The young emperor in the Chengqian Palace rejoiced at the good news from Shaanxi, but Hong Chengchou, who reported the victory, was not happy at all in his Yansui Governor's Yamen in Yulin at this time.

Last year, Yang He was sent by the imperial court to lock the capital to ask for the crime because of the rebellion of Shen Yikui, and Hong Chengchou was promoted to the governor of the trilateral by the governor of Yansui, but the good times did not last long, but he seized the post of governor of the trilateral because of the crime of "supporting the army and causing thieves to make trouble in the Central Plains", and still served as the governor of Yansui. However, his old boss Yang He's son, Yang Sichang, the former governor of Shanhaiguan, was promoted to the right squire of the military department and the right to the imperial history of the capital, and the military affairs of Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi jumped up to take over his position as the governor of the three sides, which could not help but make Hong Chengchou quite depressed. What made him feel even more blocked was Chen Qiyu, the new governor of the five provinces, and when he was promoted to the governor of the three sides, it was this Chen Qiyu who took over his position as governor of Yansui.

Now, not only the son of the old boss has become his boss, but the old subordinates have also become his boss, which cannot but make Hong Chengchou feel tight. He also knew the shame and forged ahead, pacified 17 large and small bandits in October, and killed the bandit leader Wang Jiayin in one fell swoop ten days ago, so that most of the Shaanxi provinces were stable, which can not be described as a great achievement.

After making great achievements and washing away his shame, Hong Chengchou should be happy, but he didn't have any joy, but the people below cheered and cheered.

"Congratulations to Lord Futai, good news to Beijing, the saint will be happy, and then the adult's work should be rewarded." Entering the house is Yang Xian, a chronicle of joining the army, when Hong participated in politics in Shaanxi, he was only a Confucian student in the county, and he learned from his predecessor Ban Zhongsheng to abandon literature and martial arts, and he has also experienced it in the past few years. He is a wise person, and he is quite favored by Hong Chengchou among his subordinates.

"The official is just doing his duty as a courtier, but if he can share the worries of the monarch's father, the official's wish will be enough, and the official will not care about the reward of the court." Hong Chengchou said a few words lightly, his bearing was calm, and he raised his hand to signal Qin Xian to sit down and speak.

After Qin Xian sat down, he praised sincerely: "My lord is high-spirited, and my subordinates are ashamed of themselves. After a pause, he said: "But not everyone is as generous as adults, and some people wish that adults would be reprimanded repeatedly, where can they see the good of adults." ”

Qin Xian had something to say, how Hong Chengchou didn't know how to say anything, but he didn't want to say anything, he only asked, "How is Yang Junmen now?" ”

"Why do you have to ask him?" Qin Xian was stunned for a moment, and said with hatred: "Yang He raised Kou into trouble, ruined his life, and the court punished him for his retribution, who is to blame?" ”

Hong Chengchou listened to Mo Ran, sighed and said: "Shen Yikui rebelled, and Yang Junmen also did his best..."Raised his eyes and looked at Qin Xian, "Is there any news from General Du's side?" ”

Du Zongbing refers to Du Wenhuan, the chief military officer of Guyuan, who fought with the Beiyu in the land of Hetao, and won many times, and led his troops to participate in the pacification of the "Extravagant Rebellion" during the Apocalypse. After the civil rebellion in the northwest, he also led his troops to conquer the east and west, with the right governor, the general army of Guyuan controlled the town of Yan, and was one of the generals under the command of Hong Chengchou, and now he is leading the Guyuan soldiers and horses to besiege and flee to the thieves in Ningsai City.

"There is not much grain in the city of Ningsai, so he besieges the city, cuts off internal and external communications, and waits for the grain and grass to be eaten up, and he will not worry about being captured without restraint. Mr. Du is also a veteran of the battlefield, and there are many soldiers and horses, so there is no need to worry about it. ”

"Over there in Guyuan, the official still has to go and see with his own eyes that the thieves can give him peace of mind."

Although Qin Xian said that he was extremely confident, Hong Chengchou was still a little relieved, and he had rested in Yulin for a few days, and it was time to leave for Guyuan.

Hearing that Hong Chengchou was going to Ningsai, Qin Xian hurriedly reminded: "If the adults go to Guyuan, then Chen Qiyu's side?" ”

Chen Qiyu, the governor of the five provinces, sent an official letter a few days ago, saying that he would transfer troops to Yulin Point, and the governor of Yansui would be under the jurisdiction of the governors of the five provinces.

Hong Chengchou smiled indifferently and instructed Qin Xian: "Let Wang Chengen take his headquarters to garrison Yulin, if Lord Chen comes, listen to his dispatch." ”

This Wang Chengen is not the big crotch next to the Son of Heaven, but Wang Chengen, the chief military officer of Yulin, with the same name and surname but different people.

"My subordinates will arrange it." Qin Xian saw that Hong Chengchou's plan had been decided, so he immediately went out to make arrangements.

The next person brought dinner, Hong Chengchou hastily ate, and then wrote a long plea for Yang He overnight, the transcription has been completed, check it carefully, and when he saw the end, he couldn't help but read out silently: "Yang Hepu has been in office, cautious, and has been planning for the local place every day, and everything is for the sake of the territory." Even if there are one or two strokes, they are also used together, and the situation has to be. But the poor and the famine are greater, and the thieves are more and more multiplied, and they are born in the east and west, and one is destroyed and the other is destroyed. The change of God is really very current and unexpected. Yang He is in the department, and the ministers are not at ease, and I implore His Majesty to be lenient. ”

See if there are any omissions and pen errors, and send them together. After all, this Yang He is his old boss, and his son Yang Sichang is now the governor of the three sides, so Hong Chengchou feels that he should ask for a favor for Yang He. Even if you can't plead, then Yang Sichang will always sell his love in the future, and there will be no embarrassment when we meet in the future.

At the fourth watch, Hong Chengchou brought his personal guards Cai Tong, Jin Qiude and others, and summoned Qin Xian's subordinates to lead 3,000 Hong soldiers to get up and rush to Guyuan Ningsai City

Du Wenhuan, the chief military officer of Guyuan who was under the city of Ningsai, had a grudge against his brother with the head of the thief in the city, and after besieging the city of Ningsai, he couldn't help but storm the city when he thought that his brother's family died tragically at the hands of the thieves in the city. was anxious, but injured a lot of soldiers, and when Hong Chengchou led his own Hong soldiers to arrive, he hurriedly went out of the camp to meet him. After meeting, they pleaded guilty.

Hong Chengchou didn't mean to blame him, but helped him up and said with relief: "These thieves had better outwit them, otherwise they will be cornered and will have to fight to the death, which will be tricky." The battle of trapped beasts is not easy, and there are no casualties, which is strange. Come, and lead the way, the official will meet the god for a while. ”

Du Wenhuan was moved in his heart, and he was busy leading the way, leading Hong Chengchou to a high place, and saw that the head of the thief, Yikui, was holding on to the city, and Huang Youcai, Zhang Mengjin, Liu Jin, Xu Hongru and others followed around.

Hong Chengchou looked at it for a moment, and suddenly asked from a distance: "Shen Yikui, when you designed to kill Ru to become famous, you swore to surrender to the imperial court, why did you turn around in a blink of an eye?" Now that the GIs have arrived, which brother do you want to kill to deal with the emergency? It's strange that you, a faithless and unrighteous rat, would still have someone follow you! ”

was exposed in public about his ugly things, Shen Yikui was suddenly embarrassed, and shocked, and forcibly retorted: "We are all brothers who have drunk blood wine, and we can't be born on the same day, I hope ......"

Hong Chengchou didn't wait for him to finish, then laughed: "Brother? Which will listen to your nonsense! When you have no way out, have you ever cared about brotherhood? If that's the case, how could Ru Chengming die at your hands? Now that you are trapped in a lonely city, another catastrophe is coming, do you still want to exchange your brother's life for wealth? "The words are aggressive, and they don't give God a chance to refute at all.

"Y-You!" God was so angry that he didn't know how to confess, and his face turned white in a hurry, and he didn't even dare to look back at the people behind him.

Huang Youcai and Zhang Mengjin were suspicious, and the two secretly glanced at each other. Huang Youcai said tentatively: "Brother in charge, there are many officers and soldiers, and fighting hard is tantamount to killing yourself, why don't you surrender him again?" ”

Shen Yikui was silent, but his cronie Liu Jin shouted loudly: "Big brother must not be bewitched by him!" Hong Chengchou is ruthless, far better than Yang He, we have already surrendered to the rebellion, this time again, how can the surname Hong rest assured? If we don't light the sky lantern, we will be buried alive. Big brother must not take the wrong idea! ”

Shen Yikui's expression was gloomy, he would already be in turmoil, and there were reinforcements from the official army outside the city, and the murderous Hong Laojiu also came, this Ningsai City is afraid that it will be difficult to hold, and his own life will be lost a lot of life overnight, so he still has to think of a way to escape quickly.

Shen Yikui has no quick wit, nor does he have the ability to command the army, which will be directly exposed by Hong Chengchou, but he doesn't know how to stabilize the army's heart first, but thinks about how to escape. said weakly: "A hero doesn't suffer immediate losses, he can hide for a while!" And the brethren went and made their own arrangements, and they would go with me after dark. ”

Before the words fell, he heard Huang Youcai sneer, and then pulled out his knife and slashed at Shen Yikui, who was caught off guard, and with a miserable scream of "ah", he was cut into two sections!

Seeing this, Liu Jin and Xu Hongru hurriedly waved their knives over, but Zhang Mengjin and them met and resisted, the four of them fought together, and their subordinates were also mixed together, and in the blink of an eye, the thief army on the head of the city was all in chaos.

When Du Wenhuan and them saw it, they all admired Hong Chengchou so much that they threw themselves to the ground, and hurriedly gave the order to take advantage of the chaos of the thief army to attack the city. The gods died, the dragons had no leader, and the leaders below also killed indiscriminately, and the more than 6,000 thieves in the city had no heart to resist, and in less than half an hour, Du Wenhuan's Guyuan army recovered Ningsai

At dusk, after the thief army in the city was completely cleared, Hong Chengchou, under the escort of his personal guards and Hong soldiers, led his subordinates into the city. As far as the eye can see, the ruined walls are full of broken walls, the streets are piled up with bricks, tiles, wood and many other miscellaneous items, and the roofs on both sides are sparsely smoked. Hong Chengchou went to the stove to see that there was not a grain of grain in the leaves boiling in a small half pot, and he looked at several houses in a row, almost every family.

In this situation, Rao is Hong Chengchou was murderous, and his face was gloomy all the way, and he stopped in front of a dilapidated house at the end of the year, and ordered: "Call the grain officer to come over." ”

After a while, a lean grain officer came in and saluted. Hong Chengchou looked up and down, and said with a smile: "Look at where you look like a person in charge of food and salary, it is obvious that you are a starving ghost reincarnated." ”

The grain officer said with a smile: "Humble people are born thin, even if they have a meal of wine and food, they can't gain a pound and a half taels." ”

Hong Chengchou asked him: "How much grain and grass is there in the army?" ”

The grain officer replied: "It can be used for ten days." ”

Hong Chengchou instructed him: "You take out three days' worth of military rations and set up a few porridge sheds, alas! Otherwise, the people of Ninsai do not know how many people will starve to death! ”

When the grain officer heard this, he was puzzled: "I don't know when the next food will be paid, once there is a shortage of food in the army, how to fight?" Hong Chengchou waved his hand and said: "This official knows Lu Dao, I am not Cao Mengde, if something happens, I only know that Lu Dao will take the grain official to ask for the guilt, you go down to deal with it, there is no delay!" If the soldiers have any complaints, this officer will bear it with all his might, and I will never blame you, I can't watch so many people starve to death! ”

Not long after the grain officer retreated, Du Wenhuan hurriedly ran over and said: "My lord, a shed porridge is being set up in the city, I heard that it is under the military order of the lord to give relief to the hungry, but is it true?" ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and said, "Not bad." ”

Du Wenhuan stomped his feet and said, "Absolutely not! My lord, needless to say, the food and salary in our army are already insufficient, even if we can't use up the food, we can't give them it! ”

Hearing Du Wenhuan's words, Hong Chengchou was surprised: "Tao Wu, I remember that your home is in Ningsai, why don't you have the slightest feeling of folk?" ”

Du Wenhuan smiled bitterly: "My lord, it is precisely because the last general's family is in Ningsai that I know the terroir here. Since ancient times, Ningsai has been more out of the people, forgetting the great righteousness when he sees small profits, is fierce and aggressive, and does not pay attention to faith. The adults have given them food to eat today, and perhaps they will come tomorrow to grab it. ”

"Tao Wu, I understand your thoughts. I have been in Shaanxi for many years, and I have heard a little about the terroir everywhere. To deal with the people in Shaanxi, either suppress or appease, from a selfish point of view, I agree with the appeasement, the suppression is only a temporary strategy, in the end, it is for the sake of reassuring the people, and it can be suppressed every year, from generation to generation? Suppressing is the power of the tree, and the grace of the subordinates is gracious, and now they have to be gracious and powerful. I only know one word and kill countless people, so how is we different from Cao Kou? If the officials and the army cannot protect the people, what hope do the people have for living and working in peace and contentment? Rebellion is death, and staying at home is also death, so naturally the more thieves are suppressed, the more they are. Hong Chengchou's eyes were deep, and he said in a slow voice: "Mencius said that the time is not as good as the place, and the place is not as good as the people. We don't care whether the people appreciate it or not, we give them a hope, thinking that the more people who live in peace, the easier things will be. It is as if you can't save a mountain fire, you can't put out the fire, you can't stop fighting, but the fire is not extinguished after all. ”

Hearing this, Du Wenhuan hesitated: "My lord wants to set an example for the people everywhere to see?" ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and said: "The people have more hearts towards the court, and naturally fewer thieves have the hearts of thieves." It's a little more difficult now, but after a few more days, when the new wheat is harvested, the difficulty is almost over. This is my draft of the grain excerpt, you can take a look! After speaking, he took out a watch seal from his arms and handed it to Du Wenhuan.

Du Wenhuan took it with both hands, unfolded it and read it, and immediately admired it after reading: "My lord, you are really bold, you stretched out your hand to ask the court for a salary of 1 million taels of silver, and you also want to withhold 600,000 yuan of Shaanxi tax silver next year." Yuan Chonghuan didn't have such a tone back then. Tell me, there are many governors in this world, but who is as bold as you? He hesitated, but he couldn't help but say: "Can this emperor be accurate?" ”