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  Chapter 648 645 [Forcing against the landlord]

   Zheng Yi, Zheng Zuo and his son were really scared this time, and even pulled the Taiyuan garrison back to Shenglong Mansion.

  Annan Kingdom's Taiyuan City is located fifty miles north of its capital, and like Lang Son, it is the northern barrier of Annan Kingdom.

  Lang Son defenders are defending Guangxi.

  The Taiyuan defenders are defending Gaoping.

  In the valley of Gaoping, there is a Mo family regime. The Zheng family and the Ruan family started their careers by overthrowing the Mo family, and the Mo family has not been wiped out until now.

  Historically, the Mo family first supported Nanming, then took refuge in the Qing Dynasty, and then attached themselves to Wu Sangui, and finally committed suicide.

  Taiyuan only left 500 soldiers to defend the city, and the remaining 1,000 garrisons were all recalled to Shenglong Mansion by Zheng Bing. As for whether the Mo clan took advantage of the opportunity to invade, Zheng Bing couldn't control that much anymore. He lost tens of thousands of troops in his previous expedition, and he was seriously short of troops.

  Because of the Annan civil war, the army in the hinterland was evacuated, and the Datong army was invincible in Thanh Hoa and Ngee An.

   After occupying Yi'an City, Yuan Shizhong each sent hundreds of soldiers to capture the nearby Anren (Nan'an) and Zhongyi (Yanzhou). None of these cities had Annan's regular army, and local officials could be said to have surrendered on the lookout.

  After seizing the city, the Datong Army did not leave anyone to defend, directly hired local farmers, emptied the treasury and marched north.

  The battle on Li Dingguo's side went more smoothly. The Datong Navy warship sailed outside Qinghua City, and a burst of shelling solved the problem. The city guard here is actually surnamed Zheng, he is Zheng's nephew, and he quickly surrendered when he saw the Datong army.

  Yuan Shizhong led his troops on a naval warship, quickly joined forces with Li Dingguo, and occupied Nanding City with all his might—this city is located on the bank of the Red River, only 180 miles away from Thang Long Mansion.

   Until this time, Zheng Yi finally completed the gathering of troops.

  The remaining thousands of remnants before, together with the troops of Qin Wang from all walks of life, Zheng Yi unexpectedly pulled up an army of more than 40,000 people. It's just that more than 70% of them are Xiangyong, which is similar to that of the Daming team that Zhao Han met in Jiangxi.

   Zheng Yi led his troops to station in Xing'an City, only 50 miles away from Li Dingguo.

  If you want to attack Thang Long Mansion from Nanding, the fastest and most convenient route is to go up the Red River. Zheng Yi's army is stuck on the only way.

   "Father, the battle must be resolved quickly, otherwise we will not have enough food." Zheng Zuo reminded.

   Zheng Ting said: "If the enemy doesn't attack, and defends Nanding City by the river, how can we win a quick battle?"

   Zheng Zuo said: "But the military rations are really not enough."

  Zheng Bing ordered: "You take people to the countryside to collect food, the more food you collect, the better!"

  Before, there were more than 70,000 shi of rice grain in the treasury, and the troops of the King Qin from all walks of life brought more than 10,000 shi of rice. But there are more than 40,000 soldiers, and each of them only has more than 200 catties of food. When they gathered in Shenglong Mansion, they lingered for more than half a month.

  No oil and water, lack of protein, and no snacks and fruits. Under such circumstances, an adult man can eat several catties of rice every day.

  Zheng Bing ordered his son to go to the countryside to collect food, and at the same time ordered the whole army to reduce the food: the regular army only ate one catty of food a day, and the Xiangyong only ate twelve taels of food a day.

  Of course, nobility, generals, and gentry are not bound by this.

  Take Li Shenzong, Li Zhenzong and his son as an example. Although they are both puppet kings, their treatment must be guaranteed.

  Zheng Bing was afraid of the royalist party's rebellion, so he brought the puppet king and his son, and handed over the court affairs to his daughter Zheng Yuzhu.

   Zheng Yuzhu, the daughter of Zheng Yu, is the wife of the Supreme Emperor Li Shenzong, the not-so-serious Supreme Queen.

   It is not serious because Zheng Yuzhu was married and had four children.

  At that time, the real queen died of illness, and Zheng Bing wanted to control the king through marriage, but he didn't have any extra daughters. So, he accused his son-in-law and sent him to prison, and asked his daughter to remarry the king with her four children.

  In the army, Wang Zhang.

  Li Shenzong, Li Zhenzong, father and son, ate and drank silently, with the maid standing beside them watching them.

  Drinking a pot of wine, Li Shenzong took the opportunity to go berserk and beat up the court lady as soon as he took his job.

  The court lady was beaten and fled in embarrassment. Li Shenzong hurriedly said: "Look for an opportunity to surrender to the Han, and take advantage of the situation to restore the country!"

   "But...Father, this matter may not be easy." Li Zhenzong was even more courageous.

   Li Shenzong was abolished and let his son succeed him because he was disobedient and secretly made trouble when Zheng Bing was defeated. This guy has always wanted to be pro-government and never let go of any opportunity.

   Li Zhenzong was frightened, and he didn't have the blood of a young man at all.

  Li Shenzong roared in a low voice: "It's not easy to do, don't you want to be a puppet for the rest of your life?"

  If it was something else, Li Shenzong would still be able to bear it. Zheng Ting asked him to marry a remarried woman with four children.

  The father and son said a few more words, and the maid who was beaten and fled came back with a few officers.

  When Li Shenzong heard the footsteps, he immediately hooked up with his son, held up the jug and pretended to be drunk: "Come... drink... I have wine today... I am... drunk..."

  At night, Li Zhenzong lay alone in the king's tent, tossing and turning, always unable to sleep.

  All his sons died young. Although the imperial doctor said that they died of illness, he suspected that they were poisoned by Zheng Bing—in fact, he was thinking too much. If he died without children, Zheng Bing would have to get his father back and reset him.

  Several sons died one after another, which frightened Li Zhenzong, and now everyone thinks that he is trying to harm him.

   Li Zhenzong hoped that the Han soldiers would come quickly and kill the Zheng family. As for who will be the king in the future, Li Zhenzong doesn't care about it. It is best for the Han soldiers to annex Annan, and then make him the Duke of An Le, so that he can live in peace for the rest of his life.

  …

  Xing'an, the countryside.

   Zheng Zuo sent thousands of soldiers and horses to go around to collect food.

  The so-called grain requisition refers to county commune (similar to town and village) officials who bring small officials to force the people to hand over grain. If there is not enough food in any village or town, the army will be dispatched immediately, and it will also be obtained by burning, killing and looting.

  At the same time, those troops went straight to the home of the big landlord, because the magistrates could not conquer the big landlord's home.

   "Officer, my family is really out of food. This is the family's life-saving food!" A farmer hugged the soldier's thigh, while his wife and children cried bitterly in the house.

  The soldier kicked the peasant away: "If you have no food, go to the landlord's house to borrow it!"

  After the farmer fell down, he climbed over and kowtowed: "Where can I borrow it? Last year's rent has not been paid yet."

  The soldier laughed and said, "You still have a daughter, and if you sell it, you will get food."

   This team of soldiers robbed one house and immediately went to the next house.

  As for the landlords, they can’t escape either. It’s okay to obediently pay the food, but those who are disobedient will break into the house. Maybe their wives and daughters will be bullied by the soldiers.

   Such behavior is perfectly normal.

  The Annan Mo Dynasty in those days, it was because of successive years of wars that they kept collecting food from landlords and farmers, and finally caused continuous uprisings across the country. The Zheng family and the Ruan family took the opportunity to overthrow the Mo family's rule with the peasant uprising army with the support of the gentry.

  Twenty miles west of Xing'an, twenty-five miles north of Nanding.

   Gan family.

  The Gan family belongs to a prominent local family. Although it is very close to the capital, they have not been very high-ranking officials. Because Annan's court was controlled by Qinghua and Ngee An nobles, they joined forces to squeeze out gentry from other places.

   "Father, 800 shiguzi were forcibly confiscated today, and there is not much food left in the family," Gan Shoudao said angrily, "If the war continues, the officers and soldiers will definitely come again. By then, everyone in the Gan family will starve to death!"

  Gan Yu sighed: "What else can I do?"

Gan Shoudao continued: "Those Qinghua nobles are becoming more and more defiant. In Xing'an City, many people from Qinghua and Yi'an came to serve as officials, and they exploited the people as soon as they arrived. Even the landlords were forced to destroy them." The family sells the land. This Xing'an Mansion will be swallowed up by outsiders sooner or later!"

   "What exactly do you want to say?" Gan Yu asked.

Gan Shoudao said: "It's better to vote for the Han army and get back what was lost! The Zheng family just lost a big defeat and tens of thousands of troops were lost. Now Qinghua and Yi'an are lost, and there is not even enough food to raise soldiers. How can they fight? Can you beat the Han soldiers?"

  Gan Yu worried: "What if the Han soldiers lose? The Zheng family will settle accounts after the fall, and the family will be ruined!"

  Gan Shoudao said: "If this continues, sooner or later we will lose our family!"

  The Zheng regime has a standing force of 56,500.

  Among them, 5,000 people defended the king, 6,000 people defended the Lord Zheng, 30,000 people were distributed in various places, more than 10,000 people were stationed in Ngee An and the major Buzheng states, and the remaining more than 4,000 people were stationed in Qinghua.

   It can be seen how important Ngee An and Thanh Hoa are, and there are more troops stationed in peacetime than frontier defenders.

  Under normal circumstances, a strong attack is necessary, but the Datong Army took advantage of the loopholes. Both soldiers and horses were taken out by Zheng Bing to fight, and they were defeated and almost wiped out.

  The Zheng family's territory has a total population of only 3 million people, and it needs to support more than 50,000 standing troops. It is conceivable how heavy the taxes are.

   What's more nonsense is that they have to support the royal family and Lord Zheng.

  The annual income of the Annan royal family is one thousand villages (one thousand villages), accounting for one-eighth of the country. Master Zheng's Tang Muyi is also close to a thousand clubs, accounting for one-eighth of the country. There is also support from the clan, which accounts for about one-twentieth of the country.

  One-third of the country's land tax is used to support these people, and the rest can go to the national treasury to raise soldiers and officials.

  The people in Annan grow twice a year and three times a year, and they can't afford such exploitation, even the landlord's family has no surplus food.

  By the way, Lord Zheng’s Yiqianshe Tangmu Townships are all located in Tsinghua.

   Zheng Yi's old mansion has been copied by Li Dingguo!

  Gan Shoudao took his slaves to the other side of the river in Nanding city day and night. There is Yuan Shizhong's military camp by the river, and Li Dingguo is stationed in the city with his troops.

  Gan Shoudao was caught as a spy, and after crying, he was taken to see Li Dingguo.

   "General, help!" Gan Shoudao knelt down.

   Li Dingguo asked: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Gan Shoudao replied: "The grass people are the people of Xing'an Prefecture. The Zheng family is cruel and ruthless. They plunder the people's rations to fund the army. If there is any resistance, the family will be destroyed. Please send troops quickly to save thousands of people from the fire and water." !"

   Of course Li Dingguo sent spies out, and he also knew that Zheng Bing was sending troops to plunder the people.

   But, just by looking at Gan Shoudao's clothes, you can tell that he is a landlord. Being able to force the landlords to surrender to the enemy shows that the Zheng family has lost popular support and the time for a decisive battle is ripe.

  Li Dingguo asked Gan Shoudao to stay as a guide, and then ordered: "Let's march tomorrow, and distribute food to the people along the way!"

  The Datong army is not short of food. Zheng Yi's hometown in Qinghua collects one-eighth of the country's land tax every year. Except for those who were transported to Thang Long Mansion, except for those who were engaged in grain business, the rest of the grain was piled up in the warehouse.

   What's even more funny is that more than half of the 4,000 Annan officers and soldiers stationed in Qinghua usually guard the granary for Zheng Bing outside the city.

  The food there is all cheaper than Li Dingguo.

  (end of this chapter)