Zhao Zhongyi and Wang Jie came to pay a visit to the admiral Xu Dingguo. It was only more than three hundred miles from Yongcheng to Suizhou, along the Sui River and via Shangqiu. However, everything they saw along the way was a doomsday scene.
The embankment of the Sui River and the official road next to it were full of hungry people and refugees fleeing.
On the one hand, there were the civilian refugees who were forcibly driven north from Huainan, and on the other hand, the civilians in Henan fled in panic after hearing that Xu Dingguo had returned.
Even some small villages abandoned their villages and fled immediately after hearing that Xu Dingguo had returned.
There is no way, Xu Dingguo actually didn't stay in Henan for a few years at the end of Chongzhen, but his reputation was really bad.
Along the way, Zhao Zhongyi and the others led a team of 300 people, and even encountered several desperate attacks by bandits, some of whom were simply starving people. Seeing them riding horses and mules, they
Their eyes were glowing red, their throats were stretched out, and they gathered around desperately. Someone raised a long stick and shouted, and the hungry people gathered around.
Wang Jie's servants mercilessly cut with their swords and shot with their bows, but they could not stop them at all. It was not until hundreds of people died that the hungry people behind them were scared away.
Afterwards, the fat man Wang Jie ordered without mercy to cut off the heads of all the hungry people who were killed, and also asked his followers to record that they were ambushed by thousands of thieves on the road, fought and annihilated them, and beheaded more than 300 people.
This damn thing has become a piece of credit for him.
After that, they encountered several more attacks. The most dangerous one was when they were attacked by a group of horse thieves in the middle of the night. They had obviously been following them secretly and attacked them at night.
However, Fatty Wang was prepared for it. This time, three hundred people came, all riding horses and mules. He had one hundred servants and Zhao Zhongyi had two hundred. Fatty Wang’s servants were also veterans. Although Zhao Zhongyi’s servants were new recruits, they were all
They were the escorts who had gone on many missions with him and often sold salt, and they had many encounters with the Nianzi salt sellers.
He was on guard in advance and did not panic when he was attacked. He stayed in the camp and fought in the middle of the night. He actually beheaded more than fifty people and captured dozens of them. After interrogation, Wang Jie found out that they were the ones near Shangqiu. Wang Jie beheaded all the prisoners. He
There are more than a hundred more achievements in the war.
After that, he was attacked several times, but there was no threat at all. Instead, Wang Jie was given dozens more heads.
Wang Jie was also a very particular person. Every time he beheaded, he would share the profit with Zhao Zhongyi. He even arranged to give each person a beheading skill in every battle to ensure that everyone could advance to a higher level.
Even though the military merits of the Han army these days may not be redeemable for promotions, and even if they are awarded titles, they may not lead to actual duties, Fatty Wang still likes to maximize profits.
Anyway, after several battles, the three hundred troops heading north all have head skills on their heads, and some even have head skills from several battles. According to the rules, how many levels can they be promoted to?
Even Wang Jie and Zhao Zhongyi definitely have enough heads accumulated to be promoted to two or three levels.
If Zhao Zhongyi hadn't stopped him, Wang Jie would actually have gained more. There were refugees everywhere along the way. As long as he was willing, killing some hungry people by the way would also be a military achievement.
Even the most worthless head of a stray thief can still be exchanged for merit rewards, right?
Zhao Zhongyi persuaded him to establish a foothold in Henan in the future, and he had already gained a lot this time. There was no need to kill good people and take advantage of the merits. He had too many heads and it was difficult to carry them. Moreover, going too far was not enough, so he asked Fatty Wang to stop.
In this way, they walked more than three hundred miles for several days before reaching Suizhou.
"Why is the military gate stationed not in Shangqiu but in Suizhou?"
Zhao Zhongyi asked doubtfully while waiting at the entrance of Xu Dingguo's camp.
"Because this place is of great significance to the army. Do you know the house in front of you?"
Zhao Zhongyi looked at this place that was full of ruins. It had obviously been temporarily repaired, but it was still difficult to hide the decay of the ruins.
"Here was the residence of Yuan Ke, the former Minister of War who was honored by the Emperor Gao and the Fifth Dynasty and a veteran of the Four Dynasties."
Yuan Keli was once the governor of Denglai and the minister of the Ministry of War. He was Xu Dingguo's old boss. He was also Mao Wenlong's backer in Dongjiang. He also instigated the rebellion of Nurhachi's son-in-law Liu Aita. Anyway,
Sit in Denglai and create the Dongjiang River.
Yuan Keli was not only a veteran of the four dynasties and a loyal minister of the country, but also a capable minister.
During the Chongzhen period, scholars discussed that before Yuan Keli came out, the Jin people fell into Shenyang, Liaoyang and Guangning. The capital was under martial law and the government and the public were shocked. Yuan Keli left the town, built battleships and strengthened his troops, joined the islands to capture southern Liaoning, instigated rebellion and surrendered the generals, and took the initiative to attack. , retreating the enemy thousands of miles away.
The cunning man crouched in a corner and did not dare to move for three years.
When planning an attack with troops, a good general will not fight. In Yuan Keli's battle, the most important thing is to lead the battle, to cultivate prestige without fighting, to subjugate the enemy's troops without fighting, to be good at fighting and to end the war with fighting.
Yuan Keli resigned, Zhang Pan died and Liuhe was defeated, the elder Ge could not control the Liao Dynasty, the Jin people were not afraid, and they attacked far away with their troops, and they raided Juehua and attacked Ningyuan, playing with the wise master in the palm of his hand.
Wenlong died, conquered Korea, and became crippled. The Ming Dynasty would never be complete again.
Although these comments somewhat overstated Yuan Keli's ability, Yuan did launch a brilliant counterattack against Hou Jin during the Apocalypse, and after he left office, the situation in Liaodong began to collapse.
In Xu Dingguo's early years, it was Yuan Keli who single-handedly promoted him, and he was also the leader of his camp.
More than a year ago, Yuan Keli's son Yuan Shu was appointed as a patrol officer in Daliang. Because Daliang was hit by floods, he opened a mansion in Suizhou where his father's former minister was.
Xu Dingguo was also stationed in Suizhou at that time, and he had great respect for the son of his father-in-law. Yuan Shu had been an official in the Ministry of Household Affairs for a long time, and he moved to Suizhou to establish a government, which played a very good role in restraining Xu Dingguo.
But before the Suizhou Incident, the imperial court transferred Yuan Shu to Zhizhe, Fujian and Guangzhou to supervise grain and pay, and left Suizhou. Xu Dingguo had no one to control him anymore. Finally, Gao Jie, who was ordered by Shi Kefa to go north, went to Suizhou City. He was trapped and killed by Xu Dingguo in this Shangshu Palace.
Valley
This was also the beginning of the complete collapse of the Hongguang Dynasty.
Gao Jie was once an old member of Chuang King Li Zicheng. In his early years, he attacked Xu Dingguo's hometown and killed his whole family. There was a blood feud for a long time. However, Gao Jie went north and wanted to annex Xu Ding's tribe. He asked him to send his son to serve in his army to obey his orders. Xu Dingguo was ordered to leave Suizhou and follow the army northward.
Xu Dingguo was completely determined to bring down the Qing rebellion. He first got Gao Jie drunk at a banquet, then arranged for prostitutes to entangle Gao Jie's soldiers, and then directly bombarded Gao Jie's cave in the middle of the night, and his soldiers surrounded and killed him.
After Gao Jie's death, Xu Dingguo crossed the Yellow River and surrendered to the Qing army. Gao Jie's nephew Li Benshen and other troops invaded Suizhou to massacre the city.
Yuan Shu's mansion was also destroyed by the war. Yuan Shu was a world-famous calligrapher, painter, and collector. He had collected countless handed down calligraphy, calligraphy, and paintings, as well as many unique copies of Tang and Song Dynasties, but they were also burned down.
Xu Dingguo returned to Henan again. He did not open a government office in Luoyang, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, or Shangqiu, the capital of Guide. Instead, he chose Suizhou City, which had been destroyed by war for more than a year and had not yet recovered, and chose the ruins of Yuan Mansion as his headquarters. , the intention is obvious.
"Did my eldest brother also participate in the battle here in Chun?"
"Well, that battle can be said to be earth-shattering. Gao Jie still has a somewhat vicious reputation. Unfortunately, he is a gangster, arrogant but short-sighted. I really thought that the military would not dare to kill him."
On that day, Gao Jie only brought 300 soldiers into the city. Tens of thousands of people were stationed outside the city. He thought that Xu Dingguo in the city did not dare to do anything to him. He even ignored the persuasion of the governor Chen Qianfu and the governor Yue Qijie and invited them to enter the city together with the governor Wang Jinyan.
.
That night, he was killed.
Xu Dingguo deliberately opened the door to allow Governor Wang Jinyan, Governor Yue Qijie, and Inspector Chen Qianfu to escape from the city. Otherwise, none of the seven or eight hundred people who entered the city at that time would be able to escape.
However, in this battle, Xu Dingguo actually paid a high price. After the war, he was forced to flee and return to his hometown in Germany. Suizhou was raided and massacred by Li Benzhen and others, and even his tribe suffered a lot of losses.
Zhao Zhongyi felt a little disgusted with this Xu Dingguo. He was really a lawless, disloyal and unjust person.
In front of the incomplete gate of Yuan Mansion, the archway of Shangshu Di still stands.
Many people came to see the admiral, and they all brought many gifts and lined up in a long queue.
Xu Dingguo's general guarded the door arrogantly, and all those who came to visit first handed in their invitations, and then he arranged the order of entry according to official position and power.
They even have to seal the door as a sign of piety as a rule.
Although Wang Jie was an old subordinate of Xu Dingguo, he was only a newly appointed guerrilla, so after the family general talked to him for a few words, he only moved him up a few ranks.
Although the first-level admirals are far inferior to governors, governors and other officials, these are the times of war after all. These warriors have soldiers at hand, and sometimes they have the ability to be arrogant and domineering, and can override the civilian officials.
Members of the patrol, garrison, military preparations, grain supervisors, river channels, and even those involved in politics, magistrates, etc., all have to line up with gifts to see them. Because the situation is tense now, the support of soldiers is even more needed.
"We've been waiting all day, and it's almost dark."
"That's the rule." Wang Jie was not in a hurry.
"How about some more money?" Zhao Zhongyi asked.
Wang Jie was a little reluctant to give up, and compared to the group of Taoists, prefects, and even named generals, deputy generals, staff generals, etc., he felt that he was a small guerrilla and it didn't matter if he waited a little longer.
However, Zhao Zhongyi had other plans, "Brother, you have to spend the money when it's time to spend it. What's more, if you give the money to the military generals, won't you still be able to maintain good relations with them?"
"Okay." Wang Jie said.
He brought Zhao Zhongyi to the door again and greeted the general with a smile. In fact, he was sent to guard the door and he knew that he was not a very useful person, but just an ordinary servant.
"Brother,"
"It's not your turn yet, just wait."
Zhao Zhongyi directly handed over a small bag. The old man with one ear looked at it, grabbed it in his hand and shook it, and a pleasant sound came from inside.
"Dragon Silver?"
"My brother has a good ear."
"The dragon-patterned silver coins made in the Ming Dynasty in the south are very similar to Western silver coins. They are quite exquisite and not easy to be counterfeited. They are quite convenient to use." Yi Yier said with a smile.
"This is twenty yuan. Brother, can you do me a favor? We want to meet the old man from Junmen as soon as possible."
Twenty pieces of dragon silver, the smile on Yi Er's face became more friendly. Although this thing was made in the Ming Dynasty in the south, it can be used just as well in the north of the Yangtze River. Twenty pieces can be used as his salary for a year. Although this door package
Even if the filial piety is collected, not all of it will go into his pocket. According to the rules, the servants will have to divide it again, but doesn't he also have a share in it?
"Could it be that Wang Youji has made a sworn vows to you? Zhao Shoubei is indeed a cheerful person. I am determined to be my friend." After saying this, he confessed a few words to the other person, and then personally led the two of them into the queue.
At the beginning, Wang Jie was given ten taels of silver, and as an admiral of the old department, Wang Jie could only move a few people forward in the queue. Now that he added twenty silver dollars, he could immediately use the inner passage.
People have to sigh, this money is really useful.
But Zhao Zhongyi also saw clearly that the servants around Xu Dingguo were so greedy for money, so Xu Dingguo, the traitorous military leader, was actually nothing more than that.