Liu Chengzong went to meet the Dragon King, and Liu Xiangyu himself sat in the study room of the Marshal's Mansion, holding a comic book and reading it with gusto.
This is not for children. There are many words in the storybook, and the paintings are particularly exquisite. The only drawback is that the craftsmanship of the engraving and printing is average. It uses official paper from the Marshal's Palace, and because of the rush of work, it is not colored.
But this is already very interesting. On the cover are written the names of the storybook, the painter, and the engraver. The author of the storybook is naturally Liu Shizi, the engraver is not famous, and the painter is a famous painter in the Marshal's Palace. He was a captain from northern Shaanxi, named Monk Xue.
Monk Xue is not a monk, he is just a bald man.
This guy is from the same hometown as Li Baliang, who works under Luo Rucai, and they are both from Wen'an Yi. In the past peace years, both of them were celebrities in Wen'an Yi. Li Baliang is a salesman, and he is famous for his short-term sales; Xue The monk is a painter. When he goes on an outing, he paints pictures of beautiful women. Each picture costs a pound of beef.
When the drought came, the two brothers became bandits one after another. Li Baliang followed Luo Rucai, and Monk Xue followed Wang Zuogao earlier. Later, he was demoted from the army and served as a soldier in He Renlong's tribe. , Liu Chengzong was surrendered only during the Battle of Hehuang.
This guy never became a small boss when he was in Wang Zuogao, and he didn't even get an official position in He Renlong. It wasn't until he was demoted to the Marshal's Mansion that he thought about using his fellow countrymen's connections to give gifts to the monkey Liu Jiusi to seek a job. promotion.
The Monkey in Heaven accepted the gift and got it done. The main reason was that Monk Xue was so poor that he only gave a few paintings as gifts. Liu Jiusi took the paintings and went to find Liu Xiangyu. Liu Xiangyu saw the paintings and threw him into the academy to study surveying and mapping. Went to cartography.
The level of surveying and mapping in the Marshal's Mansion is very poor. The painting skills of the academy responsible for teaching and teaching this subject are actually not as good as Monk Xue. Therefore, after studying for only one year, he was assigned to Xiaoqi and served as a cartography instructor at Xincheng Academy. He is now a third-class Captain Fenwei served as an edict.
This time Liu Chengzong needed someone to illustrate the storybook, and Monk Xue was the right person.
Liu Xiangyu watched it with great interest. Not only did he watch it himself, he also asked Yang Dingrui to come over to watch it together. Then the two sent people to Xining to find Lin Wei, who was in charge of the Yaoshuihe farmland.
It’s not that the story of Liu Shishi’s writing of Hexi Zhuan is so fascinating. Liu Xiangyu and Yang Dingrui both know the whole story. The protagonist of the story is Zou Feng, the commander of the Duogan Danwei. The plot is that when he was serving as Huang Yuanyicheng, he faced Chuoktu Taiji and went south to defend the Yellow River. time thing.
Liu Xiangyu and Yang Dingrui had seen these things in the battle reports back then, and they were very impressed.
But it’s one thing to write a battle report in one go. Now that it’s broken into pieces and accompanied by illustrations, it feels even more immersive.
From the Lion Camp to the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong fought for six years. However, during his six-year war career, because Liu Shishi was always prudent in his military use and was good at using force to overwhelm others, only a few war heroes emerged. That’s all, Zou Feng counts as one.
This person was promoted by Yang Dingrui.
The first half of Zou Feng's life was as mediocre as that of Zhao Fuhui and others. He was born in the Ningxia border army. Liu Chengzong served for a long time during the southern campaign against Kangning Prefecture. He was appreciated by Yang Dingrui, the prefect of Kangning, and was sent to Huangyuan Station as a ninth-grade postmaster. He made sesame and mung bean-sized dishes. Guan'er became the son-in-law of the local tribe.
Coinciding with the invasion of the Khalkha Chok Tu Tai Ji, they trapped the post station to block the north and south. Faced with the death of Paoze, Zou Feng dedicated his duties with more than ten warriors and two ferries. He defended the dangerous area in the face of tens of thousands of Mongolian troops and achieved nine victories in nine battles. , more than ten ships were sunk, and the Mongolian army was 500 meters north. The Mongols were beaten to the point where they did not dare to herd horses for a mile along the coast until Liu Chengzong led the army of the Marshal's Mansion to return for reinforcements.
Afterwards, Duogandan established a county guard, and all the postmen who died in the battle became city gods and land gods. Zou Feng was also elected by Liu Chengzong as the first county magistrate and commander.
Mr. Liu finished reading Hexi Zhuan. Although he thought the comic strip was very beautifully done, he still looked puzzled and asked Yang Dingrui: "Shiwa said this is a weapon for the Marshal's Mansion to enter Guanzhong. Do you think... it can... How effective is it?"
Yang Dingrui's mind has become divergent.
After all, he has the experience of going out to Kangning, and his knowledge is indeed wider than that of Mr. Liu who sits in the center. The two of them will not just have fun with what Liu Shishi brings out. They have carefully considered all possibilities. Yang Dingrui feels: Liu Shishi has no idea. Tell the whole story.
He pointed at the biography of Hexi placed on the tea table. He did not mention the biography of Hexi. He changed the topic and spanned half the world. He said: "There is a chieftain Muya in the west of Changhe. Brother Xiang Yu must have heard about it."
Liu Xiangyu nodded naturally. This Muya can be said to be the most famous chieftain in the Marshal's Mansion. He smiled and said, "I heard Cai Zhongpan mention it."
"I estimate that this Hexi biography is the experience that the commander learned from Corning."
Without waiting for Mr. Liu to ask questions, Yang Dingrui helped Liu Chengzong spread his influence in the land of Kangzang with Muya, hired literati and monks, and created a new story based on the story of the southern expedition to Kangning, combined with local theological scriptures, which made the ascetic monk All the stories about people and rappers traveling around.
"So right now this is just a repeat of the same old tricks, but I don't think this is of much use in Guanzhong."
Yang Dingrui spread his hands and said with a smile: "I'm telling you this. It's not that the comic strip is useless, but that we are all Qin people, and our local accent remains unchanged. The difficulty in taking over Shaanxi is not in the hearts of the people, but in the battlefield. Now half of the imperial government's anti-rebellion troops have entered Shaanxi. One is Hong Chengchou in Ningxia, and the other is Chen Qiyu in Fengxiang. The locust plague really held them back, otherwise the governors of these five provinces would have gone to Henan in despair."
Liu Xiangyu also nodded slowly when he heard this. It was not that they despised Chen Qiyu, on the contrary, they took it very seriously. They despised Hong Chengchou.
This is reflected in the intelligence aspect. The Marshal's Office has very limited intelligence on Ningxia. At least there are no spies from the Marshal's Office around Hong Chengchou, and there are dozens of people sent by Yang Dingrui to Qinzhou and Fengxiang Mansion. There were even hundreds of people, and they almost knew all the information about Chen Qiyu, Lian Guoshi and others.
Comparatively speaking, Chen Qiyu had quite a lot of troops, at least no less than Hong Chengchou in terms of number of troops. Not counting the garrisoned garrison troops, there were six unsatisfied battalions of combat troops alone. However, the morale of the Ming army in the Shaanxi direction was very high. question.
In a place where there is not enough food to eat, there must be a big problem with morale. No matter how capable Yang Dingrui and Liu Xiangyu are, without food, they were unable to do anything at Black Dragon King Temple Mountain back then. The same is true for Chen Qiyu now.
The six battalions in Shaanxi are mainly divided into two parts. One is the Qin army led by Zhang Yingchang, including the two war gods Yang Yanchang and He Renlong; the other is the reinforcement and suppression army led by Zuo Liangyu, including Tang Jiuzhou and Deng Qi. The two gods of war, the lineup is quite luxurious in the Ming Dynasty.
Especially the reinforcements and suppression troops. Their strength was small. They entered Shaanxi from Henan and had less than 6,000 people in three battalions. They also experienced the mutiny of Deng Qi's tribe and absorbed more than 1,000 peasant troops before returning to 6,000. But they were all among the elite. of elites.
The chief general of the Third Battalion was the most dazzling general in the Ming Dynasty for seven years in Chongzhen. He fought from Jiliao to Shaanxi, which can be said to have conquered the entire north from east to west.
Zuo Liangyu was famous for being brave and good at fighting. Since his return to office at the end of the second year of Chongzhen, he had fought almost every month. He first fought against Hou Jin in Zunhua, and then fought in Dalinghe. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, he won the first place in Songshan and Xingshan in terms of military exploits. , led the two thousand Changping troops who were alone and fought in Henan, Shanxi, and Beizhili, and their achievements were outstanding.
Tang Jiuzhou's prestige and meritorious service were equal to those of Zuo Liangyu. He also fought in various places alone, and all his generals died.
Deng Qi is a fierce man with great achievements in hard work. He started his career in the She'an Rebellion and won the reputation of being the bravest general. He entered the bandit camp at night and killed people. He was promoted to the deputy commander of Sichuan Army and the second officer of Chongzhen. In the same year, King Qin led 6,000 Sichuan soldiers out of Sichuan, and fought wherever the emperor directed. He did not return home for six years, and his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty was evident day by day.
And the Qin army who were born in Shaanxi soldiers are not mediocre. They are in Shaanxi, where the war is the most intense. After all, Liaodong only fights big battles when Liaoze freezes every winter. In Shaanxi, thieves and bandits have been swarming since the second year of Chongzhen. It never stopped.
Except for a few guys like Du Wenhuan who sold horses when others were marching and drank wine while others were fighting, the living environment of most Shaanxi generals was no different from hell. They were either dead or about to die.
For example, Ai Wannian, the general of Shenmu Ginseng, was also a fierce general. When Shaanxi suffered from drought, he mounted his sword and mounted his horse. He suppressed the rebellion for seven years, but he could not untie the armor or saddle of the horse.
For many years, I chased the rebels in the deep mountains and valleys, drinking dirty water every day and sleeping in the wilderness. I was fighting outside. Suddenly I heard that Mizhi’s parents had died in his hometown. He was fighting. He also heard that his brother and sister had died. He was fighting. , and then I heard that my wife and children were both dead, so we still have to fight battles, chase thieves, have illnesses that cannot be cured, and injuries that cannot be healed.
Lao Ai's family is a wealthy family in Mizhi. Many Shaanxi generals do not have the family conditions he has. But with this condition, Ai Wannian's parents, brother and wife died and their bodies were placed in coffins. They suppressed the rebellion until last year, when they were able to take leave and go home to restrain themselves. The corpse was buried. He suffered from rheumatism and numbness due to being stationed in the camp all year round. He had hemorrhoids and prolapsed anus after sitting for a long time. He vomited blood every day and did not have much time to live.
Zhang Yingchang is a figure similar to Ai Wannian. The only difference is that he has always been fighting the rebellion within Shaanxi and did not go to Shanxi like Ai Wannian. He Renlong is similar. The current counterinsurgency generals are not to mention capable. No matter how lucky he is, he won't be able to survive now.
Finally, there is Yang Yanchang.
To be honest, Chen Qiyu was once very wary of the Yan'an Camp. He was not wary of a specific person, but the entire Yan'an Camp.
Many generals at all levels in the Yan'an camp have unknown origins, and some have particularly weird names. They appear to be from the same hometown as Liu Chengzong, and their style, equipment, and military appearance look fake. Who can not be wary of such things?
No matter who he puts next to him, he would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.
But in fact, when the army was pressing down on the country and recruiting people, Chen Qiyu's handling methods had to be gentle, and he could only seek to divide and disintegrate. But as more than half a year passed, especially after Zuo Liangyu, Deng Qi, and Tang Jiuzhou arrived in Shaanxi, Chen Qiyu thought about it carefully. .
He found that he was too young a year ago and had no problems in the Yan'an camp. It was times that had changed.
Because he had seen the performance of Zhang Yingchang and He Renlong, Zuo Liangyu and Deng Qi also came.
Is it true that the Yan'an camp killed good people and took credit for it? No, Zhang Yingchang does.
Did the Yan'an camp rob and kill wealthy households? No, He Renlong does.
Did the Yan'an camp plunder wantonly? No, Zuo Liangyu does.
Is the Yan'an camp passive and idle in fighting? No, Tang Jiuzhou does.
Are the Yan'an camps clamoring for mutiny? No, Deng Qi does.
The origins of the generals are unknown, and they are found in all the above camps, especially in the two Changping camps of Zuo Liangyu and Tang Jiuzhou, and the Sichuan camp that was reorganized after Deng Qi's mutiny. Many newly recruited generals are directly given nicknames.
The troops of the Yan'an Camp have a good appearance and good conduct. Is this a problem? Oh, your Zhang Yingchang garrison has not fought with the Marshal's Army for three months. Today you have a big victory and tomorrow you have a small defeat. How come the battle report is coming, so you really think that I, Chen Qiyu, Master Chen, don't know what to do?
You Zuo Liangyu has bad military discipline and has disturbed the peace of the place many times. If it weren't for Hou Xunlibao, the Minister of Household Affairs, would you be able to live in peace and ease? Your incompetence of Deng Qi led to a mutiny in the army. After the mutiny, no one dared to speak out. Papers of impeachment were flown to the Forbidden City but no news was heard from them. Didn’t it all depend on the protection of Wang Yingxiong, a scholar from your hometown of Dongge?
Just because people like Yang Yanchang and Ren Quan'er have no one above them, I, Chen Qiyu, despise them?
What's more, he found that these problems were understandable in this era. After all, the droughts, locust plagues, plagues and military disasters experienced by Jingning Prefecture were not limited to Jingning Prefecture. The lands passed by these counter-rebellion armies all suffered such disasters. Influence.
Apart from the three sides and five towns in Shaanxi, where else could provide horse chews for tens of thousands of soldiers?
They fought in various places, and the imperial court's supplies often couldn't keep up. The army also added many captured bandits, and there was no time to train troops. The imperial court kept sending them to conquer here and there. You can imagine what the army would do when collecting supplies. Know.
They are all barely hanging on.
The army is reluctantly suppressing thieves, but there is no other way to deal with the breakdown of military discipline; the court is reluctantly controlling the army, and seeing the breakdown of military discipline, it cannot punish them because the war has not yet ended.
In fact, the imperial court was not unavailable. The reason why these generals were captured and used so hard was because they had a way to raise food and fodder while leading the army in the war. This was something people tacitly understood, and all the mistakes they made were remembered. ——When the war calms down a little, he will definitely be relieved of his official position and become a soldier.
He probably wouldn't die even if he died. The most Emperor Chongzhen could do with his generals was to recruit them as small soldiers. After all, in troubled times, he would have to regain his power when something happened.
So for Chen Qiyu, the situation in Shaanxi now is obvious.
Except for the eldest brother, they are all moles.
That is to say, except for him, the governor of the five provinces, the six battalions of the army may be moles. Everyone is fine today, but tomorrow they may mutiny, fall into disgrace, or be instigated by Liu Chengzong because of a trivial matter.
Dare you say that Zhang Yingchang's soldiers killed good people and took credit for their merits? Relying on his fellow villagers, He Renlong secretly robbed large households at night, and after the robbery, he did business with Li Zicheng. Dare you say that? Do you dare to say that Zuo Liangyu's soldiers bullied others without giving them money to buy things? Tang Jiuzhou passively led the troops and stationed the camp farthest from the front line every time. Dare you say that? Deng Qi's soldiers mutinied in an instant. They robbed them and then gathered them up, but no one said anything.
Every one of these generals will be kicked off if they turn around.
The Yan'an Camp seemed to be the least likely to be incited to rebel. As for robbing He Renlong and Zhang Yingchang, it was nothing. After all, the Yan'an Camp had to eat.
The most important thing is that Chen Qiyu is not stupid. He has already seen that the Shaanxi army cannot fight a large-scale battle with Liu Chengzong. Just the heroes and heroes under him, one against one, and the generals in the Marshal's Mansion are really not necessarily opponents.
But on one piece... Chen Qiyu felt that the winning rate was very low. If he couldn't figure out the problem, he might have to let Lord Chongzhen conquer it himself.
When something happens, he still has to count on Yang Yanchang. Chen Qiyu can't trust anyone else now.
Therefore, Yang Dingrui was not worried about Chen Qiyu at all. If there was no drought or locust plague, this battle would have been over long ago. His hand drew a line eastward on the tea table: "The place where this thing is useful is in the southeast."
Good evening!
(End of chapter)
