Zhang Mengcheng, who returned to his residence, found three bowls from the room. After adding wine to Liu Jin, Lao Liao and himself in turn, Zhang Mengcheng began to chat with Liu Jin, chatting and chatting about some recent things.

Liu Jin took a sip of wine and said: "Actually, our big boss was quite happy when he received your news, at that time, we had just eaten the bad luck of the officers and soldiers, so we could only run to the Xin'an border camp to see if we could collect some troops." Later, Lao Fan (Fan Shunjiang) actually came to the door, and everyone unanimously decided to make a big fuss with you. ”

"When we sent people to contact you, we didn't have the confidence that we could take down the military fort of the border army alone." Before Jin Dingshan and his gang fought Ningsai, they really didn't have much confidence that they could capture Ningsai in one go in a short time, and Zhang Mengcheng thought that there would be no way until Shen Yiyuan came to converge.

"Yes, I can't imagine that the soldiers in these military forts on the West Road are all looking for us, hahaha." Liu Jin also thinks that it is their surprise to be able to easily lay down the three forts.

"Then we captured the three forts in a row, but unfortunately we couldn't take Jingbian. Fortunately, we also dragged down the officers and soldiers in the Jingbian camp, so that they did not dare to go south to support the security guards, so that our two families successfully captured the county seat of Baoan. Zhang Mengcheng took a sip of wine and then said.

"We had a fight with He Huchen in Ningxia before, but many people were killed and wounded, and we didn't mention how heartbroken we were at that time. But now we haven't worked hard, our strength has increased several times, and we have nothing to fear when we meet He Huchen again. Liu Jin is still very concerned about the previous defeat, and has always planned to find a return to the field.

"There will be a chance, and then I will meet these officers and soldiers with you to help you avenge the revenge of Panke Town before." Zhang Mengcheng understood Liu Jin's thoughts, and he also responded on the side.

Regarding the previous activities of Shen Yiyuan and others, Zhang Mengcheng only learned about it later by reading the confiscated official documents. He Huchen, who was originally going to Ningxia to take up his post, was temporarily transferred by Yang He, the governor of the three sides, to attack Shen Yiyuan's subordinates, and had a big fight with Shen Yiyuan's subordinates in Panke Town. More than 600 officers and soldiers were captured, and their morale was greatly boosted. And the gods and the gang are hurting their vitality. I can only take my troops to the Xin'an Border Camp, Willow Stream Fort and Ningsai Camp to find opportunities. (Note 1)

After the cooperation between Shen Yiyuan and Zhang Mengjin, sure enough, they quickly captured the three forts, and then the two big bosses went south to attack the security. The security guards only had one hundred households and some temporarily recruited villagers, while all the officers and soldiers of the Jingbian battalion stationed on the West Road were stumped by the rogues who were besieging the city, and they did not dare to go south to support them because of their lack of strength.

Therefore, after holding on for more than ten days, Baoan County was finally captured by the rogues who had many seized firearms on the fifth day of the first lunar month. The artillery collected from the three forts on the West Road was not distributed to the bandit troops who attacked Jingbian. At the beginning, in order to ensure the smooth capture of the security by the large army, they were all taken away by Shen Yiyuan, Zhang Mengjin and others. (Note 2)

"A while ago, our big boss hoped that your security guards would shave their heads like us. But your big boss and the big boss Cai at the top of Artemisia all refused together, and everyone still had some quarrels over this matter. I said what a big deal, but it's actually quite comfortable to shave your hair, and you don't even have lice. When I watched the show, you persuaded your brothers to shave their heads directly. Our big boss said that many of the eastern captives in the east are former officers and soldiers, and it is because they have shaved their heads that they are so powerful. ”

Liu Jin's sudden words almost made Zhang Mengcheng spit out the wine in his mouth. In fact, as early as when Shen Yiyuan and Zhang Mengjin came to Ningsai together, Zhang Mengcheng was very surprised when he saw their subordinates. Because all the men in the tribes of God's one-dimensional tribe actually wore braids.

However, not all of them have a hairstyle like the legendary money rat tail, some people are like the tail of the ox in the Qing court drama in later generations, and some just shave off a little hair on their foreheads. Others just untie their hair and tie it into braids, just like hairstyles in unserious Hong Kong movies.

Although Shen Yiyuan was a fugitive from Yansui Town, after he fled from Liaoyang, it seems that he was greatly affected by a bunch of pigtailed enemies in the battle with Houjin. The initiation ceremony in their team is actually to make people shave their hair and tie their braids.

As for the reason for shaving their heads, in addition to the fact that they thought it would increase the combat effectiveness of their subordinates strangely, it was also to ensure the fighting spirit of those who rebelled with them. Because Shen Yiyuan believes that by shaving the invention of the will, it can indicate a break with the imperial court, which is a disguised form of nomination.

But this matter, after all, conflicts with most people's habits. Moreover, the composition of the Shen Yuan is already complex, and the other leaders in the Shen Yuan gang are also a little disobedient. Therefore, it can be seen from the hair of the people in the Divine Oneness that the more thoroughly the hair is shaved, the descendants of the Divine One. And the more negative they are, the ones who join the other masters of God One Yuan relatively late.

Now the most powerful god Yiyuan is the co-owner of the bandits in the area of Yansui West Road. The lords of a village like Zhang Mengjin and Cai Xiaozi also had to bow their heads and admit the nominal leadership of Shen Yiyuan. At first, Shen Yiyuan, who laid down the willow stream and joined Zhang Mengjin and others, asked Zhang Mengjin and others to shave their heads together.

But the eldest brother Zhang Mengjin looked at Shen Yiyuan's bare head and a short braid hanging on the back of the other party's head. The big boss of Jinding Mountain, who felt a strong chill, refused this request without hesitation.

Shen Yiyuan saw that Zhang Mengjin and his gang were also very strong, so he didn't stick to it strongly. It's just that after the soldiers came to the city of Baoan County a while ago, other tribes outside Shen Yiyuan also came to converge. Coupled with the expansion of his own strength, the rising Shen Yiyuan brought up this matter again.

At that time, Zhang Mengjin used the strength of Cai Xiaozi and his gang who were added later, and at first successfully rejected the proposal again. However, after the county seat of Baoan was laid, some changes occurred that made Zhang Mengjin and others have to compromise.

Because the subordinates of Shen Yiyuan need to shave their hair, but the subordinates of the eldest brother Zhang Mengjin and Cai Xiaozi do not need to. Therefore, after the capture of Baoan City, the surrendered soldiers and civilians all wanted to surrender to Zhang Mengjin and Cai Xiaozi's team.

It had been agreed in advance how to divide the Shen Yiyuan who captured the soldiers and civilians, and when they saw that everyone was running towards Zhang Mengjin and the others, they suspected that it was because of this reason that Zhang Mengjin and they did not shave their hair. After some provocation and catalysis by some underprivileged people, Shen Yiyuan thought that Zhang Mengjin and Cai Xiaozi deliberately wanted to dig into his corner. Then the leaders of the two sides quarreled because of this, and the situation developed to the point of a fierce fight.

PS: Note 1: It is recorded in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" that it is Wang Jiayin's fellow party "Li Lao Chai Yingzhi, who gathered more than 3,000 people to attack the water". However, Wang Jiayin was still in the meandering area to the east at that time, and was in a stalemate with the official army. The west side should be the territory of the One Dollar. The author flipped through the "Historical Materials of the Peasant Uprising in the Late Ming Dynasty" published by Zhonghua Book Company and edited by Zheng Tianting and Sun Yue, and found in the "Yang He, the Governor of the Three Sides of Shaanxi, Entitled Weichen Ten Thousand Sufferings and Pities", that Yang He ordered He Huchen to fight the subordinates of Shen Yiyuan, and only after Shen Yiyuan did he go to capture Sanbao. Of course, Yang He's statement may also be wrong, but this book adopts Yang He's statement. Set Li Laochai as a member of the Shen Yuan.

Note 2: The first edition of the book series is recorded in the "Suikou Chronicles", which records that Shen Yiyuan captured the security guard on the fifth day of the first month.