The prefect of Hanzhong, the king, was in Taiwan discussing with his officials the imperial examination next year.
Butler Wang Zaitai rushed in and shouted anxiously: "Master, there is an urgent military situation, and Feng County in Lueyang has already failed.
Sun Rujun, the garrison at Dashan Pass, has come to fight the thief in yellow that you told us about. "
When Wang Zaitai heard the news, he was suddenly shocked and spilled the tea in his hand.
"Master Zhou, what should we do now?" he asked in a panic.
Master Zhou Qisheng said calmly: "Master, don't panic, Sun Rujun explained in the letter that the people in yellow have just gained momentum and their number is not large.
Call in the person who reported the news, and I want to ask for details. "
A guard wearing shabby armor was brought into the house.
Many officials smelled the bloody smell on his body and immediately covered their noses with looks of disgust on their faces.
Only Wang Zhongce, who was hiding aside, carefully observed this hundred households.
"Master Magistrate, I am a member of a hundred households in Lueyang County.
At first, some gentry from Feng County came to Lueyang. They said that Feng County had been captured by thieves in yellow clothes.
The county magistrate asked us to help defend the city. We abandoned the guard post and went directly to defend the city.
The thieves in yellow were so powerful that we were completely unable to stop them, and the city was breached by them.
Master Qianhu led us to escape, and we rode horses and ran along the road to Hanzhong.
My horse can run faster and I will report the situation to you as soon as I enter the city. "
Zhou Qisheng reprimanded: "Don't talk nonsense and talk about the important point. How many troops are there in the rebel bandits?"
Baihu was frightened and stumbled and said: "There are six or seven thousand thieves in yellow.
When they besieged the county town, they dug a trench and put something under the city wall.
With a roar, the city wall collapsed, and we couldn't stop it at all. "
Zhou Qisheng asked this hundred households some detailed questions.
He walked to Wang Zaitai and said: "Master, I have already figured out that the main force of the yellow-clothed thieves is to attack Lueyang.
We need to mobilize all the troops and horses to surround and suppress the thieves in yellow. After careful questioning, I found that there are only more than 6,000 rebel thieves.
Most of them are civilians and will run away when attacked by officers and soldiers.
We have more than 20,000 officers and soldiers in Hanzhong.
The anti-thieves have a weak fighting capacity, but they coerce the people to develop and grow very quickly.
We cannot give them room to develop. Once they reach a large scale, they cannot be controlled. "
Zhou Qisheng whispered again: "We have wiped out Wang Daliang, if you get some more military exploits, you can be promoted to governor.
It's just a few military households killed, it's so worth it. "
Wang Zaitai heard Zhou Qisheng's opinion and stroked his beard with satisfaction.
He said loudly: "Okay, I will mobilize the Hanzhong Guard, Ningqiang Guard, Mian County Qianhu Station, and Bao County Guest Army Liu Yingyu Department.
A total of more than 20,000 troops were deployed to surround and suppress the yellow-robed thieves.
Zhou Qisheng, you take the private seal of this government and coordinate all parties on behalf of this government. "
Zhou Qisheng understood that the prefect of Wang Zaitai asked him to command the battle.
He has experience and is not worried at all about not being able to fight well.
He knew better than some civilian officials. He never gave random orders. He only focused on the general direction and allowed the generals to express themselves freely.
A battle is won because of his strategizing, and a battle is lost because the general is afraid of the enemy and fights cowardly.
…
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the collective power of civil servants was strong, and it was normal to use civil servants to control military affairs.
When a war breaks out in a place, the governor or governor has the greatest power and has the right to command the army to fight.
Under normal circumstances, the king's prefect in Taiwan has no authority to command the army, and the army is led by the guards.
But years ago, Wang Daliang rebelled, and the prefect of Hanzhong wrote a book on the stage, requesting the officers and soldiers in the prefecture to exterminate the rebels.
Emperor Chongzhen and the cabinet approved Wang's request to stay in Taiwan. He was not a governor, but he already had the authority to command the army.
Wang Zhongce frowned when he heard Zhou Qisheng's plan.
He immediately came out and reminded: "Master Magistrate, the rebels have occupied Feng County, please pay attention to their attack from Lianyundao.
The generals of the guard have been deprived of pay for a long time, and only the servants have fighting strength.
Judging from the failure to exterminate Wang Daliang's rebels in the first half of the year, it can be seen that the guardsmen no longer have combat effectiveness and it is best not to take the initiative.
As long as they stick to Hanzhong and contact the Governor of Shaanxi, Mr. Yang He, to attack from two fronts, the rebels will be defeated. "
Zhou Qisheng immediately scolded: "How can you, a ninth-grade scholar, understand military and national affairs?
Lianyun Road is a wooden plank road. As long as there is only one defender left, a fire can burn the entire plank road.
Food carts cannot pass on the plank road, and some places can only allow one person to pass. How can a large army pass through such a place. "
Zhou Qisheng whispered: "Master Magistrate, when the Governor takes action, you will not only have no merit but also fault.
Don't forget who Yang He is from, he is looking for our mistakes. "
Wang Zaitai glared at Wang Zhongce angrily, slapped the table with his hand, and said: "For the sake of King Rui, I will not punish you for disturbing the morale of the army.
Do your job well, educate the students in the government, and produce more candidates. "
Wang Zhongce had no choice but to retreat, and others' words were of little use.
Wang wrote the official document in Taiwan and stamped it with the official seal.
He ordered the guest army Liu Yingyu, the commander of Hanzhong Guard Lu Tianshou, the commander of Ningqiang Guard Lu Liang, and the commander of Qianhu Liang Ping in Mian County.
Let them send troops to put down the thieves in yellow.
…
Lu Tianshou, the commander of the Hanzhong Guard, was the first to receive the official document.
He frowned as he looked at it. He really didn't want to go to war. The risk was too great.
His confidants saw his doubts and advised: "Sir, can we shirk it?"
Lu Tianshou waved his hand and sighed: "It's too useless to be a military general. It's okay if you have a big boss behind you. How dare you refuse if there is no one behind you.
If the prefect of the king impeaches me, I will lose my skin even if I am not dead. "
He put on his armor and issued an order: "Gather your troops and horses, and we will send out troops."
Lu Tianshou sighed, unable to express the pain in his heart.
When a war is won, the credit goes to the civil servants.
The battles were lost because of the incompetence of the generals.
People will die in war, and the little silver reward given by the court is not enough to provide pensions to the servants.
A lot of people died in the last attack on Wang Daliang, and the court gave him a lot of silver rewards, but he didn't see a penny.
After receiving the order, Lu Liang, the commander of Ningqiang Guards, and Liang Ping, a Qianhu in Mian County, hesitated for a long time and had no choice but to send troops.
…
In Bao County, Liu Yingyu received the order and cursed loudly, saying: "The Hanzhong soldiers are too useless and cannot deal with Wang Daliang.
It was I who came to put out the fire for them. So many brothers died, but the court didn't even pay them pensions or reward money.
Now they still want us to send troops, but we need to pay them money first. "
"Sir, Zhou Qisheng, the master of the Wang Prefecture, is here, and he also brought over several boxes of silver.
It was said that the silver reward given by the imperial court had just arrived.
There’s more to come after this victory. "
Liu Yingyu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately stood up and said, "Take me to see Master Zhou quickly."
This kind of benefactor could not be neglected. He immediately got up and went to the living room to greet him.
Zhou Qisheng came to Liu Yingyu with money, and he was very heartbroken.
This was just received by the magistrates who were rewarded with silver by the imperial court. They had not yet divided the money, so they had to take it out.
But there was no way, he couldn't count on the local guardsmen in Hanzhong.
Wang Daliang rebelled, and the local guards were completely incompetent, so they relied entirely on the invited Liu Yingyu troops.
After Zhou Qisheng gave the money, he was very polite. He and Liu Yingyu discussed the plan to send troops.
…
Su He stood at the head of Lueyang County, listening to the reconnaissance battalion commander Zhang Wansi's report on the enemy's situation.
"Commander Su, according to our interrogation of the detective horses sent by the Ming army.
The commander of Ningqiang Guards, Lu Liang, took more than 4,000 people, including more than 600 servants, and set out from Ningqiang Guards south of Lueyang.
There are more than 5,000 Hanzhong guards, including more than 200 servants.
There are more than 1,200 people in the Thousand Household Office in Mian County, including more than 50 servants.
Liu Yingyu had more than 2,000 troops, almost all of them fighting.
They set off from Hanzhong towards Chencang Road.
There were also more than 10,000 corvees transporting grain. "
After Su He heard the number of officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, he completely let go of his slightly nervous mood.
These officers and soldiers besieged the city, and he was fully confident that he could defend the city.
“There are more than 12,000 people, which is less than I thought.
This should be most of the troops in Hanzhong Prefecture, which are attracted to us.
We do not seek to kill many enemy troops, as long as we can hold Lueyang, that is victory. "
Li Fengming took the information compiled by Su Changsheng and said confidently:
"Commander Su, the officers and soldiers of Hanzhong Prefecture are severely underpaid, and the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers is worrying.
Wang Daliang's small rebel army was eliminated by Liu Yingyu's troops.
We should pay most attention to Liu Yingyu's tribe. His gourd soldiers were armed with spears and fought very bravely.
The weapons and armor are not as good as those of servants, but their fighting will is much stronger. "
