The army of the Little Tigers was about to be dispatched. As usual, Li Laiheng imitated Li Zicheng, wearing a half-worn dark blue patchwork arrow jacket and a tight silk ribbon. However, instead of wearing a sheepskin cloak like Li Zicheng, he wore a young suit.
A velvet cloak sewn for him.
He wore the iconic felt hat on his head and a pair of thick-soled felt riding boots. He took the riding whip from Zhang Pili's hand, got on his horse, and first went to look at each camp. Li Laiheng's riding skills have improved a lot recently, and he is almost
They lost to some old brothers from northern Shaanxi who had been fighting for ten years in the Chuang Army.
He was used to putting on a show, and before leaving, he went to various camps to visit the soldiers and villagers who stayed behind in Xiaohu Village. This time, because things were in a hurry, Li Laiheng did not recite the background information of the people he was visiting in advance, so he had to pay a quick visit.
No more putting on a big show to show off your people-friendly and considerate image.
Gao Yigong, Bai Wang, Hao Yaoqi and Fang Yiren, who had reluctantly joined the army, had already pulled the team outside the village gate. A team of more than 500 people lined up in the narrow village gate and mountain road, with flags waving and armor
The battle is clear and the tiger-headed flag is moving in the wind, giving Li Laiheng a dreamy feeling as if he is from another world.
What virtue and ability do you have that you can control the fate of a thousand people?
Li Laiheng drove the horse and walked forward in small steps. He walked up to Gao Yigong and said: "We need to go to the northwest first, to Lao Bai's Luanchuan Town. After joining his troops, we will go to the due north.
Let’s go to the Xiong’er Mountain area between Yishui and Luoshui!”
"Yes, let's go to Luanchuan first." Before Gao Yigong could answer, Bai Wang raised his riding whip, pointed to the northwest and said, "Luanchuan Town borders Song County to the east, Lushi to the west, and Lushi to the south.
Adjacent to the Xixia and shoulder to shoulder with Yongning to the north, it is the southern gate of Luoyang. It is known as 'four rivers, three mountains and two rivers'. Although it is in the mountains, its location is a strategic hub for commerce and trade."
Bai Wang then sighed and explained: "Although Luanchuan Town is just a town, it has a city wall. I asked the locals and it is said that the city wall was built in the Song Dynasty and is very strong. So although I took Luanchuan
Most of the mountainous areas in this area, but the plain area centered on the town, are not in our hands. This cannot be compared with Laiheng. Nanzhao County has almost become the world of the Little Tigers except inside the county walls.
"
"Okay, Lao Bai, please don't give me the soup. Don't I know how much I weigh?" Bai Wang's praise made Li Laiheng very happy to hear it, and he felt very grateful. However, he was naturally still modest.
With a few words, you can act like you are not taking any credit or being arrogant.
It's just that Hao Yaoqi didn't know how to look at the direction of the wind. When he saw Li Laiheng's "self-effacing" words, he said smoothly: "Yes, Lao Bai, our housekeeping team must know how good they are. Your trick of convincing people
, there is no use in using big words."
Fortunately, Fang Yiren was superior in skills, so he hurriedly answered: "There is a saying in the art of war. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one be victorious in every battle. It is also said that one should be lenient when the enemy is expected. To manage a team is to know oneself, never be arrogant, and always expect the enemy to be obedient.
Tolerant but strict with others, this prudence and attentiveness are really the style of famous ancient generals."
After all, Fang Yiren was a scholar, and he came from a wealthy family like the Fang family in Tongcheng. If he really wanted to flatter Li Laiheng seriously, he would naturally be able to impress Li Laiheng.
Li Laiheng was in a happy mood, whipped his horse, rushed to the front, and led everyone down the mountain. The Little Tigers lived in the Funiu Mountains, and Mr. Li's reputation had spread to the whole province of Henan, so Li Laiheng personally made this trip
After leaving the mountain, it is even more important to achieve greater achievements and fame. Sooner or later, everyone in the world will know how powerful this Mr. Li is.
The large army of soldiers and horses marched north along the Funiu Mountains. Li Laiheng looked into the distance and saw thousands of mountains overlapping each other.
The vague clouds are all gray and blue.
The peaks from the northwest to the southwest are like a blue ocean at this time. Although this mountainous area is also very damaged due to continuous disasters, compared with the barren Yunxi and Shangluo, the land of Zhongzhou is still much richer!
The soldiers ran among the magnificent mountains and rivers in western Henan, climbed over the main trunk of Funiu Mountain, and entered the small basin where Luanchuan Town is located. Although Bai Wang failed to control the plain area in the center of Luanchuan Town, the surrounding mountainous areas
The tyrants and local bandit armed forces are at least nominally obedient to Bai Wang's orders and flags. The Little Tiger Team travels through this area without having to worry about being unexpectedly attacked, and the supplies of food, drinking water, and horse grass are also very convenient.
Everyone gathered in the valley to the west of Luanchuan Town, waiting for Bai Wang to bring his soldiers and horses to join them. Bai Wang also brought a team of nearly 200 people.
Although it was less than half of the 500 troops dispatched by the Little Tigers this time, Bai Wang was able to mobilize 200 troops to participate in the expedition to Xiong'er Mountain. Thinking about it, his total troops should be nearly 400 to 500. And Bai Wang
The troops in Wang's army are more distinctive than the Little Tigers. The clothes worn by the soldiers are very new. It seems that they have been newly bought or newly sewn recently. This old white man is really doing well in the Luanchuan Town area.
!
When Gao Yigong saw this, he felt even more ashamed. He said to Li Laiheng and Bai Wang with deep apologies: "You called me Brother Gao for no reason, but I fell behind this time! Everyone was in Funiu Mountain and
The development of Luanchuan Town is so smooth, but I hit a wall at Xiong'er Mountain and suffered a lot in front of Yu Dazhong. Now I have to drag you two along and ask you to go such a long way to help me. It's really embarrassing!
"
Li Laiheng thought that Gao Yigong was indeed a man with the potential to be a general, but many times he did things without thorough consideration. In later history, when Gao Yigong led the Zhongzhen Battalion in Guangxi, he did not think thoroughly. First,
He had a fierce conflict with the local warlords for the sake of the Yongli court that existed in name only; and then helped the Southern Ming court resist Sun Kewang's attempt to claim the title of King of Qin, and made enemies of the Daxi Army in vain. As a result, the Zhongzhen Battalion was unable to gain a foothold in Guangxi and had to go north to Kuidong.
.
However, after all, Gao Yigong is still very young and has a lot of room for growth. However, Li Laiheng never thought that he was younger than Gao Yigong. But in his heart, he had already begun to regard himself as the superior of Gao Yigong.
Self-comments on the characters reveal unusual pride and ambition.
"Don't blame yourself, Yigong. This is not a problem of your ability, but a limitation of the situation." When Li Laiheng comforted Gao Yigong, he unknowingly changed his title of Gao Yigong from "Big Brother Gao" to "Yigong".
.
Bai Wang also followed up and said: "This is indeed due to the situation. I think Luanchuan Town is a node. Continuing north from Luanchuan, the closer you get to Luoyang, the more dilapidated the place is, and the harder it is for us to achieve good development. Last time I talked to
I went to Xiong'er Mountain once and went north from here. Along the way, I saw undulating mountains, dilapidated villages, sparsely populated areas, weeds everywhere, and swarms of foxes and rabbits. It was a desolate scene. No wonder people in Henan say, 'If you are rich, you will be poor.
Henan Prefecture'."
Li Laiheng snorted coldly and said: "The world says that Chongzhen is some kind of holy emperor, but if he is really powerless, why don't we see him reduce the reward to his uncle, Prince Fu? This Prince Zhu, the salt given to him by the court every year
Yin, just stop this. Do Chongzhen and Governor Yang still need to pay so much additional salary? The world is poor but the king is fat. Chongzhen is short of money. It is just that his relatives are more important than the common people in the world.
It’s just too much, isn’t all Ming Dynasty’s money in the palaces of his relatives?”
When they were active in Yunxi and Shangluo, they didn't feel it clearly. It wasn't until they entered Henan that they really felt the power of the Ming vassal kings. Henan alone had seven vassal kings, including King Fu.
This is the top vassal who is known as "the world is poor but the king is fat".
As long as the fertile farmland is slightly better, almost all of it is in the name of the feudal prince. Some of it is taken advantageously by the feudal princes, and some of them are because the people are unable to pay taxes and services, so they have to take the land and transfer it to the name of the feudal prince. In addition,
, although there were some laws and regulations in the Ming Dynasty that restricted the princes from doing business and making profits, in fact it was just empty talk. The local government could not regulate the princes at all. Especially in Henan, the princes opened shops and did business everywhere, and the royal palace's flattery became a
The largest owners and shopkeepers in Henan and other smaller merchants were absorbed by the feudal kings and became accountants under the royal palace.
The imperial court's indiscriminate distribution of salt to the feudal lords was even worse. Not only did it severely corrupt the Salt Law, but it also severely affected the salaries that depended on salt. As a result, the government could only inflict additional cuts on the people, becoming a source of salary to put out the fire.
potential.
Everyone was very angry after hearing this, and Hao Yaoqi even pulled out his sword and cut off a few branches to vent his anger. Gao Yigong tried to persuade everyone that the imperial court favored the vassal king and valued the clan over the people. This was a path to self-destruction sooner or later.
After receiving retribution, everyone was asked to collect their emotions and continue marching.
Just as Bai Wang said, after continuing to walk north from Luanchuan Town and entering the Xiong'er Mountain Mountain Area, the road became more and more depressed. This was not only because the Xiong'er Mountain Mountain Area was closer to Luoyang and was affected by King Fu's plundering; but also because
Yu Dazhong killed innocent people indiscriminately, and when he felt displeased, he razed a village and his entire family.
Xiong'er Mountain was originally named after its two main peaks towering into the clouds, just like a pair of bear's ears. The so-called "two peaks compete for beauty, and the wells are inscribed with ears". This is also a sacred mountain of Taoism, with many stone carvings and cliffs. When it was most prosperous, there were Taoist priests in the mountain.
There are hundreds of people. Even though the mountainous area is now very dilapidated and desolate, there are still more than ten Taoist temples such as the Zushi Temple, Linggong Temple, Laojun Temple, and the Great Holy Temple.
According to Gao Yigong's introduction, these Taoist priests are now also forming strongholds to protect themselves. There are several cottages in Xiong'er Mountain, and the owners of the cottages are Taoist priests. Some Taoist priests have simply transformed the Taoist temples on the top of the mountain into cottages.
Li Laiheng looked at the heroic spirit of Wei Wei and Guan Luo in Xiong'er Mountain, and couldn't help but sigh: "Do you know? During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, after Li Mi of Wagang Village was defeated, it was in Xiong'er Mountain that he was rebelled by Sheng Yan of the Tang Army.
Killed with an arrow.”
Hao Yaoqi pulled the reins and cursed with a smile: "I know, I know, this Li Mi and Song Jiang are the number one figures, they are both hypocritical! If Cheng Yaojin becomes the old boss of Wagang Village, there will be no Li Shimin in the world.
share!”
"Haha, Yao Qi, are you secretly trying to pretend to be the boss?" Li Laiheng exposed Hao Yao Qi's little thoughts, and then asked Gao Yigong, "We are far away from where your soldiers and horses are stationed, and Li Hao
How far is the mountain village?"
Gao Yigong smiled, pointed to the distant mountain peak, and said: "It's not far away. Over there is Xiaogu Mountain, and my soldiers and horses are stationed at the foot of the mountain. Farther away is Dagushan Mountain, and Li Hao's village is
Here, there is a path between Dagushan Mountain and Xiaogushan Mountain that goes through the mountain. The valley after passing through it is called Chaoyang Cave. There is a Taoist temple converted into a mountain village there. Now there is a Taoist priest named Puxiang.