I

In terms of city area, Ganzhou City is only half the size of Nanchang City.

As for the city wall, the foundation stone of Ganzhou City was poured with molten iron to prevent it from being destroyed by river flooding. There is a Northern Song Dynasty drainage system in the city, so it is not afraid of floods that occur once in a century.

It is surrounded by rivers on three sides and has a moat on one side.

Most of the cities in Jiangxi have this kind of thing. There are various structures facing the river on two sides and three sides, and they are all made of masonry, which can be called a nightmare for the attackers.

Zou Weilian sat on the eight-mirror platform, where Su Dongpo wrote eight poems. He now has no interest in writing poetry.

More than 600 fire attack boats have been prepared long ago, just waiting for the enemy navy to fall into the trap.

The intersection of the three rivers is Ganzhou City. The river to the north of this place is more than a mile wide. Unless the rebels are stupid and learn from Cao Cao's iron rope to cross the boat, it will be difficult for more than 600 fire attack boats to be effective.

Only after passing the intersection of the three rivers, whether driving into Gongshui or Zhangshui, the river will become much narrower, and at that time it will be conducive to fire attack.

However, Gujian Mountain cannot be passed!

Because the navy of Gujian Mountain only has two tasks this time. The first is to transport people and food, and the second is to prevent any ships from going north. Just stay in the north and cruise. Why risk sailing into Zhangshui or Gongshui?

"Commander Fu, there are scholars crossing the river from Gongshui."

"Bring him here."

Not long after, a scholar was brought to the eight-mirror stage. When they met, he said impatiently: "Commander Fu, please send troops quickly. If you wait any longer, it will be too late!"

The place where Zou Weilian stood was the best viewing spot. He could overlook the river and even vaguely see the rebel camp on the other side. He frowned and asked, "But what happened to the rebels?"

The scholar said: "The rebels are inciting the people, forming some kind of peasant association, and forcing the landlords to reduce rents and interest rates. For loans with an interest rate of more than three-thirds of the interest, the peasant associations will not accept the debt and force the landlords to hand over the loan deeds. We have to remove the noodles from the barrels and waste the winter animals, it’s simply lawless!”

Bucket noodles are similar to the government's fire consumption.

The tenants paid one stone per bucket of rent to the landlord, and the loss of barrel surface accounted for one bucket, and the actual rent was one stone per bucket. And they still use a special bucket to collect rent!

Anyway, the landlords have countless ways to squeeze out the grain from the tenants and then force the tenants to borrow usurious loans.

Day after day, year after year, almost every household fell into debt, and the tenants were essentially reduced to serfs.

After hearing what the scholar said, Zou Weilian felt completely finished.

Although he tried his best to restrain his soldiers and not raid surrounding villages and towns, he seemed to be very kind to the people. But compared with the rebel bandits who formed a peasant association, reduced rent and interest, removed buckets of noodles, and abolished winter livestock, Zou Weilian's good governance was nothing!

What's more, the Fujian soldiers have been disobedient and secretly went out to plunder twice this month.

If the rebels were allowed to do this, it would only take a month or two for the surrounding countryside to be occupied by the rebels. He led his troops out of the city as if they were entering enemy-occupied territory.

Zou Weilian asked: "You will allow the rebels to form a peasant association?"

The scholar complained bitterly: "The rebels have a team of fifty soldiers, escorting the civil servants (the backbone of the peasant association), and they can confuse the common people with a few words. If the landlord resists, his house will be confiscated and put on trial. There was a landlord in the same village in Wan Sheng, who brought The tribesmen and domestic slaves suppressed the peasant association, but the thieves came and killed them immediately, and their house was ransacked that afternoon! And..."

"And what?" Zou Weilian asked.

The scholar said in horror: "Moreover, in the villages and towns where peasant associations were established, the rebels also trained peasant soldiers. They used Qi Wuyi's Yuanyang Formation, with bamboo, sickles, kitchen knives, and pot lids as weapons. One day the rebels left. , these unscrupulous people can also defeat the landlords, and only officers and soldiers can come forward to conquer them."

Zou Weilian was speechless. He didn't know how to deal with it. There was no old example in the history books.

This is sowing the seeds of rebellion. Even if the rebels are driven back now, as long as the officers and soldiers withdraw from Ganzhou, I am afraid that the local farmers will start revolts on their own.

Is it possible to kill all the common people?

Zou Weilian stood on the eight-mirror platform, looking at the rebel camp on the other side. He was so depressed that he couldn't tell anyone.

He turned around and looked back at Yugu Terrace on Helan Mountain, murmuring Xin Qiji's words: "Under the clear river water of Yugu Terrace, there are many people crying in the middle... Who are these people?"

If Zhao Han were present, he would definitely say: "Of course they are the people who are suffering."

After a few days, all the officials, civilians, and soldiers in the city knew what the rebels had done.

Chen Tingdui, the commander-in-chief of Fujian Province and the top military commander in the army, came to pay his respects: "Commander Fu, you are afraid of the Zhao thieves, but I am not. Let me cross the river and kill those rebel thieves to pieces!"

"Don't act out of emotion," Zou Weilian said soothingly, "Inspector Zhu has already warned you not to send troops without permission before receiving his military orders. The most important task now is to defend Ganzhou City and waste the food and fodder of the rebels. Wait for the officers and soldiers of Jiangxi and Huguang With sufficient preparation, the three armies from the north, south and west will attack together, which will definitely make it difficult for the Zhao thieves to resist!"

"Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers are just watching in the city?" Chen Ting asked depressedly.

Zou Weilian said: "Be calm and don't be impatient."

"How can you not be bored?" Chen Ting became more and more angry and yelled, "I came all the way from Fujian and worked hard to suppress bandits in western Fujian and southern Jiangxi. If you say to restrain the soldiers, you will restrain the soldiers. After moving to Ganzhou, it has become faster here. Years have passed, and they have been reluctant to go north to suppress the bandits. These Fujian sergeants also have wives, children, and parents. It has been two years since they sent troops from Fujian. Did they leave their hometowns just to get promoted and make a fortune for you, Zou Fushuai? They want to be promoted and make a fortune, you Zou Fushuai eats meat, we warriors should at least drink soup!"

Zou Weilian didn't have Shang Fang's sword, so he had no way to deal with these generals. He could only bite the bullet and said: "Within this year, we will go north to suppress the bandits."

"The thief is on the other side. You don't have to go north, just cross the river!" Chen Ting said, pointing to the river.

Chen Ting was the number one scholar in martial arts, the number one scholar in martial arts appointed by the emperor.

He was born into a wealthy family in Fujian, and his ancestors were hereditary generals. After passing the martial arts examination, he was directly awarded the deputy commander-in-chief of Guangdong and was quickly promoted to the commander-in-chief of Fujian. He made meritorious service in suppressing pirates many times. When suppressing the peasant army in southern Fujian, they were even more invincible. Killing the rebellious peasants was like slaughtering chickens and dogs.

The Zhao thief in Luling is nothing!

Chen Ting also sent spies across the river. He was very keenly aware that there were not many rebels on the other side of the river, and there could be five or six thousand of them if they were exhausted.

After returning to the army, Chen Ting summoned his generals and said, "Zou Weilian, all his clan members were captured by Zhao thieves. I'm afraid he has secretly joined the thieves a long time ago. Otherwise, why has he not gone north to use troops? Some thieves and bandits, Even on the other side, he was guarding the city and not leaving."

"I have long disliked him. After two years of military service in Fujian, he was restrained and constrained at every turn."

"That is, we wiped out many bandits in western Fujian. He said he wanted to report his merits to the court, but what kind of merits was he repaying? He didn't even get a reward of silver!"

"Most of the silver reward was stolen by this guy!"

"Last year, my nephew was beheaded by this bird officer just for leading an army to rob a village. I can't bear it anymore."

"It's better to kill this beast!"

"He is a civil servant and cannot be killed."

"Then tie him up and report to the court that the governor has become a thief."

"..."

The powder keg that has been planted since last year is finally about to explode in the face of rebels.

Chen Ting had given gifts to Wen Tiren's party members, and he also knew that Zou Weilian and Wen Tiren were not at odds with each other. If it were any other civil servant, he really wouldn't dare to do it, but he really wouldn't be afraid of putting Zou Weilian under house arrest.

On his side, Zou Weilian was placed under house arrest. As long as he was impeached by Shangshu as a traitor, Wen Tiren's party members would definitely be in trouble.

That night, a group of Fujian soldiers led their troops into Zou Weilian's temporary residence.

As the governor of Fujian, Zou Weilian had two thousand governor pacesetters who he personally trained. He also personally promoted the pacesetters and guerrilla commanders.

At this moment, there were only more than a hundred pacesetters guarding the official residence, while the others were sent out to take turns guarding the city.

These soldiers rushed too fast and made a surprise attack at night. Zou Weilian was already caught before hundreds of governor's pacesetters could react.

"Are you planning to rebel?" Zou Weilian scolded angrily.

Chen Ting sneered at him: "You are the one who has been a thief for a long time. All the military orders are for the consideration of rebels. You are a civil servant. If I don't kill you, the court will deal with it yourself!"

In fact, everything is an excuse.

The real core conflict was that Zou Weilian, as a Jiangxi native, was not allowed to allow Fujian soldiers to plunder in Jiangxi.

Starting from Fujian, they fought in western Fujian and then at the border of Guangdong and Jiangxi, defeating a large number of peasant troops there. However, after achieving military merit, the imperial court did not provide large-scale rewards, which made these soldiers resentful and tried hard to get them back in Jiangxi. However, Zou Weilian was not allowed to plunder in Jiangxi.

After being away from home for more than two years, the Fujian soldiers couldn't get any benefits, so what else were they fighting for? I’ve long wanted to go home!

Zou Weilian thought that by personally paying them, he could gain the military morale of the lower-level soldiers.

But the little salary he paid was not as much as robbery?

After placing Zou Weilian under house arrest, Chen Ting announced to him that the governor had become a thief, and he arrested him and handed him over to the court, promising to make a fortune with all his soldiers. Except for a few of the pacesetters trained by Zou Weilian himself, they all turned against Chen Ting!

In just two days, Chen Tingdui took control of Ganzhou City.

After all, he had read a book and knew that there were bandits outside. He could not mess around in the city at this time, so he set his sights on the other side of the river.

With a river bank that is more than ten miles long, there is always an opportunity to attack.

Moreover, the rebel navy did not dare to sail past the confluence of the three rivers. The upper reaches were all the territory of the officers and soldiers navy.

Chen Tingdui laid an ambush upstream. As long as the rebel navy from Gujian Mountain dared to come and cruise in the Gongshui River section, hundreds of fire boats would be launched immediately. And the navy of the officers and soldiers can also block the rebel navy's retreat from Zhangshui, making it impossible for the rebel navy to escape even if it wants to!

Only 3,000 men were left to defend the city. Chen Tingdui first went upstream to sneak 5,000 men, and the remaining troops crossed the river from the front in a swaggering manner.

He just wants to lure the rebels over, and both the navy and the army will fall into his trap.

At night, five thousand people smuggled across the river one after another. Because the formation was so large, it was discovered halfway across the river because there were sentries sent by the Peasants' Association along the river.

It didn't matter to the officers and soldiers. The stowaway location was far away from the rebel camp, and the main force of the rebels would not be able to stop it for a while.

As for the rebel navy, if you dare to cause trouble, don't even think about going back. More than 600 fire attack ships are waiting for you.

The farmers' association here beat gongs and drums and began to remind the people to move.

Unfortunately, the Peasants' Association has just been established and its appeal is insufficient. Many farmers are disobedient and hide at home and refuse to come out.

After the five thousand officers and soldiers successfully crossed the river, they immediately looted the villages and towns with torches. They looked down on the poor people and only killed a few when passing by, then went straight to the mansions of wealthy families.

Visitor soldiers from other provinces are more ruthless than rebels!

How ruthless they are, you can refer to Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. Not only did they steal money, but they also carried out massacres. The killings were so excessive that even foreigners could not stand it.

If Chen Ting wants to gain a foothold in Jiangxi, he must let every Fujian soldier under his command earn enough money to go home and become a landlord!