Shandong, Liangshan.

Liangshan thief Li Qingshan, Wenshang thief Cai Naihan, Shouzhang thief Ding Mingwu, Cao thief Xue Zhenglu, and Ma Jinzhong, who broke away from Zuo Liangyu and went south, gathered here.

There are also thieves who came from Puzhou, Caozhou, Fanxian and other places, namely: Ren Qi, Zhang Qi, Liang Min, Huang Zhenshan, Wu Kanghua, Shi Yueran, Zhang Cui and others.

Historically, they were collectively referred to as the "Elm Garden Thieves".

first fought with the Ming Dynasty, then fought with the Qing Dynasty, and when he lost, he went into hibernation in the mountains, and was active for more than ten years. It is claimed to have millions of people, and the total number is about 200,000 to 300,000.

Everyone listed more than a dozen chairs and placed them in an open space on the hill, Li Qingshan said: "There are two distinguished guests today, one is Mr. Zheng, an angel from Nanjing, and the other is General Ma, who swears not to surrender. Please invite Mr. Zheng to sit in the main seat! ”

Zheng Peiran was a scholar who fled from Shandong to the south, and now his family has divided fields in Anhui, and returned to Shandong half a year ago as a secret agent.

This gathering was also contacted by Zheng Peiran, otherwise it would be difficult for the peasant armies scattered in various places to get together.

Zheng Peiran did not refuse, walked straight to the main seat, turned around and said, "Brothers, I am also from Shandong. Three years ago, I took my family to the south, and now I have distributed fields in Baoying County. Men and women, young and old, went to the south, and everyone could divide the fields. Men can farm, women weave, children can read, girls can read, and literate can become officials. It was a very good day! ”

Most of these leaders of the rebel army were from peasant backgrounds, and they couldn't help but show yearning when they heard this.

Zhang Qi asked, "Can a girl also read?" ”

Zheng Peiran said with a smile: "Of course the girl can read. When His Majesty was still rebelling, the territory was only half a county, and the rule that children must study. Any parent who does not send their children to school will be fined by the government! ”

"What if my family doesn't have money to study?" Cai Naihan asked.

Zheng Peiran explained: "Don't worry about tuition fees when studying in the south. The family really has no money, so the government will lend students books, as long as the books are not damaged, and the books will be returned to the school after reading. Brush, you can do it yourself, usually dip in water to practice calligraphy. There are very few people who practice calligraphy with water, life is getting better and better, and farmers can afford to buy ink strips. ”

Ding Mingwu, who had been an officer and was more knowledgeable, sneered: "Mr. Zheng, don't say these things to coax us, since we are together today, we are all willing to fight with the Tartars." ”

Zheng Peiran shook his head: "I didn't want to deceive anyone, it's really like this in the south." ”

Xue Zhenglu suddenly interjected: "I used to be Cao Min, and I heard Cao Jun from the south talk about it. At that time, it was also told as a joke, saying that in Jiangxi, female dolls were forced to study, and if they didn't study, they would have to be fined. ”

The leaders of the rebel army looked at each other, and they all felt unbelievable.

Zhang Qi was speechless: "Is there really such a thing? Emperor Zhao of Nanjing is not a bodhisattva? ”

Zheng Peiran said with a smile: "The peasants of several southern provinces, many families have His Majesty, and they have to worship once in the morning and evening. Why did I flee to the south and return to Shandong, where the plague was everywhere? Because I am from Shandong, I have lived a good life myself, and I have to let my hometown parents live a good life. As long as the Datong army comes and kills the Tartars, everyone will be able to live a good life in the future! ”

Ding Mingwu asked: "King Chuang doesn't pay grain when he comes, but Emperor Zhao doesn't pay grain there?" ”

"How can you raise soldiers without food?" Zheng Peiran said, "Rest assured, the taxes are not heavy, and there is no forced labor." Every family grows their own fields, so what is that little bit of land? ”

All the leaders were a little disappointed, but they still felt that Li Zicheng was better.

Especially Ding Mingwu, when Li Zicheng attacked Beizhili, Ding Mingwu proclaimed himself the deputy commander-in-chief of Shandong under the command of King Chuang, and he was probably Li Zicheng's wild fan.

After chatting about the policy of the south for a while, Zheng Peiran said: "I have invited General Ma to talk about how the Tartars treat the common people." ”

"There is no need for General Ma to speak," Ren Qi stood up and said, "Since the Tartars occupied Puzhou, life is really impossible. Corrupt officials and corrupt officials changed the law to collect taxes, and Tartar soldiers also robbed the common people everywhere. Even the landlord's family will also be robbed of money and grain, and many landlords have fled to the south! ”

Liang Min also said: "Yes, the Tartars are more ruthless than the Ming Dynasty, and they won't give us a way to live at all." Last winter, I was so hungry that I couldn't help it, so I rebelled with the Lu brothers in Fan County. The Tartars were very fierce, they really couldn't beat them, tens of thousands of people were beaten to only two or three thousand, and the Lu brothers were also captured by the Tartars and beheaded. Fan County can't stay, so he can only come to Shandong. ”

Zhang Qi said: "It's all about the same, I rebelled with Ren Qi and killed the Tartars, and there are only more than 1,000 of the 20,000 people left." If we knew that Zhao Tianwang would send troops this year, we would have endured it last year, and it would not be too late to endure it until this year. ”

"Hahahaha!"

The leaders laughed, and they should endure it and rebel again.

Ma Jinzhong got up and said, "You don't know what evil the Tartars have done in Beijing. Many gentry fled from the north, and they were miserable. The city wall of Beijing is divided into several roads, including the Forbidden City, the Imperial City, the Inner City, and the Outer City. The number of these Tartars was small, but they occupied the Forbidden City, the Imperial City, and the Inner City, and the Han people were all driven to the outer city. The houses, the shops, the silver, and the grain were taken away from the Tartars, and the women were taken away as slaves. ”

Shi Yueran sneered: "The Tartars say that we are thieves, but we only rob money and food, not houses and shops." The Tartars even rob these, isn't it a thief shouting to catch a thief? ”

Ma Jinzhong continued: "The land outside Beijing has been occupied by the Tartars. The landlords were either killed or driven away, and the peasants and tenants became the slaves of the Tartars. However, there is no need to pay rent and pay grain, because the grain grown is all Tartar, and how much to give depends on whether the Tartar has a conscience or not. ”

"Tartars have a fart conscience!" Wu Kanghua shouted.

Ma Jinzhong also said: "There is no hair on the Tartar side, and in the prefectures and counties around Beijing, the hair of the common people has been shaved, leaving only a small braid at the back of the head. The braids were so thin that they were as thick as chopsticks, about the size of a mouse's tail. If the Tartars are allowed to win the world, the Han people have to shave their hair and keep braids. ”

"Fuck it!" Zhang Cui scolded.

Li Qingshan said angrily: "My father's and mother's hair is not shaved for Tartar!" ”

Zheng Peiran suddenly added a rumor: "The Han people in Beijing, if they marry a girl and marry a daughter-in-law, they have to go to the Tartar official to get their seal, and the girl will give it to the Tartar official first." If the Tartar official takes a fancy to it, he must first get the Tartar official to cave the house, and then put it back to marry. ”

"Lao Tzu Ri he Tartar Ancestor!" Cai Naihan scolded.

The rest of the chiefs were also furious.

Finely, frantically pouring dirty water on the enemy, similar rumors are spreading everywhere in Shandong and Henan.

After some angry scolding, Zheng Peiran said: "Zuo Liangyu descended to the Qing Dynasty, General Fei will not sit idly by, and at this moment, he has already sent troops from Xuzhou." Ladies and gentlemen, we are waiting for a gathering in Liangshan today, and we want to help General Fei kill the Tartars. And there are three chapters of the law, first, it is forbidden to burn and rob the people; second, you must not rape or insult women; Third, you must listen to General Ma's orders! If you are willing to revolt, come and make a bloody alliance! ”

Throughout history, they fought the Manchus for ten years, and half of their leaders were killed or killed.

The conditions are simple, everyone picks up the soil for incense, and swears in Liangshan to gather righteousness.

Ma Jinzhong had the largest number of soldiers under his command, with more than 6,000 people. The rest of the chiefs, some four or five thousand, some one or two thousand, and the least number was only a few hundred.

It is claimed that the Han army has a total strength of more than 30,000 troops, and those who drag their families with their families can have 70,000 or 80,000 if they are counted.

They did not dare to attack the big cities along the canal, and after the uprising, they first attacked Yuncheng County.

The commander of Yuncheng is called Cao Xing, and he is Zhang Yingyuan's general.

Zhang Yingyuan first followed He Renlong, and then followed Yang Sichang. Now with Zuo Liangyu, the main territory is Dongpingzhou, which is also a small warlord in Shandong.

The army of Yuncheng was transferred away by Zhang Yingyuan, and Cao Xing only had 800 people in his hands.

The "Han Army" was here, camped for the night that day, had a military meeting, and began to attack the city the next day.

Zheng Peiran was about to send someone to persuade him to surrender, and Ma Jinzhong also decided to fill in the moat first.

Li Qingshan raised his arms and shouted: "Kill the Tartars!" ”

Tens of thousands of people rushed out one after another, stunned Zheng Peiran and Ma Jinzhong.

Didn't you say last night how to fight?

In particular, the Cao army under Xue Zhenglu jumped into the moat one by one and swam directly to the opposite side to attack the city.

The question is, what about your siege engines? There is not even an easy wooden ladder!

Cao Xing, the defender of Yuncheng, was also confused, and he was about to send someone out of the city to investigate. If there is a Datong army on the opposite side, then the city will be surrendered directly, but the army outside the city will not give a chance at all.

"Dangdang, dang!"

Ma Jinzhong frantically beat the gong and called the troops back.

The two sides tossed each other for a long time, and many leaders could not attack it, so they had to lead people back to the moat.

Cao Xing breathed a sigh of relief, sent someone out of the city to inquire, and learned that it was a volunteer soldier who belonged to the Datong army, and immediately opened the city gate to greet him. But each leader could only bring 200 people into the city, for fear that there would be more people and a plague.

The plague in Yuncheng County has gradually subsided, and the prevention and control method is called "herd immunity".

In just over a year, there are only more than 6,000 people left in Yuncheng, where 45,000 people have died.

Zheng Peiran entered the city and said: "The general belongs to the Han family, and his integrity is lamentable!" ”

Cao Xing returned the salute: "Where, I just don't want to shave my hair and keep braids." ”

Not wanting to shave your hair, just an excuse.

The real reason is that Zuo Liangyu can get benefits from reducing the Qing, and Zhang Yingyuan can also benefit from the Qingqing. But Cao Xing is only the general of Zuo Liangyu's generals, and he doesn't take him with him when he gathers troops to fight, leaving only 800 people to garrison Yuncheng, what good can he do?

Anyway, this place is not far from Xuzhou, as long as it holds on for some time, the Datong army will definitely be able to kill it.

Then surrender directly to the Datong army, Cao Xing's brain is not stupid, and he knows how to be more cost-effective.

This situation has occurred in many places in Shandong.

The troops left by Zuo Liangyu to defend the city united with the rebel armies that rose up all over Shandong. Most of them are not large in number, and they don't have any combat effectiveness at all, but they have made Hong Chengchou, Duoduo, and Zuo Liangyu anxious.

They were fighting with Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu on the front line, and there were fires everywhere in the rear.

In some counties, although there were no rebels, the gentry found Zuo Liangyu's remaining troops and persuaded the guards to change their flags directly.

In the slightly remote county town, only more than 100 soldiers were left, and it was simply a group of people who raised the scene and drove the defenders away with the city residents.

Even the magistrate appointed by Zuo Liangyu announced an uprising with his officials!