In the second year after the sage Cao Chenan fled Jiangdu, it was also the second year after the Deposed Dragon Gang took place. A series of wars took place in the east and revolved around the Deposed Dragon Gang. This can be discussed in terms of military and political discussions from multiple angles. of.
But no matter how we discuss it, we have to admit that the biggest turning point so far is the fall of Yuncheng.
With the arrival of the rainy season in May, Zhang Xuguo succeeded in his sneak attack, and Yuncheng suddenly changed hands, which directly caused the Qilong Gang to lose its strategic fulcrum on the eastern front, and quickly evolved into the collapse of the entire Eastern Front main offensive force of the Qilong Army. Immediately, the Wei court, which had long been sharpening its sword, immediately made internal political compromises and launched the advance of Qu Tuda on the northern front and Han Yingong on the southern front to respond to Zhang Xuguo on the eastern front.
Attacking from three sides, an encirclement and suppression force was immediately formed.
In fact, considering that there are already Xiongguan garrison in Xingyang to the west, and it is close to the Eastern Capital where the Grand Master is stationed, it is a dead end, it can almost be called a comprehensive siege.
Correspondingly, the Deposed Dragon Army, which had only two counties left, basically fell into a certain military desperation - the aggressive field army it had created earlier was reduced to a rout, and the remaining 20,000 people were left to fight. Generally, the defensive forces gathered together can fight in a small way, but they lack experience in large battles and their combat effectiveness is worrying. Coupled with the loss of strategic fulcrum, the east door is wide open, and the southern route of Jiyin City-Bianshui, Northeast China is immediately The old defense line of Baima-Puyang has lost its meaning.
After that, Zhang Xing's decision was nothing more than forced desperation, and he decided to rely on the excellent management of the two counties by the deposed dragon army, and the fact that the officers and soldiers were unlikely to believe that a group of bandits could effectively manage the place. Due to this information gap, in the smallest strategic maneuvering space, a quick ambush, encounter, and head-on battle can be fought to resolve the military crisis.
Yes, Zhang Xing's biggest reliance in this battle was that within one year after the uprising, the Deposed Dragon Gang effectively ruled Dongjun and Jiyin counties, maintained the traditional local bureaucracy, and transformed this bureaucracy The organizational structure of the two counties was grafted with the Deposed Dragon Gang, so that the logistics and military systems of these two counties were complete, and the people's livelihood and military supplies were abundant, so that they could quickly mobilize troops, collect defeated troops, and organize counterattacks.
As for the officers and soldiers, it is impossible to realize this without accurate and in-depth observation. Even common sense would tell them that a group of bandits cannot do this anyway.
At the very least, Zhang Xuguo, Han Yingong, Qu Tuda, and the actual commander-in-chief Cao Lin are unlikely to know this.
And if they don't know, it means they will make major strategic and tactical misjudgments.
It means the opportunity to depose the Dragon Army.
Turning back to the present, and continuing from a military perspective, on the evening of May 28, Han Yin Gong's two generals, Lu Changheng and Li Qingchen, led five thousand people in Yucheng and suddenly encountered the Mangdang Mountain bandits, a peripheral military force of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Blocking is undoubtedly the prelude to a new battle.
At this time, Zhang Xuguo's troops had just finished another day of hard march and arrived in Dongjun; Han Yingong was waiting for the surrender of his inner servants with a subtle attitude at the foot of Xiayi City in Liangjun; he knew nothing about the situation. Qu Tuda was in Liyang making comprehensive supplements while thinking about the direction of march.
Zhang Xing was building a stronghold and paving roads at the foot of Mount Li northeast of Lihu, waiting for the enemy to come; Li Shu was preparing to abandon the city from Zhencheng at the junction of Dongping County and Dongjun to lure the enemy to flee.
Uncle Cao continued to suppress Dongdu, and Sima Zheng was sitting in Xuzhou.
And that saint should be covering his ears in Jiangdu and looking forward to enjoying his old age.
It was from this night that what was undoubtedly the most important battle since the establishment of the Dragon Gang officially began.
In the evening, in a town more than ten miles south of Yucheng, the rain had already stopped, and in a second-story bedroom with the door open, Li Qingchen, who was lying on the couch, once again heard shouts and quarrels coming from outside. Sound... This kind of noise and noise has been continuous since the troops retreated to camp here. It is basically the soldiers harassing the local people who did not escape in time... However, this time it seems to be particularly long-lasting and chaotic, which is also true.
As the commotion subsided slightly, after a while, an obviously heavy footsteps sounded from behind, and it became more and more obvious. It was obvious that this was a person wearing heavy armor walking up the stairs and entering this room. .
Under the light, Li Qingchen turned around, and not surprisingly saw the livid-faced Lu Changheng.
"What's going on again?" Li Twelve asked with all his strength. "Is the noise coming from the backyard of the rich man's house across the street?"
"Someone raped that family's daughter." Lu Changheng sat down helplessly. "I wanted to enforce military law, but as soon as I entered, a bunch of officers started to make a noise and tried to persuade me to make the decision and let the rich man marry his daughter to the gang leader..."
"Don't you dare to take action?" Li Qingchen asked seriously.
"Yes." Lu Changheng took a long, suffocating breath. "I was actually persuaded by a few people... In this situation, I can't think of a better way... If military law is really enforced, according to this military morale, the rich man's family probably won't survive tonight, but those soldiers dare not move Damn it, this girl will not have a good outcome in the future, so she might as well marry that gang leader."
"This is a troubled world, this is the result of a broken world." Li Qingchen responded with the same annoyance. "The situation is bad, the mud and sand are falling, and no one can control it... When the Eastern Qi Dynasty and the former dynasty were fighting for supremacy, the daughters of the Cui family in Hebei were publicly abducted by military leaders, and raped on the roadside to serve as the Cui family's son-in-law... Those people still think it’s right to rebel.”
"Actually, even in troubled times, capable people can still control their subordinates." Lu Changheng shook his head. "I'm not the kind of person who cares and speculates, but when I just went upstairs, I couldn't help but think, if Sima Erlang was in charge of the army, how could such a thing happen? In the end, it's because I don't have enough cultivation and experience. He is not strong enough, his determination is uncertain, and his official position and reputation are not good enough, so he cannot control this army and is forced to make confused accounts with those sergeants."
"Indeed." Li Qingchen was silent for a moment, then replied on the couch. "If Sister Sisi leads the army, there is nothing to say about the matter. That person must be chopped in half with a sword, and the rest of the people will never dare to say a word... Or if these two people lead the army, these arrogant soldiers are fierce You will be honest from the beginning, how could such a thing happen?"
"Who says it's not?" Lu Changheng nodded. "The talents of the world, the rise of dragons and phoenixes in the Eastern Capital are not just exaggerated... Others don't know it, but we don't know it?"
Hearing this, Li Qingchen hesitated for a moment, but still said it: "Actually... I want to say, let alone these two people, just say that if the traitor Zhang Xing is leading the army here, facing such a situation, he So what happens?”
Lu Changheng was startled for a moment, and then fell silent. After a long time, he spoke again: "He will definitely kill people, but he has the ability to comfort others after killing people, so that others will not make noise and cause chaos!"
Li Qingchen nodded, but then shook his head: "I'm not just talking about this matter, but also the current affairs in Yucheng."
Lu Changheng was silent for a while again, and then gave the answer: "I think he will abandon the city, abandon the baggage, take advantage of the rainy night, take a few days of dry food, directly lead his troops north, and continue to Jiyin... Because the city is full of bandits, they look fierce, but they actually lack the courage to go out and fight."
"It's his style, and it's the same truth, but will the knights of Dongdu follow him?" Li Qingchen couldn't follow up.
"There will be many people staying, but there should be some people who are willing to obey him and take a gamble with him." Lu Changheng answered hesitantly. "He is a man who is very good at winning people's hearts. If he takes over this army on the same day as me, even if it only takes half a month, there should be some results."
"Actually, if we really assume this, when Zhang Xing was ordered to come here, he would have immediately used bluffs and lies to convince Han Yingong, instead of being controlled by others like us. Since we are controlled by others, it would be ridiculous to say this." Li Qingchen He also woke up and then became powerless. "Everything must be accumulated. It would be ridiculous for us to worship the Supreme Being temporarily."
Lu Changheng paused for a moment and said a little sadly: "It's true, it's true!"
"But when things have reached this point, we can't just waste it in vain and end up with nothing in the end." Now that things have happened, Li Qingchen is the one who is working hard and is unwilling to admit defeat. "Captain Lu, how about you send me to Xiayi overnight?"
"Your body is in such a difficult condition, so what if you go away?" Lu Changheng was embarrassed for a moment. "Han Yingong looks like that. He only thinks about his 10,000 Kansai soldiers."
"It's only when your body reaches this level that it's of some use." Li Qingchen tried his best to smile. "I have figured out Han Yingong's style, but he is from Guanlong after all. Otherwise, why would even the last remaining soldiers be from the Guanxi garrison? I don't believe he dares to bear the title of Guanlong like forcing me to be killed. The name of a clan member..."
This is to threaten someone with death.
But I have to admit that since ancient times, this kind of confrontation has been more or less effective when encountering someone who wants to face someone.
Lu Changheng was not a pedantic person. After thinking about it, he directly agreed. Then he picked a group of people and used a car to carry them. I don’t know whether it was due to Zhou Xingfan’s anger, or whether it was caused by being imprisoned for many days, being exposed to the rain, and falling off the horse. Li Twelve, whose old injury recurred, returned to Xiayi.
He continued to stay in the town and continued to take charge of the unruly army.
In addition, Han Yingong sat firmly in the central military tent, originally only waiting for the surrender of Xiayi during the day today. As a result, in the middle of the night, a messenger sent a letter to inform him of the incident in Yucheng ahead. He was frightened for a while; early in the morning, another messenger came to directly request He quickly sent out troops and became even more anxious... And as Li Qingchen was carried down and begged to send troops in public, even though he was perfunctory like Han Yingong, he couldn't sit still.
The reason couldn't be simpler. Li Twelve Lang may really die if he looks like this...especially since the accompanying sergeant has made it very clear that Li Twelve Lang was probably scolded like this by Zhou Xiaoming's youngest son. ...With this kind of psychological quality, if he really died here because he delayed sending troops, then when he returned to the Eastern Capital, whether it was Cao Lin who asked why his confidant died and raised doubts about it, or the Li family who had always been related by marriage came down to ask. , where is Li Twelve Lang's life? He may not even be able to resist.
Of course, the most fundamental problem is that Li Qingchen's request was just to send troops as early as possible, which did not violate Han Yingong's core demands.
"Let the city surrender quickly." Han Yingong hesitated for a moment, then he compromised and passed on the conflict. "Li Shisanniang, my brother is like this, it is really hard to be shaken. Now go into the city and tell the prince that as long as the internal servant army surrenders before noon today, you will order three thousand internal servants to become civilian husbands, and then order three thousand palace servants." If the people leave the city and follow the camp, I can bypass the collection of the city and go directly north to attack Yucheng early tomorrow morning... This is the last condition."
As a woman, Li Shisanniang was instinctively dissatisfied with the palace men accompanying the camp, but she had also known for a long time that she had no actual say in front of Han Yingong, and seeing her clan brother in such a posture, the conditions He has indeed become superior... After thinking about it, he finally acted as a messenger again.
After entering the city, the prince and his father-in-law didn't say much after hearing the cause and effect. He just summoned the backbone of the inner army again to discuss it in public.
The servants gathered together, their words were different, and the argument was quite obvious.
At this time, although they were politely separated, Li Shisanniang still realized that every family had an unforeseen debt. The servants had only occupied the land for a few days, so how could they be integrated?
Although the prince himself is experienced, he may want to delay things, but what about his subordinates?
Regardless of whether they want to surrender or resist, I'm afraid it will be difficult to unify their opinions, and there will definitely be chaos inside. And the prince himself is unlikely to quickly establish any strong authority in this area in just a few months... He can only guide it.
In other words, under the general trend, the surrender of the internal servants seems to be inevitable. Even people like the prince can only succumb to the situation under certain conditions.
Han Yingong never underestimated Wang Gonggong, but he saw it more clearly.
But I don’t know why. After thinking about this, Li Qingzhou felt a little uncomfortable, as if she had expected something... But this was not reasonable at all. She was from the Li family in Longxi. At this time of turmoil, Thanks to Uncle Cao's promotion, he has just been promoted to the commander-in-chief of Huaiyang County... Does this mean that he does not have the ability to see the overall situation and be forbearing like his clan brother?
"We surrendered." About a quarter of an hour later, Eunuch Wang found Li Qingzhou. "We will surrender before noon...but you must keep your word and try to give us good treatment."
Li Shisanniang was stunned, nodded, and said no more.
At noon, the rain started to fall again, and the city gate of Xiayi really opened. The servants who were ridiculed as white-skinned dumplings really came out naked... There was no conspiracy as expected, no persistence. They resisted, so they walked out naked, wearing only a pair of trousers, and tied up their hands.
Things went smoothly, and this attracted officers and soldiers to flock to watch in the rain.
Frankly speaking, the surrender of the Imperial Guards is pretty much what most rational people expected. Even Zhang Xing and Zhang Dalongtou, who single-handedly supported the Imperial Guards, did not truly regard the Imperial Guards as someone they could rely on when making military plans. In his opinion, as for military power, it is enough for the inner servant army to be able to delay Han Yingong for a day or two with its presence, or to allow Han Yingong to divide his troops to take it.
Moreover, not only were there no Deposed Dragon Gang and no Huaiyou League, there were also no dead Meng rebels. No one had any extra expectations for this exiled military group composed of internal servants.
Now, the internal servant army has personally verified this.
If there is something surprising, it is that Eunuch Wang, one of the powerful father-in-laws of Beiya in the past, could obviously avoid this humiliation by relying on his face, but he still wore trousers and shirtless like everyone else. I walked out in the rain with my bare feet in the mud.
And he was the first to walk out and the first to enter the camp gate.
"Invite the prince."
Inside the camp gate, the general platform collapsed due to rain. Han Yingong felt embarrassed because as the surrender servants arrived, the words of his subordinates around him became more and more obscene... White dumplings are all good to hear. Yes, some people have already shouted for these chamberlains to take off their undergarments... But just a year ago, the princes and princes were still acquaintances of these generals and the Prime Minister of Nanya.
Li Qingchen and Li Qingzhou were not qualified to go up and talk.
The prince was brought over immediately.
"Old Wang." Han Yingong avoided the opponent's skin and body that were like white dumplings with some embarrassment. "Why is this so? Could it be that Li Shisanniang didn't speak clearly? You don't have to be like this."
"Let's make it clear." The prince stepped onto the slippery rammed earth platform in the rain, and even slipped in the middle, forcing him to hastily fix his bun, which made him look even more embarrassed. "I also know how generous General Han is, but this is my own choice..."
"Are you crazy?" Even Li Qingchen, who was lying on one side with a guard holding a tarpaulin above his head, had a flash of expression, because when he saw the other party yesterday, he still looked very decent. "You can't live a peaceful life but become a military slave... You are in Beiya. Don't you know what kind of treatment an official slave gets when he joins the army?"
"Of course I know." Wang Gonggong turned his head, his face was calm and his words were appropriate. "I just feel that since I led them up and took the knife that day, I should suffer the consequences with them today... Regardless of the crime or the punishment, it should all be mine."
This is quite a statement.
A sense of responsibility!
And everyone likes a responsible person, even if he is a chamberlain.
"General Han." Li Qingzhou moved his eyes away from the messy hair sticking to his face around his bun and looked at Han Yingong. "Can't you be a little considerate?"
Han Yingong wanted to speak for a moment, but then looked around and sighed. More naked servants had already entered the camp gate and were driven back to the rear camp.
On the contrary, it was the prince who looked at Li Qingzhou and said something: "Li Shisanniang thinks too much... General Han can understand everything, but it is wrong for us white dumplings to be used as civilian husbands and to serve as sergeants for the generals." It's inconsiderate, because these are the two things that General Han's army needs most at this time. Those of us who are used to doing things can become military slaves, so that the sergeants can have a rest, and the troops can also get rid of the logistic dependence of the Huaiyou Alliance. "If the palace rations sergeants, the morale of the soldiers will be revived, and they will be grateful to General Han, and then continue to listen to him wherever they go."
At this point, Wang Gonggong obviously paused for a moment before continuing: "I only came to my senses after being besieged. For General Han who just led these troops out of Xuzhou, there was no such thing as us in the Deposed Dragon Gang. The importance of these people has never been that we attract troops for the Deposed Dragon Gang and delay time, but that the Deposed Dragon Gang attracts troops and delays for us... We, ourselves, are the trophies they want most."
Han Yingong laughed dryly.
Li Qingchen felt like something was stuck in his throat.
Li Qingzhou simply said: "So you surrendered? Do you know you can't escape?"
"I can't do it unless I surrender." Wang Gonggong remained magnanimous. "Actually, I want to defend it myself, and I will defend it with all my life so that I can repay Zhang Dalongtou and those who deposed the Dragon Gang. But I really can't control other people, but I can't let go. Who am I without them? ? You can only follow them and accept your fate!"
"Take it down!"
Han Yingong finally became impatient. "Lock them up first! The same goes for those palace people later! Tell the army that these chamberlains are all going to be their military slaves, and the palace people are all going to be their wives...I will do what I say! Officers have priority, The rest will be divided according to the military merits of this battle!"
The surrounding sergeants were obviously excited, cheered, and eagerly pushed the prince down. As the message was conveyed, the entire army cheered, and the cheers became louder and louder.
Li Qingzhou's face was pale. She was frightened by Han Yingong's unabashed last act, and she felt sympathy for the prince... unmistakable sympathy.
As for Li Qingchen, he couldn't help but think of a question similar to last night - what would he do if Zhang San was here?
Whether he replaces Han Yingong or himself, what will Zhang Xing do if he is here?
The evacuation and storage of thousands of people was not an easy task. It was not until the evening that the evacuation and evacuation of the entire Xiayi was completed.
Then of course the riots broke out.
Although Han Yingong repeatedly emphasized that troops would be sent out tomorrow and that the servants and palace servants should be under unified custody and distributed according to rules, the fact was that after making the promise, the troops began to lose control with a wanton attitude.
Han Yingong adopted a passive and laissez-faire attitude towards this.
As a result, a considerable number of the troops who were the first to be loyal to him began to enter Xiayi City to rob. Some senior officers were the first to put forward the need for wives, and first went to the palace people to select them. Then as night fell, the scale expanded rapidly. .
More troops want to enter the city, and more officers want to marry their wives in advance. It is best to get married tonight.
There were also many chamberlains and palace servants trying to hide and escape, which gave these sergeants a better excuse to "search" inside the city and "pursue" outside the city.
As for the white-skinned dumplings who landed as agreed, they were trapped in the back camp, which was only half a shed with a roof, sitting on the muddy water and crushed crops, with the summer rain falling continuously above their heads... Han Yingong was still very trustworthy in some respects. The servants even ate a rain-soaked meal of old rice and tares the night after they were imprisoned... After eating, everyone huddled together, either frightened or listening quietly. The sound of rain mixed with cries, noises, and cheers, one after another.
To be honest, thousands of naked waiters crowded together really looked like white-skinned dumplings that had been cooked.
And these dumplings who were cooked soon began to regret it.
As most people have observed, and as the prince himself said, he is not afraid, he wants to resist, but just a few months are not enough for him to establish absolute authority over the internal servants. ...After all, he has no way to lead the chamberlain army to rob the queen, nor can he give the chamberlain army a wife. He is just a chamberlain... So, the final result is that most of the chamberlains are right from the beginning. The imperial officers and soldiers and Han Yingong were afraid of the name, which led them to abandon Dang County immediately like last time. Then they repeatedly rejected the requests of the princes and some of the warring factions at internal meetings in Xiayi. And they chose to surrender under the conditions brought by the Li brothers and sisters to induce and force surrender.
Then they regretted it in the gradually warming pot.
But once the dumplings are out of the pot, what can you do if you regret it?
Many people looked at Eunuch Wang, hoping that Eunuch Wang, who seemed to be on the right side at this time, could do something or say something for them. However, Eunuch Wang sat there cross-legged from the beginning and quietly finished his meal. Rice, quietly listening to the movements in the city, quietly listening to the cries and laughter around him and on the other side of the camp, which grew louder and then gradually subsided.
In this way, amid the noise and silence, midnight gradually came.
"Everyone."
At the moment when all the white dumplings were almost resigned to their fate, Wang Gonggong suddenly spoke. His voice was neither loud nor quiet, just barely enough for hundreds of people around to hear him in the rainy night. "After going through this for so long, you should understand one truth...that is, if you want to live, if you want to be respected by others, if you want to have a place to live, you have to fight for it yourself. Only by surrendering, can you have a chance! Relying on others' pity will only make you cheap!"
In response to the prince, there were still low cries and the patter of rain, but there was also a terrifying silence.
"I don't know what you think. Anyway, after these few months, I don't want to be a military slave anymore, I don't want to be any slave anymore!" Wang Gonggong continued, his voice seemed slightly louder and his tone was a little bit louder. Choking. "If you are a human being, why should you be a slave?! No matter if you die or run away, you can't be so useless and be eaten as dumplings in the pot, nor can you look at the palace people who take the initiative to defect to us. The people of Xiayi have been sold by us like this... We have to treat ourselves as individuals, and we have to treat those who are willing to treat us as individuals, right?"
The words seemed to be getting more and more chaotic, but the surrounding quiet area seemed to be constantly expanding.
"There is a three-finger-long knife in my bun. If no one lies to me, we have fifty knives like this." Wang Gonggong continued, his voice a little louder. "Now, the people crying outside continue to cry. The people who brought the knives in crawled over with me, killed the guards, and grabbed their knives and guns! If you don't have knives and guns, just tear down the fence, or use your fists! I will do it tonight I have to risk my life to let Han Yingong know! If he doesn’t treat others as human beings, what will happen?! A white dumpling can even choke him to death!"
At the back camp, the cries outside suddenly became louder, causing the guards who were not too much and impatient to stop shouting and scolding. However, soon, the rain also became faster, which made the guards quickly give up. He yelled and cursed, then got used to the noise again.
On the night of May 28th, the annoying rain came again.
PS: Sorry, I got into a fight with someone over nonsense two nights in a row...I feel so ashamed at such an old age.
Continue to dedicate a new book "My Father Cao Cao, courtesy name Mengde"
(End of chapter)
