Zhao Lifeng quickly ordered a hundred soldiers. Xu Ping sighed lightly, went out of the camp with more than a dozen guards accompanying him, and went straight to the station of the 3,000 battalion with Zhao Lifeng. After arriving outside the 3,000 battalion, Zhao Lifeng and the others all showed a vigilant look on their faces, and the standard battalion guards he brought were also unsheathed with their swords uncovered, and they were engrossed in guarding the sentry of the 3,000 battalion. Seeing this, Xu Ping sighed lightly again. It was common for other Ming troops to bomb camps and mutiny, with a small disturbance in January and a major disturbance in March, but this kind of thing had never happened in the new army, and it had never happened once.

Xu Ping and his subordinates ignored the officers and soldiers of the standard battalion who stopped in place, and drove their horses to Yuanmen. After inspecting Xu Ping's waist card and warrant, the leader of the 3,000 battalion guards at the gate saluted him solemnly: "Lord Xu, please come in, and lead the way for you." ”

After entering the camp, Xu Ping immediately found that the battalion commander who had returned first had completely collapsed mentally and completely lost his ability to act, and handed over the command of the entire battalion to Xu Ping without even checking the warrant. Zhao Lifeng, who followed Xu Ping in, looked at this collapsed man with disdain, and ordered the guards of the standard camp to take him to rest, while he stood beside Xu Ping and supervised him to issue various orders.

The other battalions of the Ming army were controlled by the general's henchmen and personal soldiers, and Zhao Lifeng brought the guards of the standard battalion to suppress the commotion that the disgruntled pro-soldiers might launch. Under normal circumstances, the die-hard subordinates of a battalion officer are more than a dozen people, and most of the henchmen and personal soldiers will no longer work for a dead person, so the soldiers of the 100th standard battalion plus the authority of the imperial court can be completely controlled. However, the structure of the new army was completely different from that of the other Ming armies, and all battalions of the new army had exactly the same command system. After Xu Ping got the command, the staff officers of the 3,000 battalion and the general officers of each thousand all bowed down to his orders, and no one jumped out to question his authority.

It was this system that allowed Xu Ping to command the reserve troops of the Dongsen battalion under the name of last time. This time, the command system of the 3,000 battalions was working well, Xu Ping commanded easily, and Zhou Dongtian was sent by Xu Ping to assist the staff officers in the operation. With Xu Ping's order, all the thousands of generals in the battalion went back separately to mobilize their subordinates. Zhao Lifeng, who knew nothing about the new army system, was amazed when he watched from the sidelines. After everyone dispersed, Zhao Lifeng, who was surprised, complimented loudly: "I have heard the name of General Xu for a long time, but I don't know that General Xu is so obedient to the public, it is better to meet than to be famous." ”

"Zhao Qianhu has won the prize." Xu Ping smiled bitterly, but he didn't bother to explain to him.

Since the 3,000 battalion received a clear order, the 3,000 battalion immediately set out and arrived near the target before dusk. As soon as the terrain was ascertained, the sappers began to build attack positions. A large number of soldiers and horses, under the control of the staff officers, quickly entered their respective positions and began to prepare for the attack. And Xu Ping planted the flag directly on the front of the main door of the cottage.

Zhou Dongtian rushed to report the situation to Xu Ping at this time. The scale of this cottage is not small, there are hundreds of men in it, and it seems that many people from the village have gathered here, and it is presided over by a respected elder. The people in the village withstood several attacks by the officers and soldiers in a row, so Hou Sui ordered the new army to go out and attack here.

“…… No armor, no firearms, a few had steel knives, and possibly a few bows. Hundreds were armed with axes, kitchen knives and wooden guns, but many more had nothing but stones, bamboo poles and sticks. After Zhou Dongtian reported on the enemy situation on the other side, in his opinion, the only reason why the village could withstand the officers and soldiers was fear: "There were many women and children inside, and they were worried that the officers and soldiers would take away their wives and daughters, so they risked their lives to fight against the officers and soldiers." ”

Zhao Lifeng let out a cold snort from his nose, Zhou Dongtian only pretended not to hear, and made a suggestion to Xu Ping: "After our army arrived, the people inside were already frightened. Humble advice to persuade surrender. ”

"Persuasion?" Zhao Lifeng asked sharply.

"Yes." Although Zhou Dongtian did not have the habit of reporting to anyone other than the chief, since the other party pointed the finger at him and asked his head, Zhou Dongtian pushed his head back: "As long as we promise not to harm them and not harm their wives and daughters, I think they will surrender." ”

Zhao Lifeng sneered and said, "The order of the Inspector is to suppress, not to cares!" ”

"Let them tie up the leaders of the inciting bandits themselves." According to Zhou Dongtian's observations, the people in the village are already in turmoil, and Zhou Dongtian believes that the credibility of the new army is still very effective for the people inside. He lowered his head, clenched his hands into fists and raised them high above the top, and said to Xu Ping: "Please show me." ”

Without waiting for Xu Ping to speak, Zhao Lifeng rushed to the front and shouted: "You can't persuade you to surrender." Thieves are cunning and capricious. ”

Zhou Dongtian ignored him and just waited for Xu Ping. Seeing this, Zhao Lifeng turned his head to Xu Ping: "General Xu, he has been with the army many times to suppress bandits in various places, and the repeated surrender is a thief's trick, and he must not agree." ”

Seeing that Xu Ping was still silent, Zhao Lifeng took another step forward and said to Xu Ping word by word: "General Xu, the superintendent has clearly ordered to suppress, does General Xu plan to disobey?" ”

Xu Ping has been thinking in his heart, if he disobeys, then where should he go next. This time when he sent troops to Shandong, several generals of the highest level of the new army did not travel, and if he fled back to Zhang Chengye, it might not be useful, and he might even make trouble for Zhang Chengye. If it is other battalions of the Ming army, it is a way to close the camp gate at this time and close the door to listen to the non-stop announcement. But the discipline of the new army was strict, and Xu Ping asked himself that he could not launch such a rebellion-like act. Moreover, if you really want to do this, I'm afraid that Zhang Chengye will be the first to be able to tolerate himself.

After hearing Zhao Lifeng's questioning, Xu Ping had no choice but to whisper to Zhou Dongtian: "Suppress it." ”

Zhou Dongtian frowned slightly, and looked at Xu Ping for a moment. He saw that Xu Ping's meaning was clear, and immediately stood up and saluted: "Obey, my lord." ”

As soon as the order to attack was given, the artillery of the 3,000 battalion opened fire. Eight six-pounder guns and four nine-pounder guns roared continuously, blasting the people-defended camp into debris. In the face of the firepower of the officers and soldiers, the camp did not have any ability to counterattack, Xu Ping saw that the severed limbs of many people near the wall were blasted into the air, and in the blink of an eye, the people on the entire wall disappeared without a trace. The Ming army's fire continued, and the rudimentary walls quickly collapsed. The artillery began to fire in an orderly manner, and soon black smoke began to rise from the wall, and it seemed that some ignitions had been hit.

The black smoke grew thicker and thicker, and the fire soon appeared, and after a few moments, the wall began to burn. A large number of people fled from the gate of the northern village, including men, old and young, women and children. The officers and men of the 3,000 battalions who received the suppression office lined up in a neat formation, and the musketeers listened to the commander's orders and opened fire on the crowd that was attacking the battle line. After the front row was knocked down, the crowd crowded and wanted to retreat, pushing and shoving with the people who rushed out from behind, and they were in chaos under the fire of the Ming army, and the cry was shocking.

"Carry the people strong." Zhao Lifeng, who was watching the battle, sneered and commented beside Xu Ping: "This is the habitual trick of thieves. ”

After the wall was blown down, many old people, women and children escaped from the gap, these people cried and ran towards the Ming army, and a small number of young men mixed with it were all barehanded, shouting and begging for mercy. It's just that the Ming army on the front line was unmoved, and officers at all levels strictly carried out the order of "suppression" and knocked them down in a pool of blood.

The staff officers of the 3,000 battalion gathered behind Xu Ping, and one of them sighed and put down the binoculars in his hand, took a step forward and asked Xu Ping softly: "Lord Xu, the thieves have collapsed, and they think they can surrender." ”

"It's a thief's trick, I've seen it too many times." Zhao Lifeng shouted loudly, turned around and reprimanded the staff officer: "Don't be merciful to thieves, you can only kill!" ”

Xu Ping didn't say a word. The staff officer waited for a moment, then retreated.

The sun had turned to the west, and the sky above the camp was a sky-high fire, and the simple wooden walls were burning and overturning. The surviving people hissed and shouted and rushed to the positions of the Ming army, attacking the Ming army with bamboo poles and masonry. The spearmen of the Ming army wearing iron armor dropped their armor and lowered their spears to meet the battle. The five-meter-long forest of spears was intertwined with bamboo poles and wooden sticks, and the sharp blades of the spears easily pierced the cloth clothes of the people, forcing the opponents to retreat in terror.

The Ming army marched forward neatly and steadily, stepping on the corpses everywhere to force the people back into the flames in front of the village. The people scattered and fled, and hundreds of people rushed through the middle of the Ming army, and ran frantically into the wilderness in the night. Zhao Lifeng looked at their backs and laughed, turned his head to Xu Ping and said, "General Xu, it's time for the horse team to dispatch." ”

Seeing that Xu Ping was just unconscious, Zhao Lifeng raised his voice and roared: "General Xu! ”

"Huh?"

Xu Ping retracted his mind from the dazed and looked sideways at Zhao Lifeng, who urged: "It's time for the horse team to dispatch." ”

"Oh." Xu Ping replied, turned back to one of the guards and ordered, "Let the horse team pursue." ”

"Yes, my lord."

The guard immediately ran to give the order, and the 3,000 cavalry battalions who were waiting behind the banner drew their swords and roared out when they heard the order. At this time, the infantry of the Ming army had already braved smoke and fire to attack the village, and a few defenders were still stubbornly resisting in many corners. But their resistance was pointless and did almost no damage to the ironclad infantry of the three thousand battalions.

……

It was getting late, and the ruins of the stockade were still burning. Fire tossed in the sky, the remnants of the bloody sun reflected the smoking earth, and the surrounding wilderness was clothed in blood. Xu Ping didn't know what to do with the large number of people who were caught, so he gathered them all together and sent Yu Shenhe to the superintendent's camp overnight.

Zhao Lifeng, who was full of ambition, saw that the overall situation had been decided, and went into the camp tent with a smile on his face to eat and rest. He first boasted about this martial art in front of his entourage, and then, he expressed his complete incomprehension as to why the previous officers and soldiers could not take this stockade several times.

Xu Ping, who was pacing silently beside the ruins, walked deeper and deeper into the night, Zhou Dongtian behind him did not say a word, and several accompanying guards followed them a few steps away. In the darkness, the ground was full of dead refugees, and although these people broke out of the sparse encirclement of the Ming infantry, few of them could escape the swords of the cavalry.

A buzzing sound came, interrupting Xu Ping's musing. He looked up and saw a group of dog-like animals crouching on several corpses in the faint light of the fire. Xu Ping was shocked and immediately grabbed the hilt of the sword at his waist. They also stopped, their green eyes glowing in the darkness. One of the largest, with his head held high, stared fiercely at Xu Ping and Zhou Dongtian. After a while, the light vanished, and they lowered their heads, and the sound of biting came again.

"My lord," Zhou Dongtian held his sword in his hand and was on guard, and persuaded behind Xu Ping: "Say a thousand, say ten thousand, they gather people to make trouble, do not obey the king, regardless of men, women and children are thieves!" It's all thieves! My lord, let's go back to camp. ”

"The martial arts ...... of slaughtering women and children" Xu Ping raised his head to the sky and roared, and his hand on the hilt of the sword hung down weakly: "Go back to the camp." ”

The next day, Xu Ping took a few subordinates to supervise the battalion and pay the order. When Xu Ping saw the Yucheng camp from afar, he saw a large number of women walking by on the road. Their hands were tied in front of them with hemp ropes, and long strings of ropes were attached to the horse's tail at the front of the line. The women, their cloaks, were dragged forward by ropes, and they let out bursts of sobs. And the cavalry on the front horse was triumphant.

"What is this for?" Xu Ping pointed at the whip, and the guards behind him immediately stepped forward to ask.

After a while, the guards turned back to Xu Ping to report that the women in this team were all trophies of Zhu Yuanhong, Cheng Yijun and others. The Governor Hou Sui allowed the generals of the various armies to dispose of their families at will after exterminating the rebellious people. Xu Ping raised his head and looked at the long line of women who were tied up on the official road, and there were probably thousands of them. Presumably, the heads of the various armies of the Ming army would send these women to Texas, where they would be sold to local snakes and human traffickers for silver. They are then resold to brothels in Shandong and Beizhili. Maybe a large number of human traffickers have gathered around Texas by now.

Xu Ping was silent when he heard this, and he ran with his whip and galloped past one team after another of women. After arriving at the superintendent's camp, Xu Ping signed up to see him, and Hou Sui immediately summoned him. Today's supervisor smiled and praised repeatedly: "The old man has seen the good news, thousands of thieves have been wiped out, and only a few officers and soldiers have been injured. ”

"Master Overseer!" Xu Ping fell to his knees and cried out in pain: "The last general begs for mercy from the Governor." ”

Hou Sui was shocked when he saw this, got up from his seat, and came to help Xu Ping with his own hands: "Hurry up, why is this?" ”

Xu Ping recounted what he saw on the way, and shouted with grief and indignation: "Forcing good people to become prostitutes, the law of the country is intolerable, and the last general will dare to ask the superintendent to punish him severely." ”

"This ......" Hou Sui sat down according to Xu Ping, walked back to his seat slowly, and said unhurriedly: "One person makes trouble, and the nine clans should be punished, these are the wives and daughters of thieves, how can they force Liang to be prostitutes?" ”

"Master Overseer." Xu Ping jumped up again, only to feel that his chest was full, almost exploding: "Most of the small people are just being carried by thieves, the Inspector should be appeased, how can he be killed?" ”

"Xu Ping!" Hou Sui slapped the table, and the halberd pointed and shouted: "Are you saying that this official kills innocents indiscriminately?" ”

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