Chapter 239 Rat Rat
Zhang Chong only stayed in Juan County for four days before leaving. He took away Dong Fang and Dong Zhao, and promoted Xi Shen as the acting envoy of the Heji Corps to preside over local work.
Zhang Chong was not very satisfied with Xi Shen. He is a bit gloomy after all, but among the many senior officers of the Heji Corps, he is the most suitable. Therefore, Zhang Chong could only put aside his personal feelings and choose Xi Shen.
The time left for Zhang Chong was very limited. When he rushed to Juan County, most of the Runan Yellow Turbans had already retreated. Zhu Jun, the Han Youzhonglang general, led the main force of more than 10,000 Han soldiers south to Runan. The Taiping army left behind in Runan was helpless, and the newly promoted Runan canal commander Huang Shao could only lead his army back for reinforcements.
But not all Xiaoshuai left with Huang Shao, He Yi did not leave. He chose to stay and fight Aocang with Zhang Chong for the simple reason that he could no longer stay with Huang Shao.
When the old Qu Commander Peng Tuogang died in battle, He Yi was the first to come to the scene. He was also the one who secretly worked together to inherit the position of Runan Qu Commander, but unfortunately, he was still inferior to Huang Shao after all.
When he failed to seize the throne, He Yi knew that he had to arrange a way out for himself. Now that many Qu commanders are here, Huang Shao inherited it because of himself, and because he did not have enough prestige, he did not attack He Yi. But if they wait for their entire army to march to Runan, then He Yi's life and death will be in Huang Shao's hands.
So He Yi chose Zhang Chong to form an alliance with him. And he has heard that Aocang's grain piles up like mountains and there is endless food. At this time, whoever has food can recruit hungry people and strengthen his power.
As for the divine envoy Ma Yuanyi, after another persuasion by Zhang Chong, he also decided to go north to Aocang. Two factors changed his decision. One was the news from Nanyang, letting him know that the water in Nanyang Taiping Road was already very deep, and if he went there again, the gain would outweigh the loss. The second one is that major changes occurred in Hebei headquarters, and he needs to go north as soon as possible, as close to Hebei as possible.
This change is that the great virtuous master has not summoned all the commanders in the army for several days. Many people doubt whether the arrow wound suffered by the great virtuous master before has relapsed.
At this time, Ma Yuanyi needed to rush back to his headquarters as soon as possible. As the successor chosen by the great virtuous master, Ma Yuanyi will be by Zhang Jiao's side at this time. Whether public or private, there is a need for personal stability.
Of course, General Di Gong and General Ren Gong can also preside, but there are many factions in the army, and some of the direct descendants of General Tiangong are not too happy. The religious power is left to the side system, which is not in their interests.
For this reason, Ma Yuanyi agreed with Zhang Chong and decided to join forces together and march north to attack Aocang.
So Zhang Chong solved the problem in the Heji area and rushed back to Yingyang without stopping.
Yingyang is very close to Aocang, only more than 200 miles away. But before attacking Aocang, some preparations are still needed.
Because Aocang is the most important in the world. Those who occupy Aocang in Xingyang can not only control the cutting off of rivers and facilitate water transportation, but also receive sufficient supplies of corn. People with insight regard Xingyang as a battleground for military strategists. It is precisely because of this that once the Taishan Army really attacked Xingyang. It can be seen that the Han soldiers in Hebei will fight their way south.
In history, very few people have succeeded in attacking Xingyang from Guandong. The rebel armies of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang attacked Xingyang and failed; during the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, Xiang Yu fought for Aocang and failed. The former King of Jibei of the Han Dynasty rebelled and attacked Aocang, but failed;
In the final analysis, it is because this area is an important area guarded by the Han Dynasty. It is really difficult to conquer the anti-Han forces in Guandong by opening the Luoyang arsenal, sending troops from Sanhe, and eating grain from Aocang. Moreover, even if it is conquered, the Han army can still retreat to Chenggao, and if defeated, it can retreat to Gong and Luo. Even if we fail to retreat again, we can still retreat to Guanzhong, where there are many dangerous passes such as Xin'an, Mianchi, Hangu, Taolin, etc. These hundreds of miles of dangerous terrain can become the focus of Hanting's defense.
But there is good news. In this generation, Aocang's military equipment is weaker than in the past. In the past, there were at least five thousand fine armor stationed in Aocang all year round, but now there are only a few Aocang officials, and this is Zhang Chong's opportunity.
The reason for this is that the former Han Dynasty was based in Guanzhong, while the current dynasty was based in Guandong.
Guangwu's capital was Luoyang, which was only a few hundred miles away and located in the middle of the world. Once the world changed, he would be surrounded by enemies on all sides. There are eight passages on all sides of Luoyang that can lead to Luoyang. In order to guard these eight passages, Hanting needs to be fortified everywhere. In the Pre-Han Dynasty, the capital was Chang'an, which was to defend Shandong on three sides and control Shandong on the other. And this side is Xingyang, so the former Han Dynasty had much more troops in the Xingyang area.
Having said this, in order to improve the winning rate of conquering Aocang, the first thing Zhang Chong needs to do is to find a guide.
Zhang Chong was completely unfamiliar with the Xingyang area, and he had no idea where Aocang was built. Almost all of the soldiers in the army were Qingyan people, and like Zhang Chong, they all looked at the Xingyang area with glaring eyes. What’s also funny is that the wise men in the army, such as He Kui, Zhao Da, Fan Chang, Yan Zhuang, and Tao An, all know how important Aocang is, but none of them have ever been there. Aocang.
But Zhang Chong was lucky and finally found a leader. They are a group of prisoners of war in Yingyang.
At this time, due to the deal with Ru Ying Huangjin, the number of prisoners under the Taishan Army had exceeded 20,000. This number caused the Taishan Army to consume more than half of the corn seized from the Han army camp.
But the cost is worth it, and careful human statistics show its effect. The chief secretary, Yan Zhuang, discovered that more than a thousand of the prisoners were from the Xingyang area. They were all disciples who had previously transferred Aocang Su to Huangfu Song's army.
Zhang Chong returned to Yingyang and talked with these people to understand the situation in Xingyang to open a breakthrough.
——
"So, you are all the disciples transferred by Aocang?"
At this time, in front of a bonfire, Zhang Chong was sharing food with the dozen or so people present in front of a cauldron of horse meat.
And on the periphery of their circle, hundreds of people squatted in darkness. They all stared at the man in front of them, with curiosity, fear, ambition, and all kinds of thoughts.
After giving everyone a piece of horse meat as big as a fist, Zhang Chong sat back among them. He took a handful of green onions, one bite of meat, one bite of green onions, and the juices flowed from the meal.
Seeing these people staring at him, Zhang Chong said fluently:
"Eat everything, don't worry. Eat enough first, then eating is not important for anything else."
Then he started eating again.
Seeing this, other people began to work hard. To be honest, with their status, how could they have a chance to have dinner? It’s still meat!
There were a few thoughtful people present who guessed something and shed tears, but they still started eating.
No matter how they die, they want to eat a meal of meat before dying.
For a time, there were popping and popping sounds around the campfire.
eat! That's the biggest thing. No matter what we do in life, we just want to eat something!
After eating the meat and drinking the soup, Zhang Chong touched the oil around his mouth. The oil was specially added lard. Not to mention, no matter how unpalatable the horse meat is, it still tastes good with the lard.
Seeing that everyone has almost eaten. Zhang Chongcai continued to ask:
"Are you all just followers?"
The one on the side, a thin dog who had just finished eating meat and was chewing his fingers after hearing Zhang Chong's question, hesitated for a moment and confessed:
"General, I am not."
After all, it was because of the huge gap in status. After this person said this, he had a lot to say later, but when he saw Zhang Chong's probing eyes, he suddenly let go.
What am I not? What are you going to say next?
Zhang Chong scooped another bowl of broth into his bowl and comforted him:
"Come, have a drink of hot soup."
The thin dog hummed and took another mouthful of hot soup. The physical satisfaction calmed his nervous spirit. Although he still stumbled, he finally said what he wanted to say.
"General, I'm from Xingyang County, and I used to be a member of my family. But later, our pavilion chief insisted on saying that this year's distribution was still there, and sent me here for transfer, and then I came here. There are many people here. They all came with me.”
Zhang Chong naturally understands this distribution. Didn't he rely on this water transportation to make his fortune?
But from what this person meant, he had already sent one before?
"Where did you go before?"
"A few of us were transferred to Kyoto before. A batch of Yuebu would be transferred there, so the pavilion chief conscripted us and sent them to the capital."
Hearing that these people had also been to Kyoto, Zhang Chong joked:
"Okay, we're going to Shangluo now. I've never been to Kyoto in my childhood. Tell me what it's like to be in Kyoto?"
The thin dog who was teased by Zhang Chong was embarrassed, touched the back of his head, and then said darkly:
"General, we don't know what Kyoto is like. There are just so many people, so many. But I always feel like these look like mice."
This was a bit interesting. Zhang Chong scooped another bowl of broth for the thin dog and motioned for him to continue:
"A few of us were sleeping on the street corner at that time. We saw many well-dressed people who looked like important people. In order to meet the important people, they all crowded under the wall with us. When we saw the important people walking on the street, they also lay down on the ground and pressed their faces against each other. Isn’t it true that people in Luoyang are just like us? They are just like rats, and they are not real people.”
Zhang Chong patted his thigh, smiled, and wanted to continue asking. Someone in the crowd suddenly cursed:
"Damn the East Henan gangsters, you guys are like rats."
Hey, I didn’t expect that there was someone from Kyoto in the crowd. Zhang Chong quickly asked the man to come out and let him talk more. The man who was swearing was much stronger than the thin dog, but he was still just tall and thin. Before, he was just not angry with others for calling them Luoyang people, so he scolded them back. Now that the thieves shouted out, I knew I was in trouble, and my calves were twitching.
Seeing Zhang Chong's encouragement, the man trembled and said:
"That guy is the rat. The poorest people in the mountainous area of eastern Henan are the ones who breed bandits. An uncle of mine went to the east to do business and was killed by them."
When the man mentioned bandits, he suddenly realized that he was dead. Aren't these yellow turban thieves also bandits? His calves were no longer cramped, but his forehead was dripping with sweat.
But Zhang Chong didn't take it seriously. He grabbed the man and came to him, handed him the bowl he just drank from, filled him with another bowl of soup, and encouraged him:
"Come on, tell me, are you from Kyoto?"
This tall and thin man had some cleverness, so he felt at ease knowing that the thieves would not harm him. He took a sip of the broth first. It was so fragrant. You should drink this while it's hot. It'll taste fishy when it's cold. Speaking of which, he hasn't had broth for many years. No, he almost sheds tears when he thinks about it again. He couldn't let the thieves see his vulnerability.
The man finished drinking the broth and sighed:
"Back to the general, I used to be from Luoyang, but now I am just a disciple of Aocang. My family used to open a wine shop in Kyoto, but then the business collapsed, and the whole family was sent to be a disciple. The four men in my family were exhausted. After three, I was the only one left.”
The scolded thin dog originally wanted to scold this man in return, but now he became silent when he heard that this man's family was extinct.
Zhang Chong patted the man on the shoulder.
What happened to this person reminded everyone of the situation in their respective homes, which was actually similar.
There was an old man in the crowd, and the one Zhang Chong paid the most attention to. This man's surname was Zhao. It was said that he was very influential among these disciples, and they were all respected as "Master Zhao". He had been drinking the broth without saying a word.
At this time, Mr. Zhao was in a trance after hearing what the Luoyang man said, and suddenly added:
"Everyone is born in Luoyang and dies in Mangshan. But who knows that in terms of suffering, do we Xingyang people suffer less? We in eastern Henan are indeed like this Kyoto native said, poverty leads to bandits. But why? Sixty percent of the land in eastern Henan is mountainous, and the limited land is occupied by wealthy families like the Zheng family. So the rest, the strong ones make a living by plundering the mountains, and the weak ones can only live in the Han Dynasty. The disciples were always in trouble, and in the end they either died in the ravine, or they were beaten to death for some reason. From this point of view, what the Luoyang people said is that we Xingyang people are indeed rats in this dark place. ”
Master Zhao and Zhang Chong said:
"The misfortune of us Xingyang people comes from those two rivers and one warehouse. Every year, the big rivers and Jishui River are full of water boats. At that time, those of us in Xingyang will be forced to work hard to pull fibers and transport them. The corn mountains in Aocang, But we who are outside the warehouse often starve to death and are exhausted. In the end, our tiredness only brings more food to those noble people’s desks.”
Zhang Chong understood why Master Zhao had such a strong influence on these disciple groups. This man's ability to tap hatred was as good as Zhang Chong's. This is a talent.
After Master Zhao said this, he suddenly asked Zhang Chong:
"General, do your Taishan Army really allocate land to the poor?"
Zhang Chong nodded and casually nodded to a guard mixed in the crowd:
"He followed me from Laiwu. He can tell you about it."
The guard who was called out was full of vigor. When Qu Shuai called him by name, he told the truth:
"Well, our land in Laiwu has already been divided. Each household is allocated forty acres of land, and if there are more than four people in the family, each additional household will be allocated ten acres. If you choose to join the field guards, your family's land can be cultivated for others. If you can join our Taishan Army again, you can still get money.”
As soon as this condition was mentioned, the whole audience was in an uproar. They never expected that the conditions would be so good. Just give them something they can't touch in their lifetime?
Everyone was immersed in the dichotomy of ecstasy and doubt.
But Zhang Chong frankly told everyone:
"To be honest, the land I gave to everyone must be with powerful blood. I dare to send it, but you may not dare to take it."
Zhang Chong's words directly extinguished most people's illusions.
Yes, can those lands be taken? It will kill someone if you take it.
This was not enough, Zhang Chong continued:
"And even if you have the courage to take it, half of everyone present will probably die. Because when the time comes, the Han soldiers will come to kill us, the powerful will come to kill us, and even your clan leader will use clan laws because you have the land. Come and kill us. So don’t even think about this place.”
"Why?"
Suddenly a word came, it was the thin dog at the beginning, he said again:
"Why?"
"Why for what?"
"Why do you look down on us Xingyang people? General, what you said, don't these Taishan people not have it? Do the Taishan people get a share, but we Xingyang people don't? Are we Xingyang people afraid of death? General, you Just give it to us. I’m not afraid of being poor, so why should I be afraid of death? If someone like me is lucky, I can still work for a few more years, but what awaits me at that time is the same death. I can save a piece of it. It’s worth dying for your descendants’ land.”
This thin dog looks skinny, but I didn't expect it to be so strong. Everyone present nodded, yes, what are they thinking about, cherishing their lives? The most unworthy thing about these people is their terrible fate. But now I have the opportunity to earn a family fortune, and the price is this trivial death. What a blessing.
So, first someone said:
"General, just tell us what to do."
"Yeah, just say it."
……
People are asking for orders everywhere. As long as they can get land, no one cares what the bandit leader wants to do with them?
Oh, at this time Zhang Chong is no longer a thief in their eyes, but their hero.
Seeing that the morale was already strong, Zhang Chong said:
"Okay, then you will follow me and fight against Xingyang. I, Zhang Chong, swear that all of you will be assigned a piece of land of your own."
"Good"
The disciples present surrounded Zhang Chong in several circles and volunteered to lead the Taishan Army back to Xingyang.
In the next few days, the Taishan Army has been stocking up on marching rations and rushing to build large carts. Those disciples from Xingyang were specially organized into a battalion. Even though these people may look thin, with their chests touching their backs, they are all about slimming down and gaining weight. They have strong muscles and bones, and they also have a collective consciousness. As long as the general is raised enough, he will be a first-class good soldier.
Moreover, the Taishan Army has not been idle these days. Taking advantage of the military vacuum of the Han Army in this area, it has continued to clean up the countryside of several nearby counties. These rural Wudis had already known the outcome of the Battle of Yingyang. When they saw the Taishan Army coming, they did not dare to resist, so they took the old and the young and rode ox carts to the city to take refuge.
So in just four or five days, all the heroes from the surrounding Fenqiu and Sicheng counties took advantage of the situation. Either occupying the wall of the dock, or leading people to defect, Yingchuan was full of rebels for a while, and those who were interested even entered the rivers and seas, and merged into the Yellow Turban base camp in Yingyang.
The bell of fate was sounded again, and the corona of the times was stirred again.
This time, Zhang Chong is going to charge into the world!
This time, he wants to change his established destiny!
This time, he wants the rooster to sing and the whole world will know!
At this point, the volume has actually come to an end. The next chapter is the beginning of another climax. To be honest, I really don't want Taipingdao to fail, but I don't have any reason to think they can succeed. The Yellow Turban Army in Nanyang has been stolen by powerful forces, the Yellow Turban Army in Ruying has been torn apart, and the Yellow Turban Army in Hebei is just trying to hold on. After all, the general situation of the world cannot be solved by Zhang Chong's tens of thousands of soldiers. But Zhang Chong is still struggling, and still leads people who are willing to believe in him to build a future. If the great cause fails once, then try it again. As long as millet seeds remain, these thousands of miles of desolation will eventually be cultivated. Just because they are the only force that can change destiny! (Of course, because I'm behind the scenes)
(End of chapter)