The frozen ice of Bailing Mountain turns into a waterfall, rushing down from the mountain top into a river, rushing towards the endless Gobi Desert.
Between the Rizhao Snow Mountain and the majestic Red Cliff Danxia, on the Bazidun Grassland southwest of Zhangye, the Liyuan River meanders eastward, and a Ming Army fortress stands on the riverside, called Liyuan Fort.
This fortress was built in the first year of Chongzhen. It is the center of the Huangfan, the five tribes of Bazidun, under the jurisdiction of Gansu Town Border Army.
The Huangfan were the Yellow-headed Uighurs from Hexi in the past. They moved eastward to the Pass during the Zhengde and Jiajing years. For a long time, they were called Western Fan and Yi by the court, and they were no different from the local Fan people.
It was not until the end of Wanli that, because the Mongols flourished in the northwest and the Huoluo Chi tribe fled to the sea to become kings and hegemons, the imperial court began to call them Shuda in order to differentiate between barbarians and pirates in the north and south of the Qilian Mountains.
At this stage, there was actually no significant difference between the Fan people and the Mongolian people in the eyes of the northwest court. Those who farmed in the mountainous areas were called Fan, and those who herded sheep on the grasslands were called Da. In addition, the clothes were different, and they had many names, such as red. Maofan, Huangtoufan.
Shuda means obedient herdsmen.
However, since Bazi Dun is located in the northern section of the mountain pass that connects the north and south of the Qilian Mountains, they are destined to be oppressed by the imperial court and pirates in both directions.
Living here, it is natural to pay grain to Si Nama, the camp commander of Liyuan Fort, in the past. In the past, Xiao Lazun also set up several tax collectors in the northern foothills, and asked them for 10% of the tax every year.
Although the five leaders were miserable, they had no other choice. Anyway, the Gansu border army couldn't offend the pirates, and the pirates couldn't offend the Gansu border army, but both Gansu and the pirates could bully them.
Later, the Marshal's Mansion expelled Xiao Lazun, and the five Huangfans lived a comfortable life for a while, but soon the Huoluochi troops fled to the mountains, and the deserters from Gansu Town jumped across the Qilian Mountains again and again. The Gansu frontier troops were too lazy to search the mountains. The five yellow fans could only barely resist.
Until Haixi County Magistrate Chen Qindai's anti-bandit troops marched into the mountains, they were completely unable to stop them.
Because Chen Qindai's anti-bandit force did not come to do good deeds. Haixi County has a clear boundary marker, which is the pass at the highest point of the Qilian Mountains. To the north of the pass is the boundary of Gansu Town. Chen Qindai did not dare to cross the thunder pond.
Therefore, as long as the mountain deserters crossed the snowy mountains and entered Gansu, Chen Qindai would not pursue them.
The banditry here did not improve slightly until the Three Tribulations spread across Gansu.
Wang Ziyong's resume is complicated, and his footprints can be found everywhere along the Great Wall. He led troops to rebel in Yan'an and Ningxia, went to Beijing as a military attache to serve the king, fought against the Donglu under the city of Luanzhou, and was under the emperor's nose. He pulled out eight camps to burn incense and worship Buddha. In Shanxi, he was the most active general in suppressing bandits. When he arrived in Gansu, he suddenly became the leader of the Three Tribulations Society.
The vast majority of the bandits in the northern foothills of Qilian were deserters who had returned from King Qin's return. These people were deeply impressed by Wang Tidiao, who led the White Lotus followers to sing that good things are not far away. Many people defected to him after hearing Wang Ziyong's name. Banditry was a natural problem. Easy to solve.
From then on, Wang Ziyong was the best friend of Huang Fan, the five tribes of Bazidun. The war horses, donkeys and mules obtained by the Sanjie Society were all fostered on the Bazidun grassland.
The big leader of the five Huangfan tribes is called Tahe Zhike. This name means tiger son. The Huangfan tribe often calls him Anzhang, because people think that the big boss of each generation is King Anding of the Northern Yuan Dynasty or Handong Zuowei. Descendants of the founder Yan Zhang.
He is a big, red-faced man with a yellow beard. He has beeswax Buddhist beads hanging around his neck, and he always wears huge silver earrings that sparkle in the sun.
At this time every year, Tahezhike will lead his tribe to offer tribute to the mountain god, praying for abundant water and grass, a good harvest of food, and more boys for the tribe in the future.
Whenever a sacrifice is offered, there will be a group of white-headed vultures hovering in the sky. The elders in the tribe say that the vultures are messengers sent by the mountain god to receive tributes. The more vultures fly there, the more people and people will be there that year. The livestock will be safer and healthier.
But in the Bazidun of Sunan in the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, there were no vultures in the sky.
Tahezhik looked up at his red face until his neck was stiff and sore. He could not see the vultures circling in the sky. In his field of vision, there were only low white clouds and circles of halo formed by the vicious sun, and The braid of hair was blown by the wind sloping westward from the eight-shaped pier.
People's expressions ranged from joy to piety, from piety to horror, and finally from horror to despair.
Until someone ran quickly along the mountain ridge and whispered in his ear: "An Zhang, Wang Guanren is here!"
Tahezhik's face still showed the worry of a vulture. He turned his head and was stunned. He shook his head and said: "Don't bring him into the tribe or bring him to the deer farm."
The deer farm is Tahezhik's hunting ground, which is sparsely populated.
Not long after, Tahezhik appeared in the deer farm sitting on a saddle made of elm wood and riding a horse like a god.
In the forest of tree stumps left behind after clearing the land, he saw the dusty Wang Ziyong sitting on the tree stump.
He rolled off his horse, raised his riding whip and said, "Wang Hui, you still dare to come to me. Not long ago, the army entered the Bazi Dun and asked us to kill you without mercy if we see you."
Wang Ziyong smiled and didn't take it seriously. He just gestured to the tree stump next to him to sit down and said with a smile: "My horses are all here with you, how can I not come?"
Tahe Zhike also sat on the tree stump, thinking to himself: "There are no vultures in the sky. The lama said this is a sign of war. You are also an enlightened monk. What do you think?"
When Wang Ziyong heard that he was called a monk, he smiled and touched his bun and said: "You know in northern Shaanxi, although some people called me Monk Wang in the early years, more people called me Zijinliang. Zijinliang is the Taoist monk. Crown, so I am not an eminent monk."
"But you ask if there is going to be a war, yes, there is going to be a war, and I am going to raise an army."
Wang Ziyong looked at the big red-faced man in front of him and said: "I came here this time to invite you. People say that your ancestor is the Yan Zhang of Handong Left Guard. Come and join the army with me."
"I told you, the officers and soldiers entered the Bazi Dun and asked me to kill you on sight."
Wang Ziyong was confident: "Then you want to kill me?"
Tahezhik shook his head and said: "You have 970 horses in my hands, which is more than the war horses of our five divisions. Those horses are very good, but the grass does not grow well this year and they have lost a lot of weight." .”
"If you kill me, these horses will be yours."
Tahezhik shook his head stubbornly: "You are a friend who has helped us. The friendship between friends is better than a thousand horses. I will not harm you because of these foreign objects. You can take them away at any time... How could you be Pursued by the imperial court?"
Wang Ziyong sighed: "The incident of tampering with horses and armor from the military fort has happened."
He shook his head and said: "Originally, it was fine. I would not tell anyone if I was trying to deceive anyone, but it happened that the governors of the three sides sent Bai Guangen."
"Bai Guangen? He is the one who entered the eight-character pier."
"Yes, he is a traitor who was born in the rebel army in northern Shaanxi and surrendered to the imperial court. He is more dedicated than anyone else in his work. He does not read the accounts given to him by the officers. He only wants to get into the porridge house to see what the soldiers eat."
Wang Ziyong shook his head. He had no tricks to deal with people like Bai Guangen.
Originally, the members of the Sanjie Society were scattered in various military fortresses. To withstand the east wind of the Marshal's Mansion, the guards and battalions in various places had to ask the sergeants to drill rigorously. There was little training in the camp, and they could last for three days. At one time, it was mainly junior officers and even soldiers honing their craft on their own.
With this method, it is normal for a general flag or team leader to break two pots of arrows last month, report two pairs of armors as scrapped this month, and kill two horses next month.
Even the senior officers who reported it felt comfortable watching it, creating the illusion that the soldiers were studying hard and practicing hard.
However, Bai Guangen didn't believe this. He got into the porridge room and saw that the rice cooked by the army for the soldiers was thinner than the porridge he drank during the days when he was in prison when he first surrendered. He understood everything.
The food is like feeding a rabbit. Even the bow has to be pulled lightly. It is impossible to break the bow and smash the arrows. It is still possible for the horse to fall to death. After all, the superiority of the cavalry is at play here. Hungry and anxious The hungry army will try every means to kill the war horse.
Originally, when things had developed to this point, Wang was still safe for his own use. Unfortunately, in order to coordinate the march of the Marshal's Mansion, the Three Tribulations Society also recruited believers in a short period of time, adding many mid-level officers and wealthy people.
The Three Tribulations Society does not have much of a restraining effect on these people. Many people join the Three Tribulations Society just because of their soldiers, tenant farmers, and villagers. They donate some money to buy an identity so that they will not be ignored.
It's good for them that the Sanjie Society doesn't cause trouble. They are the bosses of the Sanjie Society. When they feel that the Sanjie Society is going to cause trouble, they will naturally sell the Sanjie Society to perform meritorious services and receive rewards.
Wang Ziyong himself just wants to take a risk. If nothing happens in the next few days, they will raise their flag to rebel when Zhang Tianlin calls. By then, it will be useless for these people to jump. He can still raise funds as soon as possible to start a rebellion. funds.
Unfortunately, the matter was noticed in advance, and Bai Guangen intervened, causing him to be exposed and had to start the incident in advance.
Thinking of this, Wang Ziyong could only look up to the sky with regret. How could everything go as he wished in life? After all, people are not as good as God. The soul of the great teacher was watching him in the sky.
"What about raising an army? Follow me and raise an army. The generalissimo can give you a higher official position than your ancestor, the Commander of Handong Guard."
"We won't help you."
Tahe Zhike also refused resolutely. He looked at Wang Ziyong and said: "My ancestors have lived far away from the pass for generations. Winds killed livestock and buried tents with yellow sand. They walked through the Thousand Buddha Cave and passed through ten thousand Buddha caves. Fo Gorge has entered the place where the Han people have lived for generations. The Ming Emperor is also our benefactor. I cannot let my tribe start an army with you for the sake of wealth."
Although Wang Ziyong was rejected, he was not surprised. He just nodded, stood up and said: "In that case, I will take the horse away. If there are troops from the south coming later, tell them that you are my old friend. They will It won’t be difficult for you.”
Tahe Zhike nodded in agreement, and also warned: "Be careful, they have recruited the black and yellow troops from Gaotai, Brother Tiger Wolf has sent troops."
"knew."
Wang Ziyong knew that Brother Hulang was the leader of a black and yellow tribe on the other side of Gaotai, but he didn't care, because in the Ming Dynasty, all the Panyi and Mongolian Tatars within them did not have strong power. What he really had to be careful about was still The Ming army in Gansu.
Just when he was about to leave, he was suddenly stopped by Tahezhike. He turned around and saw Tahezhike taking off the prayer beads he had worn all his life, kissed the beads, and put them on his head.
"The Sword Comes"
"The merits of reciting the Buddha's name all my life are here. I hope it can bless you and keep you alive."
Wang Ziyong wanted to run away at first, but after hearing this, he stretched his neck obediently and let Tahe Zhike hang the beads on him. Then he clasped his fists heavily, said take care, and said with a casual smile: "Don't worry, although I I have never won a battle against an army in my life, but I have never died when being chased by an army.”
Watching Wang Ziyong's leaving figure, Tahe Zhike suddenly looked much older. He slowly sat back on the tree stump, waited for a long time and then looked up at the sky. Finally, he let out a long and disappointed sigh: "The vultures are all dead. War is coming."
A few days after Wang Ziyong left Bazidun, the Liyuan Fort on the Liyuan River was lost in an army mutiny.
That morning, the Liyuan Battalion originally held camp drills as planned, but as soon as the troops left the fort, someone started making trouble during the march, and the situation escalated.
Ma Pin, the garrison who led the troops out of the fort, was killed on the spot by the sergeant. Then the rebels held high torches and rushed towards Liyuan Fort. Wei Yinglin, the captain of the capital, ordered the castle to be locked up and defended. Unexpectedly, this was a premeditated rebellion, and the western wall of the castle was destroyed in advance. Plant the gunpowder.
With a sudden loud noise, the fort wall collapsed. The hungry soldiers held torches high and shuttled through the smoke. Guns fired. In a blink of an eye, raging fire ignited in the official barracks, and black smoke shot straight into the sky.
When the news reached Ganzhou City, the commander-in-chief Yang Jiamo was furious and immediately mobilized a battalion of soldiers and horses, led by guerrilla Li Yun, who together with Bai Guangen led troops to attack the rebels.
Bai Guangen's march was in order. Li Yun, a guerrilla, was eager for success and held back more than a thousand infantry. He led 300 cavalry and galloped out towards Liyuan Fort. Who knew that when he was only fifty miles away from the city, he was ambushed by Wang Ziyong himself and more than a thousand cavalry. The cavalry broke up and pursued him, and guerrilla Li Yun was also trapped in the formation and killed.
Wang Ziyong's plan was very simple. The original cavalry configuration of the army in the north was three horses and seven steps. Gansu is a place rich in war horses, but with his interference here, it was difficult for the army to even deploy two horses and eight steps. .
His plan was to use the Liyuanbao mutiny to lure Ganzhou officers and soldiers out of the city and destroy their cavalry, so that they would be able to maneuver in the next battle and be much more relaxed.
Wang Ziyong was extremely excited to learn that he had defeated the guerrilla general.
The leader of the uprising who started in the second year of Chongzhen, all the victorious battles he fought in his life were in Shanxi. He pursued Shanxi grass bandits and put them down to the court to prevent them from being killed by Cao Wenzhao behind him. Apart from that, he never dealt with the official army. Won.
After winning this time, he was so excited that he immediately decided to lead his troops northward to continue challenging the official army. As a result, he ran into the face of Bai Guangen, who was well-fed, well-fed, and fat.
Despite his seniority in the rebellion, he only had a thousand people. Bai Guangen had already led a full battalion, and temporarily took over the more than a thousand infantry troops sent from Ganzhou. More than 4,000 horses and horses rolled towards him in a mighty manner. Wang Ziyong was so frightened that he ran south as if he had seen a natural enemy.
At this juncture, Zhang Tianlin, who was leading 3,000 trembling light infantrymen, finally crossed the Qilian Mountains, holding a big rocket and showing curious eyes toward the unknown Gansu.
