July 21st.
On the night of the fourth day after Liu Chengzong left Heshui County.
Jiang Yingchang received news in Heshui County that the Lion Battalion troops pointed to Qingyang Fucheng.
Three hundred troops of the Qingyang Guards set up an ambush at Zuogang. They were frightened by the might of the Lion Camp. Their troops collapsed without a fight and fled into the barren mountains. The commander Guo Zining committed suicide by committing suicide.
Liu Chengzong sent a message to calm the people. Early the next morning, he led his generals to follow his father and brother to the east mountain of Qingcheng to pay homage to Zhou Zu Bucheng Mausoleum, and then broke camp and headed south to Ningzhou.
At the same time, the vanguard guerrilla Yang Yanchang led 500 tiger troops from Jingxing into Pingding Prefecture, Shanxi Province, and won the first battle.
The leader of the thieves who was defeated by him was called Fanshan Harrier, an old bandit from Shanxi who gathered thousands of people to operate in the Taihang Mountains.
He was suddenly attacked by Yang Yanchang and defeated like a torrent.
Sometimes a person's self-confidence is very important. In the capital, he witnessed the brutal war between the four cities of Yongping and the Donglu. Then he went back to Shanxi and fought against a thieves like Fanshan Harrier who had been robbing and robbing for three years. Yang Yanchang was a little bit more confident. There is no psychological pressure.
Five hundred versus two thousand.
The troops were divided into five sentries to press forward, and they collided with each other. They formed a long drive and chased the enemy to the north.
Winning is simple and beautiful.
More than eighty people were killed, more than four hundred people were captured, and nearly one of his men was captured.
At the edge of the battlefield, Yang Yanchang let go of his horse and sat on a rock on the side of the mountain to rest. His eyes were full of worry and he didn't know the future, and he lamented that people can't help themselves in the world.
He finally ended his wonderful journey being sent by the rebel leader to King Qin.
The mission assigned to him by Liu Shizi was completed very smoothly. The two hundred war horses were regarded as meat buns beating dogs, and the compensation was worth their pants.
But for himself, the rewards are great.
He was appointed by the Ministry of War to command the general affairs, and was issued a scarlet official robe and a tiger patch.
Still at the third rank, he was promoted to Lieutenant of Qingchao with military honors and awarded the rank of General Zhaoyi, and he was sent to guard Yan'an Prefecture as a general.
He felt that when he returned to Yan'an this time, he had to find a way to find the genealogy.
He has probably been the person with the highest official position in the clan for two hundred years, and has a glorious ancestor.
But more important than official position is experience.
In the past, when he was in Yan'an Guard, he saw that military households were so hungry that they sold their wives and children to survive, which he thought was nothing.
The military household was finished long ago. At most, the drought made the scale of the destruction a little larger, extending to Yan'an Guard.
It can go from northern Shaanxi to the capital, and from the local area to the capital.
He found that the situation in northern Shaanxi was not a problem of drought or personal wealth, but a problem in the entire world.
The drought only made northern Shaanxi the weakest piece of land, crushed by pressure.
There must be a big problem in the world, but he couldn't tell what the problem was specifically.
I only know that if there were no big problems in the world, it would be impossible for a person like him to be a trial 100 households with no real vacancies last year, and this year he would be in charge of all the affairs of the third rank.
"General, I've asked you all. Mountain Harrier is an old thief."
The veteran came over with his sword in hand.
The veteran's name was Liu Xiangshan. He was actually just a little older and had only been in the army for more than a year.
According to his seniority, he was Liu Chengzong's uncle. He first studied in the family academy for several years, and later received military training from Liu Xiangyu.
Earlier, he took his three sons to the capital to serve as the general banner of the Yan'an Guards. During the battle to conquer the four cities of Yongping, two of his sons died in the battle.
One was hit by a cannon at the foot of Luanzhou City, and the other was hit in the face by a Tatar soldier with a close-range bow while blocking deserters at night.
In exchange for two Tatars and three surrendered soldiers, Liu Xiangshan is now the commander-in-chief of the Yan'an camp, and his son Liu Chengguang is the commander-in-chief of the Yan'an camp.
Liu Xiangshan said: "This man was originally a thief who made his fortune in the seventh year of the Apocalypse. That year, Zhang Shoucheng, the eunuch guarding Datong, took away the forage money from the Yanghe pacesetters. The pacesetters mutinied and asked him to recruit a few soldiers. Later, in Floating between Datong and Taiyuan."
As he spoke, Liu Xiangshan pointed to the prisoners kneeling on the ground and said, "This traitor is a smart man. Seeing that the situation was not going well, he led his team and ran away. Most of the prisoners are mountain people who were trapped."
Even if Liu Xiangshan didn't say anything, Yang Yanchang could guess that these prisoners had almost no equipment. They only had hunting bows, simple knives, and short spears. The more than 400 people couldn't even find a waist knife or armor. They couldn't be called rebels at all. .
"They are all poor people, so uncle, let them go."
Yang Yanchang has always respected Liu Xiangshan. In fact, he also respects his subordinates.
The two tigers of the Liu family were competing against each other, and he didn't dare to take advantage.
"You can't let me go, General. You forgot. General Cao said that all the victories must be reported to him."
After being reminded by Liu Xiangshan, Yang Yanchang said: "Yes, yes, yes, then send someone to report it to General Cao."
Yang Yanchang was very confused and his mind was not on these things.
Seeing Liu Xiangshan nodding in agreement, he went to deliver the order, but he stopped him again: "Let others do this. I have something to tell my uncle."
Seeing his worried look, Liu Xiangshan nodded and handed over the task of delivering the order to others. He asked the Liu family's children to stand guard thirty steps around, and stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yang Yanchang looked around and whispered: "We have entered Shanxi, what will we do next?"
"Cao Wenzhao is just behind, helping the court to quell the rebellion." Liu Xiangshan glanced at him: "What else can we do?"
Yang Yanchang realized that Liu Xiangshan didn't understand. He shook his head and said: "Counterinsurgency is not a problem. We can fight a battle like today as many times as we want. Du Wenhuan asked Cao Wenzhao to penetrate Shanxi and go to Fugu to beg Wang Jiayin. Do you really want to fight Wang Jiayin? ?”
If he can really beat him, then it won't be a problem to beat anyone. The problem is that Wang Jiayin is a big thief that even Du Wenhuan finds troublesome.
"Besides, no one joins hands with Yan'an to fight against Wang Jiayin. Do you really plan to lead troops to fight against your brother and nephew?"
Yang Yanchang said this carelessly, but his eyes were fixed on Liu Xiangshan's face.
Liu Xiangshan's face was expressionless: "It depends on what the general thinks and what the general orders, and what we subordinates do."
After testing each other, no result was found.
Yang Yanchang swallowed, he could only confirm that Liu Xiangshan was telling the truth.
But I am not sure what Liu Xiangshan means.
This force, which originated from the Yan'an Guard Automatic Operation, underwent some changes due to the addition of Guan Ning's army on King Qin's return.
Whatever he orders, his subordinates will do it.
After all, he gave the order and his subordinates carried it out;
Or he ordered Liu Chengzong to be beaten, and his subordinates killed him;
Or maybe he ordered Liu Chengzong not to be beaten and his subordinates killed him?
Now Yang Yanchang can't even figure out his own inner tendency when he stands in front of a high-ranking official and a generous salary.
Not to mention what the Liu family, a group of civilians with actual military power, would think if they became generals.
What he fears most is not Cao Wenzhao, Wang Jiayin, or Liu Chengzong.
It was Liu Xiangshan and his family who were in the army.
"Uncle Xiang Shan, regardless of others, we are grasshoppers on the same rope." Yang Yanchang said eagerly: "I will discuss it with you no matter what you think or do."
Liu Xiangshan nodded slightly, with a sad look on his face, and said: "Cao Wenzhao must live, I want to return to Yan'an."
Yang Yanchang echoed: "Yes, brothers must rest in their graves."
What he was talking about was that twenty-seven of the Yan'an guards who had entered the capital were killed in the battle and one sergeant died of illness. The twenty-eight corpses were packed in coffins and carried behind by the king's own men.
Nowadays, normal roads, whether crossing Shanxi into Shaanxi or taking the Great Wall to Yulin, are blocked, and the bodies cannot be transported home in advance.
The road to Yongheguan was full of thieves in Shanxi; the road to the Great Wall was turned into a battlefield by Wang Jiayin.
Although no one, not even thieves, snatched the coffin, the coffin required a cart and a horse.
But now, Liu Xiangshan's intention was obvious. Without Cao Wenzhao's Guan Ning Army, they alone would not be able to return to Yan'an safely.
Unless the official and military masks are taken off.
Yang Yanchang asked: "What about after returning to Yan'an Mansion?"
In fact, he just wanted to ask two things, how to deal with Wang Jiayin and how to deal with Liu Chengzong.
The purpose of dealing with them is not to fight, but to maximize the interests of their unit. To confront these two people head-on, not to mention the interests, or else their lives will be involved.
Liu Xiangshan didn't know either. He sighed and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. This matter also depends on the king's own use. Following Cao Wenzhao to fight against thieves on all sides, I only have one son left, Chengguang. Sooner or later we will all die."
"I also felt I had to get rid of him."
Yang Yanchang's choice of words was very accurate. He did not want Cao Wenzhao to die, but only hoped that he could escape from Cao Wenzhao's control.
There are not many generals in northern Shaanxi now. After Cao Wenzhao died, the imperial court had no choice but to send him around.
Yang Yanchang was probably the military commander who least wanted to make meritorious deeds in the entire Ming Dynasty.
He was very satisfied with his current official position and fantasized about returning to Yan'an Prefecture. He was openly stabilizing the military affairs of Yan'an Prefecture, while Liu Chengzong secretly controlled everything in Yan'an Prefecture.
If Liu Chengzong wanted to go to Qingyang, he would go to Qingyang, if he wanted to go to Shanxi, he would go to Shanxi, if he wanted to go to Guanzhong, he would go to Guanzhong. Every time he came back with a full load, he would fight a battle, and he would invade Shanxi from Qingyang and Qingyang from Shanxi.
The two of them can fight for the rest of their lives, how wonderful it would be.
But Yang Yanchang didn't know exactly how to get rid of Cao Wenzhao. He said: "We can only take one step at a time. If there is no other way, we can only find a way to kill them."
Oops!
Liu Xiangshan looked at him sideways, "General Yang, do you still have such ruthlessness?"
Feeling his gaze, Yang Yanchang smiled sheepishly: "It's just a chance, so be cautious. Either don't do it, or do it cleanly... Here we go."
The person who came was Cao Bianjiao, Cao Wenzhao's nephew. He was two years older than Liu Chengzong. He was young and promising. He followed his uncle to fight against the Eastern Han Dynasty and had already accumulated military exploits and was promoted to the rank of guerrilla general.
He did not come by himself, but also brought a group of Liao soldiers. They all held the ropes with a relaxed expression and obeyed the orders to tie up the prisoners. Everyone was smiling, and it seemed that the military discipline was not very good.
On the other hand, Cao Bianjiao's expression was serious, his body stood upright as he walked, and he strode forward with his head held high.
Yang Yanchang came up to greet him. Cao Bianjiao first bowed down and saluted. After standing up, he glanced at the prisoners not far away and then said to Yang Yanchang: "General Yang, the deputy commander has an order to kill all the prisoners in the wilderness. There is no need to clean up and continue to advance."
After saying that, Cao Bianjiao handed over the sealed order with both hands and said: "This is a military order."
"Kill them all?"
Yang Yanchang received the military order and read it in disbelief. He turned to Liu Xiangshan and turned to Cao Bianjiao as he spoke: "Boss Liu, did the person who sent the message not make it clear? These people are just following the mountain people..."
Cao Bianjiao cupped his hands and said, "General Yang, General Liu is right in sending a message, but this is the military order. Please execute it and kill all the prisoners."
Yang Yanchang swallowed, his eyes roaming over the faces of Cao Bianjiao and Liu Xiangshan.
He had never seen anything like this, nor had he ever done anything like it.
Even since the rebellion in northern Shaanxi, he had never heard of a general who killed all the people who had threatened him after defeating the rebels.
Even when the thieves defeated the officers and soldiers, they did not kill all the officers and soldiers who were unwilling to rebel.
Nothing like this has ever happened in this land between mountains and Shaanxi!
Everyone here joins the army and thieves in order to survive. In order to survive, they have to fight each other. But when the fighting is over, even if the officers and soldiers fight against the thieves, except for the leader, those who can be surrendered will be surrendered, and those who cannot be surrendered will be let go.
Even though local people don't like it, local officials will arrange land for them.
The imperial court failed to provide disaster relief and had been owed wages for many years. Everyone felt guilty.
The skin on Yang Yanchang's face was a little numb, so he had to smile to relieve the embarrassment: "They are from the same hometown as Commander Cao and General Cao. Speaking of which, you are all from Shanxi..."
But before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Cao Bianjiao with a serious hand: "General Yang, we are the army and they are thieves. How can we tolerate the friendship between soldiers and thieves?"
Yang Yanchang looked at the prisoners who were tied up by the smiling Liao soldiers not far away. His mind was already in a mess and he couldn't think about the futility of persuading Cao to change the order. He still tried his best to dissuade him: "They are just mountain people. The way General Cao looks at them Can’t you see it?”
"Not even a single piece of armor was seized. There were more than seventy bows, and none of them had a power of over fifty kilograms."
Cao Bianjiao was indifferent, his face expressionless like a robot: "The military order is like a mountain, General Yang wants to disobey it?"
Yang Yanchang is a person who is very scared by reality.
He was used to being with smiling faces, to the rebels, friendly forces, and subordinates. For more than a year, there was no one around him who could straighten his spine and speak.
Can't afford to offend anyone.
But even if he is controlled by others, those people will give him face.
Only this time, Cao Bian couldn't get any firewood or rice, and he was very angry.
The smile on Yang Yanchang's face gradually turned cold, and he almost gritted his teeth and said, "Disobeying orders? What the hell is this messing with people's lives?"
"I'm the General of Yan'an, not the fucking General of Yansui. If I want to kill you, go ahead and kill him!"
Cao Bianjiao didn't speak, his face was still expressionless, he just looked at him steadily.
Yang Yanchang regretted it after scolding him.
This Cao Bianjiao looks very much like his uncle, and both are as strong as a calf.
He thought that if this guy went crazy, he might be the material to be killed by the sword.
But Cao Bianjiao didn't draw his sword, he just looked at him for a moment, then looked away and looked at the place where the prisoners were being escorted. After the prisoners were all tied up, he turned around and raised his hands, nodded and spoke calmly.
"I humble my position and take orders."
After saying that, Cao Bianjiao raised his hand and waved it in that direction.
The Liao soldiers who were chatting and laughing lazily before suddenly changed their appearance. More than 40 people dispersed in all directions in a well-trained manner, and stood in line outside the group of prisoners. Following the captain's order, they all drew their swords and slashed at the group of prisoners.
For a time, blood flowed all over the ground, and screams were everywhere.
The soldiers in Yan'an camp were dumbfounded.
"General Yang, by disbanding your subordinates today, you are telling everyone that they are not guilty of following the thief. Tomorrow, if the leader of the thief threatens them, they will still obey. We will serve the king without fear of hard work. But if we continue to fight like this, when will we be able to fulfill His Majesty's instructions. "
In the background of the cry of begging for mercy, Cao Bianjiao looked at Yang Yanchang with a complicated expression, with both pity and envy in his eyes.
He said: "Does the general know how many Liao people and Han soldiers outside the Pass have threatened the Eastern captives and turned around to kill the Han people? For more than ten years, fathers and sons have killed each other, uncles and nephews have killed each other, and how many people have died at the hands of their own clansmen. The Han people have their heads shaved. There is no turning back for Donglu, can we still wait for Donglu’s hair to grow out?”
"The coercion... deserves to die!"
