Great time travel

Chapter 82, Shandong Disruption
Southeastern Shandong, along the Grand Canal, Jining City

Although the northern provinces this year and last year have been in a bad year, natural disasters, military chaos, banditry, starvation, and eastern captives... There are all kinds of bad news coming from all directions, but the road next to the Grand Canal The golden waterway flowing with wealth, the life of the people in Jining is finally passable.When the people in other places are in dire straits due to exorbitant taxes, exploitation by gentry, and various natural disasters, Jining has been prosperous and prosperous because of water transport, and there are many officers and soldiers stationed in the city, which can gather enough people to train, even if there are occasional large groups of refugees. After passing by, they all dared to avoid Jining and go elsewhere.

However, at this moment, Jining City is still in the shadow of war after all.Even the towering city walls, the wide moat, all kinds of defensive equipment on the top of the city, and the relatively capable civilian soldiers could not make the gentry in Jining city feel at ease enough.

Because, this time, there were too many bandits who were instigated by Wenxiang Sect to besiege Jining.

Looking out from the top of the city, one can see people everywhere in darkness, and you can't even see the edge.Due to the long drought and no rain in the Central Plains, the farmland is cracked and the roads are dusty.With so many people acting together, the dust that was rolled up was already like a sandstorm.The vast majority of them are, of course, unkempt, ragged, famine fleeing famine with sticks and stones, and dull eyes, but there are also many strong men with strong bodies, armed with weapons, and well-organized actions.There were even a small number of riders in fresh clothes and angry horses, shuttled among this unprecedentedly large refugee army.In addition, many craftsmen and strong men used the wood obtained by tearing down houses along the way and unloading beams and pillars to bind and manufacture various siege equipment on the spot.

However, unlike the general vagrants and rebels, among the rogues who besieged Jining at this time, there were quite a few entertainers wearing red and hanging colors, holding various sounding instruments and boards for beating gongs and drums, as well as flags, streamers, ribbons and incense candles. A special cart was prepared to pull the statue, and the worship and lectures were organized all day long. At the same time, some bran cakes mixed with salt were distributed to the believers... Although they are coarse grains, they are already a delicacy in the eyes of the exiled and hungry people.

——This is another large-scale uprising ten years after Wen Xiangjiao was defeated in Xu Hongru's uprising in the second year of Tianqi.

The Wenxiang Sect is a branch of the White Lotus Sect that emerged in the late Ming Dynasty. It has almost the same relationship with Catholicism, worshiping almost the same gods), and was first founded by Wang Sen in the Wanli period. After Wang Sen's death, his son Wang Haoxian and Wang Sen's apprentice Xu Hongru continued to preach.After 20 years of underground development, Wenxiangjiao has spread to Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Sichuan, and the number of believers once reached 200 million.

Seeing that the sect already had such a huge influence, the leader Xu Hongru rebelled in the second year of Tianqi. The rebel army was once huge, gathering tens of thousands of people, attacking important towns, breaking water transportation, invincible, and shocked the world for a while.However, they lost successively in the ensuing battles, which fully exposed the true nature of these people as mobs. There were often scenes of tens of thousands of congregants being swept away by hundreds of officers and soldiers.In the end, Xu Hongru was defeated and killed, and Wang Haoxian fled south to Yangzhou and was killed. Wenxiangjiao suffered heavy losses as a result, and internal divisions broke out, and it was forced to die.

After the defeat of Xu Hongru's rebellion in the second year of Tianqi, Wenxiangjiao has always been the confidant of the Ming court, but the vitality of Wenxiangjiao rooted in the local area is very tenacious. Although the court severely suppressed it, Wenxiangjiao has never stopped its activities. , but acted a lot more low-key.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the world's wars and disasters became more and more violent, and the imperial court was no longer able to suppress Wenxiangjiao, so Wenxiangjiao, a professional rebel family, revived again.Especially in the third year of Chongzhen, the fourth year of Chongzhen, and the fifth year of Chongzhen, from Shandong to Henan to Shanxi and Shaanxi, the entire Central Plains experienced severe drought for three consecutive years. There are ten rooms and nine empties. So there are those who have a bucket of rice worth five renminbi of silver, those who work for a day without getting enough rice, those who gather grass roots and leaves to satisfy their hunger, those whose husbands abandon their wives, and their mothers who abandon their children, and those who sell one child for less than a few meals. There are those who hang themselves in empty forests and willingly fill ditches, those who starve to death on the side of the road, those who beg for quail clothes and vegetables, those who die by covering themselves with pillows, those who flee with mud doors and sacks, and those who eat each other."

In the summer of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the embankment of the Yellow River burst in Mengjin, and countless villages and towns were turned into Zeguo, which further aggravated the suffering of the people in the Central Plains.

Even though the natural disasters were so severe and the crops were not harvested, the exorbitant taxes imposed by the court officials and the rent usury of the landlords and gentry could not be reduced at all, and they continued to weigh heavily on the shoulders of the common people, and there was even a tendency to intensify... The huge fertile land of the Central Plains Thousands of villages and thousands of households have no smoke from cooking, peasant women hanged to commit suicide on the dead trees that have been stripped of bark, and dead bodies can be seen everywhere on the roadside where even the weeds are dead.

Such a tragic and desperate situation where life is worse than death makes the people yearn for any most illusory salvation in despair. As a result, the number of believers of Wenxiang Sect has snowballed again, almost comparable to when Xu Hongru raised his troops ten years ago.Recently, another secret force generously donated a large amount of military equipment and food to Wenxiang Sect—then, the new Wenxiang Sect Master Wang Ke decisively ordered the sect to be launched again in Shandong and rebelled!
At this moment, hundreds of altar masters, incense heads, and preachers are walking back and forth among the ignorant hungry people, preaching and encouraging them:

"...The catastrophe of the end times is coming! For the past three years, Henan has been covered with barren land for thousands of miles, and the crops have not been harvested. The east of Shandong is close to the sea, and under the care of the Dragon King, it is finally a little bit better. The prefectures in our west The drought is as severe as that of Henan next door! But God’s severe drought is not the most terrible thing. The terrible thing is that the imperial court not only did not provide relief, but there were only unpaid levies and miscellaneous taxes everywhere in the world. It is necessary to add another sum of money! Officials and servants are desperately urging, killing people at every turn, it is really hard for the people to live!"

"...In such an apocalyptic world, the people of the world are suffering too much to live on, and our Shandong is just as miserable! The crops have failed for several years, and the imperial court's exorbitant taxes are still unabated! The rich and landlords don't pay taxes. But they squeeze us poor people to death!"

"...The sum of the taxes and land rent that each family has to pay is several times more than the total crops produced in the field. Farming the land is tantamount to suicide! Want to sell the land but can't sell the price! Xiaomin ancestors have struggled for generations The few acres of land I saved were sold by black-hearted gentry to a hundred acres of land for five taels of silver! And that is still the best fertile land! The inferior fields are not wanted by anyone, and they dare not plant them, because they have grown crops. Afterwards, you have to pay ten buckets of millet tax for one bucket of millet! All these taxes, salaries, and salaries will be spent on the fields of our small people, forcing everyone to abandon the fields!"

"...Those officials who collect taxes and grain come to the village, not to mention serious official taxes. Their benefits alone cost tens of guan at a time. The poor people have no money in their pockets, and the land cannot be sold for a price. I have no choice but to sell the children first and then mortgage the land. Those big households who bought the land were unscrupulous. They could only get a hundred and ten cash per mu of land in a disaster year. This little money is not enough for the officials to buy wine. Dozens of times in the past, everyone has been forced to a dead end! The official food and taxes are not paid in full, and all the children’s fields are sold, but they still can’t be good. In order not to go to jail, they wear shackles and enter We poor people can only borrow usury loans, but how can we borrow usury loans casually? It's like going to jail at home! We don't even care about food!"

"...Everywhere you look, the counties are full of empty rooms, and there will be no smoke and fire in the morning and evening. Even if you tighten your belt and pay all the Liao's salaries, salaries and food, what can you do? Eat all day They are all leaves and grass roots, and it is a blessing to be able to put some rice bran into it. I have nothing to wear and nothing to eat, and all the money and food have been scraped clean by the officials. Take the opportunity to embezzle your fields, take away your children and mother-in-law, and drive you out of the shack, leaving you with nothing left! Either starve to death by the side of the road, or be beaten to death under the sticks of the big family servants!"

"...We are all poor people who are forced by the government to survive. We just want to gather together to find a way to survive! As long as we burn incense and believe in worshiping Maitreya Buddha, the lifeless old mother, listen to the teachings, and break the world, everyone can be saved. , you can enter the hometown of bliss even after you die, and you don’t have to be tortured by such sufferings! It’s not that we want to be thieves, it’s the catastrophe of the last days that forces us to pick up swords and guns and fight for our wealth and lives!”

Although the eloquence of these Wenxiangjiao "preachers" can only be said to be average, those hungry people with pale faces and thin bodies can still listen intently. Some people are full of anger and grit their teeth. Eyes filled, kept wiping the corners of his eyes.

No way, this is the case in Shandong now. The continuous floods, droughts and natural disasters, as well as the taxes and corvees of the imperial court, have already made desperate people everywhere in Shandong. They sold their children; they lost everything for the never-ending land rent and taxes, and even the corpses of their relatives buried in the ground were dug up and eaten by the more hungry refugees... Originally They just wander around like walking corpses, living a day if they can live, and dying anywhere if they can't live, but the speech just now is like a long needle pierced into the heart, making these numb people Thinking back to the grief of the past.

yes!Thinking about the endless taxes and miscellaneous taxes, the fields with no harvest for several years, and the family members around you who starve to death, many people suddenly realize that from the time they were born to the present, they have never felt comfortable. In the days of peace, every month, every day, every year, I suffer bitterly, thinking about how to survive, but I still can't survive!On the one hand, God does not rain, and on the other hand, the Liao and Suppressing salaries sent by the imperial court are cramped and extorted. The usury that was not clean in the past few lifetimes-such a dark world, what is it if it is not the end of the world?What is it if it is not a catastrophe?
Therefore, listening to the divine man who preached the scriptures talk about the end of the Dharma era and the imminent apocalypse, not to mention the pilgrims who were originally religious, and the newcomers on the way are also very convinced. This day is coming to an end It's almost a desperate situation, what catastrophe is coming, the droughts, locust plagues, government taxes, and gentry's rent urging, isn't it a catastrophe?This is the scene of the last days!Such a situation, such a year, who can survive?Who cares about Taiping?Who cares about Wang Fa?It's not bad to think about rebellion, you don't have to pay anything if you mess up!Anyway, there is nothing in this world that makes them nostalgic. They might as well fight fiercely before the dozens of catties of meat rot, and drag more people down to be buried with them!

Taking advantage of the high spirits of the crowd, those gods and witches began to send talisman water and sprinkle incense ashes everywhere, saying that it can make people immune to all diseases, and they are still yelling:

"...The great catastrophe is approaching, and the fairy kingdom on earth will come to the world. Whoever works hard, who sacrifices his life and forgets death, will be able to enter the hometown of bliss and be blessed by gods and Buddhas..."

"...a fraction of the world's food is stored in the city of Jining in front of us. If the city is broken, we can have enough food every year..."

"...Jining City is opened, everyone is full, eats meat every day, and has a beautiful woman to sleep with..."

If we were talking about this during the peace season, I am afraid that not many people would join in, but at this time, everyone has become a desperate person who seems to be drowning and dying, even if there is a straw thrown, they will throw it Catch it, what's more, the Wenxiang Sect does allocate food to help everyone. As long as you burn incense, you will have something to eat every day. Don't try to eat enough, you will barely starve to death, but this is a way to survive.In contrast, neither the government nor the gentry brought out a grain of food—at this time, who do the hungry people believe in if they don't believe in Wenxiang?

Um?may die?They don't care anymore, the endless suffering has already made them dry their tears.So what if I'm dead?This bitter day is finally over, and I can finally get out of the sea of ​​suffering - when a person is not even afraid of death, there is nothing to care about.

So, under the encouragement and urging of the Wenxiang congregation, thousands of refugees shouted frantically:

"... Maitreya came to the world, the Kingdom of God in the Western Heaven!"

"...Vacuum hometown, birthless old mother!"

"...Jining City was opened! Food is inexhaustible!"

——No matter how docile the people are like sheep at ordinary times, they will become hideous and terrifying when they are in a desperate situation. Naturally, one or two poor people can't do much, but if tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even more people Gathered together, that is a vast and mighty force like heaven and earth!
Seeing these refugees and refugees in shabby clothes and rags, all of them were excited, the die-hard believers and leaders of Wenxiang Sect hurriedly picked out the young and strong among them, and each of them sent a message I bought half a coarse grain pancake and a bamboo gun, ready to let them take the lead in attacking the city.Others, the old and the weak, were distributed sacks filled with soil, ready to let them fill the moat against the defenders' arrows and rolling stones...

As the direct line of force of the Wenxiang Sect, thousands of "religious fighters" in distinctive armor supervised the battle behind the cannon fodder.What made the guards at the top of the city even more horrified was that there were several heavy cannons that were slowly pushed over by the bandits from Wen Xiangjiao—where did the bandits get such military weapons? !

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Under the thatched roof of a tea shed more than two miles away from Jining City, the lord Wang Ke and the dignified members of the Wenxiang Sect sat around each other, watching from afar the hundreds of thousands of refugees under the command of the congregation Wriggling on the ground, ready to gnaw down Jining City with life and flesh and blood.

Facing such a big scene, Wang Ke was full of complacency for a while: "...Everyone, the situation is very good now, and the people everywhere are suffering a lot. It's difficult to care, this sect's launch this time is bound to be like a broken bamboo, and no one can stop it!"

Although the leader seemed to be full of confidence, the elders in the church seemed a little lacking in confidence. They exchanged glances with each other, and finally one of the elders with the highest seniority stood up and said, "... To the lord, I’m sorry to say that my subordinates are blunt, although our army is responding to everyone’s response and momentum, but after all, we haven’t really fought any tough battles. And those guys who sent us money, food and weapons before, I’m afraid they didn’t feel at ease..."

"...Hehe, I know all of this. They didn't expect us to succeed at all. They just wanted our sect to stir up chaos on the ground in Shandong, and to confuse their opponents in the court! But...then so what?"

Wang Ke snorted coldly, and explained calmly, "...the Ming court has been levying miscellaneous taxes in recent years, suppressing salaries from the Liao Dynasty, suffering severe droughts for years, and now the Yellow River bursts again. Countless people are suffering and suffering. In order to seek relief, they all burn incense and believe in the religion. As long as they do it freely, tens of thousands of poor people will immediately respond.

Those big officials in the imperial court treat us like pawns, why don't we treat them like monkeys?No matter what strategies they have in mind, the weapons and food they sent are all real!And the news that Jining City has a lot of food in memory and weak defense is also true!As long as we break the canal hub of Jining City, we will have countless gold and silver treasures and at least several million shi of grain in our hands.With so much food, we can light a big fire on the ground in the Central Plains, mobilize those people who can't survive, and lay down a big territory!Instead of shrinking in one place and waiting to die like Xu Hongru ten years ago!At that time, those court officials who think they are smart, even if they have all kinds of plans and schemes, what can they do to me? "

After explaining in this way, Wang Ke could only sigh and shake his head when he saw the elders of the sect who had experienced Xu Hongru's disastrous rebellion defeat, and gave the order "... first let the artillerymen hit a few sound, and then all beat the drums to attack the city!"

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In July of the fifth year of Chongzhen, Wen Xiangjiao rebelled in Shandong again, gathered hundreds of thousands of hungry people to cut off the canal, and besieged Jining, which shocked the world.After six days of fierce fighting, Jining just fell.The thieves plundered the city with their troops, and seized countless food, supplies, gold and silver.Immediately afterwards, the leader Wang Keqin led his soldiers down the canal southward, claiming 50 people, and went straight to Xuzhou.He also sent a partial division into Henan, coercing the hungry people in Henan and causing rebellion along the way.

The terrain in the eastern part of Henan is flat and lacks the geographical conditions for building villages. The victims who gathered on the plains were easily killed by the Ming army.However, when the Ming army was unable to advance and suppress, the counterattack force of the victims was also very strong.When Henan officers and soldiers were transferred to Beijing by Qin Wangling, the "bandit situation" in the province deteriorated rapidly. After entering the province to instigate, in an instant, thieves flocked all over the counties, Kaifeng and Guide were in emergency, and the situation in the whole province was almost corrupt and irreparable.

At the same time, several rogue bandits from the Northwest also crossed the River East and entered Henan through Shanxi. The bandits were like a cloud for a while, and the chaos in the Central Plains became more and more intense...