In mid-June of the first year of Wuding, Da Qi's Minister of War Ma Shiying and Imperial Academy editor Hou Xun were ordered to go south. Under the protection of guards Lin Yu, Wei Zhao and others, they left Shenyang and set out for Lushun in southern Liaoning, taking a boat from the Liaodong Peninsula. Crossed the sea and arrived in Dengzhou, Shandong.
At this time, the defenders from all over Dengzhou had moved closer to Linqing, leaving behind empty cities without Qi army guards. The remaining bandits after the explosion in Wang Gongchang were approaching Deng and Lai one after another. The local officials fled in panic, so Deng Bandits are rampant in the Denglai area. Shaanxi thieves and local thieves are tied together. They burn, kill, and loot in the Denglai area, killing and robbing aimlessly.
In the early morning of June 30, Ma Shiying and his party left Dengzhou, getting closer and closer to Wendeng County. Wendeng County was one of the earliest strongholds of the Kaiyuan Army in Shandong. Ma Shiying and Lin Yu were very interested in this county. They are all quite emotional.
Feelings are feelings, and now this county has become a hell on earth.
At noon, Ma Shiying and his people arrived near Wendeng County. They lay down in the grass on the outskirts of the east gate and looked up at Wendeng County, two miles away.
Ma Shiying raised the telescope and looked at it for a while, but his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Wei Zhao took the telescope and looked at the thick smoke billowing in the city. He saw people running around on the streets under the thick smoke. Some women were mixed in the crowd, crying and panicking. Their clothes were in a mess... The cries of the people can be heard.
Groups of Huaiyang thieves marching north, as fierce as the wind, leaped across the moat pontoon and rushed onto the North-South Street. They looted and shouted loudly. From time to time, thieves with Shaanxi accents joined them in the robbery.
"God damn the bandit, he was still alive in the last explosion. After causing harm to Tianjin Wei, he came to cause harm to Shandong again,"
Wei Zhao slowly pulled out the Yan Ling Saber. If Ma Shiying hadn't stopped him, the top swordsman in Jinmen would have rushed into the city immediately.
"The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered, so don't go in and die," he said, looking back at Hou Xun, and asked the knowledgeable editor: "Brother Ruogu, who is the magistrate of Wendeng County?" who?"
Hou Xun said without hesitation: "He was the former Wendeng general. He made a contribution when he annihilated the Wenxiang sect in the first year of Taichang and stayed in Wendeng. After the emperor ascended the throne, he was appointed magistrate of Wendeng County. He took office only two months ago. "
"Chen Xin?"
"Yes, it's this martial artist."
Ma Shiying had some impression of the name, but he couldn't remember what the person looked like. In the past three months, he had been negotiating with Rakshasa ghosts on Sakhalin Island and almost lost his life. When he came back, he didn't even know that Kang Yingqian had become Prime Minister of Daqi. , let alone Wendeng County Magistrate.
He looked up at the location of the Wendeng County Government Office, which was now covered by billowing black smoke. He could not help but picture Emperor Wu Ding stationed at the Wendeng County Government Office, strategizing and putting down the rebellion of the Wenxiang Sect. He waved his hand and did not think about these past events. Ma Shiying and Kang Yingqian had similar temperaments, and they were both fully qualified political animals. However, Ma Shilang did not have the ancestral Vajra San, and he was not very fond of women.
"Then let Mr. Chen wish for his own blessings. I hope he can return to Lushun alive. I have long said that it is not easy to be an official in Shandong. It is not easy to be an official in Shandong. This guy will not do it unless he is an officer in Liaodong. I want to come to Wendeng County to farm..."
Ma Shiying sighed with emotion at the beacon smoke all over the city and shed two crocodile tears. Then he waved to everyone to leave this place of wrong and quickly. They only have five guards. Except for Lin Yu and Wei Chao, the remaining three are new recruits. They are obviously no match for the thousands of thieves in the city, and they might be trapped here.
Everyone obviously knew this truth, so they followed Ma Shiying's example and left in tears.
Only Lin Yu stood blankly like a statue. Wei Zhao knew that the big man wanted to rush in and help Chen Xin, the county magistrate, so he advised him:
"Brother Lin, let's go. We still have big things to do! If Shandong is lost, it is lost. We can get it back in the future. If we delay any longer, Liaodong will be lost too!"
Lin Yu remained silent, finally nodded, followed the others, left the official road, and continued walking along the path.
They turned southwest from Wendeng, and as they got closer to Linqing, more and more enemies appeared along the way. On the opposite side, there were various flags flying, including the standard military camp under the command of Governor Liu, the Southern Zhili troops commanded by Zuo Liangyu, There are also the Henan soldiers of the powerful Ma Hongqi and the Liaoxi soldiers of Wu Sangui.
In addition, there are Shaanxi thieves and local thieves who fled into Shandong from various places in Northern Zhili.
The rebels were like razors, combing through this rural town. They took the trouble to rob the people over and over again. The things they plundered ranged from gold and silver jewelry, food, cloth, chickens, ducks, and fish at the beginning, to rags, wood, and rubble at the back. , the rebel soldiers who finally arrived saw that only the bare foundations were left (the beams of the house had been removed to make the carts, and the masonry had been removed to fill the trenches). They could not grab anything anymore, so they had to kill the common people who had only one pair of pants left. One kill.
Ma Shiying and others carefully avoided these rebels. When they encountered small groups of people, Lin Yu and Wei Zhao would kill them all without mercy, leaving no one behind.
Wei Zhao's boss, Yang Hao and Yang Shoufu, were trapped and died in the capital by bandits. Several of Lin Yu's brothers who had died also died at the hands of bandits...
Twelve days later, after experiencing various hardships, they finally arrived at Linqing. Linqing is now the last stronghold held by the Qi army in the Guan. In the words of Emperor Wu Ding later, "Linqing is the only reservation of humanity in the Guan, shining with the brilliance of humanity."
However, this shining highland of humanity is now being surrounded by the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty. Ma Hongqi, a strong man from Henan, also wants a piece of the pie. The powerful people around Linqing are watching with eager eyes. They only wait for one of the fighting parties to bleed and fall, and then they immediately rush forward to kill him. They ate it up.
Ma Shiying and others tried several times to enter the city, but were blocked by Ma Hongqi's sentry horses. Several small-scale battles broke out between the two sides. Daqi lost one guard and the Henan soldiers lost three sentry horses.
Ma Shiying did not dare to stay, so he had to bypass Linqing and continue to Nanjing.
Passing through Huaiyang, everyone was shocked by the sight before them.
The canal has dried up, and the fields on both sides are all barren. Above our heads, swarms of locusts are like dark clouds passing over the fields. The locusts have eaten all the grass in the fields...
The six people walked south along the canal for two full days, passing hundreds of villages. Only ruins of these villages were left, and all the villagers disappeared. Occasionally, one or two vicious dogs would come upon hearing the sound and stand opposite the village entrance. The crowd barked in low voices. Wei Zhao used a knife to drive away the vicious dogs with red eyes, preventing them from getting closer.
"Master Ma, there is probably a plague outbreak in the village. These dogs have eaten human flesh and have gone crazy. You can see their eyes are red. If a mad dog bites us, we will also go crazy."
What I see along the way these days is enough to turn a normal person into a lunatic.
When Wu Youke was in the capital, he told everyone about the tragic situation of people being bitten by crazy dogs. Everyone carefully avoided these mad dogs and continued this dangerous journey to hell along the dry canals.
~~~~
On the night when Ma Shiying and his party left Linqing, Linqing's wealthy businessman Dongfang Zhu bribed a garrison commander and took advantage of the night to descend from the Ximen Night Gate and cross the moat to the Ming army's position opposite.
He was soon discovered by a Ming army scout who stammered and blackmailed him.
"Silver...silver, tickets...notes, women...women, all, give them all to me, take them out, don't, don't try to get away with it, if you...are a merchant, just take them Money comes out, comes out!"
"Brother, don't miss the business. Take me to see Marshal Zuo quickly. I will take you to Linqing to visit the brothels some other time. Have you heard of Qin Huai Shouma?"
"Beat... beat your brother-in-law, and dare to lie to me. Get money!"
Dongfang Zhu reached out and grabbed the staggering scout's arm, turned him sideways, and threw him to the ground. Seven or eight servants on night watch suddenly rushed up from the opposite side, with shining knives pressed against the neck of the high official Dongfang.
"Don't kill me. If you kill me, you won't be able to break through Linqing Prefecture City. If you want silver... sons or daughters, just listen to my advice!"
Dongfang Zhu also started stuttering. He was so angry that the stuttering scout got up from the ground, drew out his sword and was about to kill someone.
A man who looked like a servant kicked the scout away, looked Dongfang Zhu up and down, and said coldly:
"Let's go, I'll take you to see General Zuo!"
~~~~~
"At that time, we will set fire to the east gate, and the general will lead the army to attack the west gate. The Qi army will lose sight of one thing and lose the other. It can be decided in one battle."
Zuo Liangyu carefully looked at Dongfang Zhu standing in front of him, his sharp eyes like knives, as if he wanted to cut open the heart of the local snake in Linqing.
Dongfang Zhu met his sharp eyes, his expression remained unchanged, and he said with a flattering face: "General, I heard that Inspector Liu took people to the capital and brought many soldiers from Liaoxi. I wonder if the army has enough troops to attack Ximen?"
Zuo Liangyu glared at him and kept rolling his eyes. It was obvious that Dongfang Zhu was suspicious.
"General, don't blame me. I'm not afraid of death. I'm just setting fire to the city. I have a huge responsibility. My family's life and death are in the hands of the Liaodong soldiers. If something goes wrong..." Dongfang Zhu said, thinking of a wife in his house. The appearance of the sixth concubine, as well as Sister Li Gui, who had just been with him in the sedan last night.
Zuo Liangyu glared fiercely at Dongfang Zhu, and took a step forward with a body as strong as a black tower. Although Dongfang Zhu was also strong, in front of Zuo Liangyu, who was nine feet tall, he still felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. .
Just when Dongfang Zhu was at a loss, he saw Zuo Liangyu stretched out his big hand, patted Dongfang Zhu on the shoulder, and said carelessly: "Liu Zongzhou is not here, and the Jiangbei camp has 50,000 to 60,000 troops. It's all up to me." ! Liu Zongzhou and Wu Sangui are not worthy of carrying my shoes. That guy named Pu cannot escape from Linqing City, and the defenders in the city will also die. When Linqing is captured, we will also become the Minister of the Ministry of War. You will be indispensable by then. benefit!"
After hearing this, Dongfang Zhu hurriedly bowed and thanked: "I am short-sighted. I thank General Zuo on behalf of the Linqing merchants, no, thank you Shangshu Zuo!"
