The warm sun was shining down, and Zhu Meng's whole body was trembling, and there was no chill at all.
Ten points of meritorious service is equivalent to twenty acres of land for ordinary soldiers.
And officers like him make up one percent of the total number of soldiers and horses under his command.
One after another, more than 5,000 people gathered in Dashan Pass. In other words, he could get 500 points of merit.
That is, one thousand acres of land.
This is a huge income for Zhu Meng.
"Your Highness, from today onwards, the important task of Dashan Pass will be handed over to me. You can go directly to Xiangyang. You have other appointments!"
Zeng Ying said with a smile, quite emotional.
Zhu Meng, a military commander with the power of the dragon, coupled with his status as a clan member, could still be remembered even if he stayed in a remote place for a year.
Seemingly sensing the awkwardness in Zeng Ying's heart, Zhu Meng said deliberately: "General Zeng, I don't want to hand it over to you."
"These days, Li Zicheng is making a lot of noise in Guanzhong. He is relocating and collecting taxes. He may want to capture Hanzhong!"
As he spoke, Zhu Meng pointed to the cannons on the city wall and said: "There are all kinds of wood and stones. Look at those red cannons and French cannons, each one wiping the light."
"When the intruder comes, he will definitely be carried away without food."
Hearing this, Zeng Ying immediately became excited: "Are you saying that the intruders are about to start moving?"
"Probably so."
Zhu Meng thought for a while and said: "Shun Jun has been clamoring for revenge all day long, but in fact he has done nothing at all. He just thinks about messing around."
The two chatted for a while. They were both rough people, but they didn't have any grudges.
The next day, Zhu Meng announced King Hanyang's reward, and the army, which was mainly composed of miners, immediately burst into joy.
Just when he asked his brothers to pack their things and prepare to leave Dadasanguan, suddenly, a beacon fire was heard not far away.
"This is this?" Zeng Ying was stunned.
"I posted a sentry in the mountain."
Zhu Meng said in a deep voice: "There are more than a dozen buildings nearby for hundreds of miles. The five streaks of wolf smoke mean that more than 50,000 troops are attacking."
Stretching his neck, Zhu Meng observed and spoke.
"General Zhu, you said it is indeed true. The intruder is indeed very evil."
Zeng Ying marveled and showed a determined smile: "In this way, we can just guard Dashan Pass and make the intruder completely frustrated."
"General Zeng is very brave."
Zhu Meng laughed, waved his arms and said, "The intruders still haven't suffered enough in Dashan Pass."
At the same time, Chen Yongfu, who was guarding Nanyang, also received news of the incoming intruders in the Wuguan area, and made a tight arrangement for a while.
In fact, although Li Zicheng was unable to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Manchu Qing, small-scale local attacks were common.
For example, on its northern line, Gao Yigong was sent to quell the internal rebellion and defeated the rebel general Tang Tong. Then he crossed the Yellow River eastward and invaded the northwest Pianguan and Ningwu areas.
On the southern route, they crossed the river from Luoyang, attacked Huaiqing Mansion, an important town in northern Henan, and threatened Hebei and Shanxi.
This action forced the Manchus to resolve to attack and eliminate them.
"If Li Zicheng didn't go to build slaves, why would he think of us in Nanyang?"
Chen Yongfu thought about it and couldn't figure it out.
Logically speaking, it is absolutely disadvantageous to be attacked on both sides. The Shun army should use all its strength to deal with Jiannu.
"Report, there is urgent military information in Fangcheng."
At this time, a messenger suddenly came, carrying a feather at Fangcheng Pass.
Yuxi, that is, military sentiment.
Chen Yongfu was stunned. Could it be that the intruder was planning to attack from both sides?
I saw, outside Fang City, a group of unknown troops, about three thousand people, with thousands of old and weak people, begging to surrender.
The leader is a female general wearing red and flowers.
"Why does this person look so familiar?"
Chen Yongfu muttered.
He did not dare to make an arbitrary decision on this matter, so he could only send it to Xiangyang and let His Highness the King of Hanyang decide.
…
At this time, outside Fangcheng, thousands of troops and many people were camped with difficulty, relying on the river.
The army still maintains its formation, but the people are scattered, with yellow faces, hungry and cold, and it is obvious that they cannot hold on for long.
Many children were so hungry that they couldn't even hear their cries.
"Eat some of this and feed him some more!"
A woman's face was yellow and her chest was withered, and she couldn't express any milk. The child was so hungry that he couldn't cry.
The woman's face was full of grief, and she kept trying to feed him, but she wouldn't.
At this time, suddenly a female general in armor and a red robe scooped out a large bowl of milky white fish soup and handed it to the woman.
"Thank you, General Red!"
The woman hurriedly knelt down, her face full of surprise.
"fine."
The red lady nodded, and led the guards beside her to carry the fish soup, and walked around one by one, handing it to the women and children in need.
Soon, the fish soup was distributed.
She quickly came to the river, where hundreds of iron pots were already cooking porridge and fish caught in the river.
A young woman is rolling up her sleeves, cooking fish soup, bending over to hold a spoon, a pair of round bodies wrapped in a black and white dress.
The delicate waist is constantly bending and undulating, showing strong toughness.
"Ms. Tang, you don't need to do this."
The red lady was stunned, strode over, and said directly.
Mrs. Tang turned her head, her beautiful brows and eyes full of determination, and she whispered softly:
"Red Lady, I'm relying on you to support me now, and I have to do something. You can't bear this burden alone."
Hearing this, the red lady took her hands. Her delicate hands now had many calluses, and her eyes were slightly red:
"I promised Li Lang to take care of you, but I can't let you suffer."
"You have allowed us, the Li clan, to escape. That's enough."
Tang Niang said softly, and friendly smiles appeared on everyone's ladylike faces.
The red lady traveled from the southwest of Shanxi to Kaifeng, a land of saline-alkali. Even if the river receded, not many people were farming.
The Li family was in Qixian County. The red lady led the soldiers and horses and repaired them for more than a month. Then she took her people and the families of the soldiers to start a journey to seek survival.
Until last month, the invading army marched eastward again, and the red lady had no choice but to flee from Sichuan. However, Henan had already been devastated for thousands of miles, and there was no extra food.
With no choice but to come to Fangcheng and surrender to the Ming army.
Of course, this is in view of the good reputation of King Hanyang.
"Escape?"
The red lady's bulging chest rose and fell: "It's too early to say this now. It's difficult to rescue you, let alone avenge Li Lang."
"Li Lang!" Mrs. Tang sighed and said sadly: "My husband has not yet had any children, so his incest is cut off."
"Heir!"
Speaking of this, the red lady's resolute face couldn't help but be moved: "It's my fault, I never gave him a concubine."
"well!"
Mrs. Tang sighed, looking at the embarrassed Li clan and the weak common people, she couldn't help but ask:
"Then King Hanyang, can you accept us?"
The red lady turned her head, looked at the strange fortress in the distance, and said solemnly: "I will definitely do it. Among the Ming army, he is the only one with a good reputation."
