Chapter 16 Gathering of Volunteers

Niu Feng saw that many people on the ships in Yingshui hold their own weapons and bent their bows at the righteous soldiers and horses. Seeing that the costumes of the personnel were not officers and soldiers, he quickly shouted, "Hey, where are you soldiers and horses? Arrows don't have long eyes, don't hurt your own people by mistake!"

A man and a woman stood on a big boat in front of her. She looked very young. The man was handsome and held a duckbill gun in her hand; the woman had an apple face and held a willow blade in her hand and was not angry.

The woman shouted crisply, "Why don't you report your own door, but ask us to sign up first?" We grew up by Yingshui. We rely on mountains to eat mountains and water to eat water. If you want to go through Yingshui, you have to leave water money first!"

When Niu Feng heard this, his hanging heart was relieved, thinking that it turned out to be a water bandit and a team of poor people. As long as he dealt with it properly, it would not be difficult to cross the water. Niu Feng laughed and said, "I said that this girl looks so good, but she takes water as the king and robs the poor. Is it safe to do this? Do you want to ask who we are? Let me tell you, don't scare a stroke! I'm Niu Feng, the general of the second village of the Huangchao Uprising Army. Have you heard of my name? Li Tangbing will meet me. There is nothing that is not afraid!"

"Well, what do I think I am? It turned out to be a man of the Yellow Nest Thieves! I'm not afraid!" The girl pouted and said angrily with a smile.

The young man with a duck-billed gun touched the girl with his elbow and complained, "Hongmei, why are you talking nonsense? Don't you talk about following General Huang Chao to fight the world every day? Now that the general's people are coming, you talk like this!"

The girl blushed, smiled, and drilled into the cabin. As she drilled, she said, "Brother Tao, ignore you! Go and talk to that fat man!"

The man who was called "Brother Tao" by the girl saluted Niu Feng and said, "I have heard that General Huang Chao has eliminated harm for the people for a long time, and our brother and sister have long wanted to come for a long time. It's just that your army has acted quickly and has no fixed place, and the people we sent have been unable to find you. Today is good, we finally met you! My name is Qiu Tao, and the woman's name just now is Qiu Hong, and she is my own sister. Our parents were sent to prison by Lin Ying officials for resisting donations and taxes, and Ling Chi was executed. Our brother and sister just stood up, pulled up a team of more than 1,000 people, and robbed our family and chatted in this Yingshui.

Niu Feng and the Rebel soldiers listened and admired Qiu Tao and Qiu Hong's brothers and sisters for resisting the oppression of the government. Niu Feng invited the Qiu brothers and sisters to go ashore to talk and reported the situation to Cao Min. Cao Min was overjoyed and ordered the army to drive to the edge of Yingshui. Qiu Tao and Qiu Hong transported the second village horse of the Rebels to the South Bank in batches and took out delicious food to supply the army.

The rebels have a good camp on the south bank of Yingshui, and they are all energetic and energetic. Cao Min personally received Qiu Tao and Qiu Hong in the central army's tent. Cao Min said, "It's not easy for you brothers and sisters to insist on armed struggle in Yingshui. We warmly welcome you to join the uprising. From today on, the water army of the second village of the Rebel Army will be trained by your brothers and sisters. The Qiu brothers and sisters were very happy to hear this. Cao Min heard Niu Feng introduce the life of Qiu's brothers and sisters and was very sympathetic to them. She greeted Qiu Hong with her hand and motioned Qiu Hong to come to her side. Qiu Hong walked to Cao Min. Cao Min looked at Qiu Hong and said, " Qiu Hong, you and your brother have lost their parents since childhood. It's very lonely. I want to accept your brothers and sisters as adopted sons and daughters. What do you think?

When Qiu Hong heard this, she was overjoyed and quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "My adoptive mother is on the top, please be worshipped by Qiu Hong!" Qiu Tao also knelt down and kowtowed. Cao Min quickly left her seat, picked up the Qiu brothers and sisters, and said happily, "From today on, we are a family!" Your godfather, General Huang Chao, is also about to lead a large army to meet. I decided to station in Linying and rest and send a messenger to contact General Huang Chao.

Qiu Tao and Qiu Hong said loudly, "Please rest assured that we will closely monitor the movement of the Tang army around Yingshui to ensure the safety of the rebels!"

Since breaking through the multi-way encirclement organized by Zhang Zimian outside Songzhou, the main force of Huang Chao set out from Xiangyi, went south, and soon arrived at the north bank of the Bian River. Huang Chao ordered each department to set up a large camp, and then rode in person, took dozens of soldiers along the river to inspect the terrain, measure the water level, and prepared to build a floating bridge and cross the river.

At this time, Zhao Yan, the historian of Chenzhou, according to Zhang Zimian, allocated 5,000 people to his brothers Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi to patrol the south bank of the Bian River in order to prevent the Huang Chao army from crossing the river. Zhao Chang said to Zhao Yi, "I heard that Huang Chao has more than 100,000 horses and many generals who can fight. With our strength, I guess it is difficult to stop this army from going south."

Zhao Yi nodded: "I agree with your analysis. The eldest brother asked us to raise troops here, one is to have an assessment to the court, and the other is to touch the cards of Huang Chao's main force to provide some information for the future training direction of our army. This time, we will contact the Huang Chao thief, and then take back to Chenzhou and return to the eldest brother.

Zhao Chang looked at the flowing Bian River, took a deep breath and said with emotion, "Heroes, like this wave, will eventually flow into the river and into the sea. The three brothers, according to the order of the Tang Dynasty, killed the yellow nest thieves. I don't know how to evaluate us in the future history? As far as I know, Huangchao Thieves treat the people more generously, which is unmatched by all the towns of the Tang Dynasty.

Zhao Yi sighed: "Our three brothers of the Zhao family, fighting to suppress thieves, should praise us in history. As for the wild history, it's a little unclear. We are likely to be scolded for a hundred or a thousand generations!"

After listening to Zhao Yi's words, Zhao Chang couldn't help but feel affection. Looking at the Bian River running east, he opened his eyes slightly and slowly said, "I remember that Chen Ziang has a poem in which there are two lines. He reads the leisure of heaven and earth and shed tears alone! As a general of the Tang Dynasty, we are destined to fight endlessly in swords and halberd in this life, and we don't know when we will die! Huangchao thieves are getting stronger and stronger, and many soldiers in the court have been eliminated by the thieves. We Chenzhou soldiers compete with the Huangchao thieves. I don't know what the result will be? Only God knows!"

Zhao Yi raised the whip and shouted, "Second brother, let's go back to the camp!" It's too windy today, and it's too cold outside. I don't think the yellow nest thief will choose to cross the river tonight!"

Zhao Chang clamped the horse's stomach with his legs, beat the horse with a whip, and galloped to the camp. Zhao Yi followed the horse closely behind. Zhao Chang turned his head and said to Zhao Yi, "Third brother, don't be careless! Huang Chao's use of soldiers is often unexpected and unpreventable! Maybe the thief army will cross the river tonight!"

Zhao Yi laughed immediately: "Come on, I'm just waiting for the Huangchao thief to grab across the Bian River. When one or two thousand people of the leading troops of the thief army crossing the river come ashore, you and I will lead the troops to attack, and you will be able to kill the thief army alone and turn over!"

Besides, Huang Chao came back from reconnaissance along the north bank of the Bian River. It was already evening. He quickly summoned the generals to the Chinese army account to discuss military intelligence. After a while, Chai Cun, Sun Mei, Shang Rang, Yue Lingfei, Wen Ying, Xiao Lu, Li Hanzhi and others gathered in the military tent. The generals had not gathered together for a long time, and it was inevitable to gossip. After a while, the generals stopped the cold noise and looked at Huang Chao and listened to him.

Huang Chao said, "I took a look along the north bank of Bian River today and measured the water level in some places. I found that the water level north of Zhecheng is relatively shallow, but at present, Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi brothers from Chenzhou led a group of people to patrol along the south bank of Bian River. They have arranged more troops near Zhecheng. In order to reduce the casualties of the rebels, I decided to pretend to cross in the north of Taikang and Zhenyuan. Taikang is the gateway to the north of Chenzhou. I expect that Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi will personally lead the main force to intercept it. In this way, our army crossed the Bian River from the north of Zhecheng and went straight into Luyi! Then the soldier pointed straight to Yingzhou! Recruit troops there to expand their strength.

The generals listened carefully to Huang Chao's plan to cross the Bian River and couldn't help but nod their praise. Chai Cun said, "This river crossing plan is very confusing. If you attack the enemy, you will be saved. Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi will definitely listen to the command of Brother Huang this time and obediently lead the troops to Taikang to rescue. In this way, the army successfully crossed the river and taught Chenzhou Zhao Jiajun a lesson by the way, so that they could remember more, hehe!"

The generals laughed, and the Chinese army's tent was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Huang Chao pressed down second-hand, and the generals stopped the laughter. Huang Chao said, "Since the brothers agree with this river crossing plan, I think it's up to the Chai Cun brothers to announce the combat deployment!"

Chai Cun shook the feather fan in his hand a few times, opened it and said, "Brothers, then I will arrange your tasks. This is the first battle after our withdrawal from Songzhou, and we must fight cleanly. The grab should be fast, the Zhao army should be beaten fiercely, and the speed of the southward advance should be unified. After this play is sung, after the Rebel Congress, with sufficient human and material preparation, we can cross the Yangtze River, point to the south of the Yangtze River, and further expand our strength.

Chai Cun picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Wen Ying and Xiao Lu led 10,000 horses and quickly moved to the north bank of Taikang. In the middle of the night, let the soldiers beat drums and shout desperately. The louder the sound, the better, but don't lift the torches, make sure it's dark, and wait until the Tang army on the south bank becomes a mess and then cross the river to attack; Sun Mei, Lingfei led 30,000 troops and prepared to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river in the direction of Zhecheng, and used the collected ships to carry soldiers across the river to attack the enemy on the south bank. After Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi's main force assisted Taikang, you immediately rushed the attack, and then led the army to the west to hunt down the Tang army; Shang Rang and Hanzhi led 10,000 soldiers and waved the flag and shouted north of Zhenyuan, the same way as Wen Ying and Xiao Lu, waiting for the Tang army to cross the river when the south bank was in chaos; Brother Huang and I led the remaining 60,000 horses to fly in Sun Mei and Lingfei After the robbery, he also crossed the river from the middle road, and then went east to attack the Tang army around Zhenyuan. After all the ways are done, meet in Luyi, and then go south to Yingzhou to rest and supplement.

Huang Chao smiled and said, "Brothers, are you in trouble?"

The generals answered in unison: "Brother Huang, please rest assured and ensure the completion of the task. See you in Luyi!"

Huang Chao said to Sun Mei, "Madam, your wound has not healed yet. You'd better follow the military action."

Sun Mei second-hand put her waist and said unconvincedly, "I have recovered as before. Brother Huang, please rest assured that I will beat Zhao Jiajun this time, hehe!"

After the meeting, they will begin to act separately according to the deployment of Huang Chao and Chai Cun. Wen Ying and Xiao Lu led 10,000 horses all the way west along the north bank of the Bian River and talked along the way. Since they stationed together in Huaidu Village, they have known each other more and more deeply because of their long-term relationship. In Wen Ying's heart, she has already regarded Xiao Lu as her fiance. The girl's love is beginning to open, but it is difficult to speak.

Every time Xiaolu saw Wen Ying's hot eyes, the heart of the young hero also kept jumping. In the hazy, Xiaolu regards Wen Ying as his closest person. If he has anything on his mind, he must first talk to Wen Ying, and then he will feel more happy.

In the middle of the night, Wen Ying and Xiaolu's soldiers and horses arrived at the ferry opposite Taikang. Wen Ying asked Xiao Lu to collect boats, go to a nearby village to find a boatman to drive a boat, and then ordered the volunteers to take out all the instruments that could knock out the sound and knock and shout. In an in an eyes, on the north coast of Taikang, the sound of golden drums was loud and killing was everywhere. This voice had already reached the ears of Tang soldiers in the area of Zhecheng, and Tang soldiers quickly reported this situation to Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi.

Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi put on battle robes, walked out of the tent and listened carefully. Sure enough, in the direction of Taikang, there were bursts of golden drums, accompanied by shouts of killing. At this time, in the direction of Zhenyuan in the east, there was also the sound of golden drums. It turned out that Shang Rang and Li Hanzhi came to the north of Zhenyuan and began to operate.

Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi were shocked. The two brothers thought that the direction of Taikang was too important. Once the Huang Chao army crossed Henan from that place, it would directly threaten the safety of Chenzhou. Zhao Chang decided to take 3,000 people and horses to rush west to Taikang to defend; Zhao Yi led 1,000 troops to the Zhenyuan area to block; the remaining 1,000 people were stationed in Zhecheng. Anyway, you must touch the cards of the main force of Huang Chao to test its combat effectiveness?

After discussing, the two brothers led their own troops in the direction they set. Zhao Chang led his troops all the way. At dawn, he finally rushed to the Taikang area. Zhaozhou soldiers were so tired that they couldn't stand up and lay on the ground and cursed. At this time, Zhao Chang found that Taikang did not cross the river at all, but knocked on the north bank. Zhao Chang was so angry that he cursed: "Huangchao thieves are full of tricks, which is really disgusting. My Chenzhou elite soldiers have been fooled by them for half a night!"

Just when Zhao Chang scolded the street across the river, Sun Mei and Yue Lingfei had already led 30,000 steel masters to build a pontoon bridge. At the same time, they took large and small boats and quickly crossed the Bian River and attacked the Tang soldiers guarding the river. A thousand Tang soldiers around Zhecheng could not stop the Rebels from crossing the river at all. They were killed and fled in the wilderness. The remnants arrived at Zhao Chang's place, and Sun Mei and Yue Lingfei's men and horses also followed.

Zhao Chang was shocked and quickly turned over his horse, waved the iron, and commanded the Tang soldiers to fight. Yue Lingfei took the lead and led his own soldiers to rush straight to Zhao Chang. Zhao Chang resisted Yue Lingfei's fight. The two generals made an appointment for more than ten battles. Zhao Chang knew that he was invincible and pulled his horse and left. Yue Lingfei raised the steel gun and roared, commanding the rebels to surround Zhao Chang's people. Sun Mei's afternoon mandarin duck sword stabbed left and right, killing Chen Zhoubing crying father and mother, and knelt down and begging for mercy one after another. Seeing that he was not the head, Zhao Chang led his own soldiers to rush left and right, and finally tore a mouth and ran away in the direction of Chenzhou.

When Wen Ying and Xiaolu saw that Sun Mei and Yue Lingfei had led a large army to kill, they ordered the rebels to cross the Bian River. Dozens of large and small ships sailed and went straight to the south bank. Wen Ying and Xiao Lu got off the boat and commanded the volunteers across the river to bravely chase and kill Chen Zhou soldiers. Wen Ying's Ziwu mandarin sword got Sun Meizhen's biography, but saw the sword blossoms, and Chenzhou soldiers were killed and injured; Xiao Lu swung the newly built double hammer, which broke Chenzhou's soldiers' bones and fled in all directions.

At this time, the fish belly was white in the east. Huang Chao and Chai Cun personally led 60,000 troops. After Sun Mei and Yue Ling flew across the river, they also crossed the river in batches in the north of Zhecheng. The army successfully crossed the Bian River. Huang Chao allocated 10,000 people to Chai Cun to rush to Zhenyuan to destroy the Zhenyuan Tang army.

Zhao Yi led a thousand Chenzhou soldiers to Zhenyuan and saw many "thief soldiers" stationed on the opposite shore. After waiting for a long time, there were no "thief soldiers" rushing to cross the Bian River. The more Zhao Yi thought about it, the more wrong it became. He estimated that the main force of Huang Chao should cross the river in the direction of Zhecheng. Just as Zhao Yi was considering how to deal with it, Chai Cun led 10,000 volunteers to kill him. Zhao Yi was shocked and quickly ordered Chen Zhou's soldiers to withdraw quickly and flee in the direction of Haozhou. He was chased and killed by the rebels for a while, and most of the soldiers were defeated. Shang Rang and Li Hanzhi saw that the soldiers were killed, so they organized to cross the river.

The rebels crossed the Bian River and won a great victory to annihilate more than 3,000 Chenzhou soldiers at the cost of 500 to 600 casualties. After Zhao Chang and Zhao Yi fled back to Chenzhou, they saw Zhao Yu and said that the "Yellow Nest Thief Army" could be used to fighting, and Chen Zhou's soldiers were not opponents at all. Zhao Wei was shocked and ordered to close the four doors and stick to Chenzhou.

After meeting in Luyi, Huang Chao's army went all the way south, stopped in the northeast of Yingzhou, and set up dozens of large camps. At this time, the spring was cold, and the volunteers were thinly dressed and trembled with cold, but Huang Chao ordered the volunteers not to ask for clothes from the people and rest in the wild. After repeated discussions, the main generals of the volunteers, such as Huang Chao, Sun Mei, Chai Cun and Yue Lingfei, decided to change the original plan to meet in the area of Lushan. Yingzhou's righteous soldiers Ma went south from Yingzhou and crossed the Yangtze River from the north bank of Jiangzhou; Ma, Meng Kai's first village righteous soldier, crossed the Yangtze River from the north of Yuezhou and met Wang Chongyin and Xu Tangju. The area of Luanshan is guarded by the people of Huang Siye, the third village of the Rebel Army, and Zhao Zhang. And sent Wen Ying and Xiao Lu to lead 3,000 people to find Cao Min's whereabouts and inform Cao Min to pull the second villager Ma to Yingzhou Rebel Battalion.

Wen Ying and Xiao Lu led their troops all the way west along Yingshui. One night, Wen Ying arranged the camp of the troops and returned to their own camp. Under the candlelight, Wen Ying thought of Xiaolu's marching to war and without decent shoes, so she took out the needle and thread basket and sewed the new soles one by one. Wen Ying sewed and thought about Xiao Lu. Suddenly, a needle pierced the direction and stuck on the back of her left hand, and a stream of red blood flowed out. Wen Ying quickly found a rag and simply bandaged it, with a sweet smile on her face.

Wen Ying and Xiao Lu found the second village horse of the volunteer army led by Cao Min and presented Huang Chao's handwritten letter in Linying. After reading it, Cao Min ordered his generals to rise up and follow Wen Ying and Xiaolu to the Huangchao camp in northeast of Yingzhou. Qiu Tao and Qiu Hong led the water army to go directly from Yingshui. A few days later, Huang Chao and Cao Min's people met. Huang Chao held Cao Min's hand tightly and said, "My beloved wife is much thinner. Thank you for your hard work. Marrying Huang Chao, you didn't live a stable life.

Cao Min smiled and showed a resolute face. She looked at the borderless rebel camp and said happily, "Husband, marrying you is my blessing. I am willing to rebel against Tang with you. No matter what happens, I will unswervingly follow you and fight the world for the poor. Fight endlessly for the peace of the world, for the happiness of the people, and for the great cause of Daqi! Cao Min lives without regrets in this life!"

Huang Chao was moved when he heard Cao Min's words. His eyes were filled with tears, and he held Cao Min's hand tighter.

All kinds of troops of righteous are about to cross the south of the Yangtze River from Yingzhou and Lushan, pointing to the south of the Yangtze River. How many earth-shaking events will be staged one after another; the vague golden dream will be shown in the later text.