Same as usual the next day.
Although the officers and soldiers of the Yan'an Guards had already attacked Laomiaozhuang to exterminate the thieves, the heroes of Heilongshan Township still did not dare to relax.
Liu Chengzong stayed at his post, took all his horses and armor, and, accompanied by Shi and Guo, dug a trench and slept all night.
After eating in the morning, I had nothing to do. When I got back, the food was much better than that of Yuhebao. Liu Chengzong also resumed training.
The training is on the one hand, him, and on the other hand, the war horse.
As the saying goes, a long illness makes a doctor, and if you have been a soldier for a long time, you will be able to formulate a training plan.
His training plan for the war horse is even more mature than his own.
The amount of exercise he planned for Hongqi was different every day. He walked slowly on the first day, ran fast the next day, sprinted on the third day, chased on the fourth day, and crashed on the fifth day, and so on.
It is also necessary to conduct daily routine training for the mount, that is, with a distance of one mile, first walk at a small pace, then canter slowly, then run away from the horse's hooves, then slow down to a trot, and finally gallop at full speed.
With such perseverance, the war horse not only has excellent endurance and speed, but also remembers to maintain physical strength during the charge, and is familiar with the combat sequence of approaching, riding and shooting, chasing, swimming and even impact pursuit in a single battle.
These old technical red flags all remember that they were often pulled to listen to the sound during firearms drills at Fish River Fort. It was not even afraid of muskets and artillery. Excluding the physical damage caused by often not eating enough in the past two years, this is indeed a horse with a foundation. Excellent war horse.
If he had sufficient rations to feed him carefully for half a year, Hongqi could carry Liu Chengzong, who was fully clothed, for sixty miles a day and fight ten rounds.
This is almost the limit of galloping. If you go further, you will need to prepare two more horses.
The red flag training was over and the sun was rising. Liu Chengzong looked northward but saw no movement. He had to lead his horse back to the mountain road, but he saw a figure in the south.
On the official road of Panlongchuan, two figures came from the south, with similar faces.
The older man wears a red tasseled felt Fan Yangli on his head, a purple flowered short coat and a bag on his back. His face and neck are covered with a sand-proof white cotton towel, and he holds a stick knife and holds his head high.
The younger man wore a blue scarf, a blue cotton robe, a wide plain waistband, and short cotton shoes. He followed every step with a long knife on his back, and sometimes looked to the left and right with alertness.
It seemed that both of them were powerful, and the older one was the main one, heading straight towards the Black Dragon King Mountain.
The appearance of such a person on the official road inevitably attracted Liu Chengzong's attention. He called Shi Wanzhong, mounted the red flag and rode his horse down the mountain. He shot an arrow at the feet of the two of them after more than thirty steps, and shouted: "Where are you two from? What kind of people are there, each holding a weapon and sneaking around, what are their plans for coming to my mountain?"
"Hey, you are so rude, let me wait..."
The young man in blue robes was frightened by Liu Chengzong's feather arrow. He angrily put down his backpack, picked up the long knife and started to come over. He was stopped by the older man. The man pulled down the scarf in front of his face and said with a smile: "The lion has How dare you shoot your uncle with an arrow!"
When the mask was removed, Liu Chengzong took a closer look, dismounted from his saddle, ran forward and bowed down: "Uncle!"
The visitor is his uncle, named Cai Zhongpan, who lives in Sanyuan County, Yaozhou, Weibei. He worked as a soldier when he was young. Later, he delivered goods to merchants in the prosperous Sanyuan and Jingyang areas. He often passed through Yan'an Prefecture and brought some fun things to the two brothers. ,delicious.
When Liu Chengzong saw that his uncle was here, he turned to Shi Wanzhong and said, "Brother Shi, please go home for me and tell my mother that uncle is here."
Hearing this, Shi Wanzhong responded and walked back, but Cai Zhongpan stopped him with an embarrassed look: "Hey, lion, don't rush to talk about this. You listen to me first."
Liu Chengzong nodded naturally, but Cai Zhongpan did not speak. It was not until Shi Wanzhong stepped aside with a look that he spoke in a low voice.
The young man beside Cai Zhongpan is his wife's brother, named Chen Ruji.
Since last year, there have been traces of thieves appearing in Sanyuan County, Yaozhou, where Cai Zhongpan lives. A large number of civilians have poured into the county, causing a serious shortage of food in the city. Also, surrounded by thieves, once the city is besieged, it will collapse.
In Weibei and Shaanxi, Sanyuan and Jingyang formed the commercial center of the northwest region, creating a large number of local and foreign businessmen.
Along with the developed economy, culture and education are also flourishing. The Shaanxi Supervisory Office is located in Sanyuan. There are many famous families in Sanyuan, which has led to the emergence of numerous famous officials in Sanyuan and a stable group of gentry.
Facing foreign enemies under these conditions, the Miyuan gentry established a landlord armed force called Zhongtong at the initiative of Dingyou official Wang Zheng.
Wang Zheng was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi's reign, a promotion official in Guangping Prefecture, and later a promotion official in Yangzhou Prefecture. He was proficient in equipment and had outstanding military and political management capabilities.
On the first day of February this year, Wang Zheng and others, after receiving permission from the magistrate, distributed Beicheng Defense League leaflets throughout the city of Sanyuan, and summoned the gentry and wealthy people in the city to go to the City God's Temple to make a blood alliance and establish a Loyalty Rebel Army to defend their hometown.
Then these gentry and wealthy people each performed their duties. Some took charge of the rebel army, while others paid for artificial knives and guns. The people who applied for the army practiced on Wednesday, Saturday, and September every month and went to the city to guard the city. The recruiter gave them three pieces of silver and food and clothing.
They made an agreement that when the thieves were successfully defeated, the loyalists would be disbanded and the armed forces would still be returned to the sponsors.
Cai Zhongpan escorted the caravan between Sanyuan and Jingyang, traveling south and north. He was a famous warrior in the county, so he was specially invited to join the Zhongtong Rebel Army.
On February 12, he led a team of rural warriors to participate in the first battle of the loyal rebel army, attacking the bandits entrenched in Yangshe, Sanyuan County, and defeated them and drove them to Fuping.
However, at that time, the Zhongtong Rebels were guarding the north city, and Sanyuan County soldiers were guarding the south city. Due to Wang Zheng's guiding role in firearms and the financial resources of many wealthy businessmen, the Zhongtong Rebels had surpassed the southern defenders in terms of equipment. The Zhongtong leaders also cooperated with the county Causes conflict.
When fighting out of the city, the Zhongtong rebels were the first to face the enemy, but the government and army battalions stood still. The thieves raided the Zhongtong barracks, but the officers and soldiers stationed next to Lien Zhan's 11th Battalion never fired an arrow at the thieves.
Some generals were bribed by the peasant army and refused to send troops. When the battle was over, they instead demanded the heads of the militiamen and used them as rewards.
Cai Zhongpan had a friend who had two heads killed in a battle in March. He was surrounded by more than a dozen officers and soldiers in an alley to snatch them away from him. When his friend refused to give them to him, the officers and soldiers chopped off three of his fingers. They refused to give them back and finally ordered them to kill him. Take the head away.
Because of this incident, Cai Zhongpan brought his wife and brother to the door to ask for an explanation. In the chaos, he fired guns and wielded knives, wounding and hacking several officers and soldiers to death. He packed his bags and fled Sanyuan, and then arrived at Yan'an Prefecture.
"If I go to your house to rest, I'm afraid it will cause disaster. Don't make a big show of letting people know. I'm just here to borrow a few taels of silver and a few days of rations. I'll drink some water and then leave."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "Uncle, where else can we go? This journey has been difficult and dangerous. Since you are used to beating thieves, you might as well stay in Xingping. Besides, there are thieves in the north, and there are also officers and soldiers. I'm sure We can’t leave.”
"I will take you to meet your parents right now, and they will definitely say the same thing then."
-
Note:
①. Wang Zheng, also known as Liangfu and Kuixin, was a scientist and mechanist in the Ming Dynasty and the earliest Catholic of Shaanxi origin.
Before becoming an official, he developed water power, wind power and load-bearing machinery, and wrote "Illustrated Notes on Newly Made Various Weapons". Together with Swiss missionary Deng Yuhan, he compiled "Illustrated Notes on Strange Weapons of the Far West", which was published in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627).
It mainly describes the knowledge of statics in Western ancient times and the Renaissance, including geocentrism, center of gravity and its solution, finding the volume of water, volume of floating bodies, specific gravity, simple machines and their combined use.
Together with Xu Guangqi, who was called the King of the South and the North of Xu, Li Zicheng wanted to conquer Xi'an, but refused to do so. Later, when he heard that the capital had been breached, he went on a hunger strike and committed suicide.
②. The Zhongtong Gentry Armed Forces were established in February of the second year of Chongzhen. Please refer to the "Zhongtong Daily Record"
