Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Revitalize the Ming Dynasty

Volume 13: Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 626: Internal strife

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    When the imperial court saw that the chaos in Shaanxi was calming down, it wanted to bring back Tang Feng's troops and even further deprive him of his military power. However, within a few days, things changed and everything could not be as it was in the imperial court.  The officials' expectations generally came true, and they had to change the established policy and continue to let Tang Feng lead this army.

    Because although the rebel army was defeated by the officers and soldiers led by Tang Feng and left Shaanxi, they still had some remaining strength.  Relying on their familiarity with the boundaries of Shaanxi, 30,000 troops actually escaped from the layers of interceptions by the government and army, and then went straight to Shanxi. This really shocked the court.  You must know that the situation in Shanxi has just stabilized. If they are allowed to have trouble again, it will be another disaster.  Therefore, the imperial court immediately recalled the original military order that ordered Tang Feng to return to the court, and instead ordered him to continue leading troops to wipe out all the remaining rebels.  [bsp; Before this military order reached Tang Feng, all the movements of the imperial court had been controlled by him in Xi'an.  The Jin Yiwei people are now completely under his control. If there is any situation in Beijing, someone will send him news in time. This is also the key to him being able to fight in Shaanxi with peace of mind.  After learning about the various changes in the imperial court, Tang Feng felt even more unhappy. He knew that the emperor's trust in him had become less and less. Maybe after a while, he would be judged for his superior achievements.  An unfounded crime eventually led to the destruction of the whole family.

    "Hmph, when the world changed, these people thought of asking me to help them calm the chaos. But once the world became peaceful, these people started to worry about me again! Why, they thought I was so easy to fool  Can you come at once and leave immediately?" The anger in his heart could no longer be contained. Tang Feng walked back and forth in the former Shaanxi governor's residence, thinking constantly in his mind.  But the fact is that he is so helpless. Although he still has military power in his hands, he cannot really lead them into Beijing. This is not the result he hopes to see.  But if you don't do this, how long can you keep it?

    "Fortunately, I saved such a hand when quelling the chaos. Otherwise, there would be no room for change at the first edict. The only way now is to take advantage of this last opportunity, and the general power is completely in my hands. And to  To control all the military power, one person must leave." Tang Feng thought carefully, and Wu Xiang's clear face seemed to appear in front of him.

    The tens of thousands of officers and soldiers controlled by Tang Feng now include three parts of the force, one is the Liaodong Army, the other is the surrendered troops from Shanxi, and the third is the Shaanxi rebel army that has just surrendered.  Among these three groups, the Liaodong Army is of course the most powerful, and it is also the key to his continuous victory.  However, Tang Feng's command authority over this group of troops is not absolute because of Wu Xiang's presence.  Although he has a good reputation in the Liaodong Army, there is still a certain gap compared with generals like Wu Xiang who have stayed in Liaodong. His victory is just because of his superior status.

    But once Tang Feng really does something disloyal to the court and the emperor, as long as Wu Xiang firmly opposes it, the 30,000 elite Liaodong Army may not be willing to help him, and he may not be able to surrender with the remaining two routes.  It's time to make a career.  And without the support of the Liaodong Army, I am afraid that the two groups of rebels who have just surrendered may even turn against each other, and then it will be really over.  Therefore, if Tang Feng wants to make a difference, he must completely control the Liaodong Army, and if he wants to control them, he must drive Wu Xiang away.

    Frowning, Tang Feng began to carefully calculate, what should he do to make Wu Xiang immediately lead an army?  After thinking hard, he only came to one conclusion: in order for Wu Xiang to leave, the most important thing was the court's permission or a summons from Liaodong.  Now it seems that it is impossible for the imperial court to send back this person who can restrain him, so the only option is to start from Liaodong. But can Man Gui and others there do what they want?

    Tang Feng shook his head helplessly, and had to give up this unrealistic idea.  Only now did he realize that it was not that easy to be a so-called traitor.  But now he has made up his mind that he can no longer let others dominate him no matter what. Otherwise, even if he wants to stay out of political affairs, he will not be able to save the lives of himself and his family.  With modern thinking, he doesn't take the so-called Confucian theory of kings and ministers to heart. If someone wants to harm him, no matter who he is, he will retaliate.  This time, Chongzhen had murderous intentions towards him, so he had to fight him.

    "Since the imperial court still wants me to lead the troops to quell the chaos, I will simply continue to lead the troops and take advantage of this opportunity to completely take over the military power!" Tang Feng finally exhaled, as if to express his gratitude to the imaginary imperial court.  , and seemed to say this firmly to himself, then turned around suddenly and strode out.

    "Master Hou, after counting, we have obtained a total of more than one million taels of supplies from the rebels. I don't know what to do with them?" At this time, an official came over and whispered.He said that this was someone Tang Feng could trust. He gave him the important task of counting the anti-military supplies and secretly took responsibility for him.

    "Take out five hundred thousand taels and distribute them to the brothers. Keep the rest for the time being. We can use them as encouragement for the subsequent battles." Tang Feng replied without any hesitation. This was something he had long wanted to do.  Well, it is impossible for him to return these properties to the court or local officials. It is better to give them to these people to boost the morale of the soldiers.

    "Yes, I'll go make arrangements right now!" The man agreed and left.  Before Tang Feng could come outside to listen to the newly appointed officials' report on the situation in Xi'an in the past two days, someone hurriedly came to report: "Master Marquis, there is a new order from the court."

    "Finally here!" With a smile on his face, Tang Feng came to the lobby to receive the order.

    What was written above was exactly the same as the message Jin Yiwei had sent earlier, telling Tang Feng to quickly bring his troops to continue quelling the chaos, and to minimize the damage caused by the rebels to the Central Plains.  Tang Feng respectfully received the military order issued by the Ministry of War, and sent the person who was going to deliver the order to the back to treat him well, and then he went up to the command post.

    Within half a quarter of an hour, all the generals in Xi'an City arrived. Under Tang Feng's dispatch, they were once again ready to send troops to Shanxi.  At the same time, during this meeting, Tang Feng also mentioned that he would increase pay for the soldiers, which made all the soldiers excited and all praised Tang Feng for his wisdom.

    Amidst everyone's praise, Wu Xiang was very hesitant, not knowing what on earth he should do?  As a person who had been in the officialdom, everything Tang Feng did made him feel different. He could see that Tang Feng was already disloyal to the imperial court.  If it were someone who was dedicated to serving the country, perhaps he would have stopped this, but Wu Xiang did not do so, because he knew that he was now far inferior to Tang Feng in terms of position, and if he really broke up with him  , I am afraid that I will be killed first, and my son will not be able to escape.  So he chose to remain silent about this, and could only watch as Tang Feng continued to buy the soldiers under his command, gradually pulling back the morale of the Liaodong Army.

    Two days later, the officers and soldiers who had rested for several days in Xi'an moved again. This time their target was still Shanxi.  But when the army arrived at the edge of Shanxi, there was a military report from the officials who had stayed in Shanxi: The rebels did not stay in Shanxi, but after plundering some supplies, they suddenly turned around and headed south, towards the border of Henan.  .

    This was indeed beyond everyone's expectations. They only thought that these rebels, who originally had many Shanxi locals, would continue to rely on their familiarity with the geography to regain their foothold in Shanxi, but they did not expect that they would suddenly change.  direction.  Tang Feng understands this point very well, because what these rebels are short of now is money and food, and they can no longer raise enough supplies in Shanxi. If they want to continue to exist, they will naturally have to find another place.

    Now that he knew the whereabouts of the rebels, Tang Feng immediately followed them and killed them. However, he had already made up his mind that he would never let the rebels be wiped out so easily this time. He would never gather them and annihilate them.  And they will also use them to meet their further needs.  However, the army was still moving towards Henan day and night. At least on the surface, Tang Feng was still determined to eliminate thieves for the country.

    At the same time, in Henan, after looting local wealthy businessmen and government warehouses, the rebels had temporarily stabilized their morale and their strength had recovered.  But at this time, differences arose among them.  Gao Yingxiang's position as the leader of the rebel army is no longer so secure, and many people already have opinions about him.

    This is also a natural thing. When he gave up Xi'an and fought out, it was because of his improper command that many rebel leaders died. These people will naturally resent him.  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Jiayin, who had always been dissatisfied with him, began to attack.  Perhaps the forces in the hands of other leaders could not compete with Gao Yingxiang. After all, they did not have many troops, and many of them died or surrendered in the Xi'an breakout battle.  But Wang Jiayin's troops were different. Under Li Yan's planning, most of them were preserved, which was enough to compete with Gao Yingxiang.

    Today, in Shangqiu, the two parties had a final conflict.  The cause of the matter is very simple, that is, where should everyone go?  According to Gao Yingxiang's point of view, Henan is not safe either. The officers and soldiers behind him may come after him who knows when. It is better to take some baggage here and then send it to other provinces.  But Wang Jiayin made up his mind to take root in Henan. In his opinion, as long as he took down the ancient city of Kaifeng, it would be enough to resist the army.

    This is obviously a slap in the face of Gao Yingxiang. It was because he did not believe that Xi'an could be defended that he abandoned the city and ultimately lost most of the army. Now Wang Jiayin actually said that he would defend Kaifeng. How could he  Promise?  So in the past few days, the two sides have had many disputes, and today has reached a climaxIt's not time to make a decision.

    The former magistrate¡¯s lobby was now filled with various rebel leaders. They were all wearing looted silks and satins, but the fierceness on their faces was not concealed at all.  After many days of fighting and fleeing, these people, who were not good people in the first place, became even more murderous.

    At this time, everyone was constantly talking about their opinions. Some agreed to transfer elsewhere, but most of them had the same idea as Wang Jiayin and wanted to establish a firm foothold in Henan.  Because they still hope to return to Shaanxi one day. Henan is relatively close to there. If it is further away, they may not be able to return to Shaanxi in this life.

    The two groups of people were so quarreling over this issue that even Gao Yingxiang came in and no one noticed.  Wang Jiayin, who was sitting on top, was not involved. He already had his own way. Not only could he take back the power this time, but he could also do it once and for all. So when he saw Gao Yingxiang walking in, sarcasm flashed in his eyes.  color.

    But Gao Yingxiang¡¯s expression was not good-looking. After taking a look at the messy people in the hall, he said coldly: ¡°Why, can¡¯t everyone come to a conclusion after discussing it?¡±

    "No, we have already made up our mind!" one of them said loudly, it was Cao Shangfei who followed the order in Hancheng that day.  After successive failures, his brothers were no longer half of their original number, and now they had no whereabouts. He had had enough. What he needed most now was to occupy a territory to develop and strengthen himself.  So he completely ignored Gao Yingxiang's face and said: "We just can't convince people with different views. In this case, why should we force it?"

    "Yes, since some people want to leave and some don't want to leave, why do we have to be in one place? We are not your subordinates, King Gao Chuang, and you have no right to interfere with our wishes!" Others also said: "Gao Chuang  If the king wants to leave, we will not stop him, but you have no right to ask us to leave Henan with you."

    Wang Jiayin chuckled at this time and said: "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. If everyone is willing to follow King Chuang and leave, I naturally have no other objections. But since there are so many people who don't want to leave, I have to stay in compliance with everyone's wishes."  We¡¯re down. If King Chuang wants to leave, I won¡¯t stop him. I just hope King Chuang won¡¯t stop us either.¡±

    After Gao Yingxiang looked directly at Wang Jiayin for a long time, he suddenly smiled: "I mean the same thing. Since the Tao is different, there is no need to continue to be together. If you want to establish a foothold in Henan, I will not force it. I will do it tomorrow.  After leaving Henan, whoever is willing to follow me and establish territory elsewhere is welcome by me!" After saying that, he did not hesitate and turned around and walked out of the lobby. No one saw him. The moment he turned around, there was a look in his eyes.  There was murderous intent coming out, but he didn't notice that Wang Jiayin, who was also smiling, had a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.

    "Okay, if you want to go with King Chuang, just follow him. Let's work hard in Henan with the other brothers. The Ming Dynasty is already declining. Even if there is Tang Feng, it won't make much difference.  , if we all work together, we will definitely be able to do great things." After Wang Jiayin finished speaking, he stood up and left, and everyone dispersed.

    For many people, this may be the best result. No matter whether they want to stay or not, now they can follow a leader with good strength, which of course provides much higher security.  So no one was dissatisfied, they just went back to arrange what they should do next.

    It was late at night, but a large number of people with weapons appeared in the east of the city where Gao Yingxiang was, and they all walked towards the courtyard where Wang Jiayin was in the south of the city.  After learning that Wang Jiayin was determined to be his enemy, Gao Yingxiang had already decided to take his life, because once the rebel army was divided into two groups, not only would it be impossible to achieve anything, but it would also be difficult to protect himself.  Moreover, Wang Jiayin had been his enemy several times, which Gao Yingxiang couldn't bear.

    ¡°Perhaps Gao Yingxiang back then was a man with tolerance for others, otherwise he would not have attracted many heroes to his command.  But after experiencing several failures, he changed. He could not fail again, let alone let others take away the power he had obtained, so he decided to eradicate Wang Jiayin, the biggest scourge.  Once this person is killed, the other leaders will naturally have no choice but to follow their own path.  This was the plan devised by Li Zicheng, whom he trusted most. Taking advantage of tonight, he sent his most elite troops to kill him.

    After Shangqiu City was captured by the rebels, it was impossible to have order, so no one noticed when hundreds of people went to where Wang Jiayin was staying.  Everyone quickly arrived at the front door of the yard. Under the gentle orders of the leader, a few people with good martial arts rushed up first and killed several people on patrol. Then everyone continued to move forward without any obstruction.  He rushed into Wang Jiayin's yard.

    But whenWhen they appeared in the yard, everyone's expressions changed, because countless companions with weapons suddenly appeared around them. Of course, that refers to their former companions, and now these people have become them.  of enemies.

    Wang Jiayin walked out under the protection of nearly a hundred guards, looked at them and said with a smile: "Do you think you can kill me like this? Gao Yingxiang underestimates me, Wang Jiayin." As he spoke, he glanced at the side with gratitude.  It was precisely because of his plan that Li Yan was able to catch Gao Yingxiang and seize the stolen goods alone this time.

    "Everyone, now you have seen how shameless Gao Yingxiang is, right? Are there still people who are obsessed with going somewhere with him? Maybe you will all be killed by him when you get there!" Wang Jiayin said while the iron was hot.

    Those who were originally just persuaded by him to take a look were now on Wang Jiayin's side, even those who originally wanted to follow Gao Yingxiang to go elsewhere.  Seeing through everyone's thoughts, Wang Jiayin added at the right time: "Gao Yingxiang has committed such a villainous act, which is really despised by others! Since he was unkind, don't blame us for being unjust! Everyone, follow me and kill him, so  Only when we all work together can we deal with the government!"
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report