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In mid-May, harvesting of winter wheat has begun.

"Don't trample on the crops!" This was Li Ruolian's first order.

Li Ruolian and Li Ruogui brothers are well-known upright officials.But, the capital of being an upright official is that the family is well-off, and the ancestors have occupied many military fields.Before his younger brother was admitted as a Jinshi, he sold hundreds of acres of land at one time because he didn't have enough money.

"Lord Carrier!"

When I came to the pier to board the ship, the governor Li Maofang took the initiative to come to see him with his official Wang Siren.

Li Ruolian bowed his hand in return, although they were unlucky in everything, but one thing went well.That is, Chongzhen withdrew the eunuchs last year, and the eunuchs have not been sent back until now, so there is no need to listen to the eunuchs of the supervising army.

The three joined forces, with tens of thousands of infantry, and thousands of civilian husbands were also recruited.

With so many people, Wang Siren's navy couldn't hold them, so they had to use boats to carry food and grass forward, and the soldiers followed the boats on the shore.

The farmers who were harvesting wheat, when they saw the officers and soldiers coming, hid far away in fright, and then looked at these people with resentful eyes.

The three together trained tens of thousands of troops, and at the beginning of the year they had lost more than 3000 yuan, so they urgently recruited to make up the difference.How much silver will this cost?The Jiangxi Third Division not only had to provide military salaries, but also remitted taxes to the imperial court, so they could only intensify the exploitation of the common people, and imposed more than a dozen kinds of miscellaneous taxes.

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

Ten days later, they arrived at Linjiang Prefecture.

(There is a mistake in the previous article. Linjiang Fucheng is not in Fengcheng City, but in Linjiang Town of Zhangshu City in later generations, sandwiched between Yuanhe and Ganjiang. Zhao Han must first attack Linjiangfu City in order to occupy Zhangshu Town. But there are so many mistakes chapter, the main plot cannot be modified, and we can only assume that Zhangshu Town is ten miles south of Linjiangfu City. The real situation is just the opposite, please don’t take it seriously.)

"I've seen Li Fushuai, I've seen Li Zongzhen, I've seen Wang Qian."

He Tianqu, the magistrate, led the 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 didn't care about the difference between civil and military skills, so he also respected Li Ruolian, the commander in chief.

Li Maofang asked: "How is Zhao's movement?"

He Tianqu replied: "Zhao thief camped on the other side of the river ten miles away, blocking any passing ships, so it is temporarily impossible to find out the news."

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

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

He Tianqu said: "Several people came from afar and set up a banquet to cleanse the dust for you."

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

Ever since, Wang Siren was in charge of camping, 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 battle.

The two sides set up camp ten miles across the river. Together with civilian husbands, sailors and local villagers, there were more than 8000 officers and soldiers.

On Zhao Han's side, the number of the navy and the supply team was less than [-].

The next day.

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

However, Zhao Han's navy has only more than 30 large and small ships.More than a dozen of them followed Fei Ruhe to the west, facing the officers, soldiers and navy, they could only temporarily avoid the sharp edge.

Before Wang Siren reached the mouth of the river, he ordered the navy to stop.He dared not go any further, for fear of being ambushed.If the navy of the rebels rushed out from both sides of the Ganjiang River and the Yuanhe River, his navy would be surrounded.

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

Zhao Han didn't dare to send sailors to investigate the enemy's situation, so he sent his only sentinel cavalry to look across the river at the camp of the officers and soldiers.

It's a pity that Zhao Han has only six horses under his command after rebelling for so long.

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

Zhao Han's six horses are very precious, and they are usually taken care of carefully. One mare was pregnant and stayed in Fucheng without bringing it out.

The five sentry cavalry rushed to the riverside and looked at the officers and soldiers' camp across the river, but 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 like this, sending small groups of elites to test each other's strength and weakness.

Two days later, Fei Ruhe came back with his troops for reinforcements, leaving [-] Anfu soldiers in Fenyi County and Xinyu County each to defend the city.

Zhao Han's infantry suddenly exceeded 5000, of which 1500 were Luling peasant soldiers, but their combat effectiveness was definitely stronger than that of officers and soldiers.

In this way for half a month, Xia Harvest has entered the busiest season.

Mission groups, farmers' associations, and grassroots officials simply allocated land in the newly occupied Xingan County because they could not guarantee safety.The tenants in Xiajiang County next door took the opportunity to revolt and not only seized the county seat, but also came to ask the mission team to take charge of the work of dividing the land.

Xingan and Xiajiang counties are mountainous, and only the land next to the Ganjiang River is relatively fertile, and most of the places are poor and remote.

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

As for Xinyu and Fenyi counties, which have iron mines, they only occupy the county seat for the time being, because the personnel in the Fentian fields cannot get through, and they are easily attacked by officers, soldiers and navy when they go north.

……

Sticking to January, the summer harvest is over.

Li Maofang ordered He Tianqu, the magistrate of Linjiang, to go to the countryside to collect food immediately on the grounds that the army rations were insufficient.

For nothing, Linjiang Mansion only had Qingjiang, Xingan, and Xiajiang counties, Zhao Han occupied two and a half counties at this time, and He Tianqu's actual control area was only half of the counties left.

Linjiang Mansion is not a big grain producer, and it was upgraded to a mansion purely by commercial taxation. It can only be regarded as a state in other places!

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

To suppress bandits, we must also make money.

Historically, Li Maofang should be the governor of Shandong at this time.There are Bailian disciples inside, and Tartars watching outside. Under such circumstances, this guy dared to borrow money from the bandits. By the time he wiped out the Bailian sect bandits in Shandong, he had already made tens of thousands of taels of silver in his hands.

The magistrate of Linjiang and the magistrate of Fengcheng were overwhelmed by Li Maofang.

But the rebels oppressed the country, so they could only exploit the gentry, merchants and farmers, and obediently sent money and food to Li Maofang.

In the northern part of Qingjiang County, [-] officers and soldiers were divided into several groups and went to the countryside to collect food in person.

"Open the door, open the door!"

A big family was knocked on the door of the house, and the officer leading the team scolded: "It's a very important matter to command the commander to suppress the bandits. Immediately hand over 100 shi of grain and [-] taels of silver for military expenses!"

The squire of the household argued: "In order to suppress the bandits, we have paid twice today. Why do we have to pay so much again?"

"This family is secretly working with bandits, go into the house and search for the rebels!" the officer shouted.

"The military master calm down, the military master calm down, this old man is going to raise food and grass." The squire was so frightened that he begged for mercy.

Not only do they have to give money and silver, but they also have to organize their own manpower to deliver the money and food to the military camp outside Linjiang Prefecture.

The officers and soldiers are still polite to the gentry, but there is no bottom line in the treatment of the common people.

Live in the farmer's house at night, see the beautiful big girl and young daughter-in-law, directly break into the boudoir to do whatever they want.In a few days, more than a dozen women from good families committed suicide, causing complaints from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Li Ruolian, the general soldier, and Wang Siren, the minister of Qin, went to see Li Maofang together.

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

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

Li Maofang explained with a smile: "I don't know when the thieves will be wiped out. The army rations for the officers and soldiers are not enough, so we must raise them early."

Wang Siren said angrily, "Where is the military ration not enough? It's enough for another two or three months!"

"Two or three months is not enough, at least half a year's food and wages must be raised," Li Maofang said with a smile, "Don't worry, you two, someone is here, take out the box!"

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

"Shameless You!"

Wang Siren scolded, turned and left directly.

Li Ruolian was so angry that his hands trembled, and he really wanted to cut the governor down with one knife.

Neither of them took money. After they left, Li Maofang sneered and said to himself: "Why are you pretending to be clean? Where did you get your military training food and salaries? Didn't you get it from the people? Are you clean without your own hands?"

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

Ever since, everyone wholeheartedly supported Li Maofang and devoted their energy to making money.

Anyway, after a month of confrontation, the rebels have already attacked several times.Since the rebels didn't dare to come over, and I didn't dare to go over here, why didn't I take the opportunity to make more money?

On the contrary, Li Ruolian and Wang Siren, two upright officials, were isolated by all the officials, as if they were abnormal.

Wang Siren found Li Ruolian in secret: "General Town, we can't go on like this, otherwise the morale of the army and the people will be lost!"

Li Ruolian asked: "You have worked with him to suppress bandits for a year, and there was no such thing before?"

"Oh, he also fished before," Wang Siren sighed. "When he suppressed the bandits in Duchang County, he sent troops to loot everywhere. I could only turn a blind eye. But now, the rebel army is ten miles away. On the other side, if he does something like this, big trouble will happen!"

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

Wang Siren said: "The Zhao bandits in Luling are treacherous. If they don't move their troops after a month of confrontation, they must set up ambushes on the Ganjiang River and Yuanhe River. If our navy dares to cross the river mouth, they will definitely be attacked from both sides. Most of them will use a large number of small boats. Carry out a fire attack. The navy cannot move, and the terrain is not good for our army. My original intention was to send elite soldiers to go south by land to sneak attack Xingan County, which was occupied by the rebels. There is no way to sneak around the checkpoint."

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

Wang Siren said: "Cross the river and fight the rebels. We have an army of more than 500, and I have trained [-] archers. Maybe we can win the battle. I can't waste it here. My generals have already You have broken military discipline, and in the past two days you have led your troops to plunder the people."

Li Ruolian's generals were even more so, they were the commanders, thousands of households, and hundreds of households recruited temporarily.These guys have never fought any battles, and they are good at exploiting military households. Now they are 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 checkpoints. Last time I led troops to attack at night, and I was three miles away from the enemy camp, and the bandit's sentry blew the suona."

"Then fight!" Li Ruolian clenched his fists.

In fact, Zhao Han's military rations were almost exhausted, and he could last for a month at most.

But Li Maofang, the governor, gave a divine assist, and the military discipline was corrupted to the point that Li Ruolian and Wang Siren could not tolerate it, forcing the two to fight head-on in advance.

This place is nonsense, either it is mountain or water, and the troops on both sides are stretched. As long as more sentries are sent to guard against sneak attacks, no matter how powerful the commander is, he will not be able to play tricks.

You can only be tough!

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

Because Zhao Han's navy is not strong, he dare not cross the river to fight the officers and soldiers for fear of being defeated by the officers and soldiers on the river.According to the terrain where the two rivers meet, more warships and fireboats should be prepared to encircle the officers and sailors who dare to cross the river mouth.

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

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

Chapter 161 [Who is the anti-thief? 】

dark night.

Huang Yao led five hundred soldiers and circled for half a month, finally reaching the northwest of Bailuozhou.

There are no big mountains along the way, just small hills and flat land.

The reason for going around this big circle is that they are afraid of being found by officers and soldiers.Similarly, officers and soldiers did not dare to cross the river to loot here, for fear that the rebels would find out and set up an ambush attack.

The vast countryside on the other side of Linjiang Fucheng was surprisingly peaceful.

When they came to the river in the dark, the five hundred soldiers took off their clothes and swam to Jiangxinzhou on the other side.Rattan players and wolf soldiers are very easy, because the wooden shield and the wolf have buoyancy, the distance of 100 meters is easy.

After going ashore, walk to the other side of Jiangxinzhou. The river here is 200 meters long, which is still not difficult for a man who is familiar with water.

In this way, Huang Yao led five hundred soldiers and crossed the river without anyone noticing.

This is near the entire battlefield, where the Ganjiang River is the narrowest.

Wang Siren was already prepared and sent [-] officers and soldiers to guard him.But recently, looting became popular, and the officers took the soldiers directly to the villages to plunder, leaving only a dozen people standing guard by the river.

A dozen officers and soldiers can guard a river seven or eight miles long?

A few miles away from the river, Huang Yao found a wheat field that had already been harvested, and sent an order: "Leave a few people on sentry, and the rest will sleep!"

After sleeping soundly in the wheat field for an hour, Huang Yao immediately brought people into the village when the sky was bright.

The food he brought was not enough, so he had to borrow food from the landlord's house.

"Bang bang bang!"

Knocking on the door, an old man came out, pleading: "Masters, you have come here several times these days, the old man really has no food at home."

"Old man," said the military mission officer, clasping his fists, "We are the Datong Army, not the officers and soldiers who extort money. The food borrowed by the Datong Army must be returned, and we can make a written statement. As for the officers and soldiers who bully you, when we are full, we will go back to you." Go get those bastards!"

"Again...you are rebels?" The old man trembled with fright.

The missionary officer asked: "Is there any paper and pen? We don't borrow much food, so we will definitely return it in the future after leaving a written note."

Zhao Han had always refused to accept the loan from the landlord in the "enemy-occupied area", but at this time he could behave more benevolently.