The sky gradually became brighter, and it was another annoying sunny day, which made everything around Xi'an Fucheng wilt.
The Guanzhong Plain where Xi'an Fucheng is located is not as arid as northern Shaanxi. It has always rained a few times since the beginning of spring, so you can still see green wherever you look. However, the crops in the ground looked wilted and looked like they were about to die of thirst. The large and small rivers surrounding Xi'an Fucheng don't have much water. Although they are not completely dry, there are only thin ones left. The moat has stopped flowing long ago and has dried up to the bottom. If someone wants to attack the city, they can just walk over...
But the defenders of Xi'an Mansion didn't care at all about the drying up of the moat. Although Shaanxi is currently experiencing a drought, the surrounding situation is very good!
The Hetao grassland outside the border wall of Yulin is now given to the remaining tribes of the Han Dynasty. It is nominally ruled by Ezhetaiji, but in fact it is controlled by Ezhetaiji's mother, Concubine Sutai... And this The noble concubine Su Tai personally went out to marry the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and now she might be pregnant with Ezhe Taiji's half-brother!
The Tumut River to the north of the Hetao Grassland has now become the Xinzhou Town of the Ming Dynasty, belonging to the Xin King Zhu Cixuan of the Ming Dynasty, and the actual ruler there is the little emperor's favorite concubine Wu Liangha.
The problem of Northern and Taoist captives that had troubled the Ming Dynasty for two hundred years was solved by the little emperor. Therefore, Xi'an, an important military town in the northwest, could sit back and relax, and its defenses were relaxed. Not to mention that the moat was dry and no one was taking care of it. Even the suspension bridge on the moat was no longer closed. The four city gates of Xi'an Mansion were opened early in the morning and were not closed until dark, and there were not many people guarding them. ...
There are not many people guarding the gate, but there are many people coming in and out. Before dawn, many people arrived outside Xi'an's four gates, waiting to enter the city. Some of them are vegetable vendors who carry burdens into the city to sell vegetables, and some of them come to Xi'an Prefecture from the "refugee camps" near Xi'an Prefecture to find a job.
With Bi Ziyan's calculating temperament, he certainly would not care about the food of these hungry people in vain. While taking care of the food, he also launched a work-for-relief program, often assigning errands to build water conservancy projects and dams to the able-bodied hungry people. Bi Ziyan believed that severe droughts would be followed by severe floods, so he took precautions and thought The dams and water conservancy and irrigation facilities in Guanzhong must be repaired to prevent the drought from ending and floods to come again!
However, refugees still provide more job opportunities than Bi Ziyan, so you have to come early to queue up to find a job!
In addition to these victims who have settled near Xi'an Prefecture, new victims are constantly coming to Xi'an during this period... This period happens to be a period of drought, and there is no food in the countryside. I heard that there are people in Xi'an who are in charge of food, so of course coming.
The more than 100,000 people who were blocked in Luochuan were only part of them. There were also victims from other places who had no one to block them. Two to three thousand people arrived every day, and they all helped the old and young to find food under the city of Xi'an.
Sometimes there would be groups of strong men coming, all of whom wanted to join the army and get food. Because the border troops in the five towns of Shaanxi are all laying off people (even the three towns that are not laid off on paper are actually laying off people), most of the people who were laid off have been gathered in Xi'an...or joined the former army , or go to Yan, Ning, Xuan, Da, Xin and other towns to work as military households, there is still a way to survive. Even if they don't want to go to Yanshan and Daning, which are close to Donglu, they can still go to Xinzhou, Datong, or Xuanfu to become a new military household!
Moreover, because Li Zicheng's group of knights and later Zhang Xianzhong's group of knights did well and produced a wealth effect, there were many old Qin people who were willing to follow the little emperor.
Therefore, here in Xi'an Prefecture, you can often see groups of brave men, some of whom even carry weapons - some of them are brought out of the army!
However, these people basically don't make trouble. They join the army when they arrive in Xi'an. Even if they can't choose the knights and soldiers in front of the tent, there are still military households in the five towns.
...
The city gate is open!
Among the bustling crowds, a group of men pushed a wheelbarrow filled with tattered parcels and squeezed towards the Anding Gate, the west gate of Xi'an Mansion. These men were still talking a lot, talking about how good their martial arts were, and how they would be able to kill enemies and make meritorious deeds after joining the army. They all had accents from border towns, and they looked strong, so no one could find any flaws.
First there was a grown man, dressed in a white robe, who looked like a hero. Step up a pair of long legs and walk fast. The man behind him was talking loudly and followed closely. After a while, I followed the flow of people until I came to the suspension bridge of Andingmen.
There was no one guarding both sides of the suspension bridge, and only a few people at the city gate were lazy and unable to cheer up. These soldiers were not soldiers in front of the tent, nor Bi Ziyan's pacesetters, but soldiers from the Xi'an city guarding camp. Needless to say, they are all old and weak... If they were not old and weak, they would have jumped ship and become a front-line soldier.
These veterans don't have the spirit of weak soldiers, but they still have to work. When he saw the hungry people, he stopped them and asked them to go along the city wall to Dongkuo New City. Bi Ziyan set up a very large porridge factory there to accommodate these hungry people, let them eat a meal first, and then diverted them away. There are civilian camps everywhere.
If they are strong and brave men, they cannot be let into the city. Instead, they are sent to the Bashang Military Camp to join the army. There is a martial arts field outside the Bashang Military Camp. They can compete with mules or horses on the spot!
Seeing those old soldiers and weak soldiers checking at the city gate, the big man in white slowed down his pace slightly, waiting for those who were following him to get closer, and then slowly stepped forward to meet them. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who were in the doorway also saw them. When a veteran saw that these men were all strong, he stepped forward and waved to them to stop: "Are you from that town? Are you going to Ba Shang to join the army? You This white robe is really tall. Can you ride a horse? How about your horseback riding skills? If you are good at horseback riding skills, it will be no problem to become a knight... 500 acres of job land plus a salary of 30 taels, and there are many opportunities for promotion and wealth. !How is it? Are you tempted?"
The veteran's enthusiasm is justified, because the knights get bonuses before recruiting people to the account!
That tall man was none other than Gao Yingxiang - if he hadn't been so eager to rebel, he would probably be a general of the front army by now!
But if you make a mistake, you will regret it forever!
Today's little emperor hates rebels the most and will not recruit him at all. The risk for Gao Yingxiang to turn over a new leaf is not small... Being a former military accountant is not just wandering around in the world, it is to check his net worth!
Therefore, Gao Yingxiang did not dare to take risks and had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight against the Ming Dynasty!
"Well, we are all from Yulin..." Gao Yingxiang replied in northern Shaanxi Mandarin, "We can all ride horses!"
"Really? That's great!" At this time, the veteran noticed the grown man behind Gao Yingxiang again, and immediately laughed: "Haha, they look similar, why don't you all join the army and join the army? ...If you choose the Cavaliers, you will be rewarded!"
Along with the old soldier, several officers and soldiers also saw the "big deal". Even if the old man was not allowed to eat alone, they all rushed to get a share of the pie.
When Gao Yingxiang saw the opportunity coming, a flash of light flashed in his eyes. He had already pulled out a long knife from a wheelbarrow beside him. He got out, his body fell backwards, and blood spurted out from his neck!
Behind him, hundreds of men shouted at the same time. They all took out various weapons from the wheelbarrows they were pushing and rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, they chopped down several other officers and soldiers.
Gao Yingxiang's nephew Gao Yigong also came to Xi'an City, but instead of killing anyone, he took out a large red flag and waved it vigorously. The flag spread out and you could see a big word "Chuang" written on it!
This banner with the word "Chuang" will be the battle flag of the Shaanxi Peasant Rebel Army from this moment on!
The men who followed Gao Yingxiang all shouted: "Bai Yushan's 8,000 heroes are here, who dares to be the leader!"
After shouting, they each wielded their weapons and rushed toward the open Anding Gate!
vertex
