In the early morning of the sixth day of the twelfth month of Chongzhen, the sky was bright and bright, and the north gate of Dingyuan was opened.

Under the guidance of the first cavalry battalion, one company and one platoon of the cavalry, more than 300 Dong Bu cavalry of the Third Cavalry Battalion of the National Protector Army rushed out of the city gate and headed north along the official road from Nanchong County to Dingyuan County. The wharf outside the north gate of Dingyuan County is also busy. A large boat untied its cable and rowed towards the ferry on the other side.

At the same time, a large group of men and horses poured out of the camp on the right bank of Yuechi Water. The two companies of the 2nd Cavalry Battalion of Tianquan Tusi, the cavalry of the 2nd Company of the Shuwangfu Guard Battalion, and the infantry of the 2nd and 3rd Companies of the 10th Battalion of the Caravan, with the support of the six cannons of the 1st Artillery Company and the 1st Baggage Battalion and 1 Company, began to clear the narrow strip of land between the right bank of Yuechishui and the left bank of the Jialing River.

This battle was the first battle after Zhu Pingjin arrived in northern Sichuan.

The area of clearance was selected from the old county seat of Dingyuan (now Wusheng County) to the bag-shaped area between the right bank of Yuechishui and the left bank of the Jialing River. This area is about 30 miles deep, about 20 miles wide at the bottom, and less than 78 miles wide at the mouth. According to the cavalry reconnaissance before the war, there were no large-scale local thugs in this area, only scattered local thugs who roamed and looted.

In line with the principle of winning the first battle, Zhu Pingjin and his generals made the most prudent arrangements, dispatched almost all the cavalry, and brought half of the artillery. According to the experience of the two battles of Jiangkou and Changpingshan, they believed that it was more than enough to deal with about 5,000 local rioters. Dingyuan County left one company of infantry and one artillery company, three platoons of baggage and two platoons of the first company of the first cavalry battalion, commanded by He Chengjun and Wei Gan. Under the cover of strong fortifications and city walls, the back road is equally worry-free.

In addition to the basic purpose of clearing out the local rioters and providing early warning and defense depth for the blockade of the Jialing River, this operation also had two purposes:

The first is to occupy the old county seat of Dingyuan County. There was Dingyuan County 30 years ago in Jiajing, so there was a dilapidated city wall. When Yin Jialin was down the river, he once used a platoon to search this abandoned town; Zhu Pingjin also used his telescope to observe the ancient city in the twilight, but failed to find any signs of life. Occupying the old county seat of Dingyuan can better control the Jialing River and occupy the lower reaches of Yuechi Water, providing a forward base for the next step of recovering Yuechi County.

The second is military training, so that the recruits of the 10th Battalion can feel the atmosphere of the big war. This is the real purpose of Zhu Pingjian.

He knew that in the three companies of the 10th Battalion, there were many soldiers from the left guard and the Chengdu Fifth Guard, who had escaped from the city, and they were contaminated with a strong market atmosphere in the flowery world of Chengdu. Some were farmers, some were merchants, some worked as bodyguards for gentry and merchants, and some worked as turtles in brothels. It is absolutely impossible for this rabble to change their minds overnight and become the standard revolutionary soldiers in Zhu Pingjian's mind because of Zhu Pingjian's reform measures in the left guard.

Only by seeing blood on the battlefield can they be shocked in their hearts and baptized in their spirits, so that most of them can undergo a benign transformation, and at the same time, a small number of people will be eliminated by the organization in the test. Zhu Pingjin dared to send the first company of the main force before the war precisely to observe their truest performance. He believed that under his nose, these soldiers would never dare to abandon their lord and flee. Otherwise, Zhu Pingjin has a way to clean up his hereditary soldiers, and he can clean up the eighteen generations of his ancestors!

……

In the early morning of winter, the mist gradually lifts, leaving a gray haze.

The winter days in Shu are always like this, and it is rare to see the sun once.

At the foot are barren fields, and in the distance are shallow hills that stretch. After the catastrophe, the northern Sichuan land is full of yellow grass and thorns, a bleak scene of a wild land. The village was abandoned, uninhabited, save for rabbits and wild boars scurrying among the hills. Unwilling to give up the territory they had easily occupied, the ferocious wolves occupied the top of the hill and watched from afar for the sudden appearance of the army.

Dingyuan County, like Yuechi County in the northeast and Anju County and Tongliang County in the southeast, is a large agricultural county in the central Sichuan Basin. Because they are located at the confluence of several large rivers and have abundant water sources, the agricultural production conditions in these four counties are very good. Yuechi County, in particular, is located in a small depression at the southern foot of Jincheng Mountain. There are hills on all sides, and in the middle are gentle shallow hills and flat dams. Several rivers meandered through the county, and the rice cultivation conditions were superior, so it was called "Yinyue Pond" by the people of the time.

Although the agricultural conditions in Dingyuan are not as good as those in Yuechi, they are not bad. In the early years of Hongwu, because the population withered after the war, Dingyuan was once withdrawn from the county and merged into Hezhou. However, by the time of the Wanli year, the area of cultivated land officially registered in Dingyuan had grown to nearly 90,000 mu, and the regular tax on grain in summer and autumn had risen to 8,000 stones. But now, Dingyuan County has experienced a complete 300-year cycle of rise and fall, falling back to the original point from the peak of development (Note 1).

The infantry of the 10th Battalion adopted the formation formulated by He Youyi and Liu Hongting before the Battle of Jiangkou, with two companies side by side, forming two rows of evacuation horizontal formations in front and back, like a skirmish line. The distance between the soldiers was about ten paces, and a row of people spread out about a mile wide. Each company left a platoon as a reserve, and followed the center of the company's search formation in a marching column, ready to advance at any time to support the front. The cavalry of the 1st Guards Company was sparsely spread out and stood guard a mile in front of the infantry formation; The second company of guards followed, following Zhu Pingjian; And then there was the artillery and the baggage.

The Tianquan Tusi cavalry was divided into left and right wings. Speed was the advantage of the light cavalry, so they did not need to maintain a regular formation with the infantry, but moved quickly forward and backward on the left and right flanks, trying to detect large groups of enemies in advance, and to search and disturb places where it was easier to hide people, such as mountain passes and river banks. If tactically possible, drive the discovered enemy to the infantry line and annihilate it.

Dong Bu's cavalry was the northern front in the encirclement and suppression of the north and south. A platoon of the baggage battalion had already set off a day in advance by ferry, and Dong Bu's cavalry would cross the Jialing River about 40 miles upstream of Dingyuan County, and then form a northern blockade line at the narrowest bag mouth between the right bank of Yuechi Water and the left bank of the Jialing River, so as to prevent the local thugs in the encirclement from breaking through and escaping. Dong Bu's cavalry also had a task, which was to search for and occupy the old county seat of Dingyuan County.

An hour had passed, and the army had gone twenty miles, and there was still no movement ahead. On the top of a hill, Zhu Pingjin and his brother Zhu Pingqi sat on horseback, watching the search line of the guard cavalry in the distance slowly advance. Luo Jingyun found a higher place and searched repeatedly with a telescope.

"Brother Shizi, do you think you will get nothing today?" Zhu Pingji, whose leather armor was covered with a red lacquered iron plate breastplate, cast a questioning glance at Zhu Pingjian.

"Nope! With such a big net, big fish can't be caught, and there are always a few shrimp crabs! Zhu Pingjin replied confidently. For his own safety, he wore three layers of armor today. The innermost piece of steel wire chain mail, and the outside, like his brothers, is also a leather armor and an iron plate breastplate. The defensive effect of the iron armor is much better than his exquisite parade dress. Just to show that he was in a big way, the swaggering phoenix-winged golden helmet on his head was still wearing. The heavy armor held him firmly to his horse, and it was difficult to even stand up on it.

Zhu Pingjian's self-confidence gave Zhu Pingjian hope. He suddenly saw the red and white pox on his brother's mouth, and hurriedly leaned over and whispered, "Brother Shizi, you miss a woman." ”

Zhu Pingjin nodded lightly, hoping to get by: "Well, I miss your sister-in-law." ”

"It doesn't seem like it!" Zhu Pingqi shook his head lightly: "Dad said that if the heart is on fire, you must hurry up and put out the fire." Otherwise, the heart fire will accumulate in the abdomen, and after a long time, it will become a stone and become sick! ”

"Have you been on fire?" Zhu Pingjin asked with malice.

"Of course!" Zhu Pingqi showed a little pride, "A few days before joining the army, my father rewarded me with a woman in the house, saying that she was teaching me personnel!" ”

"Cut!" Zhu Pingjin pursed his lips contemptuously, "The palace maid in the mansion can't be the main room, and the one who is married by the Ming media has a reputation!" According to the rules of the court, the son-in-law can keep the title! ”

If there is no Ming media to marry, there will be no concubine recognized by the court. It's a simple logic.

Zhu Pingqi pouted in disappointment: "Where can my father take care of me?" There are eight brothers in front of me who have not married a wife! They have been reporting for a long time, and the Ministry of Rites has not moved! ”

Zhu Pingjin listened to his brother's nagging and complaining while watching the surrounding movements. Suddenly, he saw his brother-in-law, and thought of the beautiful woman who couldn't cover her figure in her robe and her eyes could still convey affection, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He hesitated and bit his lip vigorously, and then made up his mind: "Little twenty-one, how about Brother Shizi reward you with a wife?" Family background, absolutely comfortable! ”

"Really? My father said that Brother Shizi's vision is high, such as sister-in-law, who has the ability to make money is ......! Zhu Pingqi suddenly smiled.

"The premise is that the battle must be fought!" Zhu Pingjin suddenly became serious about his brother, "Earning money is to fight, and now being able to fight is the first skill!" If you don't beat the thyrs back to Bashan, don't even think about it! ”

"That's nature!" Zhu Pingqi did not hesitate, patted his chest and said: "Although the tenth battalion has never fought, it has also been trained hard. ”

"It's going to take a battle to know if it's good or bad. You are the battalion supervisor, you have to keep an eye on the army! Those who retreat from the battle must not be merciful! Remember, the army is the lifeblood of my Zhu family! ”

"Remember, Brother Shizi!"

"We must also remember that the army is our life, and iron military discipline is the life of the army! Let's go, follow your brother to the front and have a look! ”

Saying that, Zhu Pingjin clamped the horse's belly, and the yellow horse shot out like an arrow.

Zhu's self-confidence was quickly confirmed.

News came from the front one after another: the guard cavalry caught six stray local thugs in the abandoned Zhuangzi in front. The throb had dug out a cellar where grain was stored and was excitedly digging a second and third...... I don't want to be caught by the cavalry who suddenly appeared.

The toast soldiers gained even more. They set fire to the reeds on the right bank of Yuechi Water, burning more than 200 fleeing civilians at once.

Zhu Pingjin called Li Yongjing, the supervisor of the baggage battalion, and ordered: "Mr. Li, please bring a guard squad and go to contain these refugees!" The people may be starving, and the cavalry bring something to eat. Remember, the people are terrified, and they will speak softly to them. ”

"Students obey!" Li Yongjing arched his hand on the horse, "Where are the students taking them?" ”

There may be more refugees or thugs to be found in the future, and these refugees cannot be allowed to remain in the local area, nor can they remain in the army to look after them, thus weakening the army.

"Don't stay here for a long time, let the people go to Dingyuan as soon as possible, and there are sentinel boats on the river to respond. When I arrived......"

"Quarantine and screen first!" Li replied to Zhu Pingjin with respect, "Prevent the local tyrants from getting mixed in!" The students are ready to ship them to Jialing Jiangxi, and they will be disposed of after screening! ”

"Good! There is Mr. Law! Zhu Pingjin smiled, not at all with the shelf of a king's minister.

This Li Yongjing is Tian Qian's friend, but the two have very different personalities and styles. Li Yongjing, like his ousted father, is a very upright person. His personality is like character, he is just as upright, he is easy to offend people when he speaks, and he will not have any future in officialdom. However, he and Wei Gan got along well, which made Zhu Pingjin less worried. Zhu Pingjin planned to wait for Dingyuan and Yuechi to be recovered, and then let him transfer to the local parents. Some of the soldiers of the baggage battalion were transferred with him, and at the same time, the local village protection team was enriched. These Zhuang households from Renshou County will be his best soldiers.

The country will be rebuilt, and civilization will be revived.

Who does the future depend on?

It is not enough to rely solely on fighting, nor can it be to make money alone, otherwise sooner or later it will still be a braided play, or a braided play that is not a braided play.

Integrity and kindness are the eternal pillars of civilization. With the popular understanding of the people's thinking, it depends on what Confucius and Mencius called "benevolence and righteousness".

Note 1: With the rapid development of dry farming such as wheat, corn and sorghum, Pengzhou, Yingshan, Guang'an, Hezhou, Yuechi, Dingyuan, Tongliang, Anju, Dazhu and Linshui, which have large areas of shallow hilly terrain, have become the first-class agricultural counties in Sichuan Province since the Qing Dynasty. The agriculture of Yuechi, Hezhou, Tongliang and other places was already very developed at the end of the Ming Dynasty. As recorded in the Hezhou Chronicles, during the Wanli period, Hezhou had 275,000 mu of land and about 28,000 stone of grain, and Tongliang County had 243,000 mu of land and about 23,000 stone of grain.