gnovel Chapter 15 Crying Spring Shop
Chapter 15 Crying Spring Shop
Over the next few days, Li Chengye and his men guarded the rear camp's provisions while conducting marching training. After several days, they were able to form ranks when marching.
According to Yang Chongwang, this is just the beginning.
However, Li Chengye felt alright. After all, just a week ago, these people were farmers lying at home waiting to die. It was already quite good that they could pick up weapons and march in formation.
Moreover, according to his observation, most of Wang Er's so-called veterans were not as good as them.
They walked in an extremely undisciplined and chaotic manner, just like the "spirited young men" in that memory—looking imposing but actually clueless.
Xu Youlu also came over to check on them once, and told them to keep their drills quiet during the evening to avoid causing a disturbance among the refugees in the camp, which left Li Chengye speechless.
An old camp commander named Luo Dai came to visit a few times and praised him.
Luo Dai was a garrison commander in Suide Town. He killed his superior while demanding back pay and had no choice but to flee to his hometown of Mizhi. Later, when the government issued a warrant for his arrest in Mizhi, he fled again.
Later, upon hearing that Wang Er had started a rebellion and was distributing grain, he joined him.
Luo Dai's sentry post was one of the few in Wang Er's army that could form a line during marches.
He was the one who suggested to Wang Er that they should set up the drums and gongs, display the flags, and get up to blow the trumpets.
Six days have passed since Li Chengye met Wang Er, and in those six days, they have traveled more than a hundred li.
Many bandits and outlaws were stationed along the way, but upon seeing Wang Er's massive army pressing in, they either fled or surrendered, just like Li Chengye had done that day.
Wang Er's troops accepted all comers and continued to expand. The rear battalion alone had been organized into the sixth detachment, and refugees continued to join this huge force along the way.
As we emerged from the mountains and crossed the muddy river, we saw the surging crowds.
Li Chengye estimates that the entire team now numbers over 15,000 people, more than 70% of whom are elderly, weak, women and children.
These people survive on just a bowl of thin porridge each day, and many of them don't wake up every morning. But whenever they pass through a place, many more people join them.
Through conversations with these people, Li Chengye gained a rough understanding of the extent of the drought's impact in northern Shaanxi.
From Fushi, Anse, and Luochuan in the north, the entire Yan'an Prefecture, Yulin Guard, and all the way to Hancheng in the northern part of Xi'an Prefecture, more than thirty counties and prefectures suffered from severe drought and famine. If people did not want to starve to death, they had no choice but to become thieves.
When they arrived at Kuquanpu that day, Wang Er ordered them to set up camp.
The place is called Crying Spring because there is a spring in the area called Crying Spring.
Legend has it that Meng Jiangnu came here in search of her husband, and wept bitterly. A clear spring gushed forth from the ground, and this spring was called the Crying Spring.
"Pu" means a small post station.
Kuquanpu is a post station located at the junction of Baishui and Yijun, and it is also connected to Jinshuoguan to the south. There is also a beacon tower built inside the post station.
When the scouts rode out of the mountain path, the soldiers of Kuquanpu lit the beacon fire and ran towards Yijun City. But they didn't get far before the cavalry caught up with them and captured all but one of the mounted foreman.
Li Chengye went to see the Crying Spring. Perhaps Meng Jiangnu's lingering resentment had not subsided, because even in this year of severe drought, the Crying Spring had not dried up, although according to Pu Bing, the water volume had decreased considerably.
Beside the Crying Spring is a pool, dug by the soldiers of the Crying Spring Inn themselves, for travelers to drink from. Each use costs one copper coin. These soldiers earn a living from this.
There was an open space next to the pool, so the rear camp set up camp there.
The kitchen is especially busy today. Wang Datou has given the order that Yijun County is just ahead, and starting tonight, we'll eat dry food.
The kitchen was short-staffed and overwhelmed, so Sun Laoliu borrowed ten people from Li Chengye to help with the cooking.
After finishing their meal, before it got dark, Li Chengye and Yang Chongwang led their men to practice their battle formations.
They were arranged in three rows. The first row consisted of five long spearmen, the second row of swordsmen and shield bearers who used straw hats covered with cloth as shields, and the third row of musket wielders and archers.
They practiced gathering, dispersing, advancing, and defending repeatedly in the open space, familiarizing themselves with each other's positions and understanding simple commands through a few simple movements.
Yang Chongwang said that this is a simplified version of the Mandarin Duck Formation, a battle tactic left behind by General Qi Jiguang.
Logically, there should have been wolf-tooth rakes in front to prevent the enemy from getting close, but they didn't have any, so they had to use long spears instead.
When we first started practicing, we didn't have all the supplies, especially bows and arrows, which we only had two sets of.
In the end, it was Master Qin who managed to exchange the grain for about ten hunting bows from the refugees.
During the first practice session, the rows in front and behind bumped into each other. Either the shields of the swordsmen hit the backs of the spearmen, or the spear shafts of the spearmen pierced the archers behind them.
This drew laughter from the onlookers.
After practicing for two or three days, the formation can now at least maintain its shape when advancing and retreating.
After two rounds of practice, it gradually got dark, and Li Chengye ordered the crowd to disperse and rest, which drew cheers from everyone.
Several young men went to the pool to fetch water and began to wash the dirt off their bodies.
Yang Chongwang wiped his face and said, "Looks like there'll be bloodshed tomorrow."
Li Chengye nodded.
In an army facing food shortages, the fact that Wang Er made sure everyone was well-fed speaks volumes.
After Xu Youlu returned from the military meeting, he said that the defense force in Yijun City, including the three shifts of yamen runners, was only about a hundred people, and there was no news of any government troops entering the city.
Vulnerable.
I estimate that once they reach the city walls tomorrow, they will be able to take it down directly.
But Li Chengye felt uneasy. Yijun City was located next to the Qin Straight Road, and the entire city was built on the plateau beside the straight road, also serving as a pass.
Yijun City was a key point connecting border towns such as Yulinwei and Suide Town with Xi'an in Guanzhong.
Wang Er's team's detour around the eastern foothills of Huanglong Mountain, emerging from the mountains, caught Yijun County completely off guard.
However, if the imperial court is truly willing to provide support, given the convenience of transportation, they will likely arrive very quickly.
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At this moment, chaos erupted in the county government office of Yijun City.
Since the discovery of the beacon fire at Kuquanpu, the county has been in chaos.
Yijun City was located on Turtle Mountain beside the Qin Straight Road. Taking advantage of its terrain, the beacon fire at Kuquanpu could be seen from inside the city.
Based on past experience, whenever the beacon fire at Kuquanpu was lit, it meant that Mongol Tartars were invading the border and that reinforcements were needed.
Therefore, when Zhou Dezhao, the magistrate of Yijun County, saw the beacon fire, he assumed that the Mongol Tartars had crossed the border.
But this time, something seems off about the beacon fire.
According to the regulations of the second year of the Chenghua reign, the number of beacon fires to be lit was as follows: one beacon and one cannon shot for every hundred people; two beacon and two cannon shots for every five hundred people; three beacon and three cannon shots for every thousand people or more; four beacon and four cannon shots for every five thousand people or more; and five beacon and five cannon shots for every fifty thousand people or more. Cannons were fired simultaneously with the beacon fires to ensure the accuracy of the transmitted information.
Magistrate Zhou Dezhao saw three beacon fires, but heard five cannon shots.
What does this mean?
He doesn't understand.
Could it be that there are three thousand Tartars who have invaded the border?
Although he didn't understand, Zhou Dezhao remained as steady as Mount Tai, after all, Yulin and Suide were still far away from them.
He wanted to find someone to go to Kuquanpu to find out what exactly happened.
Are these soldiers drunk?
Accidentally lighting a beacon tower is a capital offense.
But a subsequent message dispelled his idea.
The soldiers guarding the city reported that the head of Kuquanpu had arrived in the county town on a horse that was foaming at the mouth.
The shopkeeper, panting heavily, came to him and said that it was not a Tartar invasion, but a bandit uprising with tens of thousands of men, who had already occupied Kuquanpu.
The reason only three cannons were lit was that the bandits' cavalry had already stormed into the post station, making it impossible to light any more. The five cannons were fired by the post station manager on horseback halfway through the journey.
At this point, Zhou Dezhao completely panicked.
In terms of military strength, these bandits could not compare with the Mongol Tartars who roamed the grasslands, but the military strength of Yijun City could not compare with that of border cities like Yulin.
Moreover, a powerful enemy far away is not as troublesome as an ant nearby, let alone tens of thousands of bandits.
Yijun City has not suffered from war for many years. There are only about a hundred inspectors and yamen runners in the city. Before, they just did some work such as arresting criminals and going to the countryside to collect taxes.
But this time the bandits are numerous and number in the tens of thousands. What can these hundred or so people in the city do?
Zhou Dezhao's first thought was that this period was coming to an end.
The Ming Dynasty law stipulated that anyone who lost a city in the face of the enemy and fled without a fight would be executed immediately. However, those who died defending the city would receive compensation.
He wanted to live, but he couldn't run away; his wife, children, and elderly father were all there.
I'm just trying to survive, what about them?
Zhou Dezhao struck the drum at the county government office and sent people to the homes of prominent families in the city to summon them to the county government office, demanding that they provide able-bodied men and supplies to defend Yijun City.
Then the scouts sent out brought back more detailed intelligence: the band of thieves who occupied Kuquanpu were led by a man named Wang Er.
He had a deep impression of the name Wang Er.
Shaanxi hadn't seen a rebellion involving the killing of an official for over a decade, so this sudden occurrence naturally left a deep impression. Moreover, the magistrate of Chengcheng, Zhang Douyao, who was killed, was his fellow townsman.
"How could this be!?"
Looking at the empty county government hall, Zhou Dezhao felt dizzy. He, who always prided himself on being refined, couldn't help but swear.
"Your mother is a maid!"