Chapter 61 Zhuang Langwei Surrender Arrangement for Surrendering Troops

Many of the officers and soldiers who fled to Zhuanglangwei (Yongdeng County) were reluctant to flee westward, and they all gathered here. They knew very well that even Li Zicheng heard that the Yaogang people were coming, and he fled without resistance, and he must not be able to hold this place. These officers and soldiers who were unwilling to flee west again muttered in private, it was better for the Yaogang people to surrender when they came, and they didn't care about everyone anyway. Let's find a way to live.

The officer of the Dashun Army, who was in charge of guarding Zhuang Langwei (Yongdeng County), was a mighty general named Wang Yi. Now Wang Yi is also very clear about his situation, he knows that he will never be able to beat the kiln gang people, but if he doesn't fight, he can't do it, and those soldiers who are loyal to Li Zicheng don't do it. However, there is a secret report below that many people have begun to secretly study the matter of surrender, so it is very likely that they will be solved from behind by their own people without engaging the enemy.

Therefore, Wang Yi is neither actively preparing for war nor talking about surrender now. When the report came to report that the Yaogang people had approached Zhuang Langwei (Yongdeng County), they were camped outside the city. Wang Yi began to mobilize officers and soldiers to defend the city.

Early the next morning, Ning De didn't want to delay too much time here, so he directly pushed the 130 heavy artillery out of the city, and then asked people to shoot a letter of persuasion to surrender to the city with bows and arrows.

Ningde and the others waited outside the city for a while, but they didn't see any reaction from the city. Ningde told the heavy artillery to fire a cannon at the city walls.

The 130 heavy gunners aimed their muzzles at the city wall and fired a "bang", and with a "boom", the earth-shattering sound of shells exploded, blasting a big hole in the rammed city wall. After waiting for a while for the smoke from the explosion of the shells to clear, the city gate opened, and a fast horse ran out and went straight to Ningde and their formation.

The visitor sent a letter written by General Weiwu, in which he said that in order to protect the safety of the officers and soldiers of Zhuang Langwei, he had long wanted to surrender, but he was afraid that some officers and soldiers in the city would not be convinced. Therefore, after those officers and soldiers saw the power of the artillery fire of the Yaogang people, they knew in their hearts that they were powerful, and he led the people to surrender. I hope that the people of Yaogang can treat the officers and soldiers in the city well.

General Ningde, of course, fully agreed to the mighty and resolute request, and said to the messenger: "Go back and tell your general, lay down your arms at once, and march out of the city." We will treat you well. ”

When the city gate was opened again, the officers and soldiers of Dashun in the city walked out slowly in line empty-handed and without weapons. With a wave of his hand, Ning De passed a group of cavalry, guided them to an open space, and asked them to sit down in line. After the Dashun army in the city finished, a man on horseback finally came out, this person rode his horse to Ningde's horse and turned over and dismounted, knelt on one leg and clasped his fists with both hands, and said: "Wang Yi, the mighty general of the Dashun army, greets General Ning!" ”

"Get up, General Wang!" Ningde said.

Wang Yi didn't get up, and said, "I implore General Ning to be kind to the soldiers who surrendered and the people in the city." ”

"Don't worry, our kiln people are counted when they speak. Besides, the military discipline of our kiln gang does not allow the people to be harmed, let alone the soldiers who surrendered. General Wang, get up and speak!" Ning De has already begun to like this Wang Yi, and at this time he is still thinking about the soldiers and the people.

At this time, Wang Yi stood up and said, "Please General Ning enter the city!" ”

Ning De waved the horsewhip in his hand and said, "General Wang got on the horse and led the way!" ”

"Yes!" Wang Yi agreed, turned over on his horse, and led the way in front. Ning De and his entourage followed Wang Yi into the city. After entering the city, Ningde and the others saw that all the weapons of the soldiers who went out of the city were neatly stacked. Although there is no one in the city, the streets are still in order, and it is obvious that this mighty general Wang Yi still governs this place well.

Ning De followed Wang Yi all the way to the general's yamen. Entering the lobby of the yamen, everyone sat down separately. Ning De said: "This remote border pass is well governed by General Wang!" ”

"Don't dare, don't dare! I'm reluctant to do it. Wang Yi hurriedly got up and said.

"Sit down and talk!" Ning De waved his hand and said, "General Wang was able to dedicate the city today, so that the people and soldiers here would not be destroyed by the war, which can be regarded as a great achievement." I'll keep you informed of this. ”

"Hey!" Wang Yi sighed and said, "I'm also in a dilemma, on the one hand, I am a veteran who has followed the prince for many years, so I can't help the prince with the city like this; On the other hand, behind me are more than 9,000 brothers and the people here. I knew that I couldn't hold this place at all, so in order to protect the people here, I had to give up everything I had. ”

"General Wang is very knowledgeable," Ning De said, "then let's introduce the situation of Zhuang Langwei!" ”

"The officers and men who went out of the city and surrendered today are nine thousand three hundred and sixty-two people, including me. These officers and soldiers can be roughly divided into three parts, one part is the original Ming Dynasty border guards, one part is the border guards I brought later, and the other part is the Dashun officers and soldiers who fled from Hedong this time. The soldiers of the various castles around Zhuang Langwei are also here. They're all shrinking here because they're afraid. Wang Yi introduced this, and suddenly said, "By the way, General Ning!" The castles must not be empty for too long, lest they be exploited by the Warats on the north side of the side wall. Those people were staring at us all the time. ”

"Oh! It seems that Wang Yi is very familiar with the situation here, can you give me some advice? Ningde asked.

"Since General Ning has asked, I'll talk about it." Wang Yi wasn't too polite, "Let's talk about the situation of our officers and soldiers here." General Ning, you know, the Ming Dynasty implemented three military service systems, namely the conscription system, the conscription system and the world military system. The sergeants of the world military system are organized in the guard post, and their task is to guard the place and produce in the tuntian. Those who defend the city are called defenders, and those who defend the fields are called tun troops. The tun army in Tuntian produced grain for the defenders. Basically self-sufficient. But General Ning, you have also seen that we are poor here, and it is very difficult for every soldier who works hard to be self-sufficient in food for a year. There is also the ability to feed the defenders. Therefore, the phenomenon of a large number of deserters began to appear. There was no choice but to reduce the amount of grain handed over by those garrison soldiers, and the defending army's grain court had to transport some of it. However, the amount of food shipped abroad is also limited. There is no way, since the Ming Dynasty, there is no division of troops and guards, as long as you don't stand guard and patrol, you have to farm in peacetime, otherwise you can't live, and you will go to the battlefield in wartime. The original border guards of the Ming Dynasty here were all world soldiers. After our Dashun army came, these Ming Dynasty troops also surrendered. Later, we replaced the original Ming Dynasty generals here, and I brought some officers and soldiers over to take over here. When I arrived, I realized that guarding this place still needed to rely on the original officers and soldiers here. They are familiar with the situation here, and their ability to endure hardships is incomparable to that of us outsiders. Truth be told, it's remarkable to be alive here, not to mention the wolf-like Warats to the north at all times. Regardless of whether we were the Dashun Army before, they were the Ming Army, and when we arrived here, we had to face the threat from the north and the suffering of survival here. So we were quickly together without separating each other. So I suggest that General Ningde, you should also keep the original veterans here as much as possible. Don't look at them, the Great Shun army is coming, they surrendered, you are coming and they surrender again. But the Mongols from the north came, and they would never surrender. In fact, there was no war, they were all peasants here. It is not easy for them to live here for generations. Those who catch up with the good years and save a little silver, and ask someone to go to Sichuan and Henan to buy a girl for their son to start a family, but most of them can't marry a daughter-in-law. I surrendered because I didn't want the population to decrease any longer. Otherwise, who will guard this side? ”

Wang Yi finished all the words in his stomach in one breath, and at this time he had forgotten that he was a general.

Wang Yi's words also touched every kiln gang general present, and Ning De couldn't help but say: "Good General Wang, you are a rare general who knows the general situation. Our border guards here are really hard, and I will report the situation here to Yaogang. We are here to improve the conditions of the border guards here, and also to improve the living conditions of the people here. We will leave some people to guard here, and our brigade will march westward, I think General Wang, you can follow me. ”

"This, this!" Wang Yi hesitated.

"What's this?" Ning De said, "Maybe in the future, your prince will follow us Yaogang people." ”

Seeing Wang Yi's suspicious eyes, Ning De said: "Don't believe it, let me tell you the truth, the reason why Li Zicheng was able to go out of the Shangyu Ancient Road was because we let him go, otherwise we couldn't block that road?" Now we have sent the family members and concubines left by Li Zicheng to Xiangyang from the Shangyu Ancient Road. If you follow me to guard the border, Li Zicheng won't blame you. ”

Seeing that Wang Yi was still hesitating, Ning De lured again: "There is another advantage for you to follow me, you can send your family to Yaogang and live a life like heaven." Your children can go to the best schools. ”

"I've heard from merchants in the passing that your kilns are like heaven." Wang Yi was obviously a little moved.

"That's right!" Ning De said while it was hot, "Our soldiers in Yaogang all want everyone in the world to live the same life as Yaogang to come out to fight." After speaking, Ning De turned around and said, "Hurry up and put our radio rack on the rack and let General Wang Yi listen to the radio." You can't see the kiln now, but you can hear it. ”

At this time, the battalion commander who was in charge of entering the city to take over the defense came in and reported: "General Ningde, we have finished taking over the defense of the city. But..."

"But what?" Ningde said, "Hurry up! ”

"There's nothing in this poor place, and I don't know where they hide the food in the storehouse?" The battalion commander said, glancing at Wang Yi.

"Huh?" Ning De looked at Wang Yi and asked, "Do you still want to give me a sloppy look?" ”

"Huh!" Wang Yi smiled bitterly and said, "What am I sloppy about?" When I came, everything worth a little silver was looted, and there were still good things there. Not to mention food. Jiayuguan grain is in an emergency, Shangfeng wants to borrow grain from the guards first, and said that the grain will be returned to us after being transported from Lanzhou. We lent out our grain, but as soon as the war began, there was no one to take care of the grain there. In particular, more than twice as many soldiers and horses came over, and we quickly ran out of what little food we had left. Where is the food? ”

After listening to Wang Yi's words, Ning De had no choice but to smile bitterly and said, "I still have to transport some grain from Lanzhou!" I don't think there will be enough food in front of me. ”

Wang Yi said: "There is a shortage of food over there, and there has been a severe drought for several years. ”

"There is no shortage of food in our kiln, but it is too far to transport it here, and the road is not easy to walk." Ning De sighed and said, "Let's let them find a way to bring some food." Alas! It seems that Mr. Zhang still has foresight, and he even knew in advance to send an engineer regiment to dredge the channel of the Yellow River. If we can really dig the channel from Lanzhou to Baotou, and our tugboat can transport grain from Baotou to Lanzhou, then grain will not be a problem. ”

Seeing that Ning De wanted to use him very sincerely, and also tried to solve the food problem here, Wang Yi made up his mind and said: "General Ning, I, Wang Yi, have done it with you Yaogang people." ”

"Hey! That's right. Ningde was so happy, because Wang Yi knew the situation here in the Hexi Corridor very well, and he was still a very responsible person.

"I suggest that General Ning leave some of the original defenders among those soldiers of the Dashun Army, and we will take the rest of the new ones with us. To the west, the area is too large, and there are not enough people. Wang Yi immediately entered the state.

Ning De didn't immediately come to a conclusion, he knew that he still had to face such a thing in front of him, and he needed to think about what to do in a unified way.

"Okay, since you said yes, you can go home and make arrangements. We'll talk again in the evening when we eat together! Ningde was very considerate and asked Wang Yi to go home to see, but he didn't want to answer whether Wang Yi's suggestion was feasible immediately.

When Wang Yi was sent out, Ning De saw that the captives had been brought into the city again. But among the captives were teenage children, as well as people in their fifties and sixties. He knew that the hereditary military system was hereditary, and that veterans could retire at the age of 60 and children could take over at the age of 15. In this way, the army will not have any combat effectiveness at all.

After Ning De took a turn on the city wall of Zhuang Langwei (Yongdeng County), his thoughts were also clear. He decided to keep all the original defenders and use them all as garrisons. The soldiers who fled here later, the older ones, also stayed here as garrisons. But the army left behind in the kiln gang served as a guard. Due to the insufficient number of garrisons, the garrisons had to take turns to be on duty. When it's your turn to be a defender, keep a record. In the future, a certain amount of subsidy will be given according to the time of the child on duty. The remaining captives who are willing to join the Yaogang army can follow the westward expedition, and those who are unwilling can also stay as a cantonment army. The garrison did not need to pay grain for three years, and the grain of the defenders was solved by the kiln gang people themselves. The surrounding people should also be notified that they will not have to pay taxes for three years. Not only do they not have to pay taxes and pay grain, but the fertilizer transported from the kiln will also be distributed to them for free.

Ning De straightened out his thoughts and sent his thoughts to Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He by telegram. Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He also called back to agree with Ningde's idea, and at the same time forwarded Ningde's telegram to the Yaogang Command Center.

In the Yaogang command center, Zhang Zhimu received a telegram from Chen Yufeng to Ningde, and discussed it with Yan Boju and Lu Chengxiang. Telegraphed back to Chen Yufeng and asked them to tell Ningde that Yaogang would immediately organize the transfer of grain to the Hexi Corridor. He also informed Ningde that Yaogang would also take out some of the silver to support the resumption of the construction of the Hexi Corridor. In the future, the kiln will fully support the funds needed to repair roads and build aqueducts. The amount of less than one million taels of silver is completely at the reasonable disposal of General Ningde. If you have other needs, you will discuss again. General Ningde was asked to alleviate the hardships of the soldiers and civilians there as much as possible.

Ning De received Zhang Zhimu's telegram from Chen Yufeng, and happily said to the staff officers around him: "Mr. Zhang is really generous, he can fully understand the hardships of the border guards here. ”

In the evening, when Wang Yi came over to have dinner with Ningde, Ningde showed him the telegram.

Wang Yi could understand the content of the telegram, but he didn't know what was going on.

Ning De looked at his expression and knew that Wang Yi didn't understand what the telegram was, so he explained to him the reason why the telegram and the kiln gang could communicate directly. Wang Yi was surprised a lot at this time, and said, "Oh my God! No wonder you can win battles, you have this good thing, you can contact wherever you want, faster than the flying crane to pass on the book. ”

With that, he picked up the telegram again, this time focusing on its contents. After reading the telegram again, Wang Yi asked tremblingly: "Is this true?" Can you spend a million in our Hexi Corridor? ”

"Is this telegram false?" Ning De said proudly, "You will see it later, 'If you have other needs, we will discuss it again.'" ’？ That is, if there is a need, it can still be considered! ”

"Oh my God! One million taels of silver, can it be discussed again? Wang Yi couldn't believe it, "How much silver do you have?" ”

"What is this?" Ning De said, "We lend more than two taels of silver to the imperial court every year. ”

"If you have money, you must first repair this road." Wang Yi's first thought was the traffic problem. The road here is just too difficult to walk.

"Huh! It's a lot of money, but my responsibility is too great. Ning De said with a smile, "Zhang always asked me not only to guard this Hexi Corridor well, but also to build it well, a thousand catties of burden!" ”

"With the silver, our soldiers and civilians here can work together. I will definitely be able to build this place. "Wang Yi knows that with silver, anything can be done.

"Yes! I see that there are also a lot of rivers here in Hexi, why don't you plant more trees and open more aqueducts? Ning De asked puzzled.

"Hey! Our soldiers are busy from morning to night, and they still can't fill their stomachs, how can they still force them to plant trees and build canals? If we had done that, the soldiers would have wiped me out without the Varats from the north. The people here basically don't listen to us, because there are many Hui people here, and they all listen to their own tribal imams. We also instructed them not to move. If you can make them peaceful, you just don't make trouble. Speaking of these, Wang Yi is a stomach full of bitter water.

When Ning De told Wang Yi about his decision to arrange here, Wang Yi thought for a while and said, "I agree with General Ning's arrangement, and we will bring all the soldiers who are willing to go with us." Will they all be able to enjoy the same treatment as our kiln soldiers in the future? ”

"Of course, we are all a family, and we can't be treated the other way. Clothing and weapons are not available for the time being, and their original ones must be used first. "But we don't have much food with us, so we can't leave too much." I think that the soldiers you go with us will be responsible for transporting the grain and grass first. Our transport troops, let's go back to Lanzhou first, and let them transport some grain here. I took a look, and the people here are also living a hard life, and I also gave them some food. In the future, we will bring a large amount of food and various daily necessities. By the way, I also want them to bring in fertilizer, which can greatly increase the yield of grain as long as the farmer waters it well. ”

"That's great!" Although Wang Yi still can't understand what chemical fertilizer is, he knows that what can increase grain production must be a good thing.

"Tomorrow we will leave a regiment to assist you in dealing with prisoners and defences here, and then we will leave a battalion of troops to take care of the defense here. Our brigade took the lead and continued westward. Ningde said.

"I'll stay behind to help them deal with these things, and I'll chase after the brigade when I'm done." Wang Yi already regarded himself as a kiln man.

Ningde and they were in Zhuang Langwei Everything went well, but Li Kui was not as lucky as them.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".