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Chapter 682: Rebel!

No matter how fast a war horse is, it is not as fast as a bullet. As a result, the cavalry column began to be blocked from about 300 meters, with people and horses falling continuously. The closer to the Ming army's position, the stronger the resistance.

In this game of defense and offense, the Mongolian cavalry finally broke through the Ming army's defense line after paying a huge price. It started with just one point, and soon developed into multiple points.

"Charge in... Charge in! Quick, quick, quick, send two more thousand households to charge in!"

This made Su Nang Taiji, who was watching the battle from a mile away, breathe a long sigh of relief. He shouted loudly to the Mongolian generals on his left and right. Even the warhorse under his crotch stomped the ground restlessly, as if he wanted to rush up with the team to kill the enemy.

"Devil! This is a devil from underground, and it can use magic... Blow the horn and make them retreat quickly!"

But in less than half a quarter of an hour, just as the reinforcement cavalry approached the Ming army's defense line, the situation suddenly reversed, which made Su Nang Taiji feel his crotch tighten, and then he roared continuously.

The Mongolian cavalry, which had already broken through the Ming army's defense line, suddenly fell down in large numbers. Some riders tried to get up and continue fighting with their scimitars, but soon fell to the ground again.

Although it was impossible to see what had hurt them from a mile away, one could see that the people who had hurt them all emerged from the ground, holding very short sticks in their hands. As white smoke rose, no one within a dozen steps was spared.

At this time, the vanguard of the Mongolian cavalry reinforcements had rushed to the vicinity, and the Ming troops that emerged from the ground shrank back, allowing the enemy's horses to pass over their heads.

Although the second batch of Mongolian cavalry broke through the Ming army's defense line, they encountered even fiercer resistance from the second trench, and the momentum of the charge suddenly slowed down.

Soon the devil emerged from the ground again, still holding a short stick and emitting white smoke at the nearby Mongolian cavalry and war horses. After a round trip, only one third of the two thousand households were left.

"Oh Buddha... Eternal Heaven... please show your power, bless the pious shepherds and punish the cunning Han people!"

Four thousand households were lost in one attack. Such a huge loss made Hou Sunang Taiji unable to sit on his horse and command calmly. He could not think of a solution for a while, so he simply knelt on the ground and kowtowed in the direction of the sunrise, pinning his hopes on the gods.

At the same time, it is equivalent to putting the blame on the gods. It is not the leadership that is bad, nor the subordinates who are not loyal, but the gods who do not bless. Don't blame anyone, just blame the lack of piety in daily prayers.

"Grand Taiji, Zhang Bingzhong is here..." Perhaps the Buddha or the gods really heard the believers' calls and finally brought good news.

"Thank Buddha! How many people did he bring?" Su Nang Taiji kowtowed three more times and asked in a low voice after thanking Buddha and the gods.

"Twenty people! I didn't let him get close. I arranged him behind the hillside."

"Kill some sheep and withdraw the severely damaged tribes to the north. Don't attack yet and wait for my news!" Su Nang Taiji nodded. He was very satisfied with his subordinates' arrangements. After giving a few instructions, he mounted his horse and went back with his guards.

"Grand Taiji, how is the war going?"

Seeing Su Nang's figure from afar, Zhang Bingzhong, who was fully armed, couldn't wait to urge his horse to meet him. Seeing the other party's gloomy expression, his heart sank. Without even saying hello, he opened his mouth to ask about the battle situation.

He and three trusted generals led 40 Datong border troops and followed the emperor out of the border wall half a day after he left the border. They walked more than miles north and stopped on both sides of Luotuo Gorge to wait for news from the front.

This is the only passage for the large army to return to the border from Xinghe City. Although the mountain is not steep, as long as the ridges on both sides are controlled and more archers are arranged, it will be difficult for both cavalry and infantry to pass through.

According to the previous agreement with Sunang Taiji of the Tumed tribe, the Datong border troops did not need to participate in the attack on the emperor's carriage, but only needed to block his way back. However, Zhang Bingzhong simply brought his guards to see what was going on.

Datong border troops wanted to rebel? How to say it, right and wrong. The correct statement should be that Datong General Zhang Bingzhong and his trusted generals, including hundreds of servants, wanted to murder Emperor Yang.

Legally speaking, this behavior should be considered a rebellion. However, they did not want to betray the Ming Dynasty, nor did they intend to overthrow the Zhu family. They just couldn't stand Emperor Jingyang's reforms, and didn't want to lose their military power, so they had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

The Zhang family originated from Xiaozhang Village, Yanghe Wei. The head of the family, Zhang Xun, was promoted to General of Datong due to his military achievements during the Jiajing period. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Laolou Doctor and held the first-rank official position.

Zhang Bingzhong inherited his father's business and guarded the border for the imperial court. But Zhang Bingzhong was slightly different from other generals. He was unwilling to leave Datong Town, or Yanghewei hometown. The reason was simple. Working at home was a good place with good people and good relationships. He could also help his family and hometown to get rich, and his life and work would not be affected. Once he left home, he was unfamiliar with the place and it would be difficult to do many things without the help of his family and fellow villagers.

What? They really went out to kill the Mongols? Don’t be ridiculous. The reason why the Zhang family defended Datong for decades without any mistakes and was deeply trusted by the court was not because of their bravery in battle, but because of their flexible minds.

The main enemy that Datong Town faces is the Tumed tribe of Right Mongolia. They have had contact with their third wife since their father's generation. On the surface, both sides serve their own masters, but secretly they exchange information with each other. Unless there is a major accident, basically no one harasses anyone else.

If there are special needs, they can support each other. For example, they can deliberately provide a place for disobedient herdsmen to stay, so that the Datong border troops can go out and eliminate them, and report it as a merit. On the other hand, if the Zhang family has disobedient generals, they can also do something similar and let the Mongols help to get rid of them.

However, since Emperor Jingyang wanted to take action against the Five Military Commandery and the Ministry of War, although the Zhang family had not been affected, the disaster was visibly approaching. According to the emperor's intention, in the future, all border army generals would take turns to study in the army and take exams. Those who passed would be arranged at their discretion, and those who failed would lose their military power directly.

The Zhang family originally had no big prejudice against the new policy, mainly because they had nothing to do with it, and neither suffered any loss nor gained any advantage. But if anyone wanted to touch the military power of the Zhang family, it would be a 100% act of digging up the ancestral graves, and they must be mortal enemies.

But the Zhang family alone could not fight against the emperor. But at this moment, a secret letter from several court nobles rekindled Zhang Bingzhong's thoughts of accepting his fate.

Duke of Yingguo Zhang Weixian, Marquis of Yongkang Xu Yingkun, and Earl of Xinjian Wang Chengxun, one duke, one marquis, and one earl, cannot be said to have been friends for generations, but they all have deep ties with the Zhang family. To put it bluntly, they are suppliers.

Smuggling large quantities of banned materials to the Mongols was very profitable, but it involved a lot of things and was not something the Zhang family could handle alone. These three not only had prominent identities, but also served in the Five Military Commands. Even if they could not get the real command of the army, it was still easy for them to allocate the flow of materials under various names.

In the battle outside Chaoyang Gate, the Beijing Camp was completely destroyed, and the front and rear governor's offices were all abolished. Zhang Weixian, the governor of the rear army who was in charge of the government affairs, and Xu Yingkun, the governor of the rear army and the co-governor of the Beijing Camp, all became laid-off personnel. How could they not feel hatred in their hearts?

Wang Chengxun, the Earl of Xinjian, was not demoted or dismissed, but he hated the new policy even more. When Yuan Keli was the governor of the grain transport, he was the general of the grain transport. Although neither of them looked down on the other, they could still live in peace.

But when Yuan Keli took on the post of Governor of Maritime Transport, Wang Chengxun, who had been promoted to Governor of Canal Transport, felt increasingly uncomfortable. A large share of the canal transport was taken away by the large sea vessels of the Maritime Transport Office. In less than three or four years, the originally lucrative department became a burden that no one wanted to touch. Not only did they not get any benefits, but they also had to bear responsibilities at any time.

Everyone shared the same problem, and their demands converged, pointing their spearheads directly at Emperor Jingyang. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers, and at the same time, there is also courage. At this time, Zhang Bingzhong was a little bit daring, and took the lead in proposing Tumubao 2.0 version, which won the support of Yongkang Hou on the spot.

Under Xu Yingkun's lobbying, Zhang Weixian and Wang Chengxun also brought in Xu Hongji, the governor of Nanjing's rear army. This man was far away in Nanjing, in charge of the upper and lower river defenses, and should have had nothing to do with the emperor or the new policy. However, the emergence of the Songjiang Shipyard seriously affected the interests of the Xu family.

As the saying goes, if you live by the mountain, you can eat from the mountain; if you live by the water, you can eat from the water. Xu Hongji was in charge of the river defense, including many shipyards along the river, so he also found a way to make a fortune.

If you want to sail in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, you have to go to a few designated shipyards to buy ships. It doesn't matter if they can't build enough ships, these shipyards will subcontract to other counterparts, and they can make a lot of money every year without doing anything.

Needless to say, these shipyards have nothing to do with the Xu family in name, but in fact they have long been controlled by the Xu family. The shopkeepers are just figureheads, and the Xu family is the one who really makes the decisions and takes the lion's share.

The emergence of Songjiang Shipyard directly broke the monopoly of the Xu family. In fact, selling a few ships would not cause much harm to the Xu family, but once they entered this industry, they could not avoid hearing some industry insider information from the merchants.

So the Navy General Staff submitted a memorial to the emperor, but the emperor did not believe it. He suppressed the navy's memorial first, and then sent the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Nanjing to check each item one by one.

This investigation was a disaster. Not only was there solid evidence of monopolizing the shipyard, but also charges of monopolizing shipping, setting up checkpoints and deducting fees. It is said that after reading the investigation report, the emperor threw the fishing rod into the water and cursed Xu Hongji for tarnishing the glory of his ancestors and being an unworthy descendant.

If it weren't for the fact that he led his troops out of Shanhaiguan in person, and if there hadn't been frequent changes of ministers in the first few months of the year, the emperor would have had no time to spare, and the Xu family would probably have been confiscated, and Xu Hongji's head might even have been hung on the city wall.

No one wants to wait for the Royal Guards to come and confiscate their homes and exterminate their families every day. Death is not too scary, but waiting for death is too painful. When Xu Hongji received Wang Weixian's secret letter, he only considered it for an hour before happily agreeing.

Since you're going to die anyway, why not give it a try? If you lose, just drink poison instead of waiting to be hanged. If you win, not only can you save your life and that of your family, but you can also become an important official who supports the new king, which is a very lucrative benefit.

It can be seen from this that not only businessmen dare to take risks driven by huge profits, but politicians also possess the same qualities, or it can be said that pursuing profit without distinguishing between professions is the nature of all human beings.

(End of this chapter)