"I am the envoy of General Xiezuo Menggeng of Dongchang. You are committing a heinous crime by killing officials and rebelling. However, my general appreciates that God has the virtue of good life, so to punish him for no crime is against the harmony of nature. Let me enter the city quickly, I can tolerate you. Wait until the grievances are revealed."
Standing in the distance, Zuo Mengeng smiled at the corners of his mouth when he heard the messenger's shouting.
"This deputy company commander is not bad, he is a talented person."
Zha Shubing hurriedly said: "This man's name is Tang Wenhuan, and he is a descendant of the Tang family in Dongchang Prefecture. Since joining the army, his performance has been excellent."
Zuo Mengeng nodded, remembering it in his heart.
The Tang family is one of the five small families in Dongchang Prefecture, but it has long since declined. Although the children of the clan are still studying, they no longer have any way to become officials.
This Tang Wenhuan saw that there was no hope in the scientific examination and saw that the new army was prosperous. In order to get ahead, he gritted his teeth and signed up to join the army.
He was educated and could endure hardships, so he performed well and was promoted quickly. Now it seems that being remembered by Zuo Mengeng is equivalent to being on the fast track to promotion.
Huddled at the back of the Chinese army, Huang Zonghui couldn't help but admire Tang Wenhuan as he watched Tang Wenhuan go to the meeting alone.
"This is truly a warrior."
Fu Yusun looked at him funny and asked, "What will you do if I send you there?"
Huang Zonghui was so frightened that his head shook like a rattle.
"I'm not going."
Fu Yusun would not let him go.
"What if it's a military order?"
Huang Zonghui scratched his head and was indignant.
"Military orders cannot tell people to die."
Fu Yusun said coldly: "When the military orders you to move forward, you will march forward bravely even if you are facing mountains of swords and seas of fire; when you order the military to retreat, you will turn a blind eye even if you are facing mountains of gold and silver."
Huang Zonghui remained silent and looked melancholy.
He missed the West Lake very much, the beautiful scenery on the West Lake, and the beauties singing and dancing.
Even the Caihe girl named Amu, now that I think about it, is so unique.
Unfortunately, no one else is on the same channel as him.
As Tang Wenhuan revealed his purpose of coming, the Lingshan Guard was in chaos. Then a young man leaned on the wall and shouted: "Thieves, don't try to deceive the city with sweet words. If you have the ability, come and fight. Grandpa would rather die than pull a few backers."
Tang Wenhuan didn't care.
"You are also stupid. If you really want to deceive the city, will I come here so openly? Besides, I am alone and have no weapons. How can I use Shenzi to deceive the city? Are you not afraid of death? Do you think Lingshan Guards, men, women, old and young, are all going to do it? Will I follow you to death? Besides..."
He turned back and pointed at the New Army position, which was watching eagerly in the distance, and said loudly: "Look at the power of our army. Under so many artillery bombardments, can this Lingshan Guard really hold on? Stop talking nonsense, my general knows everything. If you really have it, It’s unfair, my general will make the decision for you and others.”
There was no reply from above, and they were obviously discussing.
After a long time, a bamboo basket was lowered from the city.
"Come up here if you're not afraid of death."
Tang Wenhuan sighed secretly. In order to make a future, he had to risk his life.
He happily sat in the bamboo basket and quickly arrived at the city head.
As soon as they arrived at the top of the city, before they could stand still, they were instantly blocked by various weapons.
Ordinary people would probably be scared to death when faced with this scene. Tang Wenhuan felt calm because he was prepared.
After laughing loudly, he said: "You all dared to kill officials and rebel, but now you are afraid of me. Why?"
The rebel military households were so angry that he withdrew their weapons.
Tang Wenhuan stayed put to avoid misunderstanding, and asked: "I don't know who is the leader. Please stand up and let's talk."
The young man who had just been talking to Tang Wenhuan took a step forward, his face full of caution.
"We don't want to live anyway, why are we afraid of you? My name is Cheng Xiaoer, and I am the leader."
This young man is not short, but he is very skinny and only wears a coat. There was no flesh at all on the exposed arms and chest, and the straw sandals under his feet were rotten.
Looking at the other people, it was similar, and it was obvious that there was a reason for killing the official.
Tang Wenhuan was calm and said with a smile: "Only those who cannot survive are not afraid of death. If they can have enough food and clothing, who will seek death?"
The military households were silent. Obviously, Tang Wenhuan's words had entered their hearts.
Cheng Xiaoer's anger subsided a little.
"You, the officer, speak well, and we won't make it difficult for you. You can go back. Even if you are killed by the officers and soldiers, we have nothing to say."
They also knew that if they killed the commander, they would be punished with death.
Tang Wenhuan did not obey, but smiled and said: "Shandong is in a mess now. Many places don't even have county magistrates. My general has no choice but to take charge of it for the court. As for you Lingshan Guards, how many years have you been... The imperial court has never taken care of it, right? When my general takes charge of this place, whether you are guilty or not will be my general’s final decision."
The military households were in an uproar, and many people had surprises on their faces.
Who wants to die if he can live?
Cheng Xiaoer was no exception. He asked tremblingly: "Zuo... Can General Zuo really forgive us?"
Tang Wenhuan changed his face to a serious one.
"Then it depends on what you are doing? Is it excusable?"
Hearing him ask about the reasons for killing officials and rebelling, all the military households were filled with sadness, and many even burst into tears.
"If we don't rebel, we really...can't survive anymore!"
As the leader, Cheng Xiaoer suppressed his anger and told the cause of the matter, but Tang Wenhuan was also sad and shed tears.
The suffering of the Lingshan Guard households actually began as early as the Chenghua period.
After the Tumubao Incident, the power of the Ming Dynasty warriors plummeted. If you lose your voice in the court, you will naturally not get much benefit.
The nobles and generals above all stood aside, not to mention the warriors below.
A remote health center like Lingshan Guard is even more unloved by grandma and uncle.
Local commanders, Qianhu and other military officers have been exploiting military households in order to make money.
By the Jiajing period, all military households in Lingshan Guard had become tenants of officers at all levels.
During the Jiajing period, the situation of Lingshan Guards plummeted even further.
In order to fight against Japan, Qi Jiguang visited the entire Jiaodong and integrated various guards based on the situation at that time.
Above the guard post, Qi Jiguang established three major battalions, namely Jimo Camp, Wendeng Camp and Dengzhou Camp.
These three battalions govern the entire 24th Guards Station in Shandong, and Lingshan Guards therefore belong to the Jimo Camp.
This adaptation was very useful for the anti-Japanese war at that time.
But it left huge consequences.
Because the commanders of the three major battalions are just commanders.
As for the Lingshan Guard, as its name suggests, the general is the commander.
Putting the general in charge of the guard commanders not only greatly weakened the guard system, but also caused chaos in the military system.
The most happy person about this situation is the civil servants.
Since then, local officials in Shandong have ignored the various guard stations and treated them as if they did not exist.
In the imperial court, the Governor's Office of the Five Armies also lost its real power and was unable to support various military posts.
Under the dual influence, guards like Lingshan Guard are like lonely ghosts in broad daylight.
Without jurisdiction, there is no restraint, and the officers in the guardhouse squeeze the military households even more fiercely.
"Cheng Yan treated us like cattle and horses. Not only did he force us to work, but he didn't even give us a bite to eat. Whenever military households had something valuable in their homes, he must have found a reason to take it away. There was an ancestor in our family who passed it down The jade statue was a family heirloom. When Cheng Yan asked for it from me, how could I give it to him? He held a grudge in his heart. Later, my sister got sick, so I thought about going into the water to get some sea food to replenish her. That Cheng Yan Yan said that I violated the sea ban, so he caught me and beat me up, and also ordered me to be punished."
Tang Wenhuan clicked his tongue after hearing this, and for the first time he had a clear understanding of the corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty.
When he heard Huang Zongxi's evaluation of court officials in the past, he still didn't believe it, thinking that Huang Zongxi said this to deliberately discredit his enemies.
Now that I really heard about it from the people, I realized that it turned out that these corrupt officials who forced the people to rebel would not regret dying.
At the same time, he was also confused, pointing to the magnificent sea in front of him and asked: "You were born here, guarding the sea, how can you not have enough to eat?"
Someone next to Cheng Xiaoer cursed: "That bastard Cheng Yan doesn't allow us to go into the sea at all. He will arrest anyone who goes into the sea. Only those who have paid him will be released."
Tang Wenhuan felt sympathy for these military households.
As the saying goes, if you rely on the mountains, you will eat the mountains; if you rely on the sea, you will eat the sea.
Lingshan Guard is right on the seaside. These military households only need to sail out to sea and salvage casually, which is enough to get enough food to satisfy their hunger.
It's a pity that in this fucking world, even the sea has its own owner.
These heinous officials used the banner of sea ban, but they regarded the sea as their own private property. They watched the military families starve to death without any mercy.
Tang Wenhuan thought about it for a moment. If his sister was about to starve to death and he went to the sea to fish but was punished, he would probably rebel.
