On the third day of August, the team arrived in Baijiachuan, Yanchang County.
The autumn air is crisp, the sun is no longer so scorching, and even the heat in the air has completely disappeared. The cold wind blowing from time to time reminds the leaders to start stocking up on food and grass for the team to survive the winter.
The long march had already made Liu Chengzong accustomed to living in the earthy yellow. Walking along the Ganlong Ancient Road with the shaking smoke and dust, the colorful scene finally appeared in his eyes again.
The small yellow flowers of Senecio are climbing all over the river bank, and several salt pans are set up on the slopes of the salt field, and everything is white.
The peppercorns are ripe in the endless fields, and the jujube orchards in the distance are full of fruits, and the ground is bright red.
In the rolling mountains farther away, the dogwoods turned red, and the lush mountain forests seemed to be dyed golden in autumn.
There are also clear blue skies and clouds hanging low on the mountain ridges. Everything is so beautiful, as if you have entered another world.
Except them.
Walking onto the Ganlong Ancient Road was like a signal. Before the leaders knew what was happening, the crowd dispersed with a bang.
People on the north bank of the river were running wildly. Some people rushed to the river to drink water, some rushed into the fields to pick up grains, and more people tried to cross the river.
Some people lead mules onto the bridge, while others take off their pants and swim across the bridge.
The crowd on the south bank of the river was also running wildly, and the alarm bells and drums kept ringing.
When the people in the village saw them running out of the mountain road from a distance, they abandoned their work and ran home, carrying the old and the young, pushing carts and leading their animals to escape up the mountain.
On the mountain, there is a solid earth fence that they have built.
The soil was so large that people from the three villages along the river were running towards the mountains.
The team was in complete chaos, the hungry people were running, the small team members were also running, and even the non-sticking mud monkeys, the monkeys in the sky, and the monkeys in the sky were riding forward on their horses at the first time.
The dirty Sky Monkey ran forward a few steps, turned around and saw that Gao Yingxiang and Liu Chengzong were not running away, so he came back with his horse: "Cross the river, everyone has run to the other side, what are you doing!"
Gao Yingxiang was a little embarrassed and looked around but said nothing.
Liu Chengzong knew what he was looking at, looking at soldiers.
The army of more than 7,000 men was reduced by half in the blink of an eye. Those who still maintained their formation on the ancient mountain road were either women looking at the baggage or children leading the mules.
Even the old man on crutches ran forward.
There were only a few teams left. More than 800 well-trained border troops under Gao Yingxiang were divided into two teams. They had already put on their armor and pulled the team forward.
There were more than 300 Mongolian Yiding, the leader was a fool, and he led the team and stood still behind Gao Yingxiang.
Apart from them, Liu Chengzong's people were the only ones who could maintain the queue in place.
To be precise, the rest are all Liu Chengzong's people.
On the hills and fields, Wei Qian'er, who was riding on a horse with a big flag on his shoulders, did not move. The pond riders were in groups of three or five, occupying all the commanding heights from the valley to the official road.
Gao Xian and Feng Rui each led their troops in front and had already walked out of the valley. They put on their armor in the open areas on both sides of the official road and maintained their formation to guard the important road.
Cao Yao's battalion artillery post was behind, and the artillery escort was looking after the baggage. However, his formation was scattered and he was reorganizing on the spot.
Gao Yingxiang didn't speak, and Liu Chengzong didn't speak either. The silence was awkward for a while.
He couldn't bear to see others robbing people's villages indiscriminately, but now he was eating only Gao Yingxiang's military rations.
Not to mention that Gao Yingxiang's headquarters, Bumu Mu Department, Shangtian Monkey Department and Huntian Monkey Department, in addition to the soldiers, there are many hungry refugees and refugees, but they provide him with more than 500 people who work together to eat. of military rations.
This disqualifies him from standing on the moral high ground to block or make suggestions, and he can only watch if he doesn't like it.
This matter can only depend on Gao Yingxiang's own plans.
But Gao Yingxiang's focus is not on the villages on the other side.
The Sky Monkey also followed Gao Yingxiang's gaze and looked around, and he also discovered something unusual.
Gao Yingxiang was the first to break the silence. He spoke calmly and asked the Sky Monkey: "Why are you running?"
"My soldiers have all run away, I have to go to the front to command them!"
After saying that, Liu Jiusi realized that what he said was too natural and regretted a little, so he added: "It's almost winter and it's very cold. Brothers, go get some clothes to wear."
Gao Yingxiang nodded, looked up at the blue sky, and snorted heavily, as if asking himself and the monkey in the sky: "Then why did my soldiers run away?"
"They are amazing!" The Sky Monkey praised: "They were led by the Zhongdou Star, and their armors were arranged in a neat formation."
The middle star is Gao Yingxiang's younger brother, named Gao Yingen.
Just now, Gao Yingxiang was chatting with Liu Chengzong about Gao Yingen, saying that he was also a decent person, but he didn't know why his brother got the name of a fighting star.
Zhongdou Xingjun, also known as Dakui, protects life.
Gao Yingxiang turned around and asked Liu Chengzong: "Then why didn't your people move?"
The monkey in the sky said: "I have seen that everyone under Liu Shishi has cotton armor, so they don't have to steal clothes."
"It's not because of this." Gao Yingxiang sighed: "It's because he didn't give the order. Look at the monkey, his four teams are all waiting for his order."
Speaking of this, Gao Yingxiang's face finally showed a little sullenness. After a moment, he shook his head and said: "The lion is right, we people cannot defend Jinsuoguan and Yan'an City."
He raised his finger and pointed forward: "Go, command your people, let them stop on the north bank, and let them stop on the north bank as well. Let them stop on the north bank, and see if they can make people obey."
The monkey in the sky was confused and rode forward.
Gao Yingxiang then smiled and praised Liu Chengzong: "I said it was right to find you. Only people like you look like elite soldiers."
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "Master Gao, my people are not elite soldiers. If we really fight, they may not be as good as the two groups of frontier troops led by Zhong Douxing."
If this is a game about discipline, then this game is unfair to Gao Yingxiang.
But Gao Yingxiang didn't know. He thought Liu Chengzong was being modest, so he waved his hand and said, "You have to tell me later how you led the troops..."
"It's not that my people are elite, it's just that my people don't have the habit of robbing the people, and I didn't let them rob them."
At that moment, the expression on Gao Yingxiang's face was wonderful, going from disbelief to relief, and finally only pity.
It is easy to figure out the truth. Liu Chengzong has few people, so there is no need to loot the people. The frequency of attacks is very high. Continuously robbing the inns is enough for them to supply.
After thinking about this, Gao Yingxiang shook his head and sighed: "I originally thought so too, but the team is too big and there is no way to feed everyone."
Just like a vivid education class, Gao Yingxiang is not the only one who gets education.
Gao Yingxiang saw discipline, while Liu Chengzong saw power.
Power appears to come from above, but actually comes from below.
There are grass-headed kings everywhere. They may not be the best in the team, nor may they be the highest-status, most knowledgeable, or even the most talented.
It's just that they can think together with most people, do the right thing at the right time, gain prestige and convince the public, and they become leaders.
Even if he doesn't take a shower.
The three leaders each restrained the team. Only Liu Jiusi, the monkey in the sky, could calm down the team in the group frenzy, and most of the people gathered around him again.
More people found that the team was still gathering on the north bank after crossing the river, and ran back again.
If you don't stick to the mud, you have no idea of restraint. You cross the river with the chaotic subordinates and pick watermelons in the fields.
It does not necessarily mean that soldiers cannot be restrained without sticking to the mud.
But Gao Yingxiang couldn't control himself. These leaders just worked together and had no relationship between superiors and subordinates. They just banded together to survive.
Among the leaders, Huntian Monkey looked the worst.
He listened to Gao Yingxiang's words and tried his best to restrain his subordinates on the river bank. However, his subordinates were very independent and many of them directly mixed into the non-mud team and went to the other side to plunder.
There was only a small leader named Bai Guangen, who gathered dozens of people to stay with Huntian Monkey.
The large army did not cross the river, but Bu Zhanni led a team of thousands of people to loot the salt pots, orchards, pepper fields and villages, and then returned loaded with people's cotton-padded jackets and quilts.
"Hey, if you don't go over there, there must be something good in that fort. I've seen it."
Bu Zhan Ni was overjoyed when he returned to the north bank, and said to several people: "What are you still standing here for? King Chuang, let me tell you, should we knock down the fort or continue to leave?"
Gao Yingxiang shook his head: "Let's divide our troops."
"Um?"
Bu Zhanni frowned: "What do you mean?"
"What are you thinking? It's time to divide the troops. No one can feed seven or eight thousand people gathered in one place. If you have many people, go to the middle part of Yijun; the monkeys on the sky will go to Yichuan, and the monkeys on the sky will go to Luochuan."
Gao Yingxiang knew very well that he could not be restrained, and Wang Jiayin's fellow countryman was not easy to restrain. He said: "We sent people to contact each other, and we used this time to train our brothers. If there is any news about the army, we will follow the plan." Run to Yanchuan."
This was the plan they had agreed on a long time ago. No one had any objections. They raised their chins at Liu Chengzong and said, "What about Liu Shishi and you?"
"I will stay in Yanchang, closer to Yanchuan, and leave some remaining strength to fight with the officers and soldiers."
Gao Yingxiang turned to look at Liu Chengzong and said, "He is from Yan'an, so go back to Yan'an."
On the day it was decided to divide the troops, Wu Zhanni and Hun Tianhou led the team away.
Shangtianhou followed them for a while, so he told them to follow Gao Yingxiang for a while. When Gao Yingxiang found a place to stay, he would lead the team south to Yichuan.
But later on, until he followed Gao Yingxiang into the mountains and arrived at a deserted village called Guyuan, he stayed by Liu Chengzong's side and inquired about methods of training and mobilizing troops.
Liu Chengzong knew his own weight best. The formation of the army was the credit of his captains. He didn't know anything about the formation of the army.
Just like what he said to Gao Yingxiang, the four teams of his men were obedient because of his prestige as a pioneer and because of the source of his troops.
They have all received military training and know that if the team is disbanded, their combat effectiveness will be gone.
They all have winter clothes, and they have never been hungry. They are used to the big business of robbing government inns, and they are not hungry enough to despise the small profits of robbing villages.
But the most important thing is that the leader of the third sentry team and the first team believes that Liu Chengzong will not let them suffer, and that Liu Chengzong can lead them to survive.
The biggest experience he could pass on to Liu Jiusi was to establish an organization. Even if you lead a group of hungry people, you must select layers of refugee commanders from the hungry people.
Liu Chengzong failed to teach Shangtian Monkey much. On the contrary, he learned a lot about Shangtian Monkey in just a few days of contact.
The real name of Shangtian Monkey is Liu Jiusi. As soon as Liu Chengzong heard the name, he knew that his background was not bad.
When I asked, it turned out that my father and grandfather had accumulated a good fortune in Qingjian by doing business in the early years. The land at home was more than that of Mr. Liu in Heilongshan.
Jiu Si, from "The Analects of Confucius·Ji Shi Chapter 16", refers to seeing and thinking, listening and thinking, looking and thinking warm, looking and respecting, speaking and thinking of loyalty, deeds and respecting, doubtful and asking, angry and difficult to think, and seeing and thinking. righteous.
But I was a bit unlucky. Not long after I was born, my parents died one after another. I was raised by my grandfather. Before I was old enough to study, my grandfather was gone.
His relatives didn't starve him, but they just didn't starve him. The family's shop and land were young, and there wasn't much left when he grew up.
Later, he was taken into gambling and his family fortune was completely ruined.
But the loss of his family fortune was nothing to him. On the contrary, it was the people who had harmed him that made him feel more important and warm with them.
But later those gamblers didn't want him anymore, so he could only wander around.
Until more and more people are looting and revolting everywhere, maybe because of his temperament, if others treat him well, he will treat him well in return. When the most difficult time comes, he will have a bite to eat, and he will share it with those who follow him even if he is hungry.
In this way, he became a leader from a beggar.
Liu Chengzong asked him why he didn't take a shower. He said that not taking a shower made him feel safe. The thick layer of dirt on his body was like armor.
On the sixth day of August, Shangtianhou led a team to Yichuan.
Gao Yingxiang set up camps all over the ancient plains with his men, and showed Liu Chengzong how his team usually operated.
He not only had frontier troops and barbarians under his command, but also a large number of women, craftsmen, and more hungry people who had no fighting ability.
Hundreds of blacksmiths, carpenters, and salesmen traveled around the mountains to inquire about news. It had only been two or three days, but those who were nearby had already returned with news about the village's terrain and wealthy officials' families, while those who were far away were still on the way.
At this rate, we can fully understand the extension situation in less than ten days.
Subsequently, several teams composed of hungry people and women set out to collect grain and grass from the camp every day to collect wild fruits and herd horses and feed donkeys in the mountains.
The soldiers took this opportunity to recharge their batteries and prepare for a big fight after receiving the information.
Liu Chengzong did not stay long. Gao Yingxiang valued him very much. Before leaving, he prepared food for the mule team and slaughtered a lame donkey. He sent people to the villages outside the mountain to exchange silver for some wine and made a farewell banquet for him. .
However, the meal did not go well. Only halfway through the meal, Tang Ma came to report that officers and soldiers were coming from the mountains to the south.
There are more than two hundred riders and four to five hundred horses.
When he got the news, Zhongdou star Gao Yingen was holding a wine bowl to toast Liu Chengzong. He drank half a mouthful and sprayed it on the ground when he heard the news, choking and coughing uncontrollably.
He coughed and said: "Brother, pull out, pull out the camp, cough cough... officers and soldiers!"
The whole camp was in commotion.
Oddly enough, if there were four to five hundred officers and soldiers who received intelligence, they might not be so afraid.
But the peasant army in northern Shaanxi will be afraid of the number of two hundred horses.
Who told Li Bei to take 200 cavalry last time, from Huanglong Mountain to the outside of the Great Wall, and penetrated almost the entire northern Shaanxi?
Gao Yingxiang was not as scared as his younger brother. He wiped his lips and said, "What are you afraid of, lion? I'm afraid you can't leave. How about we fight with them?"
Liu Chengzong also meant the same thing. He nodded with the wine bowl and said, "Don't mess up your position at this time. If you run away, you will end up like Lao Hui... huh?"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw a commotion at the bonfire at the entrance of the camp, and then a familiar figure walked over. It turned out to be the Heavenly Monkey Liu Jiusi who had returned.
Behind him was a man wearing cotton-padded armor belonging to the captain of the frontier army. The cotton-padded armor was covered with battle scars. The Sky Monkey came over and introduced him: "That's King Gao Chuang."
The man looked around, cupped his fists towards Gao Yingxiang and said, "King Gao Chuang is polite."
After saying that, without waiting for Gao Yingxiang to return the gift, he turned around and asked the Sky Monkey: "Where is General Liu?"
The monkey in the sky showed a helpless expression to Gao Yingxiang, and then raised his hand to show Liu Chengzong.
Liu Chengzong looked at the man with doubts on his face and confirmed again and again that he really had no impression of this man. He put down the wine bowl and put his hand on the handle of the knife at his waist, frowning and asked: "Who are you?"
The military man over there took a step forward, took a closer look at him, raised his legs and bowed out of the military salute, clasped his fists and said: "Yang Yao, the commander-in-chief of the cavalry of Guyuan camp, led 240 brothers to come to seek refuge. General Wan Wang will take you in! "
