In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, summer! Jianmen Pass, Qiang camp.
Rimaimouxi was patrolling the camp, and Tashi and Masi were following him. It was dinner time, and the Qiang soldiers gathered around the big pot. The way they ate was interesting, not like the Han people. In that way, set up the pot, add water to the pot, and then add rice to cook the rice.
Their pot was very flat and could not hold much water at all. The bottom of the pot was greased with a layer of oil, and then they put a dry pot on the fire. When the oil was hot, they took out a piece of noodles from their bags. Put the cake on the pan and fry it twice. After the cake is hot, stuff it into your mouth.
This kind of flour cake is the famous highland barley flour cake, also known as highland barley cake. It is the favorite food of the ethnic minorities living in the high mountains of western Sichuan. Not only the Qiang people love to eat it, but also the Tibetan people also eat it as their staple food.
Logically speaking, people should be happiest when eating, but the faces of Rimai Mouxi, Tashi, and Masi were not very good, because all three of them knew that the Qiang soldiers did not have much food.
The Qiang people are already very poor, several times poorer than the Han people in Sichuan. They come down from the mountains to fight, and the court does not pay military salaries, so they pay entirely out of their own pockets. Every time they eat a meal here, their tribe They would face greater food pressure, but they did not dare to withdraw their troops. If the rebels entered Jianmen Pass, western Sichuan would be under the gaze of the rebels. Who knows how many Qiang tribes would be in trouble.
Tashi cursed angrily: "Damn Yang Sichang, why hasn't he sent troops yet? March into Guangyuan early and drive Zhu Jun back to Shaanxi, and then we can go back to the mountains and be at ease. Why do we need to suffer here."
Marci also nodded and said: "Yes, if we continue like this, the little bit of highland barley we finally saved last year will have to be filled here. Alas! There are many women and children in the tribe who are hungry to raise this food." Come¡¡"
Different from these two people, Rimai Mouxi had wider knowledge. After all, he was a big chieftain. He whispered: "Do you think Yang Sichang didn't want to drive Zhu Jun away? He just couldn't do it Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong and Zuo Guangxian refused to obey his orders and refused to die, so what could he do? Put a knife on Zuo Liangyu's neck and ask him to join the army? He is a mere civil servant and has no ability at all. I can¡¯t deal with those military gangsters.¡±
Tashi and Masi asked in confusion: "Why are Zuo Liangyu and the others unwilling to use troops against the thieves?"
Rimaimou Xi had no choice but to explain: "It's not because the Zhu army is too strong That General Zhenxi is a monster who came out of nowhere. He is so powerful. Since the uprising in the first year of Chongzhen, he has not suffered a single defeat. , who is right with him? Who should be in bad luck Zuo Liangyu and the others don't want to be in bad luck. Naturally, they have to go around Zhu Jun. What they like to do most now is to chase Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. These two guys look like It¡¯s easier to deal with.¡±
After hearing this, Tashi said with a little worry: "Then we will have to fight Zhu Jun soon. Will we also be in bad luck?"
Rimaimou Xi said: "Do you think we are those useless Han people? Hey, the Qiang soldiers are so brave that they can defeat the Han soldiers many times. We are afraid of them."
Marcy nodded beside her: "Absolutely!"
At this moment, a Qiang soldier scout ran over and reported: "Three clan chiefs, an officer and soldier came outside. They said they were subordinates of the chief soldier Zuo Guangxian. There were more than a thousand Sichuan soldiers, led by Meng Chang. The three brothers Shui, Meng Changsheng and Meng Changxing, led by the three brothers, requested to use the woods next to our camp to set up camp and rest."
If the three brothers of the Meng family wanted to camp with the Qiang soldiers, it would be absolutely impossible. The Qiang people didn't trust the Han people very much, so it was impossible for them to camp with the Han people. Mou Xi waved his hand and said: "If they are really officers and soldiers, let them set up camp there But it's not just a spy."
The scout said: "It doesn't look like spies. My subordinates have checked their military talisman seals, and there is no doubt that they are officers and soldiers."
Rimaimou Xi said: "Even the officers and soldiers should not be gullible. The Han people are all as cunning as foxes and full of evil ideas. We must be wary of them. Send people to monitor them closely and don't let them come and attack us when we are not paying attention. camp."
After the order was issued, news came back from the scouts after a while, saying that the Sichuan soldiers led by the three Meng brothers had already set up camp nearby, and they did not show any hostility to the Qiang soldiers. After a while, the scouts came to report that the three brothers of the Meng family asked to see the three clan leaders.
Although Rimaimouxi was a chieftain of the Qiang ethnic group, he also held the rank of general military officer of the imperial court. He could not completely ignore the requests of imperial officials to see him, so he asked people to invite the three brothers of the Meng family into the tent.
After a while, the three brothers of the Meng family walked in, followed by a small group of soldiers. The soldiers carried a huge basket containing some golden sticks, which looked a bit likeThe fruit of a plant.
The boss, Meng Changshui, performed an official ceremony towards Rimai Mouxi, and Rimai Mouxi asked: "You come from the north? Isn't the north the territory of Zhu Jun? What's going on with you?"
Meng Changshui explained: "We are under the command of Lord Zuo Guangxian. Lord Zuo Guangxian was defeated by Zhu Jun. We were separated from Lord Zuo, so we had to escape over the mountains and ridges to come here."
Rimai Mouxi didn't have much doubt. This kind of thing often happens in wars. Not to mention the Han soldiers who lack organizational discipline. Even if the Qiang soldiers with strong cohesion are defeated, there will be small groups of separated troops crossing the mountains. It is perfectly normal for the ground to escape by another way.
Meng Changshui said: "When we escaped over the mountains and ridges, we got some weird food on the way. I'm grateful to the General Soldier to lend us a piece of land to camp. These baskets of corn will be given to you for a taste."
"Corn?" Tashi was the first to shout: "Isn't this what the thief named Li Yan said? He said it was delicious and had a high yield per mu. It was a lie at first sight. , we don¡¯t believe it, where did you steal it from?¡±
Meng Changshui chuckled and said with a bit of weirdness on his face: "We robbed several villages in Zhu Jun's territory and robbed them."
When he said this, the three leaders of the Qiang tribe couldn't help but look at him, even though it was Zhu Jun's territory. But in fact, the people in those villages are Sichuan people after all, and they can be regarded as good people. Why are the officers and soldiers robbing them of their food? What's the difference between this and a bandit?
The three leaders all looked at Meng Changshui with unkind eyes, but Meng Changshui said without blushing and without a beating heart: "So what if we robbed it? That village has now become Zhu Jun's village, and this kind of strange food was also taught by Zhu Jun." The villagers planted it, and those villagers have long since become the helpers of the thieves. If I don't take it, Zhu Jun will take it, and in a blink of an eye it becomes the rations of the thieves, so we might as well use it."
The three Qiang leaders heard this and thought about it. This is true. Then he softened his eyes a little.
Meng Changshui waved his hand and said: "You're welcome, come and try this thing called corn."
Rimai Mouxi took a look at the corn, and saw that it was yellow and big. It looks weird. If it was sent by a thief. He must have thought the food was poisonous and dared not eat it, but it was different when the officers and soldiers sent it, even though he did not trust all Han people. But the officers and soldiers who were also dealing with Zhu Jun would not give him poison. He said, "Well I heard that guy Li Yan praised this corn to the sky, so we might as well give it a try."
"At that moment, someone brought a big pot, brought in mountain spring water, put the corn in the pot and boiled it. When it was cooked, the three Meng brothers and their soldiers in the tent first grabbed it and ate it to show that it was not poisonous. The three chiefs of the Qiang tribe also caught it and tried to eat it. If they didn't eat it, it would just fall down. Once they ate it, they couldn't stop talking.
The corn is fragrant and slightly sweet. Although it may not be as delicious as the highland barley they are used to eating, it has a different flavor and feels really good.
Tashi is a straight person and says whatever comes to mind: "Huh? This thing is quite delicious, at least in terms of taste. That Han man named Li Yan didn't lie to us."
Rimai Mouxi and Masi also thought it was delicious, but they did not speak. They just looked down and ordered the soldiers in the tent to eat the baskets of corn.
After eating, Meng Changshui stood up and said goodbye: "Commander-in-Chief, we three brothers are going back to the camp to rest now, haha we have to go to collect grain tomorrow, and then go to Zhu Jun's territory to grab some corn. , Hahaha, I can¡¯t do it if I don¡¯t go to bed early.¡±
Rimaimouxi asked curiously: "Strike grain? Grab corn?" If someone had said that they were going to grab corn an hour ago, Rimaimouxi would never have the slightest interest. Now that he has tasted the taste of corn, he is interested. A big rise.
Meng Changshui spread his hands and said: "Well, we are separated from Mr. Zuo Guangxian, so we can't get food and wages from the court. We have to get everything by ourselves. It happens that Zhu Jun's territory is harvesting corn, so naturally we have to Go grab it, hehe." What he said makes sense. You must know that when the imperial court distributes food and salary, it must first be distributed to the officers at the higher level, and then distributed level by level.
Since the troops of the three Meng brothers have been separated from their direct superiors, they will naturally lose supplies. It is impossible for the court to directly provide food and salary to the three of them. It is reasonable for them to raise food themselves.
Rimaimou Xi couldn't help but asked: "Where are you going to collect food?" He had to ask, the Qiang soldiers did not get food from the court, and they had to prepare all the food themselves. The highland barley he brought was about to be eaten up, so he had to think of a way to solve it.
The three brothers of the Meng family looked at each other and winked at each other. Apparently they didn't want to tell Rimai Mouxi where they were collecting grain.
Although Rimai Mouxi is from a minority group, his mind is no worse than that of the Han people. He keenly captured the feelings of the three Meng brothers.? expression, so he said: "Three generals, I heard that Zhu Ba is good at using troops and has strong soldiers and horses. You only have more than a thousand troops. It will be inconvenient to grab food, right? If you are caught by Zhu Jun, you will not die. No burial place? You see, I happen to have three thousand Qiang soldiers here, why don't you take us to grab food together, and when we get the food, we can add two to one to make five!"
At this moment, the expressions of the three Meng brothers changed. It was obvious that Rimai Mouxi's words had reached their hearts. The boss, Meng Changshui, sighed and said: "This makes sense The last time we went to collect food, we were targeted by Zhu Jun's black soldiers and almost couldn't come back. If you help us, we can succeed." The opportunities are skyrocketing.¡±
Early in the morning of the second day, with the three brothers of the Meng family leading the way and the three patriarchs following behind, more than 4,000 people crossed the mountains and ridges and sneaked into Zhu Jun's territory. They did not take the right path, because there were Zhu Jun's black soldiers on the right path. They were not interested in fighting Zhu Jun's black soldiers here. They just wanted to get more food as soon as possible.
Crossing mountains and ridges is very difficult for ordinary troops, but it is not a problem for the Sichuan soldiers of the three Meng brothers. The Qiang soldiers are even less afraid. The Qiang people have lived in the dense snowy mountains of the Western Sichuan Plateau since they were young. They are better at climbing mountains and crossing water than ordinary Sichuan people. They are especially good at fighting in hypoxic plateau areas and have extremely good survival ability in the wild. Strong, they climbed mountains and ridges just for fun.
Without knowing it, they crossed Zhu Jun's defense line and arrived outside a small mountain village near Guangyuan.
Because this village is located on a higher terrain, the temperature is a little lower than that at the bottom of the mountain. Spring comes late. Therefore, the corn here matures later than in other places. It has just been the harvest period in the past few days, and the corn cobs in the fields are hanging down.
On the top of a mountain outside the village, Meng Changshui pointed to the village and said to the three Qiang chiefs: "Did you see it? The corn in this village has not been harvested yet. Hehe. It just gives us an advantage."
The three patriarchs were all in a trance. Looking at the golden cornfields outside the village, they couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in their hearts. How many corn cobs do you have to grab? It seems that our food is in place. Tashi couldn't help but wonder: "This village is located very high. I can feel that the air here is very light. It should belong to the plateau area. Why can the food here be grown so well?"
In Tashi¡¯s impression, decent food cannot be grown on the plateau. Only plateau crops such as highland barley can grow normally, and there is no hope of good harvests from other crops.
Meng Changshui chuckled and said, "I don't understand this either. Last time I robbed a village, I heard from the villagers that corn can grow on the plateau. Now it seems that this is true."
When he said this, the eyes of the three clan leaders showed a little eagerness. What crops can grow on the plateau? This is good stuff! The three of them couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
At this time, Meng Changshui said again: "In a moment, the army will enter the village. You will be responsible for controlling the villagers in the village. My soldiers will quickly harvest the corn cobs After harvesting, we will retreat immediately. Don't be chased by Zhu Jun." Living."
Tashi and Masi both nodded in agreement, while Rimai Mouxi was more scheming. He still didn't dare to trust the Han people very much, so he frowned at the proposal of the three Meng brothers and hummed: "No, like this There is a problem with the division of labor, I don¡¯t trust you Han people maybe you will hide the victory prizes secretly, I think you should control the villagers, and my soldiers will harvest the corn."
Meng Changxing said: "What if your soldiers hide corn secretly?"
Rimaimousi snorted angrily: "We Qiang people are not as cunning as you Han people. There is no way we would hide trophies We will get as much as we deserve, and we will never covet a corn cob from you."
The three Meng brothers looked at each other a few more times, and finally agreed to Rimai Mouxi's conditions.
The two armies were ready. The soldiers quietly dispersed from the outside and surrounded the small village. Then with a shout, the three Meng brothers led a charge into the village. A burst of exclamations and shouts from the villagers came from the village. Then these sounds quickly disappeared. The officers and soldiers quickly controlled every house in the village. All the men, women, old and children in the village were imprisoned in an ancestral hall in the center of the village.
Rimaimou Xi quickly ordered the Qiang soldiers to harvest corn. Since the Qiang soldiers were not responsible for the battle, all matters related to the battle were handled by the three brothers of the Meng family, so they had to concentrate on harvesting. Three thousand people started working together, and the speed was amazing. In an instant, like wind and clouds, the outside of this small village All the cornfields were harvested.
The golden corn cobs were all put into the big bags prepared by the Qiang soldiers and carried on their backs. Each of the three thousand Qiang soldiers carried a cloth bag and looked like thieves.
These QiangWhen harvesting corn, they naturally couldn't help but add up how much they had harvested. Several Qiang men squatted together and whispered: "Brother, how many kilograms did you harvest?"
"Look at my bag, at least seventy pounds!"
Another person next to him said: "Tsk, look at my bag, it weighs at least fifty kilograms."
When several people added up the calculations, their faces suddenly changed color. A soldier couldn't help but ran to Rimaimousi and reported: "Master Patriarch, we harvested 700 kilograms of corn from one acre of land 700 It¡¯s a kilogram, harvested from one acre of land, my God!¡±
After hearing these words, Rimaimou Xi suddenly showed a horrified expression on his face: "Is this could it be a mistake? When we grow highland barley, we can only harvest 60 to 100 kilograms from one acre of land This corn harvest is actually 700 per acre? Is this a dream?"
"That's right, it's really seven hundred kilograms!" The soldier quickly explained how many kilograms the third child had collected, how many kilograms the sixth child had collected, and how many kilograms the total had Before he could finish speaking, another soldier came next to him, also with a full face. He said in horror: "Master Patriarch, we harvested six hundred and forty kilograms from that acre"
"What?" Rimaimou Xi no longer had any doubts: "This is too exaggerated."
I saw the Qiang soldiers gathering back from various fields. You have a big bag and I have a big bag. After a while, the ground was piled with sacks. At least tens of thousands of kilograms of grain were piled like this. It was impossible to collect it. As for the hundred acres of land If we grab a few more villages of similar size, wouldn't it be easy to get hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain?
Rimaimou Xi felt his heart beating violently: "I'm getting rich, oh, I'm getting rich!"
He quickly waved his hand and said: "Move away, move everything away, hahaha, great! Hurry and carry these grains back, and then we will rob them again. If we rob a village every day, we will get rich, hahahaha."