The cavalry of Zhenwei Battalion crossed the Yellow River via Lingzhou Ferry, and then returned to Beijing along the southeast official road.
Although the journey was long and the weather was hot, I was still in a happy mood on my way back to Beijing. Today is different from the past. After the victory in the counter-insurgency battle, the soldiers who participated in the Zhenwei Battalion have undergone a transformation as if they were reborn.
More than a month ago, when Zhang Yanling led the soldiers of the Zhenwei Battalion to Ningxia to suppress the rebellion, everyone in the Zhenwei Battalion, including Zhang Yanling, Chen Shi, Zhang Yin and others, was still in a nervous mood. No one knew what they would encounter.
No one knows whether the counterinsurgency will be successful or not.
To many generals and soldiers of the Zhenwei Battalion, Zhang Houye's insistence on selecting cavalry to follow him to suppress the rebellion was unethical. Obviously there were troops and horses in the area, so there was no need for the Beijing camp to be dispatched. What Zhang Houye did was no different.
So he led the brothers in the Beijing camp to suffer punishment and even die.
When going out to select soldiers and horses, many of the selected cavalrymen were very unhappy. They had to obey the military orders only because they were difficult to disobey.
Zhang Yanling certainly understood what these people were thinking. However, this was precisely one of the most important reasons why Zhang Yanling led the Zhenwei Battalion cavalry to go on an expedition.
Although after half a year of intensive military and physical training, Zhenwei Camp has greatly improved its combat skills and physical fitness. However, changes on the mental level are obviously more difficult than combat skills and physical fitness.
many.
The real power of a soldier and horse is actually the strength of the heart, the fearlessness and strength of the spirit. That is the real power.
Training is of course extremely important, but ten thousand trainings are not worth one actual combat. Although this is a bit exaggerated, there are many things that cannot be experienced or learned during training.
Although the training in Zhenwei Camp has always been called "actual combat" training, no matter how practical it is, it is not real actual combat. The life-and-death fight on the battlefield, the experience of bloody battles with swords, swords, shadows, etc., is far from what you can get through training. Real experience.
The spirit of bravery and fearlessness, true obedience to orders and prohibitions, and the embodiment of true combat skills can all be cultivated and tested through the baptism of blood and fire on the battlefield.
Zhang Yanling wanted to build the Zhenwei Battalion into a real military force, instead of being old soldiers with poor military discipline and weak combat effectiveness like most of the Beijing Battalion, so he had to let them experience actual combat.
If it were not for the long distance and the inability to send the entire Zhenwei Battalion to the counter-insurgency battlefield thousands of miles away, Zhang Yanling would have wanted the entire Zhenwei Battalion to participate in the counter-insurgency. But in the end, even if only three thousand cavalry could accompany him, for
As far as the construction of the entire Zhenwei Camp is concerned, it has already been of great benefit.
In this counter-insurgency operation, the three thousand cavalrymen experienced a huge test and overcame unimaginable difficulties. Although there were some unsatisfactory aspects in the battle, the overall performance was remarkable.
Crossing the desert Gobi, detouring hundreds of miles to attack the city of Ningxia. Even in the end, under the leadership of Zhang Yin, they defeated the rebels with a small number. This series of actual combat has made the soldiers of the Zhenwei Battalion
A radical change has taken place at the spiritual level.
After the baptism of blood and fire, the cavalrymen had a chilling air, a fearful and chilling sense of oppression.
Zhang Yanling was very satisfied with this result.
Three days later, the cavalry arrived at the Hejin Ferry. This was the ferry crossing when they arrived. After crossing the Hejin Ferry, they could enter Shanxi Province and cross the Taihang Official Road to the capital. However, what they did not expect was that a few days ago, a
A heavy rainstorm hit the area, and flash floods broke out upstream of Hejin Ferry. The river surged and flooded the ferry dock.
Not only that, because of the floods, the roads were blocked and the people suffered terribly.
Seeing that the flood was not likely to recede in a short time, the ferry could not cross the river. As a last resort, Zhang Yanling ordered the cavalry to detour south along the river, choosing to enter Kaifeng via Henan Prefecture, and cross the river north through the northern ferry of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Although this would detour hundreds of miles, the official road in Henan's boundary was wide and accessible, making it easier for the cavalry to pass. Moreover, Kaifeng Fubei Ferry was a large ferry with a wide river surface and gentle water flow, so it would not be affected by muddy water.
However, after entering Henan Prefecture, Zhang Yanling's mood became heavier and heavier.
While marching on the official road, Zhang Yanling and others saw a large number of refugees fleeing. The floods in the upper reaches washed away several dams in the Yellow River, causing the embankments to collapse. The collapse of one embankment would affect the people in a large area.
It washed away residential farmland and crops, destroying everything the people relied on for survival. Several dams collapsed, causing the displacement of nearly 10,000 people in Henan Prefecture.
Fortunately, Zhang Yanling had a good harvest in Ningxia Town this time, and several carts were full of gold and silver. Seeing this, he delayed for a day and asked Zhang Yin to take people to buy some grain nearby, and helped some people along the way.
However, due to the large number of refugees, this kind of relief is just to comfort one's conscience and cannot solve the problem. Such a thing requires large-scale relief from the court, as well as rush repairs of dams, drainage and planting, in order to solve the problem.
After entering Kaifeng Prefecture, what made everyone dumbfounded was that Kaifeng Prefecture was experiencing a severe drought. The fields on both sides of the official road were withered and yellow, the ground was cracked, and the crops and seedlings were like withered grass.
A large number of people were also displaced due to drought. The situation was very miserable.
Zhang Yanling is really speechless. Less than a hundred miles apart, some floods and some droughts are simply incomprehensible. The water of the Yellow River is close at hand, but it is difficult to solve the disaster of drought. The water conservancy facilities of the Ming Dynasty were in ruins.
It's obvious. I don't know what the adults in the court are busy with all day long.
But the good news is that when passing by Kaifeng Prefecture, he saw Kaifeng Prefecture officials preparing to provide relief to the people. This made Zhang Yanling feel a little relieved.
It is a very dangerous thing to encounter natural disasters and disperse refugees. It is not only a livelihood issue for the victims, but also a public security issue. Improper handling of natural disasters and man-made disasters can most easily induce civil commotion. This must be taken extremely seriously.
A few days later, everyone crossed the river north via Kaifeng Prefecture's North Ferry, and two days later passed through Daming Prefecture's Shunde Prefecture and arrived at Zhending Prefecture.
In the evening of the same day, we arrived in Zhaozhou, Zhending Prefecture.
Zhang Yanling did not disturb the local government. Thousands of cavalry passed through the border with great momentum, which might cause panic. Furthermore, Zhang Yanling was also afraid that local officials would come and send them to engage in flattery activities, which would make him uncomfortable. These things
It had already happened on the way here.
In a small county under the jurisdiction of Henan Prefecture, Zhang Yanling's original intention was to stop and see the damage caused by the embankment collapse and see if there was any possibility of helping to repair the embankment. As a result, the local county magistrate learned that Jianchanghou was quelling the rebellion.
After their triumphant victory, they passed by here, so they brought dozens of officials to greet them. They were playing gongs and drums, making it very lively. They also said that they had prepared a banquet to welcome Zhang Houye and the soldiers who were suppressing the rebellion.
Zhang Yanling really didn’t know what to say. Victims of floods were everywhere inside and outside the city. No one came to help, and the Yellow River dam broke and no one repaired it. The county magistrate actually wanted to greet him with great fanfare and set up a banquet to reward himself. How could he do the banquet himself?
Swallow?
After that, Zhang Yanling decided not to camp in the city of the prefecture and county again, so as not to disturb the local area.
The soldiers and horses camped and rested in a forest a few miles south of Zhaozhou City. After drinking water and eating dry food, the soldiers and horses all rested. The soldiers were very tired, so they soon fell asleep and slept soundly.
While sleeping until midnight, Zhang Yanling was suddenly woken up by someone.
"Master Hou, Master Hou, wake up quickly, wake up quickly."
Zhang Yanling yawned and sat up, and was startled when she saw Chen Shiyi squatting in front of him and staring blankly at him.
"What's going on? You were so surprised that your butt burned?" Zhang Yanling asked.
Chen Shi said, "Master Hou, go take a look. Something seems to have happened in Zhaozhou City."
Zhang Yanling stood up quickly and said, "Something happened? What do you mean?"
"Fires were everywhere and there were shouts of killing. I don't know what happened." Chen Shiyi said hurriedly.
Zhang Yanling got up quickly, followed Chen Shiyi out of the forest, and quickly climbed to a nearby hillside. Zhang Yin and several people had already arrived here, and everyone was looking towards the Zhaozhou City several miles away.
"Master Marquis, look, there seems to be a war in the city." Zhang Yin saw Zhang Yanling arriving and hurriedly handed over the telescope in his hand.
Zhang Yanling looked from a distance and saw fires all over the city in the distance, and there seemed to be faint shouts of killing. So he used a telescope to take a closer look. Although he still couldn't see clearly, the fighting in Zhaozhou City was no longer tolerated.
Suspicion. The fire was fierce in the direction of the east city, there were houses burning, and there were torches shaking up and down the city.
"This isn't a border town? Why are there still wars? It's very strange." Zhang Yin asked from the side.
Zhang Yanling put down the telescope, pondered for a moment and said: "This is in Hebei. Banditry is serious in Hebei. There are thieves and bandits. Maybe the thieves and bandits are causing trouble."
"Ah? Do thieves and bandits dare to attack the city? Are you so brave? Is this even possible?" Chen Shiyi said in astonishment.
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "There is no need to guess, just take a thousand brothers to have a look. Regardless of whether they are bandits or not, if we encounter them, they will be unlucky."