Cao Wenzhao's death caused the peasant army to set off a new frenzy of attacks.

These two great victories enabled Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and other troops to obtain a large number of firearms. Therefore, the peasant army then captured Chengcheng and Xianyang with heavy artillery fire, and besieged Xi'an again. In the artillery fire of Xi'an's attack and defense, even Hong Chengchou was almost killed.

It was only because Hong Chengchou moved the main force of the Ming army to Xi'an City, and the officials in the city recruited the people to strengthen the people, and the King of Qin also took out the grain and silver of the palace for military supplies, that Xi'an barely kept it.

Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to launch an attack on Zhuyangguan (now southwest of Lushi, Henan), a military town at the junction of Shaanxi and Henan. There are empty male passes, and there are no male soldiers, and this pass is also a bluffing frame.

But all this still did not reach Wu Shigong and Ru Ningjun. Backward means of communication lead to poor information, and there is no way to do it. But the rusty bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty was even more desperate when the military situation was in full swing.

Due to the busy war and the subsequent siege of Xi'an, Hong Chengchou did not have the time to know the war report from Shaanxi to Henan. So that Henan also needs to judge the war situation in Shaanxi through the imperial court's palace newspaper and some hearsay news. Therefore, it can be said that Hong Chengchou did not fulfill his responsibilities as the governor of the five provinces at all.

And when the war reports went from Shaanxi to the capital and then to Henan, the timeliness and completeness of those war reports were greatly reduced. It was under this circumstance that the Runing Army began this military operation.

"Fierce son! That's a good job. In just a few days, you've recruited these people again. Didn't overdo it, did it? Wu Shigong asked

Wu Shigong arrived in Yexian on 10 June. When he learned that Chang Meng's reclamation firm had recruited more than 2,300 guards, he couldn't help but praise Chang Meng's efficiency, but he was also worried that Chang Meng would seep some water in order to please him.

Seeing that Wu Shigong had questions, Chang Meng hurriedly promised: "Master! The newly recruited people were all recruited according to the new standards after Commander Zhang arrived. That body should be stronger than the guards in front of me. You know that, sir. As long as we are open-minded, it is effortless to charge more than ten times. Although it is dangerous to be a guard, it is better than mining and being a serf in the tuntian village outside. The people who signed up were enthusiastic. If you don't believe me, you can ask Commander Zhang. The master's business is the most important, and the little one will never dare to make a mistake! ”

In order to help command and train the guards of those trading houses, Wu Shigong transferred Zhang Biao this time. This makes Zhang Biao also very happy, how to say that this position is also higher, at least the number of people with it is much more. The shadow brought by the Zhu Qilan incident to Zhang Biao has also been swept away, and it looks like he will have to shoot more sycophants of his own adults in the future!

However, Zhang Biao will not hide the problem that should be reflected: "My lord! Although the physical assessment standards selected by those guards were lower than those of our Runing Army, after these days of training, they were all barely qualified. It's just that the discipline is too poor. Stupid from a peasant background is to die. I have to teach them several times, and it's a lot of work! The better ones are those who rob the road, and they learn things very quickly, but they are all half a bottle of water shaking loudly, thinking that learning these is Lao Tzu's first in the world. It's all guys who haven't seen our Runing Army's kung fu. They are no longer willing to put in the effort. And we have few people here, and these guards have no salary. So it's hard to control. I was looking forward to the coming. Give us a charter. ”

"Oh." Wu Shigong nodded to show that he understood, "This training matter is not in a hurry." It wasn't like that when we first arrived in Guide. You say! What do you want from the official? ”

"It is to include these people in our Runing Army, so that they can also have a head. It is impossible to compare with our sons, but we have to come up with a charter to reward attendance and punish laziness. Otherwise, the hearts of these people will be scattered. What Zhang Biao said was also very practical.

Wu Shigong thought for a while and ordered: "That's it first!" First unify the military uniforms, shoes and hats. These are supplied by our Runing Army. Regular clothes for all seasons must be available, and quilts for winter must also be distributed. The costumes should be a little different from our Runing Army, but at least they should be unified so that they feel that they are our people. ”

"Mengzi and Zhang Biao, you should also pay attention. Nor is it necessary to have more of a merrier. You live in a standard, and men of appropriate age are admitted according to the 11th standard. Otherwise, our mines and Zhuangzi will not have the labor to work. It also gives those guards a hard-won feeling, and they will cherish it themselves when the time comes. ”

"Give you a quota of 500 people, as long as you perform well, you can be transferred to the Runing Army and enjoy all the treatment of the Runing Army. I will give you fifty places per season to teach the legions, so that these people will also have a chance to jump into the dragon gate. ”

"But keep in mind the following: as long as the people who are transferred to the Runing Army, their families are all controlled by our Runing Army, but the maintenance standards of these families and the education of their children are also treated the same as our soldiers. If you are not married and single, you will immediately arrange to get married, and if your family members are not in the area under our control, you will be directly picked up through the Yamakawa Division and the Intelligence Bureau. No disobedience. ”

"Not only that, as long as you join the escort of the commercial house, life and death are the people of our Runing Army, if there are those who surrender to the enemy, surrender and flee, their families will be involved, and the fugitives will be hunted down for life. These guards are also familiar with the training methods of our Runing Army, and if they are released, it will be extremely harmful to us, so we must not relax. ”

"First of all, I will give you a regimental training town, and these people will first form ten regiments and a cavalry battalion. All officers above the company commander level must be assigned by our Runing Army, and the missing officers will be filled by you. Then I urged Mr. Li and the other shareholders of the firm to supply weapons and grain and grass in a timely manner, at least to let them all have enough to eat. ”

"That's all for now. You guys go down and make arrangements! A day later, this officer will go out with eight regiments, Zhang Biao, you can command these guards. The remaining two regiments are left to you! You have no force in your hands, and you can't talk loudly to General Li and them. And this time we want to catch more chaotic people, there are too many people in our place, and there is a shortage of people! ”

"No!" Zhang Biao and Chang Meng immediately agreed.

Wu Shigong's purpose in dispatching troops this time was to form a vacuum zone in the area infested by bandits in Henan, and to relocate all the personnel and property in this place to the area controlled by the Runing Army. In this way, it actually played a role in clearing the wilderness, and also brought a lot of labor to the Tuntian Zhuangzi on the periphery of the Runing Army.

Anyway, these places were infested with bandits, and there was no way to work and produce, so let the fields in these places continue to be barren.

Although Henan is the hinterland of the Central Plains and has a large population, manpower is not unlimited after all. After many years of desertion, coupled with the repeated see-saw and coercion of officials and bandits, a large part of the population has actually been lost. And the Runing Army will do a zuihou blow this time, turning the central region of Henan into a completely no-man's land. (To be continued......)