Lu Ming

Chapter 717
Time: August [-]th, the second day of Zhongyong Bo Cao's oath to master.

In the early morning, the sun was shining on the North China Plain.Although there have been many disasters these years, it is midsummer right now.For the low-level farmers, fortunately, the most difficult winter of the year is still far away, and this is considered a good season.

However, the poor will never be able to do without, in addition to freezing, there is another partner: hunger.

In the past few years, the weather has been abnormal, and the wind and rain have not been smooth.The crops in North China are failing, but government taxes have been rising year after year.

This year the situation is even worse.It is already the beginning of August, and experienced farmers are standing in the fields, watching the half-dead wheat grow, and their hearts are already full of despair.

In fact, experienced farmers have already ordered their wives to reduce the amount of rice they cook in each meal, and secretly prepared to flee the famine.

These are the old ways since ancient times.The struggling peasants at the bottom no longer want to leave their hometowns, and in the face of irresistible natural and man-made disasters, they can only choose to save their lives first.

Fortunately, this time, someone helped everyone make up their minds.

In the morning light, a thin mist of soil appeared on the horizon.Appearing from the fog is a line of cavalry straight as a ruler.

After seeing the person coming from a distance, the surroundings of the Tang family suddenly became lively.When the cavalry line was about to arrive in front of the door, the closed door happened to open, and the cavalry changed into a vertical line, entering the enclosure of Tang's house smoothly and unimpeded.

Before it was too late, the horse team stopped at the Yanggu field in the enclosure.With this little effort, the surrounding area of ​​the valley field was already full of villagers watching the excitement.The happiest ones are the children in the enclosure.They surrounded the dismounted cavalry noisily, their obviously malnourished eyes full of longing.

The cavalryman with a silly smile took out a toffee with a big die rabbit printed on it from his pocket, and distributed it to the children.

Amidst the cheers of the children, the head of the Tang family, who had heard the sound, rushed over with a cane.

Elder Patriarch Tang has a handsome face, wearing a six-in-one hat, a thin satin robe, and a pair of fashionable sandals with pockmarked eyes.

Seeing the patriarch, Tang Fu, the cavalry platoon leader leading the team, waved: "All disband for half an hour."

Tangjiaweizi is a natural farm near the camp of Chunleiying.Due to the short distance, when the Spring Thunder Camp was established, the people here were the first to deal with the new army camp.

From the provision of labor to build the bastion, Tangjia Weizi, who received the silver dollar project money, had the first bite of military-civilian relations in the new era.

Later, the two sides got to know each other better, and saw that the treatment of soldiers in the Chunlei Camp was completely different from that of Daming, and many young people in the camp even went to join the army directly.

Over the past few years, thanks to the huge demand of the Chunlei Camp, Tangjiaweizi and some surrounding farms have actually become vassals of the Chunlei Camp.

The cavalry platoon that came today, I don't know whether it was intentional or not, all the soldiers from the Tang family's encirclement are here.So at the order of the platoon leader, most of the cavalry led their horses to meet their families.

Platoon leader Tang Fu himself is no exception.Seeing the patriarch coming in a hurry, he greeted first: "Uncle! You are here!"

"Xiao Jiu is here, it's good to be here."

The head of the Tang family, who was always smiling, was confused today.Leading the clansmen to struggle for half their lives in the last days, Patriarch Tang has maintained sufficient vigilance against any unusual things.

Quietly pulling Tang Fu to an unoccupied corner, the patriarch Tang asked in a low voice with an inquiring face: "Why are you all back, but something happened in the camp?"

Tang Fu admired the keen perception of his uncle since he was a child.Playing with the tassel of the saber on his waist with one hand, Tang Fu answered the question in an irrelevant way: "Uncle, how is the harvest?"

"Oh, forget it!"

As soon as this matter was mentioned, Patriarch Tang's other worries were completely forgotten.He poked the ground hard with his cane, and the patriarch Tang lowered his head and sighed: "Look at the situation, it's good to have [-]% of the previous year. Don't say anything about renting the land. This year's autumn Fu is finished, and the whole village has to drink Northwest wind!"

Having said that, Patriarch Tang raised his head and looked at Tang Fu with hopeful eyes: "Is there any project contracted by Chunlei Camp this year?"

Tang Fu let out a long sigh, and said solemnly: "What else is there to do? The Tartars are coming! Uncle, take everyone to escape!"

"Ah~ what!"

The uncle who suddenly heard the bad news was stunned: "Tartar? A Tartar outside the Guancheng?"

"Ok!"

After thinking about it for a long time, and finally digesting the terrible news, the uncle leaned against the rammed earth wall behind him with his legs weak: "Xiao Jiu, are you telling the truth?"

"The 15 Tartars have knocked at the Santun Camp yesterday. I have come here to inform Uncle Li of the order personally issued by General Li this morning!"

After confirming the news, Patriarch Tang was a little confused: "Well, what should I do?"

"Run, what are you waiting for!"

"Ah, yes, I will tell everyone to go to Qian'an County to take refuge!"

"Shit Qian'an County! Seven years ago, Qian'an County was destroyed by the Tartars not overnight!"

"That's right, the county is not enough." The uncle thumped his forehead and forcibly calmed down: "Can Chunlei Camp allow me to wait?"

"The place of the death battle, did you go to die?"

Hearing this, the young Tang Fu showed excitement on his face: "The three thousand soldiers of my Chunlei camp have sworn with General Li, and this time we will fight the Tartars forever. The Chunlei camp is bound to become a place of death. Uncle , take everyone to Tianjin."

"Tianjin!" The uncle showed melancholy on his face: "Tianjin is a bit far away. There are still crops in the field."

In fact, both Tang Fu and Patriarch Tang knew that from the very beginning, there was only one solution to this problem: go to Tianjin.

However, people are like this, there is always a little luck.So after talking for a long time, Patriarch Tang was still unwilling to face up to the only correct answer.

"It's more than 300 miles, and it only takes a few days. It's too late to go now." Seeing that the uncle was hesitant, Tang Fuyu persuaded earnestly: "Seven years ago, when the Tartars rebelled, Zhuangzi was unprepared. Those who died of freezing and starvation afterward lost [-]% of their lives.”

"Uncle, this time the Tartars have an army of 15. If you don't take everyone to Tianjin, there will be no Tangjiazhuang from now on. Tartars are cannibals!"

"Go! Go today!"

After weighing for a long time, in the end, the uncle, who had no other options, decided to choose the right path: "My mother, it's just right, I can't pay the autumn tax anyway, let's go, everyone will go today!"

"Bring all the food, don't leave a grain of rice for the Tartars."

The uncle made up his mind, and the adult men in the Tang family's enclosure were quickly gathered together.Not long after, the uncle standing on a broken chair announced the news and announced the decision of all the villagers to take refuge in Tianjin.

Although some villagers were extremely surprised by Dashugong's statement, in this harsh medieval society, the villagers must obey the decision of the superior who has the information advantage: the newspaper group still has hope of survival, and the single will surely die.

In addition, there are some villagers who have just learned the news through their own cavalry sons, and have also been given ideological work.So after Uncle Gong announced, most of the people still expressed their emotional stability.

Next, is the vigorous big moving activities.Including the old mother and brother of the platoon leader Tang Fu, every household sorted out the food and poor things.

Livestock and vehicles in the village have also begun emergency maintenance.Livestock were fed concentrate and vehicles were overhauled.During this period, some villagers were also sent out to cut immature crops: anyway, they were going to run away, so they could cut some good green materials and come back to feed the animals.

At noon that day, carrying big bags and small bags to salute, the old and young Tangjia Villagers sat on the frame, left their homes for generations, and slowly disappeared into the southern horizon.

Generally speaking, the people in Tangjiaweizi are happy, because everyone has enough time to prepare for the run.

In fact, at this point in time, Huang Taiji's Manchu and Mongolian army is still gathering in Shengjing, and only a few scouts are dispatched first.Therefore, the retreating farmers in the North China Plain can arrange their belongings and move southward slowly.

However, this secret is a top secret.Soldiers like Tang Fu got the news that the Tartar forwards had already knocked on the front line of the Great Wall, and the army would break through in a few days, so they needed to hurry up and evacuate the surrounding people as soon as possible.

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At the moment when Tangjiaweizi closed the gate and ran away, a group of travel-worn knights also ushered in the wide-open city gate of Luan County, a hundred miles south of Yongping.

Not long after, in the small study room of the county government's back house, the county magistrate Ye Lingxi personally brought the brewed tea to the guests: "Brother Ke Gong, what's going on here?"

In real history, Luan County did not have the county magistrate Yelingxi.However, the traveler has been in this world for almost ten years, and the power of the storm he fanned has become stronger and stronger, blowing to every corner of the world.

Ye Lingxi is from Wuling, Guangdong.The man was originally a little-known home-raiser, but somehow he hugged General Cao's thigh.As a result, the Ye family not only represented a lot of new-style goods, but he himself was selected by the Ministry of Officials, and he was arranged to be an official in Luan County in an unconventional arrangement.

The one who joined the cavalry team today was a sturdy figure with a dark face and a powerful look, not a scholar at all.

At this juncture, the origin of the middle-aged scholar named Gao Qi and the name Ke Gong is not difficult to guess: he is a crossing dog who sits in the capital and is responsible for contacting Cantonese officials.

"It's urgent, I rushed over overnight." After taking the tea, Gao Qi took out a letter from his arms and said in an official Cantonese accent: "Lord Luo wrote it himself, read it before reading."

Ye Lingxi took the letter and opened it, only to find that there were only two or three lines of writing on it.After a quick look, he immediately got up in shock: "Has the Tartar entered the customs?"

"Of course. The soldiers have reached the Great Wall."

After getting up and pacing in the room for a long time, Ye Lingxi calmed down the shock in his heart: "Will the plan come out?"

"Immigration."

"Tianjin?"

"Tianjin."

"Why don't you see the Chaotingtang newspaper?"

Gao Qi laughed dryly: "The court hasn't found out yet."

"Be good." Ye Lingxi was astonished: "There is no order to move people out of the county boundary. This move is equivalent to conspiracy against Cao Shuai."

"Cao Shuai swore an oath to serve as king in Guangzhou yesterday."

Cold sweat broke out on Ye Lingxi's head.After all, no matter how you say it, the traditional education since the haircut still made him feel awe of the imperial power in his bones: "Cocoa, but do you want it?"

"Well." Although Gao Qi is a scholar, in the new system, he is a veteran, his status is far higher than that of Ye Lingxi, who came in halfway, and his anti-thief will is much stronger than the opponent: "This time, King Qin, When it's over, I won't go back again."

After every word, Gao Qi stared into Ye Lingxi's eyes, and slowly said the main points.

Sitting back in the chair, County Magistrate Ye was sweating all over: "Old and young at home"

Instinctively shied away, Ye Lingxi suddenly thought that his whole family lived in Wuling, and if he really wanted to ransack his home and behead him, it would be more convenient for someone surnamed Cao to chop him off.

As for Emperor Chongzhen whose surname is Cao, oh no, if Emperor Cao went to the royal conquest, Chongzhen would be alive in two or three months.
After planning and making a call, the magistrate Ye finally gritted his teeth and said, "I will contact the big households in the city tonight. Starting tomorrow, I will order the county to leave and not enter, and send a letter to all the villages in the territory."

"Okay, okay, Brother Ye understands righteousness!" Gao Qi, who was still holding on to his strength, was relieved at this moment, exhausted all over his body: "Hurry up and find a bed with me, and the few horses outside. And settle down. Tomorrow we will go to Zuojin County.”

Ye Lingxi heard the words, opened the door to call the housekeeper, and frowned and analyzed: "Whether it's Qianxi or Yongping, the person in charge is not from the south, so I'm afraid it's not easy to lobby."

"The kings are willing to sacrifice their lives to die in the country, and they cannot be stopped."

Gao Qi, who had already walked out of the door, heard a leisurely voice: "But those poor people in the four townships don't need to be tied up?"

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In this way, in the next two days, rows of people like ants appeared on the plain from north to south.The wave of strategic escape in the seventeenth century driven by high-end "informationization" technology magically appeared in the vast North China Plain.

At the same time, a large number of cavalry departed from Tianjin and scattered into the North China Plain: after all, only a few people were honestly listening to advice, and there were still many people who were reluctant to part with their families and needed to be further "persuaded to leave."

The imperial court, who knew nothing about it, did not receive an urgent report from Yongping Mansion until five days later.Originally, this memorial, as well as several other county government memorials, arrived in the capital three days ago.However, after the intentional or unintentional neglect of the bureaucratic system, the information was delayed after all.

The bewildered Emperor Chongzhen, after seeing this vague and confused report, wished to smash an ashtray on the head of Yongping Fu Yin, and then slapped two wine bottles: What do you mean by the people fleeing south?What is "rumored" that the Tartars went south?Why don't I know?Spreading rumors and believing rumors, looking for house copying?
The furious Chongzhen urgently ordered Jin Yiwei to go out of the city to Yongping to investigate.

However, Jin Yiwei will be out of the city for two days, and the shocking battle report of Yongping Mansion's [-]-mile battle is sent to the emperor again: The Cao thief finally rebelled!Cao thief's cavalry in Tianjin swindled several county towns such as Qian'an and Funing, looted all the county residents' soft food and fodder, and rushed them all to Tianjin.

In addition, Cao thief is attacking Yongping Fucheng at the moment.

The shocked Emperor Chongzhen immediately ordered martial law in the Beijing camp, and sent multiple scouts to find out the truth, causing panic in the capital.

August 1636, 8, a day worth remembering in the new plane.

Early this morning, Emperor Chongzhen rarely stopped his early court, led a group of important officials, and climbed to the east wall of the imperial city.

As far as the eye can see, under the golden sun, ominous columns of black smoke stand on the horizon.

Detailed information has been sent back: a large number of cavalry under Cao Ni's command are scattered and burning the wheat grains in the farms and fields in various places, and forcibly driving the Jingzhou farmers south.But those who procrastinate a little will be flogged and beaten, and those who do not follow will throw their corpses in the public.

Another: The military force of that generation was tyrannical, and the guns in their hands were far away and ruthless. The military guards from all over the country could only guard the pass and dare not fight with it.

The whole process was expressionless and led a group of staff to watch the fireworks show, and returned to Chongzhen in the Palace of the Emperor, his tongue trembling: "It's reversed, it's really reversed! Wen Tiren, you are the chief assistant, tell me, what should the court do!"

Just as Old Xigu Wen calmly straightened his robes and went out to prepare and make mud, a young eunuch rushed into the palace holding a [-]-mile report: Your Highness, it’s not good!The Tartars are knocking!
Battle report: In the afternoon yesterday, Xifengkou and Dushikou, two passes located on the Great Wall, were attacked by the Tartar vanguard army and were about to fall.

"It's really here, isn't it a rumor?" Chongzhen hurriedly grabbed the battle report, and after reading it, Chongzhen sat back on the dragon chair.

After a long while, the emperor said dryly, "Hehe, Uncle Zhongyong is in Guangzhou earlier than I knew about it? No wonder he sent troops to drive the people away to relieve my worries, haha, haha, good A loyal subject!"

When all the ministers heard this heartbreaking words, they all fell to the ground to plead guilty,
At this moment, another young eunuch ran into the hall holding the eight hundred miles battle report high.

The next moment, after reading the battle report, Emperor Chongzhen yelled angrily, and fainted on the dragon chair.

There was immediate chaos in the hall.

Battle report: Three days ago, the rebel Li Zicheng fell into Luoyang, and Zhu Changxun, the king of cooking, shared the food with the crowd.

(End of this chapter)