Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Taihu Lake is a vast expanse of blue water.

After the rain, the sky is as blue as white, with white clouds floating overhead. From time to time, a few dragonflies fly across the water, making an occasional "buzz, buzz" sound.

On this beautiful and peaceful lake, the reeds grew extremely luxuriantly, and the water turned a corner from the tributary. Following the waves, more than ten cargo ships suddenly arrived. They lined up in a long line and slowly walked along the reeds. Driving forward, the speed is not very fast. If you look at it from a distance on the shore, it looks like it is crawling at a snail.

These ships are not huge in size, but each cargo hold is filled with cargo, and there is a lot of cargo stacked on the deck, which looks extremely spectacular.

The last cargo ship didn't contain much cargo at the moment, but it was full of people.

They are either tall and burly, or thin and strong; some have dark skin, or have sallow complexions...

In short, these people of different shapes are gathered in the cabin. They look very strange, but they are generally wearing shorts and have a menacing attitude. You can tell at a glance that they are not easy to mess with.

Moreover, judging from their positions at this moment and the weapons worn on their waists, it further proves the identity of this group of people.

White Lotus rebels.

However, the White Lotus Sect rebels are also a mixed bag, and all the hills in the green forest of Jiangnan are participating. It can be said that heroes from all walks of life "participate in the grand event."

"Boss, do you think this errand can be done?" a shirtless man asked the man sitting at the head.

Under the gaze of everyone, the man called "Boss" narrowed his eyes slightly and showed a dangerous look: "Hey, if we can do it properly, we have to think about our retreat. I think this White Lotus Sect will last for a long time." No."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone suddenly fell into tacit silence.

Ding Xiaohong curled his neck and squatted on a loading box, with a short knife on his waist.

Speaking of which, he was a bit unlucky.

That day when the Imperial Guard was praying for rain, he was the only one among the test pilots who had parachuted that was not found. The reason was also very simple. The landing position of his parachute was not good and he was washed away by the river.

After this rush, I don't know where it drifted to. It might be Changzhou Prefecture or Suzhou Prefecture.

Anyway, he was finally picked up.

Coincidentally, the person who picked him up was none other than a distant uncle of his. This uncle was involved in some half-black and half-white water business and had little contact with his family. But now that he met Ding Xiaohong, But I am very happy.

Ding Xiaohong looked at the group of shirtless strong men around him, and naturally he didn't dare to say why he was here, but his father was a craftsman, so he couldn't hide it, so he made up a lie and fooled him.

Ding Xiaohong's uncle knew that he had lied and didn't care. At that time, the White Lotus Sect was rising up and inciting a civil uprising. Naturally, they, a group of people in the world, wanted to get involved to gain votes.

So he took Ding Xiaohong on the boat to recuperate. As for Ding Xiaohong's life experience, he naturally kept it from others. After all, the Ding family was a craftsman who worked for the royal family in Nanjing. They were different from these miserable sailors. They only said that they were distant relatives. Relatives will do.

Ding Xiaohong's fate changed in this way. Although Ding Xiaohong was hiding here during this period, he was not completely ignorant of news from the outside world, such as the affairs of the White Lotus Sect.

The momentum of the White Lotus Sect has risen rapidly. This uprising is more like the general outbreak of conflicts in the past four years of Jianwen. Years of floods, continuous corvee levies due to the Jingnan War, and more and more food needs to be paid. All these factors made the White Lotus Sect uprising become the trigger.

But it is obvious that the White Lotus does not have the ability to organize and maintain an uprising of more than 100,000 people.

From beginning to end, this uprising that broke out in the first year of Yongle was full of speculation and games among various forces. The White Lotus Sect was more like a "martial arts leader" than a true leader who could control all the forces of his subordinates. Refers to the leadership organization.

Therefore, when the White Lotus Sect showed obvious decline, it was not surprising that these heroes from all walks of life who participated in it with a speculative mentality were thinking of self-preservation and retreat.

"Boss, let's run too and carry the sand back and forth. Isn't this just trying to make a fool of ourselves?"

"Don't you understand? This is the same strategy as the one in the script where Dong Zhuo went to Beijing and ordered the Liangzhou army to go out at night and come in during the day, pretending to be powerful."

"What can you do if you don't understand? No food means no food. Those people who are being held hostage don't recognize this."

Having said that, the man actually stabbed the bags directly with his knife. However, the bags that were supposed to contain grain only gurgled yellow coarse-grained river sand from the cut openings.

Obviously, this is a strategy used by the White Lotus Sect to stabilize the morale of the military.

But relying solely on "The Heroes of the Three Kingdoms" to fight the war has a high probability that you will not be able to win.

Especially when their opponent is the Ming army who is brave and good at fighting and is at the peak of its overall combat effectiveness.

In the previous battles, even if they had the advantage in numbers, they could face the Ming army, and they were often routed into rout over the mountains and plains in less than a moment's notice. This was even when the Ming army was unable to use firearms and crossbows due to heavy rain. .

The White Lotus Sect had to quickly shrink to the periphery of Taihu Lake, hold on along various water and land villages, and lengthen the Ming army's food route before they could manage to persevere.

But now as the weather has cleared up, the Ming army's food has also begun to be transported up from the Wusong River by the imperial master. Anyone with a discerning eye can see the difference between the victory and defeat of the two sides.

"If you ask me, we must escape from this place of right and wrong as soon as possible to avoid losing our lives." Someone else echoed.

Ding Xiaohong frowned as he listened.

The White Lotus Sect is now on guard against all major and minor forces in the rebel army.

For example, the task of transporting grain (river sand) was not done by one of them at all, but by several groups supervising each other.

Ding Xiaohong's uncle was only the leader of one of the groups, and was named a nominal leader in the White Lotus Sect.

My uncle also knew that nothing could be decided at the moment, so he clapped his hands and said, "Okay, all we have to do is be wise."

"Okay."

Seeing that it would take a while for the ship to dock, these rude men gathered together and had to talk, so the topic naturally turned to something that everyone was interested in.

"Hey, I heard that the saints of the White Lotus Sect were all captured by the imperial master of the Ming Dynasty. I heard that the saints are quite beautiful, hehe."

"true and false?!"

As soon as these words came out, the people around him immediately aroused voices of surprise, envy, and jealousy.

Although they are not the authentic White Lotus sect, they also know that the saint is second only to the leader.

Holy girl of the White Lotus Sect!

That is a big shot that can only be seen from a distance. How many White Lotus believers want to see their true appearance in their dreams. If one day they really have the opportunity in their imagination, for these vulgar men, even if they die immediately, it will be worth it!

"Hey, what do you think? It is said"

As soon as these words came out, the people around him once again let out bursts of sighs, as if they had already imagined how they would pity this delicate white lotus if it were them!

While they were talking and laughing here, sailors from several other ships came over to report.

"Boss, the waters ahead don't seem to be very calm. The Qinglong Gang's boat is there. Do you want to speed up and dock?"

As soon as these words came out, my uncle frowned.

"What's going on? They're not in the north, why are they here?"

The Qinglong Gang's home base is built on a large island, and they usually make a living by robbing fishing villages and small towns along the coast.

His gang, Zhang Long, has seven to eight hundred brothers, all of whom are water bandits from poor backgrounds, and they all fight bravely.

In the area near Taihu Lake, the Qinglong Gang has become notorious in recent years. Not to mention ordinary fishermen who dare not provoke them, even the soldiers stationed in the local guard station hate them deeply.

The reason... is naturally that what they did was too ruthless.

Two years ago, in the third year of Jianwen, the daughter of a local wealthy family was kidnapped by the Qinglong Gang. The Qinglong Gang demanded a huge ransom and could not report it to the officials. As a result, the wealthy family paid the ransom, but what they got was a corpse. A ruined corpse.

The wealthy family was so angry that they went to the county government to argue and asked the county magistrate to send troops to exterminate this group of water thieves, but they were refused.

As a result, the news that the rich man had gone to the county government reached the ears of the Qinglong Gang. Not long after the rich man returned home, what was waiting for him was that the swordsmen of the Qinglong Gang hacked him to death.

After the rich man died, all his property fell into the hands of water thieves, and the water thieves took the opportunity to smash many shops and burn down countless houses, making the whole town full of resentment.

But at that time, all the military and civilian forces in Jiangnan were sent to the front line. The government was unable to suppress the local government and could only turn a blind eye.

Therefore, in the area near Taihu Lake, the reputation of Qinglong Village has long been spread throughout the country, and even ordinary green forest heroes will become pale when they mention it.

"I can't tell clearly. It seems like you are here for a meeting in the military?"

When he heard that the White Lotus Sect was about to hold a meeting, Ding Xiaohong, who had just been in a daze, had an idea and persuaded:

"Uncle, this is the time when all forces are on alert. It's always good to be cautious."

The uncle hesitated for a moment and then said: "What Xiao Hong said makes sense, so let's dock first."

"yes."

The fleet slowly bypassed the Qinglong Gang's ship and soon headed for the nearby island.

Not long after, Ding Xiaohong's eyes shifted to the window.

The cargo ship happened to be docked on a small island by the lake, and they were docking near the dock.

The lake breeze blew by, blowing away the messy hair on Ding Xiaohong's forehead, making him feel a bit cool, but this did not alleviate the irritability in his heart at all.

Ding Xiaohong is not a peaceful person. He is young enough and full of enthusiasm for life. He does not want to be a craftsman with a low status like his father and ancestors all his life. He also wants to be an official.

There is no need to criticize this. In this era, being an official is the most desirable way out for all classes.

The state master's attitude of attaching great importance to and rewarding craftsmen made Ding Xiaohong seem to see a gap gradually opening up from the originally closed path of life, and there was a brand new future in it.

The test pilot's participation in flying to pray for rain was enough for him to touch this gap, but Ding Xiaohong knew that he had done no more than Huo Fei and others.

Ding Xiaohong is convinced that the national master is a very fair person who treats his subordinates.

As much merit as you make, the Imperial Master will give you as many rewards as you can.

And he needs more credit to make the Ding family proud.

Now is a unique opportunity.

"It would be great if I could obtain some important information about the White Lotus Sect and pass it on to the National Advisors who have arrived at the front line. But how can I obtain information that is important enough for me to be promoted?"

Ding Xiaohong set his sights on his uncle.

His uncle is the leader of the White Lotus Sect, maybe there will be some opportunities? But how to have a showdown with my uncle?

Ding Xiaohong was a little confused. Of course his uncle knew his identity as a craftsman of the War Bureau, but he didn't know his identity as a test pilot.

While Ding Xiaohong was thinking about it, these sailors carried bags of "food" one after another to the dock and transported them up.

Suddenly, there was a dispute in the distance.

People from the Qinglong Gang were also near the dock, but they seemed to have had a conflict with someone.

Ding Xiaohong jumped off the boat and walked up to watch.

Soon, Ding Xiaohong knew why the Qinglong Gang appeared here. Not only because their gang leader Zhang Long came to the army for a meeting, but also because they were one of the gangs that was most capable of dealing with the people who had been abducted. one.

The swordsmen of the Qinglong Gang were slashing and killing the helpless people crazily.

In this era, human life is like a piece of grass.

What's even more frightening is that the Qinglong Gang actually crowded these people together, and the common people who just heard that "there is a steady stream of military rations arriving at the dock every day" pushed them into the water!

At this time, the people had lost their ability to resist and allowed themselves to be bullied by the Qinglong Gang.

An old woman fell in a pool of blood, while her daughter and grandson were crying and kneeling beside her, begging the Qinglong Gang to let her go, but what she got in return was these scum grinning and stretching out their butcher knives.

"stop!"

Ding Xiaohong was so anxious that he didn't care that he had run so far away. He was a bit weak at this moment, so he shouted unbearably.

"Who?! Who dares to meddle in other people's business!" Upon hearing the noise, the people from the Qinglong Gang immediately turned around.

The people from the Qinglong Gang looked at Ding Xiaohong one after another. Ding Xiaohong couldn't help but feel a little panicked when he looked at these ferocious guys. After all, he was just an ordinary craftsman, not a strong general at all. It was difficult to fight one on one, let alone so many people on the other side.

"You're so bold! You're teaching our Qinglong Gang how to do things, who are you?"

The strong man at the head yelled: "Chop him into pieces and feed him to the fish!"

One of the bald men sneered and walked towards Ding Xiaohong.

"I take it you want to die?"

The other swordsman smiled ferociously, and the two of them pushed towards Ding Xiaohong, one from the left and the other from the right.

"roll!"

Seeing the two approaching, Ding Xiaohong roared and drew his knife to block the attack.

However, two short blades slashed towards his shoulders from both sides, immediately tearing his clothes apart.

"Hiss-"

Ding Xiaohong took a breath, and blood flowed out, staining his clothes red, but he didn't cry out in pain.

"Haha, quite tough."

The bald man smiled, then raised his foot and kicked Ding Xiaohong.

There was a muffled "bang" sound, and Ding Xiaohong was kicked hard in the belly. He stumbled backwards and fell on the wooden board a few meters away.

After spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, Ding Xiaohong felt extremely painful all over his body and could no longer get up.

Seeing Ding Xiaohong lying on the ground, two swordsmen from the Qinglong Gang stepped forward with interest and planned to kill him slowly.

At this moment, a burst of rapid footsteps sounded.

Immediately afterwards, another group of people ran over, and the leader was Ding Xiaohong's uncle.

Both sides drew their knives and started a brief confrontation not far from the dock.

When he saw the two swordsmen from the Qinglong Gang and Ding Xiaohong's injured appearance, Ding Xiaohong's uncle's face became extremely gloomy.

"Xiaohong..." Ding Xiaohong's uncle shouted through gritted teeth.

This call contained both blame for causing trouble for him and anger out of necessity.

They are all from the green forest. Although the Qinglong Gang has a reputation of being a bit vicious, at this time, my family has been hacked and I cannot lose face no matter what. Otherwise, my own relatives will not be able to protect me. Who would dare to follow you? They might as well join the Qinglong Gang.

The uncle turned to the two swordsmen and said: "Cut off one of your fingers, and I can forget about today's incident. Otherwise, don't blame me for taking your lives!"

"Haha, what a joke!"

"Old guy, are you worthy of threatening us?"

The swordsmen of the Qinglong Gang laughed unscrupulously: "For the sake of the White Lotus Sect's rules against fighting, take your people and get out of here. Otherwise, if you dare to take action, I will let you know what it means later." Life is worse than death.”

The people from the Qinglong Gang were full of contempt and ridicule, and they didn't take Ding Xiaohong and the others seriously at all.

Ding Xiaohong's uncle took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"careful!"

Ding Xiaohong, who was lying on the ground, suddenly roared loudly at this time.

The uncle was startled, but did not notice any sneak attack by the Qinglong Gang. However, he looked in the direction of Ding Xiaohong's eyes and saw who Ding Xiaohong was reminding.

A hungry, dizzy child struggled to crawl past the old woman's body and onto the "grain" bag they had brought up.

He was so hungry.

The White Lotus Sect didn't care about the life and death of the people who were being held hostage. When the rebellion first started, there was plenty of food, and the people could still have some porridge to survive. It was this porridge that made so many people willing to follow the White Lotus Sect to rebel.

However, as the situation worsened, the White Lotus Sect soon stopped caring about food, and the people could only fend for themselves.

At this time, even if the people wanted to escape, they had no chance.

The child, with blood stains all the way, finally used the gravel in his hand to open the "grain" bag.

His eyes sparkled with hope.

It seems that in the next moment, delicious rice will flow out of the bag.

However, what he has to face is endless despair.

There wasn't a grain of grain in the bag.

Some are just yellow sand.

All the people who were waiting for food were shocked when they saw this scene.

Only then did they realize that the "food" that the White Lotus Sect had been promoting as being shipped from the rear and about to be distributed was actually river sand!

The last hope of the people was shattered.

But the child poked holes in the emperor's new clothes, and the Qinglong swordsman was so angry that he was about to chop him down with his sword.

At this moment, as another voice sounded, everyone stopped their movements in unison, including the Qinglong Gang swordsman who was about to slash with his sword.

In the distant camp of the Ming army, seven or eight huge "Kongming lanterns" rose up and were flying rapidly in their direction with the wind!

The White Lotus Sect entrants are not fools. Of course they know that this thing is the magic weapon used by the national master to pray for rain.

It is precisely for this reason that these fearless Qinglong Gang swordsmen are quite afraid of the abilities of the Ming Dynasty Master Jiang Xinghuo, which is rumored among the people.

"What are these things for?"

"Is it possible to use the Mingting Imperial Master's talisman to lower thunder spells to attack us?"

"Can they hear us?"

"Disperse quickly! Hide!"

"You can't be watched by them, otherwise you will be cursed!"

The swordsmen of the Qinglong Gang, who had been arrogant just now, now ran away like a group of children who had done something bad and been discovered by adults.

Obviously, for these Jianghu men who are not afraid of bloodshed but afraid of ghosts and gods, things with strange power and chaos are far more awe-inspiring to them than swords and guns.

The uncle's group also showed the same reaction. The uncle took Ding Xiaohong and hid under the cargo box at the dock.

Ding Xiaohong felt funny and helpless as he looked at these sailors running around, even daring not to breathe loudly.

"Uncle, don't worry, we can't be heard from above." Ding Xiaohong said in a low voice.

"Is this true?" my uncle asked in surprise.

"Really." Ding Xiaohong said confidently, "And from above, we are just a dot the size of an ant, we can't even see clearly."

"But."

"Uncle, you don't believe me?"

Ding Xiaohong almost slipped out that he had been on a hot air balloon, but luckily he was alert and kept his mouth shut.

However, his uncle scolded him, causing Ding Xiaohong's wound that had just been simply bandaged with a strip of cloth to start bleeding again, but Ding Xiaohong couldn't care less. He looked up with difficulty following his uncle's fingers.

However, they discovered that seven or eight Ming army hot air balloons were flying lower and lower!

Like snowflakes, a lot of documents fell from the hot air balloon.

A piece of paper happened to fall into the hands of Ding Xiaohong and his uncle.

Looking at the document written in medium font, my uncle was quite scratching his head: "Xiao Hong, you went to a private school, please read it to my uncle."

Ding Xiaohong took the document and took a quick glance at it. Before he could speak, he suddenly heard a voice coming from above.

In the air two to three hundred steps above the ground, several loud-voiced soldiers on the hot air balloon were shouting in unison with tin trumpets.

"Holy Maiden Tang Yin, inform all White Lotus believers that leader Bai Yu is dead."

Yes, Ding Xiaohong doesn’t need to read it now.

On the ground, everyone in the White Lotus Sect's chessboard camp on the Taihu front line, even if they were illiterate, could understand what was written in this document.

Inside the military tent, several helmsmen led by the White Lotus Sect hurried out.

"Where are the archers? Shoot this thing down from the sky!"

Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers of the White Lotus Sect's main force all looked embarrassed.

"Helmsman, it's not that I haven't tried it before, but the bow and arrow couldn't even reach half the distance, and it fell down!"

"Where's the crossbow?"

The helmsman was almost furious. He gave the soldier who reported the report a slap in the face and shouted: "Lift the crossbow!"

But the bed crossbow is not an 88-meter cannon that can be used as a high-level weapon or an anti-aircraft weapon. It is still too advanced for this era.

By the time they tried their best to get the bed crossbow onto the mound, the theoretical shooting angle was enough, but the hot air balloon had already flown out of the bed crossbow's shooting range.

The helmsmen led by the White Lotus Sect could only watch helplessly as the Ming army's psychological warfare progressed smoothly.

Of course they know what terrible consequences this will bring!

Naturally, there are some untrue statements. For example, the leader of the church, Bai Yu, is dead. But psychological warfare is like this. It is very difficult to prove falsification. You can't just cut open your stomach when you meet someone and let people see what you have eaten. Several bowls of powder.

What's more, Bai Tianyu is not on the front line of Taihu Lake, so there is no way to prove it.

Whether the leader is dead or in hiding, he cannot stay with the army that is about to be in danger. This is a very, very demoralizing thing.

"This Jiang Xinghuo is really vicious!"

Everyone in the White Lotus Sect was almost furious.

"It's false to spread such rumors, but we can't prove it. I'm afraid the morale of the people below can't be maintained!"

A fat old man, with a face full of eagerness: "How come we have so many good men, why are we still trapped in this place where birds don't shit? Damn it, those people from the green forest know how to get paid, and they want to be paid." During the war, everyone kept their heads down and acted like turtles. It’s all right now. The master of the Ming Dynasty, who has great magical powers, has arrived. Let’s all wait to be executed by the court!”

"Yes, why don't we discuss it with the elders and let us spread out, break through the siege, and escape!"

Another middle-aged man next to him sighed.

"This is extremely true. If you keep the green hills, you won't have to worry about running out of firewood."

"Shut up, everyone!"

A burly helmsman wearing armor snorted coldly: "I'm going to find the elders, whether to leave or stay, and hold a military discussion to resolve it. What can we decide here after all the talk?"

Everyone was relieved to see someone willing to take the lead.

There was originally going to be a meeting, but the level was a little higher. Only those with the "rudder" level of Qinglong Gang Zhang Long could participate, but now they had to hold an expanded meeting.

Another person said: "Jiang Xinghuo used a scheming trick this time. We must deal with it. Otherwise, if we delay it any longer, our morale will be destroyed."

"Not bad." The fat old man just now said, "In addition, we must try our best to collect the documents dropped by the Ming army and make gestures. We must cheer up."

The several helmsmen who should collect the documents should collect the documents, and those who should arrange the defenses should arrange the defenses, and the news of summoning the entire army of hall masters and green forest/gang leaders above was also notified.

The brief conflict on the dock was completely resolved with Jiang Xinghuo's announcement.

Everyone realized that the arrival of National Advisor Jiang Xinghuo and the psychological battle that was being conducted as a prelude today meant that the Ming army's general attack was about to begin.

These different forces all bear the name of the White Lotus Sect, but they were originally put together temporarily.

After realizing this, Xiao Jiujiu, who had been buried in his heart, naturally began to sprout. As expected, trouble would soon occur within the White Lotus Sect.

In the camp.

"Why do you have to come with me?"

The uncle looked at Ding Xiaohong, whose shoulders were still wrapped in cloth, in surprise.

Of course, the hall master does not go alone when holding a military meeting.

Just kidding, without guys and manpower, who can trust anyone? What if someone cuts him to pieces during a military meeting, or hijacks and annexes his tribe?

Therefore, the hall leaders can bring their elite men with them. This is also a rule within the White Lotus Sect rebels.

Although theoretically speaking, if everyone is carrying a knife and a person, it means that no one is carrying anything. However, if you have some things, you have them, and if you don’t have them, you don’t have them. They cannot be subtracted by the same method.

But Ding Xiaohong looked like he couldn't fight, and he was injured. Taking him there wouldn't be an obvious burden.

However, Ding Xiaohong pulled his uncle's sleeve and motioned him to come inside the tent to talk.

The uncle seemed to have thought of something and obeyed him.

Not long after, the two of them finished their secret conversation, and when they came out, my uncle's state of mind, which had just been absent, was much calmer.

"Xiaohong. I leave the wealth and lives of these brothers to you!" The uncle patted Ding Xiaohong on the back eagerly.

Ding Xiaohong nodded and said affirmatively: "Uncle, don't worry, the Imperial Master has always made clear rewards and punishments. We have not done anything evil. If we can get the result of the White Lotus Religion's military meeting, we can send it to the Imperial Master and then defect to welcome the king." Master, the national master will definitely not be stingy with rewards!"

The uncle nodded, feeling completely at peace.

He took Ding Xiaohong and several agile brothers, armed with knives, to the tent where the White Lotus Sect's military meeting was held.

However, as soon as they entered the big tent, they realized that something was obviously wrong with the atmosphere.

An old man was sitting silently at the head, looking at everyone who came in.

PS: [Important reminder (there is no charge for this content)] Chapters 316 to 356 are about the rectification of officialdom and the suppression of rebellions in Jiangnan. They do not contain any theoretical knowledge. They are all practical content. If you are not interested, you can jump directly to Chapter 366. "Class" will contain theoretical knowledge content from now on.