Number of People

Chapter 2151 Guizijuan Mangui takes on a big responsibility in times of crisis

Mangui walked back and forth in the garrison with a face full of irritability, fear and a little excitement. He took out the sword from his waist, flicked the blade twice with his fingers, and finally sighed and inserted the knife again. In the scabbard.

 The rough hands were like a pair of iron pliers, with the jaws and palms firmly holding the handle of the knife. Only by feeling the solidity brought by the handle could he feel at ease.

 “Cao Er!”

"Here! Sir, what's the matter?" A tough-looking soldier came in from outside the door. He had a stocky and generous figure, but his eyes were very lively. "Ma San and the others haven't come back yet?"

"Sir, how can it be so fast?" Cao Er said happily: "They have only been gone for a long time, and it is not even two hours. At this time, they can only go as far as Mingtiao Gang. If they want to come back, it will be at least midnight."

“Is it so difficult to walk through Mingtiao Gang?” Man Gui sighed and said, “I don’t know how many times I’ve walked through it, and every time I passed it, it didn’t take half an hour.”

Seeing that his boss was arrogant, Cao Er grinned and said, "Sir, I usually ride by on horseback, but it's different now. The rebels are coming. Ma San and the others must investigate carefully. If they really want to come back too soon, you won't Don’t worry. The vegetation on Mingtiao Gang is lush, and there are many divergent paths along the way. Even the locals may not be able to recognize all of them. Ma San and the others are the ones who are most familiar with it, so don’t worry.”

Mingtiao Gang is also called Mingtiao Gang. According to legend, Shun died of illness and was buried on Mingtiao Gang during his southern tour. The Battle of Mingtiao was the battle between Shang Tang and Xia Jie, and it was also on Mingtiao Gang.

Knowing that he was losing his temper, Mangui sighed and waved his hand, signaling Cao Er to go down. He was the only one left in the hall again.

His ancestral home is Yanzhou, but he grew up in Xuanfu. He originally wanted to join the army in Xuanfu, but he didn't expect that when his father was about to die a few years ago, he entrusted him to an old department in Shanxi Town and refused to let him serve in Xuanfu. He joined the army in the town.

That's fine, but my father's old subordinate was deprived of his official position because he offended his boss. He had already gained a reputation in Shanxi Town for his proficiency in bow and horse, boldness and carefulness, but he was kicked out of Shanxi Town and sent to He came to serve in Shanxi Dusi Zhong, and then went to Puzhou to serve as the general manager of Qianhu Office.

 The official system of the Zhou army was somewhat chaotic. The hierarchies among the garrison, Qianzong, and General generals were rather blurred, and sometimes the differences between them were not that big.

He was originally the commander-in-chief in Shanxi Town, but after he came to the Guards, he was promoted half a level to become commander-in-chief Qian. In fact, he was just a commander-in-chief. He was in charge of a department. He could be either commander-in-chief Qian or commander-in-chief. It could be the commander-in-chief, depending on his seniority and military achievements. Mangui came from the frontier army, so he was naturally considered to be a strong man among the five troops of the first battalion originally stationed in Siyancheng. He was the best choice except for the garrison.

As Shanxi Town suffered heavy losses in the First World War in Shandong, Chai Guozhu recruited all the Shanxi Dusi Guards to strengthen Shanxi Town's frontier army. One of the two battalions of Puzhou Station was taken away, and the Puzhou Station garrison could not go. This is a good thing. It was the turn of Si Yancheng's garrison battalion to happily move north with their troops and horses and transform into frontier troops. Only the remaining three groups of more than 2,000 people were led by General Qian Mangui, the acting garrison.

Mangui was full of envy, but she also knew that it was not her turn yet.

He joined the army before he was thirteen years old, and he is not yet twenty years old. After more than six years of military service, he has become a commander in charge of more than 600 people. , although they are guards, they are already quite powerful.

I originally thought that I would be guarding the warehouse salt and salt class money in this Siyancheng city. More than two thousand guardsmen were stationed here. Mangui really never thought that anyone would dare to risk the disapproval of the world to rob, but from Shaanxi After the rebel army crossed Longmen and entered Jin, the entire situation in southern Shanxi suddenly changed.

First, Hejin and Ronghe fell, but the distance was still so far away. Although Mangui felt a little nervous, he was still determined. However, as Jishan and Wanquan were also captured by the rebels, reinforcements from the border troops in the north were delayed. After arriving, Man Gui couldn't sit still.

With the fall of the Yi family, Mangui knew that Anyi would inevitably be baptized by war, and Anyi County was definitely not the first choice for the rebel army. Siyancheng and Shenghui Town were. The Cangyan in these two places was Taxing silver with salt is undoubtedly the most attractive thing to attract the attention of the rebels.

As soon as he learned that the Yi clan had fallen, he sent out the first round of scouts and sentinels, but the news they got back was scattered and incomplete, so he sent out Ma San and his most trusted veterans. Only by understanding the enemy's movements can he consider how to respond.

Man Gui also knew that if he waited like this, he would be waiting to die. The number of rebels would only get bigger and bigger. Even if they failed to attack once, there would be a second and third time. Siyan City is not a big city, and a city wall more than one foot high can It is a good defense against thieves, but it is not worth mentioning against the rebel army. More than two thousand guards can be sure to deal with three to five thousand rebel troops in Guangxi, but what about tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of rebel troops?

Mangui knew very well that the result of holding on would be one, the entire army would be annihilated, unless the Shanxi Army in the north could arrive in time.

But according to what he learned, the Shanxi Army's southward forward had not even reached Pingyang. At this speed, if they reached Anyi, they would be afraid that their bodies would be eaten by wild dogs until only a few bones were left.

 Looking for help from Puzhou?

It doesn't mean much. There are only two troops with more than a thousand people left there, and the defense of Puzhou is stretched thin. If we really encounter the main force of the rebel army, we will only lose our lives.

 The other thing is to ask for help from the surrounding areas.

 But the surrounding areas are too far away.

 The nearest one is Pingyangwei.

However, Pingyang Guards, like Puzhou Guards, have long been replenished and transferred by Shanxi Town. Two of the original five battalions of guards were withdrawn by Shanxi Town, and one of the remaining three battalions was originally stationed in Yonghe, Jizhou and Hejin. , the Hejin section was destroyed when the rebel army crossed the river, and the remaining remnants are still guarding Jizhou and Yonghe.

There are two battalions left. One battalion was originally guarding Jiangzhou, but now it seems that Jiangzhou has fallen. This battalion is probably in danger. The other battalion is stationed in Linfen. If this battalion is to come out, it will be difficult for Biden. Even if the weather is difficult, Pingyang Mansion will not agree.

Except for Pingyang Guard, there are only Ningshan Guard and Luzhou Guard.

The Luzhou Guard is too far away, and the water from far away cannot quench the thirst of the near, and the Ningshan Guard is not close either, but a dead horse is a living horse. Mangui has already asked for help from the Ningshan Guard. Whether he can come to the rescue, or whether it is too late, is the only choice. It's up to God.

 Then there is the need to cross provinces, Tongguanwei in Shaanxi and Hongnongwei in Henan.

The Hongnong Guard in Henan is the closest, located in Shaanzhou across the river from Pinglu, but Mangui knows that the combat effectiveness of the Henan Guard should be the worst among the Central Guards in the five northern provinces, worse than the guards in Shaanxi Dusi. , Counting on Hongnongwei's guards, it is better to recruit local people to be more practical.

 In addition to Hongnongwei, there is Tongguanwei in Shaanxi.

Tongguan Guards are also a little further away, further than Puzhousuo Guards. If you want to come for reinforcements, you need to cross the river via Fengling, so the distance is not close.

The Tongguan Guards only had one battalion, which was not as powerful as the one in Puzhou. This also shows that the Shaanxi Dusi Guards' garrison was weak.

However, the combat effectiveness of the Tongguan Guards battalion is not weak. General Qian Zhao Qianshan is skilled in bow and horse, brave and cunning, so Xie Zhenye put them here to garrison, that is, he is optimistic about this guy.

It would be too difficult to ask the Tongguan Guards to send troops across the Yellow River to reinforce themselves here. Not to mention that Shaanxi Dusi would not agree. Even if Zhao Qianshan really wanted to come to help, the distance is so far and he still has to cross the Yellow River. No matter how brave and bellicose Zhao Qianshan was, he would probably Don't dare to be so bold.

However, Mangui still sent messengers to Tongguan and Hongnong. Regardless of whether they had dates or not, what if they could come?

"Sir, the salt transfer envoy Si Yamen has come." Cao Er came in again and said in a sneaky way: "It seems that he is a little panicked. I told them to make preparations earlier and transfer the warehouse salt and salt class silver to Ze." They refused to go to the other side of the state. It’s good now. It’s too late to move. It’s useless to come to us now. It’s better to just give it to the brothers..."

"You bastard!" Man Gui scolded. If these words were spread, it would not be considered as colluding with the rebels. "Why don't you go out and invite them in? By the way, who is here?"

“It’s Tongzhi and a judge.” Cao Er replied.

The salt transport department in the Zhou Dynasty has different settings in different places. Generally, there is one salt transport envoy, from the third rank, one tongzhi, from the fourth rank, one deputy envoy, from the fifth rank, several judges, from the sixth rank, as well as experience and governors , but above these officials there is a salt patrol censor, who is really in charge of the power, and the salt transport envoys are only the second in command responsible for execution.

 Tongzhi and deputy envoy are generally not set simultaneously, but choose one of the two. If there is tongzhi, there will generally be no deputy envoy. If there is no tongzhi, deputy envoy will be set up to assist the salt transport envoy to perform specific affairs.

However, the salt patrol censor of the Yamen of the Salt Transport Envoy in Hedong and Shaanxi Province has already returned to Beijing. He has been away for almost three months and has not returned yet. The person who is specifically responsible for this is the nominal leader of the Salt Transport Envoy.

"Zhu Xingquan came in person?" Man Gui was a little surprised, but he also thought it was normal. Everyone noticed that the situation was wrong. At this time, they didn't care that he, a senior official from the fourth rank, came in person. In the past, it was just the judge. .

 When they left the lobby and went to the front hall, Mangui saw two guys who were so anxious that they were whirling in the hall. He also found it funny and stepped forward to greet them, "Master Zhu, Master He."

"Hey, General Man, something big has happened." The old man with a dry beard and a thin beard was Sitongzhi Zhu Xingquan, the salt envoy of Hedong and Shaanxi.

"Oh, how big of a deal can it be?" Man Gui's heart sank, but on the surface he still pretended to be calm and composed, "Don't worry, I still have two thousand soldiers here, big things can happen. I'll carry it."

"The town of Changle was captured by the rebels. All the inspectors were killed and countless tax dollars were robbed!" Zhu Xingquan knew what Man Gui wanted to ask as soon as he saw Man Gui's expression, and explained without being asked: "There are salt merchants here. They encountered rebels in Changle Town and took advantage of the chaos to escape and report to me..."

 (End of this chapter)