"I got it, I'm going to transport grain." At noon the day before, at the foot of Bowang Mountain, the head of Huang Tuen was steaming with white steam. He hurriedly returned to the temporary camp where his own camp was located, and his tone became obviously relaxed. "There is no need to follow the camp, and there is no need to break up the camp."
"That would be great."
"It's a good job, I can eat well, and I can save food for the village... I'm just worried that the food will be transferred too quickly and be tiring."
"It's not to transport food with the army, but to capture Liyang warehouse in front and transport food to the back! Transport it to Liaocheng and the general's mausoleum!" Huang Tunchang corrected again, and at the same time, he couldn't help but have a hint of joy in the corners of his eyebrows. "I heard from Sister Cao that there is a lot of grain in Liyang warehouse in front of us. This time we are going to transport grain."
"No wonder... I just asked why we are sending troops at this time." Han Erlang suddenly understood and stood up. "Then do it!"
Everyone else also cheered up.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, the superiors specifically told me that the old rules must not be broken, and they are especially important this time." Huang Tunzhang became serious. "Let me tell you, please note it down and explain it clearly to each team. If you don't tell me, and you are caught by the patrol and the military law team, I will record it as a demerit. Also, when you were resting on the road, you met people from Wuyang and Jijun. The common people still want to talk... Don't forget, I remembered the boy from the Jun family in Wang County once he left. If it happens again, the transfer to county captain next summer will really make Hou Bo Liu proud. ”
Everyone from Han Erlang onwards suddenly understood and immediately sat back down. In addition, Lao Huang moved out of his own future, so they could hold their temper even more.
"To the brothers who are coming together, I have to make three things clear and one key point. The three things are actually the three purposes of sending troops this time..."
】
As Chief Huang spoke, he took off a hanging black lacquer board from his belt behind him. On it were written some small words written in white lime, which probably only Chief Huang could recognize.
“First, of course, in order to attack the violent Wei Dynasty, we captured the south of the Qingzhang River;
"Secondly, we are indeed short of food. Anyone with a clear mind knows that we are short of food. It is impossible not to take some. This must be admitted. We can eat well and eat well with the grain we take, and we can also make wine with the bad grain;
"Third, even this dispatch of troops is not just for these reasons, not just to depose the Dragon Gang, because it is not worthwhile to attack Jijun and Liyangcang just to depose the Dragon Gang, and then provoke Dongdu and the Grand Master. The attack on Liyangcang and Jijun was for the sake of everyone in Hebei and the whole world. It was to let everyone have a good year. It was to allow Wei Wei to return the blood of the people of Hebei that it had occupied over the past thirty years. For the benefit of the world...
"The last point is this, that is, Liyangcang was like peeling off the skin and flesh of the Wei Dynasty. It stole the people's fat and people's ointment from the people of Hebei... We took it from the people and used it for the people. What we did today is true. There is something virtuous, and when the three splendors and four emperors come, everyone must recognize it!"
"Do you remember it?" Huang Tuenzhang said in one breath, then re-opened the small black paint board and asked seriously.
"I probably remember it."
"remember."
Several captains in the camp nodded one after another... Unlike the soldiers in the standard army, the camp army who served more as auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands were just simple commanders and captains, not generals, to distinguish themselves... In fact , in the daily management of farmland, they corresponded to the township magistrate and the district chief in the typical township-li system. Once the generals in the army retired, they often directly served as county captains or county officials.
"Just remember it. If you don't remember each other, it's all old words leading to new things. You can't go wrong..." Chief Huang ordered calmly, and then immediately urged. "Hurry up and leave as soon as you finish speaking."
Several captains also stood up.
After everyone left, only Chief Huang and Han Erlang were left. They looked at each other and felt a little bored. There was nothing they could do. At this time before the team set off, there was nothing to do and nothing else to do. wait.
Of course, this matter didn't waste much time, and each team started to make loud announcements... It wouldn't work if it wasn't loud, and it wouldn't be possible for a team of people to hear clearly.
"Han Erlang, you have actually led thousands of soldiers, how many people do you think can trust you?" Chief Huang couldn't help but ask.
"I can believe half of it." Han Erlang gave an answer that was slightly beyond Chief Huang's expectations. “For the remaining half, I am more willing to let myself believe it... Only very few smart people, scholars, people with resentment in their hearts, and people with some extraordinary experiences will keep thinking that these are all empty words and clichés. "
"Are these words so powerful?" Chief Huang was slightly puzzled.
"It's not that the words are powerful, it's that these words are matched with the momentum of the Deposed Dragon Gang, the mess in other places in Hebei, the killings of people everywhere in the past few years, and the fact that everyone really hates Wei, that's why So powerful." Han Erlang sighed, turning into a puff of white smoke in the cold winter. "When I was leading the army, I found that most people are still honest people. As long as you don't mess around and don't imitate those people who kill people indiscriminately, and the people below can survive, they will be willing to support you and pretend to believe you; if If you can have enough food, winter clothes, and some rewards, people will believe in you wholeheartedly; not to mention being able to win a battle and survive on the battlefield... These words of the Deposed Dragon Gang are so powerful because ordinary people can do it in their hands. We can live a similar life down there, and we can actually live better than other places."
Chief Huang nodded: "That's the truth."
At this time, the sound of preaching in the camp obviously disappeared, replaced by various noisy movements. The two of them stopped talking and stood up directly, preparing to lead the team to leave.
After checking his clothes and equipment and about to set out on the road, Chief Huang thought for a while and suddenly asked another question: "Does Han Erlang believe these words?"
Han Erlang glanced at the other party, without hesitation or pretense, but gave a frank answer: "I am the kind of person who is willing to believe, but I always feel that some words are too far away, and I can't even believe them, so I listen first." I am willing to do it and I am willing to do it.”
Chief Huang nodded and said no more.
Everyone got on the road and continued westward. However, during this march, the field troops immediately noticed a different atmosphere and situation than before.
Leaving Bowang Mountain and heading towards Liyang, the distance is only a few dozen miles, but there are many more people traveling with us almost every few miles. These people are not from the Qianlong Gang, but from Jijun and Wuyang, including Weijun. The local people heard about the grain release and gathered one after another. Some were pushing wheelbarrows, some were carrying poles, some were carrying baskets, and some were carrying bags. There were so many people that they couldn't even walk down the official road. Able to run across dry fields in winter.
Moreover, these people are accelerating, they are in a hurry, and they can’t wait, because more and more people are appearing in front of them, carrying food towards each other. They are the locals who are the first to choose to believe in food... In these days, there is nothing like Tangible food is more convincing.
Of course, these people, these grains, and this atmosphere naturally affected the field troops. They also began to speed up and arrived at Liyangcang in the afternoon of the next day, and then saw the huge storage area. At this time, the smart ones among them had vaguely realized that what the gang said this time, including some of the words they said before, seemed to be true statements from Quan Xu Quanwei... and there was no exaggeration.
"You should stop transporting grain." Dou Lide, Mrs. Cao's husband and the leader who was actually in charge of the farming affairs, canceled the original order for the newly arrived troops.
A group of village chiefs and deputy chiefs from Mimihuhu were confused. In this situation, what would they do if they didn't transport food?
"I want you to... transport food." Dou Lide thought for a moment and immediately realized that he was talking nonsense. "But instead of transporting grain to Jiangling, we can dig out the grain from the cellar in the warehouse area over there and place it in front of the warehouse city so that others can transport it."
Only then did everyone wake up.
At this point, what else is there to say? Then do it. Guarding so many grain cellars, can you still be hungry?
Of course, it is still very methodical to do it. For example, if you want to distinguish the year of the warehouse, the corn that is more than fifteen years old has basically scattered, so you don’t need to worry about it for the time being; the corn that is between seven and fifteen years old is the most important. They will be placed on the official road, and the people will take it for themselves before the new year. After the new year, the grain reserves will be calculated and distributed according to counties. The corn within seven years is considered new grain and is designated as military grain and warehouse grain. It is the most urgently needed to be moved out. Yes, they will be transported to various locations for storage.
Not to mention, the warehouse that was opened at the same time also contained coins, cloth, and groceries.
Of course, having said that, these have nothing to do with Han Erlang and his gang. Their group of six hundred men has only one task, which is to pull out the grain from a specific cellar and deliver it to the official road open space in front of Cangcheng.
I don’t know how many days I can do this job.
"There are three things now." In Liyang City, which was only a few miles away, Zhang Xing was discussing the current situation with several big leaders who had just calmed down. "One is to attack Yecheng and seize the Yecheng palace; the other is to seize the Luokou warehouse in Xingyang; the last one is to properly distribute the storage and transportation..."
"If you can't do it properly, you can only do your best." Chen Bin was in Jiangling, Wei Xuanding was in Wuyang, and Xie Minghe was the first to speak as usual. "Such a large amount of food in so many places is more troublesome than the three conquests of Dongyi. Just transporting it will cause big trouble... This is our current strategy. Transport the army food first, and the people will take the old food for relief. All that’s left is to see how local governments can properly coordinate the mobilization.”
"Then do your best." Zhang Xing nodded, not denying what the other party said. "How about leaving this matter to Mr. Wei? The main transportation route must be from Wuyang County."
"I think..." Xie Minghe hesitated for a moment and continued. "It would be better to let Chen Bin use the authority of the general to do this. Wei Gong may not be able to suppress the bureaucrats in other counties in Hebei, let alone the many clerks and staff in Jiangling. This matter is indispensable. Human.”
"Then let General Manager Chen take charge of this matter, and let Wei Gong take charge of the Yecheng strategy?" Zhang Xing asked in an inquisitive manner.
"Chief." At this moment, Dou Lide suddenly spoke. "If you want me to say, transshipment and distribution and warehousing are the most important things, how about leaving it to me?"
Someone actually recommended himself.
Dou Lide also hurriedly explained: "I think that the real effectiveness of this matter is the field soldiers, and I have been helping with the field soldiers, and there is no one who knows the geography, roads and customs of Hebei better than me... This The matter is too difficult, and I dare not issue a military order to say that I will be able to handle it beautifully. But if the chief assigns the field soldiers to me, and asks the local officials to cooperate with the generals for a while, I dare to guarantee that the gang will do it well. No one can do it better than me.”
"Then you come and help Wei Gong do this." Zhang Xing was silent for a moment, and when no one said anything, he immediately made a conclusion. "Let Chen Bin continue to take charge of the military and attack Yecheng."
"After this battle, I feel that the key to Yecheng's affairs is not the base of Yecheng, but whether we can quickly sweep away the key places in Jijun and Weijun, forcing Yecheng to isolate itself." Ma Wei seemed to have already had an idea. "Once Yecheng becomes an isolated city, the local officers and soldiers will disperse in droves, and Li Qingchen, the important officials from the east capital, will lose confidence in defending the city, and Yecheng will be able to open up the city easily."
"I think so too." Xu Shiying clearly agreed. "Taking advantage of the defeat of Qu Tuda and the fall of Liyang, we wantonly released food. The people of Ji County and Wei County are unstable, so we quickly raided the place."
"What should I do with Wang Huaidu?" Xie Minghe suddenly asked.
"If you are willing to dedicate the city, you can stay and be free." Zhang Xing replied immediately. "It's better to win without fighting."
"That's easy to handle." Xie Minghe nodded immediately. "I'll go talk to him. It's best to open the city quickly to sweep the prefectures and counties."
The matter of transporting grain was imminent, and there was even competition and self-recommendation. Someone had already prepared for the attack on Yecheng, but no one discussed the Luokou warehouse in Xingyang.
Let’s also say that the so-called Luokou Cang is actually a misnomer. To be honest, only the big warehouse at the mouth of Luoshui River is the real Luokou Cang in the narrow sense. The broad sense of Luokou Cang should refer to the supply to Dongdu through Luoshui. A series of related warehouses, including Liyang warehouse in Hebei, Xingyang Aoshan warehouse in Zhongyuan, Dongjing, Jianghuai and Jiangdong, and Dongdu Luoshui warehouse in Luoshuikou.
However, because Aoshan Cang is very close to Luokou Cang, separated by Si River and Si River Pass, and belongs to the same transshipment system, those states and counties south of the river are accustomed to transfer taxes through Huan River. The end point that requires responsibility is Aoshan Cang, which is called Luokou Cang.
"What did Luokou Cang say?" Zhang Xing asked proactively.
Still no one answered for a while.
For a while, just when Zhang Xing was about to ask more questions, Shan Tonghai suddenly frowned and responded: "I'm just talking about military affairs. If I really want to capture Luokou Cang, it's actually easy. Let's separate a few elite battalions here and let Ji Yin go all out." Come out, attack from the north and south... Moreover, if Liyangcang is so relaxed, then there is no reason for the Dongdu soldiers and horses in Luokoucang to resist... But, do they really have to be so fast? There are so many things to do here. If we do, we have enough food, so why divide the troops now?"
"If we can capture the Luokou warehouse in Aoshan, it will also help the other two things." Zhang Xing explained. "In this way, the people in the Central Plains and the Eastern Region can go to Aoshancang to receive relief. They don't have to cross the river, and we don't have to take the hard work of sending them to the south bank... After all, no one knows when the river will be flooded."
"In addition to what Chief Shan said, there are two other problems in attacking Luokou Cang in Aoshan." Xu Shiren suddenly spoke. "First, how many materials are there in Aoshan? After all, it is just a transshipment place. Most of the warehousing essence should be in Dongdu Dacang in Luoshuikou; second, there is the issue of the distance between Aoshan Cang and Dongdu. ... Liyang Cang is four hundred miles away from Dongdu, and we are already frightened, while Aoshan Cang is only one hundred and fifty miles away from Dongdu. What if Aoshan Luokou Cang is destroyed, scares Dongdu, and then calls the Grand Master back? ?”
Zhang Xing nodded, knowing it well... In fact, more than these three reasons, not to mention anything else, that is to destroy Aoshan Luokou Cang. The biggest beneficiary is actually Li Shu, but this does not consider the dethroning of the Dragon Gang The overall conspiracy theory cannot be put on the table.
"No." Xu Shiying suddenly refuted. "No matter how little supplies there are in Aoshan Warehouse, who would really think they were small after passing through Liyang Warehouse? And this Grand Master, it seems that we are not afraid of this when we are in such a hurry to move food."
"That's right. If you were afraid of the Grand Master, why would you abandon Li Yang now?" Xiong Bonan also said sternly. "Now that you have started this, you are willing to fight for it. How can you be afraid of this in the middle? According to me, it is time to make a fuss and light fires everywhere. In this way, he will really come back and be alone. It cannot be easier for the overall situation.”
"Well said, that's exactly what I meant." Zhang Xing suddenly came to a conclusion. "Inform Duke Li, take Aoshan and Shan Dalang is also ready to send troops. Don't be idle in other places... Everyone, the current situation must be that everyone is caught off guard by our attack, and the more In this way, the more we ignite the fire, using one thing after another, one flame after another, making them more unprepared. In this way, we can delay Cao Lin who may turn back and squeeze out time to transfer. As much food as possible.”
When everyone heard this, no one refuted it.
That day, they dispersed in accordance with military orders.
The soldiers were very fast. In the evening of that day, the twenty battalions of soldiers were divided into at least fifteen battalions. They crossed the Qingzhang River, the "red line" that the Dragon Gang had guarded for a whole year, and began to disperse and attack other surrounding cities, counties and towns. . By the 29th, they had easily made an emergency landing in at least two counties, five counties and seven cities. Among them, the three battalions of Shan Tonghai, Wang Shuyong and Niu Da formed a front line and attacked Jijun County City.
In the evening of that day, Wang Huaidu, the governor of Ji County, was persuaded by Xie Minghe, the foreign affairs chief of the Deposed Dragon Gang, to choose Kaicheng on the condition that he was allowed to return to his hometown in Taiyuan.
On the 30th, it was New Year's Eve. The three battalions of Shan Tonghai, Wang Shuyong and Niuda were marching westward to Linqingguan, attacking Hanoi County and occupying Yanjin Port. At the same time, the entire Ji County had fallen into the hands of the Deposed Dragon Gang. Seventeen cities in eleven counties of Wei County also lost eight counties and thirteen cities in the stormy advance of the Dragon Army. For a time, Wei County's governorship and several cities around Yecheng, the companion capital, were crumbling, as if there were only a few pieces left in the wind. yellow leaves.
But... But, on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month of this year, the last day of this year, these strong advances of the Dragon Army seemed so insignificant, because on this day, the entire Hebei and Henan, north of Zhao The counties, Xindu, and other areas along the Hutuo River, extending to Hanoi in the west, Bohai in the east, and Jiyin in the south, all the river and Zhangshui basins, plus several Kinki counties, have all been thrown out of order by a simple and intuitive thing. .
Food, food in Liyangcang, countless food, food that anyone is allowed to take for themselves.
After several days of fermentation, dense trickles and eventually a torrent were rushing towards Liyang, and this torrent in turn drowned all military activities. In fact, not only all the local officials and warlords were frightened by the influence of the deposed dragon to help Li Yang release grain. The Deposed Dragon Gang themselves were frightened and at a loss. They had to change the rules and announced an extension of the period for self-collection of food, but each person was limited to fifty kilograms.
Of course, Chief Zhang Xingzhang's routine operations were indispensable for this. He was like the master of Hebei and even Henan. He issued an official document asking all counties and counties to maintain order, guide the people, strictly investigate the crimes caused by food, and directly warned non-government officials. The "officials" in the areas controlled by the Deposed Dragon Gang are not allowed to rob the people of relief food, otherwise it will be regarded as an attack on the Deposed Dragon Gang.
Everyone was busy, and everyone temporarily lost their ability to rationally analyze, just like the leaders of the Deposed Dragon Gang who came to Liyangcang on the first day.
But at the same time, similar to the situation that day, an inexplicable emotion began to brew on a larger scale and in the hearts of more people.
It’s just that everyone hasn’t noticed it yet.
As evening approached, Han Erlang, who had worked hard all day, poured down another load of ten-year-old grain in front of a mountain of corn on the official road, shirtless. Immediately behind him, the sound of banging was heard, and then officers and officials shouted loudly. Reminder, today is the New Year, everyone should go and receive two bolts of silk and a bunch of money as a reward before eating.
The surrounding field soldiers and civilians naturally cheered.
At this moment, Han Erlang stopped in surprise, and then looked back at the pile of corn behind him, or a mountain... because he seemed to hear some strange noises on one side of the mountain. It was crying, and it seemed to be the sound of wind.
After hesitating for a moment, Han Erlang, unable to resist his curiosity, walked against the current and chose to climb up the Corn Mountain.
There are not only corns in Mishan, but also a lot of reeds, planks, and mats everywhere, as well as broken transportation tools and storage accessories, which makes climbing this mountain not so troublesome.
After a moment, Han Erlang easily climbed to the top of the mountain, but saw a scene under the sunset that he would never forget:
On the other side of the mountain, there are naturally countless people, densely packed, arriving here with various tools to collect food. This is a scene that I am used to seeing these days. But today, I don’t know if it’s because the New Year is approaching, so suddenly some people are feeling sad, or they are just crying with joy. There are actually many people stopping at the foot of the mountain to cry.
Holding the grain, crying under the grain mountain.
No one knew who was taking the lead or what they were crying about. Han Erlang did not see the whole story or the initial situation. He stood shirtless on the top of Liangshan Mountain and stared at this scene, watching helplessly as the sound of crying spread. At the end of the drive, almost everyone stopped, hugging each other and crying at the foot of Liangshan Mountain and on the official road from Liyangcang to Liyang City where grains were sprinkled.
Han Erlang, who had not cried for a long time and had no reason to cry again, suddenly felt a sore nose and cried too, but it was just a tear, for fear of soiling the food.
In fact, the grain mountain is not high. At this time, Wang Laowu noticed the situation here and immediately reminded from behind: "Brother Han, hurry up and get dressed. You will catch a cold if you stand in the wind while being sweaty."
Han Erlang came back to his senses, wiped his face, responded, turned around and came down, walked a few steps, but stopped again on the mountain, because it was only then that he realized that the sunset just now seemed to make him The Dantian area of my abdomen felt warm for no apparent reason, but I didn't feel cold at all.
