Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 587
In mid-February, it was the season of continuous cold rain. The [-] troops of the Heluo New Army marched along the Hanshui River and went straight to Xiangfan, which opened the prelude to the vigorous "counter-insurgency war".In fact, this kind of ghostly weather is not suitable for military operations. The Huguang area is cold and humid. The cold rain keeps falling.But Yang Menglong's brain circuit is different from others'. As early as late January, he went to the court and shouted: "I'm going to send troops to quell the Huguang rebellion. Don't let anyone stop me!" Boss, we look forward to the stars and the moon, we almost knelt down and begged you to send troops to put down the rebellion, how could we stop you?
This is not an exaggeration at all, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty almost knelt down and begged Yang Menglong to send troops to quell the Huguang rebellion.Those kids are so cruel, last year when the Chinese New Year was approaching, Changsha was taken by a storm, and then, as usual, Ji Wang's family hung on the treetops except for a few children who were not as tall as the wheels, scraping the ground the most The ruthless gentry counted one by one, and all of them lost their heads.After taking over Changsha, before the vernal equinox, 10,000+ rebels marched by land and water, all the way to Guangdong. The gentry were almost frightened crazy, while trying their best to recruit the township brave group to practice to protect themselves, at the same time desperately wrote to the imperial court, asking the imperial court to send troops to quell the Huguang rebellion, otherwise they would have to jump into the sea!Yang Menglong sent troops to quell the rebellion at this time, it was just in time!The civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty sang praises for this stunned young man very rarely, praising him for his loyalty and bravery for the country, and he is really a talent for the country, while those with a darker mind were very disdainful, thinking that Yang Menglong was still too tender, and it would be better to change them. They will definitely not send troops at this time. If they want to send troops, they have to wait until the rebels have fought with Guangdong and exposed their flaws. They can win at a relatively small price and get more benefits.After learning that Yang Menglong only mobilized 6000 people, everyone shook their heads even more. Your Heluo new army is certainly powerful, but the Huguang rebel army is not bad either. Isn't this small number of people enough?

Yang Menglong didn't care what people thought, he just took these 6000 people to the south with high spirits.Along with him, there were also a large number of Nanyang officials who were going to take over the local government affairs in Huguang.Looking at those excited civil servants, Li Yan was quite worried, and secretly sighed that he was not a nice person, why did he end up with such a boss?It's fine if you're going to die, don't drag so many officials, these are all elites from Nanyang and even Ming Dynasty!He tried his best to dissuade Yang Menglong from dispatching more troops, at least 2 people, but Yang Menglong said carelessly that he didn't need it, and 6000 people would be enough, even if Li Yan got angry and threatened to lay down the burden, it didn't work.

During the quarrel, the army entered the border of Xiangfan.In the fields, the farmers are driving the oxen to plow the fields, and the paddy fields are full of water. The seedlings in the seedling fields are emerald green, and it is almost time for transplanting. Everyone is very busy.Looking at the construction scene, Li Yan began to worry again, and once wanted to persuade Yang Menglong to withdraw his troops so as not to disturb the peaceful life of the common people.However, he soon realized that he was worrying too much. Seeing the new Heluo army coming, the local people were not afraid at all, and even waved in greeting, and the new Heluo army also waved back.

Is there a scene of harmonious coexistence?

Li Yan was very puzzled: "Why are these people not afraid of us at all?"

Yang Menglong said: "We come and go frequently, so naturally we are not afraid at all.

After walking for a long time, I came to a county town.Probably heard the news long ago, the rebel army in the city closed the city gate early, and the city wall was covered with human heads, countless heads were moving, pointing at the Heluo new army, no matter it was driving across the river Sailboats or infantry with muddy boots aroused their curiosity and chatter.Li Yan can't laugh or cry, Boss, we are here to suppress the rebellion, at least you should show some qualities that a rebel army should have?Are you not nervous or afraid at all?This is a new army of [-], and even Jianu is no match for them!

However, the Heluo new army is indeed full of slots. Such a large army has no shields, spears, bows and arrows, and it is over with a musket and a dogleg knife for each person.Oh, by the way, everyone is still carrying a large bag of luggage, including clothes, washbasins, etc., and a one-meter-long engineer shovel hanging outside the luggage bag... Don’t underestimate this engineer A shovel, that guy has serrations on one side and a blade on the other side, and it can split the whole head in half with a single swing!If you don't need him to fight melee, it's still fun to use it to dig bunkers, chop wood, chop cabbage, open watermelon, or even fry a steak. As for digging a big hole on the road, that's even more trivial.There are four iron heads with wooden handles in the waterproof grenade bag at the waist. This outfit is really special. No matter how you look at it, this army does not look like it has combat effectiveness!
Li Yan made a guess, and it was not good. The county had at least 6000 to [-] people defending the city, and the new Heluo army could only attack the city with [-] troops, and the remaining [-] were still floating on the river.He lacked confidence and asked Yang Menglong: "My lord, why don't we retreat ten miles and set up the camp one after another, and wait for the cannons to arrive before we make plans?"

Yang Menglong said: "Why retreat? Can a small county town eat me up? Look at me!" He rode his horse to the city gate and shouted at the city wall: "Listen, rebels in the city, I am Champion Hou Yang Menglong, is ordered by the Holy Majesty to come and exterminate you!"

The rebels on the city wall grinned and shouted: "It turns out that the champion is here, sorry for your disrespect!"

But there is no sign of fear...

Yang Menglong scolded angrily: "Young mother and I have a playful smile, I am serious! You are given two choices, either open the city and surrender, or I will enter the city and you surrender, choose yourself!"

The rebels laughed even louder: "Surrender? What's the benefit of us surrendering? Can we keep the fields that our family got?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes!"

The rebels asked again: "Can our village head and township head continue to serve?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes!"

The rebels asked again: "Will we be held accountable for killing corrupt officials and princes?"

Yang Menglong said: "No!"

The rebel general said: "Okay, we surrender!"

The rebel soldiers responded enthusiastically: "Yes, surrender, surrender immediately!"

This rebel is too easy to talk to, right?

Li Yan's eyes darkened, and he almost fell off his horse.

The county town was taken down without bloodshed. Yang Menglong went into the city to check it out. It was not bad. The streets were tidy and the dilapidated houses had been repaired. It might not look new, but at least there would be no heavy rain outside and light rain inside the house. .There are many garbage stations in the city, and all the garbage is thrown there. Every day, people put the garbage into the car and take it out of the city for disposal. People patrol the streets from time to time, and they see people littering, spitting, and messing around. Setting up a stall or something, apart from anything else, you will be fined!

Yang Menglong is very satisfied. It seems that Wang Rui and Qin Mai have been with him for a few years, and they are really not in vain. They have learned everything they need to learn.

Li Yan was also amazed that he managed the county in an orderly manner. There are talents in the Huguang rebel army!He sincerely praised: "It's really good to manage the place! If these talents can be recruited for the imperial court, Daming will have another peaceful place."

Yang Menglong rolled his eyes: "The recruits are used by the imperial court? Sorry, the imperial court will never use them!"

Li Yan was taken aback: "My lord means..."

Yang Menglong chuckled: "The imperial court doesn't know how to use it, but it doesn't mean I don't know how to use it. Let's go to the county government office." He led a few soldiers straight to the county government office.

The county office was very lively. A dozen young scholars and a few wrinkled people who didn't even have official uniforms were struggling with the mountain of official documents. People kept coming to report the situation to them and ask for instructions, and they quickly Everyone gave instructions, everything was in order, everyone was busy with their own work, and it was not the same as being a new army of thousands of rivers outside the city.

"The canals in Lin Township have to be rebuilt... What? No money? Allocate 150 taels of silver, and the villagers will contribute the rest. We must repair the canals before the seedlings start earing, otherwise the crops this season will be ruined!"

"Residents around the county refused to grow flax? On the contrary, they all said that the flax they planted was purchased and sold, and they just planted it. There is no part of this project for us!"

"Guo Village, yes, it's Guo Village, let the village chief come to the county seat!"

"Zhang Wenshu, take someone to send a hundred shi of grain to Shi'an Village, that village is out of grain!"

……

The office efficiency of these guys was extremely fast, and the number of documents pushed in front of them decreased rapidly, which really made Li Yan amazed.Seeing Yang Menglong coming, everyone stood up to greet them. Yang Menglong waved his hand and asked them to sit down, saying, "Well, let me explain the situation. Your army guarding the city has already surrendered. You all know that, right?"

Everyone nods and laughs together.

Yang Menglong said: "From now on, this place will be under my control."

Everyone nodded and laughed again.

Yang Menglong asked: "Who is the magistrate?"

A scholar in his thirties stood up and cupped his hands.

Yang Menglong said: "Good job, write me a detailed report about your county's situation and development plan later, by the way, fill out this form too." He took out a form and handed it over, "Fill it out tonight Hand it over to me, and I will send it to the court, and then you will be the real magistrate."

The scholar was holding the form, his hands were shaking so much that tears were about to come out.He is considered to be the most educated person in the entire county, and his conduct is good, but his family is poor and has no money to manage. He has failed every time in the imperial examinations. After so many years of examinations, he only got one scholar. There is no hope in this life.The Huguangyi army slaughtered all the corrupt officials and local tyrants and evil gentry in the county, and then everyone elected him as the county magistrate. It's great to settle accounts with him and admit his identity!

Yang Menglong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, don't let the folks down." Then he said to the group of old scholars and young scholars: "You too, continue your work, and the appointment documents will be issued soon."

Those guys were so excited, they kept saying: "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir!"

Yang Menglong muttered: "My surname is not Xie, but my surname is Yang!" When they calmed down, they issued two more formal orders:
First: The county defenders were disbanded, leaving 200 people to maintain law and order, and the rest went home to farm.

Second: After the army is disbanded, all weapons such as knives, guns and spears will be turned in and cannot be kept privately, but bows, crossbows and arrows can be kept for self-defense.

These two orders were carried out. A large number of soldiers handed over their swords and spears, loaded one cart after another, and then went home to farm with a strong bow and crossbow smiling.Li Yan carefully identified it. Damn, aren't they carrying the Shansang crossbow equipped by the Heluo new army before, which can shoot 220 steps away!And there are not a few people with such a big killer, at least 300 of them!He quickly reminded Yang Menglong: "My lord, don't let them take the crossbow away, the crossbow is too lethal!"

Yang Menglong is very generous: "Let them take it away! The war is chaotic, how can we defend ourselves without a weapon, even if the world is peaceful, we still need to use crossbows to drive away the blind bears who go down the mountain to steal the crops!"

This time Li Yan was really about to cry.

(End of this chapter)