I

  Chapter 225 223 [One thousand surrounds twenty thousand]

  Nanchang Fucheng.

  Xiong Wencan turned pale with shock: "What, Raozhou City is gone? Has King Huai escaped?"

   "I'm afraid, more bad luck than good luck." The messenger replied.

  Xiong Wencan slumped back immediately, feeling chills all over his body, as if falling into an ice cave.

  Civilian officials have always ignored vassal kings. If there is nothing to impeach, they can continue to improve their reputation and political achievements, and the court and officials are also happy to see it.

  But it is one thing for civil servants to impeach a vassal king, but it is another thing for a vassal king to be killed by rebels!

  Southern Jiangxi has a tradition of rebellion, and Northeast Jiangxi also has a tradition of rebellion, because there are also mountains and poor people.

  The Duchang County, which was occupied by the rebels this time, had a riot a few years ago. Gu Jianshan used to belong to the tribe of the Duchang rebels in name. Rao Prefecture, which was occupied by the rebels, also had a riot once, and all the family members of Duke Huai were killed.

   King Huai was also unlucky. After the whole family was killed, he returned to the palace for two years, and the city of Raozhou was attacked by rebels.

  Xiong Wencan's throat was dry, and he asked: "The rebels in Raozhou Prefecture also use the banner of Zhao Yan?"

"No," the spies replied, "it's Duchang Ding Bandit under the banner of Zhao Tianwang. This Lu bandit in Raozhou was originally a member of Ding Jiasheng's tribe. Because of indiscriminate killings and Ding Bandit's disagreement, they split up halfway. Ding Bandit After attacking Duchang County, Lu thief went to attack Rao Prefecture. King Huai..."

   "Go on, don't hide it!" Xiong Wencan scolded.

The spies said: "The last time the rebels broke into the city, King Huai was robbed of all his savings from past dynasties. After returning to Raozhou, he exploited them wantonly. Raozhou was hit by a drought this year, and then it was flooded again. King Huai still did not restrain himself, and the chief secretary was strict. Urge Fu. As soon as the bandit Lu arrived, the people of Raozhou rebelled, and tens of thousands of troops gathered in half a month."

  Xiong Wencan has nothing to say, he can imagine what life the people in Raozhou live.

  Drought first, then floods, first exploited by vassal kings, then pressed by the government. This is a pot of boiling oil, which will ignite if it sticks to sparks. How could someone take the lead in a rebellion and not explode?

  To tell the truth, if the people in Raozhou do not rebel, countless hungry people will flock to Nanchang to beg. When tens of thousands of hungry people gather in Nanchang, it will also be a headache.

   Now things are even more difficult. Ding thief occupies Duchang County, unfurls the banner of Zhao Tianwang, and learns from Zhao Han to fight the landlord to divide the land. The bandits Lu occupied Raozhou's capital and had more troops in their hands, but killing innocent people indiscriminately was just that kind of traditional rebel.

   And the government is powerless to fight.

   There are still some officers and soldiers, but after many defeats, they have already lost their will to fight, and they want to run away when they see the rebels.

  Xiong Wencan can only wait anxiously. He has already written to Zhao Han, hoping that Zhao Han can help suppress the thieves. Don't talk about luring wolves into the house, because Jiangxi has long been surrounded by wolves, and it is enough for Zhao Hanneng to suppress the thieves on the surface.

   After waiting for several days, the Datong army finally came.

  Gu Jianshan led the naval forces, and Li Zheng led the army on a boat, which docked directly outside the city of Nanchangfu.

  Why stop here?

  Of course they want money and food. It is normal to get a starting fee to help the court suppress thieves. This year's catastrophe, the Datong Army has no surplus food, Xiong Wencan must express it.

   In desperation, Xiong Wencan could only raise funds as much as possible, and even forced those big households to donate money.

  Originally, there were still some big families who wanted the court, but Xiong Wencan's actions made the gentry no longer think about being powerful.

   What is all this?

  The government and big households provide money and food to help the Luling Zhao bandits expand their territory!

   There must have been countless officials and gentry who filed complaints, but the impeachment letter was sent to the capital, like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no response at all.

  After extorting a sum of money and food, Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng immediately sailed from the Ganjiang River to Poyang Lake, and arrived in Duchang County in two or three days.

  Ding Jiasheng got the news and immediately led his troops out of the city to meet him. Holding the "Da Tong Ji" in his hand, he knelt down and shouted: "Ding Jiasheng, I am willing to work for Mr. Zhao!"

  Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng looked at each other, and they were very surprised that this thief was really willing to sacrifice the city.

  Gu Jianshan hurriedly stood up: "Brother Ding, you are not allowed to kneel in the town, all people in the world are born equal."

   "Great unity in the world, this is also my lifelong ambition." Ding Jiasheng stood up and said.

Gu Jianshan returned to the navy ship, Ding Jiasheng led Li Zheng into the city, pointed to the land outside the city and said: "There are more than 2,000 mu of land around the county town, but the ability is limited, and chaos frequently occurs when the land is divided. Datong officials, please come and preside over it quickly."

  It was only then that Li Zheng believed that Ding Jiasheng was really his own, and said, "I will immediately write to the town to tell the town that the bandit Lu in Raozhou is Brother Ding's old department?"

"No," Ding Jiasheng said, "I am a talented scholar in Shimen Town, begging all the way because of the famine, and raised troops to rob landlords to open warehouses to release grain. But that Lu Xiangyou, who is a private salt dealer, led his people to join forces halfway. Our Constraint Department People, don't burn, kill and loot, but Lu Xiangyou killed innocent people indiscriminately. Many volunteers fell to this person. In desperation, we had to part ways with him. I led 3,000 people to capture Duchang County, and he led more than 10,000 people to capture Raozhou Prefecture .”

   "Is this person extremely cruel?" Li Zheng asked.

Ding Jiasheng replied: "This man is a reckless man who treats his brothers like siblings and the people like nothing. He is also greedy for money and lust. I traveled ten miles with him. This man not only robbed countless money and food, but also kidnapped six women as concubines. He He also robbed money and women, distributed it to many leaders of the rebel army, and even lured my generals to go there. The people along the way were all coerced by him. The big clans they encountered were massacred at every turn."

   "It's time to kill!" Li Zheng gritted his teeth.

  Stayed in Duchang County for a day, Ding Jiasheng stayed behind to garrison the city, while Gu Jianshan and Li Zheng marched from Raohe and led their troops straight to the city of Raozhou.

  The capital city of Raozhou is the county seat of Poyang.

  The waterway transportation here is convenient, and the porcelain from Jingdezhen must pass through Raozhou Fucheng. Moreover, the land is fertile, and the people's life should be extremely rich. It's a pity that they want to support the lineage of King Huai, who can bear the many descendants?

  Li Zheng spread the news along the way that "the 50,000 army of Zhao Tianwang is coming", and countless people looked forward to it.

   On the way, some members of the old Zhu’s family even came to cast their votes. The rations of these clan children were all deducted by the vassal kings and county kings. They were still unable to engage in all kinds of businesses, and their resistance was not inferior to that of tenants and military households.

   Zhu Yirong, who had taken the initiative to go to Fengcheng to serve as a thief, was also brought here by Li Zheng this time. He served as a Chinese official in the army and brought a group of clans.

   Arriving outside the city of Raozhou Prefecture, Zhu Yirong led the clan to spread the word that the descendants of the Zhu family can also divide the land and serve as officials.

  After several days of besieging the city, more than 400 clans gathered, all dressed like beggars. There are reasons for fleeing, and there are also reasons for being poor.

   "Can the clan really divide the fields?"

   "Don't Mr. Zhao kill all the clans? This Lu thief hunts and kills the clans everywhere."

   "Will we be able to work and farm in the future?"

   "..."

   These clans are chattering and constantly asking all kinds of questions. For them, they are very happy to be able to work and farm to support themselves.

Zhu Yirong smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao is in charge of the people, and the clan at the bottom is also the people. Naturally, they treat each other equally. As long as they have not done evil in the past, the clan can also be an official, and the clan can also divide the land. Like me, I am the clan, and I have been an official under Mr. Zhao's command. Yes. What are you still worried about? You fill your stomachs in the army first, and then disperse to help propaganda. In addition to treating the clan equally, you also have to tell the local people. Just say that Mr. Zhao is benevolent, knowing that Raozhou was affected by the disaster, and then Grain will be brought in to help the common people. As long as Mr. Zhao occupies Raozhou, this year Raozhou will be free of land tax!"

   "Long live Mr. Zhao!"

   "Long live Mr. Zhao!"

  Hundreds of Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants stood there cheering, and many even wept with joy. They will finally be normal people in the future. Under the strict clan rules, they are not allowed to work hard to get rich.

  These clan children opened their mouths to eat in Li Zhengjun, and the long-lost feeling of fullness made them extremely happy.

   Immediately, they became voluntary propagandists, traveling around the eight villages to preach the policy. The same words, said from the mouth of the clan, the credibility is doubled.

  Why?

  Because of previous rebellions, the clan was arrested and killed.

   Now Zhao Han not only does not kill the clan, but also lets the lower clan become officials and distributes the land to the lower clan. The clans who are hated by the rebels all have this kind of treatment, and they must be treated kindly as ordinary people.

  Li Zheng led a thousand soldiers and surrounded Raozhou City where 20,000 rebels were stationed.

  The troops were divided into several groups, with 500 people in a team, and went to various places to conquer the rebels who had entrenched the villages and towns. Wherever they passed along the way, the people came to report one after another, telling them how many rebels there were in a certain place.

  Lu Xiangyou, who was born as a salt dealer, was originally trapped in the city and dared not come out.

  Seeing Li Zheng's division of troops, he thought it was a trick to lure the enemy, and he dared not act rashly. Moreover, a large number of gold and silver beauties were rewarded, for fear that the big and small leaders under his command would surrender.

  However, some are overwhelming.

  When these leaders heard that Zhao Tianwang had sent troops, they were all trembling with fright, unable to resist at all.

   Half a month later, a 500-man army came back after destroying the target bandits.

  Li Zheng sent people to shoot books into the city, announcing that only the master and the evil should be punished, and that the low-level military officers and ordinary thieves should be properly settled.

  The morale of the army in the city suddenly became more fluctuating.

Lu Xiangyou felt that this could not go on like this, so he summoned the leaders and said, "The king of Zhao is also a human being. Where did the heavenly soldiers and generals come from? There are only a thousand enemies outside the city, but we have 20,000 people. If ten of them can fight one, can't we win?" I'm out of town for a fight!"

  These big and small leaders are not within the scope of forgiveness. They must either flee or fight a battle. And Lu Xiangyou bestowed many beauties and treasures, and they would definitely not be able to take them away, which made them reluctant.

   Then hit!

  The next day, 20,000 rebels came out from various city gates, and there was even congestion when they left the city.

  Many rebels fled immediately after leaving the city, and the leaders of the rebels could not stop them at all.

   "Advance in line!"

  The 1,500 Datong Army, lined up in a neat formation, walked towards the city without haste.

   "Heavenly soldiers are coming, run!"

   Facing the rebels of the Datong Army, half a mile away, they suddenly swarmed away. Hearing such shouts from outside the city, the rebels in the city became even more anxious, frantically trying to squeeze out of the city gate.

  There are two city gates, and the urn city is full of people. In order to escape from the city as soon as possible, they even started killing each other.

  Lu Xiangyou froze in place, his mind full of question marks. I have more than 20,000 people, and there are only more than 1,000 people on the other side. How could the whole army be defeated before the fight started?

  The news of the extermination of bandits came back to Nanchang, Xiong Wencan was very happy, and immediately wrote a memorial to report his merits. The general content is: the two prefectures of Raozhou and Nankang were first hit by drought and then by floods. Under the coordinated command of the governor, the officers and soldiers smashed the rebels, but it was a pity that King Huai was killed.

  The memorial has not been sent yet, but the imperial decree has already been sent.

  Xiong Wencan made great achievements in appeasing the rebels, and was promoted to the imperial envoy of Youdu, and was transferred to the prime minister of the six northern provinces to assist the governors of the six provinces in eradicating the bandits.

  Xiong Wencan wanted to cry holding the edict: Your Majesty is confused, I really don’t have that much ability!

  (end of this chapter)