Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Suizhou, Zaoyang County.

Chen Ziyi rode his old horse and slowly followed behind Shengjie's army.

Not only was he demoted, but he was also directly kicked out of the Shengjie Army and transferred to the Xiang Army as a cavalryman.

The reason is very simple, it has nothing to do with Ju Ming, it is just being excluded.

This time we came to Suizhou to suppress bandits. Due to excessive government exploitation, bandits have been wreaking havoc for more than a year.

If the officers and soldiers go to suppress them, the bandits will hide in Tongbai Mountain and Dahong Mountain. After the officers and soldiers left, the bandits came out again and seriously interfered with the government's collection of food for Tong Guan.

Shengjie's army personally took action, but it still had no effect, and the bandits entered the mountain again.

"Open the city gate quickly!"

The person shouting the message was Bu Chang, the general of the Shengjie Army, riding a horse with great arrogance.

However, the city gate is still closed.

After a while, an official hung his basket down, walked up to Bu Chang and said, "I am Li Hanzhang, the magistrate of Zaoyang County. Are you here to suppress thieves or plunder the people? Are the people of Baishui Village what you want?" Butcher?"

"Those are bandits, not villagers," Bu Chang ordered, "Quickly get some food, some wine, and kill a few pigs."

Li Hanzhang said: "I only have one hundred stones of food, so I can't obey my order. Please retreat outside the moat. If you dare to cross the moat again, you won't even have the one hundred stones of food."

Bu Chang sneered: "Do I have to go to the city?"

Li Hanzhang was neither humble nor arrogant: "Then I can only impeach Tong Guan for his rebellion."

Clang!

Bu Chang unsheathed his sword and pointed the tip at Li Hanzhang's throat: "Do you really think I don't dare to kill?"

Li Hanzhang said: "Killing imperial officials without permission is the evidence of rebellion."

Bu Chang stared at Li Hanzhang for a while, then turned his horse's head and said: "Hurry up and bring the food, at least three hundred shi!"

Chen Ziyi followed Shengjie's army to camp in the suburbs. Soon he received an order to lead a team to explore the surrounding area in case bandits suddenly appeared.

As the sentries he led passed through the countryside, the people hid one after another.

Chen Ziyi has long been used to strange things, and the story of killing good people and taking credit has spread all over the country. No matter the gentry or the common people, they were all afraid that their heads would be cut off by the victorious army to repay their merits.

At that time, it was discovered that the rebels had appeared near Baishui Township. Shengjie's army rushed over quickly, but the bandits got the news and entered the mountains in advance.

Bu Chang was furious, thinking that the villagers had colluded with the bandits, and slaughtered the village directly.

"Brother, do you really know that little thief?" Geng Zhongnian, the deputy chief, asked.

Chen Ziyi said: "Do you know me or not, what's the difference? We are not from Tokyo, nor from Shaanxi. If we serve as soldiers under Tong Taishi, we will never climb up. Even if we climb up, we will be squeezed down."

Geng Zhongnian said: "If I really know my brother, he would simply lead us to surrender to the thieves."

Chen Ziyi said amusedly: "Why would such good officers and soldiers want to become thieves?"

Geng Zhongnian complained: "These officers and soldiers are treated as useless and have been bullied by those Shaanxi people. They don't fight in serious battles. They only know how to kill good people and take credit. However, the benefits belong to the Shaanxi people. In addition to being reviled by the people, we Nothing can be gained.”

A few years ago, Tong Guan formed the Shengjie Army and selected nearly 10,000 young people from the northwest frontier.

The selection of soldiers was extremely strict, and only those who were close to 1.8 meters tall could qualify.

Excellent weapons and armor, delicious food and drink, extremely brave at first, capable of bursting out with astonishing combat power.

Gradually he deteriorated, and Tong Guan was always with him, but he was reluctant to use it in critical moments, fearing that the troops he had carefully built would be damaged.

Only go out when the battle situation is clear. To put it bluntly, it is just to grab the credit!

Even when the officers and soldiers were about to win a big victory, Tong Guan suddenly transferred back the fighting troops and then sent the victorious troops to "defeat the enemy."

Nearly 10,000 brave and fearless young people from the northwest became soldiers in just a few years. Coupled with the fact that the generals who led the troops were brothers Xin Qizong and Xin Xingzong, the Shengjie army also had other bad habits.

In particular, the defeat of the Liao Dynasty caused the victorious army to suffer heavy losses, and they were in ruins from then on.

Moreover, in the past, everyone was from Shaanxi, so there was no exclusion of outsiders. After the expedition against Liao, he replenished his troops and recruited some soldiers from Kaifeng and Hebei, thus forming a chain of contempt among the victorious army.

Shaanxi soldiers relied on their strength and seniority to crazily squeeze out foreigners.

The Kaifeng soldiers were bullied by the Shaanxi soldiers, and then turned to bully the Hebei soldiers.

When a Hanzhong man like Chen Ziyi was in urgent need of soldiers, he was supplemented as a commander. When there was no shortage of men in the army, he was immediately ostracized and directly fired from the Shengjie Army, and was instead incorporated into the Xiang Army's cavalry ranks.

Geng Zhongnian's experience was similar to Chen Ziyi's.

He was originally a Hebei cavalryman who temporarily joined the Shengjie Army as the capital. At the beginning of the year, he was also expelled from the Shengjie Army and sent to the Xiang Army as deputy chief.

These vacated officer positions were replaced by cronies placed by the Xin brothers, who carried out small operations under Tong Guan's nose.

The current officers of the Shengjie Army are either from Shaanxi or close friends of the Xin family.

Chen Ziyi looked around and asked in a low voice: "Do you really want to be a thief?"

"Can this kind of thing be a joke?" Geng Zhongnian looked serious, and then gritted his teeth, "We are also forbidden troops in Hebei. We followed Tong Guan to the capital eagerly, and turned into horse soldiers of the Xiang army without knowing it. If my brother doesn't lead us, we will surrender to Xianggong Zhu. Go back to Hebei and become a thief! One of my compatriots rebelled in Hebei, and his reputation has spread to Tokyo, where he happens to be short of generals to lead troops."

Chen Ziyi said: "Most of our cavalrymen are from Hebei. What do they think?"

Geng Zhongnian said: "The soldiers, the ten generals, and the generals all plan to return to their hometown in Hebei. If they stay in the south for a day, they will be bullied for a day, and they will never get ahead in their lives. But Xiangzhou is too far away from Hebei, so it is difficult to return to Hebei. It’s not very convenient for me to live here, so it would be best if I could seek refuge with Mr. Zhu. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just go to Dahongshan and fall into the grass in Suizhou!”

"Okay, let's find a chance and I'll take you to Hanzhong!" Chen Ziyi had long wanted to leave.

As evening approached, Chen Ziyi gathered his sentry cavalry, continued patrolling nearby, and took the remaining cavalry back to camp.

Li Hanzhang was roaring in the military camp, but it was an officer of the Victory Army under Bu Chang who led a group of soldiers to eat and drink at a restaurant outside the city. Not only was he well fed and drunk, but he also forced himself to buy goods at a low price. If the shopkeeper said a few words, he was beaten half to death by these soldiers.

Leaving the military camp without permission is a very serious violation of discipline.

But Bu Chang did not punish the soldiers, but protected them because they were all from Shaanxi.

Li Hanzhang was humiliated and returned to the county government angrily.

"Ms. sir, the servant from my hometown is here." Mr. Wang Xuxian hesitated, not knowing how to tell the bad news.

Li Hanzhang asked: "Where is he?"

Wang said: "Running all the way, I am eating."

The servant was brought soon, and when he saw him he cried and said, "Mr. Sir, the master and his wife are dead!"

"What?" Li Hanzhang was shocked.

The servant told in detail: "The rebels were attacking Qingzhou, and I led the people to defend the city. A spy sneaked into the city and set fire to it, and the city gate was also opened by the spies... The imperial court sent the news home, and the eldest man sent me to inform him. Your message."

Li Hanzhang stood stunned for a long time, speechless for a long time.

He knew what was going on in Qingzhou, and he had received a letter from his father a while ago.

My father complained in the letter that the imperial court was defeated in the Liao Dynasty and was still thinking about taking back Yanjing. He ordered the states and counties in Shandong to raise money and food, as if he wanted to buy Yanjing. If such brutal expropriation continues, thieves and bandits will rise everywhere, and it will be difficult to deal with it.

I didn’t expect that the prophecy would come true and come true so quickly.

Wang said: "Ms., your luggage has been packed and you can go back to your hometown Dingyou at any time."

Li Hanzhang still didn't speak. He went to the study alone to sit quietly. He didn't return to the bedroom until midnight and said to his wife: "Put all the luggage back."

Wang asked: "Aren't you going back to your hometown for the funeral?"

Li Hanzhang said: "There are more important things than going to the funeral. I want to stay in Zaoyang and wait for an old friend. If he has the ability, he will come. Even if he doesn't come, his subordinates will come. When the time comes, I want to give him a gift."

"What gift?" Wang asked in confusion.

Li Hanzhang said no more words.

Zaoyang County should be considered a gift. If it is not significant enough, then think of a way to give away the entire Suizhou.

While Li Hanzhang was preparing gifts, Chen Ziyi returned to Xiangyang with the army.

Tong Guan had already set off with three thousand victorious troops. The three thousand victorious troops who hurried back quickly took a boat to catch up.

Arriving at the mouth of the Wuling River, officers and soldiers were confronting the rebels.

The terrain here is rugged and narrow, making cavalry useless. Chen Ziyi's cavalry unit of the Xiang Army and the cavalry of the Shengjie Army took a boat to Zhushan County.

Xin Qizong was fighting on the front line, and Xin Yongzong was in charge of Zhushan County, responsible for arranging grain and civilian labor.

"General, this is bad!"

The secretary in charge of the army came to report in a hurry.

Xin Yongzong stood up in surprise: "But my brother suffered a defeat?"

The secretary in charge said: "It was bandits who captured Fangzhou. The life and death of Zhizhou is unknown. The state shogunate and the magistrate of Fangling County have fled here!"

"How can there be thieves in Fangzhou?" Xin Yongzong was confused.

The secretary in charge said: "I'm afraid he came back from Zi."

Xin Yongzong immediately summoned the group of officials who had fled and asked, "Where did the bandits come from, and how many of them came?"

"There was a sudden noise at night. I put on my clothes and went out. The thieves had already entered the city."

"Those bandits went straight to the state government office. When I saw that the situation was not going well, I ran away from the west gate."

"I saw the prefect running towards the northeast gate. He may have fled to Gucheng in a panic. It's very difficult to walk there. I'm afraid there's a lot of danger."

"..."

When these officials started talking, Xin Yongzong said angrily: "I ask you, how many bandits have come and where do they come from!"

"I don't know." The officials shook their heads.

After hesitating for a while, Magistrate Fangling said: "Most of them are Kuizhou bandits. They left Kuimen in the east and occupied Zigui. I served as an official there. From Zigui, I can go north along the Xiangxi River to Xingshan County. Then continue along the Xiangxi River. To the north, across the mountains is Fenshui, and along Fenshui you can reach Zhushui. The intersection of Fenshui and Zhushui is dozens of miles east of Fangzhou City."

This road has existed for thousands of years, passing through half of Shennongjia. Even smugglers shook their heads when they saw it.

Zhu Ming planned to suppress Li Bao and transfer most of the Kuizhou rebels back to Hanzhong, leaving only Li Bao to lock Hengjiang and guard Kuimen.

However, Li Bao had thousands of troops and not only defeated the officers and soldiers on Jinghu Road, but also marched eastward from Kuimen to occupy Zigui. Then he led the troops through half of Shennongjia, and suddenly attacked Fangzhou like magic soldiers descending from the sky, joining the battlefield on the eastern front uninvited.

The officers and soldiers of Zhushan County are about to be attacked from both sides by Li Bao and Guan Sheng!