"Lingye, from Luzhou to Shizhu, goes down the Yangtze River and passes through Jiangjin, Chongqing, Changshou, Fuzhou, and Lidu. Jiangjin is the territory of Wang Xiang; Chongqing, Changshou, and Fuzhou are the territories of the puppet Chu king.
General Li Zhanchun is in the territory of Dahai; Lidu is occupied by Yang Chaozhu, a general of the puppet king of Chu. Wang Xiang is cruel, arrogant and has a crowd of 200,000. It is estimated that he will not let us pass through his territory." Qian Bangqi introduced the situation to Chen Bangyan.
Chen Bangyan frowned: "Master Kai, are you mistaken? The area controlled by Wang Xiang is only one and a half mansions, how can there be 200,000 troops?"
Qian Bangqi sighed: "My dear, you don't know something. The people of Chongqing and Zunyi are suffering from this scourge! Jiangjin and Hezhou have almost become no man's land."
"Master Kai, please tell me about Wang Xiang's situation. The more detailed the better."
Qian Bangjin talked eloquently: "This Wang Xiang was originally a servant of Wang Yingxiong, the governor of Sichuan in the Hongguang Dynasty. Later, he passed the martial arts examination and showed great courage. When Wang Yingxiong was the governor of Sichuan, he was appointed as the deputy general of Zunyi. This guy is not afraid of death in battle.
He fought with the Xian bandits and the Tatars. He resorted to militancy and desperately expanded the army. In his jurisdiction, there were many soldiers but few people. In order to support the two hundred thousand troops, taxes were extremely heavy. If the people wanted to survive, they had to spend money to buy life-saving cards.
If you don't have a license, you'll be killed. You have to pay taxes even if you raise cattle, and they often send people pretending to be thieves to rob households with cattle. As a result, people don't dare to raise cattle, and all plowing is done manually.".
"Bah", Chen Bangyan slapped the table angrily and shouted: "I swear to the people of Sichuan, I will not be so stubborn!"
Seeing Chen Bangyan's indignation, Qian Bangqi couldn't help but sigh. This Futai is full of passion, a chivalrous character, hates evil as much as he hates it, and is vigorous and resolute in his actions. What a pleasure it is to work with him!
"Your Majesty, Wang Xiang sent his general Shi Lin with three thousand troops to defend Jiangjin. Should our army ignore Wang Xiang's attitude and march directly to Jiangjin?"
Chen Bangyan thought for a while: "Are there any other forces near Jiangjin?"
"Yes, Yuan Tao, the 'king of heaven' in Yaohuang Thirteen's family, competed with Li Zhanchun for Fuzhou. After their defeat, they wandered around and looted in this area.
"At this time, the great enemy of the imperial court is Zhou Rongfan, the puppet king of Chu. It is not appropriate to provoke Wang Xiang, but Jiangjin is indispensable. I intend to secretly recruit Yuan Tao and order him to attack Jiangjin."
"But this Yuan Tao is a famous bandit, and the people of Sichuan have suffered greatly from him!"
Chen Bangyan smiled: "Sooner or later I have to deal with Yuan Tao, the thief. I will use him to deal with Wang Xiang first, and use evil to cure evil."
Qian Bangqi worriedly said: "Your Majesty, I heard the news that Wang Xiang secretly colluded with the false king of Chu, and also asked the Ran family, the chieftain of Youyang in his territory, to send troops to help the false king of Chu. If the two thieves join forces, the stone pillar will be in danger!" Chen Bangyan pondered for a while and was suddenly shocked: "No! Wang Xiang is like the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind. He wants to wait until both the false king of Chu and the loyal lord Zhongzhen are defeated before attacking the stone pillar. I have to hurry up."
Please ask the supervisors to be in Guizhou and Huguang directions to put pressure on the king's thieves so that the king's thieves will not dare to peek at the stone pillars."
"Your Majesty, many of the subordinates of the pseudo-King of Chu are from the Thirteen Yaohuang families in Kuizhou. When Yinxi, the duke, was summoned to surrender to the Zhongzhen camp, he went to Kuizhou and was very popular among the Thirteenth family. Do you want to ask him to edit the book?
To recruit and surrender the puppet King of Chu’s subordinates?”
"Oh, Mr. Kai, you woke up the dreamer with just one word. Your method is good. I will immediately write a letter to Du Gong and ask for his help."
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Yuan Tao, the "King of Fighting for Heaven" who was hiding in Dashangouzi, Chongqing, received Chen Bangyan's envoy.
"Chen Futai wants to recruit me, what position can he give me?"
"Jiangjin Guerrilla".
"What? I have more than 10,000 troops, so I can only fight guerrillas? Yang Zhan's troops are not better than ours, and he has been awarded the rank of general."
The envoy smiled: "Big boss, that's Lao Huangli. General Yang has made contributions to the imperial conquest of Luzhou and has been awarded the rank of commander-in-chief. Chen Futai has always been rewarded for his merits. If you can capture Jiangjin for the imperial court, a deputy general will not be able to escape." Yuan Tao hesitated: If we attack Jiangjin, we will offend Wang Xiang. Wang Xiang has 200,000 troops and is very difficult to offend. But if we don’t attack Jiangjin, we will miss a good opportunity to defect to the court and get promoted and make a fortune. Should we fight or not?
What about a fight?
After a while, the bandit Yuan gritted his teeth and said: Beat! If Wang Xiang sends troops to retaliate, at worst, I will hide in the mountains. What can he do to me?
After seeing off the envoy, Yuan Tao led his troops to attack Jiangjin.
The area around Jiangjin had long been brutalized by Wang Xiang and was now deserted. Because of the desolation, it was impossible to raise many soldiers and horses. Wang Xiang only ordered Shi Lin to lead 3,000 men to guard Jiangjin.
Shi Lin had few soldiers and lost more than a thousand soldiers, so he fled back to Zunyi.
Chen Bangyan appointed Yuan Tao as deputy general and stationed in Jiangjin. He led his troops down the river to Chongqing.
The one who attacked Jiangjin was the big bandit Yuan Tao, not the governor. If Wang Xiang wants revenge, let him go to Yuan Tao.
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After reading Chen Bangyan's comments, Zhu Hengjia felt that the situation in Sichuan was more complicated than he expected.
It is indeed difficult for Chen Bangyan to bring only 800 people into Sichuan! It is rare for this person to have the courage to do his job and be passionate!
You should also make some moves! Although the imperial court is short of money and cannot fight a big war, it still has to make the gestures it needs to do. Lest the feudal towns in Sichuan think that they are weak and can be bullied.
Zhu Hengjia ordered Bo Ma of Wuchang to join the army and lead 15,000 troops, and stationed in Shizhou Guards, Huguang, threatening Kuizhou, the rear of the puppet King of Chu. He ordered Duke Kuang Pixiong to lead 7,000 troops, and merged with 6,000 Xi'an Kun local soldiers to station in Guizhou.
Sinan Mansion; ordered Danglu Hou Ai Nengqi to lead 20,000 troops and stationed at Wujiang Pass in Guizhou to intimidate Wang Xiang from both sides.
The three generals were ordered to make movement but not to fight.
After thinking about it, it is not enough to be hard, but also soft. The top priority now is to eliminate the false king of Chu first, hold back Wang Xiang, and prevent the two thieves from joining together.
He sent an envoy to Wang Xiang to recruit him and told him that if he was willing to surrender, he would be granted the title of Rongchang Bo.
The biggest problem in Sichuan was the lack of population due to years of war. Zhu Hengjia ordered to escort tens of thousands of prisoners from various provinces to farm in Sichuan. He also promoted Li Shichun, the prefect of Liuzhou, to Sichuan's chief envoy, and appointed Wang Huacheng as Sichuan's envoy.
Not only Sichuan, but also control over Yunnan and Guizhou must be strengthened. We must not let these two provinces become like Sichuan, full of vassal towns.
Zhu Hengjia dismissed Wu Zhaoyuan, the governor of Yunnan who refused to die during the Sha Dingzhou Rebellion, and patrolled the Luo Kingdom; he appointed Wen Anzhi, Minister of Rites of the Longwu Dynasty, as a bachelor of Dongge University and governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, stationed in Guiyang; he was promoted to Lian Chengbi as governor of Yunnan. , appointed Qu Mingfeng, Yongli’s surrender minister, as the patrol commander of Yunnan.
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In Baitianba, Zunyi Military and Civilian Mansion, Wang Xiang, the deputy general of the Ming Dynasty, was drinking to relieve his sorrow.
The wine is good, Zunyi Goujiu (Maotai), with a mellow aroma and a long aftertaste.
He has been in a bad mood recently. The troops of King Jing of the Supervisory State are advancing on Zunyi from the east and south; the local bandit Yuan Tao has attacked Jiangjin.
Have you become weak? Even a mere bandit dares to attack Tai Sui?
Even though Wang Xiang has 200,000 troops, he still has a guilty conscience if he really wants to go against the vassal king of the imperial court. Unlike the self-proclaimed pseudo-King of Chu, Zhu Hengjia is a real vassal with a gold book and gold treasure recorded in the clan government. Wang, the one below is trying to defeat the one above, but Wang Xiang doesn’t dare.
Wang Xiang served as the servant of the great scholar Wang Yingxiong. When Wang Yingxiong was the governor of Sichuan, he appointed Wang Xiang as the deputy general of Zunyi. During that time, Wang Xiang was very loyal to the Ming Dynasty. He did whatever the governor asked him to do without any hesitation. But Wang Yingxiong After his death, Wang Xiang stopped listening to Daming. He only obeyed Wang Yingxiong.
But no matter how domineering he is, Wang Xiang has been a dignified military officer and has a serious official and military background. He is different from those intruders and Daxi thieves. Wang's authority is strict, which penetrates into Vice General Wang's bones. As a result, he is a little timid at critical moments.
"Husband, too much alcohol is harmful to your health. Please drink less. I knitted a sweater for you."
Wang Xiang was worried, and a pair of warm little hands placed on his shoulders. He gently kneaded them to relieve fatigue.
When he turned around, he saw that it was his wife, Mrs. Xiong.
My heart warmed, and I held my beloved wife's hand tightly. My beloved wife's hand actually had blisters.
"Oh, madam, how many times have I told you. There are so many servants in our family, just let them do this kind of thing. Look, I have blisters on my hands."
Wang Xiang found a silver needle and picked up the blisters for his beloved wife.
Mr. Xiong smiled sweetly: "Why are you so troubled, husband?"
"Alas! King Jing is in charge of the country, and the troops are pressing down on the country. Whether to fight or surrender, it is a dilemma for the husband!"
Wang Xiang’s first wife, Mrs. Xiong, is particularly virtuous.
At that time, Wang Xiang worked as a servant in the residence of Wang Yingxiong, a great scholar. His status was low and no one looked down upon him. However, Xiong felt that Wang Xiang was a great hero and he would not marry anyone other than Wang Xiang. He encouraged him and said: "Don't underestimate yourself. "Be the pillar of the country." With the encouragement of the Xiong family, Wang Xiang was admitted to the military examination and joined the army. With the care of Wang Yingxiong, he rose to great heights and became the most powerful vassal town in Sichuan.
Mr. Xiong is not only virtuous, but also discerning.
He advised Wang Xiang that the people are the foundation. If you only focus on expanding the army and do not care for the people, you are like a tree without roots and cannot last long. I am very worried about you!
Wang Xiang felt that his wife's words made sense. After taking Zunyi, he did not impose excessive taxes like he did in Jiangjin, Hezhou, Pengshui, and Qianjiang. Instead, he slightly reduced some taxes and allowed his subordinates to farm in Zunyi. He did not even pay the cattle tax. Received it and encouraged the people to raise cattle. But the problem is that once a person's reputation is ruined, it is difficult to recover. No matter how Wang Xiang encourages, the people just don't dare to raise cattle. If we raise cattle, the commander-in-chief will think that our family If you have money, what should you do if you send troops to rob us? Wang Xiang was so angry that he had no choice but to take his time.
Xiong pondered for a long time and said: "I feel that King Jing of the country is quite heroic. He occupies several provinces and his power is already established. My husband must not compete with him! It is better to accept his title and hand over his land and land." The army, I believe that King Jing will treat her husband well."
Wang Xiang listened to Xiong's words, surrendered to Zhu Hengjia, and accepted the title of Rongchang Bo.
A good wife and husband will bring few troubles. If Wang Xiang can really listen to Xiong's words and submit sincerely, he will be rich and safe throughout his life.
It is a pity that he was afraid of Zhu Hengjia's military power and pretended to surrender; he was also reluctant to part with his own territory and army and attempted to separate one side; he even continued to secretly collude with Zhu Rongfan, the pseudo-Chu king, to covet the land of Shidi.
