Once the plan is set, a war machine like the Black Coats can't help but run again. Therefore, in just five days, Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong, with a total of more than 14,000 soldiers, couldn't help but prepare everything and were ready to go.

Outside the east gate of Xiangyang City, on an open space where soldiers and horses were gathered, Zhang Shihua looked at Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong, and couldn't help but smile and encourage them before the march: "You are all veterans who have been in battle for a long time, so this time I am very confident in you." I am sure that you will not let me down, and when you return triumphantly, I should personally celebrate your achievements. ”

"Big brother, we won't let you down. You wait, the short is one month, the long is three months, and Mingtong and I will take De'an Mansion for your eldest brother. Hearing Zhang Shihua's words of wishing them a triumphant return, Zhang Shihui, who was obviously full of confidence, couldn't help but set a deadline in front of Zhang Shihua in public.

And for this, Zhang Shihua is also happy.

So after Zhang Shihui's words fell, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Okay, the two armies are fighting, and what they want is this kind of victory." Come, and bring the wine, and I will drink it with you, and I will think that you will be magnificent. ”

Zhang Shihua said this, beckoned, and several guards couldn't help but bring over the wine jar and teacup-sized wine glasses that had been prepared long ago.

"Gentlemen, come, and drink this cup to the full!" More than a dozen thousand households and deputy ten thousand households on the field were given a glass of wine. And after they all respectfully picked up the wine glasses, Zhang Shihua greeted them loudly, and couldn't help but drink the wine in the glass.

"Thank you for the wine, in less than three months, we will give the Lord a great victory!" After being infected, the generals couldn't help but confidently make a guarantee to Zhang Shihua.

Seeing this, Zhang Shihua nodded lightly with a smile, and then his face turned grim, and he couldn't help yelling at him and ordered: "The whole army obeys the order and marches off!" ”

"Wait, obey!" When the generals heard this, they sang in unison. Then, with the neighing of war horses, the generals turned over on their horses one after another, and the nearly 14,000 black-clothed soldiers couldn't help but march east along the official road under the shouts of more than a dozen generals.

……

The soldiers and horses under Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong's accounts for a large part of the veterans who have been in battle for a long time.

Therefore, their marching speed was very fast, and even though the official road east of Xiangyang was in disrepair and difficult to walk, they could still travel more than 60 miles a day. Therefore, in just two days, on the evening of May 19, their group couldn't help but come to the official road more than ten miles south of Zaoyang City.

"Zaoyang County Commander Shao Yu, and the county lieutenant are happy to meet the two generals!" Because Zaoyang is just a small city with more than 10,000 in front of Dingkou. Therefore, if you think that such a small county town will not set up a county. Therefore, the biggest first and second leaders in the county are the county commanders and county lieutenants.

Therefore, when these two people knew that Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong, the two generals of Wanhu, would lead the army to come here in the evening. This grade is just a petty official from the seventh rank and the eighth grade, and he can't help but wait here early. And when he saw Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong, Qi brushed and bowed to them.

"Alright, you all get up. Have you prepared the food for the army? After waving his hand and letting the two of them get up from the ground, Zhang Shihui looked down at them on his horse, and couldn't help asking.

"Back to the general's words, according to the instructions, we have prepared the meals for the army. And we also prepared a resting place for the army and the people who accompanied it. The county commander Shao Yu lowered his head and replied respectfully.

When Zhang Shihui heard his answer, he nodded silently, and then couldn't help but turn to Zhang Mingtong beside him and ordered: "Mingtong, pass the order, let the soldiers prepare to eat and rest." ”

"Yes!" Deputy General Zhang Mingtong also sang a promise to such an order, and even made arrangements.

Then, after Zhang Mingtong went down to make arrangements, Zhang Shihui turned his attention to Shao Yu and Le Qi again. And said to them: "This time you have done a good job, General Ben has written it down." You have also worked hard today, if you don't dislike it, you can stay and eat with General Ben. ”

"Don't dare, don't dare, I'll wait for General Xie to entertain, General Xie to entertain." Hearing Zhang Shihua's words, Shao Yu and Le Qi were naturally happy.

After all, although these two people are officials appointed by Zhang Shihua personally, in terms of their status, these two people are just middle and lower ranks with no status in the black-clothed army.

The position that can be done is because he is diligent, so that he barely has some impression in Zhang Shihua.

In this way, it is naturally their most dreamed of climbing a high branch like Zhang Shihui. The principle that 'there are people in the court who are good officials' is applicable to any dynasty and generation.

Isn't Zhao Ziyu, who is known as the first Chinese minister of the Black-clothed Army, a good example.

At the beginning, Zhao Ziyu was just an unpopular official under the rule of the black-clothed army. To have such a status now, one's own skills are of course the most important. But he climbed to such a high branch as the Zhang family and became the in-laws of the Zhang family, which is not the key to his success.

Therefore, for these two people, as long as they can stay and talk more with high-level leaders like Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong. Then even if they are allowed to eat chaff vegetables, their hearts will surely rejoice.

And then again. At this time, let's not talk about what Shao Yu and Le Qi think in their hearts,

Just talking about the more than 14,000 soldiers under the command of Zhang Shihui and Zhang Mingtong and a large number of people who were responsible for escorting grain and grass for the army, it was also an extremely cumbersome and troublesome matter.

Even though the black-clothed army was already very experienced in this, it took more than an hour to wait until everything was arranged.

So in this way, after a hurried dinner, most of the soldiers and people went to bed early.

However, on this day, in Gaoyou Mansion, thousands of miles away from Xiangyang, a big event that was much bigger than Zhang Shihua's attack on De'an couldn't help but happen.

And the protagonist of this major incident is Zhang Shicheng, who is familiar to our future generations.

Like Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang and many warlords who miraculously rose in the late Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng's background was also extremely poor and poor. He was born in Xinghua Baijuchang, because of the relationship between his parents, from the day he was born, he officially became a salt ding who cooked salt for the imperial court for a living.

'Yanding', this profession first appeared in the Five Dynasties period after the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, the warlord regime of the divided land was vying for supremacy in order to obtain enough profit from the salt industry. He then forced the landless people (i.e., the blind streamers) and the prisoners who had sinned to work in the salt works, so that they would 'fry the brine day and night for three hundred and sixty-five years a year!' ’。

Therefore, from this point alone, we can also see that salt was an extremely lowly profession in ancient times.

Therefore, unless they are desperate, the common people would rather sell themselves as slaves of large families than go to the salt works to become a salt man.

Therefore, later, in order to ensure that the imperial court had enough income from the salt industry, the imperial court simply waved its hand and compiled hundreds of thousands of people who worked in the salt works into salt books. so that these people, their children and grandchildren, from generation to generation, may never and eternally boil salt for the court.

So since then, whenever the court is weak, or there is turmoil in the world. Yanding, whose children and grandchildren had to be enslaved by the imperial court, naturally resisted angrily.

Among them, the best and most famous person who did this was Zhang Shicheng in the late Yuan Dynasty.

Like other salt-loving families in many districts, the Zhang family, who had no land or other sources of income, had to live by cooking salt for the imperial court. Especially since him, when his mother gave birth to three younger brothers one after another, the Zhang family, who did not have much food in stock, was naturally extremely poor.

There is a saying that 'half the size of the child, eat the poor labor'. Supporting their four brothers was obviously a great challenge for their parents.

Therefore, in order to let his three brothers grow up safely, Zhang Shicheng, who was only ten years old, began to follow the villagers to "transport salt by boat" on the official salt boat in Baijuchang, relying on the meager income earned from selling coolies to subsidize the family.

Therefore, for Zhang Shicheng, childhood is actually really 'three hundred and sixty-five a year, day and night! ’。

But throughout the ages, you also know what kind of virtue the bureaucrats of the feudal dynasty had. For this group of guys, if they can squeeze a pound of oil from the people under their rule, this group of guys is absolutely reluctant to squeeze only eight taels.

Therefore, even if it is 'three hundred and sixty-five a year, day and night, the fire is fried! But the Zhang family is still extremely poor.

So because of this, the mother who gave birth to Zhang Shicheng and their four brothers died early due to overwork and malnutrition.

However, 'there is no such thing as a blessing, but there is no single line of evil'. While his mother's death made his family even worse, the burden of living and supporting his family naturally fell more on his father.

Thus soon after his mother's death, his father, the man who did not even have a decent name other than a surname, was riddled with all kinds of diseases.

But even so, the taxes that the court should collect for their family will still not be less, and his two youngest brothers are still not able to support themselves.

Therefore, in order to survive, Zhang Shicheng, who was only ten years old, followed the villagers to "transport salt" on the official salt boat, and he couldn't help but make up his mind and risked his life to embark on the road of selling illicit salt. After all, as a salt man, he has no land and can't read a single word, and if he wants to make money to support his family, he can't do anything else except sell illicit salt.

In ancient times, the crime of selling illicit salt was actually greater than the crime of drug trafficking today.

Especially selling illicit salt as a salt ding, that is even more of a crime, and basically if you are caught, you will die.

So after embarking on this road, Zhang Shicheng's personality naturally changed greatly. In order to survive, Zhang Shicheng, who originally had a simple heart, has completely transformed into a ruthless and resolute smuggler of salt.

But even so, his background is just a salt ding, even if he goes up to the eighth generation, Zhang Shicheng, who has no background at all, is still at the bottom among the smuggler salt dealers.

Even a small salt policeman who is about as fast as an official can use this as a threat to wantonly exploit Zhang Shicheng and them.

So at the beginning, even if he risked killing his head and became a smuggler of salt, Zhang Shicheng's life was still not very good, and his social status was still very low.

Eighty percent of the profits from the sale of illicit salt were divided among the big bosses and salt police who had ties to the government. And Zhang Shicheng, although they took the greatest risk and made the most effort, the reward they could get was only better than when they were boiling salt.

But after all, he was a teenager, and perhaps he was influenced by his deceased mother or father. Zhang Shicheng not only stresses righteousness, but also repays the grace of a drop of water.

Therefore, for the villagers who have helped them, Zhang Shicheng has always been stingy with righteousness and wealth. Even if he is poor and can't open the pot, as long as someone he regards as a friend or has a little kindness to them asks for it, Zhang Shicheng will definitely be generous and responsive.

Therefore, after coming and going, it didn't take long for Zhang Shicheng to become the number one person in this white horse field. The reputation of Zhang Jialang as a man who is a man of courage and responsiveness is getting louder and louder among the people at the bottom.

But even so, his social status at that time was still very low. If it weren't for him catching up with the east wind of the Yuanmeng Uprising, it is estimated that Zhang Shicheng would have been like that in his life.

But there is no way, who let him be born in this era.

Xu Shouhui's emperor, Sesame Li's uprising, Fang Guozhen's Zhao'an, Peng Dazhao Junyong and others were kings. When news like this came to Zhang Shicheng's ears one after another, something called ambition began to spread and grow in Zhang Shicheng's heart.

He wants a better life, and he doesn't want his children and grandchildren to live like a dog like himself. So when he was in the first month of the thirteenth year of Zhizheng, because of some trivial things, he was insulted and exploited by the salt policeman Qiu Yi again. In a fit of rage, he called his three younger brothers and 14 of his friends who were notoriously bold and fearless in selling smuggled salt, and made a bloody alliance in the North Pole Hall of Caoweichang, and took the flat dan (Note 1) and embarked on the road of uprising.

That night, they quietly entered the house of the salt policeman Qiu Yi in the cold wind, and beat to death this bully who usually harmed his neighbors. Eighteen men then rushed into the homes of the wealthy local families, opened the warehouses, distributed the grain and money to the local people, and then burned the houses clean.

In this way, the first battle of their uprising began.