I

  Chapter 146 144【Caught a scientist】

  Zhao Han's marching route is only the remnant of Wugong Mountain.

  After turning over the ridge at the beginning, the rest are relatively flat hills or valleys. Only when we go out of the mountain, we have to climb over a ridge. At this time, the snow is not so thick.

   "General, the Wannian Bridge is in front of you. It was built by Yan Ge in the past. After passing the Wannian Bridge, you will be the county seat... Can you, can you let Wansheng go home..."

  The person who spoke was a poor scholar who was forcibly invited by Zhao Han to lead the way before he left the mountain.

  Jiangxi is really amazing, there are scholars in the mountains. Xiao Shizhong, the number one scholar in the ninth year of Yongle, came from Dashan. At this time, it belonged to Fei Yinggong's territory, and it was a very remote place in his territory.

  Zhao Han stood at the foot of the mountain and looked out. He could vaguely see the bridge and the county town. He couldn't help asking, "You mean Yan Ge, but Yan Song?"

  The poor scholar said: "Although Mr. Yan Ge is a traitor, he has a very good reputation in his hometown, and he has done many great things to benefit the village."

   While the soldiers were resting, Zhao Han asked again: "Tian Younian, the prefect of Yuanzhou, how is this man doing?"

Poor scholars complained: "The prefect of Tian is capable of doing things, but doing things will inevitably disturb the people. He recruited soldiers to suppress... the rebels, and the people in the whole government had to share. My family shared three buckets of rice last year. He also likes to make bows and arrows. I heard that If it is sent to the capital as a gift to the emperor, the materials for the bow and arrow must also be apportioned. A piece of beef tendon is apportioned in five miles. How can people in the mountains be willing to kill cattle? Isn’t it just a matter of collecting money? I heard that the fishermen in Yuanjiang have to apportion the swim bladder , was exploited by Zao officials, and many fishermen fled. I heard people say that the rebels in Pingxiang County were forced to rebel by the magistrate."

   This is very interesting.

  Tian Younian heard that the Tartars besieged the capital, and immediately recruited craftsmen to make bows and arrows, and then sent them all the way to the capital.

  It seems to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but it drives the people to rebel. He took the opportunity to train soldiers again and wiped out the rebels. He really trained him an elite army, but the life of ordinary people was even more difficult.

  Zhao Han asked the quartermaster to bring a piece of broken silver, and handed it to the scholar himself, saying: "It's almost New Year's Eve, you take the silver and go back to enjoy the New Year, don't go to Yuanzhou Mansion to report to the officials."

  The poor scholar took the money in a daze. He thought he would be silenced by the rebels, but he didn't expect there to be rewards.

   This guy was very grateful, and returned home with money in his pocket.

  After going up the mountain, he watched the rebels crossing the bridge from a distance, and suddenly became entangled, should he go to Fucheng to report the news?

  After weighing repeatedly for a long time, the poor scholar turned and went home.

  It's so cold, why go so far to Fucheng? The magistrate showed no kindness to him, instead he apportioned a lot every year. If the rebels captured the city, a different magistrate might be able to live better.

  Actually, Zhao Han is not afraid of his tipping off.

   It's almost Chinese New Year, and the army in Tian Younian's hands must have been sent home. Zhao Han wanted Tian Younian to gather his troops, otherwise how would he eliminate those elite officers and soldiers?

  Because of the terrain, Zhao Han was unable to surprise Fucheng, so he had to take down Fenyi County first. His whereabouts could not be concealed.

  At this moment, Zhao Han is crossing the bridge, the Wannian Bridge built by Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son.

  The bridge spans the Yuanjiang River, with a total length of nearly 400 meters and a width of nearly 8 meters, with a total of eleven bridge holes. It was a big project that cost more than 20,000 taels of silver back then.

  Hundreds of years later, the bridge and the county seat will all be submerged under the water because the Jiangkou Reservoir will be built.

   Today's Fenyi County is on the edge of the Yuan River. After crossing the Wannian Bridge is the east gate of the county.

   "March at full speed!"

  Thousands of soldiers ran towards the bridge, and some people fell down in the snow from time to time.

  Until I ran to the bridge, there was no response from inside or outside the city. Most people were at home looking forward to celebrating the New Year—it was already the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

   Even the city guards, because of the cold weather, hid in the city tower to warm themselves by the fire, and no one wanted to stand on the city wall to blow the wind.

   Instead, it was the people at the pier outside the city. Someone noticed something was wrong, looked around for a moment, and asked in great confusion: "Is this an officer or a rebel?"

   "The officers and soldiers are coming!"

  With all the weapons, it seems that they are not rebels, but the officers and soldiers are also scary, just like rebels.

  Whether they are traffickers or merchants from other places, there is a mess on the pier, shouting "the officers and soldiers are coming" and fleeing in panic.

  The defenders of the city were confused, and the Chinese New Year was about to come. Where did the officers and soldiers come from?

  These guys came out to look around, and in a daze, some soldiers exclaimed: "It's the rebels, the rebels have come out of the mountain!"

   "Close the city gate, close the city gate quickly!"

   Zhao Han has led his troops to run most of the 300-meter-long bridge.

  The soldiers shouted in unison: "Avenge Li Tianwang!"

  The bandit leader in Pingxiang County who was exterminated by Tian Younian was called "Tuota Tianwang" and also "Li Tianwang".

  A few merchants heard the shout and immediately ran away by boat, most of them going to Fucheng to report the news.

  And Tian Younian, the prefect of Yuanzhou, must have received the military information: Although Li Tianwang, the leader of the bandits in Pingxiang, died, his followers who fled to Dashan came back!

  Huang Yao rushed so fast, moving his long legs, as if flying on snow. Next was Zhang Tieniu, who followed closely behind with an ax in his hand, and he was already outside the east gate in a blink of an eye.

  The two of them moved one after the other, throwing the other soldiers hundreds of meters away.

   "You are not allowed to enter the city, quickly retreat!"

   "Don't squeeze, don't squeeze!"

   "Back, back!"

   "..."

  But the merchants and common people outside the city, fearing to be massacred by the rebels, felt that the county town was safer, and flocked to the city.

  The city guards were closing the city gates, and they couldn't operate normally after being rushed by merchants and common people. In anxiety, the officers and soldiers raised their knives and hacked several people to death one after another, but the people behind continued to squeeze in.

   "Run!"

   Seeing that the city could not be closed, the officers and soldiers simply turned around and fled. The people rushed into the city without the officers and soldiers to stop them.

  When Huang Yao arrived, the city gate was already wide open. It was half closed, but was pushed open by the people.

   "Seize the door, don't rush again!"

   After Huang Yao entered the city, he immediately guarded the gate.

  Zhang Tieniu wanted to continue to charge, but was stopped by Huang Yaosheng, and the two occupied the east gate.

  Zhao Han and Fei Ruhe led troops to kill them, and immediately assigned tasks.

  Fei Ruhe led 2,000 soldiers to seize several other city gates; Huang Yao and Huang Shun led 1,000 soldiers to maintain law and order in the city; Zhao Han led 1,000 soldiers to capture the county government.

  The county magistrate and master are drinking in the backyard of the county government office, roasting a small red clay stove, warming the wine and composing poems there.

  It's cold, and it's the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and it's time to enjoy it.

   "Xian... County, county, county, county, the rebels have entered the city!"

"what?"

  The first reaction of the magistrate and the master was not to summon the officers, soldiers and yamen servants, but to flee to their residences, holding money and trying to escape through the back door.

  Unfortunately, the back door was surrounded by rebels, and the magistrate and master had no choice but to climb over the wall.

   "The official is here!"

  Wu Yong led a team of ten people, just in time to see the county magistrate, master and slaves, who were setting up stools under the wall to dig out.

  The magistrate is also a man who wants money and life. He carries nearly two thousand taels of silver, which weighs more than a hundred catties. Carried from the residence to the back door trying to escape, but after escaping failed, he was carried from the back door to the garden wall. At the moment, he is sitting on the wall, letting the slaves lift up the silver.

   "The rebels are coming!"

  Several house slaves were shocked and gave up the wooden box containing the silver. The silver fell and scattered all over the ground.

  The county magistrate screamed: "My silver... Alas!"

   It was the house slaves who panicked and grabbed the magistrate's leg and climbed desperately towards the wall. They climbed up, but dragged down the magistrate who was sitting on the wall.

  Seeing that the situation is not good, the master didn't dare to keep his money, so he just fled with a few dozen taels over the wall.

  Wu Yong led his troops to rush to the wall, pointed his gun at the county magistrate, and shouted excitedly: "I have captured the high official again!"

  …

   Besides Chengnan County School, there is not a single student in the school, and they have already gone home for the New Year.

   When the county school teacher heard that the rebels had entered the city, he immediately took out a long sword, a crossbow and a pot of arrows. As he walked, he stringed the crossbow, summoned the school's scripture teachers and handymen, and a total of ten people guarded the school nervously.

  A scripture teacher trembled: "The rebels won't come to the county school, will they?"

   "I must have gone to the county government." Another scripture teacher said.

   Jiaoyu asked the handyman to lift the ladder, and he climbed to the fence to observe the situation. After waiting for a while, I saw a group of rebels, chasing and killing civilians, running towards the county school.

   Jiaoyu was filled with righteous indignation, aimed at the rebel with a crossbow, and pulled the trigger very calmly.

   "Alas... There are archers, hurry up and dodge!"

  Huang Shun was a little puzzled at the moment. He was leading people to hunt down the looters who took advantage of the chaos. Suddenly, he was shot in the shoulder with an arrow inexplicably.

   Reluctantly hiding behind the pillars under the eaves of the bookstore, Huang Shun carefully recalled the situation just now. He looked at the county school across the street, and immediately shouted: "There are people shooting arrows in the school, rush in and arrest them!"

  Seeing the rebels rushing towards the gate of the county school, Jiaoyu immediately ran back and said to the scribes and servants, "Run away!"

  The scribes and handymen resented in their hearts, and the rebels were all attracted by the teachings. Isn’t it good to just hide in the school?

  These guys ran to the back door quickly, only to hear a bang, but the main door of the school was knocked open.

   "Catch them all, I want to live!"

   Huang Shun was angry, but also a little excited. He knew that Zhao Han wanted to form a long-range army.

  Break in from the main entrance of the county school, and everyone inside ran away, so I chased after him, and chased half a street from the back door.

  Because every household is closed, the teachers, scripture teachers and handymen can't hide in the houses, so they can only sneak into the alleys along the streets.

  The handymen ran fast, but the teachers lacked exercise, and were chased closer and closer by a group of rebels.

   "Ouch!"

  One scribe fell to the ground, and the other scribes ignored them and ran for their lives with all their strength.

   Jiaoyu had already run to the front, but after hearing the situation, he suddenly turned around and shot another arrow.

"what!"

  The shot was very accurate this time, hitting the chest of a chasing soldier. Fortunately, he was wearing a thick cotton coat, which offset most of the strength, otherwise he would have died on the spot.

   "Raise your shield and pursue!"

  Huang Shun hurriedly shouted.

  The rattan players under Zhao Han no longer use pot lids, and now they are all serious wooden shields.

  In addition to the teachings, all other scribes were arrested.

  Huang Shun reluctantly pulled out the arrow. He was also wearing a cotton coat, and the arrow didn't go deep into the flesh, but it still hit the bone. This guy led the troops to speed up the pursuit, followed the teaching instruction into the alley in a blink of an eye, and then lost it.

   "Boss, there are footprints on the ground!" A corporal leader reminded.

  The Chinese New Year is approaching, and there are few pedestrians in this alley. Although there are many footprints in the snow, there are only so many new ones.

  Huang Shun sneered and said, "The rattan player is in front, raise the shield to protect his teammates."

  The instruction was hidden in the pile of debris at the end of the alley. Seeing the rebels surrounding him, he knew he couldn't escape, so he just took another shot.

"what!"

  This time, the arrow was shot in the thigh, because the upper body was protected by a shield.

   "Rush forward, don't let him wind up, remember to catch the alive!" Huang Shun shouted.

  Zhao Han has already occupied the county government office, the master has run away and is chasing him, the county magistrate is trembling and kneeling in front of him.

  Huang Shun trotted over, happily said: "General Town, what do you think this is?"

  Zhao Han took the bow and crossbow, glanced at Huang Shun's shoulder: "Go to the doctor to bandage, don't delay the injury."

   Jiaoyu and several scripture teachers were brought before Zhao Han. The scripture teachers were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy. Jiaoyu refused to kneel, and it was useless to be held down by the soldiers. In the end, he was pressed down to the ground.

   "Forget it, let him stand up." Zhao Han waved his hand.

   Jiaoyu stood tall and looked at Zhao Han with disdainful eyes, as if he didn't bother to say a word.

   "What's your name? Where did you get this crossbow?" Zhao Han asked.

  The instruction is still silent.

  The scripture teacher next to him said: "General Rongzhi, this person is Song Yingxing, whose name is Changgeng, and he is the instructor (principal) of Fenyi County School."

   "Song Yingxing?" Zhao Han smiled strangely.

  (end of this chapter)