Sun Chuanting's trust lies not only in verbal commitments, but also in actions.
When Chen Wang led his troops and prepared to return to Hanzhong Mansion, Sun Chuanting separated more than 1,500 collared cloth masks, as well as matching arm shields and helmets from the seizures.
Even in the end, Sun Chuanting gave him two months of additional military pay.
Sometimes it's fate. After Gao Yingxiang died, the rain stopped.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, many places in Shaanxi Province not only fell into drought again, but also suffered from a locust plague, which made the situation worse.
However, Gao Yingxiang encountered a heavy rain that lasted for nearly ten days in July.
Chen Wang led his troops back to Hanzhong from Ziwu Road. For more than ten days, there was no rain again.
By the time we arrived outside Hanzhong Mansion and Shiquan City, it was already the fourth day of August.
A total of four cities in Hanzhong Prefecture were captured by rogue bandits, three of which were in the east of Hanzhong Prefecture and adjacent to Xing'an City.
Shiquan was the fourth city captured by rogue bandits. It was from Shiquan that Gao Yingxiang entered Ziwu Road, then went all the way north deep into the plank road, and finally turned into Tangluo Road.
At this time, order has been initially restored in Shiquan County.
After Chen Wang led his troops to Shiquan, he just ordered the camp to be set up. Before he could dismount, a group of cavalry came quickly from Shiquan City.
The person who came was none other than Zhang Kang, the current commander of the garrison in Shiquan City, Hanzhong Guard Baihu.
"Zhang Kang, one of the hundreds of Hanzhong guardsmen, went to see the general."
Chen Wang pulled the reins and rode on the horse. He looked at the middle-aged man kneeling not far in front of the horse and wearing a red arrow jacket, and raised the whip.
"Get up."
Zhang Kang's clothes were a little white after washing, and Chen Wang noticed that Zhang Kang's bottoms were still wearing a patch.
His whole body was covered with dust, only the knife on his waist was clean and tidy.
Hearing Chen Wang's voice asking him to get up, he quickly got up from the ground, and then came forward with a smile on his face.
"How many people are there in Shiquan City now?"
Chen Wang raised his head and glanced at Shiquan County not far away, and then moved his gaze to Zhang Kang.
"There are approximately two to three thousand people in the city. I'm not sure of the specific number."
"The people in the city are not under our control. The prefect sent someone to take care of them."
Shortly after the rogue bandits evacuated, the news of the fall of Shiquan County was also learned by Lin Daoquan, the prefect of Hanzhong.
After confirming that the bandits had indeed left Hanzhong Mansion, Lin Daoquan sent officials to gather the villagers in Shiquan City and re-establish order.
When the war was in chaos, it was naturally impossible for the officials responsible for gathering the victims and rebuilding the city to go to their posts with a small number of government officials.
Therefore, Zhang Kang was sent over to guard Shiquan with his people.
Zhang Kang tilted his head and thought for a moment, then answered cautiously.
"Master Qianhu asked us to watch the city and take care of the thieves and brawlers."
He was able to be transferred to Shiquan City, which had just been conquered by the invading army and the city defenses had not yet been completed.
Zhang Kang naturally didn't have many people to support him in Wei, and he didn't have much background. After all, this was a hard job.
At this moment, facing Chen Wang, who is a general, he was naturally cautious, for fear of doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing.
"I will be stationed here for a while. There is nothing going on here for the time being. You can go back first."
From Zhang Kang's mouth, Chen Wang got a lot of information about Shi Quan, and also had a preliminary understanding of Shi Quan's current situation.
Chen Wang waved his hand, and then issued an order to expel the guests.
Zhang Kang naturally didn't say anything. After bowing again, he returned to Shiquan City with a few servants.
A large section of Shiquan's city wall was damaged, and most of the houses in the city were also damaged to varying degrees.
The most severely damaged area was where the county government office was located.
The magistrate of Shiquan County drowned himself when the city was breached. The county government office was set on fire by the intruders who broke into the city, and now most of it has been reduced to charcoal.
Basically all the officials in the county were killed by the intruders. Most of the people in Shiquan County were coerced into joining the army, and only a very small part survived.
Some of the guards guarding the city surrendered to the thieves, and some died in the battle. More than a hundred bodies were found, and the rest were missing and difficult to distinguish, so they simply put them aside for the time being.
Most of the wealthy gentry in Shiquan County were slaughtered by the bandits. The bandits had a clear target on them.
At this time of year, ordinary people's lives are basically miserable, and what can be gained from them.
Ordinary people will basically not face life danger when encountering rogue bandits. The rogue bandits will coerce them into the army. The rogue bandits mainly target wealthy gentry, officials and merchants.
Most of the rogue bandits came from poor backgrounds, so they were quite hostile to these wealthy gentry, officials and merchants. After plundering their money, they would basically not leave these people alive.
Therefore, most of the rich and powerful gentry in Shiquan County did not survive. The only two or three families who survived escaped into the mountains and forests in advance and were lucky enough to survive without being discovered by the rogue bandits who searched the mountains.
In other words, most of the land in Shiquan County is now ownerless.
Chen Wang got off his horse and walked under a temporary hay shed. At this time, the prototype of the camp was almost completed, and everyone was busy busy.
Chen Wang was sitting on the seat under the thatched shed. Zhao Huailiang was making arrangements to set up camp. The only people following Chen Wang were Chen Gong, Zhou Yumao and Du Wugang.
Chen Gong and Zhou Yumao sat down with Chen Wang, while Du Wugang stood at the side of the hay shed and did not come in or sit down with him.
Du Wugang was a member of Qianhu Station in Xing'an. When Xing'an was besieged, he commanded the guards and militia in the city.
When Chen Wang decided to go out of the city to pursue Gao Yingxiang, Du Wugang volunteered to go with him.
After a short period of thinking, Chen Wang agreed to Du Wugang's request.
Du Wugang followed Chen Wang all the way north, and finally entered the Heishui Valley.
In the Battle of Heishui Valley, the cavalry that attacked the rear of the army at Yukou were led by Du Wugang and Zhou Yumao.
Zhou Yumao is a guerrilla and can naturally sit here, but he is only a thousand households and his level is not enough.
As for Chen Gong's level, he was almost the same as him, but Chen Gong was Chen Wang's younger brother. The two were related by blood, so they were naturally different from others.
"Come and sit."
Chen Wang saw through Du Wugang's mentality and knew that he did not dare to sit, so he raised his finger and pointed to the chair in front of him.
Du Wugang quickly bowed his head and saluted. He was stunned for a moment, then became happy, ran into the hut, and sat down respectfully.
The hierarchy in the army is very strict, so Chen Wang allowing him to sit close to him was a sign of approval.
Du Wugang had been deputy Qianhu for many years. He was in a guard station in the mainland. He had no military merit and a weak relationship background. There was almost no hope of promotion.
The arrival of rogue bandits is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity.
He chose to take the initiative and risk his life to join the pursuing troops. He just didn't want to be a guard for the rest of his life. Now that he finally got into Chen Wang's eyes, he couldn't hide his excitement.
Chen Wang didn't pay too much attention to Du Wugang's excitement. He chose to accept Du Wugang for two reasons.
First, Du Wugang was not as unbearable as an ordinary guard officer. Although he had to live on empty pay and drink soldiers' blood, at least the soldiers under his command were still capable of fighting, and he himself was brave enough to fight.
The second reason is that Du Wugang is now the Qianhu of Xing'an Qianhu Office and is in charge of a Thousand Household Office.
Except for Xing'an in the eastern part of Hanzhong Prefecture, the three counties of Pingli, Xunyang, and Ziyang were all captured and ravaged. Most of the people were coerced into joining the army. There were only a few remaining, and large areas of land were abandoned and ownerless.
In the eastern part of Hanzhong Prefecture, there is currently only one Thousand Household Office in Xing'an, and these lands will naturally be classified into Xing'an Thousand Household Office.
"Although the round of military merit has not yet been completed, my reward has basically been determined."
Chen Wang sat back on his seat, glanced across the faces of several people, and lowered his voice slightly.
"Although Gao Yingxiang died, there are still hundreds of thousands of rogue bandits in Xunxiang and Xiangzhou."
"The threat of rogue bandits is increasing day by day. As a key location, Hanzhong Prefecture is preparing to set up a town. As the first deputy commander-in-chief of guarding Hanzhong Town, it is no surprise that I should be the one to serve."
Zhou Yumao's body leaned forward subconsciously, and there was a hint of eagerness in his eyes.
Chen Wang's career advancement can be described as smooth.
The twenty-six-year-old deputy commander was rare at any time of the year.
But when I think of Chen Wang's military exploits, everything becomes clear again.
He has military exploits, knows how to fight, and his background is not bad.
Chen Wang used to be Cao Wenzhao's servant, and Cao Wenzhao is now the chief military officer in the suppression of the pass, and Cao Wenzhao is Chen Wang's backer.
Cao Wenzhao had good relations with many important officials in the court. Wu Sheng, the former patrol censor, always spoke for Cao Wenzhao.
Now Cao Wenzhao is even more interested in Hong Chengchou, and Hong Chengchou is now Cao Wenzhao's backer.
Based on this calculation, Chen Wang can actually be regarded as a direct descendant of Hong Chengchou.
Zhou Yumao sighed in his heart. He was a martial arts scholar and was now thirty-seven years old, but he was still just a guerrilla.
A mere guerrilla, even qualified to stand in a team, there is no comparison between him and Chen Wang.
However, Zhou Yumao was not jealous of Chen Wang's promotion, because he was now serving as a guerrilla under Chen Wang.
He knew very well that as long as he kept following Chen Wang's pace, as long as he kept up with Chen Wang's pace, he would never be a small guerrilla forever.
Du Wugang and Zhou Yumao were the same, with eager eyes. Zhou Yumao didn't want to just be a guerrilla all the time, and he didn't want to live in Xing'an City forever.
The world is vast and the scenery is infinite. He wants to escape from the huge prison of Xing'an.
Chen Wang had a clear view of the performance of both of them, and he had a little more determination in his mind.
"The Hanzhong Prefecture has suffered frequent military disasters in recent years, and the Hanzhong Guards have suffered repeated losses during their counterinsurgency campaign."
"So in addition to being the deputy commander-in-chief of the garrison, I will also serve as the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, responsible for reorganizing the guard post, clearing out the garrison, increasing classes, and training soldiers."
Chen Wang raised his head and stared at the dilapidated Shiquan City not far away with burning eyes.
Shiquan is located in the central area of Hanzhong Mansion, almost in the center. Whether there is danger to the east or west of Hanzhong Mansion, they can rush to support in time.
He planned to take Shiquan as the center and radiate to the entire Hanzhong Prefecture.
Moreover, Shiquan County has been severely damaged. Most of the wealthy gentry were killed by the invading army. There are many people and few land, so the development will be minimally restricted.
Along the way, he experienced life and death, experienced numerous difficulties, fought endlessly, and barely had a moment's rest.
Now, he has finally gained an area where he can develop stably and has entered a new chapter. He can finally flex his muscles and realize his ambitions.
