This middle-aged man is Yang An'er.
He is tall and strong, with a straight nose and broad mouth, and a majestic appearance. Even if he only wears a new and not old military uniform, standing among a circle of fierce generals with bright armor around him, he still feels that he stands out from the crowd and has outstanding courage. Under his gaze, the soldiers leaving the city were like a stream of iron, filled with murderous intent.
Standing next to Yang An'er is a lame and yellow-bearded general, who is Yang An'er's right-hand man, Li Siwen.
Li Siwen was the most experienced military officer among the generals under Yang An'er. He was once a member of the nine-pronged army that defeated the Song Dynasty under the famous general Pu Sankui. Yang An'er often entrusted him with the training of soldiers.
Li Siwen looked at the postures of the soldiers for a long time and felt satisfied: "Very good, very energetic! All of my Shandong disciples are like wolves and tigers!"
This army is Yang An'er's disciples, the so-called "Tiewa Dare to Fight Army". Although the total number of people is only 1,200, they are all capable of firing strong bows and wearing heavy armor. They have been able to defeat the enemy for a long time and never turn around. They can be called rare elites in the world today. At that time, Yang An'er relied on him to travel across Shandong, defeating the two military envoys of the Jin Dynasty Ding Haijun and Anhua Army on the battlefield, and once threatened Yidu. Later, he fought against the armed guards in Zhongdu and was not defeated.
Even the emperor of Dajin had heard of the bravery and proficiency of this army.
During the decisive battle between Dai Jin and Mongolia the year before last, the emperor even wrote a special handwritten edict and sent people to urge Yang An'er, who was staying in the Jiming Mountain area, to send troops for reinforcements. It's a pity that the hundreds of thousands of people in front of Dajin had already retreated. How could Yang An'er be willing to die?
As soon as he saw that the situation was unfavorable, he retreated without hesitation. And for more than a year after that, probably because of the various affairs in the court, no one came to investigate.
During this period, Yang An'er kept training in preparation for his subsequent promotion. Judging from the soldiers' equipment, martial arts, and even their familiarity with the orders of gathering and dispersion, they are indeed becoming more refined. With this as the backbone, tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of people can easily be gathered, enough to dominate Shandong and watch the world's conflicts.
It's just...a little regretful.
The year before last and last year, there was drought in Shandong and Hebei. In June, heavy rains continued and rivers overflowed. The price of rice among the people has risen to more than a thousand yuan, making life very difficult. However, Yang An'er was stationed in Dingxing County, and the entire army was fed, clothed, and housed by civilians. Although the generals did not deliberately cause chaos, they did not strictly control military discipline. As time goes by, robbery and plundering are inevitable.
At this moment, on the road from the county seat to the south leading to Guchengdian, the people saw more than a thousand soldiers and horses leaving from a distance, and they fled one after another.
Some houses along the road were originally burned down during last year's war. Yang An'er thought they were unsightly, so she sent people to rebuild the sheds last winter.
At this time, the people fled frantically, and several sheds were knocked down. There were several new fires, and thick smoke billowed out. Someone was probably taking advantage of the fire to rob them. Because they were far away, it was difficult to see who was responsible for it. However, it was nothing more than light soldiers deployed in the front line.
Yang An'er looked in that direction and sighed.
He rarely saw this kind of situation in Shandong. After all, when the soldiers were in Shandong, they always passed through villages and villages, and everyone was under the banner of doing justice for heaven. After arriving in Hebei, I saw too many plunders and massacres.
A person like Yang An'er, who is used to seeing life and death and has a heart as stone as stone, will naturally not be filled with guilt or sympathy because of this. However, this is a signal that cannot be ignored.
Obviously, the soldiers have been in Hebei for a long time, and they feel depressed in their hearts and feel that their life is precarious. They have emotions and ideas. They have been depressed for a long time, and they have more violent emotions to vent. Even with Yang An'er's prestige, she couldn't forcefully suppress it.
Therefore, even if there is no threat of the Mongols going south again, it is time to return to Shandong.
Yang An'er didn't feel that her decision to surrender to the imperial court three years ago was wrong. However, now and then, the court today is much weaker than it was then. The ferocious beasts under Yang An'er had been restrained for a long time, and they could just let go of the reins a little and let them see blood.
Near Dingxing County in Zhuozhou, only Yang An'er had more than 20 groups of defeated troops and deserters who had a firm grasp of their garrison locations, totaling no less than 2,000. The imperial court had issued successive orders earlier to urge the collection and recruitment of other people. Firstly, Yang An'er didn't want to cause more trouble, and secondly, she was worried about the powerful clans in Dingxing County, so she delayed it until now.
Once he lets go and does something, no one of these stragglers is a match. The only way they can go is to be kidnapped into the army and used by Yang An'er. That road is the way back to Shandong!
After pondering for a moment, he waved to the two generals who were eager to try.
The two took half a step forward.
Yang An'er whispered to the two of them: "Kill all the leaders, no need to hold back! But for ordinary pawns, the priority is to recruit them, let's..."
When he was about to say more, a guard rushed over: "Du Tong! Tang Kuohe is calling!"
Everyone was shocked immediately.
Looking back, I saw from a distance that the troops marching at the city gate were in chaos. Dozens of people forcibly broke into the team. After leaving the city, they urged their horses and whips to approach.
The horses are all tall, and the riders are all wearing white clothes with coiled collars, black leather boots, Zaoluo gauze scarves on their heads, and swords hanging from their waists. Surrounded by dozens of people, two horses were bridling together, and a carriage was rattling.
Since last year, the Imperial Court’s Qunmu Prisons in Huanzhou and Yunnei Prefecture have been looted by the Mongolian army. Hundreds of thousands of war horses all fell into the hands of the enemy. On the contrary, the imperial army was in short supply of war horses. Yang An'er's army originally had sixty war horses. After they came to the north, many died of illness because they were not accustomed to the soil and water. There were only a few horses left, and all the generals were reluctant to ride them.
There were only dozens of people coming, but they were able to do it for one person and one horse. This made people's eyes spit out fire. What is even more despicable is that so many good horses are in the hands of a mediocre person who dare not go into battle!
In a moment, a group of carriages and horses approached.
The knights reined in their horses one after another, and as soon as the carriage stopped, the curtain opened, and with a burst of heat, a fat Jurchen, covered in silk and brocade, came out.
It was early spring and the weather was very cold, but he was also wrapped so thickly that his face was covered with oil and sweat. As he walked, he waved his narrow sleeves to fan the air, huffing and puffing. But his physique was a little weaker. When he walked in front of Yang An'er, he probably caught the wind and sneezed violently, spittle flying everywhere.
This Jurchen was Tang Kuo, the commander-in-chief of Tiewa Ganzhan Army appointed by the imperial court.
After Yang An'er surrendered, the imperial court recruited his subordinates and appointed Tang Kuo Heda, who was from the Jurchen clan, as the capital, with Yang An'er as his deputy.
After several years, although Tang Kuo and Tang Kuo could not control Yang An'er's troops, it was still difficult for Yang An'er to hide what Yang An'er wanted to do from the rightful commander. At this moment, Yang An'er had just sent his troops out of the city, and Tang Kuo got the news and hurried over.
While Tang Kuo took out a silk scarf to wipe his face, Yang An'er winked at his subordinates.
The generals agreed and dispersed in a hurry.
When Tang Kuo raised his head again, only Yang An'er and a few people close to him were left in front of him. His face immediately showed a doubtful and gloomy look.
With a smile on her face, Yang An'er hurried a few steps forward to greet him: "I haven't seen much of Tang Kuo's capital recently!"
Tang Kuo rolled his heavy eyelids and stared at Yang An'er without answering.
After Yang An'er finished the military salute to meet Shangguan, he said slowly: "Brother An Guo, why did you suddenly launch an army? Who are you trying to attack?"
Yang An'er made a living selling saddle materials when he was young. The word "An'er" in his name is a scornful name for people who sell saddle materials, not a big name that can be put on the table. So after he surrendered to the imperial court, he gave his family a famous name, Yang Anguo.
After hearing Tang Kuo's inquiry, Yang An'er replied without hesitation: "Capital, in the past few days, news came from Anzhou that Xiao Haohu, who was to be appointed as the governor of Tudan and appointed as the commander of the capital of Anzhou, was killed by a Chang. The defeated soldiers of the state were killed. But Shan Shan, the governor, was helpless to deal with the defeated soldiers."
"oh?"
"I think that the move of the governor alone is a bit weak. As a result, the prestige of the imperial court will be greatly reduced, and I am afraid that some people who are disloyal to the imperial court will be ready to take action! To be honest, I have received news since the day before yesterday. , Anzhou, Ansuzhou, Suizhou, Baozhou and other places, the stragglers are restless."
Yang An'er paused, looked at Tang Kuo's expression, and continued sincerely: "Before, the commander-in-chief asked me to collect the defeated troops in the counties south of Zhuozhou as soon as possible, but I was unable to do so because of insufficient food and fodder. But now In this situation, if we let them go again, we might really be in trouble! So..."
He made a decisive gesture of waving his hand downwards: "Du Tong, I will definitely catch them all this time, and I will never allow them to cause trouble!"
After Yang An'er said these words, Tang Kuo laughed several times: "I can see Brother An Guo's loyalty to the court, it's very good!"
"I dare not take it as a compliment from the capital."
After a while, Tang Kuo asked together: "Tu Shanhang suffered such a big loss, but he was helpless against the defeated troops in Changzhou?"
"Yes. After the man killed Xiao Haohu, he escaped unscathed. Not only did Tu Shan not pursue the case, I heard that he even sent someone to give him a gift as a sign of appeasement."
Tang Kuo continued to sneer.
After laughing for a while, he asked again: "Could there be a reason for the defeated troops in Changzhou?"
"Ahem, there is no origin. The man was originally from the Jia Army of Wushabao in Changzhou. His surname was Guo. He was very young. When he fought with the Mongolian army the year before last and the year before last, he had a reputation for bravery among ordinary soldiers. "
"So, he is just a common man!"
"That's true... that's true."
"Then, Brother An Guoxian, you send a team of men to kill him. Take his head, I can use it."
"This..." Yang An'er didn't expect that Tang Kuo would suddenly come up with such an idea. When he was about to shirk, he saw that Tang Kuo's expression was very determined, so he had to bow and said: "I'll do it right now!"
