Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The death of Cao Wenzhao caused the peasant army to set off a new frenzy of attack.

These two victories enabled Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and other departments to obtain a large number of firearms.Therefore, the peasant army then attacked Chengcheng and Xianyang with fierce artillery fire, and besieged Xi'an again.In the offensive and defensive artillery in Xi'an, even Hong Chengchou almost died.

It was only because Hong Chengchou moved the main force of the Ming army to Xi'an city, and the officials in the city conscripted the people and strong people, and the king of Qin also took out the grain and silver from the palace for military supplies, that Xi'an barely survived.

However, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to launch an attack on Zhuyangguan (now southwest of Lushi, Henan), an important military town at the junction of Shaanxi and Henan. The Ming army guarding the pass died and fled, and the whole army was defeated.There is a strong pass in the sky, but there are no strong soldiers. This pass is just a bluff.

But none of this has reached Wu Shigong and the Runing Army.There is no way for the backward communication means to lead to poor information.However, the rusty bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty was even more fatal when the military situation was in full swing.

Because he was busy with the war and the subsequent siege of Xi'an, Hong Chengchou had no time to inform Henan of the Shaanxi war report.As a result, Henan still needs to judge the battle situation in Shaanxi through the imperial court's mansion newspaper and some hearsay news.Therefore, it can be said that Hong Chengchou did not fulfill his responsibility as governor of the five provinces at all.

And when the battle reports traveled from Shaanxi to the capital, and then to Henan, the timeliness and completeness of those battle reports were greatly reduced.The Runing Army started this military operation under such circumstances.

"Mengzi! You did a good job. In just a few days, you recruited these people again. Didn't you just make up for it?" Wu Shigong asked

Wu Shigong arrived in Ye County on June 300th.When he learned that Chang Meng's Land Reclamation Firm had recruited more than [-] guards, he couldn't help but admire Chang Meng's high efficiency, but he was also worried that Chang Meng would infiltrate some water in order to please him.

Seeing that Wu Shigong had doubts, Chang Meng quickly assured: "Master! The new recruits are all recruited according to the new standards after Commander Zhang arrived. They should be physically stronger than those guards in front. You know, master. As long as we open up It is easy to recruit more than ten times more. Although being a guard is dangerous, it is better than mining or being a serf in the village outside. The people who signed up are enthusiastic. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Commander Zhang. The master's business is the most important thing, and the little one will never dare to miss it!"

In order to help command and train the guards of the firm, Wu Shigong transferred Zhang Biao this time.This makes Zhang Biao also very happy. Anyway, this position is also higher, at least the number of people he leads is much larger.The shadow brought by the Zhu Qilan incident to Zhang Biao has also been swept away. It seems that in the future, he still needs to flatter his own adults more!

But Zhang Biao will not hide the problem that should be reflected: "My lord! Although the physical assessment standards selected by those guards are lower than those of our Runing Army, after these days of training, they are barely qualified. Even if they are too disciplined Poor. Those who come from peasants are stupid. They have to teach them several times, and it takes a lot of effort! The better ones are those who rob the road. After these things, Lao Tzu is number one in the world. They are all guys who have never seen our Runing Army Kung Fu. They are no longer willing to spend Kung Fu. And we have few people here, and these guards don’t have much military pay. So it’s very Difficult to control. Just looking forward to the arrival of adults. Give us a charter."

"Oh." Wu Shigong nodded to show that he understood, "There is no rush for this military training. It wasn't like that when we first arrived in Guide. Tell me! What do you want me to support?"

"It is to bring these people into our Runing Army, so that they can have a future. It is impossible to compare with our sons, but we must come up with a charter that rewards hard work and punishes laziness. Otherwise, these people will lose their hearts. .” What Zhang Biao said was also very practical.

Wu Shigong thought for a while, and then ordered: "Let's do this first! Unify the military uniforms, shoes and hats first. These are supplied by our Runing Army. We must have regular clothes for all seasons, and we must also distribute winter quilts. The clothing is the same as that of our Runing Army. There must be some difference, but at least unity, so that they feel that they are our people."

"Mengzi and Zhang Biao, you should also pay attention. The more guards the company has, the better. You set a standard, and the males of the right age are recruited according to the eleventh standard. Otherwise, our mines and Zhuangzi will have no labor to work. Also give Those guards have a hard-won feeling, and they will cherish it by themselves when the time comes."

"I will give you a quota of 500 people. As long as you perform well, you can be transferred to the Runing Army and enjoy all the treatment of the soldiers of the Runing Army. You will also be given [-] places to teach the Legion every season, so that these people can also have the opportunity to leap to the dragon gate. "

"However, keep in mind the following points: As long as those who are transferred to the Runing Army, their family members are all under the control of our Runing Army, but the support standards and children's education of these family members are also treated the same as our soldiers. Unmarried and single Yes, immediately arrange a marriage, and if the family members are not in our control area, they will be taken over directly through the Shanchuan Division and the Intelligence Bureau. Do not disobey."

"Not only that, as long as you join the guards of the commercial firm, you will live and die as members of our Runing army. If anyone surrenders, surrenders, or flees, their family members will be implicated, and the fugitives will be hunted down for life. These guards are already familiar with our Runing army. The method of military training, if released, will do great harm to us, so we must not relax."

"I will give you the number of a regiment training town first. These people will first form ten regiments and one cavalry battalion. All officers above the company commander must be appointed by our Runing Army, and the missing officers will be filled by you. I would like to urge Li Zongbing and other shareholders of the firm to supply weapons and food in a timely manner, at least to let them all have enough to eat."

"That's all for the time being. You go down and make arrangements! One day later, I will lead eight regiments to the expedition, and you, Zhang Biao, will command these guards. Leave the remaining two regiments to you, Mengzi! You have no force in your hands. The soldiers can no longer speak loudly. And this time, we want to arrest more rioters. There are too many people in our place, and there is a shortage of people!"

"No!" Zhang Biao and Chang Meng immediately agreed.

Wu Shigong sent troops this time to form a vacuum in the bandit-infested area in Henan, and to move all the personnel and property in this area to the area controlled by the Runing Army.In this way, it actually played the role of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields, and also brought a lot of labor to the Tuntian Zhuangzi on the outskirts of the Runing Army.

Anyway, these places were unable to work and produce because of the infestation of bandits, so the fields in these places continued to be barren.

Although Henan is the hinterland of the Central Plains and has a large population, manpower is not unlimited after all.After many years of fleeing from famine, coupled with the repeated see-saw and coercion of officials and bandits, a large part of the population has actually been lost.And the Runing Army will make the final blow this time, turning the central part of Henan into a no-man's land. (To be continued..)