A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 656

In the 15th year of Chongzhen, at the end of April, Henan, Runing Mansion.

Soon it will be the Dragon Boat Festival, but at this time, on the east bank of the Yellow River to the east of Luoshan County, there is a sudden storm, and countless armored soldiers come galloping.

"Boom..."

The horse team is boundless, and the horsemen are all sturdy, and their banners are mostly "horse", "he", "liu", "lin", "luo", "zhang", etc. Many of them wear felt Wearing a full waist armor or short body armor, or wrapping a turban, wearing a girdle, all of them are skilled in horsemanship, and some even rode two horses.

The huge torrent of cavalry spread from the plains around Guangshan and Guangzhou, causing the earth to tremble endlessly, and smoke and dust billowed into the sky.

"Huh, huh, huh."

Facing the small Yellow River in front of them, thousands of horses rushed directly, and the river did not flow. Only when they reached the middle of the river, the knights on the horses all crossed the river with their feet on their backs or their heads in their arms.

At the same time, on the north bank of the Huaihe River, there were dense banners with Chuang characters, and the same dense cavalry crossed south.

Although the Huai River is wide, these cavalry knights, dozens of them, each in a line, either hugging the horse's head or pulling the horse's tail, just crossed like that. The Huai River seemed to have stopped flowing, and each horse arrived On the other side, the horseshoes were covered with mud.

Tens of thousands of cavalry crossed the river, and the scenery was extremely spectacular. For the Chuang army, the water was only the Yellow River, such as the Huai, Si, Jing, and Wei, and all of them crossed with their horses on their backs, holding their mane tails.

"Report to Mr. Ma, Mr. He, Mr. Liu, Mr. Lin, Mr. Cao, Mr. Sun, and Xiao Yuchi. My army has surrounded Sun Yingyuan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial court's Beijing battalion, in Luoshan. It is difficult to fly..."

On a hill several miles east of the Little Yellow River, the sentry riders in front reported something to some people standing on their horses. The leaders of the five camps, including Liu Xiyao, the king of the world, and Lin Chenggong, the king of troubled times.

As early as last year, Luo Rucai's department, Zhang Xianzhong's remnants, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo's department joined Zuoge's Fifth Battalion as early as last year.

Because of Zhang Xianzhong's death, according to the customs at that time, Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Kewang and other adoptive sons all changed their surnames back to the clan, and changed their real surnames back. Zhang Dingguo's real name was Li Dingguo, and Zhang Kewang's real name was Sun Kewang. Sun Kewang didn't know what he meant.

"Imperial Supervisor Ding Qirui, where is it now?"

"The troops are all in Xiangyang, Suizhou, and Yingshan. Hearing that our division is powerful, they hesitate to rescue them. The officers and soldiers of the provinces are also afraid to come."

"Hahahaha, okay, now that Huang Chuangzi Huang Degong is in Fengyang, the rescue is not in time, Chuangwang's army is not far from Xinyang, they killed a general of the imperial court as fierce as a tiger in Nanyang, now it seems that we can also kill A member of the imperial court will raise the momentum of our battalions."

"Yes, the current situation is stronger than others, and seeing the situation is invincible, then Ding Qirui wanted to persuade us to surrender and recruit us. I remember that in 13 years, Yang Zhuoran, the supervisor of the army, came to see us, trying to lure us into accepting with words. The imperial court called for security, remember how we answered at that time?"

"...We all have peerless talents, and the court is useless, and the rest are all robbers because of the famine. If the country handles it properly, how can we know that we can't be loyal people? And I heard that Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing returned to their loyalty in more than ten battalions. Serving the country to the death, working hard, Gu Yu can't do it alone? But there are more than one hundred thousand of us, where do we put them? And who is the master? Where does the salary come from? And what kind of officials and honors are we treated?"

"If you didn't surrender then, why surrender now? Serving as an official in the imperial court, how can you feel comfortable now? Killing Sun Yingyuan will shake the world even more."

"Haha, it was also thanks to Master Cao's ingenious plan that he was able to lure the enemy into the depths and besiege Sun Yingyuan. The two leaders, Sun and Li, also contributed a lot."

"Looking at the situation, this world belongs to our rebel army after all..."

On the hills there was constant laughter and discussions, all with a Shaanxi accent. The Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong, Chuang General Li Zicheng, Cao Cao Luo Rucai, King of Troubled Times, Ge Liyan He Yilong and others all came from the 36th Battalion at the very beginning, and the leader of the 36th Battalion, Most of them are from Shaanxi.

On the north bank of the Huaihe River, Li Zicheng, the Chuang Wang, watched his soldiers and horses marching southward on the Taotao Huaihe River, and listened to the sentinel's report. Surround Luoshan, in order to prevent its troops from protruding, our division needs to send a large army to help, and we can kill another general soldier of the imperial court as a congratulatory gift when the two armies meet."

Niu Jinxing whispered beside him: "King Chuang, there are many soldiers and horses in the fifth battalion of Ge and Zuo. Luo Rucai and others are also outstanding in intelligence and strategy. If we can win them, our rebel army will definitely become more powerful...

……

In the 15th year of Chongzhen, at the beginning of May, Henan Province, near Sandu Mountain in Song County.

There was a burst of gunshots and shouts of killing outside the camp. When Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen came out of the camp, the bandits who attacked had disappeared, leaving only the corpses of the bandits and officers and soldiers. One of the officers and soldiers was cut to the thigh and below. All the meat was gone, only white bones remained.

Moreover, his nose and ears were all cut off, as well as his tongue, which was also cut off. With his dull eyes, he just looked at a few thieves hanging on a wooden pole not far away. They looked like chickens. He was hung upside down with his head and feet upside down, and his throat was cut, but he was brutally executed for the Weiheliu thief.

Apparently, the attacking thieves retaliated by capturing officers and soldiers on patrol or going out. After killing them, they risked their lives and threw them outside the camp under the wooden poles to show their determination.

Seeing this brother who died so horribly, all the soldiers in the battalion gritted their teeth in hatred, and at the same time, they were a little dazed. These thieves always harassed like this, but they didn't fight them head-on. Could it be that the brothers are going to spend forever in Henan Mansion?
After Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen led the army to Kaifeng, Chen Yongfu took care of them, and with the strict order of Emperor Chongzhen, the Henan government must give them the highest priority in the supply of food and salaries. They can eat and drink enough. The two earls naturally show their own The spirit you should have.

Moreover, their army is all Yutian, military households near Zunhua. Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen imitated the Shunxiang army at that time, recruiting good young and strong, each of them was distributed to the fields, and at the same time, there was sufficient food and salary every month. There are also pensions. Compared with the ordinary Ming army, the combat power can be guaranteed.

Of course, the private army is also inevitable. The soldiers under his command are only loyal to their own generals such as Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen. Even like Yang Guozhu's new army, the soldiers in the army have changed their names to Zhongjiao, Zhongchen and other distinctive names. .

The main barracks of the two are also mostly veterans of hundreds of battles. Everyone has horses, so their combat effectiveness goes without saying.

After a rest, after discussing with Henan Governor Gao Mingheng and others, in March, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, Chen Yongfu, etc., and some Henan troops, with a strength of about [-] troops, marched towards Henan Mansion in a mighty manner.

Chen Yongfu tried his best to train a battalion of new troops. Although the combat power was not as good as that of Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen's subordinates, it was quite strong compared to the officers and soldiers in Henan. The big one is guarded by Liu Fangliang, a famous general who broke into the camp.

In the past, Chen Yongfu could defend Kaifeng and take the initiative to attack Henan Mansion, but he didn't have the ability. Fortunately, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen joined in this time. I want to make a great contribution and reproduce the glory of Chongzhen for 14 years.

When they approached the Henan government, Wang Qiaonian, who had just been promoted to the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi at this time, also thought it was a good opportunity to suppress.

Ever since Wang Qiaonian was promoted, the imperial court has repeatedly made preparations for him to leave Tongguan in the east, and now is the time to raise troops to enter Henan.

However, before sending troops, Wang Qiaonian thought that Li Zicheng's wings had grown and the weather was very unusual, so he came up with a clever plan and secretly ordered Bian Dashou, the county magistrate of Mizhi County, to dig up Li Zicheng's ancestral grave to break his feng shui. a little snake.

Wang Qiaonian and his staff all believed that the little snake caught in the tomb was the spiritual creature of the Li family who was about to transform into a dragon, and beheading it could break the thief. Yiliu led a total of [-] troops including He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu, Zhang Guoqin, and Zhang Yinggui, out of Tongguan.

The officers and soldiers were so powerful that they pushed in from east to west, and there was a lot of turmoil in the Henan government. A pioneer wins first and then loses.

Fortunately, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, Chen Yongfu and others came to the rescue in time, and the two sides started a big battle under the city of Luoyang. Donglu bird gun, after the First World War, Liu Fangliang was defeated, immediately gave up Luoyang, and fled to the mountains of Ruzhou.

The intruders in the cities of Henan Province also abandoned their cities and fled into the mountains. The bandits broke into pieces and scattered into the mountains to start a guerrilla war.

Henan Prefecture originally had many mountains and lands, and they wandered around all year round to return to their old profession, which can be said to be like a fish in water.

Moreover, because they were defending their own homeland, officers and soldiers encountered great hostility in Henan Prefecture and other places. When they went into the mountains to suppress bandits, they often couldn't even find a guide.

The officers and soldiers' treatment of the thieves and thieves also aroused more hatred.

After the Battle of Luoyang, Li Zicheng made corresponding changes in his policy. In Henan Province, he began to "guard the soil and not let it flow". , It has won the hearts of the local people in Henan Province.

Unlike in the past when all the family members of the soldiers accompanied the army, there were also some family members of the Chuangjun left in various parts of Henan Province. They were the targets of the government's liquidation, and they were tortured to death by various means.

The officers and soldiers regained the city, and the local landlords and gentry in Henan Province who fled to other places also returned with their countrymen. They unceremoniously took over the fields allocated to the local people, as well as their newly reclaimed land, and even assisted the government in the counterattack. Beheaded the leaders and officials of the Chuang army, and assisted in the suppression of bandits.

Their bloody methods also allowed more people to join the guerrillas, harassing them from time to time, which annoyed the officers and soldiers.

It was alright at first, but every day we drilled up and down the mountain. Gradually, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and other soldiers in the battalion couldn't help feeling tired and homesick.

In addition, because under the command of the two earls, their food and grass supply and treatment are the top priority. When the food and grass supply is difficult, this kind of differential treatment has caused great dissatisfaction among the officers and soldiers in Shaanxi and Henan. Quite complaining.

"Little General Cao, don't tell me I've been waiting here in Henan Mansion?"

Seeing the miserable situation of his subordinates, Wang Tingchen was furious, and at the same time he was helpless. He shouted: "What kind of useless battle is this? Every day, I drilled the valley and ran around, and I couldn't see a single thief. The people at that time also hated me!" Wait, you can’t even find a guide, what’s this called?”

Cao Bianjiao also frowned: "There is no danger of thieves congregating, only thieves dispersing. The thieves in Henan Province fled into the mountains and wanted to wipe them out, but it is not a matter of time."

He sighed: "However, the news just came that General Sun Yingyuan and Sun Ying died in battle. The intruders have joined Cao Bandits and Zuoge's Fifth Battalion. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, or even millions of soldiers, are pressing towards Kaifeng. Brother Wang , I may have to withdraw our troops and go back to Kaifeng."

(End of this chapter)