All the way south to Pizhou, on the way, Chen Wang saw one after another soldiers and horses passing by, heading towards the north.

It didn't take long for the document of victory to arrive, Zhenning was recovered, and Liukou did not expect that the Ming army would be frustrated one after another, and he would dare to march at such a fast pace.

Zhang Waijia has not yet come to Zhenning, Zhenning thieves scattered and fled, Zhang Waijia then led the elite cavalry tail to pursue, won several battles in a row, won thousands of heads, and marched towards Ningzhou and Xiangle.

When the thieves heard that the Ming army was attacking again, they directly abandoned Ningzhou and fled north in the direction of Anhua and Heshui, the central part of Qingyang Mansion.

However, Zhang Waijia led the elite cavalry, one man and two horses, and soon caught up with the hungry people and infantry team who were left behind in the north of Ningzhou City.

Liukou turned around to resume the battle, and his horse team was routed by Zhang Waijia's elite cavalry, so he could only abandon the brigade and flee.

Zhang Waijia ordered the slaughter of the remnants, and the official road in the north of Ningzhou was almost dyed with blood, and the blood water gathered into a stream, flowing into the river, and the blood flowed and the corpses were all over the field.

If it weren't for the general soldier Zhang Quanchang who arrived in time to stop them, these people who didn't have time to flee would have been slaughtered by Zhang Waijia.

You must know that there are many Ningzhou residents and villagers around Ningzhou, they are all coerced and fleeing north together, Zhang Waijia does not distinguish between them, and all of them are treated as rogues.

In the end, only more than 2,000 people were rescued by Zhang Quanchang, Zhang Waijia's army slaughtered more than 3,000 people, and many more fled into the mountains and wastelands.

Zhang Waijia advocated that the bandits should be suppressed, and he had seen a lot of rebellion after coming in from outside the Guan, and no one could punish Zhang Waijia, after all, when he raised the butcher's knife, those people were characterized as thieves.

South of the city of Pizhou, above the wilderness.

Chen Wang rode a war horse, held a whip in his hand, and stood not far in front of the city wall of Pizhou City.

He was followed by seven or eight heavily armed cavalrymen, and more than thirty foot soldiers, all in armor, armed with spears, and swords at their waists.

Chen Wang lowered his head, and the helmet above his head blocked out the direct sunlight.

Not far in front of him, the wilderness was full of dilapidated shacks, filthy and dilapidated.

The whole world was darkened.

Chen Wang looked back at the city of Bizhou behind him, and the gate of the city was still closed.

The soldiers on the city were densely packed, and from time to time people were still walking, and flags fluttered above the city walls.

The thieves crossed the border, and the city of Pizhou was not broken, but the towns around Pizhou were suffering.

Some of the people were carried by the thieves and continued to the northwest, and when the people who escaped into the mountains and forests returned home, they found that everything in their homes was gone.

Houses were burned, food was looted from the hidden crops, and even the immature crops in the fields were destroyed......

The thieves cut off their way of life, and they lost everything they relied on to survive, so they could only go all the way to Pizhou City, trying to get a bite to eat.

But the gates of Pizhou were always closed to them.

The tall walls divide the inside and outside of the city into two worlds.

It was naturally impossible to let them into the city, and the governor of Bizhou sent officials in the city to concentrate these starving people in the south of the city.

Every day in the morning and afternoon, a small amount of food is delivered to the city, boiled into porridge, and distributed in limited quantities.

Porridge and rice are scarce, but they are barely satisfied, and they will not starve to death by hanging on their breath.

The reason why Chen Wang led the soldiers here was to recruit soldiers.

The number of soldiers is 270 to fill the gap in the strength of the bureau.

More than 30 soldiers gathered around a cauldron and scattered into a circle.

The cauldron in the circle was constantly spitting white mist, and two young men in green clothes were burning the firewood under the pot.

In the cauldron, the white rice porridge is constantly churning with bubbles.

Chen Wangxuan's position is the position of the upwind outlet.

The aroma of rice porridge wafted into the camp of the hungry not far away with the breeze.

Soon the camp was like a frying pan, and the hungry people smelled the aroma of rice porridge pouring out.

In fact, as early as when Chen Wang arrived with his troops, the hungry people in the shack had already discovered them.

But seeing the bright swords they held in their hands, riding high-headed horses, they didn't know what they were doing, so they didn't come forward at all, just watched from afar.

Seeing them set up an earthen stove, and watching them pour large bags of white rice into the cauldron, and add water to start boiling porridge, everyone still did not dare to come forward.

After all, those people were wearing armor, and they looked like soldiers......

But when the rice porridge was cooked and the aroma wafted in bursts, the hunger in their stomachs made them completely forget about it.

After one person came first, more people gathered around, and the area around the cauldron was immediately overcrowded, and groups of adults and children in ragged clothes were staring at the cauldron where rice porridge was cooking.

It was only half an hour of effort, and Chen Wang and the others were already surrounded by the hungry people who poured out.

Around the cauldron, all the soldiers were like facing the enemy, and they put down their spears and pointed at the hungry people on the periphery.

Behind Chen Wang, several cavalrymen also pulled out the Yanling knife on their waists one after another.

However, the three cavalrymen wearing arrow sleeves who followed Chen Wang did not draw their swords.

The three people who followed him were originally all family members under Cao Wenzhao.

Three people, one surnamed Chen and two surnamed Hu.

Speaking of which, they are all related to Chen Wang.

A man surnamed Chen, named Chen Gong, was his own brother.

The two surnamed Hu, one is called Hu Zhiyi and the other is called Hu Zhili, who is his cousin.

They all followed Cao Wenzhao after Guangning and served as a family member.

Cao Wenzhao gave three places, Chen Wang didn't think much about it, and directly asked for two cousins and one brother.

In this era, fellow villagers and provinces will huddle together for warmth, not to mention the ties between blood relations.

Seeing that the people around him were getting more and more around, Chen Wang turned his head and nodded to Chen Gong beside him.

Chen Gong understood, rode his horse and walked a few steps forward, and walked to the front of the cauldron, which instantly attracted the attention of everyone gathered outside.

Chen Gongsheng's appearance is dignified, and his eyebrows are clear, which makes people feel good at first sight.

"We are the battalion soldiers from Datong who have temporarily settled in Pizhou, and there is a temporary shortage of 370 soldiers in the current camp, so we came here to recruit troops."

Chen Gong got straight to the point and didn't hide it, and when his words fell, the whispers that were originally buzzing around him suddenly fell silent.

Being a soldier and serving in the army was already looked down upon, and now the world is so chaotic that his head is tied to his belt.

And it's not a joke to say that they are Datong soldiers, and they have to leave their hometowns......

But soon, Chen Gong's next sentence made the crowd commotion again.

"Settling-in fee, seven buckets of white rice ......"

……

Mingshi: A bucket of rice is about 18 catties.