General Ren returned to his loyal home of Semen Qianhu.
On the day he left Lion Bay, Liu Chengzong's guards watched him for a long time on the mountainside.
No one could figure it out that this virtuous general of the imperial court gave Marshal Liu hundreds of taels worth of medicines and supplements, but he was flattered by the salary of one tael and five taels of silver.
However, Liu Chengzong said that Ren Quan'er had enough reasons to be happy. He was the first person in the entire Lion Battalion to receive military pay.
The monthly silver price is one tael and five cents, which is higher than the standard of one tael and four cents for the Beijing Army and Guan Ning Army.
As soon as Ren Quan'er left, He Yong came again.
He reported the latest residence to Yanchuan, took away some money as usual, and also had people bring some news about Yansui Town and Suidezhou.
Wang Jiayin's influence in Fugu County was huge, setting off a new wave of rebellion in northern Shaanxi. Zhang Xianzhong, a government official, also rebelled, united with Mizhi Eighteen Villages, and joined Wang Jiayin's command.
The wounded soldiers in the Lion Camp continued as usual, recovering from their injuries and studying at the same time.
How did the hungry people come, how did the hungry army come, and why do we need to calm the people?
Once they all knew these things, their daily schedule was divided into four hours.
After breakfast and an hour after lunch, Song Shouzhen led the bookstore to teach them how to read.
Before lunch and an hour before dinner, Liu Chengzong took them to study Di Bao and Tang Bao.
While teaching, Liu Chengzong was thinking about their food and grass, and was very worried about the future.
That day, they were reporting in the school building. More than a dozen book clerks were reading to the wounded soldiers. One book clerk came up and asked, "Commander, what is Nong Bing Huang Chi?"
Liu Chengzong felt unhappy after hearing this word. He frowned and explained: "Nengbing means starting an army, and Huangchi means a pool of water. You have seen Yang He's memorial."
Yang He concealed He Huchen's defeat from the court.
In words, the memorial described the Wang tribe occupying Fugu as border troops accustomed to fighting, and they were mostly related to the Kou Wai Lu tribe. They were colluding with the Lu tribe to attack the border wall.
However, the Lion Camp did not deserve to have a name in the memorial. It was only said that there were thieves everywhere in Yanqing, and they were nothing more than soldiers and ponds, especially easy to clean up.
To be honest, when Liu Chengzong saw this memorial, he gathered six sentinels to go to Guyuan to pay homage to the governor.
He himself was puzzled. Why was Yang He so fond of one?
Yang Dingrui had some guesses about this: "He advocated appeasement, and Hong Chengchou advocated the suppression of bandits. Naturally, the memorial should show that the Yansui suppression became more serious, while other places were calm due to appeasement."
Yang Dingrui said with a smile: "So, in the memorial, you are just a little thief who raised an army in the pond, and you are definitely not Marshal Hengtian. This is not a bad thing."
Although this is not a bad thing, it is not necessarily any better.
Liu Chengzong shook his head and said: "It's just that, I'm afraid Shaanxi will not send troops to suppress me during this period."
"Wouldn't it be better if I didn't come to suppress you? I just need to rest and recuperate, and the border troops don't fight as hard as you do."
What kind of army can fight more than a dozen battles a year with all members mobilized?
If they keep fighting like this, they will turn into a group of lunatics, lunatics who will bring war and killing wherever they go.
"But as a result, Wang Jiayin will be under too much pressure."
Liu Chengzong was biting his nails anxiously on the cliff of Shizigou. He asked, "Sir, what do you think about me going to Guyuan after the Sixth Post returns to camp?"
"Guyuan?"
Yang Dingrui did not answer immediately.
The wind blew through the river valley, and wild grasses everywhere swayed in the wind. The two of them sat side by side on the ridges of the barren dry terraced fields, watching the lush green trees in the valley, and the setting sun setting in the west, burning half of the sky red.
He asked: "Lion, in these troubled times, you have a powerful army and have done nothing to harm the people. What are your plans for the future?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head very matter-of-factly: "The world is about to fall. It shouldn't be like this. I want to put it right."
When a rebel leader said this, it was supposed to make people laugh.
But his words made Yang Dingrui unable to laugh, because the causal relationship between them was not that rebels emerged one after another and the world was general, but that the world was general before rebels emerged.
From south to north, from east to west, there is no province that does not resist taxation, mutiny, rebellion, and rebellion. The situation has been rising and falling, but the gourd has also been pressed.
Lion Camp is just one of them.
Yang Dingrui said: "You are not honest."
"This year alone, the drought in northern Shaanxi is slightly mild, but the drought has spread to Guanzhong, Shanxi, Shandong and northern Zhili, and there are droughts in Huangzhou, Huguang, and Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong. Chaozhou, which is suffering from drought, is also sandwiched between the two provinces. Mansion, with the current situation, how can we keep things straight?"
Liu Chengzong turned around and was shocked. This man stayed at home in Lion Bay in northern Shaanxi, but he knew so much about the world's disasters?
After thinking about it for a moment, he felt relieved.
He could see the military reports that He Renlong could see, and Yang Dingrui and his father could also see the official reports of Yan'an Prefecture, and they were even higher in rank than him.
So he smiled and said: "Sir, you are so talented, why are you so disappointed with the world?"
"You shouldn't be disappointed in this world? You don't know how many times I disappointed others during the years I served in Yan'an Prefecture. I always let others down, and I am also very disappointed."
Yang Dingrui shook his head and said: "No matter how talented you are, nothing can be done."
"I don't think so. Even if the drought happens again, even if it lasts for ten or eight years, even if there are floods, droughts, and locust plagues, there will still be people who can survive. If there are people who are still alive, the world will be straightened out one day."
Liu Chengzong was very clear about the difficulties he would face in the future, but he was not discouraged: "Maybe in twenty years, someone we have never heard of will become the emperor. Is this impossible to happen? It is possible."
"Even if the army fights for thirty years, anyone can win. Maybe ten years from now I will have the powerful general Fan Sanlang under my command. Anything can happen in this world, and only one thing is destined."
Liu Chengzong looked directly into Yang Dingrui's eyes: "Anyone can win, but Ming Dynasty will definitely lose."
Yang Dingrui chuckled and did not continue to talk about these things. With a little incitement by the Hungry Army, he would believe that his own power could retaliate against those who had ignored their families and their lives.
Yang Dingrui will not be incited.
He just asked: "Going to Guyuan, what should we do? Two days before the shipment, we just said that we would gather the people with surplus food to go into the mountains and clear the fields in Yan'an Prefecture. Why... are you planning to let Liu Siye beat the horse and dance with the sword to fight against Guan Ning's army? ?”
Liu Chengzong just thought about the scene of his father holding a pipe and riding a horse, and he raised his head and laughed with joy: "Hahaha!"
Then he quickly waved his hand and said: "If you want to leave, you must go with me. Pingliang Mansion is much further than Pingyang Mansion, and it is difficult to rush to rescue in a short time."
"Master Gao in Shanxi sent someone to deliver a message. He brought people from Jiangzhou in Shanxi. They have passed through Hancheng and will be here in a few days. They brought a lot of grain and grass, as well as my cannon."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and drew a circle around Lion Bay and said: "Sir and I have planned the arrangements here so that Master Gao's people can develop and manage it."
"I have calculated the food and fodder. With six outposts and four outposts, we can raise food for this winter. However, the potential of Yan'an Prefecture has been exhausted. We will face more enemy troops next year, and food and fodder will also become a big problem."
"This can't last any longer."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, Yang Dingrui smiled: "This is indeed a problem, but have you ever thought about why?"
"Why?"
Liu Chengzong didn't understand. He spread his hands and said, "Yan'an Prefecture is just such a big family. Why?"
Yang Dingrui shook his head and said: "No, it's because you have the wrong idea. You see black and white in your eyes. Even if you go to Guyuan, even if there are no soldiers to conquer in a year or two, you will still have to live elsewhere. The fundamental reason is that the lion There is no difference between a camp and a bandit."
Just as Liu Chengzong was about to say something, Yang Dingrui raised his hand to stop him, and continued: "You don't harm the people, and you even help them. This is human nature and morality. You can't hit this and rob that. You are complacent."
"The thieves and their ilk can't defeat the officers and soldiers, and they can just eat and run away. What about the Lion Camp? It's different. They have to eat and run away."
Liu Chengzong was angry. Most of the honor of the Lion Camp and his pride came from this.
Now Yang Dingrui says this is nothing?
Damn it, the ministers and the people dare to confront those who have done something wrong...Mr. Yang, do you know that this is very dangerous? I have allocated three thousand miles to wait for you!
Liu Chengzong glanced at the teacher and asked, "What do you mean, sir, that I did something wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong."
Following this understatement, Liu Chengzong nodded seriously to Yang Dingrui: "I would like to hear the details."
It's almost time for Yang Dingrui to go to Jiayuguan to report.
He said: "First of all, by not using the power of the people, you have left a way out for yourself. You are worried that the people will have no one to look after you after you leave, so you will not let them fall to you."
"But if you leave a retreat, you will use it sooner or later. Of course, this is not a big problem. There are thieves everywhere anyway. It takes as long as you can keep peace."
"The biggest problem is getting food."
Yang Dingrui frowned unconsciously when he talked about collecting grain.
Liu Chengzong felt that this man was an official in the past and must not be happy about this, so he asked: "Is it wrong to collect grain?"
"What's wrong with collecting grain? This is a temporary measure with no other options. If we don't collect grain, what will we eat?"
Yang Dingrui asked back, and then said: "But your people only know how to collect food, but they have no intelligence."
How do you say this?
Just say this and get out of seclusion.
Yang Dingrui, the advance guard of the Zuo Qianhu Division of the Hami Guard, knew nothing about his own situation. Seeing Liu Chengzong bowing his head in deep thought, he struck while the iron was hot: "Think about it, there are only so many local tyrants and evil gentry, even including Wangzhuang, how many can you rob? "
"You want to enter Guyuan. Although the Guyuan camp mutinied last year, there are still many military forts left behind. You used to open warehouses to stock up on food, and even the officers and soldiers resisted. All the surrendered soldiers and deserters were fortified, and the dead and the living were replenished and charged into the battle. Wuxue Mianshuang, can you not recruit them?"
What a temptation. Liu Chengzong shook his head decisively: "No."
"That's it. Now that the news of the defeat of the Ningxia Army has spread, if the troops left behind in Guyuan are not too hungry, they will hide in the fort and not dare to mess with you. If they are hungry, they will just eat the juice from the pot. If the Lion Battalion enters Guyuan, it will inevitably expand its army again. .”
Yang Dingrui drew several interlocking circles on the soil ridge with his hand: "The more troops there are, the more unstable your military morale will be."
He pointed to the innermost circle and said: "The Lion Camp is basically composed of more than a thousand Yansui troops and more than 200 Guyuan troops."
"Later there were hungry people in northern Shaanxi, more than 2,000, and now there are nearly 2,000 Ningxia soldiers."
Yang Dingrui said, and drew a circle outside: "Think about it, how many soldiers will be recruited into Guyuan, two thousand?"
"If you use big soldiers to make small soldiers, you can break them up and organize them into troops; but if you use small soldiers to make big soldiers, you can break them up and mix them together. Who breaks whom?"
"If you have enough food and grass, you have to beware of traitors. Once the food and grass are low and you are under siege, the Lion Camp will be full of holes."
Liu Chengzong nodded secretly, okay, what Mr. Yang said is still useful, and we can withdraw to Jiayuguan.
"Then how to solve this matter?"
As he asked, Yang Dingrui looked like a fool. The Ming Dynasty's court could not solve the problem of deserters and internal agents after the food shortage. You, the Lion Battalion, rebelled against the government, and you still want to solve this problem?
He waved his hands and said: "It can't be solved. What can be solved is to be good to the soldiers and try to avoid food shortages. So the most important thing in this matter is to collect food."
"You need to pay attention to methods when harvesting grain. Fortunately, Yan'an Prefecture is full of barren fields. Even if we kill all the big households that own land, the court won't be able to use the land if you leave."
"But Guyuan is different. There is a large area of pastoral land and Wangzhuang for the vassal kings, and your people are short of food... With ten thousand horses and horses, you need to prepare at least fifty thousand kilograms of rice a year to avoid collapse. If you want to be full, it will take ten thousand people. Ten Thousand Stones.”
"I estimate that if we open up grain harvesting from Wangzhuang in Guyuan, we can get enough grain for two or three years, but don't be too quick to be happy."
Yang Dingrui raised his hand and said, "If we want to transport it back, this food will only be enough for a year and a half."
"Unless you stay there, Guyuan has convenient transportation on all sides. It has Ningxia in the north, Lintao in the west, Fengxiang Prefecture in the south, and two border walls in the north."
"Either we don't defend that place. If we defend, we will be surrounded by the army. We will win or lose. If we run, we will definitely not be able to escape."
Yang Dingrui spread his hands and said: "So you can't stay there for a long time. When you leave, there will be no Wangzhuang in the place. The Lion Battalion has solved the land annexation and Wangzhuang drag for the court. I will send troops to attack you later."
"Then let's put it this way, you can't go anywhere sir."
Liu Chengzong was not blindly optimistic, but he felt that the imperial court did not have such a strong integration ability. If it really had this ability, would it be their turn to raise an army?
The problem has been solved long ago.
"It is possible to go, and it is very worthwhile to go. The only difference is that the method of harvesting food must be changed. You can occupy a few military forts, but you will not attack the city, attack the palace, kill the evil leaders, or distribute the fields."
Liu Chengzong spread his hands and said, "Then I didn't go in vain?"
"It's not in vain to collect grain. I harvest the grain and steal the money. I leave enough food and life for the evil leader for a year. I take part of the grain and distribute it to the people. It will win the hearts of the people."
Yang Dingrui said: "You didn't enslave the people. People will still cultivate the land and pay grain to Wangzhuang and the landlords. We will fight again in the autumn. It's still the same. Local production is not bad, but the court's collection is not good. From Guyuan to the north along the Qingshui River Sweep all the way to Ningxia Zhongwei."
"Then I will ask them to snatch the food distributed to the people after I leave?"
"Just grab it. You are not the parents of the people. Who can blame you if you can't keep the food after sharing it? If they rise up and resist, they will become you."
Yang Dingrui drew another circle: "We can also share the pressure."
"Then sir, you want me to occupy the Ningxia central defender?"
"Don't, absolutely don't. If we are blocked by the army at Zhongwei in Ningxia, we will have no choice but to run to the Tengger Sea. Going in will mean death."
Yang Yanchang said: "For the soldiers from Lintao, the grain from Lanzhou, the iron from Gongchang, the tea from Minzhou, and the horses from Xining, don't you know where to go?"
