He Renlong and Cao Bianjiao fled in embarrassment, and fled directly from two miles away, only to stop in shock, the two counted the people and horses, and found that the cavalry was killed and wounded more than 1,000 people, and the foot soldiers were not many dead and wounded, only about 200 people, all because these foot soldiers rushed to flee one by one in the face of the Shandong cavalry charge, so that the Shandong cavalry pierced through the military formation, if the foot soldiers can hold on for a period of time, the cavalry on both wings will be surrounded again, and it will not be so embarrassed.

Nine thousand men and horses, even said that defeat will be defeated, Hong Chengchou was furious, but there was no way to do anything about those Shandong cavalry, the most ace cavalry in his hand was Guanning Iron Cavalry, but Zu Kuan did not listen to his orders at all, let Zu Kuan go and fight with the Shandong cavalry, it was better to let him go and fight with the thieves.

As for the other officers and soldiers, they are even more unbearable, and even the thieves can't deal with it, how can they deal with the Shandong cavalry.

The failure of He Renlong and Cao Bianjiao meant a complete failure to encircle and suppress the collapsed sky, and Hong Chengchou had to order all troops and horses to retreat.

However, this does not mean that Hong Chengchou admits it, he drafted a chapter overnight, crying bitterly and shouting grievances to Chongzhen, saying that Zhao Yan sent troops to attack friendly troops, intending to be thieves.

Qin Zhiyuan quickly got in touch with Liu Guoneng, and when he saw that Zhao Yan sent troops to rescue, Liu Guoneng was very moved, and took 200,000 people out of the mountain.

After joining Qin Zhiyuan, Liu Guoneng readily asked his subordinates to disarm and hand over all the weapons in his hands, showing great sincerity.

At this time, the torrential rain had fallen for three consecutive days, and the water of the Yangtze River was flooding, and Zhao Yan was almost flooded on the north bank with his soldiers and horses, so he hurriedly took the soldiers and horses to hide in a high place.

The heavy rain made it almost impossible for Zhao Yan to march, and if he marched in such weather, it was inevitable that some non-combat wounded would appear. At the same time, Zhao Yan's contact with Nan'an was also interrupted, and I don't know if Qin Zhiyuan rescued Liu Guineng.

He doesn't care too much about Liu Guoneng's life or death, what he cares about is those homeless people, they are all valuable human resources!

However, the erosion of the water conservancy system in the Huguang area is also beyond Zhao Yan's imagination, and as soon as the rainstorm falls, the water around Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River rises everywhere.

People seem to have been accustomed to not growing crops in areas where the water is high.

"This lake is wide, is rich in rice and grain, before people said that Jiangsu and Zhejiang are ripe, the world is full, now is the lake is wide and ripe in the world, but after the current situation, not optimistic." Zhao Yan sighed as he looked at the flood.

"Huguang is corrupted, not only the water conservancy is in disrepair, but the land annexation of the vassal kings and landlords is also very serious, and the thieves, officers and soldiers both cross the border, so they think it is like this." Mao Yuanyi said to Zhao Yan.

"What Zhisheng said is true, water conservancy can be used to control water, but [***] how can it be changed?" Zhao Yan suddenly asked with a smile at Mao Yuanyi, Mao Yuanyi thought for a moment, and finally shook his head helplessly.

"Can you call it because of the vassal king?" Zhao Yan asked.

"Yes, yes."

Zhao Yan said with a smile: "These royal relatives and relatives, there have been 20,000 people in the third year of Longqing, and in the twenty-third year of Wanli, the population has reached 150,000, and now the population of the clan has exceeded at least 200,000, doubling in thirty years." Thirty years later, there will be more than 40 thousand relatives of the emperor, sixty years later, there will be more than 80 thousand relatives of the emperor, 90 years later, there will be more than 160 descendants of the Zhu family, and 120 years later, there will be more than 320 thousand. Today, the expenses of the royal palaces alone amount to more than 900 million stones, plus the expenses of the rest of the royal family, which is not less than 10 million stones. Last year, the imperial court earned 23 million stone of rice and grain, plus Shandong Salt Administration, and more than 7 million of the two Huai Salt Administrations. The cost has accounted for forty percent, and the thieves and the prisoners have made trouble, but there is no silver to collect, if it is a hundred years later, the situation can be imagined. ”

"It is indeed the world's first maladministration!" Mao Yuanyi nodded and said.

"However, today's son is intended to revitalize the Zhu family's world, if we want to change this status quo, we should force it, there is no other way." Zhao Yan said bluntly.

"Stop life and be taught." Mao Yuanyi made a gesture and stopped talking.

Their goal was to contradict the main class of this era, and the Ming Dynasty was the ruling tool of this class, and Chongzhen was the emperor, but it was only a puppet supported by the middle and upper classes in the world to protect their interests.

And these upper-middle-class classes have collectively become intoxicated with this enormous privileged position, unable to extricate themselves from this unfair system that seems to be based on the imperial examination as a criterion for its rise and fall.

Oppress others, be poor and extravagant!

This is the life of the middle and upper classes, oppression happens all the time, the enjoyment of poverty and luxury is carried out every day, as for who will rule, they do not care, as long as they can retain their privileges, or get a piece of the pie on the occasion of the Ding Revolution, this is why the Qing army was able to enter the Guannai under the banner of avenging the Ming and was still welcome.

Once Zhao Yan exposes his hostility to these classes, then he will fall into a wide range of non-cooperation, with the current economic state of Shandong, it is far from being able to withstand this blow, once the economy is weakened, Zhao Yan will not have enough money and food to fight, so the development of overseas colonies is also a very important link, so as to get rid of the local economic constraints to a certain extent.

Under such a premise, Zhao Yan will have nothing to do with the reaction of the imperial court for a period of time in the future, as long as he shows strong enough strength, people from all over the world will flock to support him, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

However, Zhao Yan could never show any behavior that would shake the fundamental interests of the middle and upper classes, and once it was exposed, the world would inevitably rise up to resist it.

…… After Hong Chengchou withdrew from the army, Qin Zhiyuan saw that he could not cross the river to make a report, and there was no food support for the Collapse Heaven Division, so he had to take the 200,000 people from the Collapse Heaven Department to Wuchang without authorization.

Before Zhao Yan sent troops, the Ministry of Communications had already hoarded grain mainly in Wuchang and Luoyang.

Qin Zhiyuan arrived in Wuchang with people, and the officials in Wuchang City were so frightened that they thought that the thieves had fled here, and the defense in Wuchang City was not too tight.

However, after Qin Zhiyuan sent someone to explain, the officials in Wuchang City finally felt a little relieved. But Qin Zhiyuan asked to open the city gate to transport grain out of the city, but was refused.

At dusk of the same day, 200 Shandong soldiers stationed in Wuchang City and protecting the grain depot suddenly came out and used violent means to take down the city gate, and Qin Zhiyuan successfully opened the city gate.

The officials of Wuchang City were terrified, but what reassured them a little was that the Shandong army that entered Wuchang City was extremely disciplined and did not plunder like ordinary officers and soldiers.

There are rumors in various places that thieves are like combs (combing their hair) and soldiers are like shaving (shaving their heads), and the reason why this is so is that both sides lack rations.

But the difference between the two sides is because they represent different classes.

The thieves rebelled openly, plundering the rich and the common people generally did not touch it much. The officers and men lacked food and wages, so they could only rob without rebellion, but they did not dare to rob the rich households, but could only rob the common people.

Shandong's soldiers and horses are full of three meals, full of silver hair, and military discipline is like a mountain, so naturally they will not plunder outside. The people in Wuchang City praised him one after another, "He is really a teacher of benevolence and righteousness." ”

As long as you don't rob, you can be called benevolent.

Qin Zhiyuan, who entered Wuchang, quickly opened up the joints of the grain depot, and generally the grain transfer must be proved by the above documents, although Qin Zhiyuan did not have a certificate, but he had a 'war certificate' issued by Zhao Yan, which has proved that he did not act without authorization. In addition, 200,000 displaced people were waiting to be fed outside the city, and the managers in charge of managing the grain depot opened the granary for grain.

As soon as the grain was distributed, Qin Zhiyuan immediately set up hundreds of stoves outside the city, immediately purchased firewood and grass in Wuchang City to raise the fire, and organized the displaced people to set up tents to shelter from the rain.

At the same time, Qin Zhiyuan also invited most of the doctors in Wuchang City to treat the injuries and illnesses of the displaced people, who had been under the torrential rain for several days, and there were already a large number of injured and sick people, who were all carried by everyone when they came to Wuchang.

Although most of the third cavalry battalion are recruits, the backbone veterans know how to find many fences to form passages in order to prevent robbery before distributing food.

The displaced people who laid down their arms watched with joy as the stoves lit up the fires, waiting in a row in the passage formed by the fence.

Soon, the fragrant sweet potato porridge was cooked, but the displaced people felt that it was very long, and the soldiers in front of them distributed the sweet potato porridge bowl by bowl.

"Official, scoop more! That's not enough to eat! One of the strong men with two children begged one of the soldiers, "I don't have much to eat, but these two babies are really hungry." ”

"You haven't eaten in a few days, you can't eat too much at once, or you'll easily choke to death. Don't worry, after eating, you can't finish eating the food in Wuchang City for a few months. The soldier explained, "Come back in half an hour after eating." ”

"Yes! Last month, I saw two people choking to death. One of the homeless people said.

"Thank you, thank you." When the man heard that, he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

The homeless people who received the sweet potato porridge squatted in the open space in the distance, where special personnel reminded them to eat slowly. Although it has been reminded before, judging from the past few resettlements of displaced people, it is still not a few who have been choked to death.

As soon as they entered Wuchang City, Qin Zhiyuan asked people to buy ready-made food, and then sent it to the injured area for distribution. Now the doctor has also arrived, the soldiers who grab the medicine are coming and going frequently, and the pharmacies in Wuchang City have moved them outside the city.

Liu Guoneng and the backbone of the thieves were also very moved when they saw this scene.

"A glimpse of the whole leopard can be seen, and General Fu is really right." Liu Guoneng said, and his subordinates echoed him.

The officials in the city, as well as Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, couldn't help but feel relieved when they saw that after the city gate was opened, the displaced people did not enter the city. The people in Wuchang City also went out of the city to see the excitement, but they were blocked by Shandong soldiers and could not approach on the periphery.

…… On June 21, after the torrential rain stopped, the water of the Yangtze River finally calmed down, and Zhao Yan mobilized ships to cross the river and traveled all the way to Wuchang.

60,000 soldiers approached the city, the city's attention suddenly turned to the outside of the city, inquired, heard that Zhao Yan was coming, Huguang governor Song Yihe, and Chu king Zhu Huakui immediately sent an invitation to Zhao Yan, inviting Zhao Yan to Wuchang City' Wanghualou to attend a banquet.

"It seems that this table of wine must be visited." Zhao Yan took the invitation and said with a smile, Mao Yuanyi nodded and said: "Hong Chengchou will definitely write a book to reverse right and wrong, and it must have been sent out at this time, as long as the King of Chu and the governor of Huguang are willing to cooperate, we will send the chapter out with a post station, and we can also rush to join him in front of Hong Chengchou." ”

Zhao Yan arrived with a team of personal soldiers as promised, and when he walked into the gate of Wanghua Tower, Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, and Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, were already at the door to greet him, and there were officials of Wuchang City standing behind.

As soon as they met, Zhao Yan smiled and greeted Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, and Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, who were very polite to Zhao Yan.

Although Zhao Yan is a military general, he is not an ordinary military general. is not only the general of Jianwei, but also the prince and the young master, only one step away from being able to enter the knighthood and open the house.

Of course, if it is an ordinary general, these are still not enough.

The problem is that Zhao Yan's soldiers are strong and strong, and his military exploits are brilliant, and after the propaganda of "Daming Daily", his Daming is already known to everyone.

And this time it is to come in to suppress the thieves, Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, is very welcome, Song Yihe also felt relieved, this time the thieves rushed into Huguang on a large scale, even Song Yihe, who is good at supervising the battle, is also worried, for fear that there will be an accident in Wuchang City, this is the place where the vassal king is divided, and if there is an accident, he will lose his head.

Zhu Huakui is a fat man over fifty years old, although he is not too fat, but he can also see his luxurious life, after these feudal kings are divided, they can stay in the city all their lives, and they can only go to the city wall to look around, until the Southern Ming Dynasty ended this situation, running around one by one.

After Zhao Yan greeted Zhu Huakui and Song Yihe, he sat down surrounded by everyone.

"This time, the general went west to suppress the thieves and wiped out the thief Gao Yingxiang in one fell swoop, which is really gratifying, not only the general's merits have been added, but the people of the world have also been able to live in peace." Zhu Huakui raised his glass to Zhao Yan and said, "General Wang Jing has a cup." ”

"However, as soon as the general's soldiers arrive, the thieves of Huguang will inevitably be frightened, like a lost dog who is panicked, and the people of Huguang will also pay tribute to the general." Song Yihe also raised his glass and said.

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu, the Lord of the Military Gate has been promoted, and we are waiting for the king to eat and suppress the thief." Zhao Yan smiled and raised his wine glass and drank it all with the two.

Officials on both sides applauded, setting off the atmosphere.

But at this moment, after Zhao Yan put down the wine glass, he suddenly sighed 'hey', and Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, asked curiously: "Why did the general sigh?" ”

"Don't hide it from Your Highness, this time I came to Huguang, I'm afraid there won't be many times, and I can't suppress thieves for the people of Huguang." Zhao Yan sighed again and again.

"Dare to ask the general, why?" Song Yihe asked, and everyone looked at Zhao Yan with blazing eyes and listened with bated breath.

Zhao Yan sighed again, got up and said to the officials present: "Colleagues, I, Zhao Yan, have come to the east to suppress thieves, and I must know what I have done all the way!" In mid-June, I destroyed Gao Yingxiang, and then issued a notice to appease the thieves, in order to combine rigidity and softness, so as to avoid the destruction of living beings. The Ministry of Heaven Outside the city has sent a letter to him on June 16, and he is willing to be appeased. However, Hong Chengchou, an incompetent person, actually surrounded 200,000 people who knew how to return in the mountains. When I heard this, I immediately sent 4,000 cavalry across the river to explain to me. However, he refused to withdraw from the siege, and instead transferred 9,000 soldiers and horses to besiege our Shandong cavalry, as a last resort, our Shandong army launched a counterattack, and defeated Hong Chengchou's subordinates He Renlong and Cao Bianjiao, and only then did he take 200,000 people out of the mountain. ”

As soon as Zhao Yan's words stopped, there was a sudden bang below, and everyone whispered.

Chu King Zhu Huakui was stunned for a while, and asked Zhao Yan: "Is it really caroothed to break into the sky?" ”

"There is no need to worry about this matter, more than 200,000 people in the Collapse of the Heavenly Department are all to remove their armor, the official was defeated in Liaodong, and there are many lost lands to recover, and there are few natural disasters in Liaodong, and then the land is plastered, and Shandong has the support of cattle, farm tools and rations, and the displaced people can be resettled, and they will not return." Zhao Yan replied.

"Hong Xiangjiu actually acted like this, it was really like an addiction, and he was mad." Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, said angrily, and Song Yihe thought for a moment and said: "That Hong Xiangjiu must want to grab merit from the general, but he really doesn't care about the overall situation, he has a small belly, and he is jealous of his ability." ”

Zhu Huakui and Song Yihe's statement, the big and small officials present began to count Hong Chengchou's crimes, before the "Daming Daily" criticized Hong Chengchou for being incompetent, and Hong Chengchou's reputation has been very stinky, Zhu Huakui and Song Yihe read the "Daming Daily", they have long been dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou's putting the thieves into Huguang, and this time they stood on Zhao Yan's side.

"If Huguang is not deterred by the general, how can Hong Chengchou exterminate the thieves, the general only needs to focus on the thieves, and there is no need to worry about the affairs of the court. Where is Zhu Huakui willing to let Zhao Yan leave Huguang, Zhao Yan is known as Zhao Killing Star among the thieves, this time he captured Gao Yingxiang alive and destroyed his department, which made the thieves frightened, as long as he was in Huguang, the thieves would not dare to invade Wuchang, and he was definitely a super bodyguard.

"I'm waiting for the king of Chu to go to the book together." Song Yihe also said at this time, and the rest of the officials echoed one after another.

"That is, His Royal Highness and all my colleagues are willing to write to find out the truth, and I, Zhao Yan, will definitely live up to expectations and pacify Huguang within a month." Zhao Yan made another bold statement.

"Okay, the general is really my tiger general, and this king respects the general again." Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, was overjoyed when he heard this, and toasted Zhao Yan again.

…… After the banquet, as soon as Zhao Yan returned to the barracks, Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, sent 30,000 taels of silver to the army.

Wuchang is a first-tier city in the Yangtze River Basin, and its city is relatively prosperous, while most of the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty have a characteristic, that is, most of the vassal kings who are divided into big cities are relatively normal, while those vassal kings who are divided into small cities have distorted personalities and are extremely poor and extravagant.

Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, gave money and grain for the suppression of thieves, and at the same time, the king of Kaifeng Zhou, who was located in the Yellow River Valley, also paid the army at the beginning, and was the only two vassal kings who paid money in the late Ming Dynasty.

To say the most ambitious vassal king, is the Tang King Zhu Yujian, according to the original history, Zhu Yujian nine years when conscription 3000 soldiers to the north of the Qin King, as a result of Chongzhen was demoted to the common people, became a crime was imprisoned in Fengyang, the Southern Ming Dynasty established him in Fujian to call the emperor, bent on restoring the Ming Dynasty, but unfortunately the hand is not human, Zheng Zhilong sold him.

However, at this time, Zhu Yujian became the king of the army according to the original history, all because the Manchu Qing Dynasty had just entered the pass, and was annihilated by Zhao Yan in Changping, and when the news reached Henan, it had become good news.

Zhao Yan accepted the silver two, his mood was very smooth, and his goal had been achieved this time for the banquet. However, it is still far from enough for the Huguang officials in Wuchang City and Zhu Huakui, the king of Chu, to write to them, although they can let Chongzhen know the truth, but why should Zhao Yan be afraid of him Chongzhen?

Naturally, he wanted to completely bring down Hong Chengchou, the old king.

Therefore, it is necessary to create public opinion, and after a while, Zhao Yan called a reporter and asked people to publish this incident on the "Daming Daily".

Since Hong Chengchou, the old Wang Ba, wants to yin him in the court, Zhao Yan is not afraid, who is afraid of whom! Or the turtle is afraid of the hammer.

Zhao Yan wants to let Hong Chengchou completely win or lose, and see that Hong Chengchou dares to ruin his good deeds everywhere.

(To be continued)