The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 498
The "Red Banner Army" often reported to the imperial court, and the clan elders who had the fame of being a student all heard about it. They heard that the Marquis of Dongping was going to use Zhuangzi to do good deeds, and they all agreed.

Liu Zaiqi, dressed in the uniform of a third-rank military officer, patted his chest and promised that the left behind "Red Banner Army" would assist the strong men in Zhuangzi to stick to Sun Liuzhuang.

You can also choose many people from the young and middle-aged refugees to help defend. If there are really tens of thousands of rogues coming, it is guaranteed that they will return home without a feather.

To ask for food at this time is to kill Sun Liuzhuang and his son. The "Red Banner Army" not only does not want a grain of rice, but also prepares to store food in the village, and sends hundreds of people to guard the village.

Encountering such a good thing made the patriarchs and elders who were in fear every day during this period of time happy, and they all felt that it was a blessing in disguise.

In fact, there is no need for Liu Zaiqi to introduce it. Most people in Sunliuzhuang know from the mouths of beggars who are constantly fleeing for refuge that rogue bandits have become a trend, and they have even taken down many counties and prefectures.

The walls of their humble Zhuangzi are only two feet high and five feet wide, not even covered with bricks. Although they have insisted on repairing no gaps in the past two years, they are far less solid than the county town.

If the rogues took a fancy to this place and dispatched tens of thousands of people to attack, the manpower that Sun Liuzhuang could organize might not be able to defend it at all.

With a few hundred more regular troops and hundreds of thousands of strong laborers participating in the defense, they really have the ability to deal with the attacks of tens of thousands of rogues.

What's more, the elders of the clan know well that such a powerful army is not easy to catch, does Sun Liuzhuang have the confidence to say no?
The "Red Banner Army" did not resort to force, and the soft-spoken negotiations with high-ranking officials had already given the tribe enough face. Of course, a group of tribe elders finally thanked them, but thanked them!
That night, the fifth elementary school of the Liu family and the third child of the Sun family organized [-] young and middle-aged men to take the initiative to help the army move the supplies stored in the village. There were still many young and middle-aged who were reluctant.

Unexpectedly, the "Red Banner Army" did not take advantage of the common people in vain. After the young and strong men worked for an hour, Master Liu who contacted them arranged for everyone to have an extra meal.

The life of farmers is difficult, and now they are only willing to eat two thin meals in Zhuangzi, which means that there is less food and more wild vegetables.

The three hundred strong laborers who came to work actually drank polished rice porridge today and received two cooking cakes and a sea fish of about two taels. All of them felt like they had a New Year's Eve dinner on New Year's Eve.

Most of the young and strong drank a large bowl of porridge, only willing to lick the salty fish, and then without exception, they carefully hid the two pancakes and a sea fish in their arms.

That night, many families in Sunliuzhuang exclaimed, and then the wives, children, and old parents sipped and sipped the cooking cakes and sea fish, and some women burst into tears in exaggerated ways.

"Father, are these delicious pancakes and fish really given by the officers and soldiers outside Zhuangzi? I always heard from my parents that I should hide from bandit soldiers, and even more from the officers and soldiers. Those are wicked people who eat children. "

"Son! The officers and soldiers outside the village are not ordinary people. They are the 'Red Banner Army' who beat the Tartars and built slaves and fled. They are good people just like Grandpa Qi's Qi family army."

"Master, will those 'Red Banner Army' really be stationed in Sunliuzhuang for a long time? Will our Zhuangzi no longer have to be afraid of rogues and official soldiers?"

"Yes, the folks in Sunliuzhuang will be able to farm the land with peace of mind in the future. I have seen those 'Red Banner Army' troops with my own eyes. They are all so energetic, and they seem to be able to read and write. I like the weapons and armor. I have never seen it in my life, and the mere rogues will definitely walk around our place."

"Our land is far away from Zhuangzi, and we don't know what to do if we haven't taken care of it for more than ten days. We will clean it up at dawn, and we have to work hard to carry water and protect seedlings. These days are too dry."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of strength. It won't take a few days to water our family's nine acres of land. It's a pity that this year has been delayed. I'm afraid it's enough to harvest seven or eight stones of wheat."

"Just be content with it. If we really harvest so much wheat, our family can save three stones, and then exchange the wheat for some miscellaneous grains. The five members of our family can still eat dry ones every now and then!"

The preparation of the "Red Banner Army" to garrison made hundreds of farmers in Sunliuzhuang look forward to the future. Presumably they will not be awakened by nightmares again tonight, and they can sleep soundly.

Huang Han will continue to march southwest with the main force. It is possible that the "Red Banner Army" has been fighting independently since its establishment and frequently attacked Jiannu, which brought many surprises to the emperor.

This time it was transferred to the mainland to suppress bandits. The emperor did not specify which route the army belonged to, but only specified that the destination was Henan.

Huang Han guessed that it was nothing more than the following reasons. The first reason was that he was already a marquis of super rank, and he was one of the few generals with a seal.

Which civilian and military general can command such a large-scale Ping Liao general?In order to avoid conflicts, the "Red Banner Army" was simply allowed to fight independently.

The second reason must be that Chongzhen actually trusted Huang Han's willingness to fight for the country from the bottom of his heart. He believed that it was impossible for the "Red Banner Army" to enter Henan to be passive and idle.

The third reason is that the emperor was not in a hurry, and the unclear mission of the "Red Banner Army" made it impossible for Huang Han to quickly complete the task and request to return to the station. First, throw Huang Han in the interior and let the "Red Banner Army" fight in Henan for a year or two.

The emperor did not have a specific task, but Huang Han gave himself a very clear task, to increase the influence of the "Red Banner Army" and at the same time confuse hundreds of thousands of Henan people to enter the Liaoxi Corridor for reclamation.

The ups and downs of one another will greatly increase one's own strength, resulting in more food surplus, and will have the ability to eat and digest millions of people in the future.

This is not just imagination, because an average villager farming [-] mu of wheat fields can contribute more than a dozen shi of wheat after self-sufficiency. In the case of two meals a day, an average of two shi of wheat can barely support an adult.

At present, the Liaoxi Corridor and the Yanshan Basin, which is constantly undergoing small watershed management, have enough fields to add 10,000 households. After they settle down and participate in reclamation for a year or two, the food produced will definitely be able to meet the needs of another [-]+ households.

As for how to fight the rogues, there is also a charter, and we will do our best to kill the old bandits and maximize the rescue of the cannon fodder that has just been kidnapped.

It is much easier to deal with these ordinary people who have become rogues. They will not be given multiple-choice questions, and they will be sent to the Liaoxi Corridor for reclamation with the sentence of exile.

The initial salary can be halved, as long as they are [-]% full and have the energy to do farm work, instead of giving them six coins and five buckets of miscellaneous grains for a month.

It is difficult to leave the homeland, also because the popularity of the "Red Banner Army" is not very high in the hinterland of Ming Dynasty. Along the way, Huang Han saw how difficult it is for the propaganda team to confuse the refugees.

(End of this chapter)