gnovel Chapter 55 The Hairy Gourd Soldiers
Chapter 55 The Hairy Gourd Soldiers
Liu Yingyu's full official title was "Deputy Commissioner for Military Affairs of Shangluo Circuit".
In the Ming Dynasty, the "Dao" was an agency dispatched by the provincial government. The core responsibility of the Deputy Military Commissioner of Shangluo Dao was to appease the displaced people and manage the military farms and post stations.
Military preparedness and bandit suppression were originally matters that he was responsible for on an additional basis.
Moreover, his authority was mainly limited to the Shangluo region, namely the five prefectures and counties of Shangzhou, Luonan, Shangnan, Shanyang, and Zhen'an, which theoretically did not extend to northern Shaanxi.
But for capable people, responsibilities will always come to them unbidden.
In the atmosphere of Shaanxi's officialdom where it's better to avoid trouble, he, as the Shangluo Circuit Intendant, became the actual mastermind behind the province's anti-bandit campaign.
Liu Yingyu had no complaints about this.
He knew that to achieve something, one must first take on responsibilities; only by doing real work could one have the opportunity to advance.
The local garrison troops in Shaanxi were no longer of any use, and the patrol and inspection offices in various prefectures and counties had too few men and were also responsible for local security. He had no authority to mobilize the border troops.
It seems he has no soldiers available.
However, there was an elite force in the mountains of Shangluo Road under his jurisdiction.
Hairy gourd soldiers.
The History of Yuan Dynasty, Annals of Emperor Shun: "In the thirteenth year of the Zhizheng era, the Mao Hulu Righteous Army Ten Thousand Household Office was established in Nanyang, Dengzhou and other places. Local people were recruited to form an army, exempted from corvée labor, and ordered to defend the city by themselves."
This type of soldier originated in the late Yuan Dynasty and was inherited by the Ming Dynasty. It was named after the gourd-shaped leather quiver it used.
The soldiers were mostly hunters, mountain dwellers, and miners from the mountainous areas of western Henan and southern Shaanxi. They were skilled in mountain climbing and short-range weapons, and were brave and fierce.
During the Wanli era, he participated in suppressing the rebellion of Yang Yinglong in Bozhou and was praised as "fierce and indestructible". During the Jiajing era, he was transferred to the southeast to fight against Japanese pirates and also guarded the northern border to defend against the Mongols. He can be called a powerful force of the Ming Dynasty.
However, the Mao Hulu soldiers were different from the general Ming army. They would only move if they received their pay upon gathering troops and setting out.
In previous attempts to suppress bandits, Liu Yingyu suffered repeated setbacks due to the incompetence of his troops.
After repeated appeals from him and his superior Shi Weiping, Hu Tingyan, the governor of Shaanxi, finally allocated three thousand taels of silver from the provincial treasury as funds for suppressing bandits.
Liu Yingyu then approached several wealthy households to "persuade them to donate funds," raising a total of five thousand taels.
With these five thousand taels of silver, he recruited this gourd-shaped army from the mountains of southern Shaanxi.
A leader with a cloth turban wrapped around his head and a gourd slung over his waist stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute to Liu Yingyu, and said, "Sir, the brothers are all ready and can set off at any time. It's just that the settlement money..."
Liu Yingyu remained calm and slightly raised his hand.
His attendants understood and carried over several heavy wooden boxes. When the lids were opened, they revealed gleaming silver ingots.
Upon seeing this, the gourd soldiers cheered.
The leader grinned and said, "Since you trust us, sir, our lives belong to you!" Liu Yingyu solemnly corrected him, "It is to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty."
The leader quickly changed his tune: "Yes, yes! I will serve the Ming Dynasty faithfully!"
As professional mercenaries in the Ming army, the Mao Hulu soldiers had a good reputation. After receiving the settlement money, they set off for northern Shaanxi the next day.
Under the leadership of their chief Miao Cheng, they first quelled the bandits of all sizes around Shangluo Road to ensure the smooth passage of the official road, and then continued northward.
At that time, Wang Er and the salt merchant Hong Jiliang had already left Yichuan County and joined forces to garrison Luochuan, preparing to besiege the county town.
This time, Wang Er learned from his previous experience and left behind more capable soldiers and fewer burdens during the march. Even so, he still managed to gather about seven or eight thousand men.
The magistrate of Luochuan County urgently requested help from Liu Yingyu, who then ordered Mao Hulu's troops to rush to the aid overnight.
The Mao Hulu soldiers arrived at the vicinity of Luochuan at dusk, and after a short rest, they launched a surprise attack under the cover of night.
Wang's troops were caught completely off guard. After being attacked at night, their morale collapsed, and they trampled each other, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
The magistrate of Luochuan County, watching from the city wall, saw men weeping and horses neighing in Wang Er's camp, trampling each other. By dawn, the area outside the city was littered with corpses. Hong Jiliang died in the night raid, and his body was later found, while Wang Er disappeared again.
At dawn, the magistrate of Luochuan County opened the city gates to welcome Mao Hulu's soldiers and prepared wine to reward them. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Yingyu sent people into the city to solicit donations for military supplies and to ask local wealthy households to provide relief to the poor and carry out disaster relief.
Although the wealthy households were unwilling, seeing the formidable power of Mao Hulu's army, they had no choice but to swallow their anger and donate grain and provisions.
In the following half month, Liu Yingyu, with his 800-strong gourd-shaped army as the main force and the garrison troops as the auxiliary force, wiped out the bandits in various counties around Huanglong Mountain, including Yanchang, Luochuan, and Hancheng.
As the situation in northern Shaanxi gradually stabilized, officials and gentry from all over the country praised Liu Yingyu's outstanding talent and sang his praises.
Seeing this, the other bandits, both large and small, fled to Huanglong Mountain, Ziwu Ridge, and the mountains of Guanzhong.
Just as Liu Yingyu was about to make persistent efforts and prepare to head towards Huanglong Mountain, his superior, Shi Weiping, urgently summoned him back to Xi'an Prefecture.
Liu Yingyu rushed back, covered in dust, feeling resentful and puzzled as to why Shi Weiping had summoned him back at this crucial moment.
It seems that the current banditry in Shaanxi will be quelled in at most another month.
Looking at his exhausted subordinates, Shi Weiping said helplessly, "I'm afraid the bandit suppression will have to be postponed."
Liu Yingyu was startled and quickly asked, "Sir, has something happened?"
"I have been promoted to Right Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shaanxi, and the affairs of the Provincial Surveillance Commission are no longer under my jurisdiction," Shi Weiping replied.
"Does your promotion to Provincial Treasurer mean that His Majesty is dissatisfied with Governor Hu and intends for you to succeed him as governor?" Liu Yingyu asked in surprise.
Shi Weiping shook his head: "This promotion is already an imperial favor. How can we be greedy for more? The Ming Dynasty has its own system and will not act in this way."
However, Hu Tingyan's position as governor is likely to last long. It's just that the new provincial judicial commissioner has not yet been appointed, so your plan to suppress bandits across the border must be put on hold for now.
Without the support of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, further progress will be difficult.
"But now is the perfect time to wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop!" Liu Yingyu said urgently.
Shi Weiping replied earnestly, "It won't be easy to quell the rebellion. Although the Mao Hulu soldiers are skilled in battle, they number no more than a thousand. They can handle small groups of bandits, but the further north you go, the more bandits and cavalry there are. The Mao Hulu soldiers are invincible in the mountains, but they will likely struggle to deal with cavalry on the plains. The situation is more complicated than you think."
Liu Yingyu argued, "Sir, there's no need to wipe out all the bandits. Just relentlessly pursue and attack bandit leaders like Wang Er. Once the rest are terrified, we can then appease them, and we'll surely pacify the situation in Shaanxi." Shi Weiping nodded, "You're absolutely right, but where will the money for appeasement come from?"
Liu Yingyu was speechless for a moment.
Shi Weiping continued, "The local powerful families are not without complaints. Several people have tried to impeach you for persecuting the good and enriching yourself, but I have suppressed them all. But if you continue to push things this way, I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress it after some time. Yuyong, don't forget Zhang Juzheng." (Liu Yingyu's courtesy name was Yuyong)
Zhang Juzheng.
Liu Yingyu murmured the name, and then fell silent for a moment.
Back then, Hai Rui commented that Zhang Juzheng was "good at governing the country but bad at managing his own life." As a result, Zhang Juzheng, who had extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by half, was impeached by officials after his death and was investigated during the Wanli era. Some of his family members even starved to death in their mansion.
Although Liu Yingyu was loyal to the court, he hesitated because he feared that his loyalty would lead to his family suffering the same fate as Zhang Juzheng's family.
In the end, Liu Yingyu could only sigh and accept Shi Weiping's arrangement to postpone the suppression of the bandits.
Meanwhile, in Huanglong Mountain, Li Chengye, who had been waiting in ambush, suddenly heard from scouts outside the mountain that the Mao Hulu troops had returned to Shangluo Road, which aroused his suspicion.
"That's it? All my preparation wasted?"