Chapter 238 The prelude to the great era

Years of severe drought may not be as described in literary works, such as scorching sun, cracked ground, etc. In fact, Shandong, which has been drought for two consecutive years, has a much colder weather than in previous years.

August of the 11th year of Chongzhen was far less popular than in previous years, and there was no way to talk about the autumn tiger. This was even more so in the places near the seaside. When pedestrians walking on the official roads, all those who have the conditions were wearing thick cloth clothes and were wrapped very tightly.

The two uncles and nephews of the Deng family from Pingduzhou are salt dealers selling private salt in Lingshan. Their family is also a powerful man in Tingkou Town and has always had a good relationship with Jiaozhou Camp. With this Lingshan salt, although the harvest in the fields was extremely poor in the year of the disaster, they lived much better than in previous years.

When my uncle was in his thirties, his nephew was still a young man at fifteen. This time he followed him to Fengmeng Town to get salt, mainly to see the market.

In Tingkou Town, we followed the water route to Jiaozhou City, and went to Fengmeng Town in Jiaozhou City. The uncles also came many times. The guys under his command knew how to do it without asking instructions. They hired a big cart at the Chemadian and went to Fengmeng Town together. It was very easy for the Deng family to come here to buy salt, and they didn't even have to buy it themselves. As long as the town delivered the silver money, Jiaozhou Ying Water Transportation Salt Goods happened to pass through the ferry of Tingkou Town and could be sent along the way.

"Uncle, this Jiaozhou City is really amazing. It is much more prosperous than the one in the Mansion City."

Sitting in the cart, the nephew sighed excitedly. The old uncle of the Deng family sat cross-legged on the side and replied with a smile:

"This Jiaozhou is a salt center in Shandong. The merchants selling salt goods are walking around. There are also landlords who sell land, good horses and merchants from all over the world gather here, of course, much better than the dilapidated mansion."

The nephew nodded repeatedly when he heard this. The old uncle of the Deng family reached out and touched his nephew's head, and said with a teasing smile:

"You boy, when we have paid the money, I will take you back and play for two more days."

The child naturally agreed excitedly, and said, and after walking a few miles out of the city, he entered the undulating terrain. The official road seemed to cut the hills and stretched forward.

There were not many people on the official road, and the children who came out gradually became bored. The terrain on both sides seemed to be varied, but they were just hills and short trees, which was also extremely boring.

Not long after walking, a sharp sound of suona suddenly sounded on the hills. The nephew suddenly became excited. There were such sounding instruments, either in the funeral or in the opera troupe. The cart was walking slowly. The child was excited and wanted to jump out of the car and go to see the sound.

As soon as he jumped out of the car, he heard his uncle shouting behind him:

"Don't go over and stop him!"

The first half was shouting at his nephew, but the child ran very fast and might not have heard it. The second half was shouting at the guys. The couples moved quickly, and they caught him when they chased him and quickly pulled him back. The nephew was still angry, but he saw that his uncle was calm and he immediately did not dare to speak out.

"Uncle, there is fun over there, what's the matter?"

"You kid is here for the first time and you don't know anything. There is no fun over there, and it's a training camp."

The nephew was a little dissatisfied, but seeing his uncle's face was gloomy, he didn't dare to say anything more. The guys didn't say anything. The atmosphere was a bit dull, but then he heard something was wrong. Although the sound of the suona on the other side of the hills was not played in a tone, it was just a sharp and long tone.

And after that sound, there was no sound, but a neat drum sound, some other neat sound, and loud voices of people giving orders.

It seems that it is not a matter of fun or fun, but this nephew is also puzzled, thinking that the army and soldiers rely on drums to advance and retreat?

After his uncle finished calling, the group continued to move forward. Without taking a few steps, they saw two cavalrymen appearing on the mountain bags on both sides of the official road. They looked down a few times and saw the flags on the cart, which meant they ignored them.

Now the Jiaozhou Prefectural Office, Wu Zhizhou is really proud. He is also a hardcore general Li Meng. With this backer, Jiaozhou Civil Affairs will handle it easily and it will be extremely smooth.

Moreover, in the past, the prefects had to separate power from the Tongzhi. After all, one of the sixth ranks and the other from the sixth ranks was the responsibility of the chief and deputy. However, the new Tongzhi Zhou Yang devoted all his efforts to the military farm. The farms of the military farm were distributed in the four prefectures of Qingyan, and the actions of Zhou Yang and his subordinates were almost equivalent to the power and responsibility of the governor's office.

After all, there are only six prefectures in Shandong. The relationship between the magistrate Zhou Yang and Li Meng is even greater than that between Wu Zhizhou and Li Meng. Wu Zhizhou is happy to take over the power and ignore Zhou Yang's actions.

Every day, Zhou Yang would come here to show his face, and then go to the city's inspection and verification house, dozens of people like the tent, and the report documents sent by each farm, as well as many daily related matters, which must be summarized and calculated by these people.

"I really have to thank General Liu, Caozhou."

Zhou Yang smiled and said in the Salt Administration Inspection House that this room was originally Li Meng's study, but now it is the office of Zhou Yang and Ning Qiangui, and the two people's calligraphy cases are facing each other.

Hearing Zhou Yang's joke, Ning Qiangui put down the brush in his hand and replied with a smile:

"Liu Zeqing has been operating in Caozhou for many years, but he really bought a lot of good land. Most of the land in Yanzhou Prefecture is in the hands of Confucius Prefecture. I really don't know how Liu Zeqing picked it out of Yan Shenggong."

"But this gives us a lot of convenience. Yanzhou military farming can only have fields near Ningyang and Sishui. In other places, the Kong family is only willing to sell food and grass, but is unwilling to sell the fields. Otherwise, Liu Zeqing bought so much land and property, he really can't get in!"

The Confucius Mansion of Yanshenggong is a descendant of the first saint in thousands of years. The courts of all dynasties have to treat them politely, give them official positions and titles well.

Although Yan Shenggong was only a noble title, he was different from those of the vassal kings who raised pigs in the city. Yan Shenggong also held the position of Qufu County Magistrate, with a high status and a practical power. Although it was the real power of the county magistrate, even the governor of Shandong had to respectfully oppose it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was the independent kingdom in Qufu area.

Although it is the inheritance of saints, it may not be possible for many thousand years to pass on them. In fact, it is more appropriate to use it without generations.

The academic research has not been passed down, but this noble official has learned a lot of money. The Confucius Mansion does not have to worry about the change of dynasties. This is the best way to accumulate wealth. In this era, Shandong was nothing more than buying land, farming and harvesting grain.

With the influence and power of the Confucius Mansion, the wealth accumulated by ancestors from generation to generation, from the time of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the Confucius Mansion was the entire Yanzhou Mansion, and to be more precise, the largest landlord in the entire Shandong Province. By the Chongzhen dynasty, the Confucius Mansion received almost all the land that could be bought in Yanzhou.

Shandong's land annexation is extremely serious. Li Meng's military farming policy was to buy land from these big landlords. However, the situation in the Confucius Mansion was a little different. It could not be used as a strong man. The Confucius Mansion was not afraid of threats, and regarded the land as its lifeline and was unwilling to sell a single point.

But Yanzhou Prefecture is the largest prefecture in Shandong and the richest land. In the years of severe drought, more and more refugees were hungry. Li Meng needed this place to do military farming and resettle refugees. The two sides had a few disputes, but no result was achieved. After all, Kong Sande was not as good as the other people in the Kong Mansion. He could only calm the anger of Jiaozhou Camp by selling grain and fodder at a low price.

The two sides were in a stalemate, and Li Meng once wanted to attack, but the Confucius Mansion was the spiritual temple of scholars all over the world. He could not bear the impact and consequences caused by touching them.

However, at this moment, someone suddenly secretly reported the news, saying that a large number of fertile land was preparing to be sold in Caozhou and Cao County. After careful investigation, he found out that the Jiaozhou camp attacked Caozhou that day, and the Jiaozhou camp only took away the gold and silver from Liu Zeqing's inner city, and the land deed was still there.

Caozhou General Liu Zeqing acted completely in the style of a bandit. On that day, he snatched a large area of ​​fields southwest of Yanzhou Prefecture from the Confucius Mansion, and even filed a land deed. As soon as Liu Zeqing died, his family members lived in a difficult life and wanted to sell these fields at a low price. The Kong Mansion was the one who could buy these fields in Yanzhou Prefecture. However, the news was known by the local wealthy families close to Li Meng, and secretly sent a message.

As long as Li Meng knew about this, he would naturally not let the Confucius Mansion take back these fields. Liu Zeqing's survivors naturally knew how to choose, not to mention that Li Meng also gave enough money.

The fields and soil in Ningyang, Sishui, Wenshang, Yuncheng and Caozhou were connected into pieces because of this move. At the same time, Li Meng also connected into pieces in the military farms of the four Qingyan prefectures of Denglai. The military farming policy of Jiaozhouying almost completed all the puzzles.

Qianziling is a pass 80 miles east of Miyun County. There are cliffs on both sides of the pass, and only the relevant entrance can reach the inside and outside. The pass is a stone city built with huge stones. The wall is nearly three meters high and ten feet thick. There are cannons on the gate wall, and there are beacon towers about two miles in front of the gate.

This side is close to the capital, and it is also the gateway between the northern Zhili and the grassland outside the border, so it is considered a military important place. The troops of Miyun Guard are stationed and guarding day and night.

Of course, these statements are just the statements in court documents. In fact, the Mongols on the grassland and the Han people in Northern Zhili could easily get in and out as long as they gave the soldiers guarding the pass a little money. During the Tianqi period, there was a scandal that soldiers guarding the pass privately sold their weapons to the Tatar Mongolians in exchange for cattle and sheep to make profits.

The weather at the plug is extremely cold. The north wind blows from the extreme north. The soldiers at the pass are one of the first to be blown. Although it is September, the cold wind is already a bit bit biting. The soldiers at the pass can hide in the room and are unwilling to go out. As for the soldiers on duty at the pass and the city gate, they all find a shelter from the wind to stay. It is a little warmer.

The places that shelter on the top of the city are naturally the battlements and the city towers, and the places that shelter under the city are naturally behind the city gates. The soldiers on duty on the beacon tower think the same is true. Whether it is far or near, it seems that there is no one on the pass.

This situation has been like this every day since the first snowfall in September. If you can be lazy, you will be lazy. Now the Mongolians on the grassland are also useless. They are beaten by the official army in Ji Town, and there is nothing to worry about.

According to the rules of the soldiers guarding the city, when the light of the sky is seen, the soldiers have to get up to practice and organize the military equipment and various fortifications at the gates, but this rule has been around for almost a hundred years.

The barracks that were closed were also in pieces, with mud-filled houses, roofs covered with wheat straw, and doors and windows. They just plugged cotton cloth strips and dealt with them.

The sun was about to rise, and there was a quarrel in the barracks:

"Qian Laosan, go and pick some firewood. The stove is cold in the middle of the night. If it doesn't, it might be warmer."

"...Why should I go? I've been there for two days. Don't always call me!"

"Your grandson's loss has not been paid yet. If you don't pay it back, go to work for me honestly, and then scream, I will use a whip to whip your grandson's."

"Go, go, can't I go? There is no firewood nearby? Please point me a place..."

"... Go to the beacon tower to get some cow dung and dry firewood. They have stored items. Didn't they allocate a batch half a month ago?"

Qian Laosan walked out of the barracks cursingly, and when he came out, he threw the door of the barracks heavily on it. A burst of dust fell from the door frame, and someone inside cursed at the top of his throat.

Qian Laosan didn't take his weapons and wore this basically hairless sheepskin coat and walked down the city. However, he saw more than a dozen soldiers on duty in the city gate dozing in the corner. He was so angry that he couldn't help but scold:

"It's almost noon, why is the city gate still not open? I still have to rely on Duoyan's cattle and sheep dealers to pass the pass. What should we do before we pass?"

"Brother Third, it's not half an hour before dawn. Why are you anxious? You slept in the barracks all night, and we were patrolling the night and drinking the wind. Besides, in the past seven or eight days, there were less than twenty people coming from the north. How many people were waiting to enter the customs? The year was not good!!"

Qian Laosan thought about it and didn't say anything. He thought that it would be better to sleep for a while. There was a small warehouse on the city tower that sheltered from the wind. He happened to go over to get a look. He walked lazily towards the city wall. When he arrived at the city head, he found that the scene here was no different from the one under the city.

The soldiers responsible for looking out at the city wall were also invisible, and they thought they had been looking for a convenient place to take a nap. Qian Laosan laughed and scolded, and was about to enter the city wall.

There are often literati who praise the so-called Gobi scenery and the scenery outside the border. The magnificence that is different from the Central Plains scene is indeed heart-shaking and amazing. However, for such veterans who have been guarding the border for more than ten years, they really don’t want to see this bare scene at a glance.

Qian Laosan walked a few steps and always felt that there were other sounds in his ears besides the sound of the wind. He couldn't help but turn his head to look north.

The soldiers on duty at the city were no better than the soldiers under the city. A group of people hid in the city tower and slept soundly. A man who was awakened by urine walked out of the city tower, but he happened to see Qian Laosan standing there. These people were also casually tight, and couldn't help but laugh and scold:

"Old Qian, if you want to go in, go in, and be here as a wooden stake standing with a blowing air!"

With this constant question, Qian Laosan's body shook, and then began to tremble slowly, and he pointed at the north with hissing:

"Tartars...Tartars, hurry up...Let's fire to warn."

The man quickly turned over there, and a large number of people appeared in the distance, pressing towards the wall ridge level in black.

This day was September 22, 1911, Chongzhen. The day before, Qingshankou, northeast of Jizhen, also encountered the same situation.

"Yigong, is there still no news in Shanxi?"

"King of Chuang, people who are familiar with each other say that in the second half of the year, all weapons produced in private stores in Shanxi have been sold out by Goldman Sachs and have been sold outside."

Hearing the report from the people around him, the tall man riding on the horse sighed in his heart, but there was no expression on his face. After a moment of pause, he immediately turned around and shouted loudly at the team behind him:

"Dear brothers, as long as we go out of Shaanxi and Henan, we will live a better life. Someone is preparing to raise food and fodder there and waiting for us!"

The team, who was immediately called the King of Chuang, shouted loudly. Whether it was infantry or cavalry, they cheered loudly. The weather was cold, but many people in this team were covered with clothes and the weapons in their hands were wooden sticks and farm tools. But they believed that the man who shouted was Li Zicheng, the famous King of Chuang, who was the first among the provinces in the north and south.

The poor villagers couldn't afford to eat anymore, so it was this King of Righteous Chuang who led everyone to fight with the government officials and set a way out for everyone.

Li Zicheng, the King of Chuang, with a red tassel, had full of confidence on his face. After a horse ran around the team, his morale became high again. Gao Yigong immediately looked at his brother-in-law from afar, and his heart was extremely admired. The reason why the King of Chuang was the King of Chuang was the character and behavior that allowed everyone to follow, and the will to never give up. No matter when, he could make everyone's morale rise.

But Gao Yigong knew that the situation was extremely embarrassing. After getting gold and silver from Li Meng in March, he thought that with real gold and silver, the Shanxi merchants in Pingyao, Taiyuan would agree to sell weapons, but they still had nothing at all. In the end, they could only search for some small shops, but they did not have much effect at all.

The weapons were scarce, and the Ming government army surrounded the front and back more closely than before. There were constant battles between all and large. The frequent battles increased the equipment loss of the army of the camp, but they could not be supplemented, which greatly reduced the combat power and caused a vicious cycle. When crossing the Tao River in April, they fought with the government army to death, and the various camps lost contact. The king of the camp Li Zicheng brought a small number of people into Hanzhong, and then slowly gathered.

After the Battle of Taohe, the backbone of the Chuangzhan team had been lost, while other Shaanxi civilian troops were repeatedly defeated by Sun Chuanting and could not meet. Li Zicheng led the Chuangzhan to go to Sichuan, but was stopped by Sichuan Governor Fu Zonglong, and could only return to Shaanxi again.

Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting and his generals learned from the lessons of fighting with the camp, and fought steadily, blocked them step by step, and never took risks. However, the camp was short of weapons and lost their backbones. As one went up and down, there was almost no victory in April, and they could only wander around in Shaanxi. The situation was so embarrassing that generals such as Guo Tianxing, who had been known as the nine coalition forces, directly surrendered to the Ming army.

In September and October, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, knew that if he continued like this in Shaanxi, it would be a dead end. After discussing with his subordinates, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong and other trusted generals, he decided to leave Shaanxi from Tongguan, enter Henan, open up the situation again, and resurrect the dead.

However, Gao Yigong had some other guesses. After entering Henan, he could head towards Shandong along the Yellow River. Although the general Li Meng on the other side didn't know what he was thinking, he didn't seem to have a deep hostile position towards the camp. If the camp wandered in Henan and leaned against Shandong, he might get some support.

But this is just a guess. The King of Chuang was the most stubborn. This was agreed upon by the Ming court and could not surrender at all, let alone interact with the official army.

Li Zicheng had already fought a horse and returned to the forefront of the team again. After the agitation just now, the team obviously accelerated its speed. The team that broke into the camp fought fiercely with the general officer Cao Bianjiao's team, and finally got rid of the other party. The morale of the team was low and the speed of moving was not fast, for fear of being caught up by the other party. The King of Breaking Li Zicheng just encouraged him, which also made everyone quicken his pace.

Gao Yigong followed behind him, but heard the King of Chuang in front of him speak to himself in a very low voice:

"You can get out of Tongguan..."

Before he could hear it clearly, the team behind him was a little turbulent. A cavalry hurried to the King of Breaking and said unhappily:

"King of Chuang!! Cao Bianjiao is catching up with him again."

At this moment, the earth suddenly shook on both sides of the road, and countless officers and soldiers rushed out shouting.

In September of the 11th year of Chongzhen, the Qing army invaded, and Prince Dorgon and Beileyuetu led a large army to enter Beizhili at Qianziling and Qingshankou, threatening the capital.

In October, Li Zicheng's troops broke into the camp were Yi from Tongguan to Henan. The three-sided governor Hong Chengchou and Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting set up an ambush and attacked each other in front and back. The camp was defeated. Li Zicheng only led Tian Jianxiu, Liu Zongmin and other 18 cavalry to break through, and his wife and daughter were lost.
Chapter completed!