Nanming Engineer

Chapter 379 Dissatisfied
Wang Huan stayed in Tongguan for two days. Together with Ma Zuoheng, he carefully surveyed the piers and trenches on the front line of Tongguan, drew up a defense strategy, and asked Li Yukui to recruit migrant workers from Sifang prefectures and counties. Minzhuang began to dig ditches and build soil on a large scale, trying to build Tongguan into an iron wall.

Then Wang Huan left Ma Zuoheng behind, led the whole army across the Yellow River, and set up camp outside Jiezhou City, 120 miles north of Puzhou.

Both Puzhou and Jiezhou were under the rule of Pingyang Prefecture in Shanxi Province. After Li Yukui took control of Puzhou, Han Zhaoxuan, the former soldier of the Ming court, and Yu Yin, the former general soldier who had fallen into a bandit, raised troops to respond. They gathered 26 people, known as [-] Wan, occupied Jiezhou first, and then attacked Jiangxian County. The soldiers reached Pingyang Fucheng and spread to the vast Pingyang Prefecture. Support, the rest of the prefectures and counties were all killed by the uprising soldiers and civilians, or drove away the Qing officials. sky.

Because Puzhou also needed to step up its fortification, Li Yukui did not accompany Wang Huan to Jiezhou, but only sent a guide to follow him, but he also sent people to the front station in advance to inform Han Zhaoxuan and Yu Yin that the Kuizhou army was coming.

So when Wang Huan arrived outside the city of Jiezhou, Han Zhaoxuan, who stayed behind here, came out to welcome him.

Jiezhou belongs to a small state, and its territory is about the same size as Puzhou, but at a glance, the city's banners and densely packed guards are much better than the sparse Puzhou. Wang Huan's first impression was that Han Zhaoxuan was better than Puzhou. Li Yukui knows a lot about soldiers.

Han Zhaoxuan came out to greet them with a large army. A dense crowd of people, at least tens of thousands of people, lined up outside the city.

The soldiers and horses in the front row of Xiezhou soldiers all have bright armors, with half-length waist armors and red-tasseled iron helmets. Armor leaves are clanging, like forest spears and sharp long knives, shining in the sun.Thousands of cavalry reined in their horses, staring at tigers, while Han Zhaoxuan stood in front of the army with flags fluttering, with a brocade robe and crown, and a feather fan in his hand. The demeanor of Daogu Xianfeng and Confucianism was like the rising sun, shining brightly .

However, when the White Armored Kuizhou Army appeared in his field of vision, Han Zhaoxuan's calm, chattering and laughing demeanor slowly sank, and as the sound of footsteps that were neat and tidy approached, his expression became more and more serious. His face was getting whiter and his brows were getting tighter and tighter, as if he saw a god and Buddha approaching.

To be honest, he had selfish motives for organizing such a big "welcome ceremony".

Ma Mingtu, the eunuch, came to Shanxi from Zhaoqing. He threw the imperial edicts all the way. When he saw someone set up a mountain to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, he rushed to make a wish. He didn't know how many titles he sent out, maybe he couldn't even remember it himself. It is very clear, anyway, the imperial edict is blank, he can fill it in as he likes, before leaving, the Yongli court also confessed that as long as he can win over the military leaders who are willing to serve the Ming Dynasty, they can be appointed officials, it just depends on the size of the army , divided into high and low official titles.

And Han Zhaoxuan and Yu Yin, who claim to have 26 soldiers, are among the most powerful in the entire Shanxi Rebel Army. Although these two people were not considered figures in the original Ming court, at this time and this place, Ma Mingtu was shocked. As soon as he was so powerful, Ma Mingtu swiped his pen and gave Yu Yin an imperial edict with the title of "General Soldier" on it, and Han Zhaoxuan an imperial edict with the title of "Shang Shu of the Ministry of War". , cut off the braid, and became a member of the Ming court from Bai Ding.

With the seal of the official body, Han Zhaoxuan's heart suddenly became full. Coupled with the smooth battle, the confidence that the entire Pingyang Mansion was about to fall into his hands made him gradually improve his self-esteem. He felt that in time, if he sent his troops northward, Taiyuan Mansion would be destroyed Under the leadership of one's own soldiers, wouldn't it be logical to be a first-rank official like the Duke of the State or the Grand Tutor?

Therefore, for the Kuizhou army from Shaanxi, unlike Li Yukui, he was looking forward to it. On the contrary, he resisted a little, thinking that it was here to take credit from him.The situation in Shanxi is very good. Your Shaanxi army is a guest army. You can do whatever you want. If you are a dragon, you have to coil up. If you are a tiger, you have to lie down.

Seeing that the Kuizhou army was getting closer and closer, the vanguard cavalry was about to fly in front of them. Thousands of cavalrymen with white armor and silver helmets floated over like a cloud, but this cloud was so thick that it seemed to destroy the city, weighing heavily on them. Han Zhaoxuan couldn't get it out of his mind.

Gritting his teeth, Han Zhaoxuan forced a smile on his face, clamped his legs, and rode up to meet him.

The horseshoes of the Kuizhou Army cavalry rumbled, passing by the side like a gust of wind. Wang Huan led a group of officers and appeared behind the cavalry. He saw the Jiezhou Army in a square formation from a long distance away. After thinking about it, he saw through Han Zhaoxuan's narrow-mindedness, laughed it off, and rode forward calmly.

The people sent by Li Yukui described Wang Huan's appearance and figure in detail to Han Zhaoxuan, so Han Zhaoxuan recognized Wang Huanlai, who was as young as a stand out from the crowd, at a glance among the generals in white armor and red cloaks, and Wang Huan also recognized Wang Huan at a glance. Seeing Han Zhaoxuan who was dressed like Zhou Yu, the two met eyes and moved closer to each other.

"Your Majesty has worked so hard from afar, and I have lost my way. I am guilty of sin." Han Zhaoxuan cupped his hands with a smile on his face, and even a fool could hear the hypocrisy in his words.

All the generals of the Kuizhou army frowned, they fought south and north, they had never seen such a scene, how could this little leader of the rebel army be so rude when he saw Wang Huan?
Wang Huan disagreed, smiled and returned the salute, saying: "What are you talking about, Chief Han? Wang is ordered to support Datong. He is passing through Jiezhou. If there is any trouble, Chief Han can ask for Han's apology."

His words were in the right order, but he violated Han Zhaoxuan's big taboo. One leader at a time dismissed him as the head of the cottage. Han Zhaoxuan's face suddenly collapsed, and his face sank like water. Behind him was a tall and burly man who looked like a trusted general. Seeing this scene, he shouted angrily: "My lord is the Minister of the Ministry of War, not some leader!"

"Shangshu of the Ministry of War?" Wang Huan was taken aback for a moment, but Ma Mingtu didn't tell him this, and he didn't know that Shanxi had a minister of the Ministry of War.

"Exactly!" The brawny man shouted, "This is the official order of Ma Zhong, ordered by the imperial court!"

Wang Huan and the others immediately understood that they must be officials appointed by Eunuch Ma. The land of Shanxi is as big as the sea, and there are more Caotou kings than towns. At the scene where there were as many soldiers as dogs, everyone in the Kuizhou army looked at each other in blank dismay.

"It turned out to be Han Shangshu. I don't know Wang. I have offended you." Wang Huan frowned slightly and clasped his fists.

Shanxi is chaotic and the enemy is at hand. Although these rebels are short-sighted, they should be united. There is no need to entangle in these issues.

After the title was changed, Han Zhaoxuan's face finally improved a little. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he said to Wang Huan, "It's easy to say, Lord Hou, please lead the army to move with me to the west of Xiezhou City. Pigs kill cattle to come to labor."

Wang Huan didn't talk to him too much, and simply stretched out his hand and said, "Please!"

Han Zhaoxuan turned around and left, leading Wang Huan's army to the side of Jiezhou, where they camped in an open space with a leeward wind and water, then said a few polite words, and left with them.

The Kuizhou army cut trees and built camps by themselves. There are many trees here, surrounded by mountains and rivers, it is a good place to set up camps and villages.

Wang Huan and several battalion chiefs gathered on a small hill, sitting in a circle, drinking water to quench their thirst, watching the soldiers doing their own things in an orderly manner according to the rules of the camp, while discussing the matter just now.

"The behavior of that person surnamed Han is so rude. He is just a worthless minister. He is as arrogant as if he were a cabinet minister. If this person becomes a high-ranking official in the future, I am afraid he will have to walk around and be fanned. It's so awesome." Li Tingyu complained. He was about to scold him, but was stopped by Li Dingguo: "They are coming with so many troops and horses, why don't they just go straight to Taiyuan with these people?"

Ma Xintian put a straight face on poker, and said concisely: "This person just wants to give us a bad impression and remind us that Shanxi belongs to them."

"Hey!" Li Tingyu slapped his thigh: "Then what are we bastards doing here? Let them go, the surname Han is so arrogant, why hasn't he laid down Taiyuan? Datong is as anxious as a spark, why don't you see him go to help?"

Li Dingguo sat on a stone, raised his neck and drank a big mouthful of clear water from a sheepskin bag, then threw the bag to Li Tingyu, wiped his mouth and said, "The bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty have such a nature, General Li has been around for many years, don't you know?"

Li Tingyu stretched out his palm to poke the air, firmly took the sheepskin bag in his hand, and said angrily: "I know, but what time is it now? These birdmen are still guarding an acre of land like this. Are the Tartars made of clay?"

He opened the stopper of the bag, moved his mouth close to drink, he couldn't bear to be angry patiently, stopped drinking the water, put down the bag and said to Wang Huan angrily: "My lord, these birds are so arrogant, why don't we just do it directly. Copy them, recruit their subordinates, and it's over!"

Wang Huan had been squinting his eyes to think about something, but now he opened his eyes, shook his head and said, "No, Shanxi is in chaos. Although Han Zhaoxuan is rude, he is still an anti-Qing Ming official. Let's fight among ourselves first, and the Tartars will benefit .”

Li Dingguo echoed: "Your Excellency is right. If we fight against the rebels against the Qing Dynasty, what will others think of us? In the future, the rebels will be our enemies. When the Tartars attack us, the rebels will also attack us. Although the Kuizhou army is strong , but it will be difficult to move an inch, which is not in line with our original intention."

There was an expression on Ma Xintian's face. He frowned, twisted into a "Chuan" character, and said to Wang Huan: "But the middle officials sent by the imperial court probably conferred official positions on the number of rebels in Shanxi. If they don't obey the dispatch, then We do a lot of harm and nothing to gain.”

Li Dingguo and Li Tingyu looked at each other and said to Wang Huan together: "Sir, we should have made a decision early!"

Wang Huan scanned the faces of the three people one by one. These three people are the people he trusts the most, and they are also his confidants in the circle. Everyone can be alone, and each of them has the ability to lead the army and defeat the enemy. They are important people who can be relied on. Generally speaking, only they know the strategy of this trip to Shanxi.

Surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao, encircling the point to fight for aid, is the strategy of breaking out of the siege that Wang Huan and the three of them decided after discussing overnight. The Eight Banners, including Azig and other generals around Datong, gathered tens of thousands of troops. fear, but it is unwise to kill the past head-on.

Shanxi Province governs Taiyuan. At present, only the governor of Shanxi Zhu Shichang, with the support of the Mongolian reinforcements led by Nikan, maintains a small territory around Taiyuan. In the surrounding area of ​​Taiyuan, the Qing army and the rebel army are intertwined. You are among you and you are among you. Say it.

If the rebel army in the south of Shanxi can be twisted into one rope, destroy the forces of the Qing army around Taiyuan, and surround Taiyuan into an isolated city, then the Qing army that besieged Datong is bound to come to rescue, but they dare not kill the whole army, which is equivalent to enlarging the same city When Jiang Yu from inside came out, Azig would only send reinforcements led by a general, which was exactly what Wang Huan hoped, as long as the total number of Qing troops sent was less than [-], he was confident that he would be able to do so without costing many lives. Under the circumstances, eat the reinforcements of the Qing army.

But he did not expect that the Shanxi rebels refused to accept anyone.

The situation of the Nanming court throwing official hats everywhere was also unexpected.

When he arrived in Shanxi, Wang Huan discovered that his official titles of Marquis of Pingliang and General of Sichuan and Shaanxi were not considered high. It seemed that Ma Mingtu said that the imperial edict to Jiang Yu was the Duke of the State. Surrounded by the siege, Wang Huan still has to pay respects to Jiang Tuan as an official?

"In this world, the fist is the biggest, and the strength is the foundation!" Wang Huan's eyes became sharper, staring at Jiezhou City in the distance under the mountain, and said firmly: "We should let the Shanxi Rebels take a look at the Kuizhou Army. strength, otherwise they would still look at us the same way they looked at the Ming Army. The gap in level between the Kuizhou Army and them will only become apparent after a battle!"

(End of this chapter)