In more than ten days, the rebel army grew rapidly. Originally, the rebellion was about to behead the nine tribes, but many people were still cautious and wait-and-see. Most of the people were actually silent lambs, and they did not dare to step out without hesitation or repercussions.
A step on the road.
However, the rebels were victorious one after another. In the past, the officers, soldiers and officials, who were regarded as ferocious beasts and did not dare to show any disobedience, were as vulnerable as clay sculptures and paper.
As one city after another was captured, victory after victory occurred before our eyes.
When those rebels were carrying gold and silver in their arms, holding their arms around the beautiful wives and daughters of officials, eating with their mouths dripping, and drunkenly laughing on the streets.
When the heads of officials one after another were hung on the flagpole, bandits and young people from all directions gathered to join the rebel army.
When others who are usually not as good as themselves join the rebel army, are promoted to small bosses, and walk by with arrogance and arrogance.
The people finally stopped struggling and hesitating in their hearts. It was time to make up their minds, otherwise they would not be able to make the trip.
If at the beginning of the incident, Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Yang Hu and others used the method of coercing the people to join. Then today, more than a month later, the people no longer need to coerce. They have begun to actively join the rebels.
Even at this stage, there is a threshold for joining the rebel army. The old and weak will not be accepted, and the timid will not be accepted. Even if you want to join the rebel army, you need to be given some benefits.
This is really a turn of events, and things are unpredictable.
The imperial court regarded the people as nothing more than grassroots, and the common people regarded the imperial court as their enemy. The bravery of the rebels was based on determination with no retreat, which also made them more willing to fight and more ruthless than the officers and soldiers. They were not inferior in hand-to-hand combat.
This ragtag group of people is growing rapidly and quickly becoming a real army.
Of course, Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Yang Hu, Zhao Sui and others were not satisfied with capturing a few small counties. They expected that the imperial troops and horses would gather in Bazhou to guard the gateway to the north of the capital. However, they currently have no plans to attack the capital.
In the capital city, there are 200,000 soldiers and horses in the capital camp alone. With the current strength of the rebel army, isn't it just an egg against a rock? The leaders of the rebel army are not that stupid. Their plan is to occupy more places in Hebei.
In the state capital, occupying a larger base can further strengthen the troops and horses, and the materials obtained will be further enriched. Only when a guy is tough can he be qualified to challenge.
After the successful annihilation of Shenlong Zhongwei, the defensive strength of most state capitals in Hebei was already lackluster. In the Ming Dynasty, except for the nine-border town and the capital where a large number of soldiers and horses were stationed, the local defense strength was actually very weak.
Taking Hebei as an example, except for the Shenlong Central Guards and the two guards in Hejian Prefecture, there are not many soldiers and horses in various places. The regiment training and armed forces of the local state capital, the power of the government officials and the local warriors, etc., are actually considered
It's not a military force. The group training can barely be called an army, and the rest are just manpower to maintain law and order and arrest bandits.
In the entire Hebei area, the regular army does not exceed 20,000, and the total number of soldiers does not exceed 28,000. Now that the Shenlong Zhongwei has been destroyed, the two guards of Hejian Prefecture have retreated to the small county town of Renqiu. Other large areas of land
Conveniently, the rebels were left to roam freely.
On the ninth day of the second lunar month, Liu Qi's 5,000 troops of the rebel army attacked the northwest. Within eight days, they connected the city of Kerong and Dingxing two counties, and finally captured Yizhou and opened the passage to the Taihang Mountains.
On the tenth day of February, Yang Hu led 10,000 troops to attack westward and captured the two cities of Ansu'an Prefecture. Then he divided his troops to bypass Baoding Prefecture and captured the two counties of Gaoyang. The army completely surrounded Baoding Prefecture.
This Baoding is not the other Baoding. Baoding, located in the northwest of Wen'an, is the county seat, and this Baoding Prefecture is one of the six prefectures in Hebei. It is a big city.
Naturally, the prefect of Baoding refused to surrender and organized military and civilian manpower to resist and defend. However, Yang Hu was very cunning. When he conquered the four surrounding cities, he allowed thousands of rebels to mix with the fleeing refugees and enter Baoding Prefecture.
On February 23, when the siege of the city started, the rebels stormed the north gate and attracted a large number of soldiers and civilians to defend the north city. The more than a thousand rebels bared their fangs in the city and began to kill people. They captured the government office and arrested
When they arrived, the Baoding magistrate Li Qing's parents, wife, concubines, and two children were hacked to death on Beicheng Street in front of Li Qing. Their bodies were humiliated in front of everyone.
Li Qing, the prefect of Baoding, could not stand such stimulation. In addition, with the large number of rebels, he was unable to clean up the rebels in the city. Baoding was destined to be lost. In anger and pain, he jumped from the tower and fell to his death on the big stone below the city.
It only took one day for Yang Hu to capture the big city of Baoding Prefecture. This was a landmark moment, indicating that the rebels had been able to capture Dazhou Prefecture and occupy a large area of ​​territory.
It is worth mentioning that when the two armies reached their goal of occupying the entire Baoding Prefecture, the rebel army, which originally had only 15,000 troops, had now expanded to 40,000. Not only did they not suffer any losses, they actually grew stronger.
On the sixth day of March, Liu Liu and Zhao Sui arrived at Baoding Prefecture. In the Baoding Prefecture Office Square, nearly 60,000 troops were reorganized. Liu Liu was elected as the Grand Marshal of Fengtian, and Liu Qi, Yang Hu, Zhao Sui and others were appointed.
Deputy marshal, six generals and dozens of generals were enfeoffed below. The occupied cities were enfeoffed by county magistrates, magistrates and other officials.
At the same time, at the suggestion of Zhao Sui, Fengtian General Liu Chong issued General Order No. 1: to confiscate the land of all landlords and court officials in Baoding Prefecture, and then measure and distribute it to each household.
Each household was allocated acres of land based on head count, regardless of gender, age or child. The land was privately owned by the people and could be passed down to future generations. It would not be taken back unless there were no successors. It was stipulated that within three years, General Fengtian would not collect a grain of rice in tax, and military supplies would be
People pay by "voluntary donation". How much is optional.
This simply hits the heart of all the people. Land and property are the lifeblood of the people. To divide the land without paying taxes, this is simply the manifestation of the Bodhisattva.
Not only that, Liu Chong announced the Twelve Articles of Military Regulations of the Rebel Army and ordered the punishment of a group of rebel soldiers who wantonly killed people, raped their wives and daughters, and robbed their property.
The rebel army is inherently mixed, with a large number of thieves and gangsters mixed in. Once they have the power to seize life and death, they will be out of control.
Therefore, Zhao Sui suggested that a group of people must be dealt with and military regulations must be formulated to restrain the troops, otherwise these people will ruin the rebel army's major affairs.
Liu Chong followed his advice. This Zhao Sui was not only crazy in behavior and outstanding in strategy, but also knew how to manage affairs because he had read books and was a scholar. Liu Chong had him as if he had a right-hand man, and there were many things that he himself did not know.
Understand that things that seemed difficult to solve are easily solved.
In the Yamen Square of Baoding Prefecture, more than 60 scum of the rebel army who violated military regulations and harmed the people were executed in public. This greatly shocked the rebel army and made all the people let go of some things that were hanging in their hearts.
Liu Chong reorganized the 60,000-strong army into five armies: East, West, South, North and Central, each named after the Fengtian Army. For example, Liu Chong himself commanded the Fengtian Central Army, which had an army of 20,000. The remaining four armies were composed of three deputy generals and generals.
The commander-in-chief's response is still expanding, and in the future, armies from top to bottom, left, right, and behind will appear.
After this rectification and planning, the regulatory structure of the rebel army was basically formed. It was exactly two months before the Wen'an incident. Liu Chong and others did not expect that in just two months, things had already undergone such major changes.
On the seventh day of March, Liu Chong, Yang Hu, Zhao Sui and others were gathering in the lobby of the government office to discuss the next move. Everyone almost unanimously agreed to further expand the territory and capture Zhending Prefecture, Guangping Prefecture, and Daming Prefecture in the south.
.This can open up the passage to Kaifeng, Henan and open up the road south.
Everyone is well aware of the news that the imperial court is deploying troops and generals. Now we must seize the time to strengthen the troops, expand the territory, enhance the strength, and give the rebels room to move.
Just when everyone was making a decision to attack south, a dozen Chinese army guards escorted two people dressed in official uniforms to the front of the government office lobby.
"Report to the Grand Marshal, deputy marshals and generals. We have captured two imperial spies in the north of the city." The guard reported loudly.
"We are not spies, we are civil servants under Mr. Ma Zhongxi's account, and we were ordered to deliver the message." Someone shouted loudly.
"Oh?" Liu Chong said in surprise: "Ma Zhongxi? That Ma Zhongxi who is hiding in the small county of Renqiu and does not dare to fight with us?"
"Exactly. Mr. Ma ordered me to deliver a letter to General Liu Chong. I don't know which one is General Liu Chong." The man said hurriedly.
"Here I am, what's the letter? Let's take a look at it. What does he want from me? Do you want to surrender? Hahaha." Liu Chong laughed, and all the generals around him also laughed.
The letter was delivered to Liu Chong. Liu Chong opened it and read it. He was silent for a moment, and suddenly burst into laughter.
Zhao Sui, Yang Hu and others read this letter and laughed wildly again.
"Take them under custody and serve them well. Don't embarrass them." Liu Chong waved his hand.
After the two couriers were escorted away, Liu Chong smiled and asked everyone around him: "We are here to recruit people. What do you think?"