Yang An'er suddenly raised troops, which shocked Hebei.
When he raised the army, he naturally had a full set of slogans, bitterly stating that the court was immoral and the people were in dire straits. Most of these words were true. But if there is a military disaster, how can the people who are in dire straits survive?
When the rebels raise an army, the first thing to do is to sweep through the countryside, plunder supplies, and kidnap the masses! That will only destroy the opportunity to survive and crush the barely maintained state of existence!
What's even more frightening is that if there are rebels, there will be an army of imperialists to suppress them. And when the army crosses the border, the damage caused to the local area is simply ten times more terrible than floods, droughts and locust plagues. I heard that Yang An'er's subordinates are also warriors. If they go back and forth with the government and the army three or five times, I'm afraid there won't be many living people left in the several prefectures and counties in the southern part of Zhuozhou!
Therefore, after Yang An'er raised his army, not only Guo Ning and Jing Anmin responded immediately, but also local tycoons and wealthy families from all over the country gathered to prepare for response.
Within a few days, Xinqiao Camp, which was originally a grass market, became a small military stronghold. There are camps everywhere inside and outside the market, and various people gather in each camp.
Some camps are well-organized and there are strong men with weapons and fierce expressions in the camps. There are also many camps scattered around, and they are filled with people with sad faces. They are sitting or squatting, not talking to each other, occasionally getting up to look inside the Xinqiao Camp, and then sitting down again in frustration.
Most of the people who can be in the camp are relatively wealthy families in southern Anzhou, or at least middle-class families. In the outer reaches of the grass market, many people who are in a dilemma and are surrounded by darkness are the poor who have gathered here these days.
They came here not necessarily because of how powerful the Xinqiao camp was, but when faced with danger, people have the instinct to gather in groups for peace of mind.
They subconsciously came to Xinqiao Camp to seek refuge with the wealthy southern Anzhou clan who presided over this place. The wealthy people felt that they were dragging their families with them, and that they were too old and weak, so they sent young men and servants to drive them away, and used sticks and whips to force them to retreat.
But where can these people go? They didn't dare to rush into the Xinqiao camp, and they didn't want to run far away, so they could only wait in the wilderness, looking worriedly and silently at the grass market, waiting for those high-ranking figures to say a word and decide everyone's fate. .
After yesterday's heavy rain, the originally dry ground turned into a soup-like mud. They were still there, some of them were cold and hungry, their faces were pale, and they were no longer popular. Some people also began to look further out for firewood that could make a fire.
Although everyone was trying to find a way, the heavy rain soaked the dry food that many people carried with them, and some of the potato starch even melted. As a result, there was a little more doubt among people. Some people had a fierce look in their eyes and were thinking about how to rob others of their food.
At this time, the Xinqiao camp was really busy. Many steamed buns, cooking cakes, and white-cooked Hu cakes were brought out and supplied to the young men holding weapons in various camps. The young men were eating happily, and some were competing with swords and guns.
In the courtyard inside Cao Shi, a more exquisite and luxurious banquet was held. The food at the banquet is not only steamed buns and cooking cakes, but also dried seed powder, meat cakes, kidney soup, and even various meat dishes, as well as a lot of wine.
Those who can participate in the banquet are all prominent figures from all over the place, coming from clans or villages that are as powerful as the Yu family. Several clan members are even spread across states and counties, and their influence extends to several states.
"He Lao, if you think this wine is still pure, why not drink another glass!" Yu Xianchun said politely.
He himself had a goatee and looked older, but he sounded very old and showed respect to the old man in brocade robes above him.
The person he called Mr. He was He Tai from Xiongzhou. This gentleman is a leader who occupies a dominant position among the local clans. In his early years, he served as an official on Nanjing Road. After becoming an official, he had the title of casual official from the sixth rank to a senior official.
Previously, Guo Ning sent Wang Shixian here with the intention of reaching cooperation with the Yu family so that the defeated army could gain a proper foothold.
Yu Jingchun had received favors from Guo Ning and was on good terms with Wang Shixian, so he was immediately optimistic about this cooperation. His elder brother Yu Xianchun had no objection. After all, the Yu family's military force was very weak. If strong foreign aid could be introduced, a win-win situation would be achieved.
But such a big thing cannot be done by the Yu family. It will have to promote many surrounding local forces, so Yu Xianchun naturally wants to discuss with He Tai and seek his opinion.
But at He Tai's age, he has seen too many ups and downs. He was not optimistic about what situation the defeated soldiers could achieve, so he urged Yu Xianchun half intimidation and half inducement, asking him to keep making excuses.
Because of He Tai's request, the Yu family only gave a small amount of food and fodder to the defeated soldiers for more than a month, which kept the army's material reserves at the minimum.
In He Tai's view, after all, the defeated soldiers had no foundation and only had courage. Even if they could be famous for a while, sooner or later they would be unsustainable. However, the local nobles controlled food and materials. Sometimes they gave more, sometimes they gave less. Just like training dogs, slowly train these defeated soldiers. In time, they will be able to use their fingers like an arm... Isn't this better than the hundreds of Xi troops in Tu Shanhang's hand?
He Tai never thought that Yang An'er would suddenly rebel, causing the situation in the various states to suddenly become tense.
He Tai has his own family's military force, but he also knows very well that this family's military force cannot confront Yang An'er's tiger and wolf army head-on.
If the imperial court cannot send troops to help immediately, Yang An'er will attack anyone he wants to the west of Taihang and south of Yanshan, except for Zhongdu, which has a heavy garrison. No force is stronger than an egg in front of Tiewa Ganzhan.
Because Dingxing County where Yang An'er was located was not far from Xiongzhou, He Tai immediately took his family and many servants and servants to Xinqiao Camp for temporary shelter.
Along with him, there were also some protective troops and Xun soldiers controlled by the He family. Many of them are warriors recruited by the He family over the years and possess extraordinary martial arts.
A rough estimate shows that headed by the He family, plus the Yu family from the Xinqiao camp, the Liu family from Baozhou Jintaiyi, etc., the total number of local warriors in hand is nearly a thousand, and there are more than 50 cavalry, which is not a small force.
He Tai raised his neck and downed the drink in one gulp, and said with a smile: "Xianchun, just wait. If Yang An'er wants to start a rebellion, he will definitely take advantage of the local bravery, and in our area, when it comes to bravery, it is nothing more than those who have collapsed. Soldiers. So Yang An'er and Guo Liulang have to compete. The previous confrontation in the Gucheng Store was nothing at all. The bad battle is still to come!"
Yu Xianchun smiled bitterly and said, "Wouldn't this be more troublesome?"
He Tai waved to the maid to come over and fill up the wine: "No trouble, no trouble. Let them fight until they are tired and suffer heavy losses. The imperial troops should also arrive. By then, they will be wiped out. Isn’t this huge land free for us to do something about?”
He said earnestly and sincerely: "Xianchun, you have to understand that these tyrannical people can only be powerful in the local area. They are the wind and rain that will blow over sooner or later, and we are the trees rooted in this land. Our strengths are not The branches are luxuriant, but the roots are deep!”
Yu Xianchun sighed secretly.
ingrained?
When these wealthy squires came, they ignored the local people and only wanted to protect the safety of their own homes. There are now thousands of refugees from Xinqiao Camp, and there are even more in other places. Once people's hearts are in disarray, how can the common people remember their relationship with the local tyrants? There is so much disunity between the upper and lower levels that when things really get bad, someone will lose their head!
Thinking so, Yu Xianchun nodded repeatedly: "How clever!"
Just as he was about to continue his praise, the servant outside shouted: "Second Master Yu is back!"
Since Yang An'er started his army, Yu Jingchun has led some fine people to visit him. It took five or six days to go there, but no news came back. Yu Xianchun has a deep brotherly love and has always been a little worried, but he just can't show it to others.
When he heard the good news from the servant, Yu Xianchun said quickly: "Please come in quickly!"
After a while, Yu Jingchun walked into the hall first.
Yu Xianchun took a cup, poured wine, and greeted him with a smile. But after Yu Jingchun stepped into the hall, he stepped aside and bowed slightly.
Behind him, a young man strode forward.
This young man is very tall, wearing a round-collar robe and a black gauze headdress. He was probably injured, so his movements were a little inconvenient, but his movements were very relaxed. When he stepped into the hall and looked around at everyone, the sharp light flashing in his eyes made Yu Xianchun feel a chill in his heart, and he felt murderous intent.
This hall is the main hall of the Yu family's mansion, but most of the guards arranged around the hall are He Tai's people.
At this time, it seemed that this young man was very strange, and there were several followers with unknown identities behind him. A guard of He Tai's confidants, always arrogant, immediately came up from the side and said: "Who are you? Please tell me your name!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to stop her.
This action was too rude. After all, this was the Yu family's house. How could He's servants be allowed to act like masters? Yu Xianchun frowned and immediately stood up to calm his cheeks.
Unexpectedly, the young man kept walking, and a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old came out from behind him, swung the ax violently, and smashed it down on his head and face!
No one expected that someone would suddenly take action.
The young man didn't look like a cruel person. He held the ax backwards, with the back of the ax facing forward. But the weight of the ax was too heavy, and the broad back of the ax hit the guard's face like a stone smashing nuts. The bones in his face were shattered and his eyes flew out. The guard fell to the ground without even letting out a scream. He first held his head and struggled a few times, and then stopped moving.
There was an uproar in the hall, many people stood up from their seats, and some drew their swords.
Behind the young man, dozens of warriors with helmets and armor swarmed in, the swords in their palms shining like snow, making the whole room feel cold.
"Ni Yi, don't use force."
The young man gave a casual order, strode to the wine table where He Tai and others were sitting, and said in a deep voice:
"Yang An'er was defeated at Fanyang City and has fled south. It is expected that he will enter Shandong via Bazhou and Qingzhou. Zhuozhou will soon be calmed down, and there will be no more turmoil in the five states of Xiong, An, Bao, Sui, and Ansu. . I have said before that if there is a place within the five states where the military has been abandoned and the strong men have fled, we are willing to equal the number of strong men. Can this matter be done now?"
Halfway through his words, everyone at the table reacted.
This young man is Guo Ning!
In just a few days, he drove Yang An'er away? That was the famous Yang An'er, one of the elite Tiewa warriors! Just retreat like that? What kind of battle is this going to be?
Everyone cast doubtful eyes on Yu Jingchun. Yu Jingchun smiled bitterly and nodded slightly.
This is real!
Yang An'er is already a ruthless character that no one dares to mess with. How powerful is Guo Ning when he drives Yang An'er away?
This man is really not to be underestimated... He is indeed a fierce tiger as rumored!
As Guo Ning spoke, the smell of blood had already spread in the hall. Yu Xianchun reacted quickly and immediately responded: "That's natural. This is something we have all wanted to do for a long time, and we will definitely get it done properly."
"In the newly built Baojia, we have entrusted you with the tasks of supervising taxes and servitude, and encouraging farmers and mulberry trees. However, the people you send out are not allowed to prey on the people, are not allowed to plunder, or are not allowed to act recklessly in our name."
"That's natural. We are all fellow villagers. If we act randomly, won't we ruin our reputation?" Yu Xianchun continued to nod.
"Finally, the military salary of the soldiers should not be compared to that of the strong men in Baojia, but based on the number of troops stationed in Yongtun, Yuanbian, plus an additional 30%, and paid monthly. Mr. Jingchun will be responsible for Baojia, and I will do the same here. Assign a special person to cooperate with Mr. Jing Chun."
According to the numbers of the Yongtun garrison in Yuanbian? Do you need another 30%? This is no small amount! Yu Xianchun's heart twitched with pain, but when he saw the faces of everyone at the table turned pale, he could only say continuously: "Okay! Okay! Ahem, this is my brother's honor. My brother will definitely handle this matter well!"
"Then it's settled."
Guo Ning didn't delay at all. He turned around and left the hall quickly.
The sound of cavalry galloping outside was loud, and I don't know how many people quietly came closer, and then left in a swaggering manner.
Thinking that their family might have escaped the disaster of losing their heads just now, a group of powerful people sat at the table in a daze, no one knew what to say. After all, Yu Xianchun was the host. He coughed twice and said: "Mr. He, everyone, as the saying goes, a good man will not suffer the immediate consequences. I thought..."
At this point, he felt that something was wrong with He Tai's expression. A closer look revealed that the old man was covered in cold sweat, his clothes were soaked through, and he was so frightened that he almost fainted.
