The late Ming Dynasty in the living room

Chapter 150 The one who gives food is the good king
Of course there is a chance to survive, that is to quickly replenish the lost troops before going up the mountain.

But where can I find someone in such a short time?
Just when Mr. Bamen felt that his head was in danger, he saw a large group of dejected people walking towards him in the distance.

They were ragged, their faces were thin and yellow from hunger; they walked very slowly, leaning forward as if they were carrying a heavy weight... Occasionally someone would fall to the ground without warning, and then never move again... Mr. Bamen was very lucky, he just happened to meet a group of refugees. (There were often soldiers blocking the way on the official road, and refugees would deliberately choose to walk on remote roads)

This group of refugees came from Kaifeng Prefecture, Guide Prefecture, and Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong. When they arrived in Hejian, they still had more than 8,000 people. Some of them scattered and some died along the way north, and finally there were less than 500 of them. (The people of Shandong in the 15th year of Chongzhen were also very miserable. They were ruined by natural disasters, bandits, and the White Lotus Sect, and the Qing army massacred more than one million people.)
The two groups met on this narrow mountain road.

The people in front of them had blood on their clothes and knives in their hands. It was obvious that they were not good people. However, the refugees were not afraid at all. They knelt on the ground with "thumps" as if it was a conditioned reflex.

"My king, please be kind and give me something to eat!"

They were really hungry, so they just tried to get some first, regardless of whether they had any.

Mr. Bamen and Liu Qianjin looked at each other and a deep smile appeared on their faces.

Mr. Bamen walked up to the refugees and habitually reached into his arms, only to find that his fan was gone. He looked embarrassed, then smiled again, "We are a business with no capital, we are murderous bandits, and you dare to ask us for food?"

"Hehe, as long as you have food to eat, you are a good person, a good king, and a living Bodhisattva." A man who looked big-boned but skinny smiled and flattered.

"Well, well said." Mr. Bamen praised, "What's your name?"

"In reply to the Great King, my mother said that my head is bigger than others and I will definitely be smarter than others in the future. She has called me Liu Da Naotou since I was a child."

Then why not call him Liu Dacongming?

Mr. Bamen looked at the man carefully, and then said to the refugees, "We are going back to the mountain, and we don't have any food with us."

Just as Liu Dabo and the refugees were disappointed, Mr. Bamen waved his hand and said, "But we have this! Follow us back to the mountain, open the incense altar and worship our brotherhood. From now on, we will go through mountains of swords and seas of fire together, and use silver and women together!"

A bandit behind threw the cloth bag on his back to the ground, and white silver and golden jewelry rolled on the ground with a "clatter". A few people loosened their hands, and a black silver melon fell to the ground with a muffled sound.

They didn't have time to bring back food, nor could they bring back women, but the silver and wealth accumulated by several generations of the Zhong family allowed them to move away cleanly.

As long as they had silver, they would never lack food, because there would always be fearless profiteers who would send food to them in the mountains, and they would just pay twice the price.

Of course, the refugees were willing to go back to the mountains with them and become bandits. They kowtowed one after another, and some even waved dog-beating sticks to show that they had martial arts skills.

As long as they can survive, they will be bandits or vagrants, or even shave their heads and become Tartars, they will do it without hesitation.

"Boss Liu, please go first!" Mr. Bamen still remembered Liu Qianjin's "favor" and gave the opportunity to choose someone first to Liu Qianjin.

Liu Qianjin had a smile on his face, but he was actually worried. He was afraid that the soldiers would react too slowly and allow Tuqiuzi and others to escape from Laishui County.

He also did not expect that Empress Pan would suddenly take action. As a result, the bandits hiding in the mountains and the horse bandits hiding in the countryside pretending to be honest farmers would be even more afraid to attack the new city. Although mountains of gold and silver are great, the methods of the gods are really terrible.

Is there any way to make them not afraid of Lady Pan? While Liu Qianjin was absent-mindedly selecting people, she kept thinking in her mind.

As for the fact that he personally slaughtered women and children in Hongjia Village, once the news spread, there would be no turning back. He never considered such terrible consequences.

"My lord, I am willing to be a bandit, and I dare to kill people. Please be kind and don't abandon me. Take me back to the mountain."

Qianjin Liu and Mr. Bamen selected more than 200 people. If there were more, it would be difficult to control. The remaining 300 people were unfortunately not selected. They were like the resentful women who were cruelly abandoned by scumbags, begging with tears.

Even Liu Da Nao, who had been personally praised by Mr. Bamen, was not selected. He cried with his mouth wide open, and couldn't understand why he was not selected.

Seeing the bandits taking those "lucky ones" away, Liu Da Nao and the other refugees refused to give in and insisted on following them back to the mountains.

However, the bandit drew his knife.

"Get lost! It only takes one day to get to Laishui County from here. There's always food to eat there. Get lost!"

The bandits were telling the truth. When they arrived in Laishui County and Xincheng, they had more than just "something to eat". It was like they had reached the peak of their lives and lived a god-like life.

But Liu Da Nao and the others didn't dare to believe it. They kept kneeling there and crying until the bandits had left without a trace.

The bandits have already gone back to the mountains, but the consequences of their raid on Hongjia Village and looting are still continuing to ferment.

The date for Yang Wenyue to go to Henan was approaching, and all the official roads were filled with soldiers and generals that he had sent to various places to urge them to assemble. When the news from Laishui County came, he was in the Governor's Office in Qingyuan discussing the transportation of grain and fodder with Xu Biao, the governor of Baoding.

After hearing the news, Yang Wenyue was "deeply shocked" and urgently ordered Lieutenant General Ma Dai to rectify the Zijingguan Guard Post "with an unprecedented attitude" and to make sure to give the bandits in Qifengkou a taste of their own medicine. He also ordered the Yizhou Military Preparations Commander to lead the Inspection Office under his jurisdiction, together with the officers and soldiers of Mashuikou (an important pass of the Great Wall, connecting Shanxi on the left and Shuntian Prefecture on the upper part) and Guanzuoling to surround the pass from all sides to prevent the bandits from escaping into Shanxi.

"Deeply shocked" is Yang Wenyue's written statement. It is said that he was so angry that he slammed the table on the spot, "losing his governor's demeanor instantly", and even cursed in Sichuan dialect "turtle son of a bitch, bang bang hammer" - of course, the relationship between the governor-general and the governor-general in the Ming Dynasty had always been unharmonious, and the above description might also be a malicious slander against Governor Yang by Governor Xu Biao.

Sun Chuanting, who was training troops in Maoshanwei, Yizhou, expressed his "extreme concern" about the matter.

Lieutenant General Luo Shangwen was beaten with 40 military sticks for "not having the responsibility to defend the territory, but neglecting the intention to patrol the territory", and his rank was directly reduced to guerrilla. In addition, Sun Chuanting also sent 3,000 newly recruited soldiers from Baoding and Hejian to Zijingguan Guard Station to assist Ma Dai in suppressing the bandits.

Emperor Chongzhen was also very angry. After issuing an edict to reprimand Yang Wenyue, Min Wengong and other Baoding officials, he felt that Sun Chuanting was also responsible. Maoshanwei was less than 70 miles away from Laishui County, and this incident happened right under Sun Chuanting's nose.

(End of this chapter)