I

Nanchang Wei, school field.

Li Ruolian, the commander-in-chief of Jiangxi Province, inspected the troops. He suddenly drew his sword and shouted: "The Zhao thieves in Luling occupied the state capital, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Now I am attacking them under the orders of the emperor. With the help of all the kings, I am sure to win the battle in the capital." ! Let’s set off and go to war!”

Li Ruolian is 69 years old this year. Historically, he was 78 years old when he led the imperial guards and died for his country while guarding the gates of Beijing.

If he hadn't been the eldest son of a military household and had to inherit the military position according to the law, he would definitely have taken the Wen Jinshi exam instead of this nonsense Wu Jinshi. His younger brother Li Ruogui was a Wen Jinshi. During the Tianqi period, he served as the minister of the Ministry of punishment. He resigned because he could not tolerate Wei Zhongxian.

By the way, his younger brother Li Ruogui was rumored to have hugged the young Emperor Tianqi. After Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, he was given the nickname "Golden Armed Old Li".

Li Ruolian was the presiding judge in Yuan Chonghuan's rebellion case.

Li Ruolian did not find anything wrong in the trial. Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy and asked his boss Liu Qiao to interrogate him. Liu Qiao found evidence of Yuan Chonghuan's rebellion.

As a result, Li Ruolian was demoted two levels. It took him several years to slowly get promoted back, and now he was finally left by Chongzhen to serve as the general soldier of Jiangxi.

In mid-May, winter wheat harvest has begun.

"Don't trample the crops!" This was the first order given by Li Ruolian.

Brothers Li Ruolian and Li Ruogui are both well-known upright officials. However, the capital for being an upright official is that his family is well off, and his ancestors have occupied a lot of military land. Before his younger brother passed the Jinshi examination, he sold hundreds of acres of land at once due to lack of money.

"Zaixin Gong!"

After arriving at the dock and boarding the ship, Governor Li Maofang and his minister Wang Siren took the initiative to come over and pay their respects.

Li Ruolian returned the favor with a cupped hand. Although they were unlucky in everything, there was one thing that went well for them. That is, Chongzhen withdrew the eunuchs last year, but has not sent them back yet, so there is no need to listen to the eunuchs from the prison army messing around.

The three men joined forces, with tens of thousands of infantry, and thousands of civilians were recruited.

Wang Siren's navy could not accommodate so many people, so they could only use boats to carry food and grass forward, while the soldiers followed the boats on the shore.

The farmers who were harvesting wheat were so frightened that they hid far away when they saw the officers and soldiers arriving, and then looked at these people with resentful eyes.

The three of them combined to train tens of thousands of troops, and at the beginning of the year they had lost more than three thousand, so they quickly made up for the difference with emergency recruitment. How much money will this cost? Jiangxi's Third Division not only had to provide military pay, but also deduct taxes from the imperial court, so they could only intensify their exploitation of the people and imposed more than a dozen types of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.

Marching all the way south, these officers and soldiers had no time to rob the people because they were in a hurry.

Ten days later, we arrived at Linjiang Fucheng.

(The previous article is incorrect. Linjiang Fucheng is not in Fengcheng City, but in Linjiang Town, Zhangshu City in later generations, sandwiched between Yuan River and Ganjiang River. Zhao Han must attack Linjiang Fucheng first before he can occupy Zhangshu Town. But he is wrong about so many things. Chapter, the main plot cannot be modified, we can only assume that Zhangshu Town is ten miles south of Linjiang Fucheng. The real situation is just the opposite, please don’t take it seriously.)

"I've met Li Fushuai, I've met Mr. Li, I've met Wang Qianshi."

The prefect, He Tianqu, led officials at the prefecture and county levels out of the city to welcome the arrival of the army. In order to save his life, he also respected the commander-in-chief Li Ruolian regardless of the difference between civil and military forces.

Li Maofang asked: "What are the movements of Zhao Thief?"

He Tianqu replied: "The Zhao thieves camped on the other side of the river ten miles away, blocking any passing ships. It is impossible to find out the news for the time being."

"Commander Fu, set up camp first and then send spies." Wang Siren said.

Li Maofang nodded and said, "Okay, let's set up camp first."

He Tianqu said: "A few people came from afar and held a banquet here to welcome you."

Wang Siren frowned and said, "It's important to set up camp first."

As a result, Wang Siren was responsible for setting up camp, and Li Maofang and Li Ruolian were invited into the city to eat and drink.

This kind of eating and drinking is also necessary to get closer to each other, otherwise it will be difficult to cooperate in the next war.

The two sides set up camp ten miles across the river. Together with civilians, sailors and local warriors, the total number of officers and soldiers was more than 18,000.

On Zhao Han's side, the navy and the baggage team only numbered less than four thousand.

The next day.

Wang Siren personally led the navy southward, with more than 40 large and small warships.

As for Zhao Han's navy, there are only more than thirty large and small ships. More than ten of them followed Fei Ruhe to the west, and could only temporarily avoid the sharp edge when facing the officers and soldiers of the navy.

Before Wang Siren arrived at the mouth of the river, he ordered the navy to stop. He dared not move forward for fear of being ambushed. If the rebel naval forces attack from both sides of the Gan River and Yuan River, his navy will be surrounded.

Standing on the bow of the ship, Wang Siren personally observed the enemy's situation, but the enemy camp stretched for two or three miles, with flags everywhere, and it was impossible to tell how many people were inside.

Zhao Han did not dare to send sailors to inquire about the enemy's situation, so he sent his only sentry to watch the officers and soldiers' camps across the river.

It's very pitiful that Zhao Han has been rebelling for so long and only has six horses under his command.

On the other hand, when those northwest bandits set up an ambush to kill Cao Wenzhao this year, they directly dispatched tens of thousands of cavalry (historical records record that the bandits and cavalry were tens of thousands).

Zhao Han's six horses were very precious and he took good care of them. One of the mare's horses was pregnant and was left in Fucheng without being brought out.

The five sentries rushed to the river and looked at the officers and soldiers' camps across the river. They also couldn't see what was going on.

Both sides were caught blind, but the officers and soldiers took the initiative because Wang Siren's navy was more powerful.

However, Zhao Han occupied a favorable terrain, and Wang Siren's navy did not dare to cross the river mouth, so they could only wait for the opportunity for the time being.

The two sides began to confront each other, sending small groups of elites to each other to test each other's strength.

Two days later, Fei Ruhe led his troops back for reinforcements, leaving 500 Anfu soldiers in Fenyi County and Xinyu County each to guard the city.

Zhao Han's infantry suddenly exceeded 5,000. Although 1,500 of them were Luling peasant soldiers, their combat effectiveness was definitely more powerful than that of officers and soldiers.

After persisting like this for half a month, the summer harvest has entered the busiest season.

Unable to guarantee safety, missionary groups, farmers' associations and grassroots officials simply divided their fields in the newly occupied Xingan County. The tenants in Xiajiang County next door took the opportunity to revolt. Not only did they seize the county seat, they also came to ask the missionary team to take charge of the work of dividing the fields.

Xingan and Xiajiang counties are mountainous, and only the land next to the Ganjiang River is relatively fertile. Most of them are remote and remote areas.

Zhao Han was not in a hurry, so he simply captured these two counties and divided the fields during the summer harvest.

As for Xinyu and Fenyi counties, which own iron ore, they only occupy the county seat for the time being, because the people from the fields cannot get through and are easily attacked by the navy when they go north.

…

The confrontation lasted for one month, and the summer harvest was over.

Li Maofang ordered He Tianqu, the prefect of Linjiang, to immediately go to the countryside to collect grain on the grounds that there was insufficient military rations.

After all, Linjiang Prefecture only had three counties: Qingjiang, Xingan, and Xiajiang. Zhao Han now occupied two and a half, and He Tianqu only had half of the county under his actual control.

Linjiang Prefecture is not a major grain producer. It was upgraded to a prefecture purely based on commercial taxes. It can only be regarded as a state in other places!

Li Maofang also asked Fengcheng County in the north to send food. If there was no food, he would give money directly.

We need to suppress bandits, and we also need to make money.

Historically, Li Maofang should have been the governor of Shandong at this time. There were White Lotus cultists inside and Tatars watching outside. Under such circumstances, this guy dared to make money by suppressing bandits. By the time he eliminated the Shandong White Lotus cult bandits, he had already made tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Linjiang Magistrate and Fengcheng County Magistrate were greatly troubled by Li Maofang.

However, the rebels were suppressing the territory, so they could only exploit the gentry, merchants and farmers, and obediently send money and food to Li Maofang.

In the northern part of Qingjiang County, two thousand officers and soldiers were divided into several groups and went to the countryside in person to collect grain.

"Open the door, open the door!"

The door of a wealthy household was knocked open, and the leading officer scolded: "It is of great importance to appease the commander and suppress the bandits. Please immediately hand over 200 shi of grain and 100 taels of silver for military expenses!"

The squire of the household defended himself: "In order to suppress bandits, we have already apportioned twice this year. Why do we need to apportion so much again?"

"This family is secretly working with bandits, come in quickly and search for the rebels!" the officer shouted.

"Master, calm down, sir, calm down, I will go and raise food and grass now." The squire was so frightened that he quickly begged for mercy.

Not only did he have to give money, but he also had to organize his own manpower to deliver the money and food to the military camp outside Linjiang Prefecture.

The officers and soldiers were quite polite to the gentry, but there was no bottom line when it came to the common people.

In the evening, I stayed at a farmer's house and saw a beautiful girl and daughter-in-law. I broke into the boudoir and did whatever I wanted. Within a few days, more than ten women from good families committed suicide, causing widespread resentment in neighboring villages.

Li Ruolian, the commander-in-chief, and Wang Siren, the general officer, went together to see Li Maofang.

"Governor Li, are you here to suppress bandits, or are you here to disturb and harm the people?" Li Ruolian scolded angrily.

A military general angrily rebuked the civil servants for being too cruel...

Li Maofang explained with a smile: "We don't know when the bandits will be wiped out. The officers and soldiers do not have enough rations, so we must raise them early."

Wang Siren said angrily: "Where is the military ration not enough? It is enough to last for another two or three months!"

"Two or three months are not enough, we need to raise at least half a year's food and salary," Li Maofang said with a smile, "Don't worry, everyone, someone is here, take the box out!"

Two wooden boxes were brought out, each containing a thousand taels of silver.

"Shameless!"

Wang Siren cursed and turned around to leave.

Li Ruolian's hands were shaking with anger, and he wanted to kill the governor with a knife.

Neither of them took money. After they left, Li Maofang sneered and said to herself: "Why are you pretending to be incorruptible? Where do you get the food and salary for your military training? Isn't it from the private sector? Are you incorruptible without doing it by your own hands?"

Li Maofang began to send money to civil and military officials. From the Linjiang prefecture to the Qingjiang prefecture, to the generals under Li Ruolian and Wang Siren, they were all fed by his money.

As a result, everyone wholeheartedly supported Li Maofang and devoted their main energy to making money.

Anyway, the confrontation lasted for a month. If the rebels dared to attack, they would have already attacked. Since the rebels don't dare to come over, and I don't dare to go over here, why not take the opportunity to make more money?

On the other hand, Li Ruolian and Wang Siren, two honest officials, were isolated by all officials, as if they were abnormal.

Wang Siren secretly found Li Ruolian: "Headquarters, we can't continue like this, otherwise we will lose the morale of the military and the people!"

Li Ruolian asked: "You have been working with him to suppress bandits for a year. This has never happened before?"

"Well, he did it before," Wang Siren sighed. "When we were suppressing bandits in Duchang County, he sent troops to plunder everywhere. I could only turn a blind eye. But now, the rebel army is only ten miles away." On the other side of the country, big trouble will happen if he does this!"

"What are you going to do?" Li Ruolian asked.

Wang Siren said: "The Zhao thieves in Luling are treacherous. They have not moved troops after a month of confrontation. They must have ambushes in Ganjiang River and Yuanhe River. If our navy dares to cross the river mouth, it will definitely be attacked from two sides, most likely with a large number of small boats. Carry out a fire attack. The navy cannot move, and the terrain is unfavorable to our army. My original intention was to send elite troops to go south by land and sneak attack Xingan County City occupied by the rebels. However, I sent out sentries several times, and there were rebels along the river and at the mountain pass. There is no way to sneak around the checkpoint."

"If a sneak attack fails, how can we fight?" Li Ruolian had no battlefield experience.

Wang Siren said: "Cross the river and fight the rebels openly. We have an army of more than ten thousand, and I have also trained 500 archers. It may be possible to win the battle. We cannot waste time here, my generals Military discipline has been broken, and in the past two days, he has led his troops to plunder the people."

This is especially true for Li Ruolian's subordinates, who were originally recruited temporarily as commanders, thousands of households, or hundreds of households. These guys have never fought in any wars, but they are good at exploiting military households. Now they have been completely exposed by Li Maofang.

"Can we attack the enemy camp at night?" Li Ruolian asked.

Wang Siren shook his head and said: "It's useless, there are too many enemy sentry posts. The last time I led troops to attack at night, we were still three miles away from the enemy camp, and the bandits' sentry blew the suona."

"Then fight!" Li Ruolian clenched his fists.

In fact, Zhao Han's military rations are almost exhausted. They can last for a month at most. If they continue to delay, they will have to re-transport the rations.

But Governor Li Maofang gave a divine assist, and military discipline deteriorated to the point where Li Ruolian and Wang Siren could not tolerate it, forcing the two to engage in a decisive battle in advance.

This place is ridiculous, it's either mountains or water, and both sides' troops are stretched thin. As long as they send more sentries to guard against sneak attacks, no matter how awesome the commander is, he won't be able to do anything good.

You can only be tough with the front!

And even if it is forceful, the officers and soldiers must take the initiative to cross the river.

Because Zhao Han's navy was not strong, he did not dare to cross the river and engage in a decisive battle with the officers and soldiers, for fear of being defeated by the officers and soldiers on the river. We can only prepare more warships and fireships based on the terrain where the two rivers meet, and surround the navy that dares to cross the river mouth.

Li Ruolian and Wang Siren approached Li Maofang and proposed a plan to cross the river for a decisive battle, and they immediately quarreled with Li Maofang.

Li Maofang hasn’t earned enough money yet...