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

Chapter 84

After letting go of their bellies and eating the delicacies of the mountains and seas, Yang Menglong and Fang Yizhi each took their own troops and embarked on the road to Nanyang.

Fang Yizhi is better, he has only so many people, and his family members are only dozens of people, so he really can leave at will.Yang Menglong couldn't do it anymore. The more than 1000 warriors Lu Xiangsheng left behind were confused by him, and most of them chose to go back to Wuyang with him. Of course, they just went to support him and wait for him. After setting up Wuyangwei's airs, this team has to return to the Daming Mansion Lu Xiangsheng's command.In addition to the hundreds of people from the Wuyang Thousand Households Institute and the wounded soldiers who have recovered from their injuries, there are more than [-] people. The problem of food alone on the way is enough for him to have a headache.I had no choice but to go all the way and try to find ways to buy more food, and try to coax the gang of soldiers well, otherwise they would be upset and disperse, and he would become a poor commander.Fortunately, he commanded a group of mobs to fight Jiannu, behead the white armor general, and shoot Jiannu Niu Luerzhen. Although they are hungry and full, and often have to eat and sleep in the open, no one complains.

"When we get to Wuyang, I will give each of you a piece of land, so that you can live a happy life like a small landlord!" Every time he camped, Yang Menglong would wave the coarse grain cake in his hand, which was too rough to swallow, and made a firm decision. Assure everyone.

The soldiers cheered and shouted: "Little General Yang, we are serious!"

Yang Menglong said: "You must be serious, absolutely serious! I will not only give each of you a piece of land, but also a lot of original stock. With this original stock, as long as my business can make money, you can get it every year. With a share of dividends, you don’t have to worry about food or clothing!”

The soldiers were even happier. Those soldiers from Daming Mansion shouted: "If this is really the case, then why should we go back to Daming Mansion? Just follow General Xiao Yang!"

Yang Menglong slapped his chest fiercely: "Follow me, you will never suffer!"

Someone yelled strangely: "Little General Yang, do you really count what you say?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, of course it counts! If my words don't count, let me be like this cake!" He bit off half of the cake in his hand, making everyone laugh.

These soldiers who live at the bottom of the society are the most simple. If they have the right appetite, they can even sell you their lives. Yang Menglong eats from the same pot, sleeps in the same tent, and has several military achievements. popular.However, when he said that he would share the land and money with everyone, everyone didn't believe it. Everyone was looking forward to going to Wuyang soon, so that he could make a fool of himself.

Dealing with the soldiers is great, of course, but not so much with the merchants along the way.Those small rich peasants who grow vegetables and raise a few chickens for a living can say that as long as the price is fair, they may give you something extra. The hateful grain merchants have eyes on their buttocks. They only recognize clothes but not people. I saw that the officers and soldiers of the guards who came to buy grain, all of them had their nostrils upturned, and the price of grain was so high that they dared to sell it for three taels and one stone. Less two, according to the measurement unit of the Ming Dynasty, one stone is equal to twenty catties, they dare to deduct twenty or thirty catties, and when they reason with them, they are all justified: "I love to buy, buy, don't buy!" Such an arrogant businessman , Yang Menglong met for the first time.In the 21st century, consumers are gods, let alone after-sales service, at least when you pay for something, you are gods. Merchants have gone to great lengths to attract customers, and they have done a lot of profit-making promotions, but Here, everything is reversed, the merchant has become the god, and the consumer has become the grandson!
Of course, after the merchant launched the six-character mantra of "love to buy, buy, don't buy and roll", he would often suffer retribution immediately. The angry Yang Menglong kicked him down, and then several servants and Yebushou rushed up and fought. , the scene was very pornographic and violent, and Yang Menglong used his fists and leather boots to tell these unscrupulous grain merchants the truth: Dad can't be cheated casually!

"Little General Yang, you are so impulsive!" On the way back to the camp with a large amount of grain bought from "fair trade", Han Peng, the leader of the team in Daming Mansion, complained, "Which of those grain merchants has no backing ? You beat them and offended many people, can they let you go?"

Yang Menglong didn't care: "They offended me first! If they see me unhappy, just let them come over. Even if I am the King of Heaven, I will take care of them!"

Han Peng emphasized his tone: "If you can't bear it, you will make a big mess!"

Yang Menglong said: "I don't know what big schemes are. I only know how to repay grievances and revenge!" Seeing that Han Peng's complexion was not right, he slowed down his tone and patted the guy who was a little taller than himself on the shoulder. , said earnestly: "Old Han, I know you are well-intentioned, but sometimes, you really can't bear with certain people! They put their face under my palm, except to slap them with all their strength. In the past, did I have any other choice? Why don't you be his father if you don't be his mother? "

Han Peng couldn't laugh or cry.

With his unique arrogance, Yang Menglong led the small 2000 people to stop and go, and from time to time, he would have close contact with unscrupulous grain merchants. From Dingxing to Nanyang for nearly two thousand miles, he basically walked all the way. , and soon won the nickname of "Little Overlord", so that wherever the army went, many grain merchants would rather close their doors temporarily than deal with him. Looking at the closed door, looking at Looking at the small grain merchant who carefully called himself grains, Yang Menglong couldn't help lamenting how lonely life is like snow...

In early March, the weather gradually turned warmer, and Yang Menglong finally left Hebei with his troops and entered the border of Henan.Along the way, seeing so many wives and children leaving their homes, he thought Hebei was a hell on earth. Who knew that Hebei was far from hell on earth when he entered Henan.

Henan is the real hell on earth.

From Wanli to Chongzhen, the drought in the north has never stopped, especially in Shaanxi and Henan, where there has been a severe drought year after year. Either the scorching sun scorched the seedlings, or the locusts covered the sky. Every year is getting heavier, and the common people in Shaanxi and Henan have worked hard for a year with their faces turned to the loess and their backs turned to the sky. The output in the fields is not enough to pay rent, so they can only live on bark and grass roots.Later, the bark was eaten up, and the grass roots were also eaten up. In order to survive, they had to drag their children and daughters to leave their hometowns and go to places with better harvests. Please live.Yang Menglong saw that most of the fields were cracked, the soil was gray and white, without a trace of moisture, the wheat seedlings were sparse, like dogtail grass, and there was hardly a trace of greenness. Many old farmers and their families In the battle, water was picked from a distant river to irrigate the wheat seedlings, and a spoonful of water was poured down. The dry land sizzled, and even a trace of water could not be found in a blink of an eye.This effort is doomed to fail, the river is almost dry, and it is impossible to divert water into the canal. Even if they are tired and vomit blood, they can't water it with poles alone.But they seem to have never thought about this, and they still carried water in the fields. Two huge buckets pressed the shoulder poles into a bow shape, and also bent their waists...

"There were only a few light snowfalls in the winter, but no heavy snowfall, and it hasn't rained since the spring equinox. This season's wheat is over." An old farmer who was tanned like a black man said to Yang Menglong in a low voice, "Those of us on the ground Peasants who plan to eat are not afraid of gold being stolen, but they are afraid that there will be no snow in winter!"

This happened to several state capitals in a row, as if the whole of Henan had turned into a desert, and there was no living thing to be seen.But when passing by Luoyang, Yang Menglong saw that the peonies were blooming, colorful and enchanting, full of tourists, literati and elegant scholars abound, and dignitaries and dignitaries abound.Looking at the majestic thousand-year-old ancient capital, and looking at the dry and cracked farmland outside the city, Yang Menglong discovered for the first time that the distance between heaven and hell can be so close, so close that there is only a wall!
After passing Luoyang, they entered the territory of Nanyang, and the number of refugees suddenly increased.This is because the Nanyang Basin has a monsoon continental humid and semi-humid climate, relatively abundant water resources, and moist and fertile land. Thanks to this, agricultural production can still be maintained.Therefore, a considerable number of refugees fleeing from Shaanxi, Hebei and even Henan state capitals choose to go to Nanyang in search of a chance to survive. If they can get a piece of wasteland to reclaim, there is still hope for them.The influx of so many refugees has brought great pressure to Nanyang, and the public security situation has deteriorated sharply. The locals believe that their living space is being encroached on by outsiders, and they naturally have no good feelings toward the refugees. In order to survive, the refugees resort to thieves and thieves. After all the calculations, all kinds of tricks and abductions were used at will, and the conflict between the locals and the refugees became more and more acute.County officials were unable to do anything about it, or they didn't want to care about it at all, leaving the refugees to fend for themselves. The inaction of the government made the situation worse day by day, and Nanyang was about to become a tinderbox that could ignite at any moment.When Fang Yizhi saw the refugees everywhere outside the city, he would be in a daze for half an hour first, and then, [-] grass-mud horses roared past at six times the speed of sound.

Yang Menglong was not in his position and did not seek his own affairs, but he was more relaxed, said goodbye to Fang Yizhi in a cool and unrestrained way, and took his troops straight to Wuyang County.

Almost home, the soldiers of the Wuyang Thousand Households Institute looked like they had been spayed with chicken blood, their spirits were high, and they ran so fast that Han Peng's men couldn't catch up at all.Yang Menglong is also excited, his territory is in front of him, can he not be happy?Riding a horse and galloping all the way with the soldiers of Wuyang Qianhusuo, it was really non-stop!

"Little General Yang, we're back in Wuyang!" After passing through a forest, Zhang Zilong who ran ahead pointed to a boundary marker and cheered loudly.

Yang Menglong glanced at it, and there were three big characters "Wuyang County" impressively written on the boundary marker.He laughed loudly and cheered loudly: "Wuyang County, here I come! Lovely Wuyang Salt Mine, here I come!"

(End of this chapter)