people under my rule are slaughtered by thieves, do you think I can still enjoy my life?" Already killed in battle, this official will never live!"

Xu Laichao watched the officers and soldiers receding like a tide with a gloomy expression, and ordered: "Send a military law team to supervise the formation, and anyone who escapes will be killed! A bunch of waste, even a small county town guarded by a young man can't beat it! Organize troops to fight again!" attack!"

The subordinates took the lead and left.Xu Laichao originally planned to make a mutiny, force the court to pay more money, and then capture Lu's County, looting wantonly to make a fortune.Then he lied that the thieves broke the city, and Xu Laichao commanded his subordinates to fight bloody battles, and finally took back the city.

In the end, kill some civilians, cut off their heads, and report them as thieves. Anyway, many military leaders have done it.As for the exposure of the matter, it is easy to handle. As long as the officials and gentry in the county are killed, ordinary people will live within a radius of tens of miles all their lives. Who can have so much insight to complain to the higher authorities?

Now that bandits are rampant, and there are still Jianlu ravaging outside the pass, it is time for the imperial court to use them as generals.When the time comes to kill a few scapegoats, it is said that they coerced me to mutiny, and I have been bound and guarded all the time, with no chance to escape.Even if someone sees it through, the imperial court can only pinch its nose and admit what he said.

The general went up with the military law team, and Xu Laichao took a big sip from the coconut ladle, which contained wine, and felt a little more at ease after drinking the wine.Suddenly the ground shook slightly, and there was a booming sound, from far to near, he threw the coconut scoop in his hand, and stood up abruptly, after all, he was an old soldier who had been fighting for a long time, this movement was too familiar, cavalry!It was the sound of a large group of cavalry assaulting!He yelled in horror: "Army array! Back to meet the enemy! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Didn't Hong Chengchou, the old bastard, lead the team to Shaanxi?How did he know of his mutiny so quickly, and sent cavalry to attack so quickly!It's over!When he thought of cavalry, he thought of Cao Bianjiao, it must be that Lengtouqing leading the team!That idiot who would risk his life on the battlefield!I was too careless, the Chinese army was set up behind, and I didn't even let a scout horse go, it's over!It's over!The only plan for now is to run away, the team can't take care of it, let's save our lives!In the future, it will be a big deal to cast a thief. With my own ability, there may be a time for a comeback in the future.

In a split second, he then shouted, "Take my horse!"

It was already too late, and before the soldiers could lead him to the horse, Cao Bianjiao in black armor rushed forward with a spear in his hand, followed by four hundred cavalrymen who had already charged up.

Cao Bianjiao ignored the panic-stricken rebels running around in front of him, and the living creature in front of his horse was hit by the horse and flew away. He turned his eyes around to search for Xu Laichao's figure.Suddenly his eyes lit up, and he saw Xu Laichao who was hurriedly getting on his horse, surrounded by a group of personal soldiers.

The corner of his mouth twitched, he snorted coldly, shook the reins, clamped the horse's belly with his waist and legs, and the horse accelerated and came straight towards Xu Laichao.Xu Laichao turned his head and saw Cao Bianjiao coming, his heart was broken, and he shouted: "Stop him! Block him!"

The soldiers around him drew their knives to meet Cao Bianjiao one after another, Xu Laichao stepped on his horse and quickly ran towards the place where there were few people.

Cao Bianjiao clamped the horse spear held in his right hand under his armpit, and held the pole in his forehand. The sharp head of the spear easily broke through the cotton armor of a soldier, and then he shook his arm lightly. There was a big hole, blood spurted out, and the soldier fell to the ground with a loud howl.

Cao Bianjiao waved sideways again, Ma Qiang cut the throat of a soldier, and the man died instantly.In an instant, Cao Bianjiao picked or stabbed, and all the soldiers who came up were killed.

At this time, Xu Laichao had already run out for nearly a hundred steps.

Cao Bianjiao reined in his horse, hung up his lance, took out his bow and set an arrow, the bowstring rang, and hit the back of his heart, Xu Laichao fell off the horse in response.

Cao Bianjiao ran over on his horse, Xu Laichao was still struggling to get up, Cao Bianjiao put the tip of his spear against his neck, and looked at him coldly.

Xu Laichao opened his mouth to beg for mercy. Cao Bianjiao's horse spear had already pierced his throat. Cao Bianjiao's soldiers surrounded him. One of his soldiers jumped off his horse and cut off Xu Laichao's head with a ring knife. Cao Bianjiao picked up the head with the tip of the spear , shouted loudly: "Xu Laichao is dead, and those who surrender will not be killed!"

Xia Zuxun and Wang Zhirui in the city were determined to die and were setting up defenses.Seeing the officers and soldiers attacking again and about to command Ding Zhuang to fight to the death, there was a sudden chaos behind the officers and soldiers, and then a large group of Ming army cavalry in red armor rushed out. One rider held a general flag and wrote a letter The word "Cao".

The siege officers and soldiers heard the sound of charging and killing, turned around and looked around, and were immediately petrified. When the sharp-eyed officers and soldiers saw the banner, they shouted in horror: "It's General Xiao Cao, General Xiao Cao!"

Cao Bianjiao bravely crowned the three armies, not only the rogues were afraid of him, but also the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty both admired and feared him.Hearing many people yelling "General Xiao Cao", the officers and soldiers who were about to attack the city suddenly dispersed.

The [-] cavalry led by Wan Yongming went left and right towards the fleeing officers and soldiers, shouting one after another: "The surrender will not be killed!"

At this moment, the news of Xu Laichao's death quickly spread throughout the battlefield, and more than two thousand rebels dropped their weapons and surrendered on their knees.

Xia Zuxun, Wang Zhirui and the guards in the city were ecstatic, jumping, shouting and laughing wildly.Xia Zuxun and Wang Zhirui hurried down to the city, ordered the gates to be opened wide, and they welcomed them out.

Cao Bianjiao ordered Wan Yongming to send people to guard the surrendered troops and clean up the battlefield.In fact, before the cavalry charged, Xu Laichao's troops had already surrendered, so there were few casualties.

The soldiers reported that the magistrate and inspector of the county came. Although Cao Bianjiao didn't like dealing with civil servants, he dismounted and went to meet him.

After meeting twice, the two officials of Lushi County were shocked by Cao Bianjiao's youth. After they got the name, they suddenly realized that it was General Xiao Cao, no wonder he was so brave!Then there was a fierce boast, Cao Bianjiao was not good at responding, so he casually said a few perfunctory words.

In the midst of embarrassment, the soldiers came to report, and Chen Yongfu, the governor of Henan Province, arrived with his army.Cao Bianjiao was overjoyed, he clasped his fists to Xia Zuxun and Wang Zhirui quickly, and said he was going to Chen Yongfu's department to deliver the commander's order, then he bid farewell to the two and got on his horse and left.

Xia and Wang were worrying about whether to invite soldiers into the city. Don't invite them, because they saved the lives of the people in the city and their own lives; if they go into the city, they are afraid that the officers and soldiers' military discipline will be corrupted and the civilians will be harassed. After all, the officers and soldiers of Ming Dynasty have a bad reputation.As soon as they heard his farewell, the two felt relieved, so they bid farewell.

After receiving Hong Chengchou's general order, Chen Yongfu hurriedly led his army to Lushi County.More than [-] of his men are basically infantry, with only [-] horses, which are used as messengers and sentries.

Yongning was only [-] miles away from Lushi County. He arranged for more than ten riders to explore the road ahead, and the army behind them walked slowly.

Ten miles away from Lushi County, Tan Ma reported that the rebels were attacking the city, and Chen Yongfu hurriedly urged to speed up the march.Although there are fewer people on my side than the other side, once they approach the county seat, the rebels will still use most of their troops to stop them, and the siege of the county seat will be temporarily lifted.Then set up a camp on your own side, and wait for the reinforcements from the commander-in-chief to come. If you attack from both sides, you will be able to defeat the rebels.

Seeing that he was about to rush to the county seat, Tan Ma hurried to report that the rebel army had been defeated by General Cao and the county seat had not been breached.Chen Yongfu felt relieved, if the county seat was destroyed, he would be the closest to the rebels, and he would have to bear the burden of failing to rescue and sit back and watch the crime of falling!It’s okay, the superintendent is wise, General Cao is brave, haha!
After meeting Cao Bianjiao and Chen Yongfu, he took out the arrow of the governor's order, issued an order for him to take care of the surrendered troops, garrison on the spot, and not to harass the local area, and then led the troops back to Xinyang.As for how Chen Yongfu dealt with the aftermath, he couldn't care less.

(End of this chapter)