Chapter 119: The Yellow Skin Man Talks about the Rise of the Tang Dynasty, Li Haowang

Western Liaoning, Ningyuan City.

Under the cover of night, a group of night watchmen on the city wall gathered around a brazier, roasting their chests to warm them and cooling their backs.

After the annexation of Dongjiang Town, Marshal Li finally had a lot more Han soldiers under his command, so all the soldiers defending the city were replaced by Han soldiers, and the various barbarians were dispersed into the newly formed camps in the ratio of five Han to five barbarians.

Yes, Marshal Li, who had been reluctant to attack Shanhaiguan, was quickly reorganizing and organizing his soldiers.

This group of night watchmen were all from Dongjiang. They had rarely had enough to eat every day recently, so they were full of praise for the commander who advocated rioting for pay. They used all kinds of good words to praise Marshal Li to the sky.

"It's Marshal Li's idea that's right. Before, our Dongjiang Town fought with the Tartars every day, and we only had a single salary, and we couldn't fill our stomachs all year round. Now that we have only caused trouble in Ningyuan, we can have enough steamed buns, and every few days we can have a feast and eat meat. We live a happy life."

"What's the use of making trouble in Ningyuan? We have to go to Shanxi to make trouble. The Marshal said in Liaoyang City that Shanxi merchants are helpless. I drool just thinking about that big silver melon. I only have one wish in this life, to earn a silver winter melon for my poor son."

"You know nothing. Shanxi people are poor because they have no money to spend. The water towns in the south of the Yangtze River are rich. There's a saying that goes, the market is lined with pearls and the houses are filled with silk and satin. The common people are vying to wear silk clothes. Only in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and southern Zhili are there people vying for the first place. Every household is tortured."

Their squad leader pointed out the mistakes of his men, "Can't you remember what the commander said? Only those who are officials and have passed the imperial examinations can be tortured and exchanged for silver with tongs. The common people are called "participating in the salary", and we can't just rob them, we have to let them deliver it themselves."

Each camp has begun to select military police to supervise military discipline. Soldiers who do not abide by military discipline when entering the customs to collect their pay will be whipped.

Since it was the commander's words, all the soldiers wanted to remember them, but their brains were not very smart and they could only remember the two things: torture and exchanging torture tongs for silver.

The silver winter melon aroused their longing for the future, and they all wanted to make things difficult for their families.

嘤嘤嘤~
Suddenly, a strange cry came from the bottom of the city, rough yet sharp, spreading around like water waves in the night.

"Ghost!"

"Could it be that Zu Zhen's soul has returned? His head is still stuck in front of the West Gate Tower."

"Bullshit, we are at the North Gate. If there is a ghost in our ancestral home, we have to go to Juehua Island or the West Gate. Why are we running here?"

The soldiers were terrified, but the battle-hardened sergeant kept scolding his men, "You look ignorant. This is a yellow fox crying. It's hungry. If it climbs up to the top of the city wall, shoot it with arrows. Each skin can be sold for one or two hundred coins."

In Liaodong, only the wild Jurchens worshipped the yellow-skinned people, while the Han soldiers worshiped the gods such as the land god, Guan the God of Wealth, and Zhao the God of Wealth.

With the presence of the old captain, the soldiers felt a little more at ease, and coincidentally the yellow-skinned guy stopped barking.

But after just a moment, the shouts came from the top of the city wall. The soldiers were shocked. Some took up their weapons, while others knelt on the ground and kowtowed to beg for mercy.

Even the old captain was not sure what it was, and it was impossible for the yellow-skinned creature to climb to the top of the city wall so quickly.

"Da Tang Xing, Li Haowang~"

The creepy shrill cry rang out again. Everyone trembled and listened for a while before they realized that the yellow-skinned man was actually speaking.

The soldiers chanted a few words and kowtowed in the direction where the sound came from, only then did they ask the talking yellow-skinned creature to leave.

Only when the screaming completely died down did they stop trembling and whisper to each other what the sentence meant.

"Is the Tang Dynasty prosperous or is the Tang Dynasty thriving?"

"That yellow-skinned fellow did mention Marshal Li's name, but what does the word 'Wang' mean?"

With their knowledge, they naturally don't understand that the word "王" can sometimes be stressed to mean being a king.

However, these details have little impact. After all, everyone knows that the Tang Dynasty was ruled by the Li family, and the commander-in-chief happened to have the surname Li.

"Could it be that Marshal Li is God..." After being reminded by their clever companions, the soldiers gradually thought in this direction, and the commander's previous deeds of winning all battles were also mentioned again.

"If it weren't for God's blessing, how could I have been able to kill the Tartars even though I was shot by hundreds of arrows?"

"I thought Marshal Li was sent by God to protect the Liao people. Now it seems that Marshal has the mandate of heaven."

The fact that the yellow-skinned man spoke was so bizarre that after dawn, the soldiers guarding the city chatted with each other and were surprised to find that most of them had heard the slogan.

The city was filled with soldiers from the former Liaoxi Camp, Dongjiang, Korean, Jurchen and Mongolian troops, as well as surrendered Han soldiers from the Later Jin Dynasty. Tens of thousands of people had been idle just for food and training, and would have been completely bored. Therefore, the news spread throughout Ningyuan City in just one day.

In the following nights, the yellow-skinned people continued to speak human language inside and outside the city. Even the Yi people and Korean soldiers who did not understand Chinese began to add fuel to the rumors.

In just a few days, the attitudes of the soldiers towards Marshal Li changed drastically. The commander who led them to demand pay seemed to have become a man favored by heaven. Some soldiers knelt down and kowtowed to the commander when they saw him from afar.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost created, the main leader Li Hao summoned the captains of each battalion and the generals. Without explaining the various rumors circulating in the army, he only began to give orders for the next action to demand pay.

"Many of the soldiers stationed at Shanhaiguan were recruited from Liao people, and even more were Shandong soldiers and poor people from northern Zhili. I, Li Hao, am kind-hearted and cannot bear to see them bleed at Shanhaiguan, so we will go around Jizhen and go to Tianjin to collect salaries."

Originally, he planned to enter the pass to demand pay next summer. At that time, he would enter the pass from near Shanhaiguan, and the Dongjiang soldiers would sail south to Shandong, encircling important water transport towns such as Tianjin and Tongzhou.

Now the time of entering the pass has been advanced by half a year. Although the ground is frozen, which is conducive to marching, and the moat is also frozen, which is conducive to the deployment of siege equipment under the city, the soldiers under his command have not had time to train, and even the organization has just begun, so Li Hao changed his strategy.

His idea was to lead an army to bypass Jizhen and enter the pass, then head straight to Beijing City, attract most of the soldiers in Yongping, Shanhaiguan and other places, as well as the officials in charge to the vicinity of the capital, and then rely on mobility to quickly attack Shanhaiguan and take it down with the help of both inside and outside forces.

The reason for doing this is very simple. Liao is his base, and most of the Han soldiers under his command are Liao people. Only by taking over Shanhaiguan and the east of Jizhen can the safety of Liao be guaranteed, and only then will his soldiers have the perseverance to follow him and demand pay.

The reason for not attacking Shanhaiguan directly was to prevent the group of insect-like civil servants in the city from seeing that the situation was hopeless and directly burning the stored food, wages and various supplies.

During the Little Ice Age, food was extremely precious, and cotton armor, sacks, and gunpowder were also very useful.

"My current confusion is that the reorganization of the soldiers in Ningyuan City has not been completed. Many of the generals should stay, and we are short of a general in charge. How about you nominate someone who is respected by all the generals?"

Li Hao actually wanted to appoint Cao Wenzhao or the older Lu Yingjiao, but he was afraid that after he left, the Ming officials in Shanhaiguan would send people to persuade these two to return to the command of Ji-Liao Jinglüe, causing chaos in Ningyuan City.

After a dozen generals and dozens of captains passed the buck for a long time, they actually chose Li Hao's cousin Li Tianyang as the main commander who stayed behind.

They had only been with the head coach for a few months, and the trust between the two sides had not yet reached the point of close intimacy, so they could only choose the head coach's cousin who was most capable of shouldering the responsibility.

"I know Tianyang's ability. He can't command so many soldiers. So, Cao Wenzhao and Lu Yingjiao will lead the soldiers who will stay in Ningyuan City, and Li Tianyang will be the military supervisor."

Li Hao thought for a long time and issued the most compromising military order.

He also strictly ordered all the generals to work hard and wait for the military orders he would send from inside the pass.

After settling most of the matters, Marshal Li, who was clamoring for pay, led 3,000 elite cavalry and his godsons, and entered the territory of the Mongolian Ulianghai tribe from Shahebao, and easily captured Xifengkou through the Kalachin tribe.

The soldier who led the way was named Ma Pingkang. He was originally a soldier under his command, and later joined the camp and was always paid for his service.

While Ningyuan City was preparing for war, there was also chaos in Shanhaiguan City.

King Zhichen, the governor of Ji-Liao, felt that he was in bad luck as he had to deal with Zhang Ruitu, a cabinet minister sent from the capital.

This minister's handwriting was quite beautiful, but he was an out-and-out traitor. Even at this time, he still demanded tributes from the generals guarding the city walls.

PS: Please give me recommendation votes and monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)