Chapter 86 sharpening the knife

For Xing Tianjun's entry into Henan this time, whether in Henan or in the DPRK, it has caused considerable shock. Xing Tianjun's action immediately provoked the situation in the whole Central Plains, which made the situation in the Central Plains, which had just stabilized after Gao Yingxiang's arrest and killing, changed greatly. In this way, whether it is The court was still a place, and they were very nervous again.

At this time, it was also Lu Xiangsheng, who was sitting in the Central Plains, who was transferred to Xuanda in the north. For a moment, no one around the Central Plains could cope with such a situation. Seeing that all kinds of rebels began to flock into Henan again, and even continued to burn towards Shanxi, the government and the opposition were a little panicked for a while.

Seeing that the Spring Festival is approaching, Chongzhen sits in the hall but can't feel the atmosphere of the Spring Festival at all. On the contrary, his heart is in a mess. Needless to say, the situation in the north is that the court invests millions of taels of silver in the north every year, but so far there is no good. Not only is it not good, but it is the first emperor of Jiannu. Taiji called himself emperor outside the gate this year. He wanted to be on an equal footing with the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The Jiannu army went south as if it had entered no one's land. No one could lead the troops to block its front. In August this year, the Jiannu army actually entered the vicinity of the capital again and retreated back to the gate.

It's enough that the situation in the north is erosion. Now even the situation in the Central Plains, which has just stabilized, has begun to fall into erosion, which makes Chongzhen really a headache and can't think of a good solution for a while.

If you want to transfer troops to suppress it! However, the soldiers that can be used now are really limited. Some elite soldiers and horses should be placed in the area of the capital to prevent the construction of slaves from entering the army again, and the soldiers from all places are unbearable. Some generals are self-respecting and refuse to contribute to suppress them, so that at present, the thieves are back, but for a time, except for Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, who are sitting in Shaanxi, there are few. Available people.

Just when Chongzhen had a headache for this, there was an internal servant who told Chongzhen that Yang Sichang, the new minister of the Ministry of War, would meet. Hearing the news of Yang Sichang's meeting, Chongzhen then cheered up and ordered Yang Sichang to meet.

Not long after, Yang Sichang walked into the hall, knelt down and kowtowed to Chongzhen. Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Yang Aiqing, you are here just right. Now the situation in Henan is repeated again. Although Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng are sitting in Shaanxi in the west, Lu Xiangsheng in Henan has left, and Wang Jiazhen replaced him, but in the near future, Wang Jiazhen's suppression is quite unfavorable. Even the Guan Ning army under the command of Zu Kuan was defeated by the bandit Xing Tianjun. Since you have become a secretary of the Ministry of War, you should share your worries for me. What can you do about the current situation?

Yang Sichang was promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of War this time, which can be said to be an order in the face of danger. Therefore, in the past few days, he has also been thinking about the situation in Henan and Shaanxi, and has been thinking about how to deal with the current situation. Today, Chongzhen summoned him. He knows very well that Chongzhen is going to ask him a plan. If he can't say a way, then this military department It is still unknown whether Shang Shu can sit still, but Yang Sichang is still a quite capable person and has already figured out a way in advance.

So he said to Chongzhen, "The emperor doesn't have to worry too much about this. Although Lord Lu has left Henan now, Weichen can recommend someone for the emperor. As long as this person enters Henan, the situation in the Central Plains will be greatly determined!"

Chongzhen couldn't help but be refreshed when he heard it, so he immediately asked, "I don't know who Yang Aiqing is going to recommend for me this time?"

"The official of Prime Minister Chen Si and the governor's full-time exterrence must have the courage and ability to adapt to changes. It is not the current governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xiong Wencan!" Yang Sichang replied immediately.

After listening to it, Chongzhen immediately became happy.

Speaking of which, Xiong Wencan is also a famous figure in the Ming Dynasty at present. He was a scholar in the thirty-five years of Wanli, awarded the promotion of Huangzhou, the head of the Ministry of Ceremonies, Lang Zhong, the left of Shandong, the promotion of the imperial history of the right capital in the first year of Chongzhen, and the governor of Fujian. Later, he recruited Zheng Zhilong, a sea thief in Fujian, and then used Zheng Zhilong to kill him. Liu Xiang, who was against the imperial court, completely calmed down the pirate forces on the southeast coast.

So as soon as he heard that Yang Sichang proposed to recommend Governor Xiong Wencan to suppress the appeasement, Chongzhen immediately agreed.

Poor Xiong Wencan was harmed by Yang Sichang this time. He was originally a good official in the Liangguang and Guangxi. Now after Zheng Zhilong returned to the court on the southeast coast, he is much more stable. When he is free, he drinks tea and reads books. He is so leisurely, but the disaster comes from his mouth. Xiong Wencan has a problem. When Huan is free, he talks about the current situation and repeatedly talks about what if he is asked to preside over the appeasement. It's just to say this in the bar. Who doesn't brag? However, this came to Yang Sichang's ears. In addition, Xiong Wencan did a good job in exterminate pirates in the southern part of Fujian, so he became a very capable figure in the eyes of Yang Sichang and Chongzhen.

When Xiong Wencan suddenly indirectly came to the imperial edict and said that he would be appointed as the governor of the five provinces to replace Wang Jiazhen to suppress the thieves in the Central Plains, Xiong Wencan was shocked at that time. He couldn't wait to slap his mouths. He was usually easy to blow. As a result, it has now become this fact. If these thieves are easy to suppress, then Yang Yihe in front of him Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Jiazhen have killed them for a long time. How can it be his turn to get this head achievement? Now letting him go is equivalent to stepping on a mine. If you are not careful, you may end up with no end.

So Xiong Wencan did not dare to neglect. He stayed in the room all night and finally came up a memorial, listing the five difficulties. He sent someone to Beijing urgently. In short, there was only one idea. It was better to push down this job.

But what Xiong Wencan didn't expect was that after receiving his five difficulties, Emperor Chongzhen actually agreed with a wave of his pen, which made Xiong Wencan go to office quickly and quickly went to Henan to start suppressing.

Xiong Wencan reluctantly stepped down from office in Liangguang and began to travel to Nanjing with his family to replace the current Wang Jiazhen and suppress the civilian army in the Central Plains.

This Spring Festival has nothing to explain to Xiao Tianjian and his Xing Tianjun. After taking over the two counties of Yongning Lu's, Xing Tianjun did not expand his territory more, but immediately turned to defense and began to operate these two counties with all his strength.

After confiscated the property of officials, dignitaries and some giant gentry and relatives of the imperial family, Xing Tianjun immediately used the method implemented in Shanxi in these two counties.

A large number of fields were quickly distributed to the scattered people gathered in the two counties. At the same time, a considerable part of the grain obtained was taken out to relieve these hungry people. Suddenly, it gained a large number of people's hearts in the western part of Henan, attracting more hungry people, and began to pouring to Yongning and Lu's counties.

But it is different from Shanxi. After Xing Tianjun occupied these two counties this time, the target of the attack was mainly on the dignitaries and the giant gentry who occupied a large amount of land in the area. For the smaller gentry, Xing Tianjun did not hit too much, as long as they He surrendered to Xing Tianjun and acted in accordance with the requirements of Xing Tianjun. Then Xing Tianjun did not go too far with them. He just asked them to rent up to 40% of their fields, so that the tenants could make a living, and according to the requirements of Xing Tianjun, he paid Tian Fu on time and let them go.

For these requirements of Xing Tianjun, these small landlords do not dare not agree. After all, they can only listen to anyone whose fist is big. Otherwise, they will be raided and destroyed, and no one dares to fight directly with Xing Tianjun, so the small landlords in the two counties did not dare to make any noise.

In this way, in the two months after the Spring Festival, the situation in the two counties quickly settled down. In addition, the troops in Shanxi are also constantly turning to Henan, making the Xingtian Army's troops in Henan more and more sufficient.

Originally, Shanxi and Henan were still separated by a Yellow River, and there was a Mianchi County in the middle. Once the officers and soldiers were stuck here, it would be difficult for the Xingtian Army to communicate with each other. However, the number of defenders in Mianchi County was very limited. In addition, every time the materials of the Xingtian Army passed through Mianchi County, they were escorted and suppressed. The officers and soldiers of Mianchi County did not dare to go out of the city to intercept them at all, so the Xing Tianjun's traffic between Shanxi and Henan was basically unaffected. Sometimes they even swaggered and passed outside Mianchi County, and the government of Mianchi County could only stare and couldn't do anything.

After Xiao Tianjian controlled Lushi County, Yan Chongxi, Fu Deming and others in Shanxi began to transfer some craftsmen gathered in Yangcheng area to Henan, which was escorted to Lushi County by the soldiers of the Xingtian Army.

Lu Shi has three iron ore mining sites here, which used to be controlled by three local gentry. After Xing Tianjun arrived here, he also swept them away without mercy and took the three iron ores back to Xing Tianjun. As for the miners who originally worked for the rich, Xing Tianjun also took them all over. Their treatment has been greatly improved, so that they continue to mine iron ore for Xing Tianjun.

So the mining industry here has not been affected at all, and with the influx of a large number of hungry people, the labor force has become much more abundant. The number of mining has not decreased, but has increased by two or three times in more than a month. Xiao Tianjian chose a place near these three iron mines to make iron on the spot. He set up an iron field with hundreds of blacksmiths and began to build weapons and agricultural tools on the spot to meet the needs of Xing Tianjun in Henan.

At this point, the personnel in charge of the Xingtian Army have already had sufficient experience, and everything went smoothly. Soon after the Spring Festival, the first batch of iron produced in Lushi County was made into weapons and agricultural tools, and began to be distributed to various places and put into use.

For the actions of Xing Tianjun, Chen Biqian, the governor of Henan, and Feng Yijun, the governor of Luoyang, were slightly relieved. What they were most afraid of was that Xing Tianjun swept away in Henan like other rebels, like locusts. In that case, they could not cope with it at all. At that time, they would be punished by the emperor, and After Xing Tianjun defeated Lushi County before the New Year, he did not continue to expand, but began to move forward, which made them, Henan officials, breathe a sigh of relief.

Since Zu Kuan's defeat of Liuquan Town, the officers and soldiers in Henan have also heard about this matter. When it comes to Xing Tianjun, they feel a little cold, so no one dares to take the initiative to provoke Xing Tianjun, and Wang Shaoyu has retracted back since Yongning's defeat. Yiyang, I don't dare to show my head anymore. I'm afraid in Yiyang all day long. I'm afraid that the Xing Tianjun soldiers will send Yiyang, let alone expect that the man will provoke Xing Tianjun.

Therefore, Xing Tianjun did not take the initiative to attack. The surrounding government naturally swept the snow in front of the door, and did not take the initiative to find Xing Tianjun's trouble. He just watched Xing Tianjun take root in Yuxi, and his strength became stronger and stronger.

After Xiao Tianjian entered Henan, he knew that there were a large number of hungry people in Henan. Because Henan had also suffered from drought in the past few years, coupled with the volunteers from all walks of Shaanxi and some local poles wandering back and forth in Henan, the people in Henan could not live in peace at all, so Henan The number of hungry people was so large that even Xiao Tianjian was a little surprised. In just two or three months, after hearing the news of Xing Tianjun's release of remission in western Henan, 70,000 or 80,000 hungry people flooded into Yongning County and Lushi County, making the population of the two sparsely populated counties immediately recovered.

And the hungry people in Henan don't have many requirements. As long as they can give them two meals of porridge every day, they will be satisfied. Therefore, Xing Tianjun took this opportunity to immediately recruit the hungry people and build seven solid fortresses on some important roads in and out of this area, firmly guarding all directions into the Xing Tianjun's control area. The road.

As for the strength of the Xingtian Army, it has also been greatly expanded in these two months. In addition to the two new battalions organized by Yongning County using the troops under the command of tiles and the prisoners under the command of a bucket, Liu Bao led four battalions to Yongning County on time during the twelfth lunar month, and also brought a thousand new recruits from Shanxi. It is used to supplement the war losses and shortcomings of the three battalions that previously followed Xiao Tianjian into Henan, so that Xiao Tianjian's available war barracks in Henan reached the state of four full battalions.

In addition, Shanxi also took the opportunity to deliver more than a dozen newly cast three-pound guns and six newly cast six-pound cannons for Xiao Tianjian, as well as the trained gunners to supplement the direct artillery team of the Xing Tianjun's army. In this way, even the teaching battalion was finally equipped with a direct artillery team, and suddenly let Liu Yao Ben was very happy.

But for Xiao Tianjian, he knew that the current calm was only temporary. He suddenly led his troops south and had disrupted the arrangement of the court. For a while, Wang Jiazhen and Chen Biqian were unable to deal with him, but this did not mean that the court was sitting and watching him so in Henan, if he expected it was good. The court should also be trying to mobilized troops to deal with him.

Therefore, Xiao Tianjian did not dare to neglect it. Taking advantage of this rare free opportunity before and after the Spring Festival, he greatly expanded his troops in the two counties of Yongning and Lu's. In addition to the two new camps in Yongning County, he also selected 4,000 strong exiles in Lu's County, set up three new camps, and braved the cold to be strict with it. The training.

These recruits from the exiles from Henan cherish this opportunity very much. In their opinion, it is not easy for them, who are already desperate to get such an opportunity suddenly. In addition, although Xing Tianjun does not have rates, they can care about their full food and leave such a place. They also They don't know how to survive, so they are very concerned about the orders of the officers. They dare not disobey a little, and they are also very hard-working in training. In just one month, the queue training is basically over and turned to the battle array training, and they will soon have considerable combat effectiveness.

However, for a few new camps, Xiao Tianjian can't equip them with so many birds. Although two or three hundred new self-fires were transferred from Shanxi before and New Year, it is obviously impossible to meet the needs of so many new recruits at once, and in Lushi County. The newly built craftsman camp, because all kinds of tools are not in place, only some cold weapons can be built in a short time, and the production of fire weapons will have to wait for a while.

Therefore, these five new battalions are temporarily used as local garrison, and the equipment is much worse than the other four battle barracks. It is impossible to distribute armor for the time being. In addition to equip them with the captured weapons, the rest will be confiscated to supplement the weapons bought by the local small gentry. In addition, the Lu family The new craftsman's camp also produces part of it to meet their needs.

Even some crossbows, old-fashioned firearms and three-eyed arrows, which have been eliminated by the Xing Tianjun before, have been equipped in these five new battalions. Even so, the equipment quality of these five new battalions has far exceeded that of ordinary volunteer equipment, which is basically similar to that of ordinary officers and military equipment, plus punishment. The high-intensity training and battle mode of the Tianjun Army, the combat effectiveness of these five new battalions should not be underestimated. At least as auxiliary soldiers of the battle barracks, there is no problem.

Whether it is official or Xing Tianjun, it can be said that they are sharpening their knives during the Spring Festival, only waiting for the New Year to compete again.

(I originally wanted to have a big chapter of more than 5,000 words! But why are you going to drink your friend's child's one-month-old wine at noon, so you have to stop!)