Chapter 160: Yan Wei and the East Blossom

The lower reaches of the Yangtze River were shrouded in war clouds, and the people upstream were also busy.

Bandits were rampant in many counties such as Nanjun, Nanyang, Xiangyang, Jiangxia, Changsha, Wuling, and Guiyang. After the governor of Jingzhou, the King of Changsha Murong De and the Jingzhou Zhenrong Army left, the county soldiers were very powerless facing the swarming bandits and rebel forces.

Sima Xiuye, the governor of Jingzhou, organized and recruited militia and called on the people to form associations. Local tyrants also organized themselves into armed forces and built castles and forts for self-defense.

However, the counterattack of the common people who had been oppressed for a long time also made the officials and powerful people in Jingzhou tremble with fear.

Especially Huang Niujiao from Jiangbei, he was a long-time bandit who had given Murong Deyu a lot of headaches, like an indestructible cockroach.

After Murong Deyu and his army headed north, he completely let himself go.

There was no opponent in the Jingxiang area, and the team quickly expanded from more than 10,000 people to tens of thousands of people, and captured Xinye and Rangxian.

The governor Sima Xiuye ​​naturally could not let Huang Niujiao run rampant, so he sent Deng Shi, the governor of Xiangyang, to lead 5,000 county soldiers, as well as 3,000 "volunteers" composed of big families in Xiangfan and other places, a total of 8,000 troops to attack Xinye, preparing to wipe out this fierce bandit in one fell swoop.

After all, when Murong Deyu was here, although he defeated Huang Niu Jiao many times, he always escaped. Sima Xiuye ​​planned to take advantage of Huang Niu Jiao's underestimation of the enemy and lure him into a battle with the Yan army.

As a result, Huang Niu Jiao did not underestimate the enemy, but the Yan army did.

Although the prefect Deng Shi was the main general, he did not have enough control over the army. After the battle with Huang Niu Jiao's troops, the former military commander Ying Yang Lang Jiang Xu You saw that the enemy was defeated at the first touch, so he immediately led his troops in pursuit.

In fact, in previous battles, when Xu You followed Murong Deyu to fight these rebel armies, the situations they faced were very similar.

Basically, facing the main force of the Yan army, the rebel army was unable to resist and had no choice but to be defeated.

If the Yan army ran too slowly, they would not be able to eat meat or bones, let alone drink a sip of soup when it came to rewarding their merits after the war.

So Xu You led his troops in pursuit without waiting for Deng Shi's order.

Seeing this, Deng Shi immediately led his troops to catch up.

As a result, the 8,000 Yan troops were disconnected and led to a very famous place near Xinye - Bowangpo.

Then the murderous intent emerged.

Huang Niu Jiao divided and surrounded the Yan army, and treated the 8,000 soldiers of the Yan army well with the famous specialty of Bowangpo, "fire attack".

After the battle, Xiangyang prefect Deng Shi was captured, and three soldiers, including Yingyang Lang Jiang Xu You, Zhao Zhong and a captain, were killed in the battle. More than 2,000 Yan soldiers were killed in the smoke and fire, while only a few hundred were killed by the rebels. The rest all surrendered.

After this defeat, Dayan's rule in the Jingxiang area was greatly shaken, and even Wuling and Guiyang south of the Yangtze River were affected.

Changsha County, Linxiang.

Because of the great defeat in Xiangfan, the Yan army here also began to lose heart. The original Changsha prefect Kuai Wenxian has been transferred to be the prefect of Nanjun. Currently, the prefect Pang Yuan and Linxiang County Magistrate Guo Jia are in charge of the prefecture.

However, both of them were born as scholars and usually did not care much about military affairs. In the current situation, they were unable to restrain their subordinates.

Captain Ding Jingzhen is now the most powerful person in Linxiang. This power is not granted by the court, but because the two armies in the city follow his lead. In the big tent in the camp south of the city, Ding Jingzhen invited another captain Lei Shimeng and several captains to come, and made an exception to serve wine.

Captain Lei Shimeng looked at the wine on the table and said, "Brother Ding, you have always strictly prohibited drinking in the army. What's wrong with you today?"

Captain Zhang Wenxiu, Xu Xuan, Wan Zan, Xu Deji, Guo Hua and others also looked at Ding Jingzhen in surprise.

Ding Jingzhen looked at everyone, sat down first, then waved to everyone, indicating that they should sit down.

After Lei Shimeng sat down, several captains poured wine for themselves and filled the glasses for the two lieutenants before they sat down.
Ding Jingzhen was from Poyang, Yuzhang County. He served in the army for more than ten years and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He was brave and valiant in battle, but because he came from a fishing family, he was not promoted to the rank of Langjiang. Therefore, Ding Jingzhen had a lot of resentment towards the Great Yan court.

The world was in chaos now, the two Yan states were at war with each other, and the Wei state was being restored in the southeast. Ding Jingzhen naturally had some thoughts in mind.

"Everyone, I have known you for a long time. I, Ding, have called you here today. You may be curious why there is wine here."

Lei Shimeng laughed and said, "Of course I am curious, but Brother Ding, you have always been a far-sighted person, so you must have something important to say. We are willing to listen attentively, and I, Lei, am putting this here. Brother Ding, if you have any plans, just tell the brothers, we all believe you."

"Yes, that's right, Captain Ding, just speak frankly."

"Captain, please give us your orders. We will not argue with you."

"I have been following the captain for seven or eight years. If it weren't for the captain's alertness, we would have been abandoned in Liaodong long ago. In this damn world, neither the emperor nor the governor can be trusted. I only trust you, Captain Ding."

"That's right."

Everyone expressed their opinions excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Ding Jingzhen stood up, drank the wine in the bowl directly, and then looked around.

"Some time ago, the governor of Xiangyang led 8,000 troops to attack Xinye, but was captured by that Huang Niujiao. All 8,000 troops were wiped out. The two courts in Luoyang and Chang'an are at loggerheads, and the Turks have entered Hebei again. I heard that the King of Changsha led his troops north. Can he come back? I think it's very uncertain. We fought against Goguryeo twice before, but failed, and more than a million people died. Yang Xun is a duke, and he can't stand Dayan. In addition, heroes from all over the country have risen up. I think the Dayan Dynasty is about to end. I want to follow the will of heaven and raise an army to rebel against Yan. What do you say?"

Lei Shimeng said: "Brother Ding has this intention, and I, Lei, will not say anything."

"We are willing to accept Captain Ding as the emperor"

"Yes, I am willing to."

Ding Jingzhen waved his hands hastily upon hearing this, "Everyone, I want to rebel against Yan, but not to become king or emperor. Today, the Great Yan court is unjust and has been divided into two Yans, fighting each other. Cao Yuanjing of Jiangdong, who was once Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Mengde, has now conquered Jianye and ascended the throne. I am a Ding, born into a fishing family, and my ancestors have never produced any great figures. I said that my ancestor was Ma Dingfeng, the Right Grand Commander of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, but that is just a casual statement and cannot be taken seriously. Moreover, with my background, how can the people and the various righteous armies believe me?"

Zhang Wenxiu, a subordinate, asked, "What do you mean, Captain? Are you going to join Cao Yuanjing?"

Ding Jingzhen shook his head and said, "No, Cao Xuan, the magistrate of Baqiu County, is a relative of the Wei royal family. He is a righteous man with noble character and is generous and magnanimous. Moreover, he is a direct descendant of Emperor Xuan of Wei and has the same benevolence as Emperor Xuan. He is far from being comparable to people like Cao Yuanjing. Let's make Cao the county magistrate emperor and work together to rule the world!"

Thus, after the two Great Yans of the East and the West, two more Weis of the East and the West emerged.

Total chaos.

(End of this chapter)