Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 450

May [-]th, Dragon Boat Festival.

Zhao Zhongyi got up early, picked up three loads of water to fill the big water tank, boiled another pot of water, brewed a pot of high broken tea for the old master and sent it to him.

The old master didn't get up until he smelled the aroma of tea.

"Today is a good day. Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, Canglong Qisu flies to the center of Zhengnan, and is in the middle of the year. The fifth line of the Book of Changes Bagua: The flying dragon is in the sky, and it is an auspicious day."

Zhao Zhongyi doesn't understand the Book of Changes, but he likes the words "Flying Dragon in the Sky" very much. He thinks the dragon is mysterious, auspicious and even majestic.

"It's a pity that there is no dragon boat rowing here, I miss my hometown in Jiangyin." Zhao Zhongyi said.

The old master got up, rinsed his mouth with tea, then washed his face and changed his clothes.

"My hometown is doing well now. The Tartars have been expelled, the traitors have been dealt with, and the bandits have been suppressed. Now the stability is restored, and the people enjoy their work. I heard that there is no wasteland in Jiangyin. Even the Huangtian Port wharf is crowded with merchant ships and is very prosperous."

"Then this year's dragon boat race in my hometown must be lively, but unfortunately we can't look down on it."

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big national festival. This day integrates worshiping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, celebrating entertainment and food. Whether you have money or not, a day will be very lively and happy.

It's a pity that they are now in Yongcheng in the southeast of Henan.

Yongcheng belongs to Guide Mansion in Henan Province, and it is a battleground for military strategists. Occupying Yongcheng, it can threaten Xuzhou to the northeast and Shangqiu to the northwest. It is the base of the two important towns.

Since the Sui Dynasty, Yongcheng was also a necessary place for the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Because Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty believed that the strategic position of this place was important, it was established as a county, and Yongcheng became the hub of north-south transportation.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River moved erratically along the old course of the Bianhe River from north to south. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River seized water from Bianhe River to flow into the Huaihe River and out to the sea. The old course of the Bianhe River was completely silted up in the north of Yongcheng. , but Yongcheng's geographical location is still important.

"Today is an auspicious day. The altar will open tonight. You should go and notify me." The old master said.

Zhao Zhongyi nodded, "Old Master, we've been here for so long, when will there be a task from above? I heard that the Northern Expedition is coming again. Long live also proposed a military expedition. We can't stay here all the time, we have to move what."

"Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for a while, don't rush, you have to be patient." The old master was very calm.

"Wait, wait, when is this a head, I should have known that I shouldn't have left Jiangyin."

But the old master still said, "There will always be time to play, don't worry, you can be your big brother safely, and recruit more loyal Red Spear members, don't really get off the mission, but stretch your hips."

"Don't worry, our Yongcheng Red Gun Club has been secretly developing for more than half a year, and now it has a large number of members."

"What's the use of having too many people, you have to be of one mind."

The old master comforted Zhao Zhongyi, "Since the two of us chose this path and came here voluntarily, we must be patient, and we must not act hastily, let alone half-heartedly!"

Zhao San went back to wash his face, and cooked some noodle soup in the kitchen. After the two finished drinking, he put down the bowls and chopsticks and went out.

Yongcheng is at the southernmost edge of Guide Mansion.

During the time of Chongzhen, Henan was originally a land in chaos during the Four Wars and suffered from military disasters.After Hongguang proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, he set up four towns in the north of the Yangtze River. Gao Jie was granted the title of Xingpingbo and stationed in Xuzhou.

Gao Jie was originally a general of Li Zicheng's army. Later, he committed adultery with Li Zicheng's wife, the Xing family, and eloped to join the Ming army.He used to have an old grudge against Huang Degong, another general from the four towns. Huang Degong took three hundred soldiers to Gaoyou to pick up Denglai's general Huang Fei.

Afterwards, Gao Jie also sent troops to attack Yizheng, where Huang Degong was stationed, and the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River were chaotically fought, which made the place worse.

Later, Shi Kefa mediated the two feudal clans of Huang and Gao.

Afterwards, Gao Jie led his troops north into Guide, Henan, planning to restore the Central Plains. Xu Dingguo, the general of Henan, was stationed in Suizhou of Guide, and secretly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

When Gao Jie was still under Li Zicheng's command, he led his troops to plunder a place, which was Xu Dingguo Township. At that time, his whole family was killed by Gao Jie's troops.

Because of this old enmity, after Gao Jie led his army into Guide, Xu Dingguo invited Gao Jie to the city of Suizhou. Gao Jie refused to listen to the dissuasion of Chen Qianfu and others, and went to the city for a banquet.

As a result, in the middle of the night, Xu Dingguo ambushed his soldiers everywhere, killing Gao Jie and his soldiers who entered the city.

At dawn, Li Benshen, Gao Jie's nephew outside the city, and others attacked the city. Li Dingguo abandoned the city and broke through the Yellow River to defect to the Qing army.

Gao Jie died, and Li Dingguo fled to the north.

Gao Jie's subordinates looted the Guide Mansion wantonly, and the entire Guide Mansion was looted.

Soon after, Xu Dingguo was the vanguard of the Qing army and led the army back. After recapturing Germany, he started killing and looting again.

Xu Dingguo originally joined the army in Liaodong, but after the fall of Liaodong, Xu Dingguo abandoned the land and fled, crossed the sea to Denglai, and was retained by the governor. After Mao Wenlong recovered Dongjiang, Xu Dingguo was sent with a thousand troops to support him.

In the early years of Tianqi, Yuan Keli was the governor of Denglai, and Xu Dingguo was appointed by him as the middle army of the defense of Haidao.Later, he made meritorious service from the Pingbai Lotus Sect, took charge of the Denglai Governor's Chinese military with the rank of guerrilla, and sought the rank of general.Later, he was impeached and dismissed from office, and returned to his hometown.In the battle of Ning Jin, I wrote a letter to ask for help. From then on, Ning Jin won a great victory, and he was allowed to return to his original post.

From Taichang to Tianqi, Xu Dingguo had been a general in Liaodong and Denglai, and his performance was still acceptable, but his military discipline was not good, and he was repeatedly impeached.

In the Chongzhen Dynasty, Xu Dingguo was promoted from the deputy general of Jiliao to the general of Henan, but later the peasant army marched across Henan, but Xu Dingguo flinched and did not dare to fight, so he was dismissed.

Later, he made up the deputy general of Shanxi.After the defeat of Songjin, Xu Dingguo succeeded Li Fuming, the Shanxi general who was dismissed due to the defeat. Li Zicheng surrounded Kaifeng in 15 years, and Xu Dingguo led his troops to Henan.

Halfway through the march, he mutinied, and after entering Henan, he became even more domineering.

After the fall of Kaifeng, Xu Dingguo was imprisoned and sentenced to death for various crimes such as army rout and looting.

But soon after, Sun Chuanting died in battle in Guanzhong, and the court was shocked, so he had to use a large number of generals, Xu Dingguo was among them, and appointed him as the general army officer to help suppress Henan.

But Xu Dingguo, who came back again, was even more arrogant and indulgent. He was stationed in Suizhou, neither south nor north, wandering around, looting everywhere in Guide, and the people suffered greatly.

The local gentry and common people had to defend themselves against Xu Dingguo's rebels.

When the Hongguang Dynasty was established, Chen Qianfu's best strategy should be to pretend to appease with the title of title first, and then follow suit, but Chen Qianfu's suggestion was not listened to by Nanjing. Seal of General Zhenbei.

In the end, as Chen Qianfu said, Xu Dingguo sent Zi Tongqing secretly, then sent troops to attack and loot everywhere, and finally trapped Gao Jie and cut Nanming's arm.

Later, the Qing army was led to attack Guide again, and went all the way to Yangzhou to participate in the Yangzhou massacre.

In the past few years, Guide Mansion has been repeatedly attacked by the Chuang army, the Qing army and even the Ming army.

Among them, Yongcheng is more serious.

Last year, during the Northern Expedition of the Ming Army, they went deep into Changping, Shandong, and one of them also entered Guide Mansion in the east of Xuzhou.

Soon after, the Ming army returned to Jiangnan.

But some people stayed.

Old Master Zhao and Zhao Zhongyi were left behind at that time. Their task was to develop anti-Qing forces in Yongcheng, actively organize troops, not only to collect and pass information for the imperial court, but also to break into the enemy's heart.

At that time, many people were sent out, and they were scattered all over the place.

Yongcheng is dominated by the two of them. After almost a year of development, the Loyalty Red Spear Club established by the two of them in Yongcheng has now become a huge force in Yongcheng.

Almost all the remaining villages in Yongcheng.

It is precisely because Guideyong City has suffered from wars and chaos in the past few years, and the people have been displaced. No matter whether it is the Chuang army, the Qing army or the Ming army, there is no one reliable, so the people can only help themselves.

In the countryside, the people's wisdom is not yet developed, and they are closed and backward. There have always been secret associations among the people, as well as various incense burning meetings.

During the war, the people were depleted of wealth, not only the soldiers were robbed, but also all kinds of bandits were everywhere.

For example, there are swordsmen in Luoyang, generals in western Henan, Nianzi in Guide, and thieves in Shandong. In fact, no matter what the name is, they are all bandits, but the bandits after these names have their own characteristics.

For example, the generals in western Henan, also known as Laotang, were actually a group of casual workers in the past. They would form teams to do repairs and maintenance of farmland and canals during the winter slack season. These people are young and poor.

In times of famine, when no one employs them, they can easily turn into bandits to survive.

Bandits such as Guanzhong Swordsman and Luoyang Guanke are named because most of them use Guanshan knives as weapons.

As for the Nianzi in Huaibei, it also has its origins. Nian is the Huaibei dialect, which means a group of people.

In Huaibei, especially in the area of ​​Guide Mansion, homeless people have always made paper, ignited the oil, twisted the paper with the oil, and gathered people to perform in festivals to drive away diseases and disasters for profit.

They would solicit money from the villagers for sesame oil, but in troubled times, many Nianzi directly threatened and extorted money.

The more severe the famine, the more people will enter the Nian. The so-called residents are the people, and those who come out are the Nian. Officially, they are called Nian bandits.

Whether it's the swordsmen from northern Henan, Lao Tang from western Henan, thieves from eastern Henan, or Nianzi from southern Henan, the more chaotic the world is, the more thieves and bandits will become.

Even officials and bandits are hard to separate, and civilian bandits are hard to separate.

It is too difficult for ordinary people to survive in this world, so they can only rely on their clans to unite and protect themselves.

It was also in this environment that the old master and father came to Yongcheng to take root.

At first, the old master first rented a yard in Daqiuji in the countryside of Yongcheng, and then set up the name of the school to recruit students to attend classes.

The old master recruits students is very simple, no matter young or old, men and women can come to the class, no tuition fee is required, it is all voluntary, if you have food, you will give some food, if you have money, you will give some money, if you don’t give anything, he will not refuse .

With this trick, the old master’s school was immediately liked by the local villagers. Although it’s a troubled time, who wouldn’t want to be able to read a few words, especially for the boys at home to read?

There are hundreds of people attending the old master's school every day.

Zhao Zhongyi said to the outside world that he was the son of the old master. During the day, the old master taught calligraphy in class. At night, Zhao Zhongyi would find some young people in the village to teach them marksmanship.

He taught everyone how to practice guns, Hongtao guns.

　The third one is delivered
　　
　
(End of this chapter)