Chapter 310: Rebellion
Chapter 310: Rebellion
On the Wuguan Road, groups of refugees entered Nanyang.
The refugees had sad faces, confused eyes and mournful expressions.
Take a closer look at their clothes. Even though they are stained after a long journey, you can still vaguely see the exquisite materials and fine workmanship.
These so-called refugees may have once been powerful people, but it is shocking that they have fallen to this state.
Just as it is not easy for the refugees to survive until now, it is even more difficult for the powerful people in Guanzhong who have been able to hold on until now and then become ruined.
How many years has Guanzhong been hit by disasters? How many years has it been in war?
People without any skills wouldn’t be alive today.
A powerful person who has only a few followers would not have survived until now.
The commanders, powerful men and scholars who were unable to fight with their troops would not have survived to the present day.
The situation faced by the powerful people in Guanzhong is much more complicated than that in Henan and Hebei.
Qiang and Hu tribes were everywhere, fighting and looting at any time. Over the past ten years, a large number of fierce and cruel warriors who dared to fight and fight were trained. They lived in groups and cultivated their own crops.
But life in Guanzhong was also very bitter.
When other places suffer from disasters, Guanzhong will definitely be affected.
When other places are enjoying good weather and harvests, Guanzhong may not be immune to disasters.
Three years before the Yongjia period, the scholars and powerful people in Guanzhong were already having a hard time holding on. Three years of severe drought and four years of locust plagues dealt a heavy blow to many of them. The balance that they had been struggling to maintain was broken, and no matter how hard they tried, there was no way out.
Looking around, all the forts are defending themselves with their doors closed. They dare to fight with you for a little bit of food. Besides, everyone knows each other well. Don't I know what your assets are?
As a result, another wave of refugees split into two routes, one went through Hongnong to Henan, and the other went through Wugu Pass to Nanyang, begging for food.
Wherever the refugees passed, smaller fort walls were directly breached by them, and men, women, old and young were either taken away by them or disappeared without a trace.
For hundreds of miles along the Wuguan Road, the ground was littered with starving people, and the smoke-filled villages were in ruins, looking like a ghost town.
"Don't come anymore. The corrupt official ordered us to go back." The refugees who entered Shunyang County from Wuguan could not walk anymore. They just sat down to rest when they heard shouting from the front.
The refugees suddenly became agitated, and even faint cries could be heard.
We finally managed to escape death in Guanzhong, but now we are being sent back? Isn't this forcing us to die?
"If I don't want to go back, I'd rather die in Nanyang!" Someone looked at the half-eaten Hu pancake in his hand, thought of the unspeakable things along the way, and his mentality collapsed. He cried out loudly: "Guanzhong suffers from disasters every year, how can I go back?"
"That's right! We won't go back! If anyone forces us to go back, we will fight them!" Someone drew his weapon and said angrily.
"I don't know where tomorrow's food is coming from, so we might as well fight for it now."
"When has the government ever shown mercy to us? Whether you are willing or not, he will force you to go back and wait for death."
"Stop talking nonsense and fight!"
"Go grab the fortress..."
The refugees were quickly agitated, and became excited and angry.
Perhaps the court was really wrong in this matter.
This batch of refugees was different from the previous ones, because there were too many scholars and powerful people mixed in - some refugees were even powerful people who wandered around begging for food with their followers - their organization and incitement were different from the past, and their ability to cause chaos was greatly improved.
Moreover, the refugees from Guanzhong have experienced wars for a long time, are brave and combat-ready, and have strong combat effectiveness. Once they are incited, the destructive power is unimaginable.
******
The news of the Wuguandao refugee riot soon spread to Chengling County, Shunyang County (now Laohekou, Hubei).
When the prefect Yang Man heard this, he knew it was bad.
A few days ago, he had received orders from the governor Wang Cheng and the governor of Wancheng Du Rui to send 3,000 soldiers to escort the refugees in the country back to their hometowns.
Shunyang County and State coexisted.
King Shunyang Sima Chang is in Luoyang, and there are not many soldiers in the local area - even if there are, they have little combat effectiveness. Yang Man has long given up on them.
Yang Man was not only the governor, but also the internal historian of the kingdom. He knew the internal situation of Shunyang County or Shunyang Kingdom very well. The only one thousand county soldiers were also accumulated by him slowly over the past two years.
The order from the governor of Wancheng was to "gather 3,000 soldiers." With no other options, he borrowed 2,000 soldiers from local nobles and powerful men. Now they had just assembled and were ready to set off.
After receiving the news that the refugees were causing chaos, he immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and defend the county city.
"Why are you so timid, brother?" His younger brother Yang Dan, who was in charge of the county soldiers, sneered and said, "My uncles and aunts all laughed at me for not learning the classics, but I love martial arts and have learned the art of archery and horse riding. Now the refugees are rioting, so it's a good time to fight. Brother, let me go, and I will kill all those villains and build a Jingguan."
Yang Man took a deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, and said, "No. You only lead the troops to patrol the city, and you are not allowed to go into battle without permission."
"Brother!" Yang Dan said dissatisfiedly.
"Don't say any more." Yang Man scolded: "If you are not satisfied, I will send you back to the old house right now."
Yang Dan was stunned for a moment, probably a little afraid of being sent back. After mumbling a few words incoherently, he went out.
Outside the yamen, soldiers were running around in a chaotic manner, and the atmosphere of tension was everywhere.
"Get out of the way, don't block the road." He kicked a soldier to the ground and walked towards the barracks angrily.
The soldiers looked at him in fear.
Yang Dan was very strict in his military discipline. No, it can no longer be called strict, but harsh.
If you violate military discipline even slightly, you will be hung up and beaten half to death.
If it’s more serious, beheading will be done directly.
It is up to him to decide whether to kill or not, and he will basically kill without any discussion.
Shunyang had experienced several disturbances in the past, and each time it was Yang Dan who led the troops to suppress them.
When the county soldiers were first formed, their combat effectiveness was extremely poor. Yang Dan relied on the Yang clan's followers and farmhands to suppress the entire army.
This person boasted that Chen Hou Shao Xun had implemented a strict "team-pulling and beheading" system in the army, and the soldiers of Shunyang County had to follow suit. The so-called "team-pulling and beheading" meant that when a team of soldiers lost their leader, all the members of the team would be beheaded without any reason.
The soldiers were indignant, but they did not dare to resist this violent and ruthless man.
Last year, when suppressing the rebellion, a team leader was shot dead by a refugee. Yang Danzhen ordered the remaining thirty soldiers of the team to be tied up, beheaded outside the camp, and hung their heads for public display. In May of this year, there was a locust plague, and some residents in the county rebelled. Yang Dan led his army to suppress the rebellion and defeated them. Because a team leader died in the battle, the soldiers of the team ran away and became bandits, not daring to return to the camp.
This time there was another rebellion by refugees, and the soldiers were in a panic, not knowing whether they would be sent out to quell the rebellion.
If we really have to go to the battlefield, we must risk our own life rather than let the leader of the team die. If we die alone, then all our family members and fellow villagers will not survive. It is better to fight bravely. If we die in battle, we can receive a pension, and our family members and fellow villagers can help take care of our family.
But this Yang Dan also deserves to die!
sunset.
A large number of residents flocked to the outside of Shunyang City, trying to hide in the city to avoid the chaos.
Jingzhou, which had been peaceful for only a few years, was about to fall into chaos.
******
In a fortress outside Rang County, Yiyang Prefecture, the place was filled with distinguished guests, toasting each other.
The commander of the fort, Wang Ru, took out his best wine and meat and entertained the officers who came to urge them to leave the country.
Most of the officers came from Wancheng and were subordinates of Du Rui, the governor of Mianbei. There were more than ten of them in total, with three thousand soldiers, and they were stationed not far away.
After three rounds of drinking, Wang Ru left the table and went to the outer room, using the excuse of going to the toilet.
He first looked around cautiously, then quickened his pace, avoided a drunk customer, greeted another person with a normal expression, and went into the toilet.
After closing the wooden door, he grabbed the top of the toilet with both hands, exerted a little effort, and climbed up directly, then climbed over a wall and entered the backyard.
"Brother."
"Captain."
"Fortmaster."
Everyone gathered around, looking nervous, their hands trembling slightly.
Wang Ru glanced at them.
Those who call him "brother" are naturally his relatives.
The people who called him "Captain" were his subordinates when he was a junior officer in the Jingzhao County.
Those who called him "Fort Lord" were the refugees from Guanzhong.
"What? You were fearless before, but now you are so scared of a rebellion?" Wang Ru chuckled, took a good bow, tried it out, and said, "It's too late to say anything now. The arrow is on the string and must be shot. I will kill these dozen idiots tonight. Do you want to do it?"
"Done it!" Someone was provoked by him, veins on his forehead popped out, and he said, "This bastard court is not a human being, why are we still protecting him?"
"We originally wanted to be good citizens, but were forced to become thieves. Alas." Someone shook his head and sighed.
"What do you mean by thieves? We are the rebels! We are the rebels!"
"Yes, it is the rebel army. We will kill these thieves tonight, attack the county town tomorrow, and then contact other families to start a rebellion together."
"Revolt, revolt! I can't wait any longer."
Wang Ru stretched out his hand.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at him eagerly.
"The army's morale is good." Wang Ru laughed loudly towards the sky, not caring whether anyone would hear him.
After laughing, he shouted, "Bring your men and kill them all."
A group of people quickly left the backyard, and more people kept gathering along the way. By the time they reached the front hall, there were already hundreds of people, filling the courtyard.
"Swoosh!" Wang Ru drew his bow and arrow, and shot an officer who stood up in surprise to the ground.
"Hua La La!" The other officers stood up one after another, some drew their swords, some grabbed their bows.
"Wang Ru, what do you want?" someone shouted, "Are you going to rebel?"
"In the past, refugees came to Nanyang, and General Qi shot them for fun. Who could have known this would happen?" Wang Ru laughed.
As he was laughing, his hand loosened and an arrow flew out and hit "General Qi" in the face.
"Kill them!" Several soldiers from the Wubao who were sitting at the table swung their swords and started to chop.
The people in the fort rushed forward and chopped these veteran soldiers and officers into meat paste.
"It's not over yet!" Looking at the mess in the main hall, Wang Ru sneered and said, "The government troops are unprepared, and the officers have died. It's a good time to attack at night. Quickly gather the men and set off!"
After a moment, the guards who had been waiting for a long time were called out one by one.
More than 3,000 people lined up in the open space outside the fort, then lit torches and charged towards the unsuspecting government army camp like a long dragon.
There is no suspense in the battle.
The soldiers of Wancheng, who had lost most of their officers, were suddenly attacked while they were sleeping. A huge fire broke out in the camp and shouts of killing could be heard everywhere.
Three thousand men were defeated in one blow, more than half were killed or wounded, and the rest all surrendered.
On the second day, Wang Ru led his army non-stop to the outskirts of Rang County and took it down in one go.
At the same time, messengers rushed everywhere, trying every means to contact refugees from Yongqin and other places, and called on them to join in the riot.
A few days later, the county seat Xinye was captured.
Wang Ru's tribe had grown to 10,000 people, and there was a steady stream of refugees from Guanzhong coming to join him.
This fire cannot be stopped and is about to burn Jingzhou to pieces.
(End of this chapter)