Kaifeng was called Tokyo and Bianjing in ancient times (also known as Daliang and Bianliang), or Bian for short. It is known as the "ancient capital of ten dynasties" and the "city of seven dynasties".
When it comes to wealth, if Kaifeng is second in Henan, no place dares to be first. Therefore, Kaifeng prefectures and courts in the Ming Dynasty have always awarded third-grade titles to Kaifeng prefects. At this moment, Kaifeng prefect Cen Zhi is by Pang Gang's side.
Behind them were hundreds of officials from Kaifeng Prefecture and a mighty army of soldiers and horses.
All Kaifeng officials, including Cen Zhi, welcomed the arrival of Pang Gang's army. When the news came a few days ago that the bandits had arrived in Kaifeng Mansion, the whole of Kaifeng was like boiling water.
The situation started to boil, and the number of poor people who poured into Kaifeng in a few days reached 70,000 to 80,000. The sudden influx of so many people into Kaifeng Mansion brought great consequences to the officials. Chapter 410
The pressure of entering Kaifeng is obvious.
Whether it was food, accommodation, public security and other issues, Cen Zhi was very busy. But what frightened him the most was that there were less than 5,000 troops in Kaifeng City. It was really difficult to defend Kaifeng City with this small force.
Fortunately, after the rogue bandits broke through Qixian County, they retreated after a few days. This news made everyone happy and shocked. Could it be that these rogue bandits had realized their conscience and collectively acted stupidly and let the rich people go?
Kaifeng City.
However, news soon came that General Dingguo had led an army from Luoyang. They were initially confused and realized that the bandits were afraid of General Dingguo's army. Only then did Cen Zhi lead Kaifeng.
All the officials of the government went out of the city to welcome Pang Gang and his army.
Cen Zhi, who was accompanying Pang Gang on horseback, said to Pang Gang: "General Pang is galloping under the stars at night to aid Kaifeng, which shows his kindness. Both the lower officials and the people of Kaifeng are very grateful."
Pang Gang stared at the Kaifeng magistrate, who was slightly fat and looked like a rich country man, but he did not dare to look down upon him in the slightest. This humble man had historically led the Kaifeng army and people to resist Li Zicheng who led hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
The army lasted for more than a month, giving heavy weight to the rogue bandits Chapter 410
They entered Kaifeng and suffered heavy casualties. If they had not been outnumbered later, the city of Kaifeng would not have been occupied by rogue bandits and then destroyed in a flood.
Pang Gang smiled lightly: "Thank you for your praise, Lord Cen. I have heard for a long time that Lord Cen is an upright official and manages the Kaifeng Mansion in an orderly manner. This is beyond my reach."
Pang Gang praised Cen Zhi so much, but Cen Zhi didn't dare to accept it. It would be fine if it were someone else. But who doesn't know that the huge man next to him is now a veritable king of Shandong. He and his father-in-law Wei Tongnian firmly control
Every plant and tree in Shandong. At present, the imperial court’s control over Shandong has become ineffective, and Shandong has been developing prosperously under the leadership of this pair of father-in-laws. This year, even Henan has many refugees rushing to Shandong. Such
Can people regard him as a simple martial artist? The answer is obviously no.
While talking, the group entered Kaifeng City and entered Kaifeng City from the west gate. Pang Gang immediately saw an unforgettable sight.
As the ancient capital of ten dynasties, Kaifeng's wealth and prosperity are unquestionable. Luxurious mansions can be seen everywhere in the city. The numerous royal residences, numerous brothels and pubs, and the rows of archways on the streets and alleys are proof of this.
Pang Gang and others walked along the east-west long street centered on Dengshikou Street. They saw colorful buildings on both sides, facing north and south, with red doors, embroidered doors, painted pillars and carved beams. Most of the people with curtains on the upper floors belonged to the Xun family.
, noble relatives, high-ranking officials and gentry families, the rental price of each colorful building is several hundred dollars a night. In terms of the material of the lamp, there are burnt beads, ink paintings, five-color gauze, and bright horns.
, paper, wheat orange and grass. In terms of form, there are flowers, birds, beasts, insects, fish, revolving lanterns... ingenious. As for the fireworks, there are also many types. It is more than amazing. Various bands, various acrobatics
, playing all night long. In addition, here and there, there are teams of boys in colorful clothes playing drums. From dusk to dawn, it is called Taiping Drum. Men and women crowd together all night long, and there is a sea of people.
But at the same time, countless refugees fleeing famine are crowded in those alleys. They are all in ragged clothes, with sallow complexion and thin skin. On one side, they are rich people with the smell of wine and meat, and on the other side, there are refugees struggling on the verge of death. This strong contrast makes
Pang Gang shook his head after seeing this.
Such a strong gap is enough to make most of the refugees have strong hostility towards the government and the wealthy gentry, but no one in Kaifeng Prefecture is aware of this danger. Perhaps even if they are aware, they will not care.
The torrent rolled into Kaifeng City, led by rows of cavalry wearing fine steel light armor. The shiny armor dazzled people's eyes in the sun. The red cloaks on the cavalry looked so energetic.
, behind the cavalry were soldiers wearing fine steel chainmail. They drove into the city in high spirits. Finally, there were the baggage camp and the artillery camp. When hundreds of artillery drove into the city, everyone
They were all stunned. There were so many artillery pieces, even if the whole city was opened and sealed, there were not so many. Moreover, these dark artillery pieces were extraordinary at first sight.
At this time, restaurants and teahouses on the streets in the west of Kaifeng City were crowded with people, who were vying to watch this army they had never seen before.
In the restaurant, a scholar asked another person who looked like a scholar, "Hey, I dare to ask brother, where did these soldiers and horses come from? They look quite stylish."
"You don't even know this?" Another scholar looked surprised, "This is the army of General Pang, the commander-in-chief of Shandong Province. They just returned from Luoyang with a great victory. They heard that Kaifeng was trapped by bandits and came here to rescue them.
"
"Really? I have to take a good look at this."
Not only these two scholars, countless Luoyang people on the street came out to watch the fun.
"Are they the troops of General Dingguo?"
"Hey, the muskets on the backs of those military masters are really long, but why didn't they bring match ropes?" This was a somewhat knowledgeable person.
"Wow, these military masters are so powerful. They are all covered in armor. They look really strong." This was the voice coming from a brothel on the roadside.
"Then, didn't you see that when General Pang came, all the bandits were scared away?"
"Look, look, what's written on that flag is: Right Governor of Nanjing, Commander-in-Chief of Shandong, Commander of Qingzhou, General of Dingguo, what a long official title."
Looking at the bustling crowds on the street, and then at the countless refugees in the alleys, Pang Gang sighed slightly in his heart and asked: "Master Cen, there are so many refugees in Kaifeng. I came all the way, why didn't I see the government?"
How about opening a porridge shop to help the victims?"
Cen Zhi's face turned slightly red, and he replied helplessly: "What you don't know is that there is not much food in Kaifeng Mansion. Although I have opened some porridge shops, there are really too many monks and too little porridge. The granary was exhausted in just two days.
There is really nothing I can do."
Pang Gang sneered and said: "No way, in the huge city of Kaifeng, could it be that the porridge shop has been running out of food for just two days? Does Mr. Cen think that I am a military attache, so he is easy to deceive?"
No wonder Pang Gang suspected that Kaifeng City was one of the most important towns in the Ming Dynasty, and there must be a lot of food reserves. Otherwise, if the imperial court had important matters, but the local government could not provide any food, wouldn't it be bad?
Seeing Pang Gang's suspicious look, Cen Zhi became anxious, "Pang Pang, of course there is still food in the official warehouse in Kaifeng, but you also know that these food are life-saving food. Who dares to mess with it without the decree of the imperial court?"
.That is a serious crime of beheading!”
Seeing the furious Cen Zhi, Pang Gang began to believe it. He shook his head and pointed at the alley next to him with eager eyes: "Master Cen, have you ever thought about what will happen if these hungry people don't have anything to eat in a few days?"
Are there any consequences? It’s not that Pang is trying to scare you. If you don’t quickly open a warehouse to help the victims and make them anxious, these people will become another group of bandits!"
Cen Zhi sighed and said: "How can I not know this? But at this time, a single move can affect the whole body. However, none of the wealthy gentry in the city is willing to help. What can I do?"
"What can I do?" Pang Gang sneered: "I'm afraid that until the 50,000 to 60,000 victims in the city start to riot, the gentlemen in the city will not know how powerful they are."
Although Pang Gang's words were not polite, Cen Zhi was not angry either. He just smiled bitterly and shook his horse to the side...
For Pang Gang's arrival, both the poor and the rich in Kaifeng city expressed a great welcome. That night, a group of officials headed by Cen Zhi, the prefect of Kaifeng, and many wealthy gentry in Kaifeng held a banquet at the Kaifeng prefect's Yamen.
Welcome this hero who came from afar to help Kaifeng.
As night fell, the front of the magistrate's office was crowded with sedans of all sizes. Countless sedan bearers were squatting in the corner bragging, but the backyard was brightly lit. There were dozens of tables in the courtyard, and dozens of servants and maids were there.
Busy serving tea and water, various dishes were served in a flowing stream.
Pang Gang was sitting on one of the tables. Cen Zhi, the prefect of Kaifeng, was sitting on his left. Of course, the people at Pang Gang's table were all prominent figures in Kaifeng, but Pang Gang was not in the mood to get to know them.
After the introduction, I turned around and forgot everything.
After the banquet started, everyone came over one by one to propose a toast to Pang Gang, but Pang Gang also refused to drink until the glasses were dry, which made people shout "General Pang has a huge amount".
After three rounds of wine and five delicious dishes, everyone came up to chat one after another. One by one, they patted Pang Gang's horses, which made Pang Gang feel sick. One said that General Pang was wise and mighty, and that the bandits had already fled before the people arrived. The other said that General Pang was a wise man.
Even the Tatars can be beaten to pieces, so what are the mere thieves?
These flattering slaps made Pang Gang feel dizzy one after another, and he almost wanted to fall out. Finally, Cen Zhi couldn't stand it anymore and stopped these people.
After Cen Zhi stretched out his hand to stop the crowd that had gathered in chaos, he turned to Pang Gang and asked: "Master Pangda, the people of Kaifeng Mansion are grateful that you can lead troops to help this time, but I don't know how long you can stay in Kaifeng?"
Pang Gang couldn't help but feel moved after hearing this. He glanced at Cen Zhi twice before saying half-jokingly: "How long does Master Cen want me to stay in Kaifeng Mansion?"
"This... Cen Zhi smiled awkwardly, "Xiaoguan naturally hopes that you can stay in Kaifeng as long as possible, but I also know that you have many things to do, so naturally you can't stay in Kaifeng all the time."
"Well..." Pang Gang stared at Cen Zhi, and he couldn't help but guess the real intention of the Kaifeng prefect's words.
After a while, Cen Zhi, who was a little flustered by Pang Gang, couldn't stand Pang Gang's gaze. He also knew that such a little trick could not be hidden from the other party, so he smiled bitterly and said: "Okay, I'll tell you the truth. Although the thieves have retreated now,
, but the gentry and people in Kaifeng are still afraid that the bandits will come back, and people are still panic-stricken, so I asked my subordinates to ask my lord, are you going to pursue the bandits next?"
When Pang Gang heard this, he was secretly happy. This was really a sleepy pillow.
However, he had to do it on the surface, and then he said with a troubled expression: "Master Cen doesn't know something. This time I sent troops to assist Luoyang at the request of Governor Li and Duke Jieru, but did not receive the official document from the Ministry of War. Now I am sending troops to Luoyang."
The matter is over, and you should return to Shandong as soon as possible. Now that the bandits are heading towards Hubei, that is Hubei's matter. How can I take the decision without authorization and pursue them? I'd better just sweep the snow in front of my door."
After listening to Pang Gang's words, everyone looked at each other, and a look of anxiety flashed across their eyes. A middle-aged official with a fat head and big ears, wearing a green official uniform, immediately stood up and said to Pang Gang
He cupped his hands and said: "General Pang, I would like to ask your lord, Hubei is too far away from us. What I and my colleagues are worried about is whether the bandits will come back. If so, what will happen to Kaifeng City?"
Aren’t you always in danger? What do you think about this?"
Pang Gang was surprised and said: "This gentleman is wrong. I am the commander-in-chief of Shandong, not the commander-in-chief of Henan. How can I stay in Kaifeng for the rest of my life? Besides, the reason why bandits are called rogue bandits is because of those
When thieves disperse, they become common people; when they gather, they become bandits. Let’s just talk about the victims of the disaster in the city now. I can guarantee that if the government does not open warehouses for disaster relief within three days, those hungry and crazy people will immediately become
Thieves."
After hearing Pang Gang's serious and half-bluffing words, everyone at the table was frightened. Even Cen Zhi, the head of the house, turned pale.
Seeing everyone's expressions change, Pang Gang secretly laughed in his heart and added more fuel to his anger, "Forget it. If the refugees in the city collude with the thieves, the consequences will be... However, maybe this is just
I am just making random guesses, you don’t need to take them seriously.”
At this point, the people at the table turned blue instead of pale. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that this was very possible. The trick of turning back the carbine has been around since ancient times. Besides, there are still fifty to sixty thousand victims and rogue bandits in the city.
It is too easy for us to contact them and cooperate with the victims inside and outside. This kind of low-tech thing is a common trick of the bandits. And it has been tried and true.
"Pang... Pang Pang, you can't just ignore death." Xu Zhian's face turned pale, and the muscles on his fat face couldn't help but tremble.
Everyone also begged and begged: "Yes, Mr. Pangda, as the saying goes, save people to the end and send Buddha to the west. Since you can help Kaifeng, then help the people of Kaifeng."
Seeing that he had gotten what he wanted, Pang Gang still shook his head, "It is my duty to stay in Kaifeng for a long time. If the imperial court finds out, I am afraid that my head will be in danger."
"Bah...are you kidding ghosts?" As soon as Pang Gang said these words, everyone at the table cursed in their hearts. They may be idiots in other things, but for
The news in the court is clear. They are very clear about the good things this huge man has done. Will this bastard who dares to fall out with the emperor be afraid of the court? The answer is obviously no, especially when he still controls
When there were tens of thousands of elite soldiers in Shandong Province, even Chongzhen had to think hard to deal with him. It would be terrible if he made this man angry.
Although they secretly despised Pang Gang in their hearts, everyone was begging him now and had to continue pretending to be a grandson. At this time, Cen Zhi also spoke, "Master Pang, I also know that you have a lot of people, but the thieves are cunning and will kill you at any time."
When you come back, will there be no way to save the people of Kaifeng City?"
Seeing that Cen Zhi had also spoken, Pang Gang knew that the heat had come, and pretending to continue would be going too far, so he smiled slightly: "Master Cen, you can't say that. As the saying goes, there is no end to the road, and it is not impossible to save Kaifeng City.
The solution is just... Pang Gang pretended to be embarrassed and paused.
Cen Zhi smiled bitterly and said: "Master Pang, please don't tease us, please just say what you have to say!"
"Okay, I'll just tell you the truth!" When it came to this, Pang Gang didn't hide it anymore, "As the saying goes, to fight against the outside world, you must first settle the inside. The same is true for defending the city. If you want to eliminate the inside,
In case of an attack, we must first get the refugees in the city out of the city, and then station an elite force in Kaifeng City, so that we can ensure that Kaifeng is completely safe."
"This..." Everyone couldn't help but look at each other. The big man said it so easily. How can tens of thousands of refugees get out of the city? What if one of them doesn't lead to a civil uprising? Who will be blamed for this?
, and what I said later about recruiting an elite army to defend the city is even more nonsense. If we had elite soldiers, would we still need to pretend to be grandsons in front of you?
Everyone was thinking about it, and some impatient faces couldn't help but show anger. This giant man is too bullying. Isn't this a clear entertainment for us?
However, there are also smart ones. When Cen Zhi saw the old god Pang Gang eating vegetables, his eyes lit up and he said anxiously: "Master Pangda, you must have a solution when you say this, so don't sell it."
Pang Gang chuckled and said: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore. Let's talk about the first step first, get rid of the refugees in the city. This step is difficult to say and easy to say. I am about to go
Relocating refugees from various parts of Shandong to open up wasteland requires a large number of manpower, but due to the shortage of money and food, as long as the gentry and outsiders from Kaifeng Prefecture can subsidize me a batch of money and food, I can get them all to Shandong, and the problem will be solved.
Okay. As for the second item... At this point, Pang Gang began to ponder.
"Sir, please tell me quickly!" Everyone couldn't stand it anymore, so they collectively urged them. rq
{Piaotian Literature www.ptwxz.com thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our biggest motivation}