According to history, Zhang Xianzhong entered the city in Wuchang, which was captured in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, and later carried out a massacre in Wuchang.

However, perhaps due to the arrival of the protagonist, Lu Xiangsheng, who was supposed to be the prime minister of the five provinces, did not take office as the governor of Huguang, but went to Jiangxi to replace the dead Liu Zongxiang, which led to some changes in the war in the north.

Zhang Xianzhong was able to move around in the encirclement and suppression of the official army, and he still had enough mobile force in his hands.

However, he has been circling around in the Central Plains, and Zhang Xianzhong also found a problem, that is, the people of the Central Plains have almost been robbed by him, and the people have become poor ghosts, and there are often droughts.

However, the official army was nested in the city, and the officials and troops in the Central Plains were gathered, Zhang Xianzhong was not sure to gain a foothold in the Central Plains, and took advantage of the fact that Li Zicheng's troops were now besieging Kaifeng Mansion, so he simply let Li Zicheng's house go to fight with the official army, and he led the troops directly to Wuchang Mansion to make a fortune first.

However, Zhang Xianzhong would never have thought that in Nanchang City, south of the Yangtze River, there is also a person who has set his sights on the family of the King of Chu and is now dispatching troops.

Qian Dayou has recruited troops and horses in Changsha locally, expanded the second battalion of soldiers and horses to 20,000 people, and he himself has received an order to promote the general army, and is now the chief officer of the second battalion.

In the cooperation with Li Banghua, Qian Dayou, the chief military officer, is extremely comfortable.

Li Banghua is worthy of being an old minister, and he has a very good set of people's livelihood, and in recent months, he has worked hard to govern Changsha Mansion in an orderly manner, and all the policies of Juntian have been implemented.

Qian Dayou relied on Li Banghua to take care of the house, and got the permission of the coach, and directly dragged the recruits to fight in Changsha Mansion.

The four counties of Xiangtan, Xiangxiang, Ningxiang and Xiangyin around Changsha have all been conquered, and the territory of Changsha has more than doubled in an instant.

At this time, the situation of the rebel army in the central area of Huguang was also completely opened, and the common people knew the policy of the rebel army, and the people in the surrounding Changde, Hengzhou and Yuezhou prefectures were moved when they heard the news, and many people rose up to kill officials and rebel in the local area.

The chain reaction brought by the rebel army expanded at once, and the people in central and southern Hunan couldn't sit still when they saw that the official army was beaten like dogs by the rebel army, and they rebelled one after another.

All of a sudden, there was no place in the southern part of Huguang that was peaceful, and even the Wuling of Mo Qian's father-in-law's family had people rebelled.

Yang Sichang didn't expect his son-in-law to be so capable, just to lay down a Changsha, and make Huguang look like this.

If they don't suppress the bandits, seeing that the anti-thieves are fighting bigger and bigger, the more they fight, I am afraid that in another three or five months, the entire southern part of Huguang will become a world of anti-thieves.

The prefects of each prefecture hurriedly wrote to Wuchang Mansion to seek help from the prefect Tang Hui, hoping that the prefect could send troops to suppress the anti-thieves.

But Tang Hui didn't bird them, and only replied to the four of them: recruit troops separately!

Where did Tang Hui send soldiers to the south to suppress bandits, and now he himself has a knife on his neck.

According to the intelligence, it is no longer only Zhang Xianzhong who has gone south from Henan to fight against thieves all the way, but Mo Wen, Jiangxi Province, which is adjacent to him, seems to have also taken a fancy to the fat of Wuchang, and is now mobilizing troops to prepare to go north.

Tang Hui was very frightened when he heard it, he was already powerless as this governor, and it was difficult to make some money, now half of the world in the Ming Dynasty was at war, Huguang was in the center of the Ming Dynasty, bordering the Liukou in Henan in the north, bordering the thieves in Shaanxi in the northwest, and there was a Mo Q in the south.

Tang Hui scolded his mother in his heart, there is no one who can be a place of four wars when he is the governor, and the surroundings are full of anti-thieves.

But at present, the soldiers and horses in his hands are only 30,000 horses, and these 30,000 horses are not elite, they are all local guard troops.

Tang Hui really didn't have much confidence in the combat power of these 30,000 soldiers and horses, but at the moment he could only rely on these 30,000 people, if these 30,000 troops were gone, then he, the governor, was afraid that it would be dangerous.

On 22 March, Qian Dayou, who was in Changsha, received a letter from Nanchang.

After reading the letter, Qian Dayou immediately dispatched troops, and he went to the government to find Li Banghua and said: "Duke Li, the lord has a letter, ordering me to lead the army north and go to Wuchang to make peace with him. ”

Li Banghua took the letter and read it, was shocked, and asked, "The lord wants to fight Wuchang?" ”

"Hmm!"

Li Banghua thought for a while and said: "This is going to Wuchang Mansion, on the way to pass through six cities, if the general wants to go, he must first conquer these six cities, otherwise the back road is afraid of danger, in this way, the general will lead 10,000 soldiers and horses as the vanguard, I personally lead 8,000 troops to cover behind, and I will take 20,000 people to transport grain, so that there will be no danger, what does the general want?" ”

When Qian Dayi heard this, he was overjoyed, and immediately said: "In this way, it will be better, but it is hard for Li Gong, and when he is old, he has to work with the army!" ”

Li Banghua smiled and waved his hand and said: "Hey, for the great cause of the lord, a little hard work, it's nothing, then ask the general to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses first, and I will let people prepare grain and grass!" ”

"Okay, then I'll go first!"

Qian Dayou left the government, immediately ordered 5,000 veterans, and 5,000 recruits, gathered 10,000 soldiers and horses, and only brought seven days' rations, and then led the troops out of the city in the afternoon of the same day, and went straight to Pingjiang County, the capital of Yuezhou, in the northeast.

After two days of marching, the army arrived outside Pingjiang County, Pingjiang County Tao Kongzhi, who only took office last year, and when he heard that the anti-thieves in Changsha were calling, he didn't think about opening the city and surrendering directly.

Qian Dayou never expected that this first battle would go so smoothly and be self-defeating.

When he saw Tao Kongzhi, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Master Tao, as the magistrate of Pingjiang, how can you see that we surrendered directly?" ”

Tao Kongzhi said: "Don't hide it from the general, I am a native of Xingzi in Jiangxi, I know a lot about the righteous army, and I also yearn for King Mo, just looking forward to one day to be able to serve the king, a few days ago, a letter came from home, saying that the righteous army has captured Xingzi, and the general came today, so he surrendered!" ”

When Qian Da heard this, he immediately understood Tao Kongzhi's thoughts.

He laughed and said: "Lord Tao is really handsome, in this way, Lord Li Banghua is behind, I am going to attack Wuchang, so I will not stay here anymore, and when Lord Li arrives, you two Jiangxi fellows can have a good time." ”

When Tao Kongzhi heard this, he was both surprised and delighted, and hurriedly asked, "Li Gong also came with you?" ”

"Gong Li is now the prefect of Changsha, he leads the troops to transport grain and grass behind me, you will be able to see him soon, I will take the first step and leave!"

Qian Dayou didn't even take a break, and only left fifty soldiers for Tao Kongzhi, in the name of assisting him in managing the county seat, but in fact to monitor and prevent him from going back on his word.

However, Tao Kongzhi obviously doesn't have so much thought, he really wants to take refuge in Mo Qian, his hometown is occupied by Mo Qian, and he is not afraid of the imperial court to cut his family anyway, and Li Banghua of Ji'an has joined the rebel army, he is the former military department Shangshu, and the members of the second rank of the people have all been lowered, and he has a small seven-rank county order What can not surrender.

Qian Dayou led his troops to continue to the northeast, and after a day of rapid marching, the army arrived in Tongcheng County, Wuchang Prefecture.

Zhu Taiqing, the magistrate of Tongcheng, did not surrender directly like Tao Kongzhi, but took a cadre of officials to organize soldiers and people to defend the city.

However, the manpower was too small, and compared with the 10,000 soldiers and horses of the rebel army, it was not even a fraction of the people, and the rebel army only took a charge to conquer Tongcheng.

Zhu Taiqing was tied up by the righteous army to Qian Dayou, and Qian Dayou didn't bother to hold a public trial meeting, so he directly slashed Zhu Taiqing.

For this kind of resistance to the end, it is natural to kill when it is time to kill, otherwise all the city guards you will encounter in the future will learn from Zhu Taiqing, and lead people to resist but do not have to die, wouldn't it be that every time you go to a city, you have to fill in the names of the soldiers.

Besides, now it is the speed of the soldiers, how can there be time to hold any public trial conference, first enter Wuchang according to the requirements of the marshal.

Qian Dayou opened all the treasury of Tongcheng, took out grain to make military rations, rested in Tongcheng for a long time, and in the afternoon of the same day, after leaving 300 soldiers and horses to defend the city, he continued to set off and ran towards Chongyang County, which was 80 miles away.

Chongyang County is smaller than Tongcheng County, and Qian Dayou directly sent people to attack the city after arriving outside the county seat, and took the county seat at night.

As soon as the army entered the city, the first thing was to rush to the county office, and the cadres of the county and the county government still wanted to resist with knives, but they were directly pierced into a hornet's nest by the soldiers of the righteous army.

Early the next morning, the people of Chongyang County entered the city, only to know that Chongyang County had changed, and a force they had never heard of had actually taken the county seat.

Meng Zhengfa, a young man who lived outside the city, walked into the county seat that day and saw a notice posted outside the city.

Meng Zhengfa took a look, and then he knew that Chongyang County had changed the sky and was occupied by a group of anti-thieves.

Meng Zhengfa hurriedly ran home and said to his father: "Father, it's not good, the county town has been occupied by a group of thieves, let's quickly organize people to take the county seat back!" ”

When Meng Zhengfa's father heard this, he looked at him in surprise and said, "Fa'er, can you see clearly?" Which anti-thief occupied the county, could it be that Zhang Xianzhong came? ”

Meng Zhengfa shook his head and said: "It's not Zhang Xianzhong, it's the thief of Changsha Mansion, or the general Qian Xiao of Jiangxi Mo Wen." ”

"Is it them? How did they get here? ”

"I don't know, father, I'm going to find my uncle and ask him to come forward, we have to organize the villagers immediately and take back the county seat!"

After saying that, Meng Zhengfa ran out and ran to his uncle's house in the village, and as soon as he saw his uncle Meng Shanghe, he said: "Uncle, the thieves have occupied the county seat, let's quickly organize soldiers and horses to take it back!" ”

When Meng Shanghe heard this, he couldn't help but be shocked and asked, "Nephew, which way is the thief?" ”

"It's Yuanzhou Mo Thief's team, and it's Qian Xiao's department stationed in Changsha under Mo Thief."

After listening to his nephew's words, Meng Shanghe couldn't help but fall silent.

He sat back in his seat, rubbed his brows and said, "Nephew, do you know where our ancestor of the Meng family is?" ”

Meng Zhengfa was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "Our Meng family's original surname is Gan, and the ancestors of the family live in Yichun County, Yuanzhou Prefecture. ”

Meng Shanghe nodded and said: "It's good if you remember, we follow the surname Meng, but the surname of the ancestor has not been forgotten, the mausoleum of the ancestor is still in Yuanzhou, last year I went back to Yuanzhou to worship the ancestor, you did not go, but my uncle went." ”

Meng Zhengfa was a little puzzled, and asked Meng Shanghe: "Comfortable, what do you want to say?" ”

After Meng Shanghe took a sip of tea to moisten his mouth, he continued: "After I returned to my ancestral house in Yuanzhou, I saw another scene.....

Meng Shanghe told Meng Zhengfa for two hours, and after two hours, Meng Shanghe persuaded him: "Nephew, the so-called good birds choose trees to perch, and good ministers choose the lord to serve.

This Ming Dynasty has long been terminally ill, and no one can save him unless Taizu is reborn.

I see that the world of the Ming Dynasty, the only one who can replace it, only this Yuan Zhou Mo asked a person's ear, such as Li Zicheng Zhang Xianzhong's generation, but reckless and reckless, can not become a big weapon, the Tartars outside the gate are foreigners, if they win the world, how can I have a good life for the Chinese people?

My nephew is full of economy and talent, and he is a great talent in the difficulties of my Gan family for hundreds of years.

I heard that Mo Wen is thirsty for talent, and your nephew can go, with your talent, I am afraid that I will no longer be a Zaifu in the future! ”

Meng Zhengfa was really surprised after listening to his uncle's words.

He looked at Meng Shanghe and asked blankly, "Uncle?" I'm afraid you've already wanted to go to Na Mo, right? ”

Meng Shanghe nodded and said: "Don't hide it from my nephew, if it weren't for the family's considerations, I would have followed the thief when I returned to my hometown to worship my ancestors last year, but the whole family of our Meng family is in Tongcheng, I am afraid that I will be a thief, and I am afraid that the family will be implicated, so I came back." ”

Meng Zhengfa understood in his heart that his uncle had already thought of being a thief, so he was waiting for the opportunity.

Now the opportunity has come, and he also antiques himself to go from thieves.

This made Meng Zhengfa, who grew up reading the Four Books and Five Classics and the Book of Sages, a little difficult to accept for a while.

He said: "Uncle, my nephew has read the book of saints since he was a child, and the teacher has taught me loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness since he was a child. ”

Meng Shanghe sighed, looked at Meng Zhengfa's distant back, and muttered, "You'll know in a few days!" ”

After Qian Dayou captured Chongyang, the next day he sent his subordinate Yi Jiu to lead 3,000 troops out of the city to attack Puqi County (now Chibi), forty miles northeast of Chongyang.

Puqi had no heavy troops, it took only half a day to be conquered, the county magistrate died in the chaos, the rest of the officials of the county government either died or surrendered, and the righteous army only paid the price of 30 casualties to take the county seat.

After Puqi County was taken, whether Qian Da continued to lead the troops forward, he had to rest for a day, because the dry food was not enough, and he had to seize the time to do it.

At this time, the grain and grass in the rear had just set off from Changsha, and Li Banghua took 8,000 soldiers and horses and 20,000 people, and set off with horse-drawn carts, ox carts and manpower with 40,000 stones of grain and grass, and walked very slowly along the way.

When Li Banghua walked to Pingjiang, he knew that Qian Dayou had led his troops to Tongshan.

Lewen