Because of Chen Xin's previous words, Xie Zheng developed a strong curiosity about the "Little Li Thief" Li Laiheng who was entrenched in the Handong area. Since there was no other way out now, Xie Zheng planned to go to the Handong area first. , observe Li Laiheng's policies, and see what is so strange about this unique "rogue bandit" in Chen Xin's mouth.
Tang County is about 120 miles away from Nanyang in the northwest and 200 miles away from Xiangfan in the southwest. It is connected to Yuzhou in the north and Zaoyang in the south. It is a place with convenient transportation. However, Zuo Liangyu passed by here when he retreated to Xiangyang, and the county town was damaged by wars and fires. It was unbearable, and there were hungry people everywhere supporting the old and the young, heading south in groups.
Xie Zheng was surprised, but then an idea came to his mind. After asking around, it turned out that the destination of these hungry people heading south was Suizhou.
People all said that the "Little Li King" and "Li Gongzi" were dividing the land in Suizhou, reclaiming wasteland and providing disaster relief. The young crops in De'an and Huangzhou were flourishing, and they were as prosperous as the peaceful season.
Although these statements are just rumors, different people have different opinions about the weather in Suizhou. Some said that Li Laiheng was exempted from paying taxes for three years there, while others said that the taxes were not fully exempted, but land and cattle would be given to hungry people. Others say that there is nothing magical about Suizhou, but that the laws and regulations are strict, the officials dare not flaunt their laws, and the people dare not violate the laws, so the situation is particularly stable.
Regardless of the differences in what everyone said, Xie Zheng also heard one thing, that is, what everyone has in common is that Suizhou is indeed a paradise for the world. It seems to be isolated from the mountains and seas of the troubled times and has become the world in the future. Taoyuan Township.
Is Suizhou really a paradise?
Going southwest from Tang County, you will reach Xiangyang where Zuo Liangyu is entrenched. Going from the southeast, you will reach Suizhou, Li Laiheng's headquarters.
Xie Zheng stood at the fork in the road, looking at the deserted road to the southwest and the dilapidated ruins after the left army passed by. Looking to the southeast, it was also a simple road, but this road was now crowded with people. The flow of people is like a raging current, pushing the fundamental manpower competing for the world to Suizhou.
"Sir, are you going to Suizhou too?"
Xie Zheng was dressed as a scholar and wore a blue cloth square scarf. His appearance was very different from other refugees, which naturally attracted the attention of others. A stranger riding a mule approached and inquired about Xie Zheng's background.
He stopped in front of Xie Zheng and asked again: "Are you from Kaifeng? We all heard that the Chu army has captured Kaifeng, but we don't know the specific situation. If you came from Kaifeng, you should know what happened in the north. What's going on?"
"Are you from Suizhou? I did come from Kaifeng. Now people say that Suizhou is a paradise unlike any other. Naturally, I want to take a look. I wonder what your surname is?"
The mule rider smiled and replied: "My surname is Yan. As long as you don't go to Xiangyang, the road from here to Suizhou will be smooth and stable. But if you take the wrong road, you will end up in Xiangyang." Within the territory, it would be a big misfortune. After General Zuo lost the battle in Zhuxian Town, he would rather kill the wrong person than let go. He would kill all passers-by from Henan to Xiangyang without distinguishing between good and bad. Light."
Xie Zheng was shocked. Fortunately, when he was at the fork in the road, he did not have the idea of going to Xiangyang to take a look. Otherwise, wouldn't his head be in a different place now?
The man didn't wait for Xie Zheng's reply and asked again: "Sir, what is the situation in Kaifeng now? We people in the south only know that the invading army has broken through the city of Kaifeng, but what exactly happened? Later, the invading army in Kaifeng We don’t know what he did. I am a businessman who has entered the world. If I don’t know the current situation in the north, I really don’t know how to conduct business in the future.”
"Oh, I turned out to be a merchant selling goods." Xie Zheng still had doubts about this person's identity, but introduced him, "The rebels are not like ordinary thieves. They have many punishments after entering the city. The inspector's soldiers will kill anyone who takes the grass and trees of the people without authorization and buys and sells them by force. But apart from the rebellion, there is also Cao rebel. Although their military discipline is better than that of the officers and soldiers, it is not much better. .”
"From this point of view, if the invaders occupy Kaifeng, it will not cause any serious harm to us merchants?"
Xie Zheng saw that this person did not talk about thieves, bandits, thieves, or Chuangni, but only Chuangjun, and he doubted his identity even more. His eyes flashed, and he said instead: "After Chuangni occupied Kaifeng, The self-proclaimed Changyi Prefecture does not use the Chongzhen era name, and all documents and notices are changed to chronology of stems and branches. There is a prime minister in the middle, who is appointed by the famous Niu Jinxing, and there are six governments: officials, households, rituals, soldiers, punishments, and work. Separate government affairs. Each government appoints a minister."
"I read the announcement when I was in Kaifeng. It said that He Ruizheng was the minister of the civil affairs government, Liu Chang was the minister of the courtesy government, Li Zhigang was the minister of the military government, Zhao Ying was the minister of the household government, An Xingmin was the minister of the criminal government, and Xu Shangde was the minister of the workers' government. Minister."
In later history, the Chuang Army established the central government and six governments only after they captured Xiangyang, so the candidates for the six governments were mainly people from Huguang.
But now that Kaifeng has not been flooded, Li Zicheng has established a central government in Kaifeng. Naturally, most of the ministers of the six governments are from Henan.
Among them, Zhao Ying, the minister of the Household Government, and An Xingmin, the minister of the Criminal Government, were both elected in the same year as Niu Jinxing. They all took up the position of ministers because of Niu Jinxing's recommendation. He Ruizheng, the minister of the Li Government, and Liu Chang, the minister of the Li Government, were both in their hometown in Henan. Ding You's Hanlin. Xu Shangde, the minister of the Workers' Government, was a native of Luoyang. Only Li Zhigang, the minister of the Military Government, was special. He was a student in Jiaxian County, but he was appointed as a minister because of his meritorious service in recruiting troops.
In later history, most of these people held local positions in the army, either as defense envoys or governors, and now they have become the backbone of the central government.
"Zhao Ying and An Xingmin were both born in the same year as Niu Jinxing. This Niu Juren has great ambitions." The mule rider seemed to have a good understanding of the relationships among the characters within the Chuang Army, and then asked: "What about Cao Cao? There is a rumor among the people. Although Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, is the deputy marshal, he does not obey the orders of King Chuang. Since the Chuang army has established its foundation in Kaifeng, how will this living Cao Cao be placed?"
"Li Zicheng now calls himself the Grand Marshal of the Civil and Military Prime Minister of Fengtian Advocacy, and Cao Cao is called the Deputy Marshal of the Civil and Military Coordinator of Fengtian Advocacy. I heard that this Deputy Marshal Cao originally planned to send people to various prefectures and counties to appoint officials, but They were all beaten back by Li Zicheng. It seems that Li Zicheng said that if Deputy Marshal Cao appointed his own officials, then the food and fodder for Cao Ying's soldiers and horses would have to be raised by Cao Ying himself in the future, and he would no longer provide any assistance to the camp, so he stopped."
When Xie Zheng said this, he smiled at the mule rider in front of him and said, "Is your surname really Yan? He asked in such detail, and he seems to know the inside story of the Chuang Army better than I, who came from Kaifeng. I'm afraid it's not true. Are you from Suizhou?"
The mule rider was stunned for a moment, then laughed several times. He didn't care, got off the mule, put his arm around Xie Zheng's shoulders, and said, "I am from Suizhou. Since you want to go to Suizhou, sir, why don't you go to Suizhou?" Shall I lead the way?"
"Then please reveal your true name."
The man riding the mule smiled and said nothing, and asked: "Sir, you haven't revealed it yet."
Xie Zheng pondered for a moment, then answered truthfully: "I, Xie Zheng, whose surname is Mingxian, was originally from Shandong, and has lived in Liaoyang for three generations. After the invasion of Liao Dynasty from the East, I took refuge in the residence of my uncle Xie Yi Gong. Unfortunately, my uncle was framed by Yang Wuling and was captured by the emperor. I had no place to go, and I heard that there were troubles in the Central Plains, so I joined the Li Xianfeng Curtain in Yufu to work. Recently, Kaifeng was occupied by the rebels. Someone I knew well had joined the camp and suggested that I go to Suizhou first. Observe Mr. Li’s status as a political figure."
The Yang Wuling in his words refers to Yang Sichang. In the Ming Dynasty, people were often referred to by their place of origin. For example, Zhang Jugong was called Zhang Jiangling, and Wen Tiren was often called Wucheng. This became a convention.
“Mr.
"Exactly."
The mule rider frowned. He had no good impression of nobles from aristocratic families, but he also knew that there were indeed some truly talented and learned people among such people. Among the people he was familiar with, there was one such person.
"It turns out that he is the son of a high-ranking family. Even though he is well-dressed and well-dressed, he still wants to go to Suizhou?"
"The Central Plains is in chaos, bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles, but the capital is still in silence and intoxicated. Since it is said among the people that Suizhou is the land of peach blossoms today, I naturally want to see whether King Li is Tao Yuanliang or Xie Anshi."
"If you want to find a reclusive sage like Tao Xie, then going to Suizhou is the opposite." The mule rider couldn't help but show a strange look on his face when he thought of Li Laiheng's conduct. "But if you want to find If you are from Peishang, then come to Suizhou."
A person from Peishang? Xie Zheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. There was only one big shot in history with the nickname "Pei".
"I have reported my birth name, but I still don't know what kind of person Mr. Yan is in Suizhou."
The mule rider shrugged and said, "My surname is not Yan, my name is Gu Junen1, and I am the associate shopkeeper of Kendeji Trading Company under Huguang Chuangjun."
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1. Gu Junen, a native of Huguang, was born in Xiang. He was bohemian, fond of military affairs, and good at strategy. Historically, after he joined the army with his fellow scholar Liu Jingxia and his brother Gu Junming, he often made important suggestions and became one of the important counselors of the army. In addition to proposing the strategy of "defeat Guanzhong first, then attack three sides, and then attack the capital", he was also one of the early people in the army who realized the threat of the Qing army. When he first entered Beijing, Gu Junen warned Li Zicheng that " We must not be careless outside Shanhaiguan, and we should save money and train troops to prepare for it."
Gu Junen is from Huguang, but now that the main force of the intruders has obtained a Kaifeng city that has not been damaged by the flood, it is bound to start operations centered on Kaifeng and Henan scholars, such as Gu Junen and other less well-known Deng Yanzhong, Yang Yongyu and others, probably a few years ago. It was difficult to quickly become the decision-making core of the Chuang Army, but this provided Li Laiheng with a group of people who could be driven.