The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Chapter 66 Yellow Dog

Li Chengye rode his Mongolian dappled horse and was the first to leave Yanchang City.

Luo Dai sidled up to him, somewhat unwillingly asking, "So, are we just going to hand over Yanchang County to Zheng Guangqiu and his group like this?"

"Zheng Guangqiu is too short-sighted," Li Chengye said. "I've said everything I need to say. If he insists on staying, then we'll see what he can do once the government troops surround him."

He paused, then said, "Wang Pingyue is alright. I think he has some self-awareness and is quite rational."

Liu Ye, standing nearby, nodded in agreement: "Indeed, Wang Pingyue... he sent a batch of medicinal herbs to our team a few days ago."

"But what do we do next?" Luo Dai asked. "After leaving Yanchang County, are we going back to Huanglong Mountain?"

"No, we can't go back yet," Li Chengye said. "I've made up my mind, Brother Luo. Let's head north first, circle around Yan'an Prefecture, and take down all the nearby post stations."

Luo Dai was somewhat puzzled: "This... I don't quite understand, why go through all this trouble? Small post stations are fine, but those large post stations are all walled up, like small fortresses, which would be time-consuming and laborious to attack."

"Brother Luo," Li Chengye asked, "how did the Ming Dynasty rule the world?"

This was a big question, and it stumped Luo Daifu.

He thought for a moment and replied, "Rely on the government and the army."

"Yes," Li Chengye nodded, "Brother, you're right. The government troops are the government's tentacles, but what does the government rely on?"

This time, Li Chengye didn't ask Luo Dai again, but directly told him what was on his mind.

"In my opinion," he said, "the government of the Ming Dynasty is composed of several layers. The first layer is the local gentry—they are their flesh and blood."

Most officials came from wealthy and powerful families. When disputes or conflicts arose among ordinary people, it was often the wealthy families who would step in and lead the clan elders to judge and resolve the matter.

When someone in the village committed a crime, they were usually handed over to the local gentry or clan head for handling.

"But going further back," Li Chengye changed the subject, "for example, when I was driven to the brink of starvation by Zhao the rich man in the village, I gathered a group of people, drew their swords, and killed him. What should the imperial court have done then?"

Luo Daifu tried to answer: "So, it relies on the local inspectors... and the constables from the yamen?"

“That’s right,” Li Chengye said. “But if the situation becomes more serious, like what happened with Wang Er back then, where troops need to be mobilized across prefectures and counties, then the mobilization of troops must be approved by the government at least at the level of the prefect.”

His gaze darkened slightly as he continued, "If we were to dismantle all these post stations now, it would mean that the information from the lower levels of the Ming Dynasty would be difficult to reach the higher levels, and they would be cut off from each other. Moreover, if we destroy the post stations while dealing with those notorious local gentry and wealthy families, it would also mean chopping off the hand that directly suppresses the local areas."

By the time the imperial court realized something was wrong and sent people down to investigate again, it was too late.

After saying that, Li Chengye pointed to the orderly procession that was filing out of the city gate.

"Now we are a thorn in the side of the government. Whenever they send troops to suppress bandits, they will come to us. Before, we had Chief Wang to share some of the firepower, but he is gone. Now we are the only large group of rebels in northern Shaanxi."

In this year of famine, the government not only failed to provide disaster relief but also pressed for taxes. Some people were driven to the brink of starvation and, like I was back then, picked up knives and rebelled.

If they hadn't been wiped out in the first wave, they would have grown rapidly by now.

At that time, they will be our helpers.

Then the government won't just target our family.

Moreover, the more the rebels grow stronger and occupy more territory, the less power the government will have.

With this shift in power, the Ming Dynasty was destined for defeat.

Luo Dai and Liu Ye both fell into deep thought. Liu Ye, in particular, felt for the first time that the Ming Dynasty, which he had previously regarded as a towering mountain, was not so indestructible after Li Chengye's analysis.

"Then let's do it your way of managing the business, I think it's a good idea!"

After considering it, Luo Dai expressed his support.

He felt that Li Chengye was right; they were already considered traitors in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, so they had to be dealt with thoroughly.

Liu Ye then immediately agreed.

The three-person command team reached a consensus and then began execution.

According to information obtained from Li Hongjian, a captured centurion of Yan'an Guard in Yanchang County, the officers and soldiers of Yan'an Guard were originally assigned to assist in the defense of various prefectures and counties in Yan'an Prefecture, as ordered by Liu Yingyu, the military commissioner.

In Fushi County, the capital of Yan'an Prefecture, only Commander Zhang Shiyan and a thousand-household garrison under his personal command remained.

Although the troops of Yan'an Guard had been dispersed to various counties to assist in the defense, the number of troops in each location was not large, with the largest number being no more than two hundred and the smallest only a hundred or so.

Liu Yingyu's idea at the time was to use these Yan'an Guard soldiers as the backbone, along with the constables and patrol officers of the county government, and to recruit able-bodied men from within the city, so that each county town could gather about two to three thousand people to defend the city. He thought that in this way, the peasant uprising that had just begun to grow this year could be contained.

Even when faced with a large band of bandits like Wang Er's, numbering nearly ten thousand, they could hold out for four or five days with this force.

With four or five days, his troops could reach the city; even if they failed to arrive in time, they could catch up with the bandits before they retreated and launch a siege.

Unfortunately, his plan, though good, was only half executed before he was recalled to Xi'an Prefecture.

After he left, the order was not revoked, and the troops of Yan'an Guard were not withdrawn; they remained scattered and stationed in various places.

This certainly strengthened the defenses of the counties, but it also deprived Yan'an Prefecture of a sufficiently powerful mobile force to contain Li Chengye's large-scale band of cavalry.

The closest post station to Yanchang County was Gangu Post Station, which was only about ten miles away.

When Li Chengye led his troops to capture the city, everyone in the post station fled, taking not only the food but also the pots and pans on the stove.

When Li Chengye passed by, he found the place empty, without a single person or horse, except for an old yellow dog that had appeared out of nowhere, which was surviving on the leftover fodder in the manger.

The old yellow dog was skinny and bony, with its belly drooping.

Li Chengye noticed that its eyes were still yellow-orange.

The eyes of wild animals that have eaten human flesh are all red.

These days, it's common to see stray dogs that live by eating human corpses and scavenging human bones, but dogs that live by eating grass are quite rare.

Li Chengye called out to the dog, and the old yellow dog obediently followed.

He smiled and handed the dog to Chengen, who didn't resist.

Li Chengye looked at the old yellow dog and said to Chengen:

"Give it a piece of bread when we have dinner tonight."

He then ordered that Gangu Post Station be burned to the ground.

Subsequently, Li Chengye and his party set off from Ganguyi and headed north, destroying all the post stations they encountered along the way.

According to the Ming Dynasty's organizational structure, an ordinary post station typically had only four or five postmen. Upon encountering such a large force, they would generally flee at the mere sight of them. Li Chengye did not pursue those who fled, but simply ordered his men to set fire to the post station.

Even if the government sends people back later to reorganize and restore the communication function, it will take at least half a month of wrangling. That half a month will be enough time for them to deal with the situation.

They had planned to burn down post stations along the way, but when they entered Fushi County, they ran into a tough opponent.