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

Chapter 15 Returning to Shaanxi

Those who received the silver carefully tucked it into their pockets, looking gratefully at Jiang Han on the command platform.

Looking at the grateful soldiers before him, Jiang Han was filled with emotion.

No wonder Shaanxi was engulfed in war at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Even the border troops who were paid by the emperor could not survive. What were ordinary people supposed to do?
Jiang Han spent the entire morning personally setting off the alarms for nearly two thousand people, almost collapsing from exhaustion, and his injured calf was throbbing with pain.

But Jiang Han persisted without saying a word, after all, he had received the money and there were some things that needed to be explained.

Jiang Han rubbed his aching lower back, glanced at the jubilant soldiers in the training ground, and then asked loudly:

"Brothers, we can't go back to the border army now. What are your plans for the future?"

"Lord Jiang, we're honest men, we don't mince words. You saved us yesterday and even got our pay back. We'll go wherever you go from now on! We'll even rebel!"

From the crowd, a soldier carrying a horse-slaying saber responded without hesitation.

"That's right! Old Li is right. Anyway, we've already killed the general, so what if we rebel against him!"

Shao Yong held the silver ingot in his left hand and the longbow in his right, then let out another shout.

Jiang Han turned to look at the two of them, surprised that such a small town as Yansui had two such talented people with such high awareness.

However, upon hearing the word "rebellion," many people hesitated for a moment and unconsciously took a step back.

Throughout history, the Ming army at the end of the Ming Dynasty can truly be described as benevolent and righteous; even when freezing and starving to death became the norm, very few people rose up in rebellion.

Even if there were any, they were just sporadic acts of resistance, barely making a sound.

If it were any other dynasty, would the Zhu family emperors dare to owe taxes for several years? They would have overthrown the dragon throne long ago.

Seeing the hesitation of some soldiers, Jiang Han sighed inwardly, thinking that now was not the time.

But he wasn't annoyed, and said very generously:
"Let's put the rebellion aside for now. I know many of my brothers are still loyal to the emperor and love their country. It was only yesterday that we were forced to raise an army to eliminate the traitors!"

"Now that the traitor Wu has been eliminated and the pay has been distributed, those of you who want to go home and farm can stand at the back. We've been comrades for a long time, and I, Jiang, will not make things difficult for you!"

He paused, and glanced at everyone.
"Once we get back, you can pin all the blame on me. The court has always only punished the ringleaders, not the accomplices. You can all go back and live your lives just fine!"

"I'll say it again: any of our border army brothers who ever find themselves in dire straits, come and seek refuge with me, Jiang Han. As long as I, Jiang Han, have food to eat, you will have food to eat too!"

After he finished speaking, the soldiers in the drill ground were filled with admiration.

In the border army, loyalty has always been paramount. Whether it is loyalty to the emperor or loyalty to comrades, it has long been deeply rooted in their hearts.

But no matter how important loyalty is, one still needs to eat. If everyone could have enough to eat, who wouldn't be loyal to the emperor and love their country?

Now, Jiang Han has not only saved their lives and paid them, but he is also going to take full responsibility for their crimes. Many soldiers who were originally hesitant have stopped in their tracks.

The coup succeeded, but he did not enjoy the glory alone; in fact, he had to bear the responsibility for the crime. Who wouldn't want to follow such a leader?
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Jiang Han sent Dong Erzhu and Hei Zi to count the number of people and see how many were willing to follow him.

After a long count, the two finally discovered that out of the nearly two thousand people, about one thousand two hundred had decided to follow Jiang Han, while the rest still wanted to return to their hometowns to farm.

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Han breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, there were still a thousand or so people willing to follow him. These were genuine Ming Dynasty border troops, not some rabble of starving peasants or bandits.

Although the armor and weapons were inferior, they were still standard weapons of the Ming Dynasty, far superior to those starving peasants and bandits wielding hoes and wooden sticks.

When we get back, we'll exchange the silver for food, give them a good rest, and make them some weapons and armor. Then we can pull them out as a battle-hardened army again.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army was divided into two types: garrison troops and camp troops. The garrison troops are easy to understand; they were soldiers under the military household system, which was Zhu Yuanzhang's fantasy, claiming that "a million soldiers could be supported without costing the people a single grain of rice."

The camp soldiers were a product of the later collapse of the garrison system, and were composed of recruited soldiers.

Mainly composed of elite vanguards and retainers, they were the elite field troops of the Ming army in the later period, and Jiang Han's 1,200 men were all camp soldiers.

Jiang Han was very satisfied with the result and immediately ordered the cooks to start a fire and prepare a meal. After they had eaten their fill, he led the two thousand men back to Shaanxi.

When the army from Yansui Town came, they followed the border wall all the way, but now that the mutiny has occurred, Jiang Han and his group can only take small paths.

Although Jiang Han still carried various seals that had been taken from Wu Zimian, he still chose to avoid various checkpoints as much as possible for safety reasons.

Under Jiang Han's instructions, Erzhu and Heizi would purchase some grain whenever they encountered a city, ranging from tens to hundreds of shi (a unit of dry measure).

Jiang Han knew that in the future, Shaanxi would be prone to natural disasters, and grain would be much more precious than money.

We traveled on and off like this, and before we knew it, it was the end of the first month of the lunar calendar.

Jiang Han and his group finally arrived in Fenzhou, Shanxi Province, where the snow was falling heavier and heavier.

In just one night, the snow was up to people's ankles, and the cold wind blew straight into people's arms.

Seeing the terrible weather, Jiang Han had no choice but to order his troops to set up camp and wait for the heavy snow to pass before continuing their journey.

Jiang Han planned to bypass Yanshui Pass, enter Shaanxi from Wubu, and head north along the Wuding River, heading straight for Mizhi.

Upon arriving in Mizhi, he parted ways with the soldiers who were unwilling to follow him, and led the remaining men to find a place to hide.

While we're at it, let's see if we can bring the young rebel leader under our command in Mizhi.

"Damn it, this awful weather!" Jiang Han cursed, trying to move closer to the campfire.

"Lord Jiang, why do we still want to go back to Shaanxi? There are two capitals and thirteen provinces in the Ming Dynasty, where can't we go? We can't even get enough to eat in Shaanxi!"

As Shao Yong added firewood to the fire, he looked at Jiang Han, who was shivering from the cold, with a puzzled expression.

"Shao Yong, do you know how a single spark can start a prairie fire?"

Shao Yong shook his head, looking puzzled.

"Although Shaanxi was poor, it was a land of war. First, there was the rebellion of Wang Er of Baishui who killed officials, and then there was the uprising led by Gao Yingxiang, the King of Chuang."

"Like the Eight Great Kings, who have caused countless disasters and crossed the heavens."

Jiang Han rattled off the nicknames of the group as if they were his own treasures.
"Our few elite troops have all been transferred to defend the emperor. Who can keep these local warlords in check?"

Shao Yong nodded thoughtfully and continued to ask:

"So, Lord Jiang is leading over a thousand of us to find a powerful bandit leader to join him?"

Jiang Han picked up his goose-feather saber, poked at the campfire a couple of times, and shook his head:

“It’s not the right time to rebel now. I plan to take you back to your hometown.”

Shao Yong was somewhat puzzled and scratched his head:
"Go back to our hometown? Where is Lord Jiang's family? There are over a thousand of us. If we go back, won't the authorities investigate us thoroughly?"

　Dear readers, please bookmark this page and keep reading!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)