I

Jin Guozhen's ancestors were nobles of Goryeo. After the founding of Joseon, the power of his family declined rapidly.

Today, the main clan is still a landlord, but those like him have been reduced to tenants.

Even as a tenant, Jin Guozhen is more noble than ordinary tenants. Because he has a surname, it proves that his ancestors were rich, and the real North Korean civilians don't even have a surname.

The Japanese and Manchu invasions led to the collapse of Korean social order. A large number of civilians took the opportunity to occupy unowned land, and by the way stole the surname of the original landowner.

You heard that right, stealing last names!

With a surname, you are eligible to own land in North Korea.

Jin Guozhen did not reap any benefits, but was kidnapped by Manqing instead. Along with four other Han people and one North Korean, they were assigned to the current master as serfs—they didn’t even have coats.

After spring, the snow melts.

This year's weather is good, the snow melted early, and it was cold last year.

During the Little Ice Age at the end of the Ming Dynasty, although there was no drought in Liaodong, the snowstorm was very serious. Even Haizhou cannot grow winter wheat, and can only sow it after the snow melts in spring.

"Hurry up, hurry up, if you dawdle, you will eat the whip!"

Early in the morning, Baoyi, the Han man, knocked on the door with a whip, and Jin Guozhen jumped out of bed reflexively.

When they got dressed and waited to go to work, the master's family was eating.

This is a family of low-ranking Manchurian Eight Banners officers. The old master has long since died in battle, leaving behind three sons and a daughter married to another officer. Now the eldest son and the second son have all moved to Guannei, leaving only the third son to stay in Haizhou.

The Manchus who remained had two main tasks: one was to continue to grow land and grain; the other was to have more children and provide soldiers for the Eight Banners of Manchuria.

The masters eat dry for breakfast, after all the master has to practice martial arts.

This is a tradition that has been formed in recent decades. Eat more, grow stronger, and practice martial arts well to join the army. Then go out to battle with the army, burn, kill and loot, and distribute the spoils according to military merits. The spoils include livestock, food and people.

The masters were full, and the leftovers were eaten by the Han people.

As for the serfs, just eat some miscellaneous grains and bran porridge. Try not to starve to death without starving to death, they are similar to animals, which owner is willing to starve to death of animals?

Of course, if there is not enough food, the real livestock must be given priority, and the status of serfs is far inferior to that of cattle.

In the middle of the morning, Baoyi took several serfs to work in the field.

The master was wearing a set of old cotton armor and took a few young masters to practice archery near the farmland.

Jin Guozhen squatted in the farmland without any tools, so he could only pull out the weeds with his bare hands.

When all the grass is pulled out, the field will be plowed with cattle.

It is Mr. Bao Yi's prerogative to use cattle. The serfs had to wait until the land had been plowed before they could pick up the hoes and dig the pits for sowing.

Jin Guozhen dared not speak, for fear of being whipped by Baoyi.

A few feet away from him is Liu Dazhang, a Han Chinese serf. He was also taken captive, and his hometown is in Beizhili. I heard that there were more than 30 acres of land, and he lived a pretty good life as a child. The family even supported a child.

After squatting for a long time, her waist was sore and her legs hurt, Jin Guozhen looked back subconsciously.

Jin Guozhen envied Mr. Baoyi sitting by the field to rest. It would be nice to be able to do the coating by myself. Although I have to work, I won't be punished by my master if I'm lazy occasionally.

"Da da da da!"

There was a sound of horseshoes, and Jin Guozhen didn't bother to look at it. It must be the Manchurian cavalry from somewhere.

The master, who was practicing arrows nearby, had a terrified expression, and fled towards Haizhou City with a few young masters. The situation is urgent, and even the mistress of the family can't take care of it.

Han Baoyi also reacted, threw down his whip and chased after his master.

Jin Guozhen finally realized that something was wrong. It seems that this is not a Manchurian cavalry?

Liu Dazhang, a Han serf, stood up slowly. He couldn't believe it at first, then burst into tears, and shouted: "The Great Tomorrow Soldier is here, the Great Tomorrow Soldier is here!"

There were only one hundred Datong cavalry in this group, ninety of them went to chase and kill them, and the remaining ten came galloping on horseback.

The cavalry captain said: "Where is your master's home? Follow me to fight back and grab food, and I will take you away. I will share the fields with you, and you will plant your own land in the future, and you will no longer be slaves to others!"

"Long live the Great Tomorrow Soldiers!" Liu Dazhang fell to his knees.

The cavalry captain didn't correct him, he just said, "Lead the way quickly!"

The ninety cavalry who chased out quickly caught up with the Manchu master and Han Chinese Baoyi.

"Master Jun, spare me, I'm Han!" Bao Yi fell to his knees.

Hearing this guy speak Chinese, the cavalry didn't make a move, but rode their horses past him.

Seeing that he couldn't escape, the man simply stopped, holding a bow and arrow to protect his child.

"Surrender without killing!"

This is the newly learned Manchu language for all soldiers in the army.

The Manchus raised their bows and arrows, and then slowly put them down. Once he shoots his bow, he will definitely die, and the children behind him will also die, and at most he will draw an enemy to his back.

Put down your bow and arrow and surrender, maybe you can save the child.

The Datong army kept their word, and they did surrender without killing. They got off their horses and pushed the man down, forcibly cut off the thumbs of both hands, and even the thumbs of several children were cut off.

Losing the thumbs of both hands, not to mention joining the army and fighting, it is inconvenient to work. Putting them back would be a waste of Dorgon's food.

Stripping off Manren's cotton armor and taking away his weapon, the cavalry sentry chief said in Chinese: "Go to Haizhou to report the news, a hundred thousand Datong troops have come!"

Regardless of whether this person could understand or not, the cavalry rushed further away.

The man tore up his clothes, bandaged the wounds of several children, and bandaged himself to stop the bleeding. After a long time, he set off in a daze and headed for Haizhou City with the crying child. They are already useless people, and in Manqing where the jungle is prey to the jungle, they are likely to starve to death.

When the Han people were brought back in their clothes, Liu Dazhang yelled, "Master Jun, this man is a traitor!"

The cavalry captain said with a smile: "If you get angry, everyone will punch him twice. Don't beat him to death. Liaodong's population is not enough, so we have to keep them for hard labor."

The Han serfs rushed up immediately, fisting and kicking the wrapped man.

Jin Guozhen hesitated for a while, and then stepped forward to beat him. He took this as a vote of honor, and was afraid that if he did not fight, he would be regarded as an enemy by the "Da Ming Soldier".

Back to the full house, with a bruised nose and a swollen face, he led the cavalry into the house to search for food, and also brought out a cattle and two mules.

The hostess was also found, and there was a girl.

Jin Guozhen immediately ran forward, kicked the hostess down, slapped the hostess while riding on her body, and shouted in Korean: "Let you hit me, let you hit me. I'll steal a bite of the bean cake fed to the cow. You almost Beat me to death! I am a human being, so I am not as good as a plowing ox?"

The hostess covered her face and howled, Jin Guozhen beat her harder and harder.

"Master Jun, there is a set of carts in the yard," Liu Dazhang said, "you can use the cart to take away the food."

The cavalry captain nodded and asked, "Where is brother from?"

Liu Dazhang hurriedly said: "I dare not call you elder brother. The villain's name is Liu Dazhang, and he is originally from Baodi County. The old father separated the family, and the villain was allocated dozens of acres of land. He is more or less a small landlord. The villain's son is still a child. That's it." These damned Tartars, now the family members have disappeared, and I don’t know if my son is dead or alive.”

The cavalry captain smiled and said, "When we get back to Gaizhou, we will share the fields with you, and we will draw lots to divide the wives and wives into families."

"Wife?" Liu Dazhang didn't understand.

The cavalry captain pointed at the hostess who was being beaten: "Do you want this woman?"

Liu Dazhang was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Yes! Her man has caused my wife to be separated, and she will have to pass on incense to my son from now on. She has to be diligent and thrifty in managing the house, farm and work honestly, and beat her to death if she doesn't obey!"

The Northeast is sparsely populated, and the population must be restored as soon as possible.

It is too difficult to immigrate all from the south, and the locals must try to stay as much as possible, even the Manchu women have to stay.

Jin Guozhen beat up the hostess, then ran to the captain of the cavalry, knelt down and said in a bad manner: "Master Jun, there are many Koreans in Shengjing. They all know how to farm, and the small ones can be used for coating. The military master is in charge of the North Korean farming!"

The cavalry captain couldn't help laughing: "Haha, the Datong Army doesn't have any coats. You should work hard in the future and don't think about messy things."

Not long after, another cavalry came with coats and serfs, and two carts of grain.

When we reached the boundary of Haizhou, the population increased significantly.

The cities around Shenyang, as well as the villages under the jurisdiction of the cities, are the most densely populated areas, and they have been run by the Qing Dynasty for many years. Even if all the Eight Banners were taken away and two-thirds of the population of the area under its jurisdiction were taken away, the remaining population would still be far greater than that of the Liaodong Peninsula.

At this time, it was the spring plowing season, and Hu Dinggui wanted to learn the usual routines of the Qing Dynasty and rob Dorgon's core base camp.

The population, livestock, and food were all moved back to Gaizhou.

In the future, Gaizhou will be a military base. After gaining a large population, it will be able to achieve self-sufficiency in food within a year or two.

As for Shenyang, Liaoyang, Haizhou and other cities, no matter whether they can be captured or not, Hu Dinggui will not stay behind. He was afraid that the Manchu Qing would send a large army to fight back, and the city would be trapped without food supplies, and the entire army would definitely be wiped out by then.

Gaizhou is different. It can be defended according to the city, and if there is not enough food, it will be shipped by sea.

Moreover, troops can also be sent from Gaizhou to attack Ningyuan, Jinzhou and other cities, and block the Eight Banners Army of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in Shanhaiguan.

More than 2,300 Tong cavalry, divided into 23 centurions, poured out to plunder the countryside everywhere.

Cut off the thumbs of Manchu men, rob Manchu women, take away coats, serfs, livestock and food. The food that can't be taken away is piled up and guarded, waiting for the infantry of the Datong Army to come and receive it!

Haizhou and Liaoyang each have 150 defenders.

The cavalry of Datong swaggered past the city with their population and trophies, and the defenders in the city did not dare to come out. They didn't even know where the enemy came from?

Or, who is the enemy?

As for Shenyang, there are a total of 800 Eight Banners troops stationed there, which is indeed very strong.

The distance between Gaizhou and Haizhou was 120 miles. Hu Dinggui couldn't wait for more civilians, so he only asked the people of Gaizhou City to help transport food, and set off directly with half a month's army food.

On the way, he received a large number of serfs sent by the cavalry to be civilian husbands, and surrounded Haizhou City mightily.

The Manchu Qing officials in Haizhou have organized the people to guard the city.

The garrison troops consisted of 50 Manchu Eight Banners, 100 Han Army Eight Banners, more than 1,000 Manchurian civilians, more than 3,000 Han civilians, and more than 2,000 Han Chinese. Among them, one-third of the Manchurian civilians had their thumbs cut off.

The city wall of Haizhou is eight meters high, which can be called majestic.

Hu Dinggui didn't even bring enough food, let alone artillery and siege equipment.

The military missionary officers were all dispatched, and they brought many local serfs with them, and ran outside the city to shout and persuade them to surrender: "The Han brothers in the city, Huang Taiji was poisoned to death by Dorgon. Dorgon occupied the Queen Mother, and he followed the Queen Mother a long time ago. Fornication, the puppet Qing emperor is also a bastard of Dorgon. Haoge led troops to fight with Dorgon, and my Han emperor has sent troops to surround Beijing. The Manchu Qing is about to disappear, and the Han brothers quickly surrender anyway. Do it for the Tartars The Han people in the coats, as well as the Eight Banners of the Han army in the city, as long as they help kill the Tartars, they will be able to divide the fields without discrimination. Let’s kill the Tartars together!"

Not only shouting in Chinese, but also Bao Yi, who can speak Manchu, also shouted in Manchu.

The Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Eight Banners of the Han Army were in a state of panic. The snow had just started to melt in spring, and they didn't know the news in the pass at all.

Otherwise, how could the Han army reach Haizhou?

This is not a sneak attack by a small group of troops. A large number of cavalry appeared two days ago, and now there are thousands of elite infantry. So many enemy troops must have been killed from Shanhaiguan, and the speed of dispatching troops was so fast that it was impossible for the friendly troops on the front line to report.

The Manchu court must be gone!

As for the cause of Huang Taiji's death, there are indeed many theories. Some said it was Hauge who killed him, others said it was Dorgon who killed him. Anyway, Huang Taiji died in a daze within two months of entering the customs.

Of course, this has happened in previous years.

The Manchus entered the customs and plundered all the way to Shandong. After a series of victories, the titan Yue Tuo contracted smallpox and died...

After some shouting, thousands of Han people guarding the city were ready to move.

The main one is the Ming army, which has not been to Haizhou for 20 years. This is the absolute rear area, surrounded and attacked for no reason, the situation is really weird. Not to mention the Han people, even the Eight Banners of Manchuria, who guard the city, somewhat believe that the Manchu Qing Dynasty is really about to perish.

"Kill the Tartars!"

It was the Eight Banners of the Han Army that took the lead.

Moreover, they did not dare to attack the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and directly killed the civilians guarding the city in Manchuria.

Han Baoyi and Han civilians followed suit.

The Han emperor has already sent troops to kill him. If he does not surrender at this time, will he be liquidated in the future?

Even more nonsense happened. The Eight Banners of the Han Army only dared to kill Manchurian civilians. The long-term fear made them farther and farther away from the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers.

And those 50 Manchurian Eight Banners soldiers actually killed thousands of Han defenders and fled in embarrassment.

The city became a mess, and finally two city gates opened one after another.

"General help!"

A general of the Han army ran out with the remnant soldiers, crying and yelling at Hu Dinggui to save him.

Hu Dinggui said contemptuously: "What a bunch of useless people, I finally know how Liaodong was lost!"

The 50 Eight Banners of Manchuria, with more than 1,000 Manchurian civilians, even killed 100 Eight Banners of the Han army and more than 5,000 Han defenders.

Although the Eight Banners of the Han army had more numbers, they did not dare to fight at all, and fled when they saw the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties coming.

"Raise the gun!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

After a platoon of guns, the melee soldiers rushed into the city gate, and the Datong firearms also charged in with bayonets.

The leader of the Han army walked around to Hu Dinggui and exclaimed: "The general's subordinates are all elites, no wonder they were able to kill all the way from Shanhaiguan!"

Hu Dinggui said: "Why are you still standing there, killing Tartars?"

The leader of the Han army hurriedly drew his sword: "My sons, follow me to kill the Tartars!"

With the Datong army clearing the way, these Eight Banners of the Han army who had defected suddenly became extremely brave. After rushing into the city, he chased the Manchurian civilians and slashed at them. He really regarded himself as a national hero.