Zhang Ximeng planned to isolate Hengjian Mountain after spreading the farmland. When the time came, it was already done. But who knew something happened in advance? There was no way around it. The meat was on his lips and he had to eat it.
However, this Hengjian Mountain is also a bit troublesome. It's not that they have great fighting ability, but that this piece of meat is a bit too big.
"Your Majesty, please come here and inquire." Fei Ju took the initiative to introduce. Zhang, the elder of the Imperial Academy, believed that Dingyuan was unsafe to defend, so he placed the main force on Hengjian Mountain.
But he was worried that the people below would escape, so he ordered his family members to be brought with him.
Lao Zhang thought that with his family in his hands, he would not be afraid of the soldiers escaping.
But he ignored another issue. There were 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers. Counting their families, there were almost 100,000 soldiers.
It's not a small number for so many people to eat, drink and have diarrhea.
The road in Hengjian Mountain is rugged and difficult, so grain must be requisitioned from Dingyuan and other places. This is equivalent to Ma Su guarding the street pavilion and Lingfu going to Menglianggu. It is not known whether he will survive, but he will be put to death anyway.
After occupying Lvpaizhai, they began to implement land distribution, which was equivalent to pulling out the firewood. The common people sided with the red scarves. The powerful people were dealt with. They could not collect food. Even if they had food, the common people would not transport it to them.
.
The situation in Hengjian Mountain suddenly became difficult.
Under this situation, Lao Zhang had few options. He could either concentrate all his efforts and fight the Red Turban Army, or he could strictly hold on to the enemy for as long as he could.
As long as Yuan Ting sends troops, he still has a way to survive.
So which path does Lao Zhang choose?
It's not clear yet, but his subordinates began to choose in advance, some ran away secretly, and some simply came to seek refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang.
After listening to Fei Ju's introduction, Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but said: "My lord, the people in Hengjian Mountain are already divided, so it's a good opportunity to take action!"
Lao Zhu was slightly startled... He was not thinking about the battle, but thinking about the nearly 100,000 people in Hengjian Mountain, which is not a small number. To settle down, there would be 20,000 to 30,000 families, and tens of thousands of fields would be needed.
Deed.
Thinking of this, Lao Zhu's hands couldn't help but twitch. It's not easy to be in this position!
But no matter what, you can't give up a big piece of fat and not eat it for such a trivial matter!
"It's best to defeat Hengjian Mountain quickly and not injure too many people. Most of these people are people from Dingyuan. Let them go home and settle down properly." Lao Zhu said after careful consideration.
Zhang Ximeng nodded immediately, "My lord is wise, I am wondering if I can find a way to trick Lao Zhang out and then give him a fatal blow?"
This idea was immediately hotly discussed by everyone, and they discussed it for a long time, but there was still no definite solution. In the end, everyone still didn’t know much about Lao Zhang.
So who is familiar with Lao Zhang?
Jarru!
This former boss of Lao Zhang, during the siege of Haozhou, Jia Lu planned to mobilize Lao Zhang's troops to help in the battle.
"Sir, you should come up with an idea!" Zhang Ximeng said with a smile, "Do you still think that my lord can't succeed?"
Jia Lu was so angry that he glared at Zhang Ximeng, "That kid is talking nonsense! I need to think carefully, how can I be like you and act casually?"
Jia Lu scolded Zhang Ximeng and immediately turned to Zhu Yuanzhang, "My lord, let me tell you that Lao Zhang is a timid man. If you want him to take the initiative, he will definitely reach the sky. After all, I have given him three handwritings, but he has none."
The movement is just prevarication and perfunctory."
Upon hearing this, everyone was discouraged.
At that time, the army besieged Haozhou, and Lao Zhang did not dare to come out. Now that the wind direction has completely changed, how can Lao Zhang dare to come out?
If luring the snake out of its hole doesn't work, then go straight to the yellow dragon!
Let the surrendered soldiers be the vanguard and charge straight in!
Jia Lu pondered: "Lao Zhang has tens of thousands of troops and has been operating for a long time. It can be said that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the master is unwilling to kill too much... After thinking about it, I found that Lao Zhang had ten thousand households under his command, named Yang Zhen. In his early years, he once
Working under me, I can write a letter to persuade Yang Zhen, but..."
"Just what?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Is there any inconvenience for you, sir?"
"No!" Jia Lu said hurriedly: "Yang Zhen's hometown is in Chuzhou, and there are many adults in the family. The master's implementation of the land division order is bound to shake up the Yang family. Even if I write a letter to him, I'm afraid he is not willing to abandon the secret and turn to the bright side."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was speechless.
There are gains and losses. If you want to gain the support of the people, you will inevitably impact the interests of the rich and powerful.
Is there any way to have the best of both worlds in this world?
It seems to not exist.
If the wealthy families eat more, the common people will eat less. Especially in an agricultural society, it is such a helpless situation due to extreme involution.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said coldly: "Since you are unwilling to abandon the dark side and surrender to the bright side, then deploy troops to surround him, cut off the roads between Hengjian Mountain and the outside, and force Lao Zhang to come out and die!"
This is a good idea, everyone can't help but be impressed.
But at this moment, Zhang Ximeng suddenly said: "My Lord, it is good to besiege Hengjian Mountain. It is not impossible to lure Yang Zhen to surrender. Even if he is unwilling to surrender, what about his men? We have already implemented the land allocation, and we have
Hundreds of soldiers came here to see the effect of dividing the fields... Do they want to live this kind of life? As long as they wanted to, they would persuade the soldiers in Hengjian Mountain to deal with Lao Zhang and release tens of thousands of people.
, the land around Dingyuan, as well as the fields on both sides of Baogong River and Hao River, all belong to the big guy!"
After Zhang Ximeng said this, many people, including Jia Lu, were surprised.
Can you still do this?
In the past, people who tried to persuade people to surrender were often led by coercion, inducement, and money and beautiful women.
Zhang Ximeng has opened up a new way of thinking. Let's start with ordinary soldiers.
If you don't like surrender, then let the soldiers at the bottom coerce you into surrender!
Zhang Ximeng's trick can no longer be described as bamboo shoots, it's like durian mixed with stinky tofu, it's over the top!
Lao Zhu hesitated a little, then nodded immediately, even showing an appreciative look.
Even with Jia Lu and Li Shanchang around, Zhang Ximeng still firmly holds the position of number one confidant. This is not just because he followed Lao Zhu early, but also because Zhang Ximeng has a brilliant vision and can always come up with unexpected solutions.
That’s it!
With nothing else to say, Lao Zhu arranged for the surrendered soldiers to go to Lupai Village and along the Baogong River to see how the fields were divided and what did everyone think?
This group of soldiers just heard about the land division and thought that Lao Zhang had no future, so they came here... But when they saw it with their own eyes, they were simply in awe!
They noticed that one of the families had a total of five people. The parents raised three sons, all of whom were adults... In the past, they only rented fields and worked hard for a year. Half of them had to pay rent for the fields. The rest was not even enough for food rations, and they still owed money.
The landlord's family has a lot of money, but seeing his son getting older and older, he cannot afford a wife, and the family sighs all day long.
But the situation is completely different now. The family's ration farm is only fifteen acres, which is enough to fill their stomachs. They have also been given almost thirty acres of hillside land, which can be used to grow mulberries and fruit trees to supplement their household income.
All of these are tax-free, and the family’s basic food and clothing is no longer a problem.
Then there are the twenty-five acres of transferred farmland, which require tax. Depending on the amount of tax given to them, depending on the harvest level, it ranges from three to five stones a year.
"You can do the math. From twenty-five acres of land, in a good year, we can harvest fifty dan. In bad years, we can harvest 30 dan. After paying the land tax, the rest will be ours. As long as there is no major disaster, our family will be able to harvest 30 dan in a bad year.
We can build a big house and marry our eldest son a wife. In another three to five years, all three sons will be married."
The old man happily calculated: "I can still work for ten years with this body, and my grandson will be old by then. At that time, I will go under the grape trellis and let my grandson be by my side. He will scream grandpa all day long. Don't be too beautiful."
!”
A group of soldiers listened with great interest and smiled broadly, as if they could live such a prosperous and comfortable life even when they were old.
While the old man was talking, his youngest son suddenly came over.
"Dad, in less than two years, I will be able to marry my eldest brother a wife next year."
The old man was startled.
The youngest son said loudly: "I plan to join the army... Serve as a soldier for General Zhu, and we can get five more acres of grain land! There are still people working for our family! I also heard that the Mu family was raided, wasn't it?
There are a lot of oxen for plowing the land! Whoever actively joins the army or is willing to serve as a servant and work for General Zhu will be given a ox! Dad, tell me, how great it would be if we had a ox!"
When the old man heard this, he stood up suddenly and stared at his son with a pair of old eyes that had experienced many vicissitudes of life.
The mother came over with a water ladle. When she heard this, she was so frightened that she threw the water ladle on the ground and asked in panic: "Old man! What did San'er say?"
The son stepped over, picked up the water ladle, and whispered to his mother: "Mom, my child wants to join the army!"
"no!"
The old lady hugged her son and beat him hard, tears streaming down her face.
"Our family has just had a good life, and you are wandering around looking for death. What do you want your mother to say!"
At this moment, the old man suddenly growled, "Shut up!"
He turned his head, grabbed his third son's arm, glared at his wife, and angrily said: "Other soldiers are harmful to others, so you can't be a soldier! Serving as a soldier for General Zhu is a good thing to have a long face! San'er, you are here for dad."
Listen, when you are under the command of General Zhu, you cannot be afraid of death or run away. We, we must repay our kindness!"
The son nodded, "Dad, my son understands!"
The old man nodded, and suddenly said with a serious face: "Don't worry... call your eldest and second brothers over. Let's discuss it. If you want to join the army, you must first find a wife. They are older and want to marry you."
Wait until later!"
…
The surrendered soldiers returned to Hengjian Mountain in batches with a full harvest. Five days passed.
In the dark of night, Zhu Yuanzhang led two thousand people to the vicinity of Hengjian Mountain. He did not wait for too long, and at almost the second watch, three Kongming lanterns rose in the sky, and the gate of Hengjian Village opened.
A group of soldiers ran over, holding their heads high, and said happily: "General Zhu, hurry in and fight in!"