The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 137 The Flourishing Shanxi Uprising
While Shaanxi was in complete chaos, the Shanxi rebels, led by Wang Jiayin and Jiang Han, had already begun to reap the rewards of their victory.

The two major bandit leaders, one in the south and one in the north, began an organized expansion and plundering of Taiyuan Prefecture and Fenzhou Prefecture.

After successfully defeating You Shilu, Wang Jiayin became increasingly emboldened and daring.

He was no longer satisfied with plundering ordinary prefectures and counties, and set his sights on the heart of Shanxi, Taiyuan Prefecture.

Within Shanxi Province, there were three princes: the Prince of Dai of Datong Prefecture, the Prince of Jin of Taiyuan Prefecture, and the Prince of Shen of Lu'an Prefecture.

These three princes, especially the Prince of Jin of Taiyuan, had accumulated immense wealth through generations of commerce, amassing countless riches, gold, silver, and fertile land.

Wang Jiayin had his eye on the Prince of Jin, a lucrative prize.

He sent a letter to Jiang Han, enthusiastically inviting him to join forces and take Taiyuan together, wanting to pull off a big heist!
After receiving Wang Jiayin's letter, Jiang Han shook his head repeatedly, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Attack Taiyuan Prefecture?

What a joke!
Not to mention that his hundreds of soldiers were recovering from injuries and were unable to fight.

Taiyuan Prefecture, as the capital of Shanxi Province, had high walls and thick defenses, and was well-equipped with government troops, making it far superior to county towns like Jingle and Kelan.

And even if we were incredibly lucky and actually managed to capture Taiyuan Prefecture, so what?

Kill the Prince of Jin?

Those were princes who had been enfeoffed since the founding of the dynasty by Zhu Yuanzhang, and were relatives whom even Emperor Chongzhen had to pay some attention to.

If you kill the Prince of Jin today, Emperor Chongzhen will probably go crazy the next day.

I'm afraid that when the time comes, Emperor Chongzhen will really disregard everything and mobilize all his troops to Shanxi.

Neither of them, the two ringleaders, can escape!

Of course, with so many princes from the Zhu family in Shanxi, each one incredibly wealthy, Jiang Han couldn't possibly leave them completely untouched.

However, the goal he chose was relatively easy to achieve.

Jiang Han turned his gaze to the Wangzhuang villages scattered throughout the region.

He clearly remembered how wealthy Wangzhuang was when they captured it upstream of Jinmingchuan in Yan'an last time.

They directly solved his military supplies for a year, and the amount of money they made far exceeded that of some impoverished prefectures and counties.

The Fenzhou Prefecture where he is now located is situated on the southern side of the Fenhe Plain, with a well-developed river system and fertile land.

Nearly 70% of the fertile land in the entire Fenzhou Prefecture was controlled by Prince Qingcheng and Prince Yonghe.

Although these two princes were not as famous as the Prince of Jin, the royal estates they occupied were no less impressive.

Therefore, Jiang Han immediately mobilized his troops, sending out Dong Erzhu and Shao Yong.

They split into three groups and swept through the territory of Fenzhou Prefecture, searching everywhere for the royal estates of Prince Qingcheng and Prince Yonghe.

At first, when Jiang Han's troops marched into the countryside, the villagers were like frightened birds. They scattered and fled at the sight of soldiers and banners, not daring to approach at all.

After all, thieves were rampant everywhere these days, making it difficult to distinguish between government troops and bandits.

But gradually, things changed.

Thanks to the strict military discipline established by Jiang Han, the soldiers of the several divisions he sent out, although extremely fierce when attacking landlords' fortified villages and encampments, did not commit any offenses during marches and encampments.

They do not enter people's homes, do not rob people's property, and even spend their own money to buy some vegetables and cotton cloth from villagers who occasionally dare to approach them.

Over time, the villagers nearby gradually understood.

This group, which flies the banner of the Mountain Tigers, seems to be truly different from those thugs and bandits.

They didn't even steal from ordinary people!

As a result, the villagers gradually became bolder.

Whenever the army set off or camped, a group of villagers would always follow behind, pushing carts and carrying loads on their shoulders. They would sell homemade pancakes, mountain delicacies they had gathered, or fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves.

Some people even followed the horse caravan to collect horse manure to use as fertilizer.

The two battalion commanders leading the troops were happy to accept this arrangement.

Following Jiang Han's instructions, they took out some silver and copper coins to buy food from the villagers.

At the same time, I chatted with these villagers, asking them which landlord had the largest estate and the most grain.
In this way, the soldiers and villagers became familiar with each other and learned the location of Wangzhuang.

Before long, these royal villages were captured one by one by Jiang Han and his troops, and the guards of the nearby garrisons dared not fight back.

They only dared to watch from afar, and after the bandits left, they would run around Wangzhuang searching to see if any had escaped.

The capture of each village meant the seizure of large quantities of grain, cloth, livestock, and medicinal herbs.

Jiang Han's supply battalion quickly became well-stocked and made a fortune.

Summer arrived quickly, and the sweltering heat turned marching into torture.

Jiang Han simply ordered all units to cease their sweeps and regroup their troops.

They set up camp along the north bank of the Xiaohe River, in a high-lying area near a water source, to prepare for rest and summer.

The camp was located near Xiaoyi County, about twenty li away.

But the sudden gathering of several thousand bandits outside the city terrified the county magistrate and the local gentry.

They were afraid that this bandit army, which had just plundered the major villages, would also raze Xiaoyi City to the ground.

The county magistrate dared not delay and quickly dispatched a skilled and eloquent advisor as an envoy to Jiang Han's camp.

This clerk, representing the county magistrate and the gentry and wealthy families in the city, wanted to "discuss terms" with Jiang Han.

The implication is quite clear:

As long as Jiang Han doesn't attack Xiaoyi County, everything will be fine. They are willing to provide some financial and military supplies.

Jiang Han was naturally happy to see this happen; with the weather so hot, who would want to attack a city?

We shouldn't refuse the money, food, and military supplies that are sent to us.

As a result, the two sides hit it off immediately.

Jiang Han and the advisor made a secret agreement:
Xiaoyi County regularly provides Jiang Han with a certain amount of military supplies such as saltpeter, sulfur, copper, and iron every month;

Jiang Han assured that his troops would never set foot in Xiaoyi County and would "restrain" other bandits passing through the area to ensure the safety of Xiaoyi County.

The reason for adding this last point is that the gentry in the city heard that many prefectures and counties near Taiyuan had been looted clean by the notorious bandit Wang Jiayin.

This is truly a happy ending for everyone.

Jiang Han obtained a supply point without bloodshed, while the officials and gentry of Xiaoyi County bought peace with money, grain, and military supplies.

As for where this money and grain came from?
Naturally, it was still plundered from ordinary people inside and outside the city.

Jiang Han was powerless to do anything about it; he couldn't care less about those things. Now, he had to help the various rebel armies train new recruits.

The able-bodied men sent by the various leaders arrived at the camp one after another, numbering about seven or eight hundred.

Jiang Han also received the warhorses they sent, a total of two hundred.

With the horses he had previously plundered, Jiang Han's cavalry now numbered over eight hundred.

Since Li Laowai was still recovering from his illness, the task of training the troops fell to Shao Yong.

(End of this chapter)