Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 345 0340 [Martyrdom] (addition for the lord cry)

Huang Gai's retreat was very strange, very inconsistent with his cowardice.

Let the civilian husbands transport food and retreat first, then let the township soldiers retreat slowly, and finally the Xiang army and the imperial army.It wasn't a swarm of fleeing, but the evacuation was divided into three days, and it could even be said that the evacuation was orderly.

When Deng Chun and Li Jinyi crossed the river to pursue them, dozens of Forbidden Army soldiers stood on the col, with flags fluttering faintly in the forest behind them.

"Chasing or not?" Even Li Jinyi felt guilty.

Deng Chun also couldn't understand: "Go and invite Mr. Shi."

A while later, Shi Yuangong trotted all the way here, also not sure about the real situation of the officers and soldiers, so he could only suggest: "Occupying Jianzhou City is the most important thing, before and after attacking to take down the Jianmen Gate."

Standing on the mountain, Huang Gai watched the rebel army retreat to Jianzhou, and sat down as if exhausted.

The dozens of Forbidden Army soldiers who blocked the mountain road after the break, the full set of armor really belonged to the Forbidden Army.But the man in the armor is a strong man recruited with a lot of money, and he is also Huang Gu's only trump card.

He dug out hundreds of sets of infantry armor from the troop storehouse in Chengdu, and they were the ones with face helmets.

A lot of armor was decayed, only a few dozen sets were repaired, and then repainted and painted.

It doesn't matter whether you can fight or not, at least it looks pretty bluffing.

Standing behind Huang Gai, Cao Canjun and Li Shi, who served as the secretary in charge of the army, stood behind Huang Gai and said: "The envoy, the bandits have retreated, let's go too."

Huang Gai's legs were weak, and he asked his followers to help him up.

Behind him in the mountains and forests, there were really ambushes.But everyone's morale was low, and when they heard that they could retreat, they all ran away in a panic.

Li Shi asked: "Zhishi, do you really want to withdraw to Lutou Pass?"

Huang Gai gritted his teeth and said, "If those big clans in Chengdu don't pay for their food and people, why don't I go all the way back to Lutou Pass? At worst, I'll be dismissed from office!"

Huang Gai probably already guessed Shi Yuangong's trick of increasing troops.

But ordinary soldiers believed that the credibility of the government was too low. The more seriously Huang Gai explained, the more the soldiers suspected that he was deceiving.

The vast majority of Huang Gai's soldiers came from the bottom of the civilian population.

He thought that with enough food and salary, and words of encouragement, he could be forced to go to war.But all the fortresses set up along the way fled without a fight, which made Huang Gai feel chills in his back.

On the other side of Gaojingshan, it doesn't matter whether he sacrificed Jianmen Pass or not.

The officers and soldiers lost the forts along the way, the food transportation channel was cut off, and the connection between Jianmen and Jianzhou was also broken. Jianmenguan has become an isolated city.

The poor performance of the soldiers under his command made Huang Gai dare not go out of the city at all, and even had no confidence in continuing to defend the city.

The only hope is those aristocratic families in Chengdu Plain!

As the dispatch envoy of Sichuan Zhizhi and the transshipment envoy of Chengdu Fulu, Huang Gai could not recruit many soldiers or much food in the most affluent Chengdu Plain.

The reasons for those big families are also very good. This year, they have paid enough to buy rice, and they have paid a husband's waiver once, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes are increasing.It is impossible for them to pay the free money for the second time, and since they have paid once, they cannot be recruited again, because the free money is used to deduct military service.

The aristocratic family did this, and the various small clans of the same clan also followed suit to fight against the government.

Even the small landowners and self-cultivating farmers who were distributed joined forces to resist.

Huang Gai didn't dare to force the conquest by force, otherwise the Chengdu Plain would be in chaos before the bandits in Hanzhong were eradicated.

The big clan must be forced to take the initiative to recruit troops!

……

"It's not good, Vice Envoy Gao colluded with the bandits and surrendered with Jianmenguan!"

"Jianzhou has fallen, and the envoy Huang will lead the defeated troops back to Lutou Pass!"

"If Lutou Pass can't hold Zhu Thief, he will enter Chengdu."

"That Zhu thief is very cruel. He kills as soon as he occupies a city, and kills all the rich people."

"..."

Messy rumors spread rapidly in the states and counties of the Chengdu Plain.

It was spread so quickly, of course Huang Gu did it on purpose.He sent messengers to various prefectures and counties to warn the officials to defend the city, and randomly revealed some information, and the subordinate staff turned around and passed the news to the gentry and merchants.

Those aristocratic families finally panicked.

A few years ago, the [-] Lunan Yi rebelled, and at the closest time, they had already killed three hundred miles away from Chengdu.

The news of officers and soldiers retreating steadily came back, but the aristocratic family still ignored it, as if these things had nothing to do with them.When collecting money for buying rice and exempting husbands, they also withhold some money, and they don't care about the rest, and they complain all day long about the tax increase this year.

The ancestral home of the Wang family in the suburbs of Huayang County.

An old man named Wang Zhongao sat in the main seat, who belonged to the nephew of the late Prime Minister Wang Gui in terms of seniority.

Wang Zhongao stroked his beard and said: "The Zhu thief made a rebellion and has already fallen into Jianmen and Jianzhou. If Wulian and Zitong are lost again, only Lutouguan will be left to resist the thief. To prevent Chengdu from dying, we should all work hard to send soldiers and money to the government. Otherwise, everyone here will lose their homes."

An old man named Fan Jun said angrily: "We still need to deliver money and food? Is the money and food paid this year too small? The summer grain was randomly levied on silk and silk, and the land foot money of the first-class households increased to 500 ren. The purchase money was doubled, and the purchase money was doubled. The money for the purchase is still free. The government only collects grain, and there is another land foot money.

"In Guanxian County, the dredging of Dujiangyan, the conscripts have already been levied locally, but the exemption money has actually been received from Chengdu. There are also other exorbitant taxes, dozens of kinds, and the government collects money in different ways. The Zhu thief came here and asked us to pay the exemption money. Not only did we pay the money, but we also helped recruit rural soldiers! How can there be such excessive taxation? By the way, I heard that the government is also planning to collect economic money. My Fan family will not pay this economic money!"

"That's right, the government expropriates too much," said an old man named Liu Keren. "My little family members from the Liu family are already overwhelmed. They come to the clan to borrow money every now and then. Borrowing is a bottomless pit. If you don't borrow money, you will lose your benevolence and righteousness. The clan elders are cursed by the clan every day!"

Another old man named Wu Yushi said: "Our Wu family is not as prosperous as your families. We haven't been a Jinshi for many years, and the clan's land property is also decreasing day by day. If the Zhu thief comes to Chengdu, the Wu family doesn't care. You big families can figure it out."

"What do we have to do? Your Wu family still has to be a thief!" An old man named Liu Ying said angrily.

"Okay, okay, everyone, please be safe and don't be impatient," Wang Zhongao quickly smoothed things over, "No one will be able to please the Zhu thief, and all ethnic groups must work together."

A group of old men were arguing back and forth, with occasional middle-aged people interjecting, but in the end there was still no result.

They still want to wait and see.

Huang Gai did not evacuate directly to Lutouguan. He is still stationed in Wulian County, and he is always paying attention to the movements in Chengdu.

Huang Gai was greatly disappointed by the reaction of the aristocratic family.

In a rage, Huang Gai ruthlessly retreated again, directly retreating to Zitong County.

The aristocratic families are still quarreling, but they basically agree to send money, food and soldiers, but they can't reach a consensus on how much each family should pay.

There are only three super rich families, more than ten ordinary rich families, and twenty to thirty middle-level families.Moreover, there are different branches of the same surname, how can the mess be reconciled?

Huang Gai was so angry that he withdrew his troops again, and the whole army retreated to Mianzhou (Mianyang).

Now, the aristocratic family couldn't sit still, and held a meeting to discuss the results in a few days.

All ethnic groups and branches mobilized and formed township soldiers to send to Huang Gai, and the money and food were transported to the front line by truck by truck.

Including Huang Gai's original troops, the strength reached [-] in an instant!

Moreover, many of the rural soldiers sent by these big clans have their own weapons and are bound by blood surnames. They are not comparable to ordinary rural soldiers in fighting.

Huang Gai, who had enough soldiers and food, instantly became more confident, and led his troops to station in Zitong County. He wanted to continue to regain the lost ground, but found that the pass ahead had been occupied by bandit soldiers.

Let's talk about Zhu Ming's side, Jianmen Pass has not been taken yet.

Zhu Ming stood outside the sword gate, looking at the straight and steep mountain, there was nothing he could do.

Even if he hangs up now and temporarily builds ten hot air balloons, it won't help if he lifts off and throws bombs.If it can't be broken, it can't be broken. When the People's Liberation Army entered Sichuan, they had to bypass Jianmen Pass before attacking.

We can only wait for the officers and soldiers to surrender!
Of course, Zhu Ming couldn't just wait around. He had already divided his troops and sent a partial division to attack Langzhong and Nanchong along the Jialing River.

……

Zhu Ming waited impatiently at the foot of the mountain, and the defenders at Jianmen Pass were also suffering.

Still the same sentence, even if Huang Gai did not give up defending Jianzhou, Deng Chun and Li Jinyi went around and captured several military strongholds, which would have completely cut off the passage to Jianmen Pass.

"From tomorrow onwards, the meals will be reduced, and the military rations can last for another two months." Huang Deyu said.

Gao Jingshan remained silent.

Huang Deyu said: "Why should Vice Envoy Gao be discouraged? The Zhu thief came all the way from Hanzhong, and he had to consume a lot of food halfway. His army food may be finished before us."

It took time for Huang Gai to collect grain, and it had to be transported slowly to Jianmen Pass. There was not much grain left in the pass.

Gao Jingshan gritted his teeth and said: "Huang Gai is incompetent. Jianmen Pass has been cut off for more than a month, and he hasn't sent troops to open it. Maybe he has abandoned Jianzhou and fled!"

"That's not to say, he is still a soldier," Huang Deyu said. "When he was an official in Shaanxi, he was my subordinate. He is not a mediocre official who ignores common affairs. It's just... a little timid."

Huang Gai had the largest official position, Gao Jingshan the second, and Huang Deyu the smallest.

But among the three, Huang Deyu has the oldest qualifications, and he has also been the calligraphy and painting teacher of the princes.

Gao Jingshan said: "The morale of the army is already unstable, and they have been deprived of food for another month. If the order to reduce meals is ordered tomorrow, I am afraid that there will be a mutiny. Except for the two of us, who in Jianmenguan wants to fight? You and I are both eating the king's salary, and we should die to serve the country, but the soldiers below are not the people who eat salary."

"Try to appease. From tomorrow onwards, officers and soldiers will be integrated, and we will eat the same meals as soldiers." Huang Deyu said.

Gao Jingshan looked to the east: "There is more than one way to enter Shu. Since the Zhu thief took the Jinniu way, will he let him go on the Micang way? I am afraid that Bazhou is gone at this time, and maybe the bandits have already reached Quzhou (Quxian). If Hezhou (Hechuan) is occupied by bandits, then Shuzhong is hopeless, and it will be useless for us to defend Jianmen."

The Gao family is a prominent family in Shandong. Gao Jingshan's younger brother, Gao Jingyun, was promoted to Shaoqing of Taichang Temple last year.

Do you want to surrender?
Gao Jingshan has been thinking about this issue. He knows what the soldiers under him are thinking. These days, they all depend on providing enough food and pay to stabilize the morale of the soldiers.

The food road was cut off, and the front and rear were enemies. In such an embarrassing situation, if he dared to reduce the meal, the soldiers would dare to rebel!

Although he was old, he didn't want to die, especially when he was killed in a mutiny.

In the evening, Gao Jingshan inspected Guancheng again. The complicated atmosphere in the army made him feel that he could not drag on any longer.

Gathering a group of fairly obedient soldiers, Gao Jingshan went straight to Huang Deyu's residence.

Huang Deyu was eating, and came out immediately when he heard the movement.

Seeing the situation outside, Huang Deyu didn't curse angrily, but sighed: "You are a deputy envoy who is transiting all the way, are you so greedy for life and afraid of death?"

Gao Jingshan said: "I also thought about committing suicide and martyrdom. The ropes are ready, but unfortunately I can't do it to myself. What about you? If you want to commit suicide, I will wait two quarters of an hour to collect the body. If you want to live, I will tie you up and surrender."

Huang Deyu thought about it carefully, and said sadly: "My old wife and old servant were killed by thieves in Lizhou City. They have been with me for half of my life. If I want to be lonely on the road to Huangquan, I can go to find them. I have been honest and upright all my life, and I don't want to be stigmatized when I grow old. After I die, I will be buried with my old wife in Jianmen."

"Retire!" Gao Jingshan turned around with a bow, and left silently with the soldiers.

Huang Deyu went back to the house and finished his meal, and slowly lowered his belt, recalling the scene when he was a prodigy in the street when he was 20 years old.

In Tokyo at that time, prices were not so high, and people lived happier lives.Although the faction is fierce, but there is no trouble caused by the faint king and treacherous ministers, everything is so beautiful.

At least, on the surface.

(End of this chapter)