Chapter 421 420 Wu Shan's Petition

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

At this time, Jiangnan was like a powder keg. The lower-class people had long been oppressed and exploited by local gentry families and the government. After the Japanese pirates' rebellion, the people lived a precarious life. Even in such an environment, they were forced to pay the additional taxes and labor service required by Hu Zongxian to suppress the Japanese pirates. It is not an exaggeration to describe the current situation in Jiangnan as a miserable life.

The poor and destitute were forced to become refugees and live a displaced life. The people were full of grief and complaints.

There is no lack of ambitious people in any era. The chaos in Jiangnan has long entered their eyes, but they are just waiting for the opportunity to act.

When the people of the entire coastal prefectures and counties were forced to rise up because they could not afford the heavy taxes and labor service, and became a group of righteous people of varying sizes, the government would naturally not stand idly by and they decisively launched a siege.

When the righteous people's teams were suppressed by the government, the news spread, and the feeling of grief for the death of the rabbit affected the rioters of all sizes in Fujian and Guangdong.

In the context of being at the end of their rope, they were easily persuaded by the bandits led by Zhang Lian. Whether they were willing or not, in order to survive, they could only join Zhang Lian's group.

Whether it was to show their ambitions or just to keep each other warm, when the number of rioters snowballed to 100,000, their courage gradually grew.

When they easily defeated the government troops that were suppressing them all the way under the command of Zhang Lian, their courage grew even more.

The government office in the center of the Baisongguan Pass had been transformed into the temporary palace of the Feilong Kingdom.

The reason why it was called a temporary palace was naturally affected by the size of the pass. The palace naturally could not be expanded, so this was not the place where Zhang Lian planned to stay for a long time.

He had already built a royal city in the nearby Wushipu as a base camp, and even asked someone to look at the feng shui and build the "Zhucheng Huangwu" as a palace in Zhangxiangtian.

Now that he has so many people under his command, he should not find something for them to do, or even tear down his own territory.

Afterwards, he built hundreds of small camps around the mountains, and reclaimed wasteland in the hills adjacent to three counties, including Raoping, Pinghe and Dapu, and cultivated potatoes to pay for military pay.

One hundred thousand people means one hundred thousand mouths to feed, and the consumption of food and horses is not small. The looted wealth alone cannot meet such a huge demand.

After Zhang Lian commanded the Feilong National Army to defeat the Ming Army, he did not pursue the victory and directly fight out of the mountainous area of ​​southern Fujian, but gave the entire army a holiday so that his men could have a happy New Year.

Today, Zhang Lian felt that the New Year had passed, and it was time to consider this year's goals.

At this time, the hall of the government office was full of people, all of whom were the leaders of the various rebel armies he had summoned.

Among these people, there are many who are as ambitious as him. Before, because they were just recruited, their prestige was not enough. Even if they ascended the throne as emperor here, in the eyes of most people, it was actually not much different from a child playing house.

However, this view is quietly changing after they defeated the Ming army.

Zhang Lian had a thorough calculation for this. It was not enough to defeat the Ming army once. He needed more victories. After establishing a high enough prestige in Feilong Kingdom, he would start to reorganize and train the rebel army.

At that time, for those who are loyal to him, of course, they will be the Great Gatibo, and expand their strength as soon as possible. For those who are ambitious, Zhang Lian plans to decide based on their ability.

These people are attached to him, but it is also to strengthen their own strength. Although there is some meaning of seeking the skin of a tiger, everyone is actually using each other.

Zhang Lian values ​​the strength they have accumulated, and they also hope to grow under his wings before their strength is not strong enough.

Looking at the leaders sitting in the hall, most of these people will definitely disappear in the future.

However, today is not the time to deal with these people, but a new action he has been planning for a long time. In the first year of Feilong, he plans to do a big job.

The current situation in Jiangnan is really too favorable for him.

The people are oppressed too badly, and the refugee army from all over the country is an inexhaustible source of soldiers. As long as his army arrives and gives them a bite of food, they will follow him.

"Hang up the map."

Zhang Lian, wearing a yellow dragon robe, sat in the center of the upper hall. He waved his hand and gave an order to the people around him. Soon two guards hung up a huge southeast map. I don't know where Zhang Lian got it from.

Maps, this thing has always been a military and national weapon. Even in the Ming Dynasty court, ordinary officials can't even see it, but there is actually one here, which is also rare.

The southeast map was hung up, and it immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.

Although many people couldn't understand it, it didn't affect their eyes from scanning the map.

Perhaps they were looking for their current location, or searching for their hometown.

The entire map was not marked very large. It only showed the locations of most prefectures and counties in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi, and outlined rivers and mountains. With these intuitive graphics, even if most of the people sitting in the room were rough people, they could guess something.

Zhang Lian stood up and slowly walked to the map. After everyone's eyes turned to him, he slowly said, "I summoned you all here today to discuss the next move of my Feilong country."

Although they have proclaimed an emperor and established a country, it is undeniable that their so-called Feilong Kingdom is just a peaceful place compared to the Ming Dynasty, and it only controls a few prefectures and counties in southwestern Fujian. There is not a single prefecture or county seat in the mountains and wilderness.

Even in the Baisong Pass where they are now, the Ming army originally stationed here only had an inspection department and dozens of soldiers.

This is why they were able to successfully occupy this place in the first place. The opponent was really too weak.

Of course, the Zhangzhou Prefecture in Fujian Province would not sit idly by. After they occupied this place, they sent out two troops to encircle and suppress them, but both failed. The Chaozhou Prefecture in Guangdong Province would also send spies to collect intelligence from time to time.

When the time entered September, the pressure from the Japanese pirates on the sea increased sharply, and the Ming army stopped attacking them. During this period, they also sent people to try to recruit people, but they were all rejected by Zhang Lian.

Are you kidding me? Through his own personal experience, Zhang Lian has already felt how difficult life is for the common people, and he has also seen that the Ming Dynasty is riddled with holes.

Although he had never thought about becoming a Japanese pirate, Zhang Lian still believed that the Japanese pirates were his natural allies, and they could often use each other.

Just like the Ming army's attack on Baisong Pass, as long as it withstands the pressure, once the northeast wind season enters and the Japanese pirate ships arrive with the wind, the Ming army's combat power can only turn to deal with the Japanese pirates and relax its own offensive. And this is what he The best time to seek development.

Before the large-scale Japanese pirates attacked, he also had information about the Ming army's elimination of many groups of volunteers. While feeling frightened and sad, he was also keenly aware that other volunteers should have the same mentality, and that's why he came to Posting hero posts widely to call on nearby volunteers to seek refuge.

The purpose of calling more volunteers together was to strengthen their strength at the beginning, hoping to stay together and make the government more fearful.

As for ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor later, he just followed the trend, because unknowingly, Zhang Lian discovered that he actually had a few hundred thousand people under his command, and his ambition inevitably burst out.

In Zhang Lian's view, the Ming Dynasty seems to have reached the end of its rope. Perhaps God's will is to let him end it and create a new dynasty.

According to legend, Liu Bowen, who once assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in proclaiming himself emperor, once made a prophecy, "The emperor will be born in Fujian, and the three mountains will be the battlefield."

Although I was born in Raoping County, Chaozhou Prefecture, my ancestors also came from Fujian, but later moved to Guangdong.

Who is Liu Bowen?

That was the person who assisted Zhu Yuanzhang to achieve hegemony, and he was as good as Zhuge Liang in "Three Kingdoms".

Zhuge Liang made a clever plan and borrowed life from the sky with the Seven Star Lantern, while Liu Bowen even cut the dragon's veins with his sword in order to stabilize the Ming Dynasty. They are both "god"-like existences.

As the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was known as the Hongwu Emperor in history. Among all the dynasties, Zhu Yuanzhang had the lowest origin. He transformed from a beggar to the ruler of a huge empire, overthrew the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, and counterattacked all the way. He lived a life of cheating. Even more powerful.

What about yourself?

It seems that compared with Zhu Yuanzhang, they are almost the same. He can succeed, there is no reason why he can't.

It is precisely because of this comparison that Zhang Lian believes even more that he has the possibility of success.

Didn't I hear those scholars say that the Ming Dynasty is in danger? The emperor only indulges in Taoist practice all day long, the government is controlled by traitors, and the people can't survive.

Zhang Lian felt that if he became emperor, at least he would not hand over power to those treacherous ministers and would definitely manage the country well personally.

Now that we have ambitions, we naturally have to strive to further strengthen our own strength, and outward expansion has become inevitable. This is why we have summoned the leaders of various ministries here for this purpose.

Standing in front of the map, Zhang Lian pointed to a place on the map that was crossed by a solid line, outlining the mountains and ravines, and said: "This is the Baisong Pass where we are now. Look at the mountains around here. Do you have any?" Have you had enough time in the mountains?”

"I don't want to continue living in the mountains anymore."

When Zhang Lian finished speaking, someone in the hall yelled and cursed.

Indeed, although most of the people here are from Fujian, and some are from Guangdong, many people used to live near the coast and make a living, and are not used to the mountainous environment here.

Zhang Lian said this, and some people below also realized that the purpose of why they were recruited to the palace today was that the king wanted to take them out?

"It seems that many people have had enough of staying in the mountains and want to go out to the colorful world outside, haha."

Zhang Lian said, laughing himself.

He is different from most of the people below. He has only studied for a few days, so he was able to sneak into the yamen to do errands. Although he has never been there, he has heard people talk about it.

The beautiful scenery of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the red fat swallows and thin swallows, not to mention the distant Suzhou and Hangzhou, which are also praised by many people as magical, as well as Yangzhou Shou Ma and Qinhuai, which are ten miles away.

Lin Chaoxi, Luo Pao and others were the bandit leaders who had followed Zhang Lian earlier and were loyal to him. When they heard that Zhang Lian had the idea of ​​expanding outward to gain territory, their eyes showed eagerness.

In the past, they were all brave and ruthless people. They bullied the market and ran rampant in the countryside. Otherwise, they would not be able to gain a reputation.

It was also because they were forced hard by the government that they started to revolt. They really had no way to survive. People were willing to follow them because of their evil reputation and no way to survive.

In fact, few people who can become the leaders of the righteous people are so-called heroes. Most of them rely on their virtue to win over people and gather their subordinates because of their previous reputation and the relationship with their neighbors.

This was at the very beginning of their uprising. As for the people who followed them, most of them were the subordinates who spread the word of mouth and packaged the leaders as people who were oppressed by the government. Like them, they were all victims who were forced to take this path.

In the early days, when there were few people, they didn't feel it. Later, when more and more people followed them, they felt that their level was not enough. At this time, they found Zhang Lian, a person who could command everyone.

Zhang Lian's ability was naturally much better than theirs, otherwise they would not be willing to hand over their strength to him.

After handing over the power, they found that their lives seemed to be easier.

Zhang Lian was responsible for the big and small things, and they just happily did what the bandits should do.

Now, the fun things around here have been played. Emperor Zhang wants to go out and grab more territory. That is not only the expansion of strength, but also means more gold and silver treasures, and delicate beauties are waiting for them to plunder.

At this time, Luo Pao said loudly: "Lord, just tell us what to do. The brothers are all rough people and don't understand these things."

"Your Majesty, just give orders, and the brothers will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Lin Zhaoxi on the side also followed Luo Pao's voice.

"Lord."

"Your Majesty."

Then, the leaders who were close to Zhang Lian spoke up one after another, and others had more or less the same thoughts. After all, they were afraid of the Ming army earlier. It was a habit they developed when they were civilians, and it did not change even after they became bandits.

But after defeating the Ming army under the leadership of Zhang Lian, many leaders found that the Ming army was actually just so-so, as if they could defeat them as long as Zhang Lian was there.

Zhang Lian saw that the atmosphere was almost settled, pointed at the map and said: "To the east is the sea, so we can't go there naturally."

"Haha." There was a burst of laughter in the hall.

Then he pointed to other directions and said: "If we break through Fujian in the north, we can enter Zhejiang, and we can reach Jiangxi in the west, and there is Guangdong in the south."

The day after the solar eclipse, Emperor Jiajing saw Wu Shan's petition in the Western Garden, saying that the Ministry of Rites immediately organized rescue when the solar eclipse occurred, but it was rushed after all. Fortunately, with the help of His Majesty's drum rescue, the rescue was successfully completed. After that, it was a cliché, reminding Emperor Jiajing what the emperor should do after the solar eclipse.

First, he praised Emperor Jiajing a little, and then seemed to be teaching him what to do. Seeing this, Emperor Jiajing frowned and was very unhappy.

When the solar eclipse occurred yesterday, he had doubts whether this was some kind of hint from heaven. It was not until he saw the memorials of the Imperial Observatory and the words of the alchemists that he dispelled his concerns and was overjoyed.