Chen Qiyu never considered whether he could really bribe Ren Quan'er.
He had met Ren Quan'er a few times when he was governor of Yansui. Although the Yan'an Guard commander was very young, he fully recognized his talents in both civil and military affairs.
Yan'an Guard's affairs are not generally difficult to deal with. Ever since Liu Chengzong made a big fuss, that place has been in need of soldiers and weapons, and there has been a severe drought. Bandits from the southeast and northwest are running around, no matter who is left there. Dead end.
However, after two commanders, Yang Yanchang and Ren Quan'er, the Yan'an Guard was able to defend the enemy for thousands of miles, but was unable to support the military households when it retreated, thus reviving this dead situation.
Chen Qiyu is not a person who cannot tolerate sand in his eyes. After all, if there is sand in his eyes, just rub it. There is no need to be honest with the sand. Yang Yanchang and Ren Quan'er are both insignificant sand in Chen Qiyu's eyes.
What he really cared about was the Yan'an Battalion. It was the battalion with the most outstanding military appearance and military discipline among the local battalions he could mobilize, and its weapons and equipment were outstanding.
Looking at the world, there are troops that can march without staying in people's homes; there are troops with three to four thousand horses and mules in the entire battalion; there are also troops with the entire battalion equipped with soldiers and armor, more than 360 chariots, and as many as eight light and heavy artillery pieces. There are also camps with eleven gates.
But except for the Yan'an Battalion, no battalion can meet the above conditions at the same time. It is often the case that good equipment and military discipline are not good, and good military discipline and equipment are not good.
They sent troops from Yan'an Prefecture and even brought their own dry food.
The biggest problem with this Yan'an camp, which has excellent work style, equipment and military appearance, is not Yang Yanchang or Ren Quan'er, but that from top to bottom, there is simply no one who can be trusted by the court.
In the past, the Yan'an Battalion could not be transferred out, so no one had ever looked into it. Last year, Chen Qiyu had the intention of keeping this army by his side, so he made a lot of hard work. After further research, his spine ran cold.
Although Yan'an Camp's personnel appointments were all official positions given by the imperial court, Chen Qiyu was very sure that if someone else became a general or commander, let alone commanding this group of proud soldiers, surviving for three months would be considered complicity.
Because this is not a question of Yang Yanchang or Ren Quan'er, but that officers at all levels followed Yang Yanchang and started working as soldiers, and most of them have unknown origins.
There are six people who are really in charge of Yan'an Camp and Yan'an Guard.
One is the general Yang Yanchang, the second is the commander Ren Quan'er, the third is Lu Bin, the chief of Qianhu in Saimen, and the three generals of Yan'an camp.
There was nothing wrong with Lu Bin. He was a native of Fushi County, but his entire family was massacred by bandits. Only two brothers remained and joined the army. There are traces of this.
But the three Qianzongs are different. One is named Shi Wanzhong, who was born as a refugee in Suide; the other is named Chen Ruji, whose registered residence is in Fushi County, northern Shaanxi but speaks with a Guanzhong accent. Both of them have unknown origins and no roots. They suddenly appeared in the city four years ago. The Yan'an Guards continued to be promoted based on their military exploits.
There was only one Qian who was left who knew everything about him. His name was Liu Xiangshan. According to his military registration, he was from Yanchuan. However, the county, township, and Baojia household registers in Yanchuan were all lost due to the chaos of the early years, so he could not be found at all. Pre-military resume.
This man's military experience was very strange. He was awarded the general banner right after he came up. His resume was that of a hero. He brought his three sons with Yang Yanchang to the capital to serve the king. Two of his sons died at the gate of Luanzhou City, and he brought back two Donglu Tatars and three The head of the surrendered soldier.
The name is also very problematic. Liu is not a common surname in Yan'an. Now Liu Xiangshan is the general manager of Yan'an camp. His only surviving son is the general manager of Yan'an camp. The name of this general manager is Liu Chengguang.
Chen Qiyu also sent people to find the list of Shaanxi soldiers who died in Luanzhou City. There was one person with the surname Liu Xiang and three people with the surname Cheng. Two of them were sons of Liu Xiangshan, one named Chengjia and the other Chengshun.
In the west, there was a man named Liu Xiangyu named Xiang Shan. Xiang Yu gave birth to two sons named Chengzu Chengzong and a nephew named Chengyun. Here were the Cheng family, Chengshun and Chengguang.
Chen Qiyu had a cerebral hemorrhage when he saw these names. His luck, family, prosperity, ancestors and ancestors are all almost there. How can there be no connection?
There just is no contact.
The place in Yanchuan was too dangerous. Chen Qiyu drove sheep when he entered northern Shaanxi last year. He didn't dare to go anywhere. He sent his cronies to Yanchuan to inquire about Liu Xiangshan and Liu Chengguang in various villages.
This confidant was also a fierce man. He broke through the minefields twice in a row. His aggressiveness was enough to make Li Zicheng surrender and Gao Yingxiang abdicate in favor of others.
But he couldn't bring back any useful information. Even though the people of Yan'an Mansion hated Hong Chengchou, they were extremely enthusiastic about Chen Qiyu's people.
Often when the confidants opened their mouths after entering the village, there would be an old man with a physical disability rushing to tell them where Mr. Xiangshan fell and where Master Chengguang peed on the kang when he was a child. They all told them vividly.
The confidant risked his life and went to the minefield. When he came back, he turned all his doubts into extreme helplessness and reported truthfully: "General Chengguang has been active since he was a child. His footprints are all over the nine villages and eighteen villages of Yanchuan."
Chen Qiyu thought in her heart that she was very excited, but she finally felt relieved.
But this was all because the cronies did not want to cause trouble and did not explain in detail. After the initial drought and military disaster, Yanchuan County now only has nine villages and eighteen villages, and they are all in dangerous mountainous areas.
Two villages were so deserted that they didn't even have earth temples, but Young Master Chengguang had peed on the kang there. The Yanchuan City God's Temple did not worship Liu Xiangshan and Liu Chengguang. Chen Qiyu's cronies were unconvinced from the bottom of their hearts.
It was precisely because the power of the Yan'an Camp was highly concentrated and it relied on the support of the Yan'an Guards that the source of the generals in power was simple and difficult to control, so Chen Qiyu set his sights on Ren Quan'er.
This is not only a back-up to guard against Yang Yanchang, but also a back-up for Chen Qiyu to split up the Yan'an camp.
Chen Qiyu didn't care who Ren Quan'er belonged to, or whether he had served Yang Yanchang as a flag soldier since he was a child. His status as governor of the five provinces was enough for him to ignore any affiliation in the world.
In front of practicing state affairs, he gave Ren Quan'er his own conditions.
The requirement was to recapture Lanzhou and hold it, and the promise was to be promoted to the capital to command the Qianshi, to lead an army alone, and to serve as the deputy general in charge of supervision.
The governor is the Biao camp directly under the governor of the five provinces Chen Qiyu; the deputy general is the chief general of the governor's Biao camp, with the rank of deputy commander-in-chief; the general commander is the lowest official position for the deputy commander-in-chief.
Chen Qiyu, as the world's number one governor in charge of the military power of five provinces, offered Ren Quan'er, who had been a poor soldier for seven generations and had been carrying swords and guns for Yang Yanchang at the age of five, the conditions of the world's number one deputy general soldier. It was impossible to refuse. .
In addition to this extremely attractive condition, before leaving, Chen Qiyu also let Ren Quan'er read the recent battle reports submitted from various places, which were extremely tragic.
In the two months since the generals followed the Liu bandits into Henan, every army has been reporting their successes non-stop. In two months, more than 100,000 Liu bandits were killed and more than 8,000 were killed in battles, and countless more were defeated.
But no one can be happy about these battle reports, because in contrast, cities are being destroyed one after another, and officials are rushing to die.
First, Xunyang counties were defeated, and then Xingshan County, Jingzhou Prefecture, which was established in the mountains, and the county magistrate Liu Dingguo was killed.
Then a group of thieves broke into Xunxi, Pofang County, Baokang, surrounded Nanzhang, and fell into Dangyang. They went straight up the river and entered the Guizhou and Badong areas where thousands of mountains are densely covered with thin mountains and thin mountains, causing shock to the government and the public.
The imperial court agreed to mobilize 5,000 soldiers from the Zhenyun camp in western Hunan to suppress the rebellion, but the Zhenyun camp only had 2,000 soldiers. Yang Zhengfang, deputy general of the Huguang army who was born in Zhenyun Miaozi, took the lead and returned to Dangyang. Xu Chengming, the general of the Huguang army, recruited another 3,600 soldiers. Hundred as backup.
Liu Chengying, the official of Jingzhou, felt deeply that the disaster was coming and there were insufficient troops. He rode alone to the leader of the three chieftains of Shi Nan. Expressing his urgency, he led 5,000 Shizhou native soldiers out of the mountain and fought in Xiangxi Dam and Pingyang Dam, beheading more than a thousand people.
However, in the front, the Kuizhou Prefecture was unprepared for the bandits. It was suddenly faced with a powerful enemy. All the general judges and officials fled. Only He Chengguang, who was in charge of the affairs of the house, led the officials and people to defend the city. The city fell with all their strength. He Chengguang staggered back to the government office to sort out the affairs. Sitting in the hall with his clothes and hats on, the thieves came in to kill him and threw his corpse into the river.
Then Daning was besieged, and the county magistrate Gao Rilin's call for help was unanswered. He could only lead the militia to defend the north gate. After the defeat, he was captured, cursed and unyielding, and was dismembered and burned.
Also going to death with him were the Confucian instructor Gao Xi and the inspector Chen Guojun. Their wives and daughters died together. Following him in Wushan, the commander Wang Yongnian and the inspector Guo Zuanhua led their troops in battle, and the entire army was wiped out.
Chen Qiyu handed these battle reports to Ren Quan'er and said, "General Ren has seen it. The Yan'an Battalion must recapture Lanzhou City to stop Liu Chengzong. The hope of annihilating the bandits lies with you."
Ren Quan'er straightened his spine: "Sir, please rest assured, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"
Chen Qiyu was completely relieved. The young man in front of him was a very traditional feudal general. Unlike the camp generals, the guard generals under the hereditary system were real feudal generals.
One hand is the interests of promotion and promotion, and the other hand is the ideal of protecting the homeland and the country. No matter how many generals have sacrificed their lives and blood, they cannot get such an opportunity. There is no general who does not fall into this trap.
"Take the battle report back and show it to General Yang. The safety of the country depends on the two of you. You can take command." Chen Qiyu looked at Ren Quan'er's face that had just grown a beard, patted his shoulder and said: "Your time has come."
Looking at Ren Quan'er's retreating figure, Lian Guoshi asked, "Does the military really want Yan'an Camp to be the Supervisory Base Camp?"
He seemed to see an elite battalion of soldiers who might have been taken under his command walking away from him.
"Are they not worthy of the governor's standard camp?"
Chen Qiyu was in a good mood, smiled playfully, and finally restrained his smile and said: "It's half of the Yan'an camp. I also promised General Yang Yanchang that as long as Lanzhou City is recaptured, I will recommend him as the Lintao General Soldier."
It was only then that Lian Guoshi was surprised and said: "Is the military gate going to dismantle the Yan'an Camp?"
"Otherwise, seeing that they are all monolithic, they will return to the uncontrolled Yan'an Prefecture after the war, and they will fight with themselves at every turn, and they will not listen to the propaganda?"
Chen Qiyu's face was cold and his tone was low: "Brother Jun Yu, please don't forget that there was a locust attack last year, and various places were busy fighting and did not exterminate the locusts. The locust eggs in the ground turned into insects this summer and could fly from Taiyuan. When we get to Jiayuguan, people in the north are going to eat each other this year."
Lian Guoshi really wants to say that he had people exterminate locusts last year, but it doesn't mean much whether he says it or not. Last year, armies from all over the country gathered in Shanxi and beat them to pieces. No single plot of land can do this to exterminate locusts. decisive role.
What's more, after years of fighting, there are too many uninhabited places.
This situation made Lian Guoshi, the governor, sigh like the most ignorant farmer in the field: "God is going to take someone away."
He no longer believed that this war could be ended with their strength. In the end, enough people would die before the disaster would subside.
"Man can conquer heaven."
Chen Qiyu said something categorically, and then returned to the subject, saying: "When the Yan'an camp returns, it will inevitably turn into thieves. It is better to demolish it on the spot, while these soldiers can still fight, and do something for the court and the people."
He looked at Lian Guoshi and said: "Therefore, in the battle to regain Lanzhou, we still need to rely on brother Jun Yu's two battalions of troops as support. Use your skills to let Yang Yanchang, who was pushed to the front line, know that Luocao defected to the bandits and defected to the Liu bandits. He What are you going to face?"
"Liu Chengzong couldn't give him the Lintao General Soldier, so he used both threats and inducements to make him serve the court wholeheartedly."
Chen Qiyu stopped talking to Lian Guoshi, turned around and left the tent, looked up at the low-hanging fire clouds in the sky and remained silent for a long time.
God obviously has the virtue of good life, but everything that people need will deteriorate.
Ren Quan'er returned to the Yan'an Army's camp in Anding County. All the generals in the camp gathered in the general's tent. People just learned from Yang Yanchang that if you defend Lanzhou City, you will be recommended by the governors of the five provinces to be the general of Lintao. The excitement is beyond words.
Whether it was Shi Wanzhong, Chen Ruji or Liu Xiangshan, they never thought that Yang Yanchang could be the chief military officer. If this automatic general can be the chief military officer, does that mean that they will also serve as the chief military officer one day?
People were discussing the future eagerly, but it came to an abrupt end due to the arrival of the commander Ren Quan'er. People's smiles froze in embarrassment, and they looked at Ren Quan'er without daring to speak.
Liu Xiangshan, the most senior and prestigious Qian Zongzong, asked: "Commander Ren was summoned by the Governor. What happened?"
"Sir, the war report was given to General Yang by the Governor. The strong thieves are running rampant in the front, while the weak are filling the trenches behind. Nearly ten thousand people have died."
Ren Quan'er put down the battle report, looked around at everyone and said: "Recapture Lanzhou, he wants me to be the deputy general of the Supervisory Biao Battalion."
Everyone immediately applauded, and the cheers of congratulations echoed throughout the camp.
However, Ren Quan'er gave up and said: "I have found three scapegoats for this battle. Lian Guoshi, He Renlong and Zhang Yingchang will lead troops to help us attack the city. If the Yan'an camp turns against them, we can kill them all." ”
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned, and the atmosphere in the camp visibly solidified.
Times have changed, and the poor men in northern Shaanxi now all have wives and children, and they have become big shots who will shake the entire Yan'an Prefecture if they step on them. It is easy for them to attack thieves, and it is also easy for them to cooperate with thieves, but to surrender to thieves... Destroying someone's wealth is like killing one's parents.
Liu Xiangshan looked at Yang Yanchang. They had developed a deep friendship with each other on King Qin Road, and they were the backbone of the Liu clan in the army. At this time, his hand had already touched the handle of the knife, and he was just waiting for Yang Yanchang to say a word.
Shi Wanzhong didn't want to draw his sword, but there was a look of anger on his face. Lintao Town was almost emptied. There was a shortage of general soldiers, deputy generals, and generals. People like them could do it. Round gets one.
"Do you dare to kill me?"
Facing the tense situation, Ren Quan'er smiled easily, slipped out a short knife from his sleeve, raised his hand and gently pointed at Liu Xiangshan: "Grandpa Shan, please loosen your grip. Not to mention that it's not that easy to kill me. If you kill me, your future will be ruined." At the end of the road, I took refuge in the superior’s path.”
"What's more, the governors of the five provinces believe in me because they don't believe in you."
Yang Yanchang had never seen this kind of situation happen in the camp, and he quickly jumped out to smooth things over: "Oh, no, Brother Liu, we haven't come to this step yet. Listen to me, why do we have to defect to the other side even if we don't give up a good official position? In my opinion, it is better to discuss with the commander-in-chief and give Lanzhou to us."
"The imperial court treats us well, and it treats you equally as a commander." Yang Yanchang first comforted Liu Xiangshan, and then turned back to Ren Quan'er and said, "Both the Marshal and I are brothers, what can't we discuss?"
"There is no way to discuss it." Ren Quan'er looked at Yang Yanchang and said with a smile: "There can only be one chief military officer between you and me. If there are two, I won't be able to keep an eye on you."
"If you defect to the commander-in-chief, I will send your family to you. I think Grandpa Shan can also be the commander-in-chief of Lintao. If you want to be a loyal minister of the court, I will kill you today."
Yang Yanchang was confused: "Why, Ren Quan'er, why can't you get along with me?"
"In this world, Zhang Nian is a good person for a hundred households, Yang He is a good person for a gate, and Chen Qiyu is a commander. Only you owe me something. You have served me for fourteen years, and I can't do it." After four years of house arrest, Yang Yanchang, you still owe me ten years!"
Yang Yanchang had never found Ren Quan'er to be so vindictive. He spread his hands and said, "No, I haven't harmed you either. Let's all serve as general soldiers. Brothers will all have a way out, okay?"
Ren Quan'er suddenly snorted and glanced at Yang Yanchang first, then at Liu Xiangshan, Shi Wanzhong, and Chen Ruji in the tent, and said: "It is good to treat a hundred households, it is good to treat a thousand households, and it is better to treat a commander, but it is better to be a commander." Where is Ren Quan'er?"
"Only Chief Liu treats Ren Quan'er well. He treats Ren Quan'er's injuries and gives Ren Quan'er food to eat. He only asked me to keep an eye on Yang Yanchang. If he doesn't, I will kill you."
After finishing speaking, there was a clang and the short knife was thrown on the table. Ren Quan'er suddenly jumped forward and pressed Yang Yanchang's head to the blade: "I only ask you one thing, will you switch sides or not?"
